Bulls hammered by 43 as US website asks cruel Giddey question
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Australia’s best men’s basketballer, Josh Giddey, endured a nightmare NBA season opener as the Chicago Bulls were blown off the court by the Toronto Raptors.
Buoyed by Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto after seven years in Los Angeles, the Raptors played like men possessed in a 135-92 rout on Thursday (AEDT).
Immanuel Quickley and Josh Giddey battle for a loose ball. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
The 43 point loss was the equal-10th heaviest in the storied 60-year history of the Chicago franchise.
The worst loss in Bulls history was a 133-77 hammering (56 points) from the Boston Celtics in 2018.
Point guard Giddey was at the heart of Chicago’s struggles.
The 24-year-old from Melbourne scored just two points on 1-10 shooting while missing both of his free throws and committing five turnovers in 24 minutes.
His horror show encouraged Heavy.com to publish a story with the headline: ‘Is Josh Giddey Playing Tonight? Why Bulls Star Isn’t Scoring Any Points.’
“Josh Giddey, what are we doing? Looks off a wide open (Buddy) Hield and drives into a wall,” Chicago content creator Ross Pins bemoaned on social media during a rough first half.
It got worse in the second when a visibly frustrated Giddey gave away a technical foul.
“Length of Toronto has been a major problem for him tonight. Can’t get any good looks at the rim,” Elias Schuster of Sports Illustrated observed.
“There just isn’t a good feel with this group offensively right now. Halfcourt looks are really hard to come by.”
Giddey wore a wrap on his left wrist and told reporters that he had suffered the injury during Chicago’s first preseason game.
Giddey said he had undergone an MRI and planned to play through the injury.
Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is introduced. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley all scored 23 points for the Raptors.
Leonard led Toronto to a historic championship in 2019 before signing with the LA Clippers.
The 35-year-old’s run in California came to a highly controversial end as he became the centre of a scandal uncovered by journalist Pablo Torre.
Leonard’s reunion with the Raptors was delayed during an NBA investigation that found the Clippers and Leonard violated salary-cap circumvention rules.
Los Angeles was fined $43 million and stripped of five future first-round picks, while Leonard was separately fined $1 million.
He is now enjoying a fresh start with his old team.
“It’s going to work great, just because we’re coming in to play defence first. I can play off anybody,” Leonard said.
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels. AP Photo/John Raoux
Opening day went much better for Giddey’s Boomers teammate Dyson Daniels.
Daniels scored 20 points to go with five steals, four rebounds and three assists as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 132-125 on the road.
His Aussie Hawks teammate Jock Landale also impressed with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
