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With Bulls out of synch, LaVine hobbled by ankle injury

Since making the trade to add all-star center Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls have lost two games in lopsided fashion and the road only gets bumpier from here.

Their next two games are against the teams with the best records in the West - Phoenix and Utah - while leading scorer Zach LaVine suggested he might need some time off to rest an injured ankle.

"It's a decision I'm going to have to make coming up, because obviously you guys can tell, I'm not myself," LaVine said after Monday's 116-102 loss to Golden State. He first turned the ankle against San Antonio on Saturday.

"I rolled it a little bit today when I fell out there. So I feel I'm back at square one again. Obviously, I'll do everything I can to get myself ready to go, but I'll have a conversation going forward and figure it out."

To make matters worse, Coby White missed Monday's game with a stiff neck - the first game he's missed since joining the Bulls - and Garrett Temple left after two minutes with a hamstring injury. On the official injury report, LaVine and White were listed as questionable; Temple doubtful for Wednesday's game in Phoenix.

Defense has been a problem in both games for the Bulls. Without White and Temple on Monday, the Bulls were scrambling with mismatches all game long, and Golden State's Steph Curry scored all of his 32 points before the third quarter was over.

The Bulls have a revamped inside game with Vucevic and former Boston starting center Daniel Theis, but quickness on the perimeter could be a problem. Coach Billy Donovan threw newcomers Javonte Green and Troy Brown Jr. into the mix, but they didn't help much against the Warriors.

"We may take some steps backward, to be honest with you, as we start to get maybe a little more accustomed to how we're trying to play," Donovan said Tuesday. "I think you can always predicate how good you are defensively by how good you are on the perimeter.

"The guards that can blowout screens, the guards that can get into the ball and guard one-on-one in the open floor, guys that can really enable bigs to go back to their man - when you have guys like that, that's generally where your defense becomes very, very dominant."

The Bulls had a couple of good perimeter defenders last season with Kris Dunn and Shaq Harrison, but the current roster doesn't have a solid candidate for that role. LaVine is trying to focus on improving his defense. Temple has the experience, but is a month away from his 35th birthday.

"I do think Javonte Green, just seeing him in the San Antonio game, I think can be good," Donovan said. "I thought he did some things in terms of going under coverages that caused some problems."

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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