Get Us Out of January!

Currently, the United Center is exclusively home to Frozen on Ice.  On a daily basis, the usual home of hoops and hockey is filled with a bunch of young girls singing Let It Go at the top of their lungs.  And boy, the Bulls couldn't be happier to let go of this month.

Take away their three wins to start January and the Bulls went 5-9.  At the same time, Cleveland has caught fire and won nine in a row.  So there's only game in the loss column separating to two clubs.  A Central Division title that once seemed like a formality is suddenly not so certain.

With four days off until their next game in Houston, nobody could use a break more than the Bulls.  While they've brought their A game against the superior teams (San Antonio, Dallas, Golden State), they've looked very disinterested while playing inferior clubs (Utah, Orlando, L.A. Lakers).  Hopefully, all they've done is hit a wall after winning 13 of their previous 15.  But what if it's something more than that?

Has winning against teams below .500 become uninteresting to them?  Have they become so content with their improved offense, they've decided the defense will just come on its own?  Whatever is going on, it's not the sign of a championship club.  All the pieces are in place to make a run this year, but what we've seen lately is not giving us confidence that can happen.

The worst offense by this team is their hearts don't seem to be in it most nights, at least not in the first half.  By the second half, they have to play from behind and go twice as hard to make that ground up.  Despite comebacks against the Lakers and Suns, neither resulted in a win.  There's a lesson in there I think you can figure out.

Many years ago, I used to play the computer game Backyard Basketball.  One way your team could be described was "stacked with talent, but it takes more than that to win in this league."  The sooner the Bulls rediscover that, the better.  I love watching them win games they're supposed to lose, but if you're losing games you're supposed to win, that's a bigger measuring stick.

There's still half the Frozen on Ice trip to go and there's no time like the present to break out of this swoon.  Maybe while the Bulls are back in Chicago for a couple of days, some can take their minds of basketball by taking in the ice show going on at their arena.  Hey, at this point, I'm willing to get them to focus on anything.  If they can sit still for a couple of hours, maybe that will help their attention spans, which will let them know of the danger they'll be in if they don't straighten up.

Damning Discord?

Normally, I reserve a special post for the Bulls' All-Star selections.  Pau Gasol's rebirth made him a starter and Jimmy Butler's huge first couple of months allowed him to become a reserve.  Yet this story has been overshadowed by reports of disharmony between Tom Thibodeau and the front office duo of Gar Forman and John Paxson.

Before the Bulls grinded out an embarrassing double-overtime loss to the Lakers Thursday, Forman attempted to downplay these reports by letting everyone know of their focus on winning.  He claimed they will let nothing stand in the way of winning a championship.  Even so, a toxic environment internally can't be ruled out.

Jeff Van Gundy started this last week when he threw the Bulls' front office under the bus for supposedly not respecting Thibodeau enough.  That was fueled by league sources telling local media the relationship between the two sides was beyond repair.  There may be two years left on Thibodeau's contract extension, but don't be shocked to see this basketball guru leave after the season, they said.

I don't know what's happening behind closed doors with Thibodeau, Forman and Paxson, but I know this.  If they can't find common ground, it's going to result in a lost opportunity for a title which, in my opinion, won't come back after this year.  The East is becoming stacked with the likes of Atlanta, Washington and Cleveland.  And this might be the one chance to break through before Cleveland really figures it out and monopolizes conference championships for the next few seasons.

The Bulls have too many good things going for them to let this chance slip up.  However, it's hard to think so lately, what with them going 8-8 in January with one game to go and all.  I'd rather not think this alleged discord is getting in the players' heads and messing them up, so I won't.  But if it is, the powers that be have no one to blame but themselves.

The common complaint appears to be Thibodeau wants to keep riding his guys hard while GarPax would rather he save them for the playoffs.  Sounds like a clashing of old and new NBA philosophies.  Can there be some sort of way for both of them to coexist?  That's the only way this is going to work.

Are these troubles related to the Bulls' habit of playing down to their competition?  Is there another reason that just this month, they've lost to the Jazz, Magic, Heat and Lakers with three of those games coming at home?  Whatever it is, everyone needs to let their personal pride go to correct this tailspin we've been seeing lately.  Otherwise, you risk giving up any home-court advantage in the playoffs and/or playing Cleveland in the first round, both of which are very real possibilities thanks to recent trends.

The trio in charge could take a lesson from Jerry Krause and Phil Jackson.  The two men absolutely HATED each other, especially when they were about to part ways.  Yet somehow, they led the Bulls to six championships in eight years.  They had to swallow just enough personal pride to make that happen.  If the current regime can't take a lesson from that, there's not much reason to believe in that ultimate goal.

Hopefully for everyone's sake, this is all just another chapter in a long regular season.  We could all be laughing at this a few months from now.  But even if we are, we should still be concerned about whether Thibodeau will still be at the helm for when this core still has a chance to play competitive basketball next year.  Tell me someone smarter who would be better fit to guide this team and I'll change my mind.

The Bulls mercifully end January Friday against the Phoenix Suns.  The obvious concern is if they're too tired from a losing marathon to stay competitive throughout.  Conventional wisdom says they are.  But there's nothing conventional about this team, so we'll just have to see.

What a Win!

In the unpredictability that is the NBA, you get some of the weirdest possible stat lines in basketball.  I don't know what Derrick Rose thought when he saw his from Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors, but I'm guessing it was something along the lines of "How?"  Especially because he was the primary reason the Bulls snapped the Warriors' 19-game home winning streak 113-111 in overtime.

Near the end of regulation, Rose was saddled with a career-high 11 turnovers and not one assist.  He finally found a dime after a late Stephen Curry turnover allowed him to dish out to Kirk Hinrich for a go-ahead three.  Draymond Green had the tying putback on the next possession, ultimately setting Rose's game-winning bucket with seven seconds left in overtime.  After Klay Thompson missed a floater at the buzzer, Rose's totals were as follows:  30 points, seven rebounds, one assist and 11 turnovers.

Playing without Jimmy Butler or Mike Dunleavy, the Bulls somehow found themselves in an offensive duel with the systematic Warriors.  To be fair, the home squad was missing Andrew Bogut, but Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry still had a collective 51 points and David Lee caught fire for 24 off the bench.  Even so, they gave up a lot of second chance points and an overtime shooting slump didn't help.  In a way, the Bulls are lucky they caught the best team in the NBA on an off night.

Back to Rose's line, let's put it in perspective.  This was the first 11-turnover game this NBA season and sixth since 2009-10.  It's the eighth game with at least 30 points, seven rebounds and 11 turnovers since 1990 and first since Kevin Durant on Jan. 22 last year.  All four aforementioned stats are the first to happen exactly as listed in basketball-reference.com's database, which goes back to 1985-86.

No Dunleavy or Butler meant more chances for the remaining Bulls to score.  Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah had respective double-doubles of 18 and 16, followed by 18 and 15.  Taj Gibson was one rebound short of a double-double, but still scored 10.  Aaron Brooks also had 10 and Nikola Mirotic totaled 12.

It's frustrating to see the Bulls playing down to their level of competition and yet, so satisfying to see them come away with wins such as this.  I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but it would be nice for someone to say they need to have these efforts with everybody, not just the league's elite.  Championship teams almost always take of business no matter how good or bad their opponent on a given night is.  Hopefully, the second half of the season can get some consistency going.

Thursday will be a nationally televised tilt with the Los Angeles Lakers.  No Kobe Bryant means a bad purple-and-gold team becomes worse going forward, but we can't chalk this up as a Bulls win yet.  We've seen so-called easy games turn into disappointments more often than we'd like this season.  Stop letting that happen and run the terrible clubs out of the building no matter where you are (especially at home, but we'll talk about that after this road trip).

Why-teside?

Every now and then, your team gets burned by a player you never would have thought twice about going in.  During Sunday's nationally televised tilt with the Miami Heat, center Hasaan Whiteside, who hadn't sniffed the NBA since the 2011-12 season, let the Bulls and everyone else know who he was.  It came during a 96-84 Bulls loss which looked rather lethargic.

The Bulls barely held a lead all afternoon thanks to bad shooting and a poor defensive game plan.  It was the latest in what has been an average home season (13-11) and a poor one against teams below .500.  Not exactly what you want to build on what had been two great victories against San Antonio and Dallas.  And with the Disney on Ice trip starting this week, that's even more deflating despite a nice road season to this point (16-6).

Whiteside, in just his 37th NBA game, came off the bench to achieve his first career triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks.  The number of shots he sent back are a Miami franchise record and a high for the NBA this season.  That meant limited second chances for the Bulls, although the rest of Miami's defense certainly did its part.  Collectively, it was a nice effort on their part, but it served to show what could be another Miami asset in the making.

Additionally, four Heat starters scored in double figures.  Leading the charge was Dwyane Wade, who characteristically scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.  Chris Bosh wasn't far behind with 20, illustrating how even without LeBron James, that's still an explosive duo.  Luol Deng, in his Chicago homecoming, shared a 15-point total with Mario Chalmers and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 19 on 7-of-17 shooting, but missed all six of his three-point attempts.  Aaron Brooks had 17 off the bench and went four-of-five from beyond the arc.  For the second straight home game, he completed a four-point play.  Pau Gasol had yet another double-double (13 and 17) and Taj Gibson came close (11 and eight).

Although analysts continue to insist the Bulls have enough talent to make a deep playoff run, they continue to frustrate their fans and themselves.  How many more of these types of losses must we take?  Every time they show signs of breaking out of this bad stretch, they revert right back to their disinterested ways and playing down to the competition.  If they do this in the playoffs, they'll get blown out of the first round.

It won't get any easier as the long road trip starts Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.  If the Bulls can somehow play with a sense of urgency again, all will be forgiven for the time being.  But if they follow up such a performance with a putrid showing against the Lakers Thursday, we'll be talking about this all over again.  Win or lose, we just want some consistency.

Jordan Moving Inside

See the Michael Jordan statue inside a building in this artist's rendering?  Think it looks out of place?  Even if you think so, this image will become reality by the fall of 2016.

The statue is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Chicago.  However, its current outdoor location on the east side of the United Center will soon be swallowed up by a new office building for Bulls and Blackhawks employees.  During construction, the Jordan statue, along with the ones of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, will be moved to the southeast corner of the arena.  Upon completion of the new building, the statues will reside in a ground-floor public atrium.

This means the current unlimited access to the statues will give way to access only when the building is open.  A Bulls spokesperson has gone on record to say the Jordan statue's popularity is in mind and efforts will be made to keep it as accessible as possible.  Details haven't been worked out yet, but fans are not being discouraged from making pilgrimages to the statue as they always have.

What saddens me about this is the Jordan statue outside the United Center is a major draw for people and it was one of the first things I remember about visiting the building.  I had quite a few pictures taken with it as a kid and I'm sure many of you did too.  For a time, Jordan himself had the rare distinction of having his own statue just outside the building he played in.  Having the statue inside during his playing days would have dampened the effect and I'm pretty sure it does now.

That outdoor location has been shown in movies and gotten plenty of attention in both Bulls and Blackhawks championship films.  Even in the most recent Bulls introduction video released this year, the attention is on that statue for a few seconds.  Heck, it's been shown in that same spot for every incarnation of that intro since the building opened in 1994.  If showing that statue is important, I'm sure they'll find some way to work around the problem in that next version, but I just don't know if it will feel right.

The current location will be greatly missed, but the United Center complex has undergone more changes this decade than it ever did before.  I suppose there are times when you have to let go of memories in the name of progress.  So get your pictures of that statue where it is while you still can.  Once that chance is gone, it's gone forever.

Pulse Detected

I attended Thursday's nationally televised game (called by Marv Albert!) against the San Antonio Spurs with uneasiness thanks to the recent poor play by the Bulls.  Even with my buddy Ryan and his girlfriend Rohini in tow, I was very cautious in how to approach this contest.  It didn't help that the Spurs had won the previous two times I saw them at the United Center.  But all those thoughts were pushed far away thanks to a convincing 104-81 victory.

Out of the gate, it looked like the Bulls would at least keep up with the Spurs all night.  A one-point deficit after the first quarter turned into a six-point lead at halftime.  Then, the Bulls came storming out of the locker room and outscored the defending champions in the third 31-20 to go up by as much as 25.  The final drama was extinguished in the waning moments when Nikola Mirotic slammed it home to give the fans free Big Macs.

Derrick Rose, fresh off having his minutes restrictions lifted, wasted no time showing off his aggressiveness and scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the paint.  Despite no Joakim Noah or Mike Dunleavy, all five Bulls starters reached double figures.  Yes, even Tony Snell, despite shooting 4-of-11 (0-of-6 from beyond the arc) and making several bad plays, finished with 12.  I could go on about how his NBA career will be a short one at this rate, but that's for another post.

Pau Gasol's day started well with the news that he was voted to start on the All-Star team for the first time.  He'll play for the East while brother Marc of Memphis will start for the West, making this the first time brothers have been so honored at the same time.  Perhaps fueled by this development, he totaled 12 points and 17 rebounds.  The double-double was achieved within seconds of the third quarter's beginning.

Jimmy Butler picked up three fouls in the first half, but stayed out of trouble enough in the second to score 17 and make all seven of his free throws.  Taj Gibson had 15 and finished one board shy of joining Gasol in the double-double club.  Off the bench, Aaron Brooks scored 15, four of which coming on what I believe is the first four-point play I've ever seen in person.

The Bulls needed to let their fans and themselves know how dominant they can be.  When you're able to jump out to a big lead against San Antonio and continue to step on the gas, worries are at least temporarily tossed to the side.  More importantly, the whole team actually looked interested in playing for the first time in a couple of weeks.  Whether Rose's postgame comments after the Cleveland loss or the team meeting the next day helped may never be known, but we learned things are never as black as painted with this club.

The best things the Bulls can do are play to their strengths and show enough effort to put distance between themselves and whoever they're playing.  It happened in this game and by the time the Spurs could get a run going, they were in too big a hole.  Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were pulled so early in the second half, I barely noticed it.  But hey, when your team is in the middle of a blowout, that's really all you care about as a fan.

Not all games are going to be this easy.  And should the Bulls, knock on wood, meet these Spurs again in the NBA Finals, it will undoubtedly be their toughest test all year.  In an 82-game season, you have several blowouts going both ways and this just happened to be a game that didn't showcase the real Spurs.  That's why Tom Thibodeau needs to keep his guys on their heels and if anybody is tuning him out like it's being rumored, it needs to stop right now so they don't blow their best chance to win a championship.

This game was the first of a back-to-back, meaning the Bulls will travel Friday to take on the Dallas Mavericks.  Dunleavy could finally return, but it always takes much more to beat Dirk Nowitzki and his club.  It seems the Bulls never have it easy with them, so hopefully, they conserved enough energy in this win over the Spurs.  Even if they don't beat Dallas, let's hope they at least put an effort similar to what we just and what we know they can do.

Listlessness

The title of this post is the perfect way to describe how the Bulls have lost six of their last eight, including Monday's nationally televised 108-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Even without Mike Dunleavy or Joakim Noah lately, this team typically would have still found a way to clamp down on defense and make more of these games close.  But with the team on pace for Thibodeau-era worsts in defensive efficiency and opponent scoring among other categories, it's causing people both inside and out to have concerns.

Players have pointed to a lack of communication and trust on defense as the primary reason for this slump.  After Monday's defeat, Derrick Rose, who has actually played very well during this period, signaled out the whole team and even dropped an F-bomb while saying there's been no will to win from anybody.  Further turning a few heads was the Bulls canceling practice on Tuesday rather than immediately try to correct what's gone wrong.

It's no time for a panic, but it's certainly time to take this seriously.  The Bulls are not known for looking disinterested during games, but that's been the most noticeable issue while watching games.  Although the offense has looked better than it did all of last year, it's impossible to think that improvement came at the defense's expense.  I've been making this point a lot recently because it's something worth thinking about.

During this difficult run, Tom Thibodeau has tried everything to mentally bring his team back where it needs to be.  For whatever reason, it may have fallen on deaf ears, but everyone may have also hit a wall.  Perhaps Dunleavy and Noah have listened to the coach more than anybody else and that held everybody together.  That question could be answered when both eventually return.

Then, you remember how poorly Noah has looked all year.  Even he's been prone to not caring what's happening on the floor at times.  If it's because he can't move on that bum knee, that doesn't bode well for the Bulls' chances, especially if he doesn't improve from here on out.  It'd be better for him to sit certain games out so the Bulls can at least have a fighting chance at playoff success this spring.

But even a fighting chance won't happen if we don't see that energy and intensity the Bulls have become known for.  The late Norm Van Lier always said 48 minutes of intensity was key to victory.  Right now, we only see intensity when the Bulls have dug themselves into too big a hole.  If you don't run right out of the gate, it comes back to bite you in the end.

Maybe the day off will do the Bulls some good and a stretch similar to winning 13 of 15 earlier this season is coming.  But starting it Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs might a tough task.  You don't want to be slumping when the franchise which could change how NBA teams are built in the future is coming to your building.  I'll be there to witness it and I need to see some energy and a greater will to win.

Looking Up Again?

It's been a trying stretch for the Bulls, who entered Friday's game with the Boston Celtics having lost four of five.  After Boston shot 60 percent from the field in the first half, the Bulls were once again at risk of dropping to an inferior opponent.  But that missing defense that's plagued them so many times this year emerged after halftime and brought that shooting down to 49.4 percent, allowing just 17 fourth-quarter points.  That two-game losing streak halted with a 119-103 final.

The defense has uncharacteristically been a thorn in the Bulls' side all year.  They've never finished lower than third in that category during Tom Thibodeau's tenure, but are currently 15th (99.3 PPG).  The offense has certainly improved (102.4 PPG from a league-worst 93.7 last year) thanks in large part to Pau Gasol and the return of Derrick Rose.  But hopefully, the Bulls didn't set out to help the offense at the expense of the defense.

It's a tough schedule coming up for the Bulls too.  The next cupcake opponent will be the Lakers on January 29, so they'll need to show what they did in the second half against Boston for a full 48 over these next two weeks.  If the defense they showed against Washington appears against Atlanta Saturday, it's going to be ugly.  The good news is the Bulls allegedly show a greater effort against better teams, but that needs to happen against everybody if they want higher than the fourth seed in the East.

It would also help if Jimmy Butler is truly out of his earlier shooting slump.  It seems that slump coincided with the Bulls' recent struggles.  But against Boston, he shot 10-of-19 for 22 points.  Hopefully, he's approaching his play during the first couple months of the season so the Bulls truly have that needed third scoring option to go with Rose and Gasol.

The Bulls could also benefit from the eventual return of Mike Dunleavy.  His absence has also seemed to coincide with the team's slump.  He's not a flashy player, but he played in every game during his Bulls tenure until his injury.  Is it possible he's a key cog in the defense and that chemistry is upset with him not being there?

A bigger reason might be Joakim Noah, whose injury troubles took another bad turn with a sprained ankle in the Wizards game.  The Bulls need him for the playoffs, so regardless of what the MRI tells him, I would seriously consider shutting him down for a bit.  If the All-Star break is too long, maybe sit him until the Disney on Ice trip begins.  The one thing Thibodeau can't afford is another injured playoff team or it will be the same story as the last three years.

After the Hawks visit the United Center, the Bulls will have meetings with Cleveland, San Antonio, Dallas, Miami and Golden State in that order.  Even with Dunleavy and Noah out, this could the most crucial stretch of the regular season coming up.  If the Bulls want to show they can compete with the best in the league, this is the time to do it.  Having the defense and Butler show up would definitely help.

Poofed by a Pair

Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo suffer from being perhaps the most talented players on a young Orlando Magic team.  If either was playing on a contender, more attention would be paid to them.  But they made sure everyone at the United Center on Monday knew they existed.  They were the top reasons the Bulls lost 121-114.

The Magic jumped out to a good start and led for the final 45 minutes of the game.  Their quick tempo made them look like anything but the third-worst offense in the league entering the game.  Every time the Bulls tried to climb out of that early hole, Orlando found a way to answer by taking advantage of lackluster defense.  Every Bulls basket and every run was successfully countered until the deficit was large enough that the home crowd began to file out before the final buzzer.

Vucevic and Oladipo each scored 33 points.  The former also showcased the dominance he's had all year with 11 rebounds and Oladipo shot well with a 3-of-4 behind the three-point line and an 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.  They and their teammates combined for 48 field goals and 59.3 percent shooting from the field, both Bulls opponent season highs.  Their 121 points were also the most the Bulls have given up in a regulation game this year.

Pau Gasol followed up his 46-point outing on Saturday with 28 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.  Derrick Rose, who shot well Friday against the Wizards, continued that stretch with 8-of-15 shooting and 18 points.  Jimmy Butler scored 17, but shot below 40 percent for the fourth straight game.  Aaron Brooks and Nikola Mirotic contributed 12 and 11 respectively off the bench, and even they had their questionably moments on offense.

With the Bulls now having lost three of their last four games, their defensive issues of late and playing down to their opponents must be addressed.  It's embarrassing that a team which prides itself on defense (and had the best in the NBA last year) is not playing with that same intensity of past years.  Sadly, not exposing inferior opponents for who they are has been going on beyond this season and I'm not sure whether that's the players' fault or Tom Thibodeau's.  And a 12-8 home record with many of those losses coming to bad teams is a major reason the Bulls currently have just the fourth seed in the East.

Will Perdue said on the postgame show a stretch like this has team meeting written all over it.  The Bulls we've seen over the past week are not the Bulls we've seen have success for most of the year.  What is Thibodeau going to have to say to his players to get to where they should be?  There's no way they should be spending the next three months making up for all the shortcomings that have happened to this point, but that's what they're facing here.

Perhaps one element that should be discussed in the meeting is what to do with Joakim Noah.  The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has played like anything but and being hampered by a surgically repaired knee hasn't helped.  I have to agree with those who believe that knee is bothering Noah more than he's letting on.  So do they shut him down for a bit so he's healthier for the playoffs or does he simply continue to play through the pain?

These are great questions, but all we know for sure is the Wizards are coming to the United Center on Wednesday and they'll be ready to play.  After losing to Atlanta by 31 Sunday, they play San Antonio Tuesday before arriving in Chicago.  So they'll have a couple of recent quality opponent games under their belts.  The Bulls have to make sure they're contributing to that stretch, not providing relief from it.

Full Tank of Gas-ol

Unless you've been totally ignorant of the Bulls recently, you know Pau Gasol has been turning back the clock like it's going out of style.  At age 34, he shouldn't be playing some of the best basketball of his life.  He shouldn't even be receiving enough votes for the All-Star team.  Somebody forgot to tell him though.

The latest evidence was Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks.  With Derrick Rose out due to knee soreness and Jimmy Butler in a shooting slump, Gasol had to carry the offense on his own.  All he did was score a career-high 46 points, which also tied an NBA season high set by Carmelo Anthony on Nov. 14.  But that wasn't enough for him, so he grabbed 18 rebounds, eight of which were of the offensive persuasion.

We could talk more about how Gasol has exceeded expectations, but I would just be repeating words then.  Instead, I'll say this might be what the Bulls needed to break out of their doldrums.  Poor shooting games against Utah and Washington led to dispiriting losses and any comebacks they might have made were hampered by slumps both before and after opposing teams' runs.  Gasol showed terrific leadership with no one else able to produce a spark.

There's no question the offense is designed to create the best opportunities for Rose, but Gasol is typically next in line.  Although Butler is having a career season, Gasol has the better track record and is simply more talented.  At a time when the NBA is moving towards a perimeter-friendly style, Gasol serves as a reminder that there will always be a need for low-post scorers.  The best go on to have long, productive careers and the Bulls are lucky to have him.

While talking with my co-worker Luis Medina last night, he repeated a point he's often made.  He's a big Kobe Bryant fan, so while watching the Lakers games that go with it, he noticed that Mike D'Antoni misused Gasol while coaching him in LA.  This comparison between Gasol's last two seasons indicates Gasol shot all over the place last year, but was finding most of his success in the paint.  Under Tom Thibodeau, most attempts are coming there and the success has followed.

Thibodeau's point guards have played well, but there may not be enough credit for how his power forwards have thrived.  Taj Gibson has done it, Nikola Mirotic is starting to, Carlos Boozer couldn't do enough, but Gasol has more talent than all three and his play has shown that.  The greater your skill set, the greater chance you have for success at that position in Chicago.  It could all just be a coincidence, but a study on Thibodeau's fours might be in order.

The question now is not whether Gasol can help this team win a title, but how much.  It hardly seems logical to set any expectations for him anymore because he keeps exceeding them.  Remember, it was the mere addition of him that allowed the Lakers to reach three straight Finals and win two of them.  The Bulls had a chance to acquire him during the same time period, but this is turning into better late than never as opposed to watching a declining superstar.

We'll see if Gasol can create something else spectacular Monday against the Orlando Magic.  It would be easier than having to endure what I'm sure were large crowds during his appearance at Woodfield Mall today.  Against an inferior team, we should expect no less than a double-double.  Hey, it doesn't hurt to get greedy with this type of talent, right?

Dry Spell for Derrick

Until Derrick Rose is completely back to his familiar superstar level, he's going to be open to criticisms of all kinds.  Before, they said he wasn't taking enough shot and passing off too much.  Now, he's apparently taking too many shots which aren't falling.  When you're 19-for-78 (24.4 percent) from the field over your past four games, you're going to hear about it.

People have noticed a change in Rose's game from when he used to drive recklessly every game.  They say it means he's too afraid of getting hurt again.  It means he's no longer the player the city fell in love with.  And the Bulls are paying him too much to only drive at certain points in the game instead of all the time.

Yet through it all, Rose is making no apologies for shooting whenever he gets a clean opportunity.  He says his confidence is through the roof and right now, he's not passing up his chances.  He cares little about what others are saying about him.  Shooting at will is his current preferred method on his journey back to superstardom.

Rose should absolutely be taking whatever steps he feels necessary to return to his former glory.  Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol may be having better years than him, but he's still the most important player on the roster.  Nobody ever said the playing phase of his rehabilitation was going to be easy, but people expect instantaneous results I suppose.  That's just the nature of man.

It's as if this journey Rose has embarked on is coming in phases.  First, he wasn't taking his opportunities to score.  Now, he's being too selfish with the ball when everyone knows he's in a cold spell.  There's seemingly no way for him to satisfy everyone in his current state.

As for me, I've never been one to tell Rose how he should go about this process and I'm not going to start now.  In fact, what he's done so far this season aside from the first few weeks is very impressive.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect when he embarked on The Return II, but I was hoping he would contribute in a very meaningful way.  He has not disappointed me.

So cool your engines about the Bulls' star point guard.  Assuming he plays Monday against the Houston Rockets, he'll have plenty of chances to improve his shooting against James Harden's club.  If the shooting woes don't stop then, they eventually will.  So forget about what's wrong and focus on the right, which is Rose playing well enough.