Bulls players took unusual step after season-opening loss

Dec 7, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) warms up before an NBA game against the Washington Wizards at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Bulls players took a very unusual step after dropping their season opener Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Bulls held a players-only meeting after their 124-104 loss to Oklahoma City, even though it was the first game of the season. The team was held to just 69 points over the last three quarters, prompting the closed-door meeting.

“Guys want to win,” guard Zach LaVine said, via Jamal Collier of ESPN. “You put up a game like this in game 1, you’re going to have some conversations. Guys are frustrated and you should be. … It’s a good thing, but sucks that it happened game 1. It happened, and we got to go from there.”

One could argue that it is a good thing that the Bulls are aggressively trying to work out whatever issues they may have. That said, it is not exactly a good sign for it to be happening after the first 48 minutes of the season. That is even more true when there is some uncertainty hovering around one of the team’s stars, suggesting that the current core may not be sticking together in the long run.

The Bulls are hopeful of improvement after a 40-42 season last year. This was not an ideal start.