Bulls lose to Pelicans in season-opener |
NEW ORLEANS - After a long yet tedious offseason for the Chicago Bulls (0-1), their 2024-25 regular season kicked off on Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. For what seems like the trend going back more than a decade, this NBA season is filled with optimism when you talk to the players in the locker room, but one that will once again have more questions than answers this season.
Some of those questions were brought full circle against the New Orleans Pelicans (1-0) on opening night, and some will continue to unfold as the season progresses. Despite an overall strong effort for Chicago in the second quarter to pull within one point at the break, their defense let them down in the second half as the Pelicans broke the game open and cruised past the Bulls 123-111 for the season-opening victory. This was one of those games where you felt like the Bulls had a chance, but it is hard to win when your defense can't cover a cold and your offense goes into what they do best: not shoot the ball well. If there were a promising sign to take away from this loss, it would be the play of Zach Lavine, who does appear to be in the best basketball shape he has been in for two years. Lavine will be mentioned in trade conversations all season, but with a team-high 27 points, he did what the Bulls asked him to, as he was one of five double-digit scorers in the game. Four of them came from the starting five, with Nikola Vucevic, Josh Giddey, and Coby White all putting forth solid first games. As expected, Vucevic is going to put up consistent offensive numbers, even if he is a liability on defense. He added 21 points with 11 rebounds. That made up for what was a horrible shooting night from Giddey and White, as Giddey finished with 14 points and White added 10. However, it was another bad game from Patrick Williams that continues to drive fans crazy, as many are wondering why he got the five-year extension in the first place. With six points and three rebounds, you have to wonder how long he will remain in the starting lineup, especially when Jalen Smith added 15 points off the bench with five boards to lead the second unit. Smith is more than capable of being this team's starting four, and you have to wonder how long of a leash Williams is going to have this season, as they need much more out of him than he is giving them. While the Bulls will be a work in progress most of the season, the Pelicans know exactly who they are as a team, even if Zion Williamson isn't on the floor, which was the case in this one. Having a pair of all-star caliber players doing what they do best does help, as Brandon Ingram had a massive game to open his season. Mentioned as an offseason trade option for the Bulls, Ingram showed Chicago why he would've been a great addition as he finished with a game-high 33 points to go with seven boards. CJ McCollum also did what he does best on the floor, adding 23 points to go with Ingram and picking up five assists to drive the offense the best way possible. Like Chicago, those were the only two guys who shouldered the scoring for the Pelicans, but they had plenty of production across the board and had five players land in double figures. Dejounte Murray was one of those players. He made his Pelicans debut and finished with 14 points and 10 assists. You have to imagine that the more comfortable he gets with his new team, the better the numbers will be, as he could be one of the steals of the offseason. Yves Missi and Jordan Hawkins rounded out the Pelicans' double-digit scorers, with Hawkins scoring 13 points and Missi adding 12, both of them pulling down seven boards. Not only were the Pelicans without Williamson, but not having Jonas Valenciunas also brings a different look to this team, as both have been a big part of their success the past few seasons. Valanciunas is now in Washington, but with Williamson expected to be back next game, the sky is the limit for this Pelicans team this season.
