In my preview post, I stated that the outlook for this game was grim, mostly because the Bulls are a bad road team (now 12-27) and they most likely would be — and in fact were — without John Salmons, who was averaging 21.3 PPG on 50 percent shooting this month before he strained his left groin. That cost Vinny Del Negro 1/7th of his seven-man rotation and forced him to get 30 minutes out of Tim Thomas and his cranky back. All that felt, to me, like a recipe for disaster.

So…how am I supposed to regard tonight’s 107-105 setback in Indianapolis? Plenty of things went right. The Bulls shot almost 52 percent from the field. They held their own on the boards, thanks to a career-high 11 rebounds from Derrick Rose. Speaking of which, Derrick scored a team-high 24 points on 12-for-21 shooting and dished out 6 assists. Kirk Hinrich came within a stone’s throw of a triple-double (20 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), plus he nailed eight of his 13 shot attempts (including two out of three from downtown). Tyrus chipped in with 20 points while going 7-for-10. (Of course, his three misses were on jumpers from 17, 19 and 20 feet out. And, astonishingly, he grabbed only one rebound for the game.) Brad Miller was once again strong off the bench (14 points, 5 boards and a team-high 8 assists). Tim Thomas even chipped in with 11 points (4-for-6) and 5 rebounds.

But, honestly, the Pacers don’t play defense, so I fully expect anybody facing them to pad their stats a little. Or a lot. No, just like in Saturday’s game against them at the United Center, the problem wasn’t offense. It was defense. Indiana shot 50 percent. They forced turnovers (15) and ran out for easy baskets in transition, outscoring the Bulls 29-11 in fast break points. The Pacers also racked up 60 points in the paint (to Chicago’s 40), thanks to nine dunks and 17 layups. And, in my estimation, those are unacceptable numbers to give up by a team fighting for playoff positioning.

Yet, despite the lack of warm bodies and their defensive shortcomings, the Bulls somehow managed to find themselves up by eight points (99-91) with about five minutes left in the fourth. They were still up by five (103-98) with about three and a half to go when, to put it frankly, they began to play with two hands around their throats. Rose missed a short jumper. Hinrich drew a foul and then bonked both free throws. Rose had a layup stuffed by T.J. Ford. Hinrich blew a layup. Ben Gordon — who shot only 5-for-18 and finished with more fouls and turnovers (5) than rebounds and assists (4) — threw a bad pass that was stolen by Troy Murphy (who returned from injury to torment the Bulls with 15 points and 12 rebounds). Chicago committed a 24-second violation on their next trip.

After that all that slop, the Bulls found themselves down 105-103 with less than a minute left. Gordon finally ended the drought by drilling a 17-footer to tie the score. Murphy then missed a 20-footer at the other end, but Indiana corralled the rebound and called timeout with 26 ticks left on the clock. That bothered me more than all the misses…the fact that, with the game on the line, the Bulls couldn’t secure that one critical rebound. (And it wasn’t the only one. Danny Granger, who scored a game-high 31 points nabbed an offensive board and put it in the basket at the 1:25 mark.)

Coming out of the timeout, Indy managed to eat up most of the clock before T.J. Ford — the same guy who killed the Bulls the last time they played in Conseco Field House — shook Rose and knocked down a clutch jumper from 10 feet out to put the Pacer up 107-105. Said Rose: “He made a fallaway jump shot. That’s what you want people to take at the end.” Yes, I suppose he’s right…but it would be preferable if the shot was further out. And while Derrick did a decent job of contesting the attempt, Ford was still able to slice his way into the paint and more or less get the shot he wanted. If there’s one knock on Rose at this stage of his young career, it’s his continuing inability to stay in front of his man.

Anyway, that left Chicago with about three seconds to get a final shot, and even if you didn’t watch the game, I’m sure you know what happened: Ben Gordon launched a three from 26 feet out that didn’t go in, mostly because Granger — who’s six feet, nine inches tall — switched out and pressured the shot. Game over.

All in all, a valiant effort for an understaffed team. But it once again showcased the team’s inadequate play on the road (particularly on the defensive end) and their inability to pull out close games down the stretch. This team has made a lot of progress, and a healthy John Salmons might very well have changed the outcome. But, you know, the more things change…the more they don’t.

Extras: Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

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When a team has to work new players into the rotation, it usually helps to do it against an inferior opponent, particularly if that opponent is going through hard times. And so the Bulls’ matchup against the Pacers should have been the perfect opportunity to mix Brad Miller, John Salmons and Tim Thomas into Vinny Del Negro’s magic sauce. After all, Indy is a solid sub-.500 team (with a 23-34 record coming in), and they were playing without Danny Granger (their best player and the league’s sixth leading scorer) and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (who means more to the Pacers than a lot of people realize).

It was a game the Bulls should have won, particularly considering their spirited win over the Nuggets on Friday night. But, of course, they did not, losing 98-91 at Conseco Field House.

So…what happened? Well, basically, it was the same old story. Troy Murphy (27 points, 14 rebounds) joined the growing list of not-so-great big men (along with Anderson Varejao, Joel Przybilla, Nick Collison, Zaza Pachulia, et al.) who have notched their season-high in scoring against the welcome mat that is Chicago’s defense. The Bulls also once again failed to contain an opposing guard: T.J. Ford (19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) scored 9 huge points in the final four minutes, which pretty much sealed the Bulls’ fate.

In fact, let’s take a closer look at what T.J. did: With 3:56 remaining, Ford hit a 27-foot three-pointer to put the Pacers up 87-84; with 1:58 left, Ford hit a 19-footer to put Indy ahead 91-88; at the 1:23 mark, Ford hit from nine feet out to make it 93-88; and with 1:08 left Ford dunked to make it 95-88, effectively putting the game out of reach. And it’s not like Ford was doing anything special. Three of those buckets came off simple pick-and-roll plays.

Chicago’s problems weren’t limited to the defensive end, either. Their field goal percentage went south in the second half — and they hit only 27 percent in the fourth — mostly because the game was an outside brick-a-thon: 64 of their 79 shot attempts were jumpers, and they scored only 14 points in that big rectangle known as “The Paint.” And yes, that’s the fewest by a Pacers opponent this season. It’s a little bit hard to understand Chicago’s inability to score against and Indiana team that allows almost 107 PPG, fourth-worst in the league behind the Warriors, Kings and Knicks. Worse yet, Chicago’s “clutch offense” (prepare to be very not surprised here) was Ben Gordon jacking it up from the perimeter. He was 0-for-4 in the final 1:39, missing from 25, 23, 16 and 26 feet.

That was sort of the story of Ben’s second half. Gordon scored 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting in the first two quarters, then only 6 points on 3-for-9 in the third and fourth. Speaking of disappearing acts, where exactly was Derrick Rose? He had a game-high 8 assists but scored only 3 points on 1-for-9 shooting and played the fewest minutes of any starter (28). Is it just me, or does it seem like Vinny’s been keeping Derrick on a pretty short leash lately?

Okay, so how’d the new guys do. Not bad, I suppose. Salmons scored 12 points (4-for-8) in 25 minutes, Miller grabbed 10 boards in 20 minutes and Thomas scored 5 points (2-for-4) in eight minutes. More telling, though, might be their plus-minus scores. Thomas (+12), Miller (+9) and Salmons (+7) had the only positive scores on the team. That was mostly because they were all on the floor together as the Bulls were scrambling back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit. Still, I couldn’t help but notice several miscues and some general confusion when those guys were on the court, particularly in the final few minutes. (Like when Miller didn’t rotate correctly on Ford’s game-deciding dunk.) That should change in the near future. Hopefully.

It was a bummer of a loss. And, to make matters worse, Milwaukee beat Denver today, which puts the Bulls a full game behind the Bucks for the East’s last playoff spot. And next up is (gulp) Orlando on Tuesday. If Troy Murphy lit us up, what’s Dwight Howard going to do…?

Stat of the game: Chicago barely lost the rebounding battle 49-46, but the Pacers grabbed 17 offensive boards. In fact, Murphy alone equaled the offensive rebounding output of Chicago’s starting frontcourt of Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Luol Deng. That was a backbreaker.

Extras: Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Another one that got away appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “A quick glance at Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro’s practice schedule Tuesday showed time set aside for ‘EOG’ situations. ‘End-of-game plays,’ Del Negro said, ‘we work on them all the time, almost every practice.’ The way the Bulls (18-27) have coughed up late leads during their current five-game losing streak, they need the work. They try to turn things around tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second stop of a seven-game trip. Through Monday, the Bulls were 2½ games out of the last Eastern Conference playoff berth, but had four teams separating them from the eighth seed. ‘We’re at a critical time in the season, and we need to make a run as soon as we can,’ guard Ben Gordon said. ‘We have a large area we could improve in. We need to focus on that, then the wins will come. We can’t just say, ‘OK, we want to be a playoff team,’ and not focus on the things we need to get better at.'”

Melissa Isaacson of the Chicago Tribune: “Regardless of the losing streak, which included a game the Bulls (18-27) gave away with less than brilliant play Sunday in the closing seconds of regulation in Minnesota, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said he sees progress. ‘Guys know and feel we’re playing better,’ he said. ‘The stats and tapes and everything shows that, but we need to get some results.'”

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: “Asked whether he should consider putting the ball in someone’s hands other than Derrick Rose’s in late-game situations, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said no. But he also included both Rose and Ben Gordon in his crunchtime assessment. Rose has gotten the call far more often than any of the other Bulls when the team needs a late hoop. ‘Ben and Derrick have consistently played well in the fourth quarter for us,’ Del Negro said following Tuesday’s practice at the Berto Center. ‘But as a team, we haven’t executed as well lately. It’s not one person’s fault or one particular player’s fault, it’s a team.'”

Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press: “Between Ben Gordon’s animated exchange with his coach and Larry Hughes’ ongoing desire to be traded, the Chicago Bulls are having no trouble grabbing headlines. The most disturbing aspect of their season, though, is this: It seems like last year. The Bulls woke up Tuesday in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 18-27, on a five-game losing streak and looking more like a team headed back to the lottery than the playoffs. Clearly, they need to make a run. But can they? ‘We’ve got a run (in us),’ point guard Derrick Rose said. ‘We just don’t know when.'”

M. Spencer Green of the Associated Press: “With the team’s return to the UC on the heels of an eleven game losing streak not out of the realm of possibilities, does Vinny have anything to worry about? When the Bulls return to Chicago, will he even be with them? While it’s not even a year into his first go ’round as a coach (of any kind, at any level) we wouldn’t mind seeing GM John Paxson pull the plug on this experiment. We questioned the hiring at the time, and Del Negro’s done nothing to pursuade us otherwise. A coaching change may be the only way to shake up this team.”

Aren Dow of the Bleacher Report: “Since the end of the ’06-’07 season, there has been a common theme throughout the Chicago Bulls organization. Underachievement and frustration. The potential has been present since the ’04-’05 season where the key cogs of the current roster where implemented. Rookies Ben Gordon and Luol Deng were to join Kirk Hinrich and their youth could push opposing teams for 48 minutes. Andres Nocioni signed that year, bringing intensity and hustle as well. Fast-forward to the ’07 playoffs where the Bulls finally pushed past the first round and teased the Pistons to six games. Since then, it has gone downhill for John Paxson.”

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K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “In their current season-long five-game losing streak, the Bulls have been outscored by a combined 21 points in the fourth quarter. That’s as good a place as any to start the discussion on the team’s woes, which include too many turnovers, poor defense and the inability to execute even the most basic of plays down the stretch. ‘Anyone who is watching us knows we’re playing harder and with a lot of spirit and effort,’ forward Luol Deng said. ‘We just have to play smarter.'”

John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: “Coach Vinny Del Negro put the ball in the hands of rookie point guard Derrick Rose for the last-second plays in regulation and overtime, and there’s no problem with that. Rose is the team’s best ballhandler and the player most capable of breaking down the defense. The problem against the Timberwolves was execution, not play design. ‘The first one, I waited too long,’ Rose said. The result was a forced, off-balance jumper that missed badly. In overtime, Rose made his way into the paint, but his path was cut off and he picked up his dribble, a definite mistake in that situation.”

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: “Opponents are finding unprecedented success against the Bulls’ defense. The list of players who have set career highs in scoring against the Bulls this season is long and features a mix of both young stars and run-of-the mill big men. Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey lit up the Bulls for 40 points. Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani (31), Charlotte rookie D.J. Augustin (29), Atlanta’s Al Horford (27), Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao (26) and Boston’s Kendrick Perkins (25) have all rung up career highs that still stood as of Monday morning. The players who have set season highs against the Bulls is an even longer list and contains familiar names: LeBron James (twice), Joe Johnson, Vince Carter, Al Jefferson, Pau Gasol, Travis Outlaw, Stephen Jackson, Mike Bibby and Rudy Gay.”

Mike Imrem of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “Del Negro and Paxson are in an unwitting race to determine which will be out of his job first. In Paxson’s case it would be because he has had enough. In Del Negro’s it would be because somebody noticed he is the wrong guy at the wrong time. Then again, who is qualified to coach this motley crew? Would Mahatma Gandhi have been? No, these Bulls would stampede all over him, or worse. Would Charles Manson be? No, he’d stampede all over them, or worse. Someone between a Gandhi and a Manson? Yes, that’s it, someone between a pacifist and a mass murderer. Del Negro fits in there somewhere but lacks the certain ‘it’ that would command the Bulls’ respect.” [Via TrueHoop.]

The post Fresh ink: January 27, 2009 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

With away games against the Suns, Rockets, Hornets and Mavericks looming darkly on the horizon like the creeping shadows of Mordor — yes, it’s a Tolkien reference, deal with it — this weekend’s two matchups were about as critical as they come. Friday’s game against the Raptors was the Bulls’ last at home until February 10th while Sunday’s battle with the Timberwolves was the first of a seven-game road trip that could officially flatline the season.

And they lost them both.

The Toronto game was actually closer than the final score (114-94) indicates — the Bulls pulled to within a point (91-90) when Luol Deng nailed a 21-footer with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter — but the end result was still a 20-point home loss that earned the team little love (and a lot of boos) from an increasingly cranky home crowd. Turnovers (23 for 27 points going the other way) and an inability to defend (the Raptors shot 56 percent) or finish (the Male Cows were outscored 23-4 down the stretch) were the lowlights of the loss.

As for the game in Minnesota, well, it was pretty important for the Bulls to start this trip off on the right hoof, especially against a Western Conference bottom feeder like the Timberwolves. (Although, to be fair, the Wolves have been surging lately.) But even though the Bulls limited their turnovers to 15 (giving up “only” 15 points to the Wolves in the process), the team still lost the Battle of the Paint to Al Jefferson (a season-high 39 points and 9 rebounds) and Kevin Love (19 points and a career-high 15 boards). Surrendering 15 offensive boards for 24 second-chance points didn’t help either.

And Jefferson’s 39 felt more like 60. Poor Joakim Noah had a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) plus a career-high 7 blocked shots but got used like a movie prop by Jefferson. Said Noah afterward: “I don’t even know what to say. I was playing as hard as I could and he just kept scoring the ball. He’s just a great offensive player and we just couldn’t slow him down tonight.” Yeah, that was a problem, all right.

The Bulls actually took a seven-point lead (95-88) off two Tyrus Thomas free throws with 3:54 left in regulation but — Shock Alert!! — couldn’t hold on. Here’s a summary of their next eight possessions to close out regulation: Missed jumper by Luol Deng; missed jumper by Ben Gordon; loose ball foul on Thomas; missed jumper by Thomas; missed jumper by Derrick Rose; offensive rebound/layup by Joakim Noah; missed driving layup by Rose; missed jumper by Rose. To recap: 1-for-6 and a turnover. And that’s the story of the season: The Bulls can’t get good shots in the end game.

I mean, they hit almost 58 percent of their field goals (34-for-59) through the first three quarters and had scored 82 points going into the fourth. That’s great! Then they eked out only 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting (26 percent) in the final period, including just two points in the last four-ish minutes. That’s not great. It’s enough to make me want to lobby Vinny to bring Big Shot Larry back off the bench. Because, seriously, as much as I detest him, when Kirk Hinrich is going 0-for-7, it might be worth taking a fresh look at…oh no. I’m calling for Larry Hughes to get back into some games for his clutch shooting. You know clutch situations have gotten bad when…

And Vinny Del Negro sure noticed the fourth quarter collapse, even if he couldn’t coach the Bulls out of it: “We didn’t convert down the stretch. In regulation and then a couple of plays on overtime, we just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.” If you try and tell me that quote — and the game in general — didn’t give you a sick feeling of déjà vu, you’re lying.

I’d say the bright side is that the team’s next two games are against the Clippers (10-32) and Kings (10-35), but at this point, Vinny and the boys can’t afford to take anything for granted. Particularly since they’re 5-17 on the road this season. And at this point, I’m not even sure what to suggest. Block out? Play better defense? Hit a few shots in the final five or six minutes of the game? It sounds so simple and easy. But for the Bulls, right now anyway, it feels impossible.

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K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “Poor late-game execution once again doomed the Bulls, whose season-long losing streak extended to five games after a 109-108 overtime loss to the Timberwolves. Leading by as many as 16 in the first quarter and shooting 57.6 percent through three quarters, the Bulls collapsed down the stretch by shooting 8-for-29. Randy Foye, 1-for-10 to that point, scored on a driving layup with 41.3 seconds remaining in overtime to provide the final points. Making the basket worse, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro had employed his ‘offense-defense’ substitution, replacing Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose with better defenders Kirk Hinrich and Thabo Sefolosha for that possession. Gordon and Rose returned on the ensuing possession, and Gordon missed a 19-foot jumper.”

John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: “Magic Johnson, who made his share of game-winning plays, used to call crunch time ‘winning time.’ It has been anything but for the Bulls this season. The Bulls had an opportunity to set up potential game-winning plays at the end of regulation and overtime but couldn’t convert either time in dropping a 109-108 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night at the Target Center. ‘It’s very frustrating,’ forward Luol Deng said. ‘This is a game we should have won.'”

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: “In the final analysis, the Bulls simply couldn’t slow down Minnesota center Al Jefferson, who scored 39 points while hitting 16 of 29 shots. Jefferson scored most every important basket for the Timberwolves except for a driving bank shot by guard Randy Foye with 41.3 seconds remaining that turned out to be the final points of the game. Rookie forward Kevin Love added 19 points and 15 rebounds for the home team.”

Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Rose didn’t dominate Sunday; he still looks like the future. He scored 18 points with seven assists and three rebounds without ever looking lost. If he can develop an outside shot, he will be the NBA’s next great point guard.”

More K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “There are times during almost any NBA game where head coaches appear as if they’d rather be gargling with cod liver oil than patrolling the sideline. Yet even with a five-game losing streak, a minor incident with Ben Gordon angrily questioning a fine and all the injuries the Bulls have endured, Vinny Del Negro is savoring the ride of his rookie coaching experience. ‘I enjoy it all, the good times, the bad times, the frustrations,’ Del Negro said. “Are you going to give in to the adversity, or is your character going to show? I think our guys have handled things well at times. Other times we haven’t. Hopefully, we’ll team up so we compete and get better defensively.'”

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “The Wolves trailed 12-2 and 20-4 almost before they knew it, but they recovered with an effort the rest of the way that was long on grit and resiliency and lacking nearly any aesthetics. ‘I tell the guys that every night is not a Picasso’ [Timberwolves coach Kevin] McHale said.’I’m sure Picasso threw more pictures in the garbage than he put on museum walls. I won’t watch the film of this one. I’ll just wonder for the rest of my life how we won'”

The post Fresh ink: January 26, 2009 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “The Bulls have been in more stretch runs than a thoroughbred racehorse this season, blowing fourth-quarter opportunities more often than not. That trend continued Tuesday night at the United Center when the Bulls faltered in the fourth quarter of a 105-102 loss to the Hawks. Mike Bibby scored a season-high 31 points, including nine in the final five minutes, as the Bulls followed a familiar script. ‘That’s the story of our season,’ guard Ben Gordon said. ‘We’re not very good at closing games out.'”

Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “‘The turnovers really hurt us,’ Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said after his team committed 17 which the Hawks turned into 22 points. ‘Mike Bibby had his way with us. The difference was really [Zaza] Pachulia — his 18 points really bothered us. He got easy baskets and got after us on the glass a bit.’ After a Derrick Rose layup with 5:21 left, the Bulls led 94-93. But the Hawks then went on a 12-4 run before Rose (13 points) nailed a three-pointer with 3.4 seconds to go. ‘At the end of the game we needed to get stops,’ Rose said after the second game in as many days the Bulls lost in the final minutes. ‘This is real tough, but some way we have to find a way out and finish games. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we have to come together as a team.'”

Sekou K Smith of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Bibby was trashing the Bulls everywhere else, though, outplaying heralded Bulls rookie point guard Derrick Rose along the way. Bibby had nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and two of those steals in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks had to break a 77-77 tie and did so by a mere three points, 28-25. Bibby made his only 3-pointer of the quarter and had a crucial steal with 40 seconds to play that set up his game-clinching jumper with 18.9 seconds on the game clock. ‘We used Bibby as our horse tonight,’ Josh Smith said. ‘He’s one of those players that once he gets it going he’s kind of hard to stop. And you saw him in clutch situations, he was hitting big shot after big shot. And when Joe [Johnson] doesn’t have it, we feel good knowing we have Bibby there, too.'”

Nick Hut of the Northwest Herald: “Rookie point guard Derrick Rose took 41 shots in the two games leading into Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta, yet had only two free-throw attempts. Gaining penetration into the lane with an eye toward successfully drawing contact and making more trips to the line is something Rose is trying to learn. ‘I definitely would have thought I’d get more [calls],’ Rose said. ‘I just have to do a better job of giving the refs a reason to give me the calls.’ Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, a former guard, is working with Rose on that issue. ‘I think he’s just got to continue to be aggressive, just continue to attack the basket, and the referees will eventually come around with that stuff,’ Del Negro said. ‘But he’s got to continually attack, get body contact, not try to jump over guys or around guys or whatever.'”

Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “The Bulls might be close to trading veteran guard Larry Hughes to the New Jersey Nets for former DePaul forward Bobby Simmons. A league source confirmed a report in the Bergen (N.J.) Record that the teams have had serious trade talks. It’s up to the Nets to sign off, and the deal will get done. ‘That’s fine,’ Hughes said before the Bulls hosted the Atlanta Hawks at United Center. ‘I’m ready to play, whether it’s here or somewhere else.'”

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