Explosive offense for Chicago Bulls in opening-night loss; 3 takeaways

The Chicago Bulls opened their 2019-20 NBA season on Wednesday in Charlotte. Here are three takeaways from their opening night against the Hornets.

After an exciting offseason featuring the drafting of exciting rookies and veteran additions, the Chicago Bulls opened their 2019-20 campaign on the road with a disappointing 126-125 loss against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Yes, it’s the first of 82 games, but it’s not just that they lost, it’s how they lost.

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This season’s edition of the Chicago Bulls won’t remind many of the plodding style of the 2018-19 season. In 2018-19, they were one of the worst offensive scoring teams in the league, trudging along, scoring 104.9 points per game, good for 27th in the NBA. This team this season is, thankfully, far removed from that and it showed opening night.

Chicago blew a 118-108 lead midway through the fourth quarter and lost to the young and rebuilding Hornets.

There’s really not a great way to frame it; losing to the Hornets, a team the Bulls should be superior to, isn’t a fantastic way to start the season, even on the road on opening night.

The Bulls wasted a 35-point, 17-rebound performance from Lauri Markkanen and the exciting debut of rookie lottery pick Coby White, who had an impressive 17-point, seven-assist showing.

Despite the loss, which featured 11 lead changes and nine ties, the Bulls did post 125 points and outscored the Hornets 78-42 in the paint. However, Charlotte poured in a team-record 23 3-point buckets, hitting 52.3 percent of their 44 attempts from long range.

It’s important not to overreact to one game, especially the first game of the season with 81 more to follow. This loss is a tough one to swallow. That said, it’s not all doom and gloom after this defeat. Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s season opener.