Chicago Bulls Thread

[atlwarrior]

The Bulls are still struggling offensively. It will take time for Rose to get back to his old self. He's getting the opportunities but the jump shots are just not falling. The aggressiveness is there. As a fan it is frustrating to watch but I'm going to accept this is the Rose we are going to see up until 30 games or maybe even mid-season. Hopefully not that long but if he is still struggling in the playoffs then I might turn on the panic switch.

Edit: In the meantime, they should feed Boozer the ball more.

[Andrew]

I think it'll be a concern if it takes him that long to figure it out. I'm not too concerned just yet because the pre-season showed that he has been working on his jumpshot, the aggressiveness is there as you said and he seems to be healthy, he's just out of sync right now and off to a rough start. I'd hope that they get it ironed out within ten games though, rather than 30.

[NovU]

I was hoping for the Bulls to give the Pacers their first loss of the season but seems like the Bulls got just murdered in the fourth quarter.

[MJALLDAY]

I really hate our bench but at the same time championships aren't won in November. I remember we lost our first three games the year we won our first championship.

[shadowgrin]

OMG YOU'RE DENNIS HOPSON A MEMBER OF THE BULLS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM!

[Andrew]

I really hate our bench but at the same time championships aren't won in November. I remember we lost our first three games the year we won our first championship.

I have to admit, the same thought has entered my mind, but there's no Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen on this team. Still, it is worth keeping in mind that even championship teams can have rocky starts and dysfunctional stretches, so it's far too early to panic. You can't help but feel a bit disappointed with the 1-3 start though, after they looked pretty much in-sync during the preseason.

Perhaps today's home game against the Jazz will be what they need to get back on track.

[Moz]

Great 2nd half by the Bulls Better spacing, better ball movement, and fewer turnovers with the help of the Jazz struggling all game. The crowd's reaction when they pull out Deng

[Andrew]

Much better, once again hopefully that's the kind of game they needed to snap out of the funk before it went on too long. Great performance by Deng, some solid contributions all around. Better game for Rose - turnovers aside - considering he only played 27 minutes.

[MJALLDAY]

I'm really disappointed in Jimmy Butler, I thought he was gonna have a breakout year but he is playing so scared on offense. He's looking more and more like Thabo Sefolosha V2.

[MJALLDAY]

OMG YOU'RE DENNIS HOPSON A MEMBER OF THE BULLS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM!

Bobby Hansen can kiss my ass!

[shadowgrin]

Well played

[NovU]

I'm really disappointed in Jimmy Butler, I thought he was gonna have a breakout year but he is playing so scared on offense. He's looking more and more like Thabo Sefolosha V2.

I somewhat had a feeling that all LBJ defenders' in playoffs had gotten more hypes than usual. Kawhi, Butler, and Paul George(though he's a MVP this season so far). Sure they will improve but I thought people were expecting too big of improvement in stat department over too short period. Especially Butler and Kawhi are surrounded by better scorers than themselves, it's much tougher.

[_Steve_]

Butler seems not to be that comfortable with D-Rose around him. I hope they'll get together more sooner than later.
I also hope that D-Rose will be more what he was around his MVP season as he is now...

[Andrew]

Butler showed that he can be a valuable contributor last season and I expect that he'll get it together as the season goes on, as will Rose and the whole team in general. It's a rocky start, but it's only a handful of games. It's too early to write-off anyone just yet, when we know what they're capable of.

[_Steve_]

That's what I've meant. It's about chemistry and sometimes just (bad) luck...
Bulls are far too talented to play that mediocre all season long.

[Moz]

Same can be said to Dunleavy... It seems that most of them are passive to give way for Rose to get his rhythm back and unfortunately Derrick never shook off the rust yet.

[NovU]

Hate to say this but it's likely it's entirely Rose's fault so far. Boozer is playing his ass off and actually playing really good and rest of the team are more or less the same from last season. But Rose absolutely stunk, no excuse, he's the guy that needs to step up and stop hurting the team.

[Andrew]

I'd say he's got a reasonable excuse given the circumstances, but he does need to get it together sooner rather than later.

[Moz]

he's the guy that needs to step up and stop hurting the team.

He doesn't need to step up he needs to adjust... he's playing his ass off like everybody does but he's forcing a lot of shots.... he needs a different approach as he tries to get back to his rhythm

[_Steve_]

I guess you're right. Reminds me when Jordan came back from playing baseball.

[NovU]

He doesn't need to step up

What in the blue hell are you talking about my friend?

So his performance is clearly the one that's bringing the team down. 31.1% usage while turning over 1/4 of possession and leading his team with awful 79 ORtg which is something you'd expect to see from Avery Bradley leading the team, it's actually surprising the Bulls won a couple games. So he doesn't need to step up his game because he's playing his ass off? Adjusting, different approach, what the fuck is the difference? He needs to do whatever he needs to do to contribute.

[Moz]

So he doesn't need to step up his game because he's playing his ass off?

Maybe I misinterpreted that word but isn't he doing what he's ask to do? What I'm trying to say is that he should try to find some other ways to contribute since his method doesn't work and still he keeps on doing it even though it's ineffective... if it's his or the coaching staff's decision to be like that? I don't know... either way they need adjustments

[air gordon]

Hate to say this but it's likely it's entirely Rose's fault so far. Boozer is playing his ass off and actually playing really good and rest of the team are more or less the same from last season. But Rose absolutely stunk, no excuse, he's the guy that needs to step up and stop hurting the team.

your opinion is quite uninformed

Rose has been struggling and so has the Bulls 2nd and 3rd best players. Deng before playing the defense-less Jazz, Deng has been mediocre. he is still 1-15 from 3pt range. Noah has been more rusty then Rose and is still playing his way back into shape

you may think the roster is more or less the same from last year but it really isn't.

there is no firepower off the bench like last year. Robinson and Bellinelli are flawed players but the team is missing their ability to create shots. Gibson has been good. Dunleavy has been ok at best. Hinrich is another year closer to becoming an assistant coach. That's how deep the rotation gets.

and you have to factor in the starting 5 hasn't had many minutes on the floor together (including last year + this preseason)...

[Moz]

Fantastic defense and Dunleavy finally sinking his shots... Rose landed his foot awkwardly or buckled his knee on that last drive though... he played a nice game today I reckon he's not forcing his shots and having a better timing distributing the ball.

EDIT
So it's a hamstring strain not his knees... fortunately they'll have 3 days off

[atlwarrior]

We are looking better as a team