Zach LaVine is looking for adjustments after halftime, which is when he and his teammates always seem to stumble.
Kris Dunn wants urgency — and a feeling that the recurrent losses actually mean something, that they hurt.
Coach Jim Boylen wants consistency. In his first full season as coach, he has built an identity on the defensive end, but the offense gets lost way too often.
All three are searching for something in the third year of the Bulls’ rebuild, but in a bottom-line business, all they have to show is a 13-25 record after the latest embarrassing loss to the undermanned Pelicans.
“I think we have grown offensively,’’ Boylen said. “I think we are more comfortable in the system. We are making more basketball plays — backdoors and forceful cuts — for situations where we get a layup in the halfcourt. That is happening more often —not enough, but more often.
“We’re spending a lot of time in video review and walkthrough review in situations where we can be better offensively. We’ve established a defensive identity. We know how we want to play offensively and have not played as well as I would’ve hoped. I can’t deny that.’’
At least someone in the organization is not in denial. So many others, however, fail to see — or admit — their mistakes, and by the time they realize they’ve gone down the wrong path, it’s often too late.
The two-game trip to Dallas and New Orleans served as another reminder of that predicament. The Mavericks and Pelicans, like the Bulls, also embarked on rebuilds, but they’ve been decisive in their decisions in a quickly changing NBA landscape.
The Mavs looked to have a keeper in first-round pick Dennis Smith Jr. three seasons ago, but after assessing his potential, they flipped him in a package for Kristaps Porzingis. Before that, they made a deal with the Hawks during the 2018 NBA Draft to make sure they landed Luka Doncic.
Doncic has become a star, Porzingis is a solid No. 2 and, more important, the Mavericks are a relevant playoff contender in the Western Conference.
New Orleans deserves some credit, too. The Pelicans were being held hostage by a top-five talent — Anthony Davis — at this point last season and rather than ride out a final year before losing him to the market, they swallowed their pride and sent him to the Lakers, who were courting him all along.
Remember, the Pelicans had won 48 games during the 2017-18 season and were a No. 6 seed in the West.
The return for Davis was Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks. Ingram might be the only long-term keeper, but the Pelicans can easily move on from Ball and Hart, who are role players.
Obviously, they had draft-lottery luck with Zion Williamson, an organizational-changer, especially if he can stay healthy. But there’s a plan in New Orleans, a commitment to a new look. The front office underwent a housecleaning during the summer with David Griffin taking over basketball operations and Trajan Langdon being named general manager.
The Bulls got a glimpse of both organizations up close this week. The outcome: two more losses.
NOTE: The Bulls announced center Wendell Carter Jr. will be out four to six weeks after an MRI exam and CT scan confirmed a severe right ankle sprain, suffered Monday in Dallas. Also, forward Otto Porter Jr. will continue to gradually increase non-basketball activities as he recovers from a broken left foot that initially was diagnosed as a bruise.
