They're annoyingly bad; not fun-bad. They trail in most games, but keep it close enough to think they can make a run to win the game.
Yes, the Bulls fell to the New York Knicks 102-98 on Martin Luther King Day, and it was another game where they failed to take advantage of matchups. It's quite possibly one of the few teams that might be worst at defending than the Bulls and is as undersized.
- Beyond the obvious laments, it's interesting--or maddening--to see Derrick Rose regress on defense. Kirk Hinrich often had to guard the slight Nate Robinson because Rose had trouble staying in front of him.
Rose tallied 20 points and eight assists, joining Luol Deng ( 20 points, 10 rebounds) and Tyrus Thomas (19 points, 10 rebounds) with solid games. But it's become laborious to watch how inconsistent this team is.
Ben Gordon had another off shooting night with eight points and Hinrich nor Andres Nocioni couldn't contribute on the offensive end. These are role players, after all, and it's one of the main reasons why we've seen them melt down in the last two seasons.
Aside from Rose, there is questionable NBA talent on this team.
The reason why I opt for the 2009 season is because I want to move closer to free agency and the NBA draft. Certainly this team is about where they should be in terms of expectations, but it makes no one feel better.
Not me--not fans.
Vinny DelNegro gets some credit for motivating Joakim Noah and Thomas, as well as benching Larry Hughes this season--but his game-planning is still questionable and still lacks a reliable defensive system.
Should the Bulls jump passing lanes more often? Should they agressively switch defenders? Are they chasers?
What about trapping?
With the marvelous athletic tandem of Rose and Thomas, the Bulls should be funneling guards into Thomas, while Rose playing more aggressive on the opponent's dribble. Consider that Thabo Sefolosha is still riding the bench in the midst of this guard log-jam while players like Gordon continue to get valuable time in the second and third quarters.
The Bulls have still failed to win three games in a row in more than a year and it's obvious they don't have a sense of urgency, as evidenced in their game against San Antonio on Saturday. The Spurs played poorly the entire game, and yet as good teams do, managed to pull it out in the end as the Bulls turned over the ball and couldn't create any easy baskets.
As we've learned over the last five seasons, there are few easy baskets on this roster. Rose is working harder now than ever. The league has done its scouting and they realize that a player of his caliber thrives when attacking the basket, so they are taking that away and making him work on the defensive end.
Either his jump shot improves or the Bulls move on the weakside more to free up shooters.
I still don't understand the Bulls half-court sets. Sure they are supposed to leave the lane open for dribble penetration but the Bulls get into these one-on-one sets where players like Gordon, Drew Gooden and Deng try to isolate and beat their man off the dribble.
It's exhausting. We're only in the middle of January but it's sort of like the leather seats in your parked SUV--you're tired of the icey material, tired of the anticipation, tired of waiting for it to warm up, tired of its supposed charm.
Tired.
Granted this season is not as painful as last year, but it runs a close second in terms of frustration because Rose should make them better. The Bulls are stuck in the Eastern pack right now. They are not quite a bottom-feeder, nor are they a power.
They're bad enough to vie for an eighth seed, which is good enough to be padled in front of the country during the playoffs.
There are few immediate turn-arounds in the NBA; even the Portland Trailblazers are on year four of their rebuilding plan and won't be headed to the NBA Finals anytime soon.
At least Blazers fans aren't asking for it all to stop. We are.
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