NBA Week 15 Rewind: Celtics are heading for a special future
By Tom West
Who’s Struggling?
The Chicago Bulls shouldn’t be too poorly spoken of, simply because of the hardships they’ve had to endure recently. They’ve been hit at full force by the injury bug, with Joakim Noah being the first to go down due to shoulder surgery and Nikola Mirotic has since been out due to two surgeries (to have his appendix removed then for hematoma removal).
When Derrick Rose is one of the healthier players on your team, you know your squad is banged up. And when that’s the case, it’s not too surprising that the Bulls have lost seven of their last 10 games to fall to 6th in the East.
Even though Mirotic has been a defensive liability and Noah has been in a reduced role, the loss of both is still huge. Injuries to any two key players is tough enough, but to lose two big men means the Bulls need to push forward with extremely limited frontcout depth. Now, the remaining key trio of Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and rookie Bobby Portis need to step up with far more minutes.
On Saturday, the current weakness of the Bulls’ frontcourt was on full display. Besides the 6-of-20 shooting night of Rose, it was the key element of their 112-105 loss to a young Minnesota Timberwolves team that has won just 16 games so far. With Jimmy Butler out as well with a knee injury, Chicago is beyond depleted right now.
Without Noah, the defense and energy of the Bulls has a taken a major hit. Plus, with Gasol being a weak defender away from the rim, Karl-Anthony Towns proved to be a too much handle with his excellent quickness for a 7-footer and surprising range. He finished with a game-high 26 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks in his 40 minutes, and displayed every reason why he’s a franchise center.
Towns wasn’t alone in bullying the Bulls’ big men, though. Gorgui Dieng had his best game of the season with 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, which helped push the Bulls to their limits.
Since January 9, the Bulls only have a 5-11 record. Their general inconsistencies have led to them ranking 21st in points per game (100.6), 18th in blocks (4.6) and 24th in net rating (-4.9). Quite frankly, it’s the injuries that have bogged them down. But with Butler dealing with injury now, their backcourt scoring relies far too heavily on the inconsistency of Rose. As for their frontcourt, Gibson isn’t enough to hold down the fort in the paint by himself.
A new offensive system with head coach Fred Hoiberg has caused some problems all season, and now it’s injuries that have rid the Bulls from their chance to contend for a top seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s going to take a magical appearance from MVP-level Rose to carry them right now, and we all know that’s probably not going to happen.
Next: The Best Highlights of Week 15