·
Barry
February
5, 2019
I have
finally found the energy to talk about the moribund Chicago Bulls. There are
reasons why this one-time proud team is one of the worst in the NBA.
In 2015, the
Bulls front office wonks, John Paxon and Gar Forman, couldn’t wait to fire
Tom Thibodeau and hire golden boy Fred Hoiberg to coach the 2016 Bulls.
Hoiberg’s vision was a fast-paced offensive team. You never heard a
word about defense, where Thibodeau excelled. The biggest problem for Hoiberg
was he didn’t have the right players for his system. His best player was
Jimmy Butler, who slowed things down going one-on-one against
defenders. The wonks further impeded Hoiberg inserting his offense by acquiring
aging veterans Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Instead of installing an
offense that suited his players, he tried to fit square pegs into round holes.
Problems arose after a game in which the Bulls blew a late 10-point lead
against the Atlanta Hawks Butler
took on the role of prima donna and attached himself to Wade and publicly
criticized the young players, never mentioning Wade not getting back
to defend anyone. Rondo responded objecting to their throwing players
under the bus. All three were fined for their comments. The rest of the year
Hoiberg debated about playing Rondo. Finally realizing they were better
with him in the lineup, miraculously they made the playoffs. Playing
against the heavily favored Boston Celtics, Rondo led the Bulls to two straight
road wins. However, he got hurt and without him the team lost four straight,
three on their home court.
Changes were in
order and the Bulls promised a rebuild, letting Rondo and Wade go and
trading Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In return the Bulls got
former coveted first-round pick Kris Dunn, who had a
disappointing season. An injured Zach LaVine was supposed to be the
key to the trade. I hadn’t seen him play, although I knew he won the slam dunk
competition. What turned out best was seventh overall pick forward Lauri
Markkanen. The wonks told Hoiberg they would not be concerned with wins. They
just asked them to compete with the young core. What they did, despite
trying to lose, was wind up seventh in the draft, not a real game-changer.
This year, maybe
winning mattered more as they dismissed Hoiberg early in the season. Due to
injuries he never had the chance to coach the players they traded Butler for.
By not waiting until the end of the season or having someone in mind, the
Bulls quickly replaced him with Neanderthal military man Jim Boylen. He rants and raves up off the bench and has
grueling practices mid-season despite injuries to many players. He’s more like
a college coach who failed when he was. The crux of the problem is they named
their coach for the rest of this year and next. Making him an interim would
have given the Bulls a better idea if he is the right fit. His team
continues to lose, most often getting blown out.
This team is in
desperate need of help. First-round draft pick Wendell Carter
Jr. is only 19 years old and looked good until his injury. No matter how good
he is, big post men are not as important as they once were. Kris Dunn
was playing well until last year’s injury. He is good at penetrating and passing
but can’t shoot 3-pointers. In the current NBA, you need a point
guard who can shoot 3-pointers, the best being Golden State’s Steph Curry.
There are other point guards who have this ability. Some people think
LaVine shoots too much, but the only other person on the floor who can
score is Markkanen.
The players may
turn out to be very good, but not the stars needed to win. One star
makes you competitive, two win championships. The Bulls had this in Pippen and
Jordan. Recently, it has been the Golden State Warriors’ Curry
and Kevin Durant, Miami’s LeBron James and Dywane Wade, San Antonio’s Tim
Duncan and David Robinson, the list goes on and on. Even In my earlier years
following basketball it was the L.A. Lakers Jerry West and Wilt
Chamberlain winning championships. The franchise player in in this year’s
draft will be Zion Williamson of Duke. Believe it or not, there
are teams with worse records than the Bulls who have a better chance of getting
the first pick. Maybe there is a point guard out there who can shoot
3-pointers. Derrick Rose?
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