3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' embarrassing defensive effort against the Minnesota Timberwolves

We all knew the Chicago Bulls were in dire straits this season, but what happened against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their most recent matchup was downright embarrassing.

The Bulls suffered a fourth straight defeat to drop to 11-18 for the season. Most worrying was their defensive effort as the Wolves—which played without their All-Star frontcourt of Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns still managed to put up a whopping 150 points against the Bulls' 126.

Here are three takeaways from their disastrous effort.

Such atrocious defense

As accurate as the Wolves were from all over the floor—especially from beyond the arc, where they made 23 shots—the Bulls' defensive effort was atrocious, to say the least. Their switching and communication were poor, and they often failed to close out on shooters quickly enough. It was too easy for Timberwolves players to get into their comfort zones and score easily.

The numbers painted a bleak picture of the Bulls' defense, or lack thereof, as the Wolves made 57 field goals on 65.5 shooting. Chicago's interior defense was nowhere to be found as the Wolves made all but three of their 27 shots at the rim.

By the end of it, with the win all but secured, Minnesota put on a show, including this highlight-reel slam by Anthony Edwards.

ANTHONY EDWARDS WINDMILL pic.twitter.com/ahCUynuRzy
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 19, 2022

Drummond gets a DNP-Coach's Decision

As accepting as Andre Drummond has been of his somewhat limited role, it was still surprising to see him get a DNP-Coach's Decision. His last two games have featured 12 and 10 minutes of playing time, respectively, yet coach Billy Donovan opted not to give Drummond court time in the matchup against Minnesota.

The presence of Drummond—a double-double threat even in a reserve role—could have shored up Chicago's interior defense and put up a better fight against the Wolves. But without him, the Bulls had no answer for Minnesota's onslaught of scoring from all over the floor.

Bulls' "Big Three" have a productive night

The Bulls' "Big Three" all had productive performances, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way with 29, Nikola Vucevic putting up 23, and Zach LaVine tallying 22. The Bulls were alright offensively—they made 52.3% of their field goals and even dished out 31 assists.

However, Chicago's offense proved futile in the face of Minnesota's hot shooting; they broke a franchise record for points scored in a game.

“It should be the ultimate be lesson learned of what it’s like you let something slip, not being connected, not being one, not understanding what needs to be done collectively to help out each other," said DeRozan. "It’s embarrassing to give up that many points. Nothing against Minnesota, but it’s not like we playing against the 2016 Golden State Warriors.”

Ball movement finding Deebo for three!@NBCSChicago | #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/0tVSVD8l97
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 19, 2022