It looks like the heavy stretch of traveling and back-to-back games that were on tap for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls in the 10 days roughly caught up with the team in a convincing loss at home to a division foe on Nov. 22. Donovan and the Bulls were truly dismantled by the Indiana Pacers and head coach Rick Carlisle in the back end of back-to-back games on Nov. 22, in a loss by the final score of 109-77.
This was the first time this season that the Bulls were truly humbled by a team with a losing record like the Pacers. But that is bound to happen when the Bulls face a grueling schedule as they did in the last week and a half or so. The Bulls had six games in nine days coming into this meeting with the Pacers early this week. They also had seven games in the last 11 days.
That’s not to mention the fact that the Bulls were missing both star center Nikola Vucevic and standout defensive point guard Alex Caruso in the matchup against the Pacers on Nov. 22.
Certain Chicago Bulls players need to pick up the offensive production soon
The fact of the matter, though, is that the Bulls need to respond in their next game to keep heading in the right direction early this season. Despite the Bulls playing what looks to be an easier opponent in the Houston Rockets on Nov. 24, this could still be a tough game on the road if the team isn’t fully prepared.
The Bulls were just dismantled by a team that was carrying a record of 7-11 and lost three of their last four in the Pacers. And it’s not like there’s a ton of time between the set of back-to-back games that just wrapped up and the matchup against the Rockets on Nov. 24.
Which players need to respond that are down of late? Here’s a look into three ice-cold players for the Bulls through the up and down stretch in the past few games.