Time to Worry?

[MatthewLPowers]

On the season the Bulls are 18-6, but of teams .500 or better the Bulls have a 6-5 record, losing 5 of their last 6 and being blown out in 3 of them. The Bulls injuries have definitely been a reason for the lackluster play of late, but with the uncertainty of how well Deng will be able to play the rest of the season with the torn ligament in his wrist, the combination of Hamilton's groin, thigh and age, along with the ability to slow down Rose with a bigger defender late with some of these better teams (Philly - Iguodala, Indiana - George, Heat - LeBron) is there a reason to be concerned?

Even at full strength over the past year an a half the Bulls are 4-5 against the Heat, 7-3 vs Pacers with Indiana closing the gap, 8-4 vs the Hawks who play us well and 1-3 against Philly. There is a strong possibilty we would face at least 2 of these teams if we were to make it to the Finals.

What do the Bulls need to do? Is getting healthy enough? Do you trade for Howard? A small trade or player from China (Brooks, JR Smith, Kmart, Chandler)? I think Rose is the best player in the world, but the last couple of weeks has me worried we arent good enough as a team, especially with Thibs being stubborn and realizing Boozer's ineffectiveness, not starting Taj and bad in-game adjustments. Thoughts?

 

[B18]

We have yet to see this team play it's best ball. Injuries are playing a huge part in this mini slump and quite honestly I think we will slump like this a bit longer till our bench kicks it back up. Then We will start looking like a contender with Deng and rip again but without those two guys who do you have to rely on for a bucket beside rose? It would be nice if our two expensive big men did their jobs atleast boozer and pick up some slack but last nights loss came at the expense of boozed playing like shit an such. Rose has off night and boozer does nothing to help expect a loss 3 out of 4 times.

 

[ChiTeez.com]

This season is just over 25% started, and we haven't really had a healthy team yet. No, I would be worried if we were healthy and went on a 3-4 game losing streak! Everyone calm down, take a drink, and relax. This team has yet to hit their stride!

 

[FirstTimer]

Nah. Not time to worry. The team isn't making the Finals anyways so it really doesn't matter. The Heat are better when each team is at full strength

 

[JosMin]

We have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm not saying we should be complacent with the way this team has played so far, but injuries have obviously been the thing that's hamstrung is so far this season. Honestly, how many games have we played with the entire roster active? Three?

Sure, Philly and Indiana are closing the gap, but I'd be hard pressed to believe either of them can ultimately challenge us or Miami in their current form. Both of those teams would have to make a substantial move for me to get worried about losing to them in the postseason.

At this point, all we can do is be patient and wait for our players to get healthy.

 

[RC_Skinny22]

Nah, we´re good! We just have to bounce back mentaly. Too many inconsistent games!

 

[FirstTimer]

We have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm not saying we should be complacent with the way this team has played so far, but injuries have obviously been the thing that's hamstrung is so far this season. Honestly, how many games have we played with the entire roster active? Three?

Sounds a lot like last season.

However I'm shocked people keep bringing this up year in year out because they shouldn't be surprised players like Deng, Boozer, Noah will get hurt. They've had injury issues before.

 

[zack54attack]

Injuries have played a huge key in the struggles we've had in our losses. Losing 2 starters is eventually going to catch up on you, and it has with the Miami and 76ers games. Watson being hurt also played a role, seeing that we had to go to JLIII as our backup PG.

Like FT said, I don't think we are good enough to beat the Heat in a 7 game series. It's possible, but I'd give the advantage to Miami right now.

With the lockout and schedule, people should have expected all this sloppy basketball from all teams. It's been bad. Teams are scoring 60 points some nights. Something you hardly see,

 

[ChiTeez.com]

Listen, we aren't going to win every game!! There will be games like this, it happens! Just look at the Heat last night, they blew a lead and lost. It happens! Move on. The Bulls will be just fine! :beerbang:

 

[Cloud 9]

No worries until the playoffs

 

[thechosenone]

Of course we have to worry.There are many things that Thibs and the staff must improve.We have all the pieces to win it all but this is not enough.Our defense is getting worse without Deng.Bulls allowed 85ppg with him and 95ppg without him.So our players should be 10 times more focused when Luol is not playing.Deng is probably the best defensive Forward in the league but somehow we must find a way to play even when he is out.Our offense is not our strong weapon and without Luol maybe we can win some games when we are playing against crappy defensive teams like Miami but when we play against good defensive teams like Philly or Indiana it is difficult to win them

 

[nwfisch]

ZOMG the Bulls lost a game they should have won.

It happens in the NBA, especially with the injuries piling up, I'm surprised the Bulls didn't get blown out more often without Deng, Hamilton and Rose.

 

[ChiTeez.com]

Again, no reason to worry unless the Bulls go on a slide! Thus far, there is no cause for concern. They have plenty to improve on, but again, we are sitting pretty right now.

 

[clonetrooper264]

If you think we're bad, I wonder what Orlando fans are complaining about right now...

 

[ZAN]

Get healthy and we'll be fine.

 

[Glide2keva]

Who cares what they think?

This team is fine. As someone said, they haven't played their best ball. No need to panic. If we start sucking like NYK and fall out of playoff contention, then yeah we can panic then.

 

[Deng Defense Force]

No worries until the playoffs

Is that when Hamilton rises from his sarcophagus to save us?

 

[scottiepippen1994]

No worries until the playoffs

That is the core to the problem,"no worries until the playoffs"..
That was the problem last year.
Wouldn't it be wiser for management to worry now and prepare and fix the problems now? Worry now and fix it now instead of waiting until the playoffs when its too late.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

Sounds a lot like last season.

However I'm shocked people keep bringing this up year in year out because they shouldn't be surprised players like Deng, Boozer, Noah will get hurt. They've had injury issues before.

no one should be surprised at all..but it is a good reason for the bulls struggling against some of the better teams..at full strength this is a really good team

can they get to the finals and win it? yea they can..but there's alot to be played out

 

[Lex L.]

That is the core to the problem,"no worries until the playoffs"..
That was the problem last year.
Wouldn't it be wiser for management to worry now and prepare and fix the problems now? Worry now and fix it now instead of waiting until the playoffs when its too late.

Yeah, perhaps the answer is to wait it out. But you should definitely take this matter seriously and contemplate whether it's necessary to make changes now. The real shame is wasting a season when you should have known better. You should definitely scrutinize where things are at and if after that, you honestly feel like you should wait it out, then so be it. But to me, too much is at stake to pin their hopes on Rip's age and health.

Rip is just one example. You could also question whether there's any chance Boozer will show up when you need him to. His track record sucks. He also has a hefty contract.