It wasn’t all bad on Monday night.
Sure, Jim Boylen would have liked to have seen better results in the 122-112 loss to Milwaukee in the preseason opener at the United Center, but he admittedly found comfort in some of the final numbers not staring down from him at the new, huge scoreboard.
“What you hope to learn in a game like [that] is the things you need to work on,’’ Boylen said. “And what you hope to find out is the things that you emphasized the last five or six days, have you seen any of that become a habit?’’
Boylen was at least able to check some of the boxes there.
The Bulls took 38 three-point attempts and went to the free-throw line 38 times. Both statistical categories that were on the to-do list to improve from last season.
But the elephant in the room that seemingly continues to take pleasure in tripping up the rebuild? Defense, defense, and defense.
“Where we struggled and where [the Bucks] exploited us was our individual one-on-one defense. They spread us out, which they do to everybody, and they drove us. It’s great because now the film shows what we’ve been talking about, that it’s big area of improvement [needed] for us.’’
And it wasn’t like the Eastern Conference-powerhouse Bucks were marching out their top players. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe all earned DNPs [Did Not Play] against the Bulls, and it still didn’t change the outcome.
The Bulls can preach up-tempo offense, multi-ball-handlers throughout a versatile lineup, and team chemistry all they want, but at some point in every game they have to be able to dial up some defensive stops, and that’s been an ongoing issue since Tom Thibodeau was ushered out the Advocate Center doors.
The Bulls finished 25th in defensive rating last season, and 28th in the 2017-18 campaign. Numbers that all too many on the current roster know well.
That’s why both general manager Gar Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson have been trying to right some wrongs as far as the roster was concerned.
The Jabari Parker signing was the low of the low prior to last season, bringing in a free agent that admittedly had no desire to put out any energy on the defensive end. Otto Porter Jr. was the correction for that, as the front office sent Parker and Bobby Portis to Washington to bring Porter in.
The defensive improvements with personnel continued this offseason, as Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky were added.
But the NBA is a result league, and the players know there is a lot of work to still do in order to get those results.
“We want to be known as a defensive team,’’ Porter said. “We want to bring that toughness, that grit. We want to protect home court. We’ve been emphasizing that.’’
Valentine’s day
Monday was 19 of the more important minutes Denzel Valentine has played in quite some time.
The 14th overall pick in the 2016 draft, returned to the court for the Bulls off the bench, after missing all of last season with ankle surgery.
He was admittedly emotional, stating that he had tears in his eyes on the drive to the arena before the game, but also focused on what’s at stake this season.
The Bulls have to likely make a financial decision on whether they want to move forward with Valentine sooner than later, and Valentine knows that.
“It’s definitely a big year,’’ Valentine said. “There’s a lot that’s going to happen this year, but all I can do is control what I can control.’’
