McGraw: Bulls failing chemistry class
Well, everyone figured a bitter rival would induce a better performance from the Bulls and it did.
For a half.
By the end of the night, though, after another tough loss, the best gift the Bulls could ask for right now is continuity.
With so many changing lineups, the Bulls just can't seem to get on the same page. On Wednesday, they wasted a season-high 32 points from Derrick Rose by losing 105-99 to the Washington Wizards at the United Center.
The slumping Bulls lost for the fourth time in five games, dropping their second game to the Wizards during that stretch.
Depth can be an asset, but there's not enough familiarity among the Bulls, for a variety of reasons. Mike Dunleavy missed his seventh straight game. Joakim Noah played well defensively in the first half, then sat out the second half with an ankle injury.
The Bulls are trying to find the right chemistry between Noah and Pau Gasol, but then it's Gasol and Taj Gibson, then Gibson and Nikola Mirotic. They'll use Rose and Aaron Brooks in the backcourt, then Brooks and Kirk Hinrich.
Three guards, one guard - it never stops.
When it came down to crunch time against the Wizards, they used the same lineup that battered the Bulls in last year's playoffs - John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Nene - and one newcomer, veteran Paul Pierce, who led Washington's balanced attack with 22 points.
The Bulls have enough talent to win the East. But they haven't figured things out yet. And with Jimmy Butler stricken with a shooting slump, they don't have enough reliable scorers to make up for all the mistakes.
"It's tough to build continuity that way, when you have (players) in, out. But that's our reality," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We have to figure it out, we have to deal with it."
The Bulls (26-14) led 50-44 at halftime, but on the last play of the second quarter, as Butler shot an outside jumper, Noah tried to move into rebounding position and turned his right ankle. He stayed on the ground for a couple minutes before hobbling to the locker room. He came out onto the court for warm-ups before the second half, but couldn't move well enough.
The Wizards went from scoring 44 points and shooting 44.7 percent from the field in the first half to 61 points and 57.5-percent shooting in the second half.
Is Noah that important to the Bulls' defense? Like everything going on with this team right now, it's difficult to tell.
"Obviously, we're dealing with some injuries like any team pretty much does," Gasol said. "But it's not like we're playing with strangers. We know each other well. Whoever's on the floor, do their job; play together and play hard and things will happen."
Rose tied his career high by knocking down 6 of 9 attempts from 3-point range. He also came out aggressive, getting to the basket several times against Washington's bruising big men. Rose even tossed in a half-court shot at the buzzer to finish with 17 first-quarter points.
Butler and Gasol were next on the scoring list with 13 points each. Butler had another poor shooting night, going 3-for-10.
"I think it's just communication, the missed communication on the defensive end," Rose said. "I thought tonight, we showed that half of defensive basketball. The previous game against Orlando, we didn't show any defensive presence. Tonight we improved, it was only for a half and the second half, it showed we're not there yet."
The Bulls never led after Washington (27-12) opened the second half with a 15-5 run. The Bulls closed within 85-83 with 5:45 left on a Mirotic free throw, but the Wizards answered with a 3-point play from Wall and a long jumper by Beal. When Pierce drained an unguarded 3-pointer, the Bulls trailed 95-85 with 4:09 remaining.
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