Dec. 08--In calm tones, Pau Gasol scorched the earth around him late Monday, saying the Bulls' issues weren't related to X's and O's, questioning the team's mental approach, heart and chemistry.
So how does Gasol think the Bulls should change that?
"I have no idea," he said before offering one. "You have to start playing like you want it more than anything else."
That comment strikes at effort, which is the main quality coach Fred Hoiberg has zeroed in on throughout the Bulls' inconsistent ways. From his introductory news conference to recent questions on whether personnel fits his preferred scheme, Hoiberg has insisted the Bulls have a championship-caliber roster.
Management said as much, too, during its news conference announcing the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau. Both general manager Gar Forman and executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson stated then that the decision had as much to do with the Bulls failing to dispatch a wounded Cavaliers team in last season's playoffs as the broken relationship between the parties.
Debating whether the roster is good enough to challenge for a championship and whether it fits Hoiberg's scheme is certainly valid. But taking words from the front office and coach at face value, analyzing effort falls in line with where Hoiberg and Gasol are focused.
One big issue is the Bulls' pick-and-roll defense. The Suns routinely exploited it during their 42-point fourth quarter. And though the Bulls' defensive numbers overall are strong, too many opponents are trying to attack Gasol's stationary ways and Derrick Rose's propensity for getting hung up on screens.
"We try to change it up," Hoiberg said of coverage. "We try to keep teams off balance as much as possible."
Offensively, the Bulls posted 20 fast-break points against the Suns. That's just the second time this season they have scored 20 or more.
But Hoiberg's offense goes beyond transition points. It's about playing with pace, pushing the ball even after made baskets, getting into sets quickly, taking shots earlier in the 24-second clock.
Too often, that's not happening. Too often, the Bulls are easing their way into possessions. That's the reason Hoiberg has lamented the Bulls' lack of pace consistently. And that's the reason for repeated questions about a lack of killer instinct.
"I think we got complacent," Jimmy Butler said.
The word "joyless" was written several times last season, and often it was chalked up to the dysfunction emanating from the broken relationship between Thibodeau and management. The coaching change was supposed to address that dynamic, particularly adding a coach with a track record of playing open, free-flowing offensive basketball.
Instead, the Bulls too often play as if they're saving themselves for something.
"If I could put a finger on it, I wish I could. But I can't," Rose said of the Bulls' inconsistency. "I don't have an answer for that."
There's little time for reflection during an NBA season. The Celtics, who own the Eastern Conference's best point differential at plus-5.4, loom on Wednesday, less than 48 hours after the Bulls' epic collapse against the Suns.
The Bulls entered Tuesday fourth in the East, just one game off the conference lead. They also sit just one game ahead of the ninth- and 10th-place Magic and Pistons. That's why Gasol acknowledged the more balanced conference and the punitive playoff consequences to such damning losses, even early in the season.
"It's not something that you find," Gasol said of killer instinct. "It's something that you want or you don't want."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
