The Chicago Bulls can’t survive without Coby White and Josh Giddey.
This team was built around this pairing — White’s prolific shot-making from deep, Giddey’s exhaustive playmaking with the ball in his hands. When either — or, worse, both — of those pillars are removed, the rest of the structure crumbles away. And nothing proved this point more thoroughly than Monday’s 136-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bulls got a major setback less than seven minutes into the game when White came up short midway through a defensive possession. He grabbed his right calf before attempting to return to the play, scrambling around the perimeter with a visible limp.
But after trying to contest a shot by Donte DiVincenzo, White couldn’t gather himself enough to hobble back into the play. He headed straight to the locker room after a timeout was called and was later ruled out with a right calf injury.
Losing White was a blow — but it was one the Bulls were prepared to weather. He missed the first 11 games of the season, forcing the Bulls to adapt to a reality without one of their central players. But barely a minute into the second half, the Bulls seemed to suffer déjà vu.
Giddey pulled up awkwardly at the top of the key, tossing the ball to a teammate before grabbing his left hamstring. Just like White, Giddey headed straight to the locker room after the next whistle, shuffling awkwardly with assistance from head athletic trainer Todd Campbell. The team ruled Giddey out with a hamstring injury before the end of the third quarter.
For the Bulls, this one-two punch is vital. Giddey averages 19.5 points and 9.2 assists. White averages 20.5 points and 4.9 assists. That roughly translates to more than a third of the team’s total offense.
The Bulls pride themselves on depth, but that didn’t seem to provide any resilience in the face of these two key injuries. The white flag went up with more than five minutes left as the Bulls cleared their bench to accept the 35-point defeat.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. A big problem
The Bulls couldn’t lean into their double-big rotation — which has been remarkably effective in limited usage this season — against the Timberwolves due to the absence of center Zach Collins.
Collins sprained a toe in Saturday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Before Monday’s game, coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls anticipate Collins will be sidelined for the rest of this week’s homestand, which includes games against the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets.
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Collins has played in only 10 games this season after missing the entire first month because of a wrist fracture incurred in the final preseason game.
This absence was painful against the Timberwolves, who typically clobber the paint with their big man trio of Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid. The Bulls didn’t have the bodies to double up on bigs — and also continued to switch on defense — which forced larger wings such as Ayo Dosunmu and Isaac Okoro to lean into their physicality to survive these assignments.
Centers Nikola Vučević and Jalen Smith were the standouts of the game for the Bulls, combining for 35 of the team’s 101 points. But that production wasn’t enough to counterbalance the Minnesota frontcourt, which was powered by a 33-point performance from Reid.
2. Losing control
It’s no surprise the Bulls struggled to protect the ball without their two leading ballhandlers on the court. But their inability to create with the ball — or keep it out of Minnesota’s hands — limited the offense, which barely cracked 100 points.
The Bulls gave up 24 points off 16 turnovers. The Timberwolves, in stark comparison, turned the ball over only three times — and only once before both teams emptied their benches for the final 5:30.
While the loss of Giddey and White hampered the Bulls’ ability to create sustainable offense, it was this discrepancy in mistakes — also caused by the pair’s absence — that defined the Bulls’ stagnancy in the second half.
3. Anthony Edwards warmed up
Many stars prefer to ease into a game before turning on the light show — and Edwards is no different. He scored only one point in the first quarter, but that was no problem for the Timberwolves. Edwards was simply biding time to turn up the heat on the Bulls.
The onslaught began toward the end of the first half. After sinking back-to-back 3s, Edwards scored eight points in the final six minutes of the half, in addition to forcing a turnover and assisting on two baskets in the final minute to send Minnesota into the locker room with a five-point lead. He finished with 23 points.