Nov. 25--As if averaging 27.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals on the first three games of the annual circus trip that concludes Friday in Indiana isn't enough, Jimmy Butler also perfectly summarized the Bulls' season thus far in one brief sound bite.
"We have to learn to build on our leads and not let teams back into the game," Butler said after last week's victory in Phoenix. "But I'd rather learn from our wins than our losses."
Indeed, the Bulls are 2-1 on the trip and 9-4 overall, tied with the Heat for the fourth-best record in the league. They rank second in opponents' field-goal percentage at .409, ninth in points allowed at 98.5 and fifth in defensive rating at 97 points allowed per 100 possessions.
But Tuesday's fourth quarter in Portland continued a troubling trend. A 13-point lead disappeared as the Bulls endured another offensive drought featuring players holding the ball, little ball reversal and settling for jump shots.
The Bulls went scoreless for 5 minutes, 9 seconds with one of their three shot-clock violations, missing 10 straight shots. Offensive dry spells happen to all teams.
But beyond these being billed as mostly a thing of the past upon the hiring of Fred Hoiberg, it's the sluggishness with which the Bulls are executing their half-court offense that has stood out. Simply put, there are too many empty possessions featuring a bad shot late in the clock.
"We're not getting the ball side to side nearly enough," Hoiberg said after a shootaround last week in San Francisco.
The Bulls entered their off day Wednesday 21st in scoring at 99.9 points per game and 23rd in shooting at 42.8 percent. Their offensive rating of 98.2 points per 100 possessions ranked 25th. And their pace rating of 100.1 possessions per 48 minutes ranked 10th.
Pau Gasol scored the only two field goals in the final 10 minutes as the Bulls scored the majority of their 15 points in this span from the free-throw line.
"Like all teams this time of year, there have been a lot of good moments and there have been a lot where we have to get better," Hoiberg said. "That's what you address in practice."
The Bulls practice Thanksgiving morning before flying to Indiana to finish the trip.
Mike Dunleavy, whose activity keeps increasing and for whom Friday is the nine-week mark since his back surgery, will be welcomed whenever he's ready to play. Tony Snell has scored in single digits in five straight games and is 5-for-28 in that span.
Butler remains a constant at both ends, not to mention with his quotable assessments. He helped secure the victory over the Trail Blazers with late free throws after carrying the Bulls down the stretch against the Suns.
"It just shows how far I've come and how I worked on my game to be able to score the ball late and for my teammates to know my ability to score," Butler said that night in Phoenix. "That's the utmost respect coming from them to me and me returning the favor because I'm showing I can put the ball in the basket."
Just think of what the record might be if the Bulls did more of that.
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
