After back-to-back wins and a defense that was suddenly flexing, the Bulls got back into the same old bad habits that have hampered them most of the season, losing to the Cavs 121-105.
It was hard for Billy Donovan to understand.
The Bulls coach felt like messages were heard, urgency was being felt.
Then Wednesday in Cleveland happened.
The same old ugliness that has kept this Bulls team gripping to a play-in spot for seemingly months not only made the trip to the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but made sure to trip up the visiting team as much as possible.
Not a lot of fight, no feeling of desperation, and then there was the turnovers. Oh those turnovers.
Eight in the first quarter alone, 12 by the half in which Cleveland scored 16 points off of, and 20 for the game.
All of it inexcusable in the 121-105 loss.
“I think the turnovers in the first half really hurt us,’’ Donovan said. “We certainly dug ourselves a huge hole. We didn’t really do anything well enough on either end of the floor. I thought they were the aggressor right from the start. I thought we were back on our heels both offensively and defensively.’’
At it wasn’t like it was a slow burn against the Cavs (21-37). If there was any momentum in the back-to-back Bulls wins, that was wiped out in the first 12 minutes, as they looked completely lethargic in falling behind 34-12.
It was a pretty simple formula by Cleveland, as guards Darius Garland and Collin Sexton took a physical approach to the Bulls backcourt, and then on the offensive end stayed in attack mode out of the pick-and-roll, either scoring on their own or hitting teammates with easy lobs at the rim.
Sexton finished the game with 30 points and seven assists, while Garland had 25 points and four assists. As for the Bulls starting backcourt? Coby White finished with 14 points and Garrett Temple had four.
“I thought their guards were able to get off screens and get downhill and put a lot of pressure on the basket,’’ Donovan said. “And then I thought defensively they were very disruptive of how they guarded us and how physical they were. I think that’s what led to the number of turnovers that we had. Yeah, it was disappointing.’’
There was more disappointment to come on the night.
With Toronto, Washington and Indiana each winning on Wednesday, the Bulls (24-34) slipped from 10th in the East and holding onto the last play-in spot down to No. 12. They are three games behind No. 9 Indiana, a game behind the Wizards, and a half game behind the Raptors.
None of that sat well with veteran forward Thad Young.
“We’re walking into games sometimes on cruise control,’’ Young said. “We don’t have a team where we can walk out there and, like, ‘Oh, let me see how they’re playing me today.’ We need to walk into games saying ‘Oh I’m about to go at this guy.’ Or ‘I’m about to do this, I’m about to do that.’ Being aggressive and understanding that every possession counts. And every single game from this point on counts.’’
Young has been a student of studying the schedule for months now, and he knows exactly the opportunity that was lost in Cleveland.
The Bulls now have nine straight games against Eastern Conference playoff teams, starting Thursday against Charlotte.
“We got to have memory loss with this one,’’ Young said. “It does worry you a little bit when you come out flat and you don’t impose your will on games that you need at this point in time in the season.’’
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3atdQ92
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