Takeaways from Bulls’ loss to 76ers, including Caleb Wilson learning from LeBron James

PHILADELPHIA — Caleb Wilson is a big believer in momentum. Specifically, when it applies to his opponents.

The Bulls rookie never wants to allow the opposing team to rack up too much positive energy. One good play is manageable. Two in a row is an issue. Any more becomes a pattern — and a problem. Games are won when an opposing team gets too confident.

That’s why, early in the first quarter of Monday’s 126-107 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Wilson took a bad shot. He had to quiet the crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena after LeBron James threw down a dunk in transition on the prior play. Echoes from the excited roar still rumbled through the arena.

There were plenty of reasons why the shot wasn’t the best option on the floor. It was early in the shot clock. Jaylen Brown’s feet were completely set to block Wilson path. The Bulls hadn’t even initiated an action yet. But Wilson pulled up anyway — because sometimes, the best shot on the court is the one that shuts a team up. When the shot went up, Brown extended to the full totality of his wingspan, fingertips stretching toward the ball, but it was a fruitless attempt. Wilson’s first 3-pointer of the night sank home with finality.

The entirety of Monday’s game was defined by this futile effort to quiet the cacophony that surrounded James. This is the new reality of facing the 76ers, who retooled their roster with the offseason additions of James and Brown. Some teams offer a one-two punch. The 76ers are more likely to treat their opponents like a speed bag, sending blow after blow in the form of a deep bench packed with past, current and future All-Stars. It was a welcome test for the Bulls’ young core.

Results were mixed. Wilson did what he could. He planted both palms on James’ chest and dropped his head parallel to his sternum in an attempt to prevent James from running through a screen. He punched the ball out of the hands of VJ Edgecombe and took it coast to coast for a transition slam. He palmed a pass away from James, then flung a low-post pass to set up Matas Buzelis for a bucket. He hit nothing but net to beat the buzzer with a 3, cutting the deficit to five points at halftime.

The toughest trials came on defense. Sometimes Wilson took James so Buzelis could take Brown. Other times, the pair swapped. Occasionally, Wilson needed to pick up Tyrese Maxey instead. Noa Essengue sized up to take on Joel Embiid in a few short-lived stints. None of these assignments were easier than the other — just different.

And Buzelis struggled once again, logging more turnovers (5) than points (4) after racking up a trio of early fouls that limited his production. The loss marked the forward’s worst outing of the season.

“I’m not overreacting in any type of way,” Buzelis said. “I’ll figure it out, man. It’s a mental game, 80% mental, 20% physical. I’ll be just fine. I just need to get it going. Defensively, offensively. Trust me, I’ll be just fine.”

The earnest effort of the youngest players on the Bulls roster paid off in spurts. They briefly held a 4-point lead in the second quarter. Wilson scored a team-high 24 points. But the loss also highlighted the wide chasm separating promise and true stardom. Wilson, Buzelis and Co. will spend the rest of this season attempting to cross that divide.

Here are three more takeaways from the loss.

1. Running away

The Bulls want to run. But it’s hard to run with teams like this — especially when a roster features Edgecombe, one of the most buoyant guards in this new generation of the NBA. The 76ers happily matched the pace set by the Bulls, scoring six of their first seven points in transition.

Coach Tiago Splitter took his own measures to sustain this pace of play. He used 12 players in the first half alone, giving the Bulls a higher level of versatility and allowing players to catch quick rests through shorter rotations. The Bulls were ultimately only marginally outscored — 29-25 — by the 76ers in transition.

2. 3-point shooting

The Bulls are the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA. And it seems to be trending worse, not better. Before Monday night’s game, they averaged 28.1% efficiency from behind the arc. Despite this dismal accuracy, the Bulls take the third-highest volume of shots from deep, a pattern that promotes an ugly, unfortunate style of play predicated on misses (and more misses, and more misses, and more …)

Things didn’t improve much in Philadelphia. Norman Powell’s first attempt from the top of the arc missed the rim completely, thumping sadly against the backboard. Wilson made four 3s; the rest of the team combined for six. The Bulls finished 10-for-37 from behind the arc, their fifth game of the season below 30%.

3. Splitter reflects on LeBron’s longevity

It’s been 12 years since Splitter last faced James on the court in the NBA Finals, winning a title with the San Antonio Spurs over the vaunted star. And Splitter knows exactly what he would have said to anyone who tried to tell him that more than a decade later the pair would face off again, this time as a coach and a player: “You’re crazy.”

Splitter and James were born only two days apart. At 41, James is the oldest active player in the entire NBA. He played 31 minutes in Monday’s loss, tallying 15 points and nine assists. He also appeared to take a sip of a fan’s glass of wine during the first half, perhaps best encapsulating his late-career nonchalance.

“LeBron is unbelievable,” Splitter said. “To see him playing and competing at this level, looking at him doing what he does, it’s unbelievable.”