The Chicago Bulls didn't just fall flat on their face Wednesday night; they cartoonishly slipped off a cliff into a pile of mud ... only to have a piano land on their heads.
Toronto handed them a brutal 135-92 loss behind an elite defensive showing. They forced this young Bulls team into a staggering 27 turnovers and held them to just 31.8 percent shooting from the field. Yes, those numbers are real.
At the same time, the lopsided score doesn't feel nearly as meaningful as the coaching decisions made throughout. It's Game 1 of a rebuild. As ugly as that performance looked, fans need to expect some steep ups and downs this season. That's just part of the process. There is a very real chance they come out against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and look like a completely different team.
What might not be completely different, however, is who sees the floor. Tiago Splitter gave fans an idea of who he trusts and, even more notably, who he doesn't trust in the opening-night loss.
Patrick Williams is Odd Man Out
Tiago Splitter went ten deep in the first half. The head coach plans to play fast and has thus suggested he will run an extended rotation to keep fresh legs on the court. Aside from the starters (Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Jalen Smith), Splitter gave Tre Jones, Leonard Miller, Isaac Okoro, Zach Collins, and Buddy Hield second-unit reps.
As the game slipped further and further away, however, Splitter started to search for anything that could get his team going. This led to Noa Essengue checking in, as well as two-way players Jaylin Sellers and Tobe Awaka.
In other words, 13 of 17 Bulls roster members saw the floor. And three players were not available due to injury. For those keeping track at home, that means ONE available player was held out of last night's game: Patrick Williams.
It's undeniably a telling decision by the Chicago Bulls' new head coach, especially when we consider the blowout nature of the game. Not to mention, it speaks further to just how much has changed internally for this franchise. Williams, a former No. 4 overall pick in his own right, was a staple for the past regime. They seemingly did everything they could to ensure he had a legitimate game-to-game role despite the subpar results.
Splitter and Bryson Graham aren't going to play that game.
Indeed, this new brain trust is not indebted to Williams. While that alone is somewhat refreshing, it's also a brutal reminder of how poorly things have gone for the 25-year-old forward. He is owed $18.0 million a year until 2028-29, yet he can't even see the floor in a historic opening night loss.
Is it possible that this game leads to an opportunity for Williams this weekend? Sure. Splitter may very well look to shake things up after the ugly beatdown. However, not using Williams size and strength against that specific Toronto Raptors team feels pretty telling. He clearly has a lot to prove to this current coaching staff, and doing so is going to be harder than ever with so many capable wings on the roster.
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