Chicago Bulls – - As Inconsistent As Ever
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Sports
What is going on with this frustrating Chicago Bulls NBA Team?
Friday night in Chicago, the Bulls beat the 38-20 Denver Nuggets easily -116-99.
Two nights later in Indianapolis, the Bulls struggle against the 25-35 Pacers and lose 98-91.
On Tuesday night back home in Chicago, the Bulls cruise to a 120-102 win over the 42-15 Orlando Magic.
But the next night, in a battle against a team one game behind them in the Eastern Conference playoff race – the 26-32 New Jersey Nets – the Bulls lay an egg in the 4th quarter (getting outscored 37-21) and lose 111-99.
If the Bulls would have won those 2 games against lesser opponents, they would actually be tied with the Detroit Pistons for the 7th and 8th seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But so it stands that the Bulls continue to lose to teams that they “should beat” and continue to stay on the outside looking in for the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Granted, the Bulls have had to adjust with the addition of 3 new players into the regular rotation – John Salmons, Tim Thomas and Brad Miller. But this isn’t a new occurrence for the Bulls during the 2008-9 NBA season. The Bulls have already lost games to Memphis, Charlotte, Minnesota (twice), Oklahoma City, the New York Knicks and Toronto. Even if the Bulls don’t lose half of those games, that’s 3 more wins that gets them closer to the .500 mark that will probably be good enough to make the playoffs in the East.
More and more collapses in the 4th quarter lead many to believe that 1st year head coach Vinny Del Negro just doesn’t have what it takes to be a consistent head coach at this level. Others feel that the Bulls really don’t have a solid player beyond Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon – who himself has limitations because of his small size as a guard. That being said, it’s probably a combination of both.
The Bulls still have a good shot to make the playoffs in the East, but they will have to buck that trend of losing to teams that are either behind them or just ahead of them in the East. Except for a stretch in March where the Bulls have to play Orlando, New Orleans, Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers in an 11-day stretch, the Bulls schedule features numerous games against teams that are 1-3 games ahead of them and teams that are behind them in the East. This means a recipe for taking care of your own business and having the ability to control your own destiny. That’s all you can ask for, but I’d be willing to bet that the Bulls don’t have what it takes to come out on top in enough of those games to qualify for the post-season for a 2nd straight disappointing season in Chicago.
