Takeaway & Player Grades: Pelicans 114, Bulls 104

The New Orleans Pelicans have only five wins to their name this season, and two of them have now come against the Chicago Bulls.

Three Takeaways

An Ice Cold Start

To begin the night, the Chicago Bulls' offense was the equivalent of a nicely decorated Malort-flavored cake. In other words, it looked the part. The ball movement was solid, and the energy they had in transition was encouraging. And yet, when you grabbed a fork and dug into the numbers, it was impossible not to grimace.

Chicago shot a mere 17-50 over the first two quarters. This 34.0 percent success rate marked their second-worst clip in the first half this season and third-worst in any half over these first 25 games. Again, it was hard not to like the looks they were generating, especially inside. But they watched multiple shots rattle off the rim with only a 15-30 showing in the paint over the first two quarters. Nikola Vucevic's struggles stood out the most, as he was 1-8 heading into the locker room after getting benched in the second half of Friday's game against Charlotte.

The shots from downtown also weren't falling, but this didn't stop the Bulls from chucking them up. More than half of their first-half attempts came from three, where they shot 6-29. When we consider the lack of a proven rim-protector in New Orleans, as well as the fact that Chicago was fresh off scoring 80 points in the paint against Charlotte, it sure felt like they settled for too many long-range jumpers.

Indeed, this only continued coming out of the break. The Bulls' first six attempts of the third quarter came from behind the arc, and Isaac Okoro was the only one to knock one down. This helped New Orleans start the frame on a 10-3 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 62-50.

When Matas Buzelis drove to the rim and finished a tough one-handed jam over Trey Murphy, the switch had finally seemed to flip. The Bulls started to put their head down and attack the rim, eventually putting together a 14-0 run that led to them regaining a 73-72 lead. While Josh Giddey and Dalen Terry each splashed a three during this sequence, it was undoubtedly Chicago's more aggressive downhill mindset that made this a game again.

Nonetheless, rarely do the basketball gods let you overcome that kind of ice-cold start. They ended the night shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from downtown. Their 49 attempts from distance tied their third-most in regulation this season. All in all, it felt like the wrong strategy against this immature Pelicans team.

Nikola Vucevic Gets a Second Chance

Despite the first-half struggles, Billy Donovan gave his veteran another chance. Nikola Vucevic checked back into the game to play the final 7:22 of action. While he would go on to score 8 points, 6 of those points came off back-to-back desperation threes with the Bulls down 14 points.

Overall, Vucevic finished the evening with 12 points on 5-16 from the field. He was also a team-low -11 in his 31 minutes of action. This was a perfect opportunity for him to bounce back and play like the adult in the room against a very inexperienced team. He failed to do just that, only raising further questions about his potential role moving forward.

While neither Collins nor Smith was particularly impressive tonight, they each saw only 12 minutes of action. As long as Vucevic performs like this, they have to play more for the Bulls to find success.

Speaking of this big man problem ...

Another Defensive Collapse

Just when the Chicago Bulls looked as though they figured a few things out offensively, their defense decided to throw in the towel. To be sure, the Pelicans' offense faced similar struggles all night long, but they looked increasingly comfortable during the second half.

Jeremiah Fears' shifty and strong ball-handling, in particular, became a pretty big problem. The rookie scored or assisted on 18 points in the fourth quarter, and he also came away with two steals on the other end.

Meanwhile, Zion Williamson made his presence felt when it mattered most. The explosive forward was coming off the bench tonight after sitting out the previous six games. He scored 7 points in the final 3:45 of action to help ensure the Pelicans held onto their double-digit lead. Williamson was the primary reason that New Orleans pulled off the win over Chicago at the end of November, and he looked equally as comfortable tonight. The Bulls are genuinely lucky the Pelicans only let him play 27 minutes.

Overall, entering the final frame up only a single point, the Bulls allowed the Pelicans to shoot 53.8 percent and 9-13 in the restricted area. They were also a perfect 8-8 at the charity stripe. This is why it's especially hard not to think about Billy Donovan's decision to go back to Nikola Vucevic. He checked back in with 7:22 to go with New Orleans' lead sitting at 88-83. Would things have been different if Donovan had stuck with Collins or his double-big lineup?

Five Chicago Bulls Player Grades