Bulls embarrassed in New York as rookie Caleb Wilson gets soft benching

NEW YORK – It feels a little different for Josh Giddey.

Like both he and the Bulls offense are taking steps towards progress. Baby steps, but steps.

All but meaningless on nights like Wednesday, however, when the defense was so non-existent from the opening tip-off that any gains by the offense were lost in the sewage displayed on the other end of the floor.

If there was some saving grace in an embarrassing 135-105 performance on the big stage of Madison Square Garden, it was at least the players didn’t wait until the third quarter to disappoint coach Tiago Splitter.

No, they handled that business right away as the defending NBA Champions got what ever they wanted in the opening stanza, jumping out to a 43-21 lead and doing so on 15-of-23 shooting (65.2%).

That also included the defense having no answer for Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, who put up 22 points in the first quarter alone. The Bulls (1-7) attempted to button things up in the second, but if only allowing 41 points on 59% shooting from the field is cleaning it up, heck, don’t bother.

All the Bulls did in that first half was allow the Knicks to tie a franchise record of 84 points scored going into the halftime locker room.

If there was some sort of light in a very dark tunnel, it was Giddey slowly finding his efficiency. Considering the hellish schedule the Bulls have been crawling through, he’ll need it.

“Yeah, I think so,” Giddey replied when asked if the team could come out of the gauntlet of games with enough calluses to start winning games. “I wouldn’t say there are any nights in the NBA where you’re like, ‘Ah, it’s a walkover.’ Especially a group like us where we feel like we can be competitive any night but we feel like we can also lose any night, so we got to come in with the right attitude, whether we’re playing the Knicks, who just won a championship, or a team that hasn’t won many games. We’ve got to respect our opponent.

“I think wins will start to come. We’re headed in the right direction, doing the right things and wins will start to come. Just stick with it.”

Advice he might want to remind himself of and his rookie Caleb Wilson.

It was an off night for the No. 4 pick, scoring just five points and not showcasing the best body language throughout the game. Enough so that after his third-quarter stint, Splitter sat him for the rest of the game.

“I didn’t think he had a great game,” Splitter said. “He wasn’t doing the right things on offense, defense, body language, he’s got to get better.”

The buzzword was resiliency, but not just for the 20-year-old. Giddey included. The veteran guard knows there is a lot more he needs to fix, but hitting three of his first four shots on his way to 10 points and six assists was something. Not enough, but something.

“I asked him to be aggressive, be yourself,” Splitter said of Giddey. “I think he tried to play the way we want.”

Now he needs to start playing the way he’s shown he can.

Giddey entered the rematch with the Knicks on Wednesday, averaging 9.1 points, 7.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting a dismal 26.9% from three-point range. Last season alone, Giddey was a 17-point scorer each game, as well as adding 9.1 rebounds and 8.3 rebounds per game, shooting 36.4% from three.

Splitter has been trying to stagger Giddey with the second unit, which has shown signs.

“I think I can be a lot more efficient, be stronger getting downhill, but overall, we’re taking steps in the right direction,” Giddey said. “It hasn’t shown in the win column, but I feel like we’re getting better and better.”

Now for that defense …