Bulls Finally Come Home after Circus Leaves Town
The Bulls finally won a game on the the annual seven-game "circus" road trip, and they're coming home a disappointing 1-6. To top it off, the only team they beat was the Knicks, and I don't even think that one should count.
The offense certainly had it's moments over the past seven games, but I think the biggest problem has been the defense. Specifically, Ben Wallace. He's looking like your grandfather's Tyson Chandler out there, and I'm starting to get a little uneasy about that $60 million dollars they handed him this offseason. Last time I checked in on the Bulls, I thought Big Ben was finally coming around. Turns out that one game was more of an aberration than any marked improvement. His stats are down across the board, specifically points and rebounds are down two each. He even air-balled a free throw tonight. Not good. Ironically, Tyson Chandler is averaging two more rebounds per game down in New Orleans/Oklahoma City this year. Double not good.
The Bulls main problem from last year has yet to be solved. They can't score. Did you see this quote from Phil Jackson last week?
"Most people around the league would say there isn't another team that plays with the same intensity," Jackson said of the Bulls. "You know they're driven. They'll push you to the extreme and they'll wear you out because they work so hard. They're a hard-achieving team, and sometimes there's more froth than substance -- sort of like a latte. There's not much there. I didn't mean that to be an insult, but they have trouble scoring."
Great, our hall-of-fame ex-coach thinks of us like he thinks of a latte. Maybe Thabo Sefolosha can get a job at Starbucks? I'll take a grande nonfat gingerbread latte. Thanks.
There is one guy on the team that's been scoring his share lately. Luol Deng. He's really been one of the few bright spots this season. And Hinrich has been mostly "hit" this year, and even Ben Gordon seems to have found a happy middle ground for his crap games. In other words, he can still score a dozen or so on one of his "bad" nights, which is really all I ask.
There's still plenty of time to turn it around, but you don't want to get yourself in too big of a hole. Go Bulls!!!!