CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The Bulls may not be prioritizing winning, but they're placing an emphasis on how that can happen in the future.
And nowhere is that more important than by forming chemistry between Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen.
Baby steps were taken Tuesday night as the Hornets downed the Bulls 118-103 in a battle of teams streaking in opposite directions. The Hornets have won five straight. The Bulls have lost five straight.
LaVine's 21 points led seven Bulls in double figures that also included Markkanen and Dunn, although Dunn struggled from the field at just 2 for 11. Dunn also had just three assists.
Kemba Walker's 31 points and Dwight Howard's 24 led the Hornets, who lost Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a hamstring injury in the first quarter and Cody Zeller to a sore left knee in the second quarter. Howard added five blocks despite missing the second quarter with a sore back but later returning.
The threesome that represents the Bulls' future core had played just six games and 104 minutes together before Tuesday. Small sample size or not, their defensive rating of 119.6 and net rating of minus-22.7 are troubling.
"It's a very small sample size," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "I'm excited to see down the stretch what those guys can do when their minutes go up."
When the Bulls were rolling in December, Dunn and Markkanen formed some strong chemistry that played as integral a role in the team's success as well as the play of Nikola Mirotic and David Nwaba. Dunn is a playmaker first, while LaVine is a scorer.
So how do LaVine and Markkanen fit?
"Well, we'll see," Hoiberg said. "I don't really know yet."
Hoiberg quickly caught himself.
"I think they fit well together," he added. "We ran a lot of two-man actions at the end of the Minnesota game, and I thought they were really good ... . Zach is one of our better isolation players and when we get a switch, if we space the floor properly, we're confident Zach can get into the paint where he's been making the right play."
Yet it was Dunn, not LaVine, feeding Markkanen on a third-quarter fast break that led to Markkanen's dunk. LaVine, rightfully so, looks for his shot first more, sinking one 3-pointer from well beyond the arc as Markkanen called for the ball in the post.
"Every game we have, every practice we have together, I think we're going to get better," Markkanen said.
The future depends on it.
