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3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' 124-110 loss to the visiting Oklahoma Thunder

After their latest home loss, the concerns are piling up for the Chicago Bulls.

Stephen Beslic

© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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Just when the Chicago Bulls looked like they had already gotten past their troubles in 2022, the Oklahoma City Thunder brought them back down to earth with a 124-110 loss on their home court on Friday night. The loss was Chicago's third in a row, as they dropped to 19-24 and outside the play-in picture. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Lack of interior defense

Even though they have two legitimate big men in Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, the Bulls' interior defense hardly strikes fear into opponents. The Thunder took advantage of this by outscoring the Bulls in the paint 64-44. If Chicago wants to have any chance of making the playoffs, they will need to shore up their interior defense and limit opponents' easy baskets.

The Thunder ended up shooting 51% from the field and was led by Josh Giddey's 25 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Jalen Williams added 22 points and 8 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 21 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.

“They were straight-line driving us,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We knew going in they’re a hard-driving team. We just were unable to stop a little bit shorter and guard the ball one-on-one. They’re coming to you. And we were beat so much off the dribble.”

LaVine goes cold

Zach LaVine came into the game averaging 28.5 points over his last 10 games, displaying the unique combination of skill and athleticism that has made him one of the most exciting two-guards in the league today. On Friday, LaVine still put up 25 points but made just 5 of his 19 shots from the field in a totally forgettable shooting performance. He also made just 1 of his 8 attempts from deep but made up for his misfires by making 14 of 15 from the charity stripe.

Listless start

Oklahoma City came into Friday's game weary after routing the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night but still started the game looking like the fresher squad. They put up 72 points in the first half for a 72-58 lead. The Bulls made a run in the second half and pulled to within a point, 90-91, but the Thunder turned Chicago's miscues into easy points for a 104-94 lead, which held until the final buzzer.

The loss left Donovan frustrated and puzzled about how they're committing the same defensive lapses every night.

"Are they getting the message? Yes. But there’s a difference between getting the message and going out there and executing it over the course of the game."

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Stephen Beslic
STEPHEN BESLIC

Stephen Beslic is a writer on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Stephen played basketball from the age of 10 and graduated from Faculty of Economic and Business in Zagreb, Croatia, majoring in Marketing.

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