March 25--The Bulls suffered another massive hit to their postseason chances as they fell to the Knicks for the second consecutive night. Carmelo Anthony led New York with 26 points while Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and chipped in 10 rebounds.
Derrick Rose was explosive for the Bulls and led all scorers with 30 points. Jimmy Butler added 19 for the Bulls, who now trail the Pistons by a game and a half for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls were without center Pau Gasol, who was sidelined with swelling in his right knee.
Now what?
The Bulls' defense has disappeared of late, the latest trend that has led to their free fall in the Eastern Conference. They had no answer for the towering Porzingis, who burned them both down low and from the outside, or Anthony. Earlier this season, the Bulls were shutting teams down but struggled offensively at times. Now, they've flipped the script and can't stop anyone while filling the hoops themselves.
"It's been different things," Fred Hoiberg said of the struggles this season. "One day it's transition, one day we don't communicate well enough (and) one day we get out-toughed and out-rebounded. I wish I could tell you it's one thing each and every night.
We were very solid all the way up through the new year on the defensive end of the floor. We were Top 5 in the league in defensive efficiency but it's gone the other way, there's no denying that."
"If we want to have any chance of competing and playing after the regular season we're going to have to find a way to get stops on the other end," Hoiberg added. "We did that when we had the three-game winning streak. We defended, had a good mindset that end of the floor and we have to get it back."
Bright spot
Not a whole lot went well for the Bulls but Rose certainly flashed some brilliance. He was explosive going to the hoop and even executed his first dunk of the season, taking the ball to the rack after gathering a Butler bounce pass and slamming it through with two hands midway through the second quarter.
Rose finished 13-for-23 from the field, including 1-for-4 from three-point range. If the Bulls are going to stage any kind of turnaround over the final 11 games of the season, Rose will have to be at his best.
Here comes Jimmy
Butler continues to search for his rhythm following his knee injury. The guard finished 7-for-15 from the field and also had a game-high three steals.
"We need to get him out running ahead of the pack and throw ahead where he can get into attack mode," Hoiberg said. "Jimmy needs a game to get his confidence going. All players will always go through some type of slump throughout the season. Coming back after an extended period off he needs a game to see the ball go into the basket and that will get him right. I have no worries about Jimmy. It's just a matter of time before he gets it going."
