WASHINGTON – Halftime in Minnesota last month was supposed to be the spark.
The moment that this group finally got into each other’s faces, got real with one another, and came out the other side brothers, a team, maybe for the first time this season.
“It woke us up,” Bulls veteran center Nikola Vucevic admitted on Wednesday afternoon. “It was a hit in the face like, ‘C’mon now, this is really bad.’ It started there, but then once you start winning games it’s easier to figure out. Guys are also more comfortable talking to each other, more accountable, more receptive to what’s being said – positive or a fair criticism.”
But then Vucevic issued a warning.
“That doesn’t mean we’ve arrived,” he said. “There’s still a ways to go.”
The center found out just how much hours later.
With Washington missing Bradley Beal, Daniel Gafford and Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards still managed to overcome a 16-point deficit and beat the Bulls (19-23) at the Capital One Arena 100-97.
A ways to go indeed.
And while Zach LaVine had a chance to play hero at the end with DeMar DeRozan sidelined (right quad), there was so much more that went wrong than LaVine’s failed attempt.
It was actually LaVine who put the Bulls in position to pull it out late, hitting a ridiculous three-pointer with 30 seconds left to tie the game. Kyle Kuzma had an answer of his own, however, hitting a three with six seconds left, and forcing coach Billy Donovan into a timeout to draw up a play.
LaVine caught the inbounds, and the play was designed for him to either take the three, look for Vucevic for three or Coby White. But the Wizards (18-24) also had a foul to give, so Donovan warned his group about that.
LaVine took a dribble, felt like Delon Wright fouled him, and instead split the double team and took the two, hoping he would get the basket and the foul for the three-point play and the tie.
Two problems: He missed the shot, and never got the whistle.
“We were just trying to get a three off,” LaVine explained. “And then when I went in to go pull-up, I think it was Delon Wright fouled me. My instinct was to go up and try to get a three-point play. I was going for a pull-up when he fouled me. I shot it. They didn’t call it. And that’s how it is.”
Vucevic did throw his arms in the air for LaVine, feeling like he was open when Monte Morris sagged off of him towards LaVine, but wasn’t about to point fingers over his teammate’s decision.
“I was just trying to get my hands up because I was open, [but] I think [LaVine] was just trying to get the foul,” Vucevic said. “Obviously the game came down to a last shot, but it shouldn’t have.”
Not when the Bulls allow a team to outscore them 41-21 in the third quarter. A third quarter that was a comedy of errors, including bad fouls, missed layups, and poor defense. Bad habits that Donovan has seen far too often by this team.
“It’s a mentality we have to have, that we have to develop,” Donovan said. “This kind of mentality in these situations, ‘OK, coming out for the third quarter, let’s try and make them call the first time out. Let’s get some stops, let’s not foul, let’s not have breakdowns. Let’s not do things that are going to beat ourselves.’
“People say killer mentality, whatever it is, but that focus and concentration of ‘OK, we just built a double-digit lead, so these next four minutes we’ve got to really be locked in to what we’re doing here. If we’re going to lose this lead it’s going to be because they did it.’ ”
So back to square one now? Not yet. But like Vucevic said, “still a ways to go.”