LAS VEGAS — Tiago Splitter’s intent coming in: Coach the first few Summer League games so the Bulls’ young players get a sense of team culture and what’s going to be asked of them under a new regime.
It sounded good on paper, but an embarrassing 80-63 loss to the Jazz on Monday night reinforced there’s much more to think about.
Hired last month for the job Billy Donovan stepped down from in April, Splitter coached his second Summer League game after a few days of running practices and film sessions — and seemingly answering some of the most burning questions about the Bulls (0-2). The hottest one was about the style of play he’ll implement on offense. Having taken the Trail Blazers into the playoffs unexpectedly as their interim coach last season, he has said he wants a share-the-ball mindset.
On the other hand, he quickly has established himself as “a player’s coach,” in the words of rookie Caleb Wilson. So when he saw Wilson heat up from the outside in the Bulls’ first game Friday, Splitter pushed his usual philosophy to the side and let Wilson cook. The No. 4 overall selection from last month’s draft scored 35 points, including seven three-pointers, in a narrow loss to the Grizzlies.
That likely won’t be the norm for Splitter — and wasn’t against the undermanned Jazz, who were without Darryn Peterson. But the Wilson example shows Splitter’s willingness to step away from the standard when it works.
“We don’t want the ball to stick,” he said. “Sometimes it will when a player like Caleb is feeling good about himself, but that’s not how we want to play. We know if he’s hot or another guy is, it’s part of the game. We’re not naïve. . . . [But] I don’t like [isolation] ball. I like the ball moving side to side. . . . That’s how I want them to play. And make quick decisions — don’t hold the ball. [Isolation] is not how we’re going to play.”
Wilson had 19 points in his follow-up game.
“I just couldn’t get it going,” he said afterward Monday. “I don’t know what was wrong. That’s on me.”
The next question for Splitter concerns two disappointing performances by No. 15 overall pick Dailyn Swain, who had nine rebounds against the Jazz but went 0-for-9 with just four points after finishing with seven points and four rebounds against the Grizzlies.
Then there’s Noa Essengue, the Bulls’ first-round pick last year. There’s growing concern about the Frenchman’s apparent lack of physicality, which Splitter discussed without pulling punches. Asked if Essengue’s season-ending shoulder surgery in December may be the reason he’s looking tentative now, he said, “I don’t know if it’s because the injury. He’s got to maybe bring a little more force in everything he does. That’s something we’re working on.”
What if that’s just not in his nature? Essengue was benched to begin the second half Monday and finished 1-for-4 with six points and five rebounds.
“Just wanted more from him,” Splitter said. “[He had] a couple of turnovers, too many turnovers, and [we] just wanted a little more ball-handling.”
