Bulls offseason Thread

[everysingletime]

Some of his shots in the paint are from too far away. He needs to take one more dribble imo.

There is a pretty good article that predicts that Rose is close to breaking out of his slump. Basically, for anyone not willing to read, it says that they been tracking his shooting patterns and that he seems to be trending closer and closer to the basket on his misses. This is a big improvement from when half of his fga are from out of the paint and beyond.

He just needs to connect now, and that'll come when he gets into better shape. Someone on here mentioned that he's hit his own version of the rookie wall and he's probably right.

There's been a slight uptick on his minutes as of late. That's another adjustment that he has to make, conditioning wise.

He'll be fine.

Derrick Rose's shooting slump continued Wednesday.

But he also continued another trend that proved he may be close to finally breaking out of it.

Rose has another forgettable performance in the Bulls' 97-77 home loss to the Utah Jazz, going 3-for-15 with seven points, two assists and three turnovers in 30 minutes. With his sixth straight woeful shooting performance, the former league MVP is now 31-for-122 since he started 5-for-6 against the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 27. That shooting percentage (25.4%) has hurt the Bulls some, but they've still won 13 of their last 16 games and are just 2.5 games back of the East-leading Atlanta Hawks.

[RELATED - Lethargic Bulls 'just didn't seem to have it' in loss to Jazz]

"It’s basketball. Shots aren’t going to fall, it’s just part of the game," Rose said after the loss. "When they start falling, things will change. Who knows? But I’m going to continue to shoot my shots."

Correct logic or not, Rose's shooting woes can't simply be taken at face value. All shots are not created equal. And it really can be split into two sets of three games.

Throughout Rose's struggles, Tom Thibodeau has been asked constantly about whether or not his point guard needs to change his approach. He's been asked about Rose's comments, which have almost been identical each night, that he's "going to keep shooting." The Bulls' play as a whole hadn't fallen off as Rose continued to miss shots, and up until tonight they had won four of the five games in Rose's slump.

And each time Thibodeau has responded the same, that Rose needs to 1) attack the rim 2) take smart shots and 3) affect the game if those shots aren't going down.

And while those numbers as a whole haven't improved much, the location of his attempts have.

[MORE: Bulls suffer worst loss of the year to Jazz]

In his 5-for-20 shooting night against the Pacers - Game 1 of the slump - Rose attempted 14 shots from 10 feet or longer, with just six coming inside that distance. The following night against the Nets, he attempted 11 of his 15 shots from outside that distance. And when he hoisted a whopping 25 shots against the Nets on New Year's Day, nearly half (12) came from outside 10 feet.

Using that 10-foot distance as a baseline between a jump shot (outside of 10 feet) and a floater or layup (anything inside 10 feet), that three-game stretch saw Rose attempt 37 jumpers compared with just 23 floaters and layups. Put into percentages, more than 61 percent of Rose's shots came via jumpers.

But in his last three games, Rose has shown that aggressiveness Thibodeau said he needed to see. In the Bulls' five-point win over Boston, Rose attempted nine shots inside 10 feet and nine shots beyond it. Against the Rockets, he took nine shots inside 10 feet and only eight shots outside it, marking the first time in the stretch more of his attempts came at close range than from "deep."

And in Wednesday's ugly loss, Rose again attempted more shots inside 10 feet (eight) than he did outside 10 feet (seven). Put together, Rose's latest three-game stretch saw him attempt 26 floaters and layups compared with 24 jumpers. Whereas the first three games of his slump he attempted 61 percent jumpers, that number has dwindled to just 48 percent in his last three.

Entering Wednesday's contest, Rose had attempted 38.8 percent of his shots from inside 10 feet this year, easily the lowest percentage of his career. In fact, Rose's percentage of shots taken from 10 feet and in had increased each year he had been in the league, peaking with last year's small sample size (10 games) of 52.5 percent, per basketball-reference.com.

The last three games have shown that the aggressive, slashing Derrick Rose is close to returning. And it's something he indirectly alluded to after Wednesday's loss, noting that he isn't forcing things and likes the shots he's putting up, even if they've primarily been misses.

"It’s all about catching a rhythm. I’m not worried about the shots that I’m missing. It’s part of the game," he said. "I was just missing shots, shots that I normally take."

[NBC SPORTS SHOP: Get the latest Bulls gear here]

There's no denying Rose must improve his shooting. It's no coincidence that during his rough patch, the Bulls have suffered their two lowest scoring outputs of the year (82 points against Brooklyn; 77 against Utah) and really have looked out of sorts offensively. His decision to shoot or pass after he's taken his man off the dribble must be the correct one and work within what the other four players on the floor are doing; in the last six games the Bulls have been outscored by 13 points, and Rose's +/- is just that, -13. He needs to be a positive on the floor, and simply taking shots at the rim won't be a cure-all.

But the additional shots at the rim have also meant a higher shooting percentage; in this first three games of his slump, he shot 34.8 percent at the rim; in his last three, he's shot 38.5 percent at the rim. It's not an astronomical jump, but more attempts AND a higher percentage is a good equation for Rose.

He's also attempting more free throws (10 in the last three games vs. 8 in the first three), taking fewer 3-pointers (9 in the last three games vs. 15 in the first three) and seems to be coming around defensively, all of which is part of the process Thibodeau says will play itself over the course of the entire season.

"I think he’s making steady progress. He hasn’t shot the ball well but he’s run the team very well. And so you have to understand, he’s been out for two-and-a-half years. When you get away from that competition for two-and-a-half years it doesn’t come back in a week," Thibodeau said.

"And that’s something you have to compete in practice, you have to compete getting yourself ready and then you have to keep going. And there’s going to be some bumps in the road, and as long as he keeps stringing games together he’ll figure it out."

The numbers suggest he's getting there.

 

[coldcity]

 

[tomdiginson]

I ain't even mad. Get that loot Jimmy.

 

[seymore cake]

Yeah, have to sign him, sucks that we could've got him for 12 per instead of the 16 it's going to cost :\

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

^

Yeah it's one of those games you just wanna pretend never happened.

Not really bothered by the back to back losses as much as I am with the physicality of the game.
I can take the loss but I can't stand letting other teams get too physical with us, and the Wiz did just that at the end

I said it before and I'll say it again.....I want/need a goon on this team! I want someone to go out there and just start bodying cats, letting them know we ain't nothing to fükz with.

 

[jmause3]

MDJ getting hurt throws the rotation off bad, forces Kirk to play against starters which hes just not good enough to do anymore. Pau and Jo got worked by Gortat and Nene.

Rose played better though. Just gotta bounce back tomorrow night.

 

[zafety]

Hopefully things will be different on Wednesday. That was definitely a poor performance.

Are we doing to spend the whole season waiting for Rose to peak?

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Rack up another W!

Pau with 46 and 18
Snap that 2 game skid.

 

[jumpman cbt2]

without rose peaking this team is not going to win a championship.....So as annoying as the drose talk is, we need him!

Drose is not the go to guy of this team anymore, just accept it!
He might be great in 2011 but after his 2 lost seasons he is just playing ok overall. When you see the allstar voting you can notice how the fans worldwide think about him. He's not among the top 5 guards.

 

[everysingletime]

Go to man or not, the Bulls are not winning the championship without Rose.

Let's just enjoy the win and worry about him in the playoffs.

 

[jumpman cbt2]

So you believe this is a championship team without him? haha! And who the hell cares about a allstar game and what fans think??! And with the game on the line he is the go to player... guess you forgot about a few games hes closed out for us! Big wins! I love this team as a whole! I want eveybody healthy not only him.

I think you missed my point.
I mean the allstar game vote reflects how fans are measuring his value for the teams success.
This season so far, Jimmy and pau are carrying this team most.
rose might be the most talented and skilled one but he is not in mvp/superstar shape.

 

[everysingletime]

Word, this is not an all star yr for Rose but that doesn't change the fact we need him.

Imo if he's healthy and 80 percent throughout the playoffs that's enough to get out the east.

He'd need to be MVP D Rose for us to win it all though.

 

[kintan]

Was browsing through MJ vids. Saw a comment that said:

"Only player in history to have a 50 point game in three different decades"

I never noticed that until now lmao

 

[dchozn1]

Tony Snell needs to seize the opportunity as Thibs is giving him his shot tonight to show and prove. Snell starting at the three spot .

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I'm soo damn tired of seeing JO always hanging around the arc trying to play a guard role...both on offense and defense.
GET YOUR @SS IN THE PAINT!!

 

[everysingletime]

Bulls just can't defend.. Especially when they're defense is not set smh

 

[jmause3]

We have been terrible on defense all year, we have just been getting away with it cuz we have been scoring. If we dont step it up its only going to get worse. Time to get back to who we are.

Thibs has to split up the Pau/Jo combo. Its not working because no spacing. I actually wouldnt mind sitting Jo for a few weeks. Hes just not right, that knee is clearly bothering him quite a bit.

 

[af1nike]

If they don't turn this defense around I don't see them coming out of the east

/magicjohnsontweet

 

[jumpman cbt2]

Bulls just can't defend.. Especially when they're defense is not set smh

nah, they can. they just lost their momentum at the moment.
The Cavs cannot defend. that's why they lose more games than the Bulls.

 

[coldcity]

we will be good



will not embeed pau getting his soul snatched tho

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

^


Felt like someone assaulted a relative....Pau should've pressed charges

 

[tomdiginson]

When I saw the dunk on NBA GAME TIME, I fell on my chair.

 

[coldcity]

Let me start out by saying this column is not about the Bulls losing three of their last four games. All NBA teams go through up-and-down cycles during an 82-game season, and the Bulls will pull out of this mini-slump soon enough.

My opinion is based on 39 games of evidence that show the Bulls’ defense has gone from elite to middle of the pack. They are currently ranked 14th in points allowed, giving up an average of 99.1 per game. Sure, the Bulls’ offense is much improved, which leads to a faster pace of play, but it’s clear that Tom Thibodeau is not going to be satisfied with being only average on the defensive end.

How about this quote from Thibodeau after Monday’s loss to Orlando: "We’ve got to decide what we’re going to be. If we’re just going to come in and try to outscore people we’re not going anywhere. I know that doesn’t work. We’re going to have to bring a lot more intensity, and the only way you bring more intensity is by working a lot harder. It’s really that simple."

The players have also noticed the drop-off in defensive efficiency. Pau Gasol was clearly disappointed in the effort against the Magic, saying, "Defensively we struggled. There was no energy, no aggressiveness, no engagement from our team, no communication. (Defense) has to be our stamp. Defensively we need to be better."

[MORE BULLS: After disheartening loss, Bulls searching for defensive swagger]

Or this from Taj Gibson: “Some nights we’re good, some nights (the defense), it’s unbearable to watch. We get a lot of people talking good about us and start feeling too good about ourselves and we think we can just walk into the gym and come back down from 20 easily. We have to change our whole mind frame around and get hungry.”

OK, so I think we can all agree the Bulls have some problems on the defensive end. Now the question is, what can be done to fix them?

My suggestion would be to put Gibson into the starting lineup with Gasol and to use Joakim Noah off the bench with the second unit. Now, I understand that’s a lot to ask of the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-NBA center. But Noah himself suggested back in training camp that sacrifices would have to be made to accommodate a deeper, more talented roster, and as the Bulls’ locker room leader, he might be the perfect guy to sacrifice for the good of the team.

There are other reasons behind the possible lineup change as well. Noah is still having some issues in his rehab from offseason knee surgery, and he’s playing out of position at power forward. Take Monday’s game against Orlando, for example. Noah was forced to guard 3-point shooting threat Channing Frye at the 3-point line, making him unable to help out against Nikola Vucevic, who was having his way with Gasol inside. The Bulls never did find a way to get Gasol help in the post, and Vucevic racked up 33 points, scoring with ease inside and out.


Starting Gibson would give the Bulls a better perimeter defender, who has more lateral quickness than Noah right now, giving him a better chance at making a hard show on high screen/roll plays and still recovering to guard his own man or to help double down on opposing centers in the low post. Noah could be the defensive anchor at center on the second unit, playing with Nikola Mirotic, Aaron Brooks and Kirk Hinrich, and still team up at times with Gasol when facing teams with more size up front.

And, in case you haven’t noticed, Gibson hasn’t looked quite as energized in recent games, averaging 10 points a game over the last six while losing some of his minutes to the improving Mirotic. Taj would get a lift from joining the starting lineup and hopefully be more productive with more playing time and responsibility. Noah would benefit from less minutes on his surgically repaired knee and the comfort of playing primarily at the center position.

Sure, it would be difficult to ask a guy who’s been such an integral part of the Bulls’ success over the last few years to come off the bench, but given the ongoing defensive struggles it might be the best move for the Bulls as they compete for seeding at the top of the Eastern Conference. The games that really matter won’t begin until late April, but as Thibodeau said earlier this week, it’s important that he settles on a consistent rotation once Mike Dunleavy returns from an ankle injury. And, if the Bulls’ identity is going to remain being a lock-down defensive team, all options have to be on the table.

Agreed

tony needs mins to get comfy
rest noah wk him with 2nd squad
start taj & maybe he will have some taj like game(s)

 

[everysingletime]

Damn man, their ******* defense is nonexistent

 

[jmause3]

Im not sure whats going on. The defense has been awful.

Dont want any parts of the Wiz in the playoffs, they matchup with us perfect. Pau cant do **** against Nene