Loss to Nets highlights the Bulls need to add forward depth

As maybe the most embarrassing second-half collapse of the regular season to date for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls, the team did not look good in a primetime nationally televised matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. This was an opportunity for the Bulls to prove their contender status atop the Eastern Conference against a Nets team that finally had their big three playing together.

And while it will never be an easy feat of any sort to beat the Nets when they have their big three healthy and playing well together, there were issues that emerged for the Bulls that are concerning from their convincing Jan. 11 loss. The main problem that surfaced for the Bulls was obviously the defense or lack thereof.

Superstar forward Kevin Durant had his way with the Bulls defense in this game. The same can easily be said for the performance of fellow superstar and guard James Harden.

Durant finished up with a game-high 27 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He also registered two rebounds, nine assists, two steals, no blocks, and just one turnover. That was an insane assist-to-turnover ratio for KD in this game.

Harden had a pretty insane game too in terms of his facilitating for the Nets’ offense. He finished up with a game-high 16 assists with just two turnovers. Harden also registered 25 points on an efficient shooting night, with seven rebounds, one steal, and one block.

What was really put on display in this game was how much the Bulls struggled to adjust to certain matchup advantages the Nets had. As I mentioned before, it will never be easy to match up with the Nets on the defensive end when their big three are healthy and playing well together.

But if the Bulls want to truly contend in the East this season, they’re going to have to find a way to at least limit the potency of Durant and Harden. The perimeter defense was soft at times and the Bulls just had no one that could contain Durant among their forwards and/or big men that tried to match up with him defensively.

Chicago Bulls adding Derrick Jones Jr. to injury report with forwards like Patrick Williams presents a major depth issue

It will help when the Bulls get the likes of shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, point guard Alex Caruso, forward Derrick Jones Jr., and even potentially second-year forward Patrick Williams back in the mix. But even that can’t rectify all of the issues that surfaced in this game.

One glaring problem for the Bulls that was put on display in this loss to the Nets was the lack of forward depth. The Bulls are dealing with some injury issues at that spot in the rotation right now, which didn’t help when DJJ went down with a knee injury early in this game. But the front office will need to find a fix for this one way or another in the weeks ahead.

Whether that is getting this part of the rotation healthy again or finding some additional help from another source, something has to give if the Bulls do want to remain a legit contender in the East. This is especially true if DJJ is out for an extended period of time down the stretch this season.

We still don’t know what the status of his injury is yet after he left the game with some obvious knee pain against the Nets.

Getting Williams back eventually will help too, but it looks like he will be out for the rest of the regular season at the very least.

Adding Alfonzo McKinnie to the rotation can help in the second or third unit. But he proved in this loss to the Nets that he’s going to have a difficult time keeping up with the best of the best.

There are options out there for the Bulls to rectify this issue. Whether that be something as big as making a big splash deal to land the likes of the Detroit Pistons star forward Jerami Grant or Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings, or going out to get an underrated forward such as Kenrich Williams from the Oklahoma City Thunder, that clearly looks to be a route worth exploring.

Or maybe all it will take for the Bulls is getting pieces like DJJ and/or Williams back in the rotation to see results in this spot on both ends of the floor.

It will also be interesting to see how Donovan adjusts to this problem ahead of the key Jan. 14 meeting at home with the Golden State Warriors. If the Bulls come out with a strong performance against the surging Warriors heading into the weekend, that will be a good sign of things potentially to come in the second half of the season.

Following this convincing 138-112 loss to the Nets on Jan. 12, the Bulls are sporting a record of 27-12. Next up for the Bulls is that aforementioned meeting with the Warriors at home on Jan. 14, with tip-off time set for 6:30 p.m. CT.