The Chicago Bulls are hoping to take a step forward this season.
To do that, they’ll need to get another big year from Josh Giddey.
On opening night, though, that wasn’t happening at all for Giddey. In his first 20 minutes on the court, he hadn’t scored.
Is Josh Giddey Playing Tonight?
Yes, Giddey is in action on Wednesday night. He’s not injured or anything.
He just isn’t putting the ball in the basket.
Through his first 21 minutes, actually, Giddey was 0-for-6 from the floor, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range.
In that span, Giddey did have seven rebounds and five assists, but he also had five turnovers.
And through 21 minutes, Giddey was a ghastly minus-40. It was about the worst possible start you could imagine to a season.
It’s also safe to expect that Giddey won’t necessarily play down the stretch. The Bulls are down big to the Toronto Raptors and will likely close up shop early to try again the next time out.
Ironically: Giddey scored the final bucket of the third quarter to give him his first two points of the season on his ninth field goal attempt.
The Bulls trailed 103-71 after three quarters. It was not a night Giddey will want to remember.
What Happened to Bulls?
Two things went wrong for Chicago in Toronto: They didn’t score, and they couldn’t stop the Raptors from scoring.
Through three quarters, the Bulls had made one-third of their shots from the floor, and they were just 4-for-28 from 3-point range.
The Raptors were making 42% of their shots, including 31% from 3-point range, while also making 31 foul shots through three quarters at better than 80% from the line.
The Bulls had already turned over the ball 18 times in that span, compared to just four turnovers for the Raptors.
So Toronto had possessions and shot the ball more efficiently. In that context, the Bulls never stood a chance.
A lot of that does fall on Giddey, because a floor general like him is supposed to make sure things run more smoothly.
But on this night, Giddey and the rest of the starting five of Norman Powell, Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis and Jalen Smith couldn’t make it happen.
Is Josh Giddey Playing Tonight? Why Bulls Star Isn’t Scoring Any Points