Bad, Bad Chicago Bulls

By: Charlie Danoff

Even though I know for a fact that Bulls coach Scott Skiles reads my columns on a regular basis looking for guidance, he neglected to take my advice concerning changes to the starting lineup. He ended up replacing Tyrus Thomas with Andres Nocioni, rather than moving Ben Gordon to the bench.

While Noce had been playing well enough to deserve to start, so had Tyrus. Maybe he was a little inconsistent, but so were the rest of the starters, and it’s only his second year in the league. He played particularly strong in the win over the Pistons, bringing in 14 boards to go along with 19 points and two blocks.

Apparently, though, that was not good enough for Skiles, as Tyrus has averaged only 15 minutes per game over the last three contests. I could understand feeling that Tyrus has not proven enough to start, but if the team is going to have any kind of success this season, he will have to be a big part of it. Skiles should be careful not to alienate the talented - if raw - big man, the way he did with Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry. Taking the “hard line” really cost the Bulls with those two, and hopefully Thomas can buck the trend.

Despite the slip in Thomas’ performance and losing two of the last three, things have not been all bad for the Bulls. Nocioni has responded very well to starting, averaging nearly 18 points and 7 boards in those three games. His energy and toughness have been much-needed shock therapy for the Bulls first quarters.

Beyond Noce, Hinrich, Gordon and Wallace have all looked better as well. Hinrich is still shooting awfully, but he has managed to reduce his fouls to 2-3 each game. This is huge, because earlier in the year he was fouling himself out of important playing time. Even if he’s far from perfect running the team, he’s still the best option. Furthermore, he is still amongst the best at his position defensively.

Gordon has been scoring like he should, averaging 23 points through the beginnings of the circus trip. Even with a healthy Deng, if Gordon does not get close to 20 points each game, the Bulls are going to have a tough time winning.

Ben Wallace stopped playing like a dead man walking, and had his first two double-digit rebound efforts. He played particularly well in the win over the Clippers on Saturday, netting 13 boards, 6 steals and 3 blocks. That is the 33-year-old we’ve been looking for! Wallace even had a “Is that a black, 6′9″ Steve Nash?” moment in LA - a smooth give and go with Luol Deng for a dunk.

Defensively there were some encouraging results as well. The Bulls held Steve Nash to only 10 points (so what if he had 15 assists) and controlled what had been their Achilles Heel - big 2-guards.

Cutino Mobley torched the Bulls for 33 points in their first meeting, but only got 9 this time around. Corey Maggette was injured, which really helped the Bulls get their second win. And the future Bull who wasn’t, Kobe Bryant, only scored 18. The Lakers won the game, but holding Bryant to 6/16 shooting bodes well for the Bulls going forward against the rest of the league’s SG’s.

But that’s enough praise for a 2-7 squad; let’s get down to reality. Luol Deng is hurt. Any time a team loses their best player it’s bad news; when a 2-7 team loses their best player, it can be devastating. Adrian Griffin’s 13 minute, zero point performance against the Lakers was not an encouraging first game replacing Deng in the starting lineup.

Even if Deng had failed to live up to his heightened expectations so far this season, losing him for any stretch of time is debilitating. I have said it before and I will say it again: the only way the Bulls even begin to deliver on their preseason predictions is if Deng becomes an All-Star. He is the best player on a good team, and should start acting that way. Its unclear how long he will be out, but the team desperately needs him to get out of its current funk.

Although they have been playing better, Hinrich and Gordon are still shooting less than 30% from the field and not even 20% from the 3-point line. Given that the Bulls resemble an average NCAA Tournament teams that goes on big runs because of three-pointers, this is the worst of news. Those teams can score an upset or two, but if they face a really good team and their 3’s stop falling it’s going to get very ugly. That is where the Bulls currently sit.

Yes, it will be difficult for Hinrich and Gordon to get good looks without an established inside presence. C’est la vie, gentlemen. Deal with it, and do it soon. Especially Gordon, who won’t get anywhere near the $50 million the Bulls offered him this upcoming off-season if he continues playing like this.

To make it worse, Hinrich and Gordon almost never get to the line - 2.2 and 4.9 free throws attempted per game, respectively. The league’s top scorers usually get at least 10 trips a game to the charity stripe. Make it easier on yourselves guys - go to the hoop, and do not go hoping to be fouled. Refs look for that and won’t make that call. Go to the hoop looking to score, and the refs will give you the benefit of the doubt - and one, baby!

Given all this doom and gloom, is all hope lost for the Bulls? No, not quite yet. Even if I let my heart blind me to the real team when I thought they could win the East, they are not THIS bad.

The Bulls are still a playoff team. What they need to do is play the way they did in the first quarter against the Clippers. They got defensive stops, then beat the Clippers down the floor for fast breaks. Running and gunning is the only way this team will get easy baskets, and that is really important for a team that starts Ben Wallace at center.

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Charlie is an aspiring writer and a caddy at Skokie Country Club. Odds are you will hear a lot about him in the years to come, so if you want to be the first kid on the block familiar with his work, click here.

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