Celtics point guard Kemba Walker was a bit under the weather Saturday.
He needed some rest and relaxation.
What better place than Chicago and against what better team than the Bulls to put your feet up?
He’s not the first NBA player to take that liberty in Chicago this season, either. Add Trae Young, Patrick Beverley and Kawhi Leonard to that list of players who’ve sat out games at the United Center. Is it a coincidence or teams feeling that they don’t need a full arsenal to win?
Coach Jim Boylen had his own opinion.
“Milwaukee brought their guys back twice to play against us, so I do feel there is a respect out there of our defense and what we’re trying to build,’’ Boylen said. “I do think there’s a respect, from what I hear from other people, about how hard we play. I think teams just do what they feel is best for them.’’
Asked if he takes it personally, Boylen said, “Yeah, I’m just trying to worry about our team. I can’t fight all those battles.’’
Not at 13-23 after the latest loss to Boston.
There’s enough on the home front for Boylen to worry about.
So when did the latest slip-up go wrong? Same old, same old in the 111-104 defeat.
After playing a respectable first half again and trailing Boston by only three points, the Bulls ran into trouble in the third quarter. The Celtics outscored them 30-21.
The Bulls allowed the visitors to shoot 46.2 percent from the field in the third and hit 60 percent of their threes, and they were outrebounded 13-11.
Meanwhile, the Bulls went 1-for-7 from three-point range in the third quarter, turned the ball over four times and were hit by untimely defensive breakdowns.
Sure, they fought back in the fourth quarter. But these moral victories can’t mask the obvious. There are always issues after halftime, whether it’s a failure to deal with the counterpunch coming in the adjustment or simply an inability to understand the importance of being ready to play.
Boylen was handing out credit for his team’s ability to dig itself out of holes in the fourth quarter, but at what point will lessons be learned?
That’s the question Boylen can’t answer.
“I didn’t like our energy in the third,’’ Boylen said. “It was like we were waiting for them to miss, and I talked to our team about that in the timeouts. The ball stopped moving, bodies stopped moving.
“I don’t know. It’s something we’ve been working on. It’s part of it. Part of what we’re learning about as a team and growing with.’’
Even late, the Bulls were hanging around, but the dagger came in the form of a Jayson Tatum three-pointer with 1:06 left with Kris Dunn in the forward’s pocket defensively. The level of difficulty was high, but Tatum hit the shot as the shot clock expired.
That put Boston up 108-101, and when Zach LaVine missed two free throws with 58.8 seconds, finishing the night 8-for-14 from the foul line, it was game, set and match.
Even more concerning was the ongoing trend of losing to teams with a .500-or-better record. The Bulls have done it 15 times and have one win — over an undermanned Clippers team.
“We’ve got to be locked in, have more of a sense of urgency,’’ Dunn said. “We have to have the awareness to understand that we have been poor in the third quarter. It starts on the defensive end, and everything will take care of itself.’’
