Benchmarks:
1. To say the Chicago Bulls have all the necessary pieces to turn it up in the last 24 games of this season and upset the likes of the Golden State Warriors would be a joke. While everyone has all eyes on the defending NBA champions and what could be a historic season for them, the Bulls are falling off the radar and could even miss the playoffs. It’s a hard truth and a sad truth to swallow for a team that is celebrating its 50th season as an NBA franchise.
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2. Frozen. They’re stuck in the past. Although the Tom Thibodeau era is over in the Windy City, the team continues to be stagnant in their offense at times. I must give credit to the former Bulls coach for instilling defensive toughness in the squad over the years, but they’ve fallen out of touch with the principles he made famous. However, we should never forget: this is now Hoiberg’s team and this is a new era for the Chicago Bulls’ system.
3. It’s complicated. While it should go without saying the Bulls’ best players are Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, the core of the team doesn’t work all that well in the offensive system their coach likes to play. The franchise will need to make adjustments in the offseason to better align the squad to Hoiberg’s system.
So, who’s in and who’s out?
Next: Weaknesses