The Chicago Bulls face tension and concerns as they hold a players-only meeting after their season opener loss. The team is willing to tackle issues head-on.
NBA 2023: Chicago Bulls roster, trade rumours , Zach LaVine contract, Ben Simmons, James Harden trade updates, Philadelphia 76ersfromThe NBA is back and while the season is only fresh there are already some key talking points to come out of the limited action we have seen so far.
The fact Chicago players felt compelled to ask head coach Billy Donovan to allow them to have the room to themselves to talk over the defeat though says two things. The Bulls did just that against the Raptors, although it was hardly convincing and then backed it up with a 118-102 loss to the Pistons despite getting a career-high 51 points from Zach LaVine.
Of course, Lonzo Ball’s string of injuries didn’t help but that is the reality Chicago has found itself in for a few years now and patience is starting to wear thin. “That’s definitely been addressed from me in front of this group. It is staring us in the face. And like I said, we have to look at how do we play with Ben with another big on the floor?” coach Jacque Vaughn admitted.
“Then we can’t allow people to get to the paint as much or to the rim as much with Nic and Ben. … Then we’ve got to figure out, like I’ve talked about, the spacing around it, and not playing in the half-court. “That comes with time. It’s basketball at the end of the day; there’s no magic secret to it. It’s a feel, it’s reads, it’s guys with talent, IQ. Just got to play into that, lean and trust — trust in your players.”While Simmons and Claxton had a plus-5.7 Net Rating in 517 minutes together last season, almost all of those were pre-trade. In their six minutes from Feb. 9 on, they were a minus-70. This season, their Net Rating is a minus-17.6 in 15.6 minutes.
While it might be a bit early to throw that out there, if there were any questions around the legitimacy – or hunger – of defending champions Denver Nuggets, they’ve been quickly brushed aside to start this season. The two-time regular season MVP winner, who at times during his career has taken a few weeks to get up and running, has bursted out of the blocks, averaging 26.3 points, 13 rebounds and 7.7 assists.Monday’s big outing against OKC marked Jokic’s 103rd 25-point, 10rebound, five-assist game since 2020 – the most of any player in the NBA during that span, per StatMuse.
The main concern for the Nuggets this season was the impact of the loss of sixth man Bruce Brown and how they didn’t to replace him after his $20 million-a-season free agency move to Indiana, and from a broader perspective, their bench as a whole. Paul essentially replaces former Warriors sixth man Jordan Poole in the rotation after the off-season trade that sent the latter to the Wizards.
Paul still played a prolific role against the Rockets and remains a valuable piece at age 38, logging eight points, five rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes from the bench and finishing the game on the court .There’d been some question marks as to how Paul would handle his demotion, but speaking post-match, his team-first mentality shone through.“It’s definitely different, but at the end of the day, it’s basketball.
Given the immense potential of the 19-year old under the tutelage of legendary coach Gregg Popovich, you could envision a scenario where Wembanyama literally was the difference of 10 or so extra wins. He’s shown great flashes at either end of the floor – though particularly on defence – including coming up big in crunch time in San Antonio’s overtime win over Houston.
Leading scorer Devin Vassell, who’s only just been put into a leading role on an NBA team with the green light for the first time, is still only 23 years old. Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson, who’d be considered two of the key elder statesmen in the rotation, are just 25, while sixth man Tre Jones is 23.
An unhappy James Harden threatened to derail Philadelphia’s season and send Joel Embiid out the door along with the franchise’s championship aspirations.
NBA Chicago Bulls Roster Trade Rumours Tension Concerns Players-Only Meeting
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