And just when I thought everything in the United Center was all well and good here comes Pau Gasol to totally shut that thinking down.
Even though the apparent friction between Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler has been rectified, the Bulls are still dipping when it comes to consistentcy and Pau Gasol along with DRose and Jimmy Buckets are speaking up on it.
“The lack of consistency is very noticeable. It’s nothing new. There’s no discovery here. … It’s frustrating. But it’s been frustrating. Let’s see if we put an end to it. Right now, it’s still kind of the same. We’re not disciplined. We’re not. That’s it. It’s true. It’s a fact.”
Jimmy Butler: “No answers. I don’t know why we do that. … But we let guys do whatever they want out there. We weren’t putting bodies on people, not rebounding, letting guys get to their strengths. That’s will. Defense is all about toughness. And when we’re not guarding anybody, we don’t look very tough.”
Derrick Rose: “It’s been the story of the year. I watch a lot of basketball and the only thing I can think of is just the effort and sticking with the game plan.” […] And, finally, Hoiberg: “We are a really good team when things are going well and we play with a swagger and confidence. But we lose that. We put our heads down when we hit a little tough stretch.”
So how do the Bulls break the pattern? How do they end the maddening up-and-down nature of this season? “Every game, you have to be aware and conscientious that there’s an issue,” Gasol said. “You have to put forth the effort on a daily basis to change it.”
They laid it all out there. Those are the things that need to be sorted out if they want to prove me and some of you wrong that they have missed their championship window. Consistentcy is key to this game and they haven’t found it yet. Lucky for the Bulls, most of the Eastern Conference hasn’t found it either.
