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The 10-35 Chicago Bulls have lost nine straight games by an average of 16.4 points. Their latest effort was a 135-105 Thursday defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, who scored 42 points in the third quarter.
After the game, Bulls guard Zach LaVine said something needed to change quickly:
K.C. Johnson @KCJHoop
Zach LaVine: “We’re getting blown out every game. People are licking their chops, looking at us on the schedule, marking this game off. It’s not like it’s going to stop. We have to do something.”
Chicago will play four of its next five contests at home, and the lone road game is a matchup with the 9-36 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are the only team in the league with a worse record than the Bulls, so it’s conceivable that Chicago could make a slight turnaround in the coming days.
Still, the overall numbers are ugly. Chicago is last in the league in offensive efficiency and in the bottom 10 on the defensive side. The Bulls are second-worst in the league in point differential at minus-10.5 and have only beaten two teams with winning records.
Chicago fired head coach Fred Hoiberg after a 5-19 start, and new leader Jim Boylen hasn’t fared much better at 5-16.
LaVine’s remarks weren’t the only concerning statements to come out of Thursday evening, as Boylen and power forward Lauri Markkanen both questioned the team’s toughness:
K.C. Johnson @KCJHoop
Lauri Markkanen: “I don’t know how many loose balls they got versus us. I thought they beat us on that. That tells a lot about effort. It’s all of us. We have to play tougher.”
Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic also tweeted that the Nuggets game marked the third time the Bulls allowed a team to make 20 or more three-pointers.
On the brighter side, the Bulls should have a good draft pick—perhaps even the No. 1 selection. That would give them the chance to draft Duke forward Zion Williamson, whose 41.6 player efficiency rating is by far No. 1 in men’s Division I hoops.
However, a hypothetical drafting of Williamson won’t fix this team’s problems on both ends alone. Ultimately, Chicago has a lot of work to do to get back into playoff contention.
from Viral News Show http://bit.ly/2sAayuC
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