NBA preseason began yesterday, and the Chicago Bulls began it with a 125-104 loss to the Houston Rockets, who played without James Harden but welcomed new team members John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. The Bulls are now under the helm of former OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, who finds himself in a rebuilding situation. Per the Chicago Sun-Times:
So while new coach Billy Donovan wasn’t exactly thrilled with what he saw in Friday’s preseason debut of this 2020-21 team, he’s holding out on passing judgment.
After all, just four contact practices, two non-contact practices, and one bad debut against the Rockets in, questioning the heart of this Bulls team wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“I think it’s too early for me to say that right now just because again, these guys have been really, really good workers,’’ Donovan said on Saturday, when asked if this roster did display too much softness. “They’ve tried to come every day with energy and enthusiasm. They’re trying to work extremely hard. But I’ve always said this, the minute the ball gets thrown up in the air, to me it’s about how you handle adversity. And I think adversity is one of the greatest teaching tools that we have because generally, you improve and get better when things are hard.’’
The Bulls started Coby White and Zach LaVine at guard, Otto Porter and Lauri Markkanen at forward, and Wendell Carter at center.
Rookie forward Patrick Williams came off the bench and played well.
