Nikola Vucevic called out his teammates last Saturday for being too complacent among other things when they were almost beaten by the Washington Wizards. They played a game after and it looks like the remark did not impact them.
Bulls lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, no thanks to their lethargic first half. The loss meant they are now 3-7 in their last 10 after winning their first five games of the season.
Ayo Dosunmu scored a career high 28 points int the loss and he is the only who had a positive plus/minus among the 10 players that saw burn time. He thought they lost the common sense in that game.
“Coach is telling us a thousand times to box out,” he said after the game.
“On film, we’re going to the glass, not boxing out, just standing around. Coach is telling us to get into the ball. Coach is telling us what we have to do in order to play physical. And we’re doing that sometimes in the game but not doing it the full game. [Donovan is] being completely honest with us. He’s telling us if we don’t do this, we’re going to get these results.”
Coby White, who played only his fourth game of the season, had 24 points. As for the Pelicans, three players scored 20 points and above, led by Zion Williamson who had 29. Saddiq recorded 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Chicago Bulls need to fix their mentality
This statement by Dosunmu only echoes what head coach Billy Donovan said about the team. The coach’s statement is also him backing up the words dropped by Vucevic who missed the game due to illness.
“You can win games in this league and be going in the wrong direction, and you can lose games and feel really good like, ‘OK, we’re starting to do things the right way, we just didn’t get the result we needed,’” Donovan said.
“That’s what Vooch’s point was, that that is not sustainable.”
The Bulls had a 3-game day off and will return to action, hopefully with better mentality, on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.
For the latest Basketball Content
Make sure you are always updated on your favorite basketball players and teams. Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for the latest and trending news about NBA, college basketball, and more. Stay updated by reading more of our NBA articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!
