March 02--The Bulls dropped to 30-29 with their road loss to the Heat. Here are three observations.
There's a disconnect between words and actions
Fred Hoiberg said the Bulls play physically in practice and then give in during adverse moments in games. Players used to blame the defensive woes on communication and now cite not following the game plan.
Whatever the case, the defense is in a free fall, exacerbated by injuries to Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler and now Taj Gibson, not to mention the trade of Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta. The Bulls allowed a ridiculous 74 points in the paint to the Heat, which set a Bulls' opponent franchise-record with 67.5 percent shooting.
"That's outrageous," Pau Gasol said.
It's just as outrageous to keep repeating the same mistakes defensively and then using words to try to justify the pattern. The Bulls get outrebounded often, allowing the most offensive rebounds in the league and routinely get pushed out of position.
That's toughness and effort.
Derrick Rose looked explosive in his return
The burst that defined Rose's play during his best month of the season in February remained intact in his first action after missing three games to right hamstring tendinitis. Rose consistently attacked the rim in his 17 points in 24 minutes and also got to the line seven times.
"Of course there's going to be some rust," Rose said. "But I loved the way I played."
The Bulls badly miss Noah
Remember some of the talk early in the season about how Bobby Portis should play over Noah because Noah couldn't replicate the levels he reached when won Defensive Player of the Year in 2014?
Noah's rebounding and ability to guard multiple positions would help some of the Bulls' defensive woes, particularly his ability to switch on screens.
