Jan. 13--The Bulls dropped to 26-13 with Monday's 121-114 home loss to the Magic. Here are three observations.
The Bulls are really struggling defensively.
This one, of course, is obvious.
The Bulls have been outshot in four straight games and been on the wrong side of the points-in-the-paint edge in six of seven games with one tie. They have dropped from fourth to seventh in opponents' field-goal percentage and allowed 44.4 percent shooting or better in those four straight games. That included Monday's opponent-season-high 59.3 percent debacle to the Magic.
The Bulls are clearly struggling to guard pick-and-roll and allowing several unimpeded drives to the basket.
"It's every aspect, from ball pressure to fronting to being tied together to helping appropriately to giving multiple effort," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You can't talk about it. You actually have to put the work into it. That's what we have to get back to."
Jimmy Butler is in a shooting lull.
Butler has been so great all season that this may fall under nitpicking. But whether it's his huge demands at both ends, his heavy workload or just a January lull, Butler has failed to crack 50 percent shooting in five straight games.
Butler gets to the free-throw line consistently enough that he still has reached double figures in four of those five games. But defenses are starting to game-plan for him and his shooting has suffered of late.
"He's on everyone's radar," Thibodeau said. "He's starting to get used to different defenses. He knows, 'OK, if they switch on the pick-and-roll, this is what we're looking for. If they double-team on the pick-and-roll, this is what we're looking for. If they double-team the post, this is what we're looking for. If they overload on isolation, this is what we're looking for.'"
The Nikola Mirotic experiment at small forward appears to be over.
Those two games were fun while it lasted. But Thibodeau started Tony Snell at small forward for the second straight game with Mike Dunleavy still out. And Mirotic never played small forward in his 11 minutes vs. the Magic.
When Dunleavy returns, it will be interesting to see how much playing time Mirotic receives. It's already proven difficult at times finding the right combinations for Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson up front.
