Asked Wednesday if it’s conceivable with their current personnel for the Bulls to play the style they need to to have success — defend, rebound, run — the coach didn’t hesitate.
“No, not right now,” Del Negro said. “So we’re going to have to junk the game up as best we can. Maybe we can get a couple of guys with a hot hand or change up some defensive coverages.
“One of the reasons we became a better defensive team throughout the year when we were healthy is we had a nice foundation to what we were doing and there was accountability. Now with the lack of bodies, we’re not controlling the paint.
“We’ve had to make adjustments. We have gotten slow on rotations. We have gotten away from what helped us win because of the injuries.”
That injury situation worsened Wednesday with the news that an MRI revealed Luol Deng suffered a Grade 1 or 2 strain of his right calf muscle, Brad Miller hurt his left thumb and Taj Gibson may miss Thursday’s game in Orlando with plantar fasciitis.
I believe he is using the old “confuse and confound” strategy. However, that requires really smart players and he isn’t willing to go that far out on a limb.
For the future benefit of Derrick Rose and a young Bulls team seeking a high priced Free Agent, Jerry Reinsdorf needs to replace Del Negro as head coach.
This is similar ground/ice to the Blackhawks with Denis Savard. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
And it all worked out anyway. Savard is happy in his new role for the team. The team is succeeding under Joel.
The Bulls need to make the move. The earlier the better. This season is going nowhere. Put Paxson back on the bench for the interim, sit in the weeds until the season ends and go after the best available coaching option asap.
Paxson has no desire to coach. Let VDN finish out the string and then see what’s out there this summer.
They should have got Larry Brown from the jump anyway.
Unfortunately it appears the string is going to be shorter than first imagined...with all of these injuries they just don’t have the firepower to compete anymore…
Unfortunately it appears the string is going to be shorter than first imagined...with all of these injuries they just don’t have the firepower to compete anymore…
Compete? They can barely run a 3 on 3 practice. That being said, I see no reason to dump Del Negro now. There is nothing to be gained and a lot of possible harm to the team’s, barely breathing, morale.
Paxson has no desire to coach. Let VDN finish out the string and then see what’s out there this summer.
They should have got Larry Brown from the jump anyway.
Unfortunately it appears the string is going to be shorter than first imagined...with all of these injuries they just don’t have the firepower to compete anymore...
Yeah they’re severely undermanned right now, it’s gonna get ugly tonight. A Richard-Warrick-Johnson starting frontcourt is the definition of liability. A damn shame, this team was putting it together and playing well before the injury bug bit.
On the bright side, if they end up missing the playoffs they’ll land a lottery pick in what’s expected to be a deep draft class.
Paxson has no desire to coach. Let VDN finish out the string and then see what’s out there this summer.
They should have got Larry Brown from the jump anyway.
Unfortunately it appears the string is going to be shorter than first imagined...with all of these injuries they just don’t have the firepower to compete anymore...
Yeah they’re severely undermanned right now, it’s gonna get ugly tonight. A Richard-Warrick-Johnson starting frontcourt is the definition of liability. A damn shame, this team was putting it together and playing well before the injury bug bit.
On the bright side, if they end up missing the playoffs they’ll land a lottery pick in what’s expected to be a deep draft class.
Let’s hope it’s a top ten pick so that we don’t have to swap with Milwaukee…
The 9-11 seeds in the West will likely have better records than the 9th seeded Bulls, which is where Chicago would likely finish if they miss the playoffs. So figure 9-11 seeds get picks 12-14 in the lottery. That leaves the Bulls squarely at #11 unless the basketball gods smile upon them again like they did in 2008 and move them into the top-3.
