Bulls must sink or swim with 13 regular-season games left

“I don’t think this is an experienced group in those situations where there’s been those [crucial] games, and unfortunately some of these guys have to learn,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

Paul Beaty/AP

PHOENIX — There are times when Billy Donovan gets wordy with his responses to the media, making sure he doesn’t skip the details.

But the essence of what the Bulls coach is saying is usually very straightforward.

Maybe it’s a mentality that was instilled growing up in Rockville Centre on Long Island, or maybe it was acquired from all those years of running an elite Florida Gators program where the endgame was always a national championship.

Either way, his approach is very black and white, sink or swim.

That was his message to his players after yet another disappointing loss to a playoff-bound squad, and there was no dancing around it.

With 13 games left in the regular season and still having to maneuver through arguably one of the toughest schedules of any Eastern Conference team, this Bulls roster needs to learn to swim or come playoff time be prepared to drown.

“I don’t think this is an experienced group in those situations where there’s been those [crucial] games, and unfortunately some of these guys have to learn,” Donovan said after the 15-point loss in Utah on Wednesday. “As much as DeMar [DeRozan], Alex [Caruso] and Tristan [Thompson] talk about their experience, it’s nothing like when you go through your own personal experience. There’s ebbs and flows, but these games can change in a possession. A missed block-out, a miscommunication, a foul, someone jumping through the air on a shot fake … it’s so hard to get easy baskets in games like this, but the reality looking in our face is how we have to respond to it.

“Do I think we’ve figured all those things out? Absolutely not. I think we have a long, long way to go in these moments, but this is what we have to go through.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom coming out of the Jazz performance.

According to Donovan, there were improvements made in boxing out on rebounds, staying on the ground on shot fakes, and a certain amount of urgency from the tip-off.

Baby steps that would normally be applauded in October or November. However, this is now mid-March, and time is not on the side of this roster. They have gone from the top seed in the conference a few months ago to now sitting in the No. 5 spot, and out of home-court advantage in the first round.

“There’s an attention to detail and a concentration … it’s being able to, ‘I’m at the free-throw line and I’m not thinking about the last play, I’ve gotta block out. Then when the ball is out of bounds, who do I got? Let’s get matched up.’ “ Donovan said. “That ability to shift from the next thing to the next thing quickly, we’ve gotta get better.”

Especially when the next three games are at Phoenix, home to a red-hot Toronto team, and then off to Milwaukee for the back-to-back.

“We’re competing, we’re close, but we’re not getting the win,” guard Zach LaVine said of the poor performances against the league’s elite this season. “That’s what matters the most, so we have to figure out what that factor is to help us get over the hump because until then it’s all for nothing.”

And as far as the idea of help on the way? Sure, Patrick Williams (left wrist surgery) was close, but he’s a second-year player that hasn’t played since late October. Then there’s point guard Lonzo Ball, who is still dealing with pain in the left knee, as well as uncertainty for a return.

As Donovan pointed out, the games won’t be waiting for anyone.

“I know this is something we have to go through,’’ Donovan added, “and as tough as it is we have to lean into it and take it on.”

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