The Bulls proceeded to outscore the Cavs 15-6 in the extra period (not to mention they outscored them 19-6 in the final seven minutes of regulation) and it appeared that it could have been a turning point for their season. My thoughts were, 'hey, they just took over one of the best teams in the East and completely dominated them down the stretch.' They did what winning teams do: finish the game.
What I thought was the turning point in their season turned the complete opposite direction with the Bulls losing 5 games in a row. Losses by 5 points to the Spurs, 4 points to the Knicks, 3 points to the Hawks, 20 points to Toronto (more on this in a moment), and 1 point in overtime to the Timberwolves leaves me wondering what happened to that team who finished down the stretch against the Cavs?
They just don't know how to finish. They will stay in the game for almost the entire time, but then they falter when it matters most. The Five close losses in a row proves it. But what about the Toronto game, that wasn't close right?
For those who didn't see it, the Bulls were down by one measly point to the Raptors with 6:19 left in the game.....then disaster struck. They were outscored 23-4 in the last 6 minutes of the game! That is what I call the complete opposite of finishing. That is what I call laying down and letting the other team take a dump on your face.
Then the overtime loss to Minnesota....the Bulls had two opportunities to win the game; once in regulation, and then in the closing seconds of the overtime. Super-stud rookie Derrick Rose took both shot attempts to try to win the game, but failed on both. I am not bashing Rose here at all. I'll take him shooting the final shot of the game any time.
My problem is the TEAM doesn't know how to finish. I can understand if it happens every once in a while where it goes down to the wire and our star player misses the game winner. Fine, it will happen again. The problem with what happened against Minnesota was that there wasn't anyone else to help Rose at all.
Sure, Luol Deng's numbers looked good with 22 points and 8 rebounds, but he didn't score a basket in the 4th quarter or in overtime. That cannot happen! When you make as much money as he does and you can't score for your team down the stretch in a close game, there is a BIG problem.
In the overtime period, Rose had the ball for the final possession of the game. He decided to drive to the hoop, and then pull up for an off-balance shot. But there was NO help anywhere. There were at least two defenders that committed to Rose when he started driving, and no one stepped up to receive a pass. I almost feel like some of the players are resenting that Rose is the go-to man now. It's almost as if they are telling him 'hey, if you want to wear the cape Superman, then let's see you do it all on your own.'
I don't know, I could be wrong about that, but one thing for certain; if this team doesn't learn how to finish a close game down the stretch, they are in for a loooong 3 months.
You touch on a ton of GREAT points in your post. I think it comes down to coaching, and I hate to be "that guy" who blames it on the coaches, because ultimately they do not play the games...But come on? Vinny Del Negro, from the get-go, was never the Bulls guy. It was Mike D'Antonio, from PHX and current NYK coach.
ReplyDeleteThis team has no direction, no leadership (both Coaches and players)and ultimately have no life-lines left. For years now, all we Bulls fans have heard is "we are one player away from greatness....with our nucleus of young guys, we should be ready for the big time...yada yada yada". I think the Bulls are MANY players away from greatness. We missed Gasol, Bosh, Brand (we should have never traded him in the first place) and we traded Lamarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas.
My call? Vinny doesn't make it back for a second season.
I agree, Vinny is not the answer for Chicago....I wonder where they would be right now if Doug Collins had ended up being the coach.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, because I love the Bulls, too, but John Paxson has made a series of ill-fated moves to drive the Bulls into the ground. First, he can't pull the trigger for Garnett or Kobe, which would have given the Bulls the superstar they've been craving since Jordan. Second, they signed Ben Wallace. Yeah, that worked out well. Now we have at least one more year of Larry Hughes because nobody wants his ridiculous contract. Last, they go through a mini-rebuilding mode by hiring newbie coach Vinny Del Negro. Seriously, Pax? You couldn't hire somebody with at least A LITTLE coaching experience? That's a joke. He seems completely lost coaching on the sidelines, and if not for having Derrick Rose fall right into the Bulls' lap (wasn't their chances of winning the lottery like 1.4% or something?), they would be even worse than they already are.
ReplyDeleteRose has shown flashes of brilliance. He's going to be a superstar, but his supporting cast is terrible. People say that trading Kirk Hinrich is the answer, but aside from maybe Luol Deng, Hinrich is the only other good player that Rose has to work with. Ben Gordon is a joke, Tyrus Thomas can only jump and Joakim Noah can't do anything but scream.
They've dug us into a HUGE hole. The only way we get out of it is if we start over from scratch. Again.
I just have to throw out the fact that I am a Cleveland fan. I watched that game and I have to say the Bulls were lucky to come away with the win. See, when the game is close in the fourth quarter or overtime, LeBron takes over, (which is great) but when his shots aren't dropping, or the contact isn't being called, which is how the Bulls game went, the Cavs won't win. Thats how a team that beat Cleveland in OT could fall to a Timberwolves team. I have to agree with everyone that Vinny was a bad coaching choice, but the team has talent, maybe they could be playoff bound in a few years, who knows?
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