Feb. 01--This has been a strange Bulls season, which began with legitimate championship aspirations. At times, they have lived up to those, beating other powers and posting a 17-8 road mark as their six-game trip continues Wednesday in Houston. Other times? Not so much, with six home losses to sub-.500 teams.
Here are the five biggest obstacles to the Bulls adding a seventh banner to the United Center rafters:
Health
Recently, isn't this always an issue hovering over this franchise? Maybe it's payback for how little time Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen missed during the dynasty. But Derrick Rose hasn't appeared in a postseason game since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on April 28, 2012, the first game of a short run and first-round exit.
To this point, the Bulls have had their starters intact just 15 times, going 12-3 in those games. Rose has looked good physically, logging his first back-to-back, 40-minute games since January 2012 and playing close to 122 minutes in the three-games-in-four-nights stretch that concluded Friday in Phoenix.
"It was a load," Rose said. "But I'm happy with how my body feels afterward. I attacked the basket. That's something at the beginning of the season I wouldn't have done. I'm getting there. I just have to take my time."
Joakim Noah, too, moved better in these last three games. But he made it clear on media day that his offseason knee surgery would need season-long, off-the-court maintenance. And Noah has already sprained his right ankle three times.
Like any team, the Bulls are a major injury away from postseason irrelevance.
Defense
It seems strange for a Tom Thibodeau-coached team to experience defensive issues. But a combination of factors has made it so. The disjointed lineup and rotation. The addition of offensive-minded players like Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks. A lack of chemistry from inconsistent practice participation.
A brief but telling moment occurred early in the season. Taj Gibson cited a lack of trust for defensive issues, which Thibodeau quickly and somewhat angrily shot down. Gibson didn't back down, saying reigning Defensive Player of the Year Noah said the same thing and that players are the ones on the court.
"One of the strengths we've always had is because of what Joakim and Taj can do with their ability to guard smaller power forwards, we could stay big and we'd have an advantage with our defense and rebounding," Thibodeau said.
But Gibson and Noah no longer close games. Noah and the less-mobile Gasol typically do. Playoff basketball typically features lower-scoring affairs with more tightly contested possessions. The Bulls need to improve.
Bad matchup
The Bulls have proven they can beat good teams on the road, so seeding may not be as critical for this reason. However, it will be for matchup purposes.
Is there anyone who thinks the Wizards' first-round beatdown of the Bulls was a fluke? Granted, Rose missed the series and Noah finished it hobbled, headed for surgery. But the Wizards have improved, adding sage veteran Paul Pierce and still featuring the bruising, athletic frontcourt of Nene and Marcin Gortat.
The Wizards already have won two of three meetings this season with the regular-season series concluding March 3 at the United Center. Nene and Gortat have continued to bully the Bulls, who would be better-served avoiding the Wizards as long as possible.
And then there's that LeBron guy who still resides in the Eastern Conference.
Dysfunction
ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy recently accused management of undermining Thibodeau, pulling back the curtain anew on that frayed relationship. While all parties say the right things publicly, several league sources believe the relationship is beyond repair.
Players aren't dumb. Some read the newspapers. Others have heard talk of the tension. And while that obviously doesn't affect on-the-court play, it can contribute to a negative working atmosphere. The best way to drain the drama is by winning games.
Slow starts
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Bulls' ridiculous, record-setting 72-10 team is how often they took teams out early with demoralizing determination. Too often this season, the Bulls ease into games, creating a hole from which they must extract themselves.
This has made for some fantastic finishes, as the Bulls typically rally late. Even the losses to the Lakers and Suns on this trip showed cardiac comeback potential.
But it's no way to make a playoff living. The Bulls talk constantly about needing to play with an edge. But there have been plenty butter-knife starts this season.
"We know this team has spirit and potential," two-time NBA champion Gasol said. "We just don't do it consistently."
Championship teams do. In four months, June arrives. By then, the Bulls will have needed to clear all obstacles if a ring is the thing.
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
Twitter @kcjhoop
