How can Bulls better prepare to beat bad teams?
The names have changed, but already the Bulls are facing a familiar problem.
They beat good teams and lose to the bad ones.
Pau Gasol referenced the issue after the Bulls handed San Antonio its first road loss of the season 95-91 Thursday night at the United Center. Gasol was part of last year's befuddling Bulls, who went 7-1 against Cleveland and Toronto, the two best teams in the East, and swept Oklahoma City, but missed the playoffs entirely.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," said Gasol, who walked past the visitors locker room on his way into the arena. "The Bulls usually, they get up against good teams. The challenge is getting up against not so good teams and winning those games. That has also been an issue. We knew tonight they were going to bring it and be sharp and ready to go."
The Bulls have gone 2-4 since the circus road trip ended. The victories were over the Cavs and Spurs, who have a combined record of 33-13 through Thursday. The losses were to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas, Portland and Detroit - who have a combined 38-55 record.
The Bulls' only other foray against one of the league's elite teams nearly ended in success. They led the Los Angeles Clippers most of the night before losing 102-95 at the Staples Center on Nov. 19, and that was when the Clips had a 12-2 record.
The apparent conclusion is this: These Bulls could be better than most everyone expected this season, but they need to smooth out those valleys.
"We talked about it after the game," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said after Thursday's victory. "We also talked about it after the Cleveland game, that's the scary thing. If we go out with that type of defensive focus, we have a chance to win a lot of games, but it's got to be consistent."
How can the Bulls solve this dilemma? Let's start by trying to figure out where to place blame for the lulls.
The Bench: Definitely a problem, and the Bulls got some relief Thursday with the return of Doug McDermott from a concussion and the return of center Cristiano Felicio from an extended benching.
There's not much defense against McDermott hitting the floor hard after being knocked off-balance by a flagrant foul, but maybe Hoiberg flipped the Felicio card a little too soon. Felicio started the season in the rotation, but quickly dropped out in favor of Bobby Portis. Also, the impending return of Michael Carter-Williams in a week or two should help.
The bench can't be blamed for everything, though. The Bulls had just 13 bench points - second-lowest of the season - in the win over Cleveland last week.
Rajon Rondo: Rondo had a triple-double against the Cavs and missed by a single assist of matching the feat against San Antonio, so it would be easy to suggest as Rondo goes, so do the Bulls.
Not so fast. Rondo's big games are a nice boost, but they don't always guarantee team success. Sure, Rondo's 2-2-2 stat line was a fail against Dallas, but he also had a 13-11-8 in the loss at Denver on Nov. 22.
For what it's worth, the Bulls are 4-0 when Rondo has double-digit assists. Team-wise, 24 assists seems to be the magic number. The Bulls are 8-1 when they reach that mark, but they also won at Utah last month while dishing just 8 assists.
The Schedule: The Bulls are 1-3 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, with the lone victory coming in Dwyane Wade's return to Miami on Nov. 10.
The three times the Bulls played a home-road back-to-back, the second leg was always a dismal, forget-to-show-up, double-digit-deficit-in-the-first-quarter type of loss.
Better depth might help get the Bulls through busy parts of the schedule, but mental toughness also plays a role. When Scott Skiles was coach, the Bulls had an odd tendency to win when playing their fourth game in five nights. Maybe Skiles read "Art of War" out loud in the locker room before those battles.
The Focus: This is a theme tossed around the locker room frequently by Wade, Jimmy Butler or coach Fred Hoiberg. Sometimes a hot streak in the NBA is as simple as being mentally prepared for each game, studying the game plan and bringing consistent effort.
Once again, eyes tend to drift toward the Bulls reserves. The starters rank sixth in the league in plus-minus and have been generally reliable.
"Our coaching staff kind of called out our bench, said, 'We have to have you tonight, bench," McDermott said after Thursday's win. "And I think we took that to heart and we were all really locked in."
Now throw away the key and the Bulls should have some success during the home-heavy month of December.
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Miami Heat at the United Center, 7 p.m. Saturday
TV: WGN
Radio: WLS 890-AM
Outlook: Dwyane Wade already made his emotional return to Miami on Nov. 10, and the Bulls won 98-95. This time, the Heat will visit Wade after trying to snap a three-game losing streak in Cleveland on Friday. C Hassan Whiteside delivered 20 points and 20 rebounds in the first game against the Bulls. On the season, he's averaging 17.6 points and 14.7 boards. PG Goran Dragic is Miami's top scorer at 18.0 ppg. SG Dion Waiters (groin), SF Justise Winslow (wrist) and ex-Bull James Johnson (shoulder) are all out. Against Atlanta on Wednesday, the Heat started journeyman Wayne Ellington and former D-League standout Rodney McGruder. The Bulls have lost three straight to Miami at the United Center.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center on Tuesday, 7 p.m.
- Mike McGraw