Saturday’s off day for the Bulls couldn’t have come at a better time.
A chance to sit back and take a breath after two losses where the lack of physicality was once again more than just a little concerning. A day for the front office to maybe reassess a direction and work the phones as the trade deadline is bearing down on the league.
And more importantly as far as Wendell Carter Jr. was concerned, a day to try and piece the big man back together again.
Because make no mistake, Carter sounded broken following the 101-90 loss to Miami on Friday night. It was the second straight game he was outplayed by a team’s back-up big man – Philadelphia’s Tony Bradley had his number on Thursday – and the fifth-straight game in which Carter scored in single digits, looking more like a passive passenger than the guy selected No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft who was expected to be a double-double machine.
The stats and eye test have clearly shown his struggles, but his demeanor in the post-game Zoom presser after that Heat loss told the full extent of how down the 6-foot-10 Duke product actually was.
“Just offensively, you know, finishing around the rim,’’ Carter said, when asked what he most needed to improve on. “I feel like I’ve regressed in that area of being more aggressive on the offensive end. Just trying to play the right way, do everything that everybody is telling me to do, but at the same time I understand that me being aggressive will be better for my team, so… I just … I just got to play a lot better on the offensive end.’’
Definitely true.
A 1-for-5 showing against a Heat team that was switching everything on the defensive end was a head-scratcher. Especially when Carter would get switched to a guard, have the size advantage in the paint, but pass the ball out rather than enforce his will.
Sure, Bulls ball-handlers far too often ignored the matchup advantage, but it wasn’t like Carter has shown lately that he can be trusted to finish plays.
“We missed him an awful lot against switches,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of Carter’s disappointing game, doing his best to protect his guy. “He was down inside, and there’s probably a couple of plays you’re talking to where we found him in the middle of the floor and he kind of took it and he threw it right back out to the three-point line. Whether or not he could have shot it or whether or not he should have passed it, I’ll have to take a look at the film on that.’’
While Carter did admit that his teammates missed him on some potential mismatches, he was self-aware enough to criticize his own shortcomings, especially when asked why he was struggling around the rim so much lately (just 32% his last five games combined).
“[Expletive], I don’t even know honestly,’’ Carter said. “I work on it every day. I’m very capable of making these shots. I don’t know. I don’t even have an answer for that one. I don’t know.’’
What is known?
Carter has to be better, and quickly. The halfway point has arrived, and considering the logjam in the Eastern Conference standings, losses are fragile. Psyche can’t be. Carter needs to get back on board or possibly get traded.
“I think he has confidence,’’ teammate Zach LaVine said, when asked about helping Carter find his confidence again. “We were all talking to him. I think he’s just extremely competitive and he takes what he does not lightly. He knows how important to the team he is for us. We pick him up. I think he’s going to be just fine. He’s a mentally strong dude.’’
They better hope so.
