DETROIT – Calling Wednesday’s game with the Pistons embarrassing would be an understatement.
Humiliating, shameful, mortifying … getting warmer.
“The way we lost just can’t happen,” Bulls guard Kevin Huerter described afterward.
No, it can’t, but it did, as the Pistons were without regular starters Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Cade Cunningham – who just so happened to be fresh off a triple-double in which he scored 46 points on 45 shots, while grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out 11 assists – and still beat the Bulls 124-113.
The JV didn’t just beat the varsity, they humbled them.
“We talked about it before the game,” Huerter said of facing an undermanned opponent. “This happens all the time in the NBA. Guys are out, teams relax, their guys that don’t get consistent minutes are chomping at the bit to get in, they came out at the jump, kicked us in the teeth and we didn’t really respond until the fourth. Lackadaisical all night.”
And really for the first time this season.
Yes, the Bulls (6-5) now have four straight losses, but Milwaukee, Cleveland and San Antonio – their last three opponents – were tough battles against an elite player on the other side. This was something much different.
“It was certainly talked about,” coach Billy Donovan said of facing an undermanned team. “We just dropped three games in a row. It’s not like we’ve run off seven or eight in a row and maybe we were a little full of ourselves. We just dropped three in a row, and you should be coming out more desperate than that in my opinion.”
Detroit’s B-Squad sure did.
Hot outside shooting by the Pistons (10-2), combined with some good old-fashioned embarrassment by the Bulls starters, and what was supposed to be an easy night in the 313 was quickly turning into a nightmare. It wasn’t a slow burn either.
It was one of those games where it felt like by the time the Bulls got around to unsnapping the warm-ups off they were already down 21-9 in the first. That’s because they were.
Surely it couldn’t last through the entire first half. That was the frustrating part for Donovan because it did just that. After watching his team get outscored 35-23 in the first, their response was to get outscored 33-29 in the second and go into the halftime locker room down 68-52.
It looked like some sanity would return to the Little Caesars Arena in the third, as the Bulls cut the deficit to single digits on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem content with that. An Isaac Okoro layup with 5:45 left in that stanza cut the deficit to nine, sending out “here come the Bulls” vibes. False alarm. Within three minutes Detroit’s lead was back up to 23.
There was again a big push in the final stanza, as the Bulls got the deficit to four twice in the final seven minutes. Both times they were held off from getting closer.
A definite jab.
The real knockout, however? Seeing Detroit big man Paul Reed dominate for 28 points and 13 rebounds. The same Paul Reed that was averaging four points per game in the month of November so far.
Meanwhile, the Bulls were led by Matas Buzelis and his 21 points, while Huerter chipped in 20.
“This is a highly competitive league and I don’t think anyone is good enough just to show up and think they can step between the lines,” Donovan added. “You have to have incredible focus and be locked in to what’s going on. You have to be really, really desperate.
“We’re not more gifted than teams where we can just say, ‘OK, we’re just going to show up.’ “