Bulls searching to gets their offense back
Maybe someday, the Bulls will play well on both ends of the court.
At the end of last season, they were clicking on offense, averaging 107.9 points over last 15 games. At the same time, they gave up 102.5 points in 2008-09, their highest total in 19 years.
So exit Ben Gordon, enter a new defensive-minded philosophy.
The defense has been terrific so far this season, with just one of eight opponents scoring 100 points against the Bulls. They held Denver to nearly 20 points below its season average on Tuesday.
But now they can't shoot straight. The Bulls' highest-scoring game this season was 93 points against Charlotte on Tuesday. They currently rank last in the league 3-point percentage (. 253), 28th in points scored (88.6) and 28th in overall field-goal percentage (. 421).
What is going on? They expected to miss Gordon's offense, but not this much.
"We have got to find some guys to step up and make some shots when we need to," coach Vinny Del Negro said after Wednesday's loss at Toronto. "We are getting good looks. It's a matter of knocking them down."
The 99-89 loss to the Raptors might have been the Bulls most inept offensive showing of the season. They led 88-85 with 6:24 remaining, but missed their final field-goal attempts, bricking a steady stream of outside jumpers.
"There wasn't any room to drive," Derrick Rose said. "They made it real clear that they wanted us shooting jump shots, so they were really forcing us and baiting us to come and drive."
In this case, it's not hard to pinpoint the reasons for the offensive lull. Guards John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich are in miserable slumps, while Jannero Pargo hasn't really played enough to bring much of a spark off the bench.
Salmons, in particular, is off to a rough start.
Brought in from Sacramento last February to give the Bulls a taller option at shooting guard, the 6-foot-6 Salmons is one of the most successful late-bloomers in NBA history. He averaged double figures for the first time as a pro during his sixth season, then scored 18.3 points and shot 47.2 percent last year for the Bulls and Kings.
There is plenty of time to turn things around, but so far Salmons has not matched last season's success. He's shooting just 30.6 percent and averaging 12.4 points through eight games.
He appears to be getting the same shots he did last season and is driving to the basket frequently. He's always one of the last players to leave the floor at practice, so it's probably just a matter of time before Salmons straightens things out.
"I am working on it and eventually it will come," Salmons said after hitting just 1 of 11 shots against the Raptors.
Hinrich is shooting 34.6 percent overall and just 22 percent from 3-point range. This is similar to two years ago, when he shot 32.7 percent in the first nine games. Hinrich eventually worked his percentage above .400 by the end of the season.
Pargo was signed as a free agent this summer specifically to bring scoring punch off the bench. He's been slowed by a bad back, though, and hasn't gotten enough shot attempts to heat up. Pargo is averaging just 3.8 points in 10.6 minutes per game.
Over in Detroit, Gordon is off to a great start, averaging 23.8 points while shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
But the Pistons are 4-4, just like the Bulls, so there's no reason to regret letting Gordon leave as a free agent this early in the season. Gordon's departure left the Bulls with cap room to spend and that won't be settled until next summer.
As long as the Bulls keep getting open looks from 3-point range, they are bound to start going in eventually, right? With little means to go out and add another scorer, the Bulls are counting on it.