Bulls On Parade Vol. 3– WHAT THE F#$K IS MISSING???

What’s missing?

At press time, the Chicago Bulls are 4-6 in their last 10 games and sit 5^th in a logjammed Eastern Conference which has only shown who the top team is (Cleveland) and has not identified a clear 2-8. This is a conference where a three game win streak can take you from out of the playoffs to home court advantage and vice versa. Right now, our team has no identity, which leads one to wonder, what is missing?

Joakim Noah is the heart and soul of this team. He is only a season and a half away from finishing top 5 in MVP votes during a depleted season. The wear and tear of the NBA season has definitely shown on him this season as I cannot remember him being as ineffective as he has been this year ever. I think this is a big influence on what’s been missing this year. Hopefully by next year he sticks around and is healthy.

I am assuming Gasol leaves next year. As Nikola Mirotic has not really panned out the way most predicted following the second half of last year, I think Bobby Portis will be the guy who has to step up. Portis can play inside and out, and he and Noah can balance each other out and help support front court scoring, as Noah is not an efficient scorer. Noah is important in offense as he can lead breaks off the rebound and can be used at the top of the key, letting the offense run through him when Jimmy and Derrick are not producing.

In this writer’s opinion, the biggest issue with the Bulls has come about since we got rid of Luol Deng—The SF Position. When Mike Dunleavy was picked up, he was only to be used as a veteran who’d help off the bench. It was never intended for he to be the starter, let alone be a liability for the team if he wasn’t active. This is a major problem, as the SF position has proven to be the key to championship caliber teams (ignore last year, although the eventual Finals MVP was a SF.) Tony Snell did not work, Doug McDermott does not have the athletic/defensive ability to keep up, and no movement has been made to change the position.

Ultimately, we can say it’s coaching, we can make up a rift between Rose and Butler, we can say that the Eastern Conference is stronger (which it’s not,) or any other excuse we want to make. At the end of the day, this writer still believes that the window of championship opportunity was missed last year in game 4 of the east semis.

Help me sort out this conundrum of my beloved basketball team at @mikeyvick_ or at @goodifitgoes_ on Twitter.