Imrem: Don't fret about Bulls losing, fret about how they're playing

Yo, Bulls' fans, don't fret over these 2 straight losses to the Bucks.

Fret about how the Bulls are playing.

Any team in any sport can play well while losing, but the Bulls are playing terribly while losing.

This isn't exactly the Dream Team that is beating the Bulls either. It's the dang Milwaukee Bucks.

Yes, those Milwaukee Bucks. The 41-41 regular-season Milwaukee Bucks. The lost prize rookie Jabari Parker to injury early in the season Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bulls are losing to those Milwaukee Bucks. They have lost not once but twice. The second straight was by a 94-88 margin Monday night in the United Center.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau spent much of the pregame deflecting questions about the Cavaliers losing Kevin Love to injury and J.R. Smith to suspension.

The Cavs are supposed to be the Bulls' next opponent in the second round. Supposed to be, that is, if the Bulls ever get back to playing well enough to get there.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd has started to out-coach Thibodeau. The Bucks' backcourt has started to outplay the Bulls' heralded backcourt. The Bucks in general have started to beat the Bulls in every aspect of the game.

The backcourt factor is startling. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler were rolling early in the series but in Game 5 hit only 10 of 41 field-goal attempts.

"We got our turnovers down," Thibodeau said. "Then we couldn't make our shots."

The Bulls shot 34 percent from the field and 18 percent from 3-point range. Pretty pathetic, don't you think?

The Bulls' consolation is they still lead this best-of-seven, first-round playoff series 3-2 and still should finally beat back the Bucks.

"Should" doesn't buy the groceries, however. The Bulls are fortunate they won Game 3 in double overtime or they'd be the team trailing 3-2 in the series.

As it is, the Bulls will have to beat the Bucks on Thursday in Milwaukee or Saturday in the United Center to advance to the second round.

Should be a snap, right? Yes, except that Game 4 should have been a snap and Game 5 should have been a snap and the Bulls lost both of them.

Something is wrong here. Something not anticipated. Something that makes you wonder what and why.

The Bucks look like the more aggressive, more physical, more motivated, hungrier, friskier, fresher team.

Kidd said the other day that his underdog team has nothing to lose. Now he's saying the Bucks have a lot to lose.

Whomever wound up winning Game 5, neither team could be particularly proud. Too often the play looked more like the preseason than the postseason.

"(The Bulls) are a talented team," Kidd insisted. "They understand big-game moments. That's what we're trying to learn."

The young Bucks took some heat after winning Game 4 in Milwaukee and celebrating like they won the NBA title, Super Bowl and World Series combined.

Makes you wonder what might happen if the Bucks win Game 6 up there in the Bradley Center … and dare we say Game 7, too, back in the United Center.

"Playoff games are hard," Thibodeau felt compelled to point out.

The Bulls are making them harder than they should be. They're especially making elusive that precious series clincher.

Now even if the Bulls finally eliminate Milwaukee, will they be playing well enough to challenge Cleveland?

That, Bulls' fans, really is something to fret about

mimrem@dailyherald.com