The Chicago Bulls opened their season Wednesday night in New Orleans against the Pelicans. Despite missing Zion Williamson, the Pelicans prevailed 123-111 with Brandon Ingram scoring 33 and CJ McCollum chipping in 23. The Bulls were led by Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, who had 27 and 21 points respectively. The opening game of the season gave a glimpse into what both teams have to look forward to over the next six months, although, in addition to missing Williamson for the game, Dejounte Murray broke his left hand and gets the Pels off to a rough start.
The Chicago Bulls rolled out a new look in the opening game of the season and looked like a formidable team for parts of this one. There were lapses defensively and some chemistry errors that plagued them throughout but that is to be expected in the early weeks of the season. Supporting LaVine and Vucevic were Coby White and new Bull Josh Giddey from the starting unit and a spark plug off the bench who was also making his debut with Chicago, Jalen Smith.
Zion-Less Pelicans Beat Chicago Bulls
The New Orleans Pelicans have high hopes for the 2024-25 season and all of them involve Zion Williamson. The powerful phenom has electrified the league when he has been able to stay healthy and in a rhythm on the court, but that has been infrequent in his NBA career. New Orleans was hoping for a late-season push after the Pelicans emerged from the Play-In Tournament. They were hampered by Williamson’s hamstring injury and were left to look ahead to this season and now this season starts without Zion who was out with an illness.
The New Orleans Pelicans didn’t need Williamson to beat the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. With Williamson out, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum took over the offensive load and did it quite well. New Orleans’ first-round draft pick Yves Missi was terrific in his debut for the Pelicans. He disrupted everything on the inside when he was in the game and showed that he could be a major contributor and fill the void left by Jonas Valanciunas. JaVonte Green thrived off the bench in his first game against his former team to the tune of a +14 plus/minus in his 25 minutes.
The Chicago Bulls have much to figure out about their team as they traverse the 2024-25 season. Although they dropped this one in the “Crescent City,” there were many positives to take away from the game. Zach LaVine made a great comeback and showed that he can carry a significant load on offense, Josh Giddey acclimated well to the team around him in his first game with the Bulls, Lonzo Ball played well in his first action in over two years and Jalen Smith was very effective in his role off the bench. There are some things to iron out, but there is some potential for the Bulls.
Pelicans Step Up In Win
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Brandon Ingram began to pick his spots in the second. Ingram used high ball screens to free himself up to shoot from distance or in the mid-range and when he had a favorable one-on-one matchup, took his man down low and got to the basket with ease. CJ McCollum was more of a playmaker when he had the ball, often looking to get others involved and find open shooters or crashing cutters before trying to make offense for himself. The duo combined to go 22-of-42 from the field.
Dejounte Murray would like a mulligan on his first game as a Pelican. The game started poorly for the newcomer and after ticking up as the game got moving, took a turn for the worse afterwards. Murray had trouble fitting in and finding a groove on offense, often ceding to McCollum. As the game wore on, he became more comfortable and set up his teammates for opportunities to score, totaling a game-high ten assists. The bad news came after the game as an MRI revealed that Murray broke his left hand and will be out for an extended period according to Shams Charania.
On a more positive note for the New Orleans Pelicans, they had a pair of players come off the bench and perform well in their first action of the season. JaVonte Green balled out against his former team and made plays all over the floor. Green stole the ball four times for the Pelicans and made all of his shots from the field, while also playing his trademark relentless style of defense on the perimeter. Another defender who made a great first impression for the New Orleans Pelicans was Yves Missi. The rookie from Baylor took over the paint when he was in the game, swatting away three shots and scoring 12 points of his own.
New Look Bulls In Loss
The Chicago Bulls had some quirks in their 123-111 loss to the Pelicans. The individual performances were fine and nobody looked out of their element with the possible exception of rookie Matas Buzelis, who struggled in limited action. The offense seemed to work well and always had a playmaker on the floor to lead and steady the offense if needed. Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball impressed with their ability to fit in. For Giddey, his first game as a Bull, and Ball, his first game in 30 months, and his first against one of his former teams.
Some weaknesses plagued the team as a whole, though. There was a lack of communication and chemistry on both ends of the court. The flow of the offense was stymied at times, leading to poor possessions and turnovers. The Chicago Bulls turned the ball over 21 times in the game, with many coming in the fourth quarter as they tried to mount a comeback. They often passed up open threes to try and find better opportunities that weren’t there and if Zach LaVine or Nikola Vucevic wasn’t on the floor, there was no clear directive on offense.
Defense was a bigger problem for the Chicago Bulls. Except for Jalen Smith, who was great in his role off the bench, the defense was disjointed and easy to take advantage of. There was poor communication that led to open guys getting favorable matchups that they could then isolate, or the defense failed to shift and switch assignments, which led to easy and uncontested baskets that ultimately did the Bulls in. The offense left some points out on the floor, but the defense was the number one problem for the Bulls against the Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans.
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