Low-effort moments seemingly increasing for slumping Bulls

BOSTON — The Bulls allowing 46 three-pointers in their last two games is bad.

But the lack of effort on some of the close-outs to minimize all those long-range shots is a flat-out embarrassment.

One such example came in the Bulls’ loss Tuesday to the Celtics. A light screen was thrown in the direction of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, and neither player put up much of a fight to get through it or bothered trying to close out on Al Horford’s three-pointer.

Coach Billy Donovan called a timeout with 3:45 left in the second quarter, addressed it in the huddle, sat down Vucevic for what he said was going with a smaller lineup and planned to hit on it again in the next film session.

Enough of a punishment? Was it the right player who was pulled? Does it even seem to matter much at this point?

For Donovan, yes. The Bulls might be looking very broken — and it’s no coincidence they have continued spiraling since LaVine made it clear he’s not against being traded — but coaches still have to coach.

‘‘When you start talking about effort, as a professional player, there should be effort out there, and we’ll deal with those clips,’’ Donovan said.

Asked why he doesn’t use playing time or a straight-up benching as more of a punishment for lackluster effort, he replied: ‘‘I’m not a big threatening guy. I generally don’t do that. I try and confront whatever is there, and if there’s an issue, you try and address it.

‘‘If we’ve got to make changes in the game, whether it’s the rotations or whatever, I try and do that, as well. But for me to go in there and start threatening, ‘If you don’t do this, this . . .’ — I’d rather look at the guys that are going to give me the best they’ve got. And if it’s not, then we have to make changes or adjustments to try and do that.’’

Sooner than later.

As inconsistent as the Bulls were last season, they at least could hang their hat on ending the season as a top-five defense with a 112.2 rating. As of Wednesday, they had slipped to 22nd at 116.9.

The rest of the league knows the problems the Bulls are having defending the three-pointer, whether it’s because of effort or miscommunication. That’s evident by teams attempting an average of 39 threes (third-most in the league) and making an average of 14.7 (second-most) against them.

Some pride would be nice, especially when there’s a high-effort player such as Alex Caruso on the roster. Caruso throws his body around with little regard for the damage he suffers.

‘‘Yeah, that’s frustrating,’’ Caruso said, acknowledging that lack of effort has played a part in some of the defensive lapses. ‘‘As a team, there’s two things that are mandatory in the NBA if you want to win games: effort and execution. If you miss half of that, you’re probably behind the 8-ball and probably not going to put yourself in a good chance to win.

‘‘It’s something that’s frustrating and something we can only wash it, get back and go with the next one. Try and continue to lead by example and lead vocally, pull guys along with me.’’

But for how long? Donovan only can sub guys out so many times, and Caruso only can pull so hard.

‘‘It’s our job,’’ Caruso said when asked about trying to keep this all together. ‘‘Night in and night out, that’s your responsibility — whether you wear Bulls, Celtics, whatever it is across your chest. There’s a pride that comes with playing in the NBA that you’ve got to show up and do your job every night.’’

NOTE: The non-qualifying games for the In-Season Tournament were released Wednesday. The Bulls will host the Hornets next Wednesday and visit the Spurs on Dec. 8.