The NBA never takes long to introduce itself to a newcomer.
It doesn’t matter how polished or well-programmed a rookie thinks himself to be in the days and weeks before his debut. Blue chip program, AAU glory, top draft pick — nope, none of that matters. It’s the NBA. Excellence is pedestrian here.
This is the lesson Chicago Bulls’ No. 4 draft pick Caleb Wilson learned the hard way 71 seconds into the first game of his NBA career. Wilson thought he had Kawhi Leonard beat off his initial step. The Toronto Raptors didn’t have a low man in position, which meant Wilson had a clear path straight to the rim. All he needed to do was beat Leonard off the dribble.
But that’s a bold assumption to make when being guarded by a two-time champion who forged a nickname off the crafty quickness of his hands as a defender. Wilson crossed the ball over at a relaxed pace and Leonard extended one arm to the totality of his 7-foot-3 wingspan to poke it away. By the time Wilson clocked the loss of possession, half the Raptors roster was already down the court.
Many errors and missteps followed that initial turnover in the 135-92 season-opening loss in Toronto. But that opening mistake captured the yawning chasm between where Wilson is right now and where he hopes to be someday.
“Honestly, it was kind of surreal because it’s Kawhi — it’s The Claw,” Wilson said after the loss. “I was just thinking about what I could do to counter that when I was on the way back. … It’s just something you learn.”
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Wilson’s first rotation was an assortment of blunders. He missed both of his shots. He lost his handle attempting to push the pace in transition, windmilling his arms haplessly as the ball squibbed backward and into the hands of Immanuel Quickley. He couldn’t rebound on defense and let the ball get stuck on the offensive swing.
The game settled down a bit after that first rotation, but Wilson still spent most of his debut playing with the well-meaning gracelessness of a puppy who has yet to grow into his paws. He tripped over his own feet trying to execute a spin move into a double team. He stepped on the sideline while jab-stepping in the corner. He practically jumped into Jakob Poeltl’s arms while attempting to navigate a pair of screens on defense.
It wasn’t all bad. Wilson played more than 32 minutes. That’s too much time for a talented rookie to go without any highlights. But every time Wilson delivered a redemptive move, the Raptors found a way to knock him back down.
The rookie tossed himself into the air at an acute angle to roll in a layup for his first basket of the game. On the ensuing play, Scottie Barnes knocked down a 3-pointer in his face. Wilson recovered a minute later, nailing a 3-pointer. So Quickley countered by trotting up the court and sinking yet another 3 right over the rookie. Wilson rocked the stanchion of the Toronto basket with a ferocious dunk in transition in the fourth quarter, only to have his next attempt at a full-court sprint smacked away by Jamal Shead and silenced with a 3-pointer from Leonard.
The Raptors were, collectively, bigger and faster and meaner. It’s the first time the rookie has encountered a court full of players who all had his number in such a fashion. Wilson finished with 16 points, but also coughed up nine turnovers against zero assists. He tallied a team-worst plus-minus ranking of minus-45. It’s a performance the rookie isn’t trying to repeat any time soon, but it’s also not one that he wants to hang around. This was Wilson’s first night in the NBA. It was his first time out of the country. The firsts will end eventually. The learning won’t.
“I definitely don’t beat myself up,” Wilson said. “I don’t let anybody else’s expectations get to my head. Of course, I could have done things better out there, but it’s my first NBA game. I can’t expect myself to go out there and go for 30. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to learn, to get better every game and it’s going to happen over time.”
Here are three more takeaways from the loss.
1. Who is going to score?
For those who don’t want to flex their arithmetic abilities — the Bulls lost this game by 43 points. That’s a worrisome way to start any season, but especially for a team that could not manage more than 92 points even after the Raptors cleared their bench to run down the blowout.
One game in, it is unclear how exactly the Bulls plan to score points this season. This offense does not feature any clear isolation scorers or playmakers. Josh Giddey, the team’s primary facilitator, coughed up five turnovers against six assists and struggled to progress the ball past half court. Matas Buzelis and Wilson could not create pathways to the rim. Often, the Bulls fell into a flat-footed stance in the half court, looking around as if waiting for an instruction that would never come.
The most consistent scoring for the Bulls came from veterans Norman Powell, Jalen Smith and Tre Jones. The Bulls had to score more than a third of their points from the free-throw line while doling out a miserable 31.8% from the floor. They went 4-for-36 from behind the arc. Wilson, Powell and rookie Jaylin Sellers provided the only long-range makes of the night.
That isn’t enough. Ninety-two points aren’t enough, either. The Bulls aren’t going to get better at dribbling or breaking down defenders one-on-one overnight, but they can shore up these weaknesses by moving off the ball, cutting into space and passing with intensity. Without those factors, the Bulls will lag behind opponents regardless of their defensive acumen.
2. Matas Buzelis got outsized.
The Bulls knew that Wilson — and the rest of the team’s rookies — might receive a wake-up call in the first game of their NBA careers. But more concerning for Chicago was the lack of impact from third-year forward Matas Buzelis, who struggled to achieve his goal of pressuring the Raptors at the rim.
Buzelis did try to force the issue, but he managed only eight shots on the night — half of which came from behind the 3-point arc. The forward got stuffed by double-team blocks and turned away by larger Toronto wings, who manhandled the slighter forward in his attempts to create downhill momentum. Buzelis scored 17 points on 25% shooting and played nearly eight fewer minutes than Wilson.
This lack of penetrative ability from Buzelis highlighted a more extensive problem for the Bulls, who have no individual ability to create off the dribble. A step forward from Buzelis would have given the Bulls an offensive outlet. Without that, this offense will only continue to flounder this season.
3. The Kawhi Leonard connection.
Wednesday’s season opener marked a monumental occasion in Toronto — the return of Kawhi Leonard, the franchise legend who has not played in a Raptors jersey since he won the team a championship in 2019. Leonard, 35, signed a two-year, $115 million deal with the Raptors over the summer to return to the city that made him a champion for a second time.
Raptors fans turned out in droves to celebrate Leonard’s return to ScotiaBank Arena, donning white giveaway shirts that featured the star’s hand extended in his “claw” signature. But it was also a welcome reunion for Bulls coach Tiago Splitter and veteran guard Norman Powell, both of whom won an NBA championship as Leonard’s teammates. Leonard was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs the year after Splitter joined the team and the pair spent four seasons as teammates, including a championship run in 2014. Splitter praised Leonard as a quiet teammate with a loud presence on the court.
“He would just steal my rebounds back in the day,” Splitter joked.
Powell won a championship with Leonard in Toronto, but stayed for two more seasons after the team won the chip. His 2022 trade to the Portland Trail Blazers did not sever a strong connection to the Toronto fan base, who welcomed him back warmly. Before the game, Powell noted that Leonard has grown into his star power in the six seasons since they played together.
Leonard did not overwhelm in his first outing back in Toronto, but he still managed 23 points in his return.