Hola. I've returned from Mexico with a sunburn and saltwater lips.
I'm not sure if white, pale guys like myself are meant to be in those parts of the globe.
But I managed to watch the Bulls fall to the Timberwolves and Thunder in that time. For a treat, I returned to watch the Bulls fall to the Portland Trailblazers 109-95 on Monday night.
Kirk Hinrich made his return after 31 games, which meant that the Bulls made a strong defensive showing in the second quarter only to flail at the end. The Bulls let a 11-point, second quarter lead go, as the Trailblazers recognized that Chicago can't defend anyone over 6 foot 6 inches.
They made Greg Oden look like Yao Ming, racking up trips to the foul line with spin moves and jump hooks. As the Bulls started to crash on Oden, he simply pitched out to Travis Outlaw on the perimeter.
"Out to Outlaw...it's good."
Bulls lose. Tyrus Thomas can finally eat that sandwich he was thinking about it in the third quarter.
I think we've hit a turning point in the Bulls season. Derrick Rose looks as tired as he ever has. His jumper looks flat. He is sagging on defense, often not leaving his feet on jump shots to avoid fouls. It was arguably Rose's worst defensive effort of the season.
Make no mistake: Rose has all the tools to be a good, if not, great defender in this league--but he seems to shade the opponent too much, hoping that one of the Bulls' bigs with close off the lane.
Not this team.
Rose is only 38 games into his career and has exceeded nearly all of fans' expectations, but defense is becoming a problem for him as he seems to lack the confidence to jump passing lanes or take charges. He goes under the pick-and-roll too often and is not using his athleticism and length to disrupt his opponent's dribble.
The Bulls are obviously not equipped to be a great defensive team, but they're looking like they're not equipped to be a good offensive team either. This run-and-gun D'Antoni system has rarely been executed--particularly when you have players who don't pass on fast-breaks.
It's a selfish team, we know that. On one play in the third quarter, Deng stole the ball and charged down the court with two defenders in front of him with both Rose and Thomas trailing. Deng never looked back and was fouled, earning a trip to the foul line.
Things look especially bad when the Bulls play Portland because the Trailblazers have drafted and traded better than Chicago. We have Tyrus Thomas, they have LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
Portland is on the rise, with tons of moveable assets in Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Joe Przybilla, Jerryd Bayless, Nick Batum.
The Bulls have a logjam of overpaid players and underaccomplishing lottery picks.
And it's these types of games that fans start to evaluate whether they want to sit through these games in the midst of a tierce winter. It's cold out there, remember?
But it might be even colder in the United Center.
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