Recovering from Disappointing Year

It's so appropriate that I'm writing this earlier-than-expected year-end Bulls report on the 104th anniversary of the Titanic sinking.  All season long, we've been watching our own ship go down at a time we were supposed to celebrate 50 years of the franchise.  A team that was supposed to make one last run at a championship instead finished 42-40, two games out of the East's final playoff spot.

Fred Hoiberg was brought in to replace Tom Thibodeau and implement an offensive system that on paper, speeds up ball movement, calls for quick shots and can also give players freedom.  Instead, they ranked 21st in team scoring, down from 15th a year ago even though they somehow had a slightly higher number.  Gar Forman and John Paxson didn't make this specific point in their press conference Wednesday, but it could be just one in a long list of reasons they're blaming the players for an unsuccessful year.  Jerry Reinsdorf supports the men who run his organization, so they'll have to be the ones who look at the roster and determine who should stay and who should go.

Jimmy Butler called himself a team leader early on, much to the chagrin of some of his teammates, and backed it up with a career-high 20.9 points per game.  He was selected to his second straight All-Star Game, but sprained his knee, forcing him to miss that event and a month of regular action.  Without that injury, the Bulls might not have missed the playoffs, showing how valuable he really is and he should be the guy the Bulls build around going forward.  Almost any postseason team this year would take him if they could.

Derrick Rose finally made it through a full season without suffering a long-term injury, but numerous minor health setbacks kept him to 66 games, though that's still the most he's played since his MVP year.  When Butler went out, he showed how helpful he can be in his current state, averaging 21.9 points per game in February.  That came at a time when his monthly scoring averages consistently rose (no pun intended) and he ultimately put up a 16.4 scoring average.  While it's a far cry from his superstar days (can't believe I'm saying that), he can still be a solid contributor on a winner.

Pau Gasol took Butler's spot on the All-Star team and it was evident why.  Like last year, he was good for a double-double regularly and it showed, averaging 16.5 points and 11 rebounds per game over a team-high 72 contests.  But many still have questions about his defense and won't be sad when he opts out of his contract likely goes elsewhere this offseason.  Losing him for nothing though would mean a trade deadline deal to Sacramento that didn't go through comes back to haunt the front office.

Taj Gibson was the healthiest Bull until injuries derailed him over the final two weeks.  He started the most number of games (55) since his rookie year and shot a career-best 52.5 percent from the field.  His offense and defense continue to compliment each other well, even as he's started to play in his 30s.  His scoring dropped this year, but he also didn't attempt as many shots in years past, so don't read that much into his numbers.

Mike Dunleavy returned from a back injury late in the season, but that, along with age, might be responsible for his numbers being down virtually across the board.  Depending on the Bulls' offseason or a desire to give more time to younger players, he might see more time on the bench next year.  Some players can adjust their games as they age and still be effective.  He doesn't seem to be one of them.

Such a case could also be made for Joakim Noah, who left a big leadership gap on the Bulls when he separated his shoulder in January and missed the rest of the season.  He was already ineffective on the court at the time he went out and his free agency this offseason could mean the end of his time in Chicago.  It's a shame his nine years with the team possibly had to end like that, but c'est la vie.  Hopefully, he can do something meaningful wherever he ends up.

Nikola Mirotic improved just about everywhere in his second season, though an appendectomy forced him to miss a lot of time.  Both before and after, he was either a key player or holding back the team game in and game out.  Most won't look at his 11.8 scoring average and focus on his inconsistent play instead.  But he's one player worth having patience with because he could be the Bulls' biggest role player in the future.

Patience with Doug McDermott certainly paid off after being demoted to the end of the bench as a rookie.  A virtual redshirt this year, he improved everywhere and even showed off some athleticism I didn't know he had.  As we found out over his 81 games, there's more to the former national player of the year than just shooting.  If nothing else, this is another key player the Bulls will have going forward.

Aaron Brooks was the only Bull not to start a game this year, serving as nothing more than a backup point guard on a floundering team.  He never really got much attention and despite playing 69 games, his numbers were down almost everywhere.  It was disappointing after he had a lot to contribute the previous year.  An unrestricted free agent this offseason, he won't be missed too much should he not return.

Another guard, E'Twaun Moore, will also become a free agent.  The East Chicago native started 22 of his 59 games and proved to be solid, averaging 7.5 points per game.  Only 27, he has plenty of time to show he can do more than just provide relief to the main floor generals on an NBA team.  He'll land somewhere if the Bulls don't re-sign him and certainly do a fine job with whatever role he's given.

It took awhile for Bobby Portis to crack the rotation, but once he did, he showed how promising a future he has.  Better than the seven points he averaged in 62 games, he had the heart of a rookie who just wanted to prove himself in the NBA.  His defense was solid and his offense should continue to improve over time.  He might not make the All-Rookie Team, but he never tried to do more than he was capable of, which could prove big down the line.

Justin Holiday and Cristiano Felicio saw more playing time late in the season and proved to be effective.  Holiday, acquired in the Kirk Hinrich deal, surely earned his spot for next year by giving quality minutes in his opportunities.  Felicio has a non-guaranteed deal coming up, but don't be shocked to see him return either after he gave some stability to power forward.  Cameron Bairstow is running out of time to prove himself as a viable part of the Bulls' future and Tony Snell took such a step back this year, I've lost all hope for him.

With all these in mind, it's time for GarPax to give Hoiberg a roster fit for his system, something they failed to do this year.  They need someone who can give Rose solid relief at the point as well as a power forward or center to make up for the gaps that are sure to come this offseason.  It's going to take some major scouting on their parts to get back to the playoffs, which is the most attainable goal for the time being since that championship window is permanently shut with this group.  A pity we've had to lower our expectations significantly, but that's what happens when a front office as stubborn as this one won't make the moves or non-moves necessary to keep the team in that conversation.

It's going to be a longer summer than usual this year, so use it to wash the bad taste from this past season out of your mouth.  After that, do it at least once or twice more so not a trace of it is left in your mind.  Once you have, get ready for me to analyze all the offseason action, including the *shudder* draft lottery that will most certainly keep the Bulls picking at 14th in June.  Don't expect anything big that will make everyone excited again, but of course, who really thought Rose would be on his way here right after the 2007-08 season?

Ending With Win

I've always dreamed of blogging on the night the Bulls won the last game of the season.  That night has finally come.  Unfortunately, it's simply ended with no more basketball for the year instead of a championship celebration.  All that came of Wednesday's 115-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers was most likely the 14th pick in the draft unless the ping pong balls pull a miracle at the lottery.

It looked for awhile that the 76ers would deal one last embarrassment to the Bulls, leading by as much as 24 in the first half.  Then, the Bulls remembered how bad this 10-win opponent is, outscoring them 35-13 during the third quarter.  Philadelphia made a final push which proved futile, even though the Bulls had an active lineup befitting a team much worse than the roster would indicate.  Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson and E'Twaun Moore were all out as expected, but that didn't make the starting lineup any less laughable (click on the link for the box score above).

Nikola Mirotic led all scorers with 32 points.  Starting point guard Justin Holiday (can't believe I'm saying that) was just behind with a career-high 29.  Doug McDermott put up 16, Tony Snell had 13 in 43 1/2 minutes and Bobby Portis wrapped his rookie campaign with 14 boards and just one point shy of a double-double.  Jimmy Butler had as low-profile a triple-double as can be with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Everything about the game however proved secondary when it was announced Gar Forman and John Paxson would address the media afterward.  Fred Hoiberg said nothing when he took the podium and soon after, the heads of the front office sat down.  Paxson said they were talking then because he was traveling Thursday, but perhaps he and Forman also felt that with most of the city watching the other local teams, they could sneak in under the radar.  I wasn't about to forget, so here are some of the highlights:

• They thought the roster had one more shot to contend in the East
• Paxson's biggest disappointment was the team couldn't fight through adversity mentally
• Roster turnover is coming
• Nobody's getting fired
• They'll be looking to improve the medical staff
• Tom Thiobdeau's firing was in the organization's best interest and not a miscalculation
• Rose and Butler never meshed together for an extended time

Let that all sink in and take note of the fact that the powers that be are going to try to fix a team that just finished 42-40 and on the outside looking in.  As much as we'd like a nuclear option to be enforced so that the culture can chance, it doesn't look like it's happening.  Jerry Reinsdorf even released a statement after the press conference reinforcing such.  Everyone pray that they take the right steps to ensure such a disappointing season doesn't happen again.

With no more games to recap, my end-of-season report will be coming in the next day or two.  As I said before, the kid gloves will coming off like never before.  I'm so used to writing it in May, so I hate that already, I have to give a final sendoff to a Bulls team that was as unlikeable and unwatchable as any we've ever seen since the Tim Floyd years.  I wouldn't be doing my job though, so appreciate the fact that I'm taking the bullet for a lot of you.

It's Over

Every Bulls fan's worst nightmare has come true.  With Indiana's 129-105 win over Brooklyn on Sunday, the team will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008, the year they won the draft lottery and selected Derrick Rose.  As an extra kick in the pants, it happened on the same night Golden State won its 72nd game to tie the 1995-96 Bulls' single-season record.  For me at least, it was the worst night to be a Bulls fan on a night when there was no game since Michael Jordan announced his second retirement.

With nothing left to play for except getting over .500 for the year, the priorities for the final few days of the season.  Ahead of Monday's road game with the New Orleans Pelicans, Rose confirmed he would sit the last two games.  Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and E'Twaun Moore are also done for the year.  Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler will not only continue to play, but likely forgo offseason knee surgery in hopes of making Team USA for the Olympics.

This whole thing is a culmination of Gar Forman and John Paxson trying to reshape the organization how they see fit and coincidentally, doing so with every key member of last year's conference semifinal team except the head coach.  Obviously, it hasn't worked.  Even worse is the intervention they initiated off two offseasons ago when they supposedly told players it was okay to tune out Tom Thibodeau.  From there, it was only a matter of time before they could bring aboard Fred Hoiberg to put into action a free-flowing offensive strategy that no one has adjusted to.

A team that was going to battle for a championship is now looking at the draft lottery instead.  Would that have been the case with Thibodeau still in charge?  Probably not, at least with this group.  Hoiberg had little chance of succeeding with a team so used to Thibodeau's strategy and we won't know if he's a real NBA coach until he gets a roster that fits what he's going for.

What that means is reshaping a roster far beyond its championship window.  Pau Gasol, whom the Bulls felt Sacramento wasn't offering enough for at the trade deadline, is almost certain to walk this summer.  More drastic measures would be dealing Rose or Butler, which would be refreshing to people sick of all the respective dramas they create, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them stay where they are.  Most other players should be fair game as well in an attempt to get as much of the stench of this season as far away as possible.

Since Jerry Reinsdorf is regrettably unlikely to fire either half of GarPax, they're the ones responsible for making these changes, which is scary.  You can be almost certain they'll blame everything on injuries such as Joakim Noah's, which created a leadership void even though his skills have diminished over the last two years.  It's the easiest way for them to justify how things went so wrong this year and they can then say a healthier team will prove next year that their organizational philosophy works.  So if you're expecting them to say the way they do things will be different, prepare to be disappointed.

Staying the course is ignoring the problem of a team that's had chemistry issues from day one.  We've seen no indication that anyone enjoys playing together and that can't happen if you're trying to win.  The dysfunction present is painfully clear because we've seen nothing that proves these players are even trying to have fun.  Rose and Butler talk about working together like it's a remedial work task.

Somehow, these Bulls went 7-1 against Cleveland and Toronto.  It didn't matter because it was offset by all the losses to sub-.500 teams.  That particular problem had been plaguing the Bulls for a year or two beforehand, but only now has it come back to bite them.  Whatever philosophical changes we see, if any, have to emphasize that every NBA player is here for a reason and they can play well enough to win every night.

Let this be a big lesson to any organization that tries to do things differently without making all the necessary personnel changes to make those work.  If you're going to change the coach, you have to change some of the players and emphasize a culture that won't stand for anyone who refuses to adapt.  When you barely change any of your ship's crew while changing its captain, disaster can strike and that's exactly what's happened here.

As it currently stands, the Bulls would likely get the 14th pick in the draft, but could be bumped to 13th or 12th.  Either way, that's not a very a good sign a highly touted rookie will be in Chicago next year.  This is why the basketball hell label is liberally applied to the franchise.  Some long days could be ahead.

I won't be posting after the Pelicans game, but will recap Wednesday's finale with the Philadelphia 76ers.  Soon after, I'll have my end-of-season post, which will be far less kind than in years past.  I really wish I didn't have to do this in April.  Then again, I don't feel like pretending they would have had any shot against Cleveland in the first round either.

Tapping Out

Well, you can say the Bulls are mathematically still in playoff contention, but it doesn't look like this year is meant to be.  The bright side for Thursday's game against the Miami Heat is that they looked alive and well most of the time.  That's not much of a consolation though.  They lost 106-98, putting them one loss or one Indiana win from playoff elimination.

This game, in which the Bulls tried to avoid being swept by Miami in a season series for the first time since 2003-04, featured nine lead changes.  They led by a point with 4:43 left, but that's when the Heat began to pull away to the tune of a 21-12 game-ending run.  Fast breaks, penetration, 3-point plays and traditional 3-pointers were all a part of it.  Simply put, the defense was eaten alive.

All five Miami starters, plus two bench players, scored in double figures.  Dwyane Wade was the ringleader with 21 points.  His four assists tied for the team lead with Joe Johnson (17 points) and Goran Dragic, who scored 16 achieved a double-double with 12 rebounds.  Hassan Whiteside also grabbed 12 boards to go with 16 points of his own.

Jimmy Butler had game highs of 25 points and six assists.  Pau Gasol logged his latest double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.  Derrick Rose scored 17 and Bobby Portis had 10 boards.  Unfortunately, as you can probably guess, they couldn't get much support from the other five players who saw action.

You probably wonder how this defense can give up so many points on a nightly basis.  One recurring theme has been points in the paint, at least for Heat opponents.  Miami, which scored 64 of those points in this game, is shooting 63 percent from less than five feet on the year, third in the league.  Combine that with poor rotations as well as giving up 100 points regularly and sooner or later, that's going to hurt.

If you can believe it, the Bulls are 39-40, three games out of a playoff spot with three games to go.  That's a huge drop from a team that was supposed to challenge Cleveland for East dominance.  Now, they look destined to join 13 other teams in a room in May during the draft lottery.  As another Bulls blog mentioned on Twitter, it would be enjoyable for a front office that overvalued the roster and new coaching staff to be forced to wait for a top-3 pick it's not going to get.  A pity Gar Forman and John Paxson will probably send someone else to sit down.

The Bulls could be knocked out of postseason contention Saturday in a nationally televised tilt against the Cleveland Cavaliers, so LeBron James could maintain what's become his annual tradition of ending the club's season.  But the outcome will be moot if Indiana beats Toronto on Friday.  Still, it would be a nice example of kicking the dog if Cleveland won anyway.  Amazing how this poor excuse for a season has me turning to schadenfreude.

Reinsdorf Reaches Basketball Immortality

For all the frustration that's been happening with the Bulls this year, at least one positive is guaranteed to come out of it.  That's Monday's news that Jerry Reinsdof, chairman since 1985, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. this September.  Reinsdorf was the 2016 selection of the Contributor Direct Election Committee.  Other inductees in the new class include Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Tom Izzo and Sheryl Swoopes.

Here's Reinsdorf's biography in the Hall of Fame's official press release:

"Reinsdorf is a remarkably successful lawyer and businessman who followed his love of sports to purchase the Chicago White Sox and in 1985, the Chicago Bulls.  Under his leadership, the Bulls won six world championships and became one of the most iconic teams in the history of sports.  Reinsdorf has done extensive charitable work to benefit the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Park District and was awarded the Jefferson Award for Public Service for leading the philanthropic outreach of the White Sox and CharitaBulls Charities."

It's no secret Reinsdorf personally vests more in his baseball team, especially consider his son Michael runs the day-to-day Bulls operations now as president and COO.  He even called getting the final out ball from the 2005 World Series "the most emotional moment of my life."  But there's no question that without him, the Bulls wouldn't have become the household name they are today.  That they've become so valuable, his family will hang onto them and not the White Sox when he passes on sums it all up.

Think about how far they've come under his watch.  When he purchased the Bulls during Michael Jordan's rookie year, everything about the franchise was terrible from the top down.  The facilities and offices were bad, the Chicago Stadium was half-filled, team employees didn't really enjoy their jobs and what leadership they had was focused on everything except being competitive both on and off the court.  Long story short, Reinsdorf reversed all of that and more with the effects of the championship years lingering to this day.

The luxuries the Bulls were able to afford within a few years of Reinsdorf's takeover have become standard for NBA franchises.  But there's the other thing that resulted from this massive turnaround.  Thank to Jordan and the dynasty he was a part of, sports icons became cultural icons and as such, billions of dollars continue to come into every league all the time.  Maybe it all would have happened anyway under a different owner, but Reinsdorf was the man who helped put it into action and therefore, deserves a lot of credit for the present state of pro sports.

Of course, there are some people who will never forgive Reinsdorf for enabling Jerry Krause to break up the dynasty a year or two earlier than he should have.  Jordan even said in his 50th birthday interview with Ahmad Rashad he would have preferred to see if anyone could actually knock them off before everyone went their separate ways.  And you also have people who despise him for being consistently loyal to a fault.  Many would love to shove Gar Forman and John Paxson out the door for this year's team being pushed to the brink of missing the playoffs, but know Reinsdorf would never entertain such a notion.

Still, for all of Reinsdof's perceived faults, you can't argue he has done more than enough to leave a lasting legacy.  The Bulls are here to stay and when history looks back at the peak years of his ownership, most of it will be very positive.  Most NBA owners are forgotten in the long run, but Reinsdorf will not be among them.  In fact, he probably ranks among the top five in league history.

So join every Bulls fan in congratulating the boss on earning basketball's highest honor.  How gratifying it must be that a kid who grew up a diehard Brooklyn Dodgers fan gets inducted into the Hall of Fame of another sport on baseball's Opening Day.  This is one moment he'll remember for the rest of his life, as he should.  Here's a cigar for JR.