How Low The Bulls Go

I was working during the Bulls' back-to-back clunkers with the Milwaukee Bucks, but that doesn't mean I don't know how bad they were.  One of the things about my new job is I have to break during my first five hours.  On Thursday and Friday, I chose the start of the Bulls games to take them.  Despite only being able to watch the first quarter closely both times, they were all I needed to see.

I'll get to why in a second, but to add to all the drama, Nikola Mirotic missed Friday's mandatory walkthrough and could be fined.  This came one night after he received the first "DNP - Coach's Decision" of his career.  While he apologized, he was still confused as to why Bobby Portis had taken his spot in the rotation.  It's not like Portis has performed much better than Mirotic has of late, but with a qualifying offer on the table for next year, don't be shocked if Mirotic is done in Chicago after this year.

But the Mirotic chapter looks rather small compared to the bigger issues facing the Bulls.  After a nice start to the season, they are now 13-13, having lost six of their past eight games.  They are becoming the team many like me were in denial about during the summer:  mediocre and right in the middle of the NBA.  It shows how wrong and indecisive Gar Forman and John Paxson have been in their decision-making.

Yeah, about that.  Remember when Forman said the Bulls were going to get "younger" and "more athletic", only to stop just short of that when it came to the core?  Doing more talk than walk on the matter came back to haunt him this week when bot the Bucks AND Tom Thibodeau's Minnesota Timberwolves beat his team with the very makeup he said he would pursue.  Meanwhile, Forman's young guys, all on the bench, have made little to no progress nearly two months into the season.

I'll give a Christmas cookie to anyone who can tell me with a straight face one young player who not only has improved under Fred Hoiberg this year, but is a viable franchise building block for years to come.  Otherwise, you'll have to accept that Hoiberg is the anti-Thibodeau in that he doesn't maximize anybody's game.  Forman felt he could and decided to give him a five-year contract that's currently in year two. 

Christmas Eve has historically been an exit day for Bulls coaches just not living up to expectations.  Just ask Tim Floyd and Scott Skiles.  We are exactly one week from that day and there's speculation that in the event Hoiberg goes then or on any day, Forman becomes a scapegoat and goes with him.  It would be nice for this organization to hold people accountable and if the Bulls follow their history, it can happen sooner than later.

The worst thing about these past few games is that the Bulls have looked completely disinterested on both ends.  The offense is out of sync and not making smart decisions.  The defense has let anybody and everybody carve it up like Swiss cheese, showing little resistance in the half-court and letting itself get beat convincingly on the break.  The players can talk all they want about improving, communicating and all that, but until they actually show that they care by their actions, they'll get booed off the United Center court as they were Friday.

Many are calling this the low point of Hoiberg's tenure and it's hard to argue against it.  To get back above .500, they'll have to beat the Detroit Pistons on Monday.  Even if they win, the issues with the team's makeup will remain.  And they won't change until the organization decides to actually build a foundation we can all be proud to call our own.