Many reasons can explain a loss. For the Chicago Bulls, in Sunday's defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans, they had one that left everyone speechless: you make shots comfortably, but you can't control most of them finding their way to the basket.

After halting their seven-game losing streak against Charlotte, the Bulls intended to use that win as a turning point to change their trajectory, unleashing 49 three-point attempts against the Pelicans at home.

The ample figure tells the desperation among the group as they endeavored to create shots through relentless runs and ball movement in a sparsely attended United Center. However, things didn't go as planned. With many of those three-point shots bricked and unable to escape the Pelicans' rookie Jeremiah Fears, who dropped a career-high 20 points while enjoying cheers and applause from his family and hometown friends, the Bulls disappointed fans in fewer than two days.

Though converting only 13 of those 49 attempts and swallowing their eighth loss in the last nine games, Billy Donovan showed optimism and called his players' performance "sustainable."

"I felt like we played the right way," Donovan said postgame. "We didn't shoot the ball well…but I think we had seven or eight corner threes? You're not going to bypass those in the first half. We moved the ball. We generated good shots."

More than a week ago, the BullsRountable published a piece about the Bulls' struggle defending opponents' three-point shooting — an area they once guarded exceptionally well earlier in the season. Now, it seems Chicago has drowned itself deeper into the mire, with its three-point shooting added to the list of problems. During the last 10 games, the Bulls have posted only 32.4% from deep, ranking 29th in the NBA. That number even plunged below 30% when minimizing the range to the last five games.

Does this hardship indicate the Bulls have no shooters? Not really. Kevin Huerter, widely classified as a sharpshooter, nailed 2.7 threes per game at 37.6% in 26 games with the Bulls after being traded from Sacramento. Expected to provide outfield shooting support for a short-handed Bulls squad, Huerter, though providing sparks last game after returning from injury, has failed the mission thus far this season with a poor 31.8% three-point field goal percentage. 

What about others? Not classic, but they do have weapons. Coby White, who shot 37% on a career-high 7.9 attempts per game last season, always served as a threat when he pulled the trigger. Josh Giddey, building on his breakout year, increased his shooting frequency to 4.5 per game and reached a career-high 39.8% from beyond the arc. Nikola Vucevic, frequently utilizing his shooting and soft touch to cover his interior-defense weakness, shot slightly over 40% last season.

However, stalwarts with remarkable shooting prowess have struggled during the tough 10-game stretch. Other than Giddey's consistency (42.9%) and, surprisingly, Ayo Dosunmu's three-point surge in seven games before his thumb injury (42.9%), White's rate plummeted to 20% on a team-high 7.0 attempts…whopping. Huerter and Vucevic posted unconvincing figures at 36% and 33.3%, respectively. Matas Buzelis, begging for a leap, shot 23.9%. Isaac Okoro's 10% on 5.0 average three-point attempts confirmed he can only provide value on the defensive end. Tre Jones, who barely shoots as a guard, hasn't made a single three since the Magic game on December 1.

Guess who the best shooter was during the span? That was Patrick Williams, who averaged 1.7 threes on 3.7 attempts (45.5%) in 21.7 minutes off the bench.

The stark contrast reminded me of Peter Patton, the former Bulls shooting coach who helped the team improve from the league's worst shooting record to a more average level. Before joining Chicago in 2023, the Bulls struggled with three-point shooting in the 2022-23 season, making only 854 shots from beyond the arc. The following season, the Bulls increased to 941 three-pointers. Last season, prior to Patton's dismissal in April, the Bulls peaked at 1,266 triples in 2024-25, demonstrating a 48% increase over two years. 

Patton later joined the New York Knicks as a shooting coach before this season. The Knicks have since become a more proficient shooting team, currently ranked fifth in the league with a 37.8% three-point success rate. During Tom Thibodeau's tenure last season, New York was not considered a shooting team, shooting only 38.2% on three-pointers (28th in the NBA). This season, they have improved to seventh place with a 44.1% shooting percentage.

Or maybe the coaching staff change doesn't significantly matter, as three-point shooting struggles shouldn't be part of the Bulls' narrative — at least not a month ago. In November, the Bulls shot 36.4% on 40.4 average attempts, placing 11th in the league. They even ranked sixth (40.2%) during their October outings, known for the dream start that eventually wrapped as a fluke.

Last game against the Pelicans felt like a shooting test for Chicago, which launched 49 attempts that marked the team's third-highest this season by far. When asked whether generating more shots was his focus on Tuesday’s team practice, Donovan rejected that notion, believing what mattered most was whether they could generate quality shots from deep.

"82% of our three-point shots against New Orleans were uncontested," Donovan said Tuesday at team practice, citing a figure he called "crazy." He said the team needed to reduce shooting inside the perimeter, believing the team made progress generating shots through better ball movement during the Pelicans game.

"To me, it's the process. We can't control the result. Every single one of these guys wants to put the ball in the basket. They spend so much time shooting, so do I. But the reality is, if you're a 40% three-point shooter, you're going to miss 60% of your shots. So you're going to have games where you're going to do that," he said.

Whether sustainable change can solve the three-point woes remains uncertain. But at least the Bulls won't back down from catching fire, which is the mindset Chicago needs through the slump.

"A lot of (three-point shots) felt good off my hand…I can't control whether they go in and out," White, who knocked down only one of his 10 attempts, said after the Pelicans game. "If I had to go back, I'd take those shots again."

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