After historic loss, Bulls, coaches claim 'productive' meetings day
Historically-bad losses are the sort of milestones achieved by teams headed down the toilet. See the Bulls' previous worst-defeat under Tim Floyd in 2001 as an example.
The Bulls' 133-77 loss to Boston on Saturday, the new worst in franchise history, happened in coach Jim Boylen's third game, 24 hours after the best win of the season. So this was a little strange.
Boylen pulled all five starters midway through the first quarter, then again less than three minutes into the third quarter and never sent them back in. That decision surely played a role in the lopsided score as Boston kept its foot on the gas against the Bulls' tired reserves and won the fourth quarter 40-17.
When it was over, Boylen said he thought the Bulls would benefit more from practicing on Sunday and sending the starters back out for the fourth quarter.
As it turned out, the Bulls did not hold a formal practice Sunday. The players arrived at the Advocate Center and requested a players-only meeting. So the practice time was spent hashing out some issues.
Rookie Wendell Carter Jr. provided a description and said after the players met, the coaching staff joined the gathering and the discussion continued. Carter said Zach LaVine and Justin Holiday led the players' meeting.
"It was definitely productive," Carter said. "The big, main topic for that whole meeting was being truthfully honest and direct. I feel like everybody was very direct with one another, very honest. Everybody told each other how we really, really felt about what happened last night, how we feel about each other in terms of the team, how we feel about everybody as a whole.
"So I feel like we definitely got somewhere, even though we weren't on the court running, shooting. We didn't do any of that. Just us being honest with each other knowing what we need to work on, knowing what needs to take place for us to be a better team. I feel like that was the most important thing for us to do today."
Boylen said he had no regrets about the decisions he made during Saturday's game. The loss itself is enough for players to be upset about. Nitpicking substitution patterns seems unnecessary and the players who spoke to reporters on Sunday didn't do that.
Boylen continued his theme that a week into the coaching change, the Bulls are a work in progress.
"You guys have to understand something: Nobody is going to make more mistakes than I do," Boylen said. "I have a lot of responsibility and make a lot of decisions. I'm not going to get them all right. But this is not a hobby for me. We're going to keep working and grinding and communicating and hugging and crying and laughing and moving forward. That's what is going to happen here."
Boylen was upbeat as he spoke, claiming he was satisfied they had a productive day. A few players stuck around to work out on the court. Kris Dunn and Cristiano Felicio played a game of 2-on-2 against Bobby Portis and Antonio Blakeney. There's still no word on when Dunn and Portis will return from knee sprains, but it could be Monday against Sacramento.
"We're still learning about each other. I've moved over the 18 inches (to the head coach's seat)," Boylen said. "They're still learning how I want it. There's been a little shock and awe here in the last seven days. And there's an adjustment to that. And that's OK."
Boylen has challenged the Bulls to get tougher on defense and improve their conditioning. He changed the starting lineup to include Lauri Markkanen and then benched all five starters on Saturday.
So far, at least, the players seem to have accepted the fact they need to get better. Boylen has been an assistant coach on three NBA championship teams, so he should know about successful habits.
"(The meeting) was good. I don't think feelings were hurt too much," Zach LaVine said. "I don't think the players' toughness should ever be questioned. I think that's on us. I think that is a little bit of what we discussed in our meeting. We're the ones out there playing. We have to take more control of that."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls
Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Sacramento Kings, 7 p.m. at the United Center
TV: NBCSCH; Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The Kings (13-12) are a young team that has made progress this season. ... Second-year PG De'Aaron Fox is having a breakout year, averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 assists. Third-year SG Buddy Hield leads Sacramento at 18.8 ppg while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range. The other top scorers are SF Bogdan Bogdanovich (15.1 ppg) and C Willie Cauley-Stein (14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds). Rookie PF Marvin Bagley III, a teammate of Wendell Carter Jr. at Duke last season, is averaging 12.7 points. ... The Kings snapped a seven-game losing streak at the UC last season with a 107-106 win on Dec. 1. ... Sacramento ranks 28th in the league in points allowed with 116.3.
Next: Orlando Magic, 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Arena Ciudad de Mexico
- Mike McGraw