The Bulls Have Tripped Over That Corner They Were Turning

After winning six games in a row for the first time all season, the Bulls have lost four of their last five games for the second time this season and are scrambling for answers.

10 days ago, I wrote on how the Chicago Bulls appeared to be turning the corner after winning five games in a row for the first time all year.

After their 83-77 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night — their fourth game in five nights — the Bulls are back to where they were the day after Christmas: reeling off a loss to Dallas and searching for answers.

It’s been a tumultuous week for the Bulls.

Not only did John Wall and the Washington Wizards torch them at home once again, rising star Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 29 points on the Bulls (while Derrick Rose missed the entire second half with knee soreness on Tuesday) and it took overtime and a career-high (and co-NBA high this season) 53 points from Jimmy Butler to survive the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.

The perfect cap to a poor week was a 31-point second half against Dallas on Friday, another shoulder issue for Joakim Noah and their fourth loss in the last five games.

(For the “Bulls need to make a trade” crowd, the Noah shoulder re-injury is the worst thing that could happen. They do need to make a move, but with what assets? Check out Blog a Bull’s Tyler Pleiss on that matter.)

When I mentioned the Bulls seemingly were finding their footing this season, I left this disclaimer as a concluding note:

"But, unless this recent stretch of solid play continues on further than just seven games, holding off on the high aspirations seems like a good idea.There’s still plenty of work to do."

Since beating Boston last Thursday night at home to reach the 10 games over .500 mark, the Bulls have given up 106.8 points per game and have lost all the momentum they carried into the new year.

On top of matters, ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh dropped this nugget during a Saturday edition of SportsCenter:

It’s clear that Butler is the best option the Bulls have to offer, but it shouldn’t take a superhuman effort from their star to beat the Sixers.

(I found this quite humorous and accurate.)

Of course, the Bulls were shorthanded that night without Rose (knee soreness) and Pau Gasol (shoulder/Achilles), but if the Bulls are going to be a serious contender, you don’t struggle with the one franchise in the NBA that is trying to lose games.

Plus, the phenomenal one-man show from Butler on Thursday night wore Butler out completely. He was a no-show for obvious reasons against Dallas, going 2-of-11 from the field for just four points.

Another reason the Bulls are struggling once again? Look no further than these shooting numbers from last night (h/t @KCJHoop):

Those kind of numbers from the Tony Snell–Nikola Mirotic–Doug McDermott trio are why the Bulls need Butler to produce on a nightly basis, but even a stud like Butler needs help.

And lately, he hasn’t gotten much.

The Bulls won’t get much from the scheduling gods either moving forward. In the next five games, the Bulls will play at Detroit, Golden State, at Boston, at Cleveland and Miami.

It’s another mid-season mess for the Bulls and it once again just doesn’t add up. The injury bug has bite them once again with longer-term injuries to Noah and Mike Dunleavy (who hasn’t played a minute this year), and yet, the Bulls still have the league’s lowest opponent shooting percentage. (Yes, lower than San Antonio and Golden State.)

The Bulls are fifth in three-point percentage as a team, but they’re 23rd in the NBA in total field goal percentage.

Even Derrick Rose is seeing a rise in his game and the Bulls are still having problems.

Next: Jimmy Butler's Career Night vs. Philadelphia

No amount of John Paxson motivating or Jimmy Butler soundbites are going to be able to fix the Bulls in the long-term.

The Bulls are just going to have to figure things out themselves and find that corner once again.

But once again, can this version of the Bulls be fixed?