Where did it all go wrong for Del Negro and Bulls?

For those fans preoccupied with getting the local football coach fired, let's rehash the Bulls' path through the first 20 games of the NBA season.

They started the season well, going 6-4 while playing consistently excellent defense. The circus trip was a struggle, but after beating Detroit on Dec. 1, the Bulls were sitting on a 7-9 record after navigating a rough schedule and playing the fewest home games in the league.

In one week's time, how did everything go so wrong?

After a loss in Cleveland last Friday, where the Bulls actually led in the third quarter, they lost by 32 to Toronto, were beaten at home by a New Jersey team off to the worst start in NBA history (1-19), then barely showed up for a 35-point pummeling in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Now everyone is wondering about coach Vinny Del Negro's job security and asking why the Bulls don't seem to care anymore.

For his part, Del Negro was both confident and defiant following Thursday's practice at the Berto Center. His basic message was he'll focus on practice and preparation for Friday's home game against Golden State, which is all he can control.

"My thing is, I'm a fighter," Del Negro said. "We fight as a team, we stick together as a team. The NBA is tough. Pro sports is tough. Guys want to rip your heart out and you've just got to be tough enough to continually persevere and find ways to get better."

Before the season, players and management talked about the Bulls being a playoff team and even challenging for one of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference. That goal seems far-fetched now, but stranger things have happened to the Bulls in the past five years.

"We had our struggles last year and things ended up pretty well," Del Negro said. "Hopefully we can handle this adversity, show some character and not compromise into the pressure of it and get better."

Turning things around will depend on overcoming a flawed roster and trying to rediscover the strategy that worked well during the first three weeks of the season.

Scoring pool shallow

In theory, the Bulls shouldn't have missed Ben Gordon's offense all that much, considering Luol Deng has come back from injury to average a team-high 17.3 points per game.

But Derrick Rose got off to a slow start after injuring his ankle in preseason, while Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich missed time with injuries. Other than Rose, Deng, Joakim Noah and rookie Taj Gibson, most everyone on the roster has been a disappointment.

John Salmons (14.4 points, .395 field-goal percentage) hasn't been able to match his career-best numbers from last season. Hinrich (8.3, .341) wasn't playing well before he got hurt. Bench strength was supposed to come from Brad Miller, Jannero Pargo and perhaps rookie James Johnson, but none of those players have made many contributions.

So it's easy to see why the Bulls rank among the league's worst offensive teams, averaging just 90.6 points per game.

If Salmons, Hinrich and Pargo simply start knocking down more perimeter shots, that could make a big difference. Outside help will be tough to find, though. The Bulls don't want to make a trade that will eat into their projected salary-cap space for 2010.

Where's the defense?

At some point, the Bulls gave up on playing defense the way they did early in the season. They seemed to lose confidence during a tough road stretch against the Lakers, Denver, Portland and Utah, then never got it back.

"The beginning of the year, we're getting stops, getting out and running," Deng said. "We were playing hard. When you get stops, your confidence is up and you get more stops. But right now we're fighting for that stop and when we don't get it, it seems like it's affecting both ends."

The Bulls haven't been able to defend the lane very well, either. Noah has shown vast improvement this season, but he hasn't been getting much help from Miller, and while Gibson has been fantastic for a rookie chosen with the No. 26 draft pick, opponents are jumping over him to grab rebounds.

Mainly, though, defense is about effort. Asked if that's a head coach's responsibility, Del Negro suggested it goes both ways.

"Overall, the key guys, I think the effort's been there," he said. "If they feel like they're not putting in the effort, then that's their responsibility. They're pros, they get paid to do their job. If it takes a coach to yell at them or whatever, it doesn't make a lot of sense."

Change to believe in

For now, management plans to give Del Negro a chance to turn things around. If the Bulls beat Golden State and give Boston a competitive game on Saturday, he figures to stick around at least until Thomas returns to the lineup.

If the two games this weekend go badly - whether it's Del Negro's fault or not, a change is probably inevitable.

"You guys worry about that stuff more than I do," Del Negro said. "I talk to (general manager) Gar (Forman) every day. They understand how hard the staff's working and what we're trying to do."

Added Deng, "We could be traded. If things aren't going well, change is going to happen somehow. It's just how long it goes on."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bulls game day </p> <p class="News">Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors at the United Center, 7 p.m. Friday</p> <p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet-plus</p> <p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WMVP 1000-AM</p> <p class="News"><b>Update:</b> The Warriors (7-14) snapped a four-game losing streak by doing something Wednesday the Bulls couldn't - beat New Jersey. Golden State's defense is allowing 112.5 points per game, easily worst in league, and opponents are shooting .494 from the field. Guard Monta Ellis ranks ninth on the NBA scoring list at 24.4 points and is second in steals at 2.4 per game. Big men Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf are both injured, so journeyman Mikki Moore has been starting at center. The Bulls have won six of their last seven home games against Golden State.</p> <p class="News"><b>Next:</b> Saturday vs. Boston Celtics at the United Center, 7 p.m.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=343339">Del Negro to media: You've never done it<span class="date"> [12/11/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>