Chicago basketball report: Historically bad Bulls head home on a 5-game skid — and DeMar DeRozan praises USC’s JuJu Watkins
The Chicago Bulls can’t stop losing — often in historic fashion. The pattern is dire enough that Artūras Karnišovas acknowledged the disastrous start to the season for the Bulls this week.
With the In-Season Tournament firmly in the rearview mirror and a losing streak stretching out, where are the Bulls headed next?
Every Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls, Sky and local basketball.
Bulls return home on a five-game losing streak
This is a new low for the Bulls, who fell to 5-14 at the end of a four-game road trip capped by a demoralizing 27-point blowout by the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday.
The Bulls have a solitary win on the road so far this season. They were eliminated from the In-Season Tournament before they even played their last two games of the group stage. And they sank to the third-lowest rung in the Eastern Conference as they continued their losing streak.
This is the worst start since the 2018-29 season.
“I’m a big believer that you are what your record says you are,” Donovan said before Tuesday’s game. “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Well, you know, a couple tough losses and we could be .500.’ No. This is what we are. So how do we get better and how do we improve? What are the issues we have to address?”
DeMar DeRozan praises USC star JuJu Watkins
DeMar DeRozan knew JuJu Watkins was going to be a star long before she put on a University of Southern California jersey for the first time.
A native of Los Angeles, Watkins landed on DeRozan’s radar early in her career as one of the top high school prospects in the country. So he was already a fan before she committed to USC as the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class.
Watkins lived up to the hype in her first five games as a Trojan. She dropped 32 points in her debut and tied Lisa Leslie’s record for most 30-point games (3) by a freshman within the first two weeks of the season.
“I’ve known her for a while so I’m not surprised at all,” DeRozan said. “Not at all. It’s amazing to see what she represents, what she comes from, to be able to stay home and bring (USC) women’s basketball back to the high level that it’s at. It’s amazing to see what she’s doing with that, what the whole program is doing. I’m not surprised but I’m definitely happy.”
DeRozan voiced enthusiasm for the program’s success under coach Lindsey Gottlieb — and hopes his daughters can make the team in the future.
Number of week: 25
The Bulls allowed the Brooklyn Nets to make 25 shots from behind the 3-point arc in Sunday’s loss — the most in franchise history.
The 3-point onslaught didn’t begin until the second quarter, but once the Nets heated up there was no way for the Bulls to douse the fire. The Nets finished 25-for-53 from 3-point range, fueling more than 60% of their scoring behind the arc.
The Nets were clearly aided by a strong shooting night — a 47.2% clip is high even for the third-most-accurate 3-point shooting team in the league. But a key source of that production was a lack of perimeter pressure from the Bulls, which allowed the Nets to continue taking open shots throughout the game.
Week ahead: Bulls
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Home vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 7 p.m., NBCSCH+
Friday: Off
Saturday: Home vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
Sunday: Off
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
What we’re reading this morning
Stevenson’s Rocco Pagliocca, whose father is the Sky GM, is showing what he learned from pro players
Why do the Bulls keep missing layups? A look at one of this season’s most ‘deflating’ statistics.
The Bulls need Coby White to heat up. Is the guard finally back into his shooting form?
Northwestern rallies in the 2nd half to beat Northern Illinois 89-67 behind Boo Buie’s 23 points
This week in Chicago basketball history
Dec. 3, 2018: Bulls fire coach Fred Hoiberg
In December 2007, following a blowout loss to the Rockets, John Paxson fired Scott Skiles and promoted Jim Boylan to interim head coach.
Eleven years later, following a blowout loss to the Rockets, Paxson fired Fred Hoiberg and promoted Jim Boylen — who once worked with Boylan at Michigan State — to head coach.
During the season, Jimmy Butler called out Hoiberg to coach harder and hold players accountable, and the Bulls missed the playoffs as the difficult circumstances that landed on Hoiberg’s plate were too much to overcome.
Hoiberg, who compiled a 115-155 record with one first-round playoff exit, arrived at the team’s practice facility prepared to run the 11 a.m. practice. Despite knowing he’d be under the microscope and feeling some recent isolation from management, he was caught off guard by the firing, working under the impression he’d at least get time to work with a relatively healthy roster.
The former Iowa State coach returned to the college ranks with Nebraska in 2019. The Cornhuskers went 16-16 in 2022-2023 for their first non-losing season since 2018-19 despite four rotation players missing time because of injuries. They were 12th in the Big Ten at 9-11 after they won six of their final eight regular-season games. Nebraska has started this season 7-0.
Quotable
“We see what everyone is seeing and are just as frustrated. We’re disappointed, but I’m not running from it. It’s my responsibility.” — Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas addressing the state of the team after a 5-13 start
