Bulls Drop Season Opener to 76ers
No one said the Bulls would have it easy this season, especially when it comes to Eastern Conference favorites. They found themselves up against one in the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. While a nationwide TV audience might have thought little of this game going in, the Bulls were determined to make the 76ers earn it. They did this at first, but couldn’t keep it going in a 127–108 season-opening loss.
The Bulls came out like a team that could run its offense with its eyes closed. In fact, they scored 41 points in the first quarter and ended the frame with a three-point lead. In fact, they set a team record while doing so and nearly set an NBA record.
But even in the first quarter, the Bulls didn’t look very good on defense, so it was only a matter of time before the 76ers caught and then passed them. Though they hung around as the 76ers could only go up seven at halftime, the bottom immediately fell out in the third quarter, and the Bulls were outscored, 37–18, including a 17–0 run. Though a lack of Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Denzel Valentine hurt, very few players looked interested in shutting down any aspect of Philadelphia’s offense, and they paid for it dearly, trailing by as much as 27.
As a testament to the Bulls’ porous defense, eight 76ers scored in double figures. Joel Embiid was his usual dominant self in the middle with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Ben Simmons showed why he has superstar potential with a triple-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Robert Covington scored 20, and Dario Saric had his own double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Though it wasn’t a great game defensively, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the offense that had such a hot start. The Bulls had their own 30-point scorer in Zach LaVine, who shot 11 of 19 from the field. He joined some prominent opening-night company for the Bulls.
Bobby Portis showed why he belongs in the starting lineup with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Parker and Antonio Blakeney, both trying to prove they belong on this roster, each scored 15. Justin Holiday had 10, and Ryan Arcidiacono, perhaps inspired by playing near his hometown, was a nice surprise with eight points and a team-high eight assists.
With a few key pieces missing, what we probably saw in this game was a slight step below the Bulls team we can expect to see throughout the season, though that’s not reason for optimism. They might be able to score quickly and frequently, which is how Fred Hoiberg’s system is designed, but it’s not very sustainable over 48 minutes if you don’t have much talent available. When you’re in that spot, your margin for error is incredibly slim. This is what this year’s Bulls will have to deal with.
More than anything, this long season figures to be even longer if the defense continues to be like anything we saw in this game. You can’t stand around and be a spectator to how your opponents play because they’ll be all too happy to take advantage. Poor perimeter protection and little effort in boxing out were only two of the problems the Bulls had on that end. That list will keep growing if the players don’t figure it out
The Bulls will open their home schedule Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. That’s a game in which paint protection will be of the utmost importance. Otherwise, Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin can just camp out there and collect points and rebounds like they’re going out of style. They just got embarrassed by Embiid, so you don’t want two more talented bigs creating a disturbing trend for the year.
