The double-digit blown leads have been ongoing for this Bulls team all season long.
The solution in putting a stop to them is where it gets tricky.
“I don’t know what the right word would be to describe it other than consistency and staying true to what’s been good for us,’’ coach Billy Donovan said on Friday, when discussing his team’s inability to put teams away. “We’ve got to put the work in to fight for that. To fight for the rhythm offensively, to fight for creating good shots.’’
The Wednesday win in Detroit was just the latest example of that fight being sporadic, as the Bulls watched a first-half 21-point lead disintegrate into a nail-biter late. An all-too familiar fingerprint on this season of underachieving.
There have been seven games in which the Bulls were up by 15 or more points, and lost.
Donovan did admit that he continued talking to his players both as a group and individually after the Detroit game, hoping to get more clarity on the mindset that’s gone into letting off the gas. With just 18 games left and a play-in spot still within grasp, something has to sink in with this group.
“We talked, and ‘What is it?’ ‘’ Donovan said. “Sometimes we get to a place where maybe it’s comfort. ‘Hey, we’re up 20, it’s OK, we’re alright.’ No, this is how you’ve got to be able to come out in the third quarter and take a 16-point lead, and not to say that it will go to 30, but make them call the first timeout in the third quarter. Go on a 6-0 run, and extend the lead from 15 to 21.
“There’s a relaxation. Then all of a sudden teams get energized, I think the physicality goes way up, we’re back on our heels, and we’re no longer the aggressor. We have to fight for that. What’s the solution? We know what the problem is. Having those discussions and talking about it is at least a good starting point, but we have to be able to do it.’’
Not the first time Donovan has thrown “physicality’’ out there when asked about flaws within this roster, and that’s going back to last season.
With the front office opting to bring almost the exact roster back this season, they obviously were counting on internal growth in that area. Donovan was asked if they now have to start looking outside the organization for that mentality when the offseason comes.
“It’s hard for me to say that now because I’ve seen them do it,’’ Donovan said. “But what happens is we’ve got to respond back. All these teams have a level of pride, and they’re going to fight back. We’ve got to be able to meet force with force.’’
Honor for Caruso
Bulls guard Alex Caruso was named the NBA Cares Community Assist Award winner for the month of January on Friday, with the league recognizing his effort to address food insecurity, provide essential items for those in need, and create memorable experiences for youth in his community.
“It’s special to win the Community Assist award because I’ve always been a person that said if I ever had a chance to give back, I was going to do it,” Caruso said. “We have a lot of privilege and a lot of responsibility to hold ourselves to a high standard and help people that are in need. That’s just the way I was raised, and I think that’s something really cool that I’m able to do now.’’
