Soap opera ends on positive note, but Bulls have problems to fix
The Bulls' soap opera - let's call it "Hooves of Fury," - seemed to end with a pleasant conclusion Sunday.
They followed an awful performance against Miami with a solid win over surging Philadelphia. Now the Bulls get a couple days to regroup before leaving on the six-game road trip, beginning Wednesday in Oklahoma City. The other stops on this trip are Houston, Sacramento, Golden State, Phoenix and Minnesota.
"It's big. We've got to go win some games on the road," Jimmy Butler said after Sunday's game. "When adversity strikes, that's when you have to be your best. I think we can do that, but we have to go out and show it."
The Bulls' drama should be well-known by now. After blowing a 10-point lead against Atlanta on Wednesday, Dwyane Wade and Butler criticized their younger teammates' desire to win, Rajon Rondo replied with an Instagram critique of the Bulls' top scorers, then the team held a long, vocal meeting on Friday.
Things didn't look good when the Bulls lost to Miami that night and second-round pick Paul Zipser was the only younger player who stepped up and played well.
On Sunday, Zipser, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic all scored in double figures, which is what the Bulls had hoped would happen all season. Zipser has been a surprise, but at 22 years old with a few professional years in Germany under his belt, Zipser has turned out to be more mature and more ready to play than expected.
The Bulls rested Monday, so here are a few takeaways from an eventful week on the West Side:
It starts at the top: Last season featured plenty of Bulls drama, and before that was the lengthy tug-of-war between the front office and former coach Tom Thibodeau.
The common denominator in all this is the management team of Gar Forman and John Paxson. The power struggle with Thibodeau set a bad tone for the franchise and things haven't recovered.
The #FireGarPax hashtag has been popular with Bulls fans, but their track record tells a mostly positive story. The Bulls have been to the playoffs 10 times in 12 years starting with the season after Paxson replaced Jerry Krause. The Bulls posted the league's best record twice and have a couple of draft success stories with Butler (30th overall pick) and Taj Gibson (26th).
Given this history, it makes no sense why Forman and Paxson haven't created a more positive atmosphere, where players can be convinced the organization puts winning above all else. OK, maybe the Bulls put filling the United Center above all else, but fielding a good team goes hand-in-hand with that goal.
It's OK to stay out of the spotlight, but when management creates unnecessary battles, such as with Thibodeau, it's no surprise when the players do the same.
The roster is still flawed: Let's face it, NBA success is mostly about luck. Even with all the good decisions San Antonio has made, the Spurs probably don't win any titles without landing Tim Duncan in the draft lottery.
The Bulls experienced some great luck (drafting Derrick Rose) and horrible luck (losing Rose to injuries). Now the franchise is in a positive phase with Butler's emergence as an all-star starter and Wade dropping into their laps.
Between next month's trade deadline and a summer of activity, the Bulls need to rebuild the supporting cast. There are too many young players not ready to contribute in the NBA. That's not a good fit with one star in his prime and another who might have a year or two left.
The NBA is not for the weak: As mentioned before, right or wrong, Wade can say what he wants. The younger teammates may not like it, but they need to deal with it.
The Bulls have been disappointed with the lack of consistency from Mirotic and McDermott, no doubt. The rest of the young guys are all works in progress. None of them were top-10 draft picks, so it's possible they may never develop into long-term NBA players.
However it turns out, these guys shouldn't be worried about what Wade says or how often he practices. Their only job is to toughen up and get better.
• Follow Mike's Bulls reports on Twitter @McGrawDHBulls.