On Friday and Saturday, the Bulls played two back-to-back games, which pretty much embodied what the season for them has been like so far.
Now, I realize these were back-to-back games, but how do Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas go from 17 and 7 minutes, respectively, up to 27 and 24. I realize everyone talks about how inconsistent Tyrus Thomas is, but can’t some of that be attributed to his totally inconsistent playing time? I mean in the last 9 games he’s played in, he’s had anywhere between 5 minutes and 32 minutes. I can’t imagine that much variation is due to the fact that Coach Vinny thinks he’s “having an off night” or something. That kind of consistent inconsistency just seems like bad coaching to me. How is the dude ever going to get comfortable playing when he has no idea if he’s going to be out there for 7 minutes, or have 20+ minutes to work with?
Another observation about these games: Chicago started well against Memphis (the first game) but then kind of played down to them and let the game get away. It was like they saw the Grizzlies as a team with a losing record who was obliged to lose to them. On the other hand, when they played New Jersey, it was just the opposite. The Bulls started off down 9, and then battled back in the second half(partly due to what I think were some poor lineup choices by the Nets coach). It was evident, even after having played the night before, that the Bulls were just much more mentally ready to take on the Nets (who had a winning record at the time). That kind of mentality (playing up or down to opponents based on your perception of them) demonstrates a lack of maturity on the team. Of course, with Derrick Rose as the best player on the team, that’s somewhat understandable. Unfortunately, Luol Deng, who’s in his 5th year now, doesn’t seem to be the kind of player who can bring veteran leadership (maybe he still needs another year or two). Drew Gooden is still too new to the team, even though he’s played in the league the second longest of anyone on the team (I’m not counting Lindsey Hunter). Ben Gordon is sort of in a predicament when it comes to being a leader because of the contract issue, and honestly, he had never really seemed like he cares about his teammates as much as a team leader should.
Here’s some links to follow if you like the Bulls:
MoonDog Sports: Grizzlies Defense Shuts Down Bulls
DaBulls.com: Bulls 113 – Nets 104
Luol’s Dong: Miss Illinois USA contest is rigged
