The Bulls never really entered their season but in recent weeks they have been in very serious trouble. Since the victory against the Jazz on November 28, they have chained seven defeats in nine matches.
The latest, which is also the fourth in a row, is as symbolic as it is severe: a slap in the face against Minnesota with 150 points conceded! Not since November 1982 have the Bulls taken so many points in just 48 minutes.
“We have to do better defensively, with five players connected”can only see Billy Donovan for NBC Sports. “I can switch to zone defense, I can change defensive coverages on pick-and-roll. But if we don’t give our all collectively, it won’t change anything. You have to put your body, your mind, your soul in front of the adversary. It’s hard to succeed if you don’t give yourself to the player next to you. »
The problem is, those words have been said many times before in Chicago. But match after match, a reaction is still awaited. What’s going on in Illinois?
“We don’t play for each other” answers Goran Dragic. ” It’s that simple. Someone told me, and he was right, that it’s easy to talk about sacrifice. The sacrifice of others is easy to talk about. But when you have to do it yourself, it’s not the same story. You have to do it, but it’s hard. We are in the same boat, we play for the same city, the same colors, the same team. You have to sacrifice for each other. »
“Guys talk about it, but you have to find a way to do it. We have to stop talking and do it”
A boat that has been sinking for several days. A month ago, the Bulls came to win in Milwaukee. Why can’t they follow through?
“It’s humiliating to take so many points. I have nothing against Minnesota, but it’s not like we’re playing the 2016 Warriors.” believes DeMar DeRozan. “You have to be able to create something from matches like the one in Milwaukee. And it doesn’t just have to come against good teams, it has to come against weaker teams as well. No matter who we face, it’s up to us to repeat it night after night. We lost that, we let the negative take over. It is not possible. We have to be competitive like against the Bucks. It’s like when you play outside as a kid. We want to fight to recover the ball, bring it home. You have to have that attitude. I’m tired of not coming back with the ball…”
Zach LaVine announces it: as long as the Bulls do not make the efforts in defense and will be satisfied with making observations, the defeats will continue to accumulate.
“The results will not change if we are not welded, if we do not help each other. You can’t ask a team to make an effort night after night. It must be done, it is the priority. Guys talk about it, but you have to find a way to do it. We have to stop talking and do it. We do it for one or two actions. It’s not constant, so it’s frustrating, and for everyone. I know it’s frustrating for the fans and we’re all embarrassed by it. We have to look in the mirror, come back and fight. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Demar Derozan | 28 | 35.2 | 50.3 | 28.9 | 89.6 | 0.4 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 25.8 |
| Zach Lavine | 24 | 34.3 | 44.1 | 36.0 | 82.8 | 0.6 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 21.8 |
| Nikola Vucevic | 28 | 32.3 | 49.9 | 36.1 | 85.0 | 2.1 | 8.4 | 10.5 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 16.0 |
| Ayo Dosunmu | 26 | 27.1 | 51.2 | 34.2 | 88.0 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 10.0 |
| patrick williams | 28 | 26.8 | 46.7 | 44.7 | 93.3 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.5 |
| Goran Dragic | 27 | 16.8 | 43.8 | 39.2 | 65.6 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 7.9 |
| Coby White | 20 | 20.1 | 40.6 | 32.6 | 71.4 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 7.6 |
| Andre Drummond | 22 | 13.9 | 56.1 | 0.0 | 58.8 | 2.3 | 4.9 | 7.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 6.4 |
| Javonte Green | 25 | 16.1 | 58.3 | 38.7 | 65.7 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 5.9 |
| Derrick Jones | 23 | 13.5 | 48.3 | 32.1 | 82.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 5.3 |
| Alex Caruso | 27 | 25.5 | 42.0 | 35.5 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 5.3 |
| Tony Bradley | 8 | 2.9 | 66.7 | 66.7 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
| Dalen Terry | 11 | 3.3 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| Malcolm Hill | 3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Marko Simonovic | 1 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
