{"id":122556,"date":"2025-11-25T07:16:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T07:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=122556"},"modified":"2025-11-25T07:16:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T07:16:45","slug":"nola-shocker-pelicans-slam-the-bulls-143-130-as-chicagos-sloppy-play-backfires-spectacularly-turning-what-shouldve-been-a-routine-game-into-a-full-blown-disaster-and-the-highlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=122556","title":{"rendered":"NOLA SHOCKER: Pelicans slam the Bulls 143-130 as Chicago\u2019s sloppy play backfires spectacularly, turning what should\u2019ve been a routine game into a full-blown disaster, and the highlight clips have the NBA world talking..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMore often than not, if you continue to play this way, it\u2019s just going to be bad losses after bad losses,\u201d\u00a0Nikola Vucevic<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0said Saturday after a one-point win against the Washington Wizards.<\/p>\n

This must be what he was talking about.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Chicago Bulls<\/a>\u00a0continue to\u00a0play down to the level of their opponent<\/a>, this time losing to the now 3-15 New Orleans Pelicans 143-130 and falling to 9-8 on the season.<\/p>\n

The Pelicans wrecked the Bulls inside. They had 19 offensive rebounds, 30 second-chance points, 70 points at the rim, and attempted 35 free throws.\u00a0Needless to say, allowing 143 points to the league\u2019s 27th-ranked offense is not a recipe for success.<\/p>\n

To be fair, the Bulls were riddled with injuries, too. Vucevic (knee) was out for the first time this season, so the Bulls went small with\u00a0Patrick Williams<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0starting at the center spot. It hurt them not to have their starting center out there, but it\u2019s not like Vucevic is going to remove all those points at the rim.<\/p>\n

Chicago made a strong push at the end of the game, but this time, they weren\u2019t able to win it.<\/p>\n

Up next:<\/strong>\u00a0The Bulls have three days off before heading back out on the road for games in Charlotte on Friday, Indiana on Saturday and Orlando on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n

Matching up with the Pelicans brings back memories of draft night and the opportunities that could have been. The Bulls went with Noa Essengue with the 12th overall pick. The Pelicans traded up to 12, for a hefty price, to take Derik Queen at 13.<\/p>\n

It was just Essengue\u2019s second NBA appearance. He didn\u2019t do much, going 0-of-2 and getting\u00a0stuffed by Queen at the rim<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Queen had 8 points, five rebounds, four assists on 4-of-9 shooting in just 17 minutes \u2014\u00a0he did not play in the second half.<\/p>\n

Billy Donovan<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0told reporters in New Orleans pre-game<\/a>\u00a0that Queen was one of the few prospects the front office asked him to scout, adding that the team viewed Essengue as a higher upside prospect who fit the Bulls\u2019 style with his length and athleticism on the wing.<\/p>\n

The Bulls don\u2019t have a long-term option at center on the roster \u2014\u00a0Vucevic is 35 and in the final year of his deal. Queen is sure looking like he could be that guy, and he fits exactly what the Bulls need out of their center.<\/p>\n

Just a quarter of the way into their rookie seasons, it\u2019s far too early to draw any substantive conclusions. Queen was more NBA ready, Essengue is two full years younger and does have upside at a valuable position.<\/p>\n

Still, by far the best decision would have been to take the offer the Pelicans ended up giving to Atlanta: the 23rd pick in the draft and the better of their own and Milwaukee\u2019s pick in 2026 unprotected, for the rights to move up to 13 to draft Queen.<\/p>\n

Imagine how much better off the Bulls would be, and how much more logical their directional path would be, if they could truly lean into competitiveness this year while also getting what could be a top-five pick in this year\u2019s loaded class.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Will Gottlieb<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

The Bulls gave up 70 first-half points to the Wizards \u2013 one of the league\u2019s worst offensive teams \u2013 on Saturday. Vucevic said they played with zero resistance for three quarters. The Bulls (without Vooch, sitting with a sore knee) followed that up by surrendering 74 first-half points to the Pelicans. One of the other worst offensive teams in the league. Awesome stuff.<\/p>\n

Donovan made an interesting choice starting Williams over Jalen Smith, and it backfired. The Pelicans destroyed the Bulls with offensive boards and second-chance points in the first half. Billy started Smith to begin the third quarter, benching Matas Buzelis and leaving Williams in. Not a great look on a night when Pat looked as lifeless as, well\u2026Pat.<\/p>\n

Isaac Okoro cannot be this important to a team\u2019s defense. And it\u2019s not like they\u2019re even a good defensive team when he plays.<\/p>\n

Bright spot: Ayo Dosunmu continues to be an absolute stud. Always plays hard and is scoring at one of the most efficient clips of all guards in the NBA so far this season. We never know what to expect from this team as a whole. But we know we can always count on Ayo to do his part.<\/p>\n

Can I do the \u201ctold ya\u201d shrug to the Kool-Aid drinkers yet? No\u2026? I\u2019ll give it some more time. Bulls have a bunch of \u201cbum teams\u201d on their upcoming schedule. How many of them will they beat? Will they beat any of them convincingly? None of my bets will be based on believing they will.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Matt Peck<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

What the hell, man?!?? 74 points in the 1at half?!?!? To the 27TH-RANKED OFFENSE IN THE LEAGUE?!? I need a minute.<\/p>\n

That first half was absolutely ridiculous. They honestly should be ashamed. Appreciated the comeback led by Tre Jones. But man, they just were getting worked in the paint.<\/p>\n

Dosunmu was the only one who got on the plane. He was constantly attacking and putting pressure on the rim. This would have been much worse without him.<\/p>\n

Lee Patrick, man. No.<\/p>\n

Destroyed inside and outside. Punked on rebounds and interior scoring. Trash from the line. This was the worst.<\/p>\n

A mess. A hot mess.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0<\/em>Big Dave<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMore often than not, if you continue to play this way, it\u2019s just going to be bad losses after bad losses,\u201d\u00a0Nikola Vucevic\u00a0said Saturday after a one-point win… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":122565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nNOLA SHOCKER: Pelicans slam the Bulls 143-130 as Chicago\u2019s sloppy play backfires spectacularly, turning what should\u2019ve been a routine game into a full-blown disaster, and the highlight clips have the NBA world talking..ll - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=122556\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NOLA SHOCKER: Pelicans slam the Bulls 143-130 as Chicago\u2019s sloppy play backfires spectacularly, turning what should\u2019ve been a routine game into a full-blown disaster, and the highlight clips have the NBA world talking..ll - 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