The Bulls continued to take their lumps. Now losers of 6 out of their last 8 games, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the latest team to take their turn at kicking our ass.
So NOW are you worried? They did salvage a win in Boston after the Washington beatdown, but then proceeded to lose to Atlanta and Cleveland. So the last 3 losses have been against the other top teams in the East… not good, but NOT end-of-the-world time for January. How about the upcoming schedule? Spurs, at Mavs, Heat, at Warriors, at Lakers, and at Suns. How long will this slump continue?
Let’s take a breath. The Bulls ARE a good team. They are one of the best teams in the NBA. Period. I’ll stand by that all day long. They’re going through a rough stretch. Why? Well, first off, EVERY team goes through a rough stretch during an 82 game season. Why does EVERY team go through a rough stretch? There are different circumstances in each team’s slump, but let’s start with health. Noah is out, and most people feel he hasn’t been 100% all year; I would agree. Dunleavy is out. Who cares about Mike Dunleavy? He’s a bum. Well, maybe he DOES play an important role on this team. “Fundamentals”, as he’s known up in the 300 level at the UC, is exactly that. He brings a fundamentally sound game. He plays defense/knows how to rotate. He shoots the ball well/can hit an open shot. He doesn’t turn the ball over/makes sound decisions. Let’s give some props to Mike Dunleavy. After all, the Bulls are 4-6 since he’s been out… And then there’s Doug McDermott. Why him? He hasn’t played all year. Well, although this is true, the Bulls traded up to get him. They anticipated him to be an important part of the rotation, and he hasn’t been. Take one guy out of the rotation, we’re OK. Take 3 guys out… that has to be one reason for the recent slump.
Avoid Fast Food And Alcohol Your diet plays a major role in maintaining a healthy sex life. low price cialis Health studies on shilajit definitely give answer to this question. super viagra uk Fortunately though, there are some remedies in sight today, some of which include natural medicines which try buy generic viagra to explore and reach depths of this medical condition. Men are sensitive about their performance in bed purchase cheap viagra Facts about purchase cheap viagra Since sex represents virility and masculinity for men, they are equally beneficial for women as well when it comes to fertility. Defense… defense… defense. Here’s another reason the Bulls are slumping. Defense is all about effort. Defense is all about playing together as a team. One individual can play great defense. Two individuals can play great defense. But, if there are any individuals “not on the same page” as DRose puts it, there will be problems. We’re seeing that now. There are not many guys who are not guilty here. People are constantly blowing past Rose. Butler gambles too much. Noah hasn’t been the Defensive Player of the Year. Gasol is great at blocking shots, but isn’t really that great of a defender. Need I mention the Vucevic dunk the other night? Then you throw in all the new pieces out there, and I’m sorry, but it DOES take time to gel together, especially on defense. There have been many different combinations out there on the floor. Although this will be a positive long term, there will be some growing pains; we’re seeing them.
The last reason that I personally underestimated, is the talent of the other teams. Not only the talent, but the effort. You could always count on the Bulls outworking their opponents. In the recent losses, these other teams are working pretty damn hard; they’re matching the Bulls effort… this isn’t something that we’ve seen so much in the past. You couple that with the talent on some of these teams… these teams like Atlanta that I didn’t think were that great, and you have trouble. You have a dogfight. Right now, the Bulls are losing the dogfight… no offense to the Michael VIck haters.
So when will we stop the bleeding? We need to start with winning the games we should win. That has never been a problem. It has been this year. In this upcoming tough stretch, we need to beat the Heat, Lakers, and Suns. That gives us 3 wins. We need to battle through this slump… We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again. Then, it will be our turn again. I’m just not sure when our turn will be… whose turn is next?
bullwinkle
Da Bulls…….lazy, poor effort, bad shot selection, poor rotation, mediocre rebounding effort. How much do you want? The worst part is that this isn’t just about 1 game…..it’s about the recent, almost every game in the last 2 weeks, lack of overall effort from this TEAM. Thibs should just give them a couple of days off, and tell them to go to yoga classes to regain their focus. Obviously this team has the talent, it’s just that they don’t all seem to have the ‘want’ or to quote Gene Hackman from The Replacements, ‘THE HEART’. Fix it, regain the focus and the desire to win, or continue down the slide.
MK
Losses are going to happen…even losing streaks. It just seems that the way the Bulls are doing it is disturbing. In years past, they did not have the talent, but they worked harder than everyone else. Now, they have the talent but are not working as hard. The defensive effort and rebounding is lacking. It seems like now that they have the talent, the Bulls think that should be enough. Unfortunately, as we saw with the talented Bears this year, talent alone only goes so far. You still have to give maximum effort, work hard on both ends, and COMPETE! Let’s hope this Bulls team does not follow the Bears. Snap out of it now before it becomes too late. HEART, HUSTLE, and MUSCLE…I want to see it night in and night out! GO BULLS!!!