A Norman Powell missed floater, a Josh Giddey errant pass, and then a welcome-to-the-Association moment when rookie Caleb Wilson was stripped by a player he idolized growing up in Kawhi Leonard.
All just 90 seconds into Wednesday’s Bulls season opener, transforming a perceived rebuild into something that resembled more like a demolition site.
And just like that Bulls basketball debuted to a resounding thud.
Was the 135-92 trouncing – the worst loss in a season opener in Bulls history – unexpected? Not really. But with all the excitement around the team – whether it was the high-flying No. 4 pick in Wilson, new coach Tiago Splitter or just the gloomy clouds that seemed to leave with the arrival of the new front office, it was supposed to feel a lot better than it looked.
A reminder of the reality of the NBA: Good feelings only last so long because at some point the game has to be played.
Maybe that’s why Splitter called a timeout just 90 seconds into the game, as he saw his young team down 7-0 and drowning.
A life preserver that only kept his team afloat for so long.
“The way we competed,” Splitter said of what bothered him most about that start. “After a turnover, getting our heads down when running back, that’s something we cannot accept. Talked to them at halftime, after the game, we gotta be better.”
It seemingly can’t get worse.
Through most of the game, the deficit was in the 30ss, even reaching as much as 48 points. An Eastern Conference contender against a team that will be fighting to stay out of the bottom three of the league all season long on full display.
Also on display?
An All-Star frontcourt in Leonard and Scottie Barnes against two youngsters in Wilson and Matas Buzelis. Men dealing with boys.
No wonder Splitter was concerned with the matchup. Not just in the frontcourt but the entire roster, especially on the defensive end where there weren’t a lot of answers.
“We knew they had guys that can steal the ball, and we knew a lot about their physicality,” Splitter said. “Sometimes you gotta feel it and know it when you go there and play.”
Wilson did just that, finishing with 16 points, but doing so on a 7-of-21 shooting night with nine turnovers and a minus-45 in plus/minus.
“Obviously it was a bad night for Caleb,” Splitter said. “We’re going to grow from this, learn from this. He was playing too much in crowds, not passing the ball when he had two, three guys on him, so we’re going to watch film and get better.”
Considering the Bulls (0-1) finished 27-of-85 (32%) from the field and 4-of-36 (11%) from three, while allowing the Raptors to shoot 44-of-98 (45%) and turn them over 27 times, getting better should be a low bar.
Wilson agreed with Splitter that he had to experience an NBA game as the ultimate teacher.
“I just got to figure it out,” Wilson said. “That’s the great thing about the NBA is we play 82 games, so able to watch film, my coaches tell me things I can do better, so it’s about going out there and doing it. Flim is a great way to see where you should be and could be, but you just got to go out there and do it.”
They’ll have a practice in Toronto on Thursday to do just that before taking on Milwaukee in an afternoon tilt on Friday.
“Yes, I’m worried about that,” Splitter responded when asked about making sure his team doesn’t fall into bad habits. “We got to get better.”