With so many injuries, will these Bulls ever find continuity?
While Minnesota TimberBulls Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Tom Thibodeau enjoyed a nostalgic night at the United Center, it felt like the Bulls were back to the drawing board.
The Bulls didn't play particularly well in the 119-94 loss to the Timberwolves. Zach LaVine returned from five games off with a left ankle sprain and did what he could, scoring a team-high 28 points against his old team.
The sad reality for the Bulls is it's been 18 months since the Jimmy Butler trade brought LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen in return. Thanks to multiple injuries to all three, Wednesday's loss was just the 15th game those three guys played together and the third this season.
Bulls coach Jim Boylen was reminded of that fact after Thursday's practice and had the natural reaction.
"How about that, huh? I know, it's crazy," he said.
Asked if he was frustrated by the lack of continuity, Boylen quickly delivered a positive spin. The jury is still out, but that doesn't mean the verdict will be negative.
"I'm not frustrated. I'm excited," Boylen said. "We don't know what's out there yet. I do know it's going to come down to sharing and caring and uplifting each other."
Here are a couple of other numbers that are tough to judge. In the games Dunn has played over the past two seasons, the Bulls have gone 22-40. In games LaVine has played, they've been 15-39.
With so many injuries creating different supporting casts, there's no reason to put too much into the records, but it does seem like Dunn has been the one guy from the three rebuilding blocks who has been able to impact team success. Getting Dunn and LaVine to have some success together is the next step.
"It's unfortunate circumstances that happened, but we have to get chemistry down," LaVine said. "We have to learn how to play with each other, our moves, our spots; when somebody is hot go to them. You have to learn that and it doesn't come with just practicing; it comes with games. So it's going to be a process and we have to get it down soon."
LaVine insisted there has been plenty of off-court bonding going on between the three trade pieces.
"I think Lauri and Kris have got more in common. I don't have a kid right now, so I think they can bond a little bit more than me (as new dads)," LaVine said. "We're all cool and everything like that.
"In a perfect world, we're all really good friends, so everything should be real easy. But nothing is made that way, you got to work at it. I don't think we've had the correct time to work at it, but we have to get it done regardless."
LaVine was asked if there needs to be a pecking order for who gets the shots and he said there is one, but wouldn't elaborate.
The answer seems simple enough. As a point guard, Dunn should be a creator first and either LaVine or Markkanen can post significant scoring numbers on a given night. Dunn has done a nice job of finishing at the end of games, so that should be a time when he's looking to score.
Boylen also tried to make blending an offense around Dunn, LaVine and Markkanen sound simple.
"Kevin Durant wasn't the leading scorer for Golden State last year every game," Boylen said. "He had some games where he was the leading scorer. Klay Thompson wasn't the leading scorer for that team. I'm not comparing our team to theirs I'm just comparing that you're not going to have the same leading scorer every night if you have a good team.
"And if you have guys that are feeding the hot hand, if you have guys that are working the right matchup, if you have guys that are executing an unselfish, respectful offense. That's what we're going to try to do."
LaVine came off the bench Wednesday since he was coming back from an injury, but Boylen confirmed LaVine will be back in the starting lineup in Washington on Friday.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls
Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Washington Wizards, 6 p.m. at Capital One Arena
TV: WGN; Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The Wizards have been much better at home (9-6) than away (4-16). Washington has been on the road a lot lately and this is the first meeting against the Bulls this season. ... As usual, SG Bradley Beal (23.5 ppg) and PG John Wall (20.7 points, 8.7 assists) lead the way. SF Trevor Ariza has played in five games since returning in a trade from Phoenix and averaged 14.0 points. ... SF Otto Porter Jr. is out with a knee injury. C Dwight Howard played in just nine games before having back surgery. ... The Bulls have lost five straight in Washington.
Next: Toronto Raptors, 5 p.m. Sunday at Scotiabank Arena
- Mike McGraw