Chicago Bulls hoping to learn from late-game defensive breakdown
Late-game defensive failure remained a topic of conversation Sunday with the Chicago Bulls.
After rallying to tie Saturday's game against Detroit, the Bulls let Pistons point guard Ish Smith slip through a double screen and roll for the game-winning lay-in with 5.4 seconds left.
The play started with Zach LaVine guarding Smith. The Pistons sent both Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond to screen both sides of LaVine, and Smith blew past Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis.
"The thought was they were going to get the ball to Blake and let him isolate and make a play off it," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They ran a horns set; Ish made a great play getting in the paint."
In hindsight, maybe the Bulls would have been better off with Wendell Carter Jr. on the floor. But Parker checked in at the 4:53 mark and helped spark the comeback, which culminated in LaVine's tying 3-pointer with 24.6 seconds remaining.
"The first thing I do every game is ask, 'What could I have done better in that game?' I always look at myself first and see what I could have done," Hoiberg said. "Again, that lineup had given us a good last couple minutes to get us back into that game, and that's the reason we stuck with it."
There isn't much the Bulls can do now except live and learn.
"Experience is the biggest form of education," Parker said Sunday. "Just being there is going to help us next time try to prepare and get it right."
Payne bounces back:
Cameron Payne took some heat for a lackluster performance in Thursday's opener at Philadelphia. Then the Bulls added another point guard to the roster before Saturday's game tipped off.
But Payne stepped up with a strong performance against the Pistons with 17 points and 4 assists. It matched his highest point total since joining the Bulls.
"My key is to be aggressive, but still get my teammates involved," he said after the game. "I was disappointed in my first game. I felt like I could have done a lot more things. I wanted to come out and be aggressive tonight."
Payne probably surprised the Pistons by scoring 8 points in the opening three minutes of the second half.
"Cam was excellent. I loved his third-quarter attack," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He was getting into the paint and to the rim, making really good plays. He battled defensively. It was a good game, hopefully a confidence builder for him."
Markkanen bares arm:
Lauri Markkanen is no longer wearing the bulk brace to protect his right-elbow sprain. Coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed Markkanen is done with the brace, but his timetable hasn't changed.
Markkanen suffered the injury in the first week of training camp and is expected back in mid-November.