The 76ers stink and it took too long for everyone except Butler to realize it. Sure, we appreciate his career-high 53 points, which made him the first Bull to surpass 50 since Jamal Crawford in 2004. We also like that Doug McDermott (17 points) and E'Twaun Moore (14) came off the bench to give Butler some crucial support. Even Joakim Noah's 16 rebounds in a start for the injured Pau Gasol were impressive at a time he's dealing with unhappiness and persistent trade rumors.
But unlike Butler's gutsy performance against the Raptors a week-and-a-half ago, this one was more out of necessity and desperation to avoid embarrassment. He couldn't get help from Derrick Rose, who was unable to play with his persisting left knee tendinitis. While he surely was pleased to be the top dog once again, it probably wasn't a very satisfying feeling. If I had to do what he did, it would be like having a box of donuts for dinner: filling, but also bloated.
Butler got on Fred Hoiberg for not cracking down on whatever nonsense goes on behind the scenes. Maybe it's time for him to let his teammates he shouldn't have to take over like that. He can't do it by himself every night. In this case, the sheer badness that is the 76ers afforded him the opportunity.
The Bulls should be leading the 76ers by 24 and not the other way around ever. Nobody should have to be reactive to lesser teams when they pose a threat that shouldn't even have existed. Why can't they steamroll them out of the gate and kill their morale before they even get settled? Unfortunately, this group seems too set in its ways to change that now.
It's just so maddening to watch a team we know is so much better than they often let on. They might beat Golden State at the United Center in less than a week, but lay an egg against Boston right after. After that, they might upset Cleveland on the road and defeat Miami at home before looking disinterested to play the Lakers. There's no reason for this trend to go on, and yet we keep seeing it.
Maybe a trade would shake things up. It would send a message from Gar Forman and John Paxson that says "You don't want to make something happen here? Fine, we'll trade you for someone who will." But given the conservative approach GarPax traditionally takes, don't hold your breath.
The Bulls get right back at it Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. Don't tell me: this is a game they're going to take seriously because of Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams, right? I guess that's great, but do we have to look forward to sweating it out against Detroit on Monday? Ugh, this feeling isn't going away, is it?
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