Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The Chicago Bulls’ decision to hold their training camp in Nashville came into the spotlight Wednesday night after a disastrous season-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On the one hand, the improved communication and cohesion that served as goals and watchwords during the remote camp, not to mention an offensive philosophy to avoid isolation and stagnation, were put to the test during a heated exchange between Nikola Vučević and coach Billy Donovan in the third quarter placed .
On the other hand, the 20-point loss, which drew light boos from the sellout crowd, sparked a players-only meeting in the postgame locker room where dialogue and tough talk flowed freely.
“That would never have happened last year. It would have been a quiet group,” Donovan said. “So the confrontational piece is a sign that they care. And they know we have to do better.”
Typically, the coaches meet separately in their office while the players sit in the locker room after the game and chat among themselves. As Donovan left his staff debriefing and entered the locker room to see his players having the tough conversations that Nashville’s team bonding activities were supposed to foster, he asked his players if they needed more time.
They said yes.
“I think it was really good for us that we had that. I think it was necessary. It was just regular discussions about what needed to be done. A lot of people said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said. I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change,” Vučević said. “It was nothing crazy, no fights or nothing like that. It was really constructive. It was perhaps one of the first times since I’ve been here that this was the case. And it was really necessary.
“I started saying some things. I really liked that so many people jumped in and said so many good things. Not one person is 100 percent right. Everyone had something to say and sees things differently. And if you have these constructive conversations, they can only bring positive things. I think communication is very important.
“I’ve been on teams in the past where we’ve had those and it’s worked almost every time where we’ve been able to really fix some things and move on.”
Zach LaVine added: “Guys want to win. When you put a game like this on Game One, people are going to have some conversations. Guys are frustrated and you should be too. If you’re not frustrated, that says it all. It sucks that it happens in the first game. It happened. We have to move on from there. Guys will give their opinions after a game. So are coaches. We all need to get it out there and make sure we’re on the same page. It’s not a single person who lost. It’s the whole team.”
Vučević’s explosion came in the third quarter after he received a technical foul for frustratingly throwing the ball against the back of the basket after the team’s defense collapsed. But there was also a long stretch in which he barely touched the ball; He went 12 minutes between field goal attempts, bridging the second and third quarters.
“In certain moments I felt like we were a little stagnant and similar things were going on, and I think we could have gotten involved in certain situations that could have helped the team,” Vučević said. “I will watch the film again and see. Maybe some of the things I saw were wrong and I overreacted. I will see.
“It wasn’t so much just my touches. Just the things we did could have been better for us at the moment. Some of it was touches, but not necessarily me scoring a goal. Offensively we faltered a bit and didn’t play with enough energy and didn’t move the ball enough.
“Just dissatisfied with some of the things we’re doing. Obviously I expressed it a little more aggressively than I should have at the moment. This happens in the heat of the moment. You try to win and do what you can to help the team. I didn’t like what was going on. We talked about it. And it’s over.”
Maybe not. Actually, Donovan is hoping for more tough conversations in the future. To him, they represent a team that cares about him.
“I’ve said this before: I think confrontation is good. I think it’s healthy. I have all the respect in the world for Vooch. He felt a certain way. And I kind of said what I felt. He’s probably not wrong for feeling the way he did. “But how do you channel that in a way that keeps the group engaged and motivated?” Donovan said. “At the moment I could have handled him better and maybe he could have handled me better. It wasn’t disrespectful or anything. He was just frustrated with the way we were playing. I didn’t blame him. I joined him. But there has to be a way we can solve these problems together.
“I think the confrontation piece is really, really good. I think it’s really healthy. And I think it needs to happen as often as possible.”
Preferably next time during a close game, without a big loss at the start of the season.
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