Chicago Bulls / NBA Bulls front office should share the blame
Hello!
Recent Blogs
The Bulls' latest struggles can simply be summed up by Bulls forward Luo Deng : ''We're not gonna win games unless we play better 'D. "The offense is fine, we're scoring enough points, but we have to get some stops if we want to win.''make no mistake..
- Mike Kincaide
The first official trailer for Tron Legacy decided to pop up during this crazy viral marketing campaign. The campaign is much like 42 Entertainment's marketing for The Dark Knight. This trailer looks amazing and if you weren't excited for this film ..
- Tyler Schirado
The second full length trailer for the epic superhero franchise, Iron Man 2, has been released tonight after the Oscars. It sure is pretty spiffy and has tons of flashy explosions, girls, and hot new armors. Does this film still hold up to the gust..
- Tyler Schirado
Tonight marks the 82nd Annual Academy Awards and will be the biggest night in film all year. It’s been a long time coming and who will land on top of this ridiculous year of film? With record breakers, e-mail controversies, and amazingly origi..
- Tyler Schirado
For most of America, the New Year means raising glasses of champagne, toasting to new beginnings. For the Chicago Bulls, it means you’re in the midst of a 6-13 stretch and half of the sports world is calling for your head coach to get the axe.
But not all blame should rest on the shoulders of coach Vinny Del Negro. Indeed, he guided the upstart Bulls to a second place finish in the Central Division during his rookie campaign in 2008-2009. He also led Chicago in one of the best first round playoff series of all time: a seven game thriller against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Then the front office made the mistake of allowing Ben Gordon to sign with the Detroit Pistons, a mistake that has directly led to the Bulls’ struggles this season. 
Yes, Gordon was a terrific scorer, but how he scored is what the Bulls miss most. His ability to nail outside jump shots spread out opposing defenses, giving Chicago’s great, young duo of dribble-drivers, Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, room to operate. What’s more is that since the sharpshooter’s departure, the Bulls are collectively shooting 2.6 and 6.8 percentage points lower from the field and behind the arc, respectively.
Rookie GM Gar Forman let Gordon go without getting anything in return, anticipating that swingman John Salmons and guard Kirk Hinrich could fill his shoes. They haven’t. Hinrich is shooting only .370 from the field overall, while Salmons makes only a third of his three point attempts. For Del Negro to win with a franchise point guard, Rose, who can’t shoot from the outside, he needs better shooters on his bench.
Another gaping hole the Bulls have neglected to fill is in the low post. Chicago has lacked a scoring-threat down low since the glory days of Eddy Curry. While Joakim Noah has developed into a great rebounder and premier inside defender, he’s not the type of player who can consistently score on the block.
Instead, the organization remained content with Brad Miller as their premier scorer down low, which is comparable to being content with patching up a gunshot wound with a Band-Aid.
But there’s still time for Del Negro and the Bulls to right their wrongs. You see, the Bulls are still clinging to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, albeit by a fingertip. The NBA trade deadline is on February 18, giving them plenty of time to acquire outside shooters and/or a big man.
Del Negro hasn’t done the best job in the world this year, evident by his team’s 35 point meltdown against Sacramento on December 21. But last season proved that he can compete with the right personnel. Forman and the Bulls organization need to give their head coach a better chance to win. That’s something everyone can raise their glass to.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
