The Chicago Bulls may be catching up as they adjust to life without injured starters Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic as well as important reserve Torrey Craig.
Before Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Bulls had already lost three of their previous five games without Vucevic (groyne). LaVine has been out since late November due to inflammation in his right foot, and the team has been essentially idle.
Leading scorer DeMar DeRozan said the absences are having an impact after the Bulls’ most recent setback, a 116-100 away loss to the New York Knicks, on Wednesday.
“Not to make an excuse, but we miss a lot of critical guys at a critical time,” DeRozan stated. “Everyone has been contributing in every way they can to keep the fort manned.
But we’ve reached a stage where we need more bodies to throw out there, more men who can contribute. We require the remaining soldiers, that kind of spirit.”
The club expects to see Vucevic again shortly after, and LaVine might make a comeback against the Hornets.
Chicago managed to survive Wednesday because to the contributions of DeRozan (28 points), Coby White (26), and Andre Drummond (13 points, 16 rebounds). However, the team’s lack of depth was evident throughout a 0-2 road trip that began with a 13-point loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
After Alex Caruso hit a three-pointer late in the second quarter to give the Bulls a 54-44 lead, New York defeated Chicago by a score of 26 on Wednesday.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan stated, “We didn’t make enough plays tonight.” “We made plays in the first half, but we weren’t able to make them in the second half.”
In contrast, Terry Rozier was crucial to Charlotte’s 111-104 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday, even if head coach Steve Clifford claimed the guard was “just incredible” in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets ended an 11-game losing streak with 14 of Rozier’s 34 points in the fourth quarter. Rozier was out sick the night before.
Alongside Rozier, Miles Bridges (27 points) and P.J. Washington (17 points) helped Charlotte close the game on a 10-0 run.
“When you lose, sometimes people don’t understand how frustrating it is for the players,” Clifford stated. “The boys worked very hard on it. They play professionally. There’s a reason they act professionally. It is challenging to drop that many games in a row. Our troops persevered there. Simply kept up your intense play.”
