4. Coaching improvements
The Bulls’ decision to fire Fred Hoiberg on December 3 and promote Jim Boylen to the head coaching position was one that carried a lot of skepticism in the hearts of fans. Nobody knows for sure whether Hoiberg would’ve been able to turn the team around, but it’s pretty clear he wasn’t given ample opportunity to do so.
Now, with Boylen looking more and more like the long-term top dog (regardless of how this makes fans feel), there’s a lot of (worthy) concern about the direction of this Bulls team.
Boylen is a passionate guy who clearly cares about the organization, players and culture in Chicago. I can respect that. But he struggles mightily in some important aspects of the game. His aggressive defensive tactics are sketchy and unreliable, he has a history of drawing up weird/ineffective plays during timeouts and he doesn’t value the three-ball enough.
It looks like moving on from Boylen is out of the question (for now), so if the Bulls want to take a step forward next season, Boylen needs to improve as a coach.