The Bulls have been riding high as of late. This team rallied off a nine-game winning streak and put themselves in the top position in the East. Last night was a big-time showdown for the Bulls as they met with the 2nd seeded Brooklyn Nets in Chicago. This game had a lot of hype heading into it. Many believe this was an opportunity for the Bulls to show they are a legit contender. If that's the case then last night's matchup didn't do them any favors.
The Bulls kept it close in the first half and then got blown out in the second. For a lot of casual fans, this was their first exposure to the Bulls this season. This was a nationally televised matchup and is the first of two this week for the Bulls. The team's performance last night wasn't pretty. It shows that there's still quite a bit to work on. While it sucks to get blown out like that it's good to know that the team isn't taking this one lightly.
The Bulls have to own this loss
In a lot of cases where a team gets blown out, you will see the coach or players say they are going to move on and put it behind them. Well, this is one of those cases where that's not something the Bulls should do. This team needs to own this loss and use it to push them. As a team that was just riding high to now being blown out on national television, this one will be an important lesson. Head coach Billy Donovan knows how important this loss was and how the team needs to own it.This is something we haven't seen from coaches in the past. The typical response is along the lines of "well we did some things well and we will learn and move past this". We now have leadership that understands you need to own your losses and learn from them. This team is a resilient bunch and I'm sure they will take this and get better. They will need to be ready quickly as they have another nationally televised game on Friday against the Golden State Warriors. This team has the leaders to bounce back and one of those leaders made it known how he thinks the team did in this game.
The Bulls need to bounce back
Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan has been a focal point for this team along with guard Zach LaVine. Those two are the clear leaders of this team. After a tough loss, you want to see how a leader responds. DeRozan did just that after the tough loss last night.DeRozan is correct the Bulls did get beat up in that one. There's no other way to put it. But knowing that a leader like DeRozan can also acknowledge that and be focused on bouncing back is big. I'm sure Donovan, DeRozan, and LaVine will not shy away from this loss. They will take it on the chin and develop a plan to get better moving forward. There's not much time before another big matchup but with Donovan leading the way we can be much more confident than in years past.
No excuses for this Bulls team
If you watched the game last night you heard A LOT of whistles. The refs seemed ready to call fouls from the jump and a lot of them were questionable on both sides of the ball. Even with that, the Bulls aren't using that as an excuse. The team went into the second half flat and it showed. In turn, this game was a good teaching moment for the Bulls. There should be a lot to pick apart in that second half and improve on. I'm sure Donovan and some of the players have already started diagnosing what happened. Whatever stage the team is at right now I think people who actually follow the Bulls know that the team can learn from this and get better.This loss will hopefully put the competitive edge back into this Bulls roster. I'm not saying they lost it but sometimes losing on national television is what a team needs to get back to reality. It sucks to watch your team get beat like that but we as fans can't harp on it. The team needs to own what happened and learn from it. Next time they meet up against a top-seeded team they need to remember how it felt last night. Use this outcome as fuel in the next game and don't let up. This ugly loss may sting right now but it will hopefully be an important lesson for the team moving forward.
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