State of emergency: Change is needed with Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have not looked like the team that we saw in preseason. The ball movement and free-flowing offense is gone and they can’t guard anyone. What now?

After an offseason full of smart signings, a smart draft, and optimism about the guys already on the roster getting better, the Chicago Bulls are what they have been since the trade of Jimmy Butler. A mess. From top to bottom, this organization needs a reshape to happen; and it starts with management.

The Bulls lost on Nov. 3rd to a Pacers team missing Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Victor Oladipo. While the players haven’t been playing up to their status, their head coach isn’t exactly helping the Bulls succeed. In the press conference, before they take on the Los Angeles Lakers at the United Center, Boylen addressed the media about their play.

“I don’t think so,” Boylen said following Monday’s practice at Advocate Center. “I think they need to take more responsibility for their preparedness. I think they need to take more ownership of their readiness to play. The head coaches in this league have never been expected to coach effort. Effort has to come from each guy,” Boylen said via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Calling out your players after seven games isn’t ideal.

Boylen also expressed a willingness to change the PnR defensive scheme. So far this season, the Bulls have been very aggressive on that aspect. The rotations haven’t been there, and frankly, the Bulls don’t have enough quality defenders to contain opposing perimeter players. Only one player, Kris Dunn, has a positive DBPM (Defensive box Plus/Minus).

The Bulls are 18th in defensive rating, which is tethering on the middle of the road. However, It’s been second halves that have hurt the Bulls. When you take the stats from just the second halves of games, the Bulls have a 113.2 defensive rating, which is good for 26th-worst in the entire NBA, according to NBA.com. The teams worse than the Bulls? Golden State, Houston, Cleveland (who beat Chicago), and Memphis. This season the scoring average for teams is at 109.7.

The Bulls have held teams under that number five times, but context is needed. Indiana and Toronto both scored 108 points, a rebuilding Charlotte team that averages 105.5 points per game dropped 126 on them, and they allowed a Knicks team that is 2nd to last in points per game to score 105 points on them. Granted Otto Porter Jr. – their only serviceable wing – has been hobbled, but there’s no reason for this defensive meltdown.

Offensively, the promise of more ball movement and pace have lacked, especially in the fourth quarter. A Spurs-esque attack has been replaced in the most critical quarter with a dysfunctional one-on-one attack. Against the Knicks, plays broke down often, and it resulted in missed shots.

Lauri had a horrific hook shoot that hit all backboard, and LaVine had his struggles finishing. During the fourth quarter, the Bulls go from their regular offensive rating of 103.1 to a paltry 99.4 in the final frame of play. The 99.4 is the 21-st worst offensive rating in the league.

For a team that was talking about playoff aspirations before the season, this season has been more of the same. The disappointing on-court product is growing old. Teams like Memphis, Phoenix, and even Cleveland seem to have a clear direction with their rebuild.

What are the Bulls doing?

The last two coaching hires have not worked out, and the current coach hasn’t shown that he can get the best out of the young talent on the roster. None of the core guys seem to have improved under Boylen, and the best of the bunch – Wendell Carter Jr. – has been underutilized.

Lauri Markkanen hasn’t taken that jump and has even been usurped in the closing lineup by Thaddeus Young. If Boylen’s Xs and Os aren’t helping the team on the court and he’s not getting the young guys any better, than why did the front office invest so heavily in him?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. Michael Reinsdorf has overseen the Bulls operations since 2010. The Bulls have the longest-tenured front-office regime in the NBA, and that doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon. Reinsdorf believes that Paxson and Gar have done a great job handling this rebuild.

In a sit-down with K.C. Johnson, Reisdorf spoke glowingly of Forman and Paxson.

“Absolutely. We believe they’ve done a great job. I know that in this market, with some of our fans and some in the media, they look at it differently. That perplexes me,” Reinsdorf said.

John Paxson has been the Vice President of the Bulls since 2009, and Gar Forman has had his title change throughout his career, but he’s been with the Bulls since 98. Maybe It’s time for a change? The legendary Bill Walsh did have the rule about ten years in one place.

In the past 15 years, the Bulls have been legitimate title contenders once during that span. For a team in a big market, that should be unacceptable. The Derrick Rose injury gave management an excuse as to why they couldn’t win a championship. However, they were gifted the perfect opportunity to build a team around Butler and instead surrounded him with Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade.

The band-aid fix. The Bulls, for the better part of the 2000s, were good, but not good enough. The 2019-20 iteration of the Bulls just haven’t been good, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier.

In a six-game span, they play the Lakers, Nets, Bucks, and Rockets. In addition to those four teams, they also go against two tough rebuilding teams in the Knicks and the Hawks.

There’s a lot of season left, but frustration is starting to set in on the players and coach Boylen. This stretch could determine which direction the season goes and what happens next.

If the season goes sour then Otto Porter Jr. can either opt-in for the final year of his contract or walk to a better team. Then you have to decide on Markkanen and whether or not you want to pay him a max.

As of now, Markkanen isn’t looking like a max guy. His shooting numbers leave a lot to be desired, his post game is non-existent (he’s shooting 25 percent on post-ups), and he can’t create for others. The NBA is a star’s league, and if you can’t sign a star you have to draft one.

As of now, the Bulls have zero stars and It’s looking bleak that any of the players on the roster can turn that corner. Granted, there’s still a lot of season left, but results have to start happening. Progress has to be made.

It has been almost two decades since Jordan’s last championship season. The mystique of Jordan has worn off, and the Bulls aren’t that marquee franchise that they used to be. The Bulls were lucky that Michael Jordan fell to them. They were lucky to win the Derrick Rose lottery. It isn’t looking like luck is going to save these Bulls.