Epic loss to Pistons just one of many bad memories for Bulls
Take it from someone who watched them all, there have been some epic, horrendous Bulls losses in the post championship era.
Tuesday's early blowout against the Pistons is a strong contender but may not even crack the Bottom 5. The Bulls set a franchise record for halftime deficit (71-29) and hit just 1 of their first 25 3-point attempts on the way to a 40-point loss.
This was one of those two-game series the NBA plays time to time, so the Bulls got the chance for an immediate rematch. They were much more competitive, but lost to Detroit 128-110 at the United Center, and head into the NBA All-Star break with a 22-33 record.
It doesn't even require much research to recall the Bulls' lousiest losses. The list includes a 53-point defeat in Minnesota in 2001, which prompted Tim Floyd's legendary “we couldn't beat a snappy junior high team” comment.
The second game of the Jim Boylen era stands out. The Bulls lost to Boston by 56 points, followed by a near-boycott of practice the next morning.
A few weeks earlier in 2018, late in Fred Hoiberg's tenure, the Bulls lost to Golden State 149-124, while Klay Thompson drained 14 3-point baskets, an NBA record that still stands.
And might as well throw in the 35-point blown lead against Sacramento on Dec. 21, 2009. Vinny Del Negro led the squad that night, so that makes five coaches in five monstrous losses.
What's sad is before Tuesday's game, Bulls coach Billy Donovan emphasized the need to keep competing and winning, as opposed to tanking for better lottery odds.
“The minute you start taking away winning as being any level of importance, how can you ever expect a young player to ever (think), ‘OK, now winning is important?” Donovan said.
“They need to feel a sense of urgency and importance every time they step on the floor. At some point … the focus is going to shift of how much these guys are impacting winning. They need to start doing that now.”
Donovan is 100% correct and the last rebuild is a perfect example. In 2017-18, the Bulls actually went 14-7 over a span of 21 games but decided that was too much winning. They moved Nikola Mirotic at the deadline, shut down Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn late in the year with minor injuries.
And what happened? When Lauri Markkanen's rookie contract ran out, he couldn't wait to leave town. LaVine, who was drafted by a terrible Minnesota team, knew nothing but losing in his NBA career and never learned to affect winning. Those were the two key pieces in the Jimmy Butler trade.
Sure, it would be great if the Bulls win this year's draft lottery, but they should want any rookie to walk into a locker room where a competitive attitude is the expectation.
Dosunmu stood out as a player who took Tuesday's loss personally. He scored 16 points in the first half and also picked up the first technical foul of his career. At the 8:33 mark of the second quarter, he battled Detroit's Simone Fontecchia for a rebound and didn't stop battling when a foul was called. It appeared Fontecchia said something and Dosunmu responded, but there was no shoving or punches thrown.
The Bulls would like to see Dosunmu, Coby White and Josh Giddey create a solid foundation for the next era. Giddey will be a restricted free agent after the season, while White and Dosunmu are on short-term, team-friendly deals. So if the Bulls decide to make changes this summer, those three will be easiest to move.
Vucevic, Patrick Williams, plus newcomers Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins, will be much tougher to transact. The Bulls might be stuck with those four.
Winning some games the rest of the way won't matter much, because you never know how the lottery balls will bounce. Atlanta had the ninth-worst odds and won the top pick last year, while Houston went from No. 8 into the top 4.
Avoiding another 42-point halftime deficit should definitely be on the Bulls' to-do list, however.