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.