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Chuck Checks In: 10.5.18

TODAY: Bulls back at it on the practice floor gearing up for Monday’s game at Charlotte.

Head Coach Fred Hoiberg was extremely transparent with the media on Thursday as he addressed the Bulls lackluster performance in a Wednesday loss to the Bucks.

“We’ve had very demanding practices, no doubt about that, the day before may have been our hardest practice of the year but you can’t use that as an excuse. You still have still to go out there and lay it on line. I think our defensive transition was very poor.“

Hoiberg, continued. “We’ve had a really good camp and you can’t take that away. You can’t let one really bad experience take away from the progress that we’ve made to this point. That being said, it shows you that we have so much to work on and it’s not just its us, it’s every team at this time of year.

Zach LaVine missed practice on Thursday after sustaining a contusion on his right quad.

After watching the game a second time (that’s correct, I watched the whole game, again) the one noticeable was the inability to get back on defense. The commitment on the defensive side of the ball must be there for a full 48 if the Bulls expect to get better. I think you’ll see a much better performance against the Hornets on Monday.

The Bulls have a few days to get things turned around with their next game not until Monday. The Bulls play three times next week then have a break from Saturday until the following Thursday for their NBA opener at Philadelphia.

CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES

Jimmy Butler still resides in Minnesota...

Indiana 110 Rockets 100. The Pacers are looking for second year big T.J. Leaf (UCLA) to take a huge step this season and he was impressive with a 13-12-4 game. Victor Oladipo poured in 24 points. Indiana made some nice upgrades in the off season. It’s all about the playoffs for the Pacers.

Lakers 128 Kings 123. Brandon Ingram was terrific scoring 31 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists and 3 steals. He will be as good as he wants to be. LeBron with 18 points. Keep this name in you mind: Harry Giles . The Kings big sat out last year taking care of knee issues but when healthy he’s a player and will be a major rotation contributor for Sac.

Kyrie Irving says he plans to resign with the Celtics when the free agency window opens in July.

A major setback for the Thunder as Andre Roberson underwent knee surgery and will be sidelined an additional two months.

Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls

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