After losing their openers with their new teams, both coaches will be looking for their first victories Friday when the visiting Chicago Bulls face the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bulls aren’t projected to contend in the Eastern Conference under first-year coach Tiago Splitter, but a 43-point season-opening loss to the host Toronto Raptors on Wednesday was far worse than expected.
Chicago will have a quick turnaround in its second straight road game to open the season, as it tries to put the worst season-opening loss in franchise history behind it. For Splitter, the 135-92 drubbing was about more than just missed shots.
“The way we compete, especially after a turnover, getting our heads down running back; (that’s) something we cannot accept,” Splitter said. “We’re going to watch film and get better. Yes, I’m worried. We’ve got to get better.”
Arriving alongside Splitter — hired in June after leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a playoff appearance in an interim role last season — is No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson.
The 6-foot-10 former North Carolina star struggled in his debut, scoring 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting while committing nine turnovers. Still, the 20-year-old is taking a patient approach heading into his second NBA game.
“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.”
The new-look Bucks opened the Taylor Jenkins era with a 128-116 road defeat to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. Jenkins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach who was hired by Milwaukee in April, has the challenge of leading the franchise into the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
With a new core built around Milwaukee native Tyler Herro, who was acquired in the trade that sent Antetokounmpo to Miami, the Bucks are still getting acquainted with one another and their new coach.
Although Milwaukee is also projected to finish in the lower half of the East, 11-year veteran Myles Turner doesn’t want this to be a throwaway season.
Turner started 71 games last season for a Bucks team that lost 50 games for the first time since 2013-14.
“One of the things I hate that people say — but it’s true — is that it’s a long season,” Turner said. “If you keep looking at it like it’s a long season and that we’ll get there eventually, that’s not really our mindset. Obviously we’re building and we want to get better every single night, but I think we took a step in the right direction (Wednesday).”
Friday’s game was moved up four hours to accommodate Game 1 of the World Series, with the Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Tampa Bay Rays.
