Rookie Dyson Daniels broke through to stare down the entire Bulls defense. Result: Willy Hernangomez, completely let go by Nikola Vucevic and the others, found himself alone in the world in the corner to punish. A few possessions later, the same Dyson Daniels inherited an equally open shot in the opposite corner.
It was missed but the passivity of the Bulls on the rebound allowed Devonte ‘Graham to inherit yet another shot behind the arc without any opposition and to bring to… 70 points, the total of the Pelicans in the first period (40 points from the first quarter), in Chicago. With, it must be specified, 60.5% success in shooting.
So many markers that logically say to Billy Donovan, after a meeting with 129 points conceded: “ We have a long way to go in defense, there is no doubt about it. In a refrain that has become familiar, the coach dwells on the defense of his men’s pick-and-roll. The little ones have to do better to navigate between the screens, while the big ones have to be more present to cover them.
” I think they shot 70% success in the first quarter. It’s hard to play fast (without making stops in defense). Their backs took us by surprise and made it difficult for us. Even arriving in the half of the field, our rhythm, our tempo and the way we moved did not give us any momentum at all “, Regrets the coach, whose training lost eight balls in the first quarter, and 26 overall.
It’s only a preseason game, of course, but this poor defensive performance reminds Illinois players of their modest 22nd place in the ranking of the best NBA defenses last season, with around 114 points conceded on average out of 100. possessions.
“ We just suffered, which is quite disappointing. It’s pre-season, so it’s hard to give too much importance to it. But it’s something we talked about at halftime. Collectively, this is the identity we want to have in the future: we want to play harder than everyone “recalls Alex Caruso.
For his coach too, this notion of identity is important. It is even, according to him, hardest thing to create “. Because ” it’s a lot of work to generate this desired identity. Obviously, his Bulls still have work ahead of them.
