Heavy roster turnover and mounting on-court turnovers have plagued the Chicago Bulls during a nine-game losing streak.
As they host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and attempt to avoid their longest skid since losing 10 straight during the 2018-19 season, the Bulls are offering neither obstacle as a crutch.
“Our job is to go out and perform and win games,” guard Josh Giddey said. “Obviously, we’re not going to keep using the excuse, ‘It’s a new team.’ We’re past that part now. It is frustrating because you build so much continuity with the team you have and then it gets torn apart within a couple of days. So, we have 30 games to get this new team together and … get familiar with how we play.”
Sunday’s 105-99 home loss to the New York Knicks was the narrowest defeat during the streak, although Chicago again struggled to come untracked offensively. The Bulls committed 17 turnovers, their seventh successive game with at least 13 giveaways.
While the absence of Anfernee Simons (left wrist) and minutes restrictions on Tre Jones and Giddey — both recently returned from hamstring injuries — took a toll, the Bulls also coughed the ball up in spots due to a lack of size.
Chicago’s frontcourt depth beyond trade deadline acquisitions Guerschon Yabusele and Nick Richards took a potential hit when center Jalen Smith (right calf tightness) left in the third quarter Sunday.
“I do think some of our turnovers have been guys leaving their feet trying to attack the basket, getting there and realizing they can’t get a shot off and trying to spray it and the ball gets deflected or stolen,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
Charlotte, tussling with Atlanta and Milwaukee for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, entered the week ranked 28th in the 30-team NBA with 15.8 turnovers per game. The Hornets showed improved ball control Sunday, however, committing just 12 giveaways in a 129-112 road win at Washington that stopped a two-game skid.
LaMelo Ball boosted Charlotte with torrid shooting, drilling a career-best 10 3-pointers on the way to 37 points.
“Just not forcing,” Ball said. “Finding the best looks. Finding the right places and everything, and just going from there.”
Kon Knueppel (28 points) and Brandon Miller (22) both swished five treys Sunday. Knueppel has connected on multiple 3-pointers in each of his eight February games and is shooting 47.4% from deep during the month.
Hornets starters Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate are eligible to return after the duo served four-game suspensions for their roles in a Feb. 9 brawl against the Detroit Pistons.
“It’ll be very nice to get two very good players back into the lineup,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “But I’m also really proud of the guys that stepped up in their absence and gave us some really big minutes.”
Guard Coby White has been sidelined since the Feb. 4 trade that brought him to Charlotte from Chicago with a left calf strain. On Monday, the guard was listed as probable to make his Hornets debut against his former team. Selected seventh overall by Chicago in the 2019 NBA Draft, White played 451 games with the Bulls.
A victory would give the Bulls a split of the four-game season series. Charlotte’s 112-99 road victory on Jan. 3 marked the first contest between the teams this season that was decided by double digits.
Giddey has notched three straight double-doubles against the Hornets.
