Chicago’s narrow preseason loss to Denver has more in it than a missing-size explanation. Denver doubled Chicago’s paint points in the opening quarter, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, but the Bulls still reached halftime ahead. Chicago won the second quarter 41–30; Denver answered 40–26 in the third, and the fourth was level. That swing is the story I’d take into the next look at both teams, rather than the final margin alone.
The Sun-Times describes Chicago’s second unit playing faster as it tried to offset Denver’s size. The provisional game record shows where the scoreboard turned, but it doesn’t show the possessions or substitution sequence within each quarter. So the pace idea is worth watching again, not something this score by itself proves.
