Bulls coach Billy Donovan didn\u2019t exactly give his team a ringing endorsement.<\/p>\n
Then again, it didn\u2019t deserve one.<\/p>\n
For the third time in the last six games, Donovan watched his defense allow 140 points or more. This time it was the undermanned Grizzlies who strolled into the United Center and earned a 142-131 victory.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018At some point, we\u2019ve got to hold our ground,\u2019\u2019 Donovan said when discussing the defense and whether it can be fixed. \u2018\u2018I said before the season even started that defense was going to be a challenge, and it is. I think there are times that we have to look at the controllables.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Is it fixable? Defense is a talent. It\u2019s no different than offense, in my opinion. There are guys that are talented defensively. We\u2019re going to have to figure out a way to do it collectively. There are moments in time, moments of truth where you are going to be on an island, you are going to be by yourself. You\u2019re going to have to make the guy make a couple of different moves.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t the case for far too many Grizzlies baskets, especially for Scotty Pippen Jr., who scored a career-high 30 points on 13-for-17 shooting and handed out 10 assists.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Just take a stand, be more physical,\u2019\u2019 guard Coby White said of what the defense must do to try to improve. \u2018\u2018Take more pride. The whole nine [yards]. We just have to put more into it on that end of the floor.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t as though the Bulls (7-11) didn\u2019t catch somewhat of a break, either.<\/p>\n
One of their defensive weaknesses has been allowing guards to blow by them and get to the rim. There are few in the league better at that than Grizzlies star Ja Morant, but he didn\u2019t play against the Bulls for the second time this season. This time, it was a muscle strain in his pelvis that kept him in street clothes.<\/p>\n
They also avoided facing 7-4 rookie Zach Edey, who was out with a sprained left ankle.<\/p>\n
What the Bulls couldn\u2019t avoid was the kind of defensive breakdowns that have allowed opposing teams to get way too comfortable in the paint and from three-point range.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what happened in the third quarter, as the Grizzlies seemingly scored whenever and however they wanted on the way to 45 points. Pippen did much of the damage with 14 points in the quarter, but the Grizzlies shot 18-for-28 (64%) from the field, scored 20 points in the paint and shot 6-for-11 from three-point range in the third.<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t as though the Bulls were bad offensively in the quarter, putting up 38 points on 13-for-25 shooting. But even that wasn\u2019t good enough to keep them afloat.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s just a process, man,\u2019\u2019 White said. \u2018\u2018You can\u2019t give up 140, but we do play at a frantic, high pace, so sometimes that can bleed over defensively because you\u2019re trying to play so fast.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We\u2019re staying positive. I don\u2019t have frustrations about it. We\u2019ve still got a long way to go. This season is all about continuing to get better and work on habits.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
If there was any good news, it was that the Bulls did have some offensive highlights to build on, including rookie Matas Buzelis scoring a career-high 14 points, finishing a plus-10 in plus\/minus and having one of the better dunks of the season on a breakaway in the first half.<\/p>\n
Baby steps.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I have not really seen much of a change in him in his attitude or his disposition,\u2019\u2019 Donovan said of Buzelis continuing to develop. \u2018\u2018The biggest thing I respect about him more than anything is I think he understands the importance of the little things. That\u2019s an area of focus he has really been focusing on.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the third time in the last six games, the Bulls’ defense gave up at least 140 points. On Saturday, it happened against a Memphis team missing two key players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n