Bulls blasted by Hawks
The Chicago Bulls aren't just limping into the all-star break.
They're flailing, stumbling and in dire need of a parachute.
With a chance to redeem themselves at home after a 2-5 road trip, the Bulls just flat-out stunk Wednesday night. Sloppy and confused, they rolled over in the third quarter and were clobbered by the Atlanta Hawks 113-90 at the United Center.
The night also provided a new injury, with Taj Gibson leaving in the third quarter with a left foot strain. The Bulls (27-25) have lost four in a row and 13 of 18.
"It's been a bad, bad stretch of basketball," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Hopefully we'll get healthy and move forward."
They'll get a week off to rest and regroup during the break, but top scorer Jimmy Butler won't be back from a knee injury when the schedule resumes with a back-to-back against East leaders Cleveland and Toronto.
"We've still got 30 more games to play," Derrick Rose said. "We've got to decide whether we want to play or not. I think this break will be very good for this team."
During the upcoming break, the Bulls will have the sound of their home fans boos ringing in their ears. The noise began in the third quarter and hit a crescendo at the final buzzer.
"We deserved to be booed tonight, to be honest," Doug McDermott said. "That group that was out there the last 10-15 minutes, it just didn't seem like basketball. I was a part of it, so I take full responsibility for that.
"They don't deserve that. They pay to watch a good product and we're going to give them something better after this break."
Sure, there will be time to right the ship and stop the free fall from playoff contention. But it won't happen with the Bulls playing like this.
Most every trip down the floor, the Bulls seem lost on defense. They don't switch, won't help. They jog back on defense and leave guys completely unguarded under the basket.
There was a telling moment in the third quarter when ex-Bull Kyle Korver stroked a 3-pointer and E'Twaun Moore turned and yelled at Pau Gasol for not coming out to meet the screen and roll. Of course, Gasol was about 16 feet away when Korver shot the ball.
And Moore had just missed a pair of free throws, just to add insult to incompetence.
Youth is a reason why the Bulls are struggling. They have guys such as McDermott, Bobby Portis and Cameron Bairstow playing extended minutes, and none of them appear to have read Tom Thibodeau's 360-page booklet on mastering defensive fundamentals.
The third quarter began with the Bulls trailing just 53-48. Atlanta opened things up and scored 38 points in the quarter, while most of the Bulls' starters were on the floor. So the problems are widespread.
"I've been terrible defensively these last 15-20 games," McDermott said. "That's on me. I think collectively, it makes my job easier when we're all on the same page, all communicating. I think that's something we've got to get better at.
"I think we can, I think we will. We're going to work hard during all-star break. It's not a time to do something stupid. Just get in the gym and work on your games."
Gasol led the Bulls with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. McDermott scored 17. Rose got off to a fast start but finished with a mundane 14 points. The Bulls had 19 turnovers and were beaten in fastbreak points 19-4.
The only signs of life were a couple of technical fouls for arguing with the refs - by Rose early and Gibson just before he left the game.
Gibson called his injury the result of ankle fatigue. He had ankle surgery last summer and is feeling the grind of a busy schedule, but the losing hurts more.
"It was sore for the whole road trip. I kept it to myself, just tried to play through it," Gibson said. "It's very frustrating because we have more than enough to win. We used to win games with less than this. I think it's just mental. It's extremely frustrating and it hurts my heart."
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