It’s starting to feel like the Bulls just can’t have nice things.
A right-hand injury forced prized rookie Caleb Wilson out of the game against the Spurs in the third quarter, and testing on Thursday revealed more bad news as he will require surgery that will sideline him for the next four-to-six weeks.
It’s not only a huge blow for the franchise and the No. 4 overall pick, but also a tough hill for Wilson to overcome in this campaign for rookie of the year.
Not exactly what a 1-9 team needed right about now.
The 20-year-old has averaged 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 32.4% from three-point range. He also was putting together a strong showing against the Spurs, scoring 15 minutes in 15 minutes before he suffered the injury trying to swipe the ball out of Victor Wembanyama’s hand.
It wasn’t the only thing that went wrong for the Bulls in that third quarter, but it was definitely the most significant. The gut punch for Wilson was that he was questionable before the game with a sore right hip but wanted to play through it.
The Bulls played one of their better first halves of the season and led the defending Western Conference champs by as much as 22. That is until the third-quarter meltdown — a recurring theme for the team.
“We’re in a league where you either win or you lose,” veteran Jalen Smith said of the on-going issues. “We’re 1-9 now? So as a young team it’s demoralizing because you want to win every game, but you’ve got to understand that there is a process to it and we’ve got to put together a whole 48 [minutes].
“We can’t pick and choose when we want to play hard. We are in a rebuild, we have a bunch of young guys trying to learn a new system, new coach, new front office, and everyone is doing their part, but we just got to put together a win.”
It’s just the latest reminder of how painful rebuilds are.
The other reality staring this team in the face? Yeah, they want to “put together a win,” but are they prepared to play the right way for four quarters, and who does it come against?
It’s not as if the schedule is allowing them to take a breath, facing Atlanta, Minnesota and Cleveland next. There’s a realistic chance they go into Brooklyn on Nov. 18 with a 1-12 record, hoping to end the streak against the 3-8 Nets. Maybe. But with Wilson down, that becomes tougher.
It starts with ball security and understanding the importance of coming out of the halftime locker room with the same intensity they have started some of these games.
“The first five minutes of the third quarter is the most important part of any game, whether you’re down 20 or up 20,” forward Matas Buzelis said.
That’s why he was so hard on himself after the loss to the Spurs.
He had a stellar first half and watched it quickly turn into a nightmare, thanks to a scoreless third in which he turned the ball over four times.
“To be honest, it’s on me,” Buzelis said. “I’m one of the leaders on this team and I have to be able to fight in the third quarter. I came out like dragging and good teams like that, they take advantage. I have to be way better and I will be.”
Buzelis will need to be as the focus now turns back to him with Wilson out. Year 3 for the forward was supposed to give more clarity on his place as a foundation piece, but he has been inconsistent through the first 10 games.
There is a clearer runway for Buzelis to find more shots but that doesn’t come close to softening the blow of losing Wilson.