Lopez tries to explain Chicago Bulls' inconsistent season
Every few days seems to bring another example of the Chicago Bulls' season in a nutshell.
They delivered one of their best wins of the season Sunday in Memphis. Two days later, they lost at home to a 13-27 Dallas squad.
In better circumstances, the Bulls might have taken the day off Wednesday. Instead, coach Fred Hoiberg said they held a "good, hard practice," with typical rest for veterans.
After the session, center Robin Lopez talked about the trend of the Bulls playing better against good teams.
"I really think it's an issue of focus," Lopez said at the Advocate Center. "I think against the good teams we've displayed that focus. We're a little more keen because we're afraid of losing to good teams.
"There are moments I think where we take certain situations for granted and we have mental lapses."
Asked why the Bulls don't fear losing to bad teams, Lopez rephrased his answer.
"We're afraid of losing to good teams in a good way. I think it's a good fear," he said. "You go in against the Cavs or somebody, the champs, and you have that fear in your gut. That's a natural instinct. That's a good fear to have because it drives you to stay focused to be prepared.
"I don't think we have that fear or level of respect at times for other opponents."
Two games into the second half of the season, there are enough positive signs to argue the Bulls are on the cusp of a rise in the standings. But they also could fall off in the other direction. The good and bad all were on display against the not-scary-enough Mavericks.
One notable absence Tuesday was Doug McDermott. Coming off a career-high 31 points in Memphis, he couldn't keep the momentum rolling, going 3-for-10 from the field against Dallas.
As has been the story most of the season, any sort of scoring off the bench will turn the Bulls into a good-looking team. It doesn't have to be McDermott, although he's the guy they've set up for that role. The leading bench scorer against the Mavs was backup center Cristiano Felicio with 8 points.
Down the stretch, Dallas simply executed better than the Bulls. Jimmy Butler was quiet in the fourth quarter, compared to his recent production, but he still did a nice job. Working against a tough defender in Wesley Matthews,
Butler created a couple of easy Mcbuckets for McDermott by drawing the defense and dishing off. Option 1A, Dwyane Wade, also hit some big baskets.
When Wade's jumper with 3:18 left put the Bulls ahead 94-90, the game should have been about over. But the Bulls really could have used Taj Gibson's defense down the stretch.
Gibson was out with left-ankle soreness, and the Mavericks targeted Mirotic heavily.
First, Mirotic stumbled guarding a pick-and-roll, giving Harrison Barnes a wide-open 3 to make it 94-93. Then he got switched onto Deron Williams, whose basket put Dallas ahead by 1.
Butler's assist to McDermott tied the score, and Butler's 20-foot jumper put the Bulls ahead 98-96 with 22.8 seconds left. The Mavs didn't call a timeout that would have allowed the Bulls to make a defensive substitution and went straight into a double screen and roll that again left Mirotic switched onto Williams.
The veteran point guard drove to the basket and passed to a wide-open Matthews for the go-ahead 3.
That's not to put the loss on Mirotic's defense. Without the lapse early in the third quarter or with more contributions from the bench, the game wouldn't have come down to the final possession. And there weren't many good defensive options available.
Hoiberg continues to search for bench combinations that will work. He used Jerian Grant against Dallas and didn't play rookie Denzel Valentine. He started rookie Paul Zipser, who might have potential as a guy who can guard mobile big men.
"We do have so many young guys on that bench, and all of them at some point over the course of the year have given us good minutes," Hoiberg said. "It's something that we'll continue to juggle until we find the right group and the right mix out there coming off the bench.
"It's unfortunate, Denzel's had some good moments and then has had a setback (ankle injuries) on a couple different moments. We've had a couple guys that have been sick and now it's about working them back in to the rotation.
"So, again, we'll continue to work on it and try to get the right group coming off the bench."
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