LaMelo Ball hits the deep 3 from downtown.
After entering the All-Star break tied for first place in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls have fallen in the second half of the season.
The Bulls lost to the Charlotte Hornets 133-117 on Friday night in which they trailed by as many as 37 points. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Bulls, all at home, all by double-digits, and all to teams in the East.
The Bulls were booed by the home crowd when they entered the locker room trailing by 28 points.
The Bulls star said after the game that they should. We are a really good basketball team, but we are not playing like it. They know that. We know that. It is understandable. They have our back, but we need to play better.
Everybody is upset in the locker room, according to LaVine. We are getting kicked.
They jumped on us, and I always try to be very uplifting and try to see the bright side, but I'm tired of talking. We say a lot of words, but we have to figure it out. We are not doing that, plain and simple.
The Bulls have a 7-15 record since the All-Star break. They rank 27th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency, compared to 4th and 20th before the break. Only the Bulls have a negative point differential in the playoffs.
It is one of the tests the Bulls would have liked to have earlier in the season. You don't want it at the end of the road.
You get all A's as a freshman and sophomore in high school. AP classes as a junior and senior year are extremely hard. You have to put the extra work in now. Studying. If you want to go to Yale, you have to take it to the next level.
Billy Donovan took responsibility for Friday's loss, saying he didn't explain coverages with enough clarity earlier in the day, which forced him to burn a timeout about 90 seconds into the game. The longest streak by any team to start a game this season was by Charlotte, which made its first 11 field goals on Friday.
There was a lot of blame to go around.
DeRozan said that they couldn't guard them. They had their way.
The Bulls were without guard Alex Caruso on Friday, and the team would discuss whether he would play in the regular-season finale in Minnesota on Sunday. LaVine has a knee injury that has hampered him for the entire second half and he was not sure if he would play against the Wolves.
The Bulls are locked into the No. 6 seed and could face either Milwaukee, Boston or Philadelphia. Chicago is 1-10 against those three teams this season, with its only win coming against the Celtics.
We have to do a better job because the playoffs are right around the corner, LaVine said. It is embarrassing.
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