WASHINGTON – That was an entitlement loss.
Strange for a below average squad like the Bulls to strut into any NBA arena and feel like, “We got this one,” but there it was in all of its glory on Wednesday.
That’s why coach Billy Donovan was pointing fingers after the 125-107 embarrassing loss to a 6-25 Wizards team, and the first finger was at himself.
The Bulls did not practice in D.C. on Tuesday, and then Donovan decided to cancel the morning shootaround because of all the bumps and bruises. They still did the normal walkthrough and film session at the hotel, but the coach was doing a lot of second guessing after the latest embarrassment for the 15-19 Bulls.
“We quite honestly had no right, or didn’t even have the right to win in my opinion,” Donovan said. “In terms of a coaching perspective, from a playing perspective, we did not play to a level or to an identity that we’ve tried to do. That was the discouraging part because I felt like we weren’t making shots and then it bled into some other things.
“You always look at the day before, what could you do differently from a coaching perspective in terms of how you go through the day as far as the preparation, the readiness, the film.”
Nice of Donovan to lead the accountability department, but his players saw it a bit differently. As far as starting point guard Josh Giddey was concerned, it was on them and started with a poor mindset.
“We came in too cool, and it’s the NBA, anybody can beat anyone,” Giddey said. “These guys haven’t had a lot of wins this year and we probably came in with the wrong mindset that we could roll out of bed and walk away with a win doing what we want, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
“We can’t use (the time off) as an excuse. When the ball tips you’ve got to be ready to play and we weren’t (Wednesday).”
That was evident very early on as there was definitely a Hornets hangover going on most of the game.
If Donovan didn’t like the third quarter in Charlotte, which he was still pointing out before the Wizards game, he definitely didn’t like any of the quarters in the nation’s capital.
Losers of 23 of their last 26 games coming into the night, the Wizards didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to lie down to the visiting team.
Poor shooting by the Bulls, lazy defense on rotations, and then of course allowing the home team to score whenever they needed a big basket.
Even through all the inconsistency from Donovan’s group, however, they only found themselves down 55-51 at the half. No biggie against a then-five-win team? Well, until it was a biggie.
While the Bulls came out of the halftime locker room misfiring from long range (3-of-12 from three-point range), Washington stayed the course, going 5-of-10 from three, but also shooting 15-of-27 from the field overall and doing so on 13 assists.
That’s why the fourth quarter felt almost academic, with Washington outscoring the Bulls 34-27 to complete the laugher.
In the end the Bulls allowed 33 points off 20 turnovers, watched the Wizards finish with 36 assists, and left Donovan questioning his practice/shootaround schedules in the immediate future.
“When you’re playing against a team like Charlotte or playing against a team like Washington that doesn’t have a great record, I don’t think people understand that after a while (they) get tired of it, and at some point you want to put your foot down and compete and play,” Donovan added.
Wednesday was that night.