The Chicago Bulls faced the Houston Rockets on Friday in what was the first preseason outing for both sides. Chicago came out on the losing end against a Rockets side that was without want-away superstar James Harden, 125-104.
The Bulls were not invited to the Disney World bubble, so this was their first taste of playing an NBA (preseason) game in a crowd-less arena. For second-year Chicago point guard Coby White, he admitted that it was an unfamiliar experience for them playing without fans inside the United Center:
“It’s different,” Coby White said, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “A lot of us players feed off the energy of the fans. It’s something you gotta get used to. It’s the way the NBA is now. The quicker you adjust, the better things will be for you.”
White was arguably Chicago's best player on the evening, finishing with 15 points, one rebound and six assists in 23 minutes of action.
Bulls big man Wendell Carter Jr. echoed his teammates thoughts, expressing how they had to try and find energy from elsewhere:
“It was kind of strange,” Carter said. “We had to bring our own energy to the game. I think that’s something we have to work on as a team. We just kind of feed off the fans sometimes. Now that we can’t do that, we have to find ways to find energy.”
Friday's game also featured the Rockets debuts of John Wall (13 points, five rebounds, nine assists) and DeMarcus Cousins (14 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks). A shorthanded Houston side still proved too overwhelming for the Bulls on the evening, however.
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