Overreacting to preseason basketball is a dangerous path for an NBA fan to wander.
But after two exhibition games, the Chicago Bulls have one clear warning bell to ring — they can’t stop turning over the ball.
The Bulls committed 26 turnovers in Tuesday’s victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland. They reduced that number to 19 in Thursday’s 119-112 win in a rematch at the United Center — but the opening minutes were still dominated by a carelessness with the ball that this Bulls offense can’t afford. They had 12 turnovers in the first half — seven in the first quarter — in another haphazard start.
The Bulls ranked 20th in ball protection last season, committing 14.7 turnovers per game. Coach Billy Donovan often attributed this recklessness to a teamwide transition to a new style of offense, which pumped up the tempo and emphasized pushing the pace in the open court.
A handful of Thursday’s errors could be attributed to preseason sloppiness. The Cavaliers had 17 turnovers of their own, reflecting the shaky, out-of-sync nature of the game.
Here are three other takeaways from the win.
1. A rough start from Josh Giddey
When Giddey falls out of rhythm, it’s hard for the Bulls point guard to find the beat of the game again.
Giddey found himself out of step from the opening whistle at the United Center. He chucked the ball into an opponent’s hands on a behind-the-back pass, then picked up a second turnover after traveling while attempting to drive to the rim. On an ensuing play, Giddey was whistled for a foul after ploughing into Evan Mobley while attempting to fight through a screen.
All three of those errors took place in the opening two minutes. These disastrous sequences aren’t uncommon in Giddey’s Bulls tenure — despite the brilliance of his passing and relative consistency of his shot, the guard will appear lost on the court at random.
Giddey eventually warmed into the game, putting his head down to get to the rim on curling arc-to-basket drives and slinging full-court passes to trigger the transition. He finished with 14 points and six assists. But those opening minutes captured a snapshot of the risks inherent to relying on Giddey as a centerpiece of the starting rotation.
2. Highs (and some lows) for Patrick Williams
For the first time since his rookie year, Williams will enter the season as a bench player — and the forward is taking to his new role.
In nearly 22 minutes Thursday, Williams stuck to a script that could carve out success this season. He stayed active on defense, took four 3-pointers to stretch the floor and forced his way to the free-throw line. In the third quarter, he leaped for a backside offensive rebound and tapped the rebound into the net.
Williams is still far from what the Bulls want out of their one-time starting power forward. He needs to rebound more — he had only three Thursday. His 3-point shot needs to become more consistent and he needs to take fewer dribbles in and around the lane. But Donovan sees a vision for Williams built around his specific skill set as a three-and-D utility player off the bench.
“I think he can really carve out a really good niche for himself as an NBA player,” Donovan said. “But can he play with that consistent motor up and down the floor on a regular basis? He knows that’s coming from within himself. I think he really wants to do that.”
3. Nikola Vučević sat out for rest
The Bulls rested their starting center. Donovan said Vučević was not managing an injury. The Bulls medical team wanted to monitor the center’s playing time after he competed in EuroBasket with Montenegro this summer.
Kevin Huerter (groin) and Julian Phillips (knee) also missed the game with injuries that Donovan described as day to day.
Coby White is continuing to ramp up from a calf strain suffered in the offseason. Donovan said the team is hopeful he will be available for the final preseason game Oct. 16 and for the starting rotation on opening night Oct. 22. But the team is being especially cautious with White because of the fast pace of the offense.
