Is the sky already falling for the Chicago Bulls? After a 124-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the season opener, the Bulls held a players-only meeting in an attempt to sort things out.
There were some bright spots on Wednesday, but the Bulls still lost by 20 points to a young and developing Thunder team that a roster of “continuity” should have beaten.
One of the notable occurrences in that game was center Nikola Vucevic getting a technical foul for throwing a ball at the stanchion in frustration. It seemed Vucevic was upset he wasn’t getting the ball when he was matched up against Chet Holmgren. Vucevic should’ve had no problem out-muscling the weaker Holmgren if he got the ball.
This led to the Bulls’ postgame locker-room meeting that featured some heated discussions, according to head Coach Billy Donovan. It’s pretty unheard of to have a players-only meeting after the first game, so what should Bulls fans make of it? Given the unique timing, there are two ways to look at it.
Bulls Proactively Working to Rectify Issues?
Mar 17, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls players react to a dunk by Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (not pictured) against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second overtime at United Center.
Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports
Former Bulls center and postgame analyst Will Perdue chose to look at the situation in a positive light.
One of the points of emphasis for the Bulls heading into the season was to build team chemistry. Even though this season marks the third iteration of the “core” lineup, Zach LaVine identified a lack of chemistry as a cause of the group’s past struggles. This was one of the reasons why the Bulls went to Nashville to host their training camp.
Such an early players-only meeting certainly raises eyebrows externally, but it may be a good thing inside the locker room as players now have the capability to voice their frustrations and talk through them. A lack of communication hurt Chicago last year, after all.
But it can only be viewed as a positive if results follow. If the Bulls don’t show progress in their upcoming stretch of games, the public’s concerns regarding the meeting will be justified.
Continuity: Same Group, Same Problems?
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic holds up his middle finger during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans
Photo: NBC Sports Chicago
The fact that the Bulls even had to host a players-only meeting this early means their preseason preparation wasn’t satisfactory.
The same issues that plagued the team last season are evident, and there aren’t any internal options that offer a cure-all solution. If this squad is like other bad Bulls and White Sox teams (also owned by Jerry Reinsdorf) of years past, then this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The only solution may be to trade misfit parts away to improve locker room chemistry. However, the returns in such trades likely won’t match the outgoing players’ output. This course of action will likely to a firesale at the trade deadline and the Bulls being pushed into another rebuild.
Regardless of how fans want to interpret the situation for the time being, the league will know the actual case of the Bulls by the first week of November. If last season is any indication, Chicago’s vicious cycles usually last that long.
