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**The Chicago Bulls have now suffered back-to-back third-quarter collapses, and the conversation is shifting from young-team growing pains to whether Tiago Splitter is getting out-adjusted after halftime. 👀🐂**
On today’s episode of **Locked On Bulls**, Haize and Pat The Designer break down Chicago’s latest ugly loss to Boston and a troubling trend that has developed over the past two games.
The Bulls were competitive for stretches against the Celtics, cutting a 16-point deficit down to four and staying within seven early in the third quarter.
Then everything fell apart.
Boston outscored Chicago **39-21 in the third quarter**, just two games after Washington won the third **40-20**. That means the Bulls have been outscored **79-41 across their last two third quarters — a 38-point difference**.
So Haize and Pat ask the uncomfortable question:
**Is Tiago Splitter already losing the halftime-adjustment battle?**
Chicago wants to play fast, pressure defensively and attack before defenses get organized. But when turnovers start piling up, that same pace can turn a manageable deficit into a blowout almost instantly.
Against Boston, the Bulls committed **nine turnovers in the third quarter alone**, leading to 17 Celtics points. Even worse, Boston made its biggest run while Jayson Tatum was on the bench.
At what point does responsibility shift from a young roster learning how to win to a coaching staff that has to stop momentum, change coverages and make better in-game adjustments?
The guys also revisit one of the Bulls’ biggest preseason talking points: **depth**.
Chicago’s bench looked like a potential strength after scoring 59 points against Milwaukee.
Then Boston’s reserves absolutely dominated.
The Celtics bench outscored Chicago **79-33**, while Boston also won the rebounding battle 54-40 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds.
Does Chicago actually have one of the deeper rosters in the East? Or does it simply have a lot of intriguing players who have not yet proven they can consistently impact winning?
**Leonard Miller, Tre Jones, Buddy Hield and Isaac Okoro** all bring useful individual skills, but who becomes the dependable scorer when the starters sit? Should Splitter start staggering his best players more aggressively? And does Bryson Graham eventually need to turn several rotation pieces into one more reliable NBA starter?
Plus, the Bulls now get an unexpected opportunity against the **defending NBA champion New York Knicks**, who have opened the season 0-3.
New York became the first defending champion since the 2011-12 Mavericks to lose its first three games, and its latest defeat included blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to Orlando.
Could Chicago make the Knicks’ nightmare start even worse?
The Bulls are rebuilding and playing with far less pressure. New York is defending a championship and facing growing scrutiny with every loss.
If Chicago can use its athleticism, pace and rim pressure to attack a struggling Knicks team, could a win over the defending champs restore some confidence after blowout losses to Toronto and Boston?
The Bulls are young. Growing pains were always coming.
But there is a difference between losing competitive games and repeatedly watching games become blowouts in a matter of minutes.
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"Bulls COLLAPSE Again! Is Tiago Getting Outcoached + Did Chicago’s “Depth” Get EXPOSED? 👀" is an episode of Locked On Bulls - Daily Podcast On The Chicago Bulls. Runtime 32 min. Published October 27, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.