NBA Chicago Bulls

Recent Adversity Will Make Or Break the Chicago Bulls

Fresh Videos

By @GoldenPerspectv

Derrick Rose

David Banks – USA Today Sports

I’m pretty sure the Chicago Bulls did not want to start the new year 5-6 as their resolution. I’m sure Derrick Rose and company did not want their frustrations to seep into the public eye either. I would also imagine that they’d hope for a change of misfortune in terms of injuries as well. But unfortunately nothing has been promising for this team in 2015.

The Bulls are in a very dark place, just searching for a speck of light. They have not looked very polished on defense, their chemistry has been out of whack and their intensity has been absent to say the least. It’s been quite the nightmare to watch this highly-talented team put up a lackluster effort on a daily basis.

The combination of injuries between Joakim Noah, Mike Dunleavy and Doug McDermott revealed that the star power of Rose, Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler isn’t sufficient enough to strive for greatness. The Bulls do have a deep roster that can compete but not on a consistent basis that would add them as favorites to win a title. This month exposed Chicago’s vulnerability to break during adversity.

It all started with Rose. His comments (that are usually over-examined) that he made after their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers were not necessary to reveal to the public, but I understand why he did it. Over the past few weeks, his team has not performed at the same level that they had earlier in the season. I can see that being problematic to a point where imploding becomes fatigue and you just want to put it out in the open.

On the other hand, there are better ways to handle that situation. I’m not sure if the media got the first crack at his frustrations about his team, but if they did, that may be dismantling to the locker room. I can’t imagine the other 13 players on that roster to read or hear his comments and brush it off as it was never said. I would expect several players, if not the entire team, to address the situation to where they can resolve it and bounce back on track.

I believe that’s why coach Tom Thibodeau gave the Bulls a day off of practice yesterday and held a meeting with the team to discuss those issues. That’s the way it should have been handled — in their own locker room with no cameras or media. That way, no one can over-analyze a player’s quote that would essentially cause ruckus that had presumably been settled. Good call by coach Thibs.

At this point in time, the Bulls must negate all setbacks and get back to work. Wins for the remainder of the month won’t come easy as they face the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. However, this is a prime time for resurgence with the All-Star weekend less than a month away. They’ll get more rest during that span, but until then, they desperately need to get the ball rolling.

With Noah out, the Bulls need to collaboratively take care of the intangibles. That means recovering the 50-50 balls, playing with energy, moving the ball, etc. Noah is great in all those areas, but without him, the rest of the team needs to become hungrier to win. It’s not time to panic yet, but urgency is floating in the vicinity of the Bulls.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on