Chicago Bulls News: Rose-less Bulls Continue to Slip in Eastern Conference
Just a month ago the Chicago Bulls were strong contenders for the top spot of the Eastern Conference, thanks to the proficient scoring of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and the dominating performance of Pau Gasol in the paint. However, the string of injuries has certainly plagued Windy City, and it is now desperately looking to get its groove going in its final 14 games of the season.
Just last night, the Bulls once again melted in crunch time, losing against the Oklahoma City Thunder, whom they just defeated in stunning fashion a week ago.
Chicago's European players once again stepped up their game, with Nikola Mirotic finishing with 27 points, and Gasol adding 20.
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However, that was not enough to tame Russell Westbrook, who tallied 36 points and added 11 boards to avenge their bitter loss to the Bulls after a go-ahead three-point bucket from E'Twaun Moore with 2.1 seconds remaining.
Meanwhile, aside from Chicago's injury problems, there may be more issues that need to be addressed.
In a report by Sun Times Chicago, coach Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls' front office are having problems. Apparently, the front office requires Thibs to impose playing 32 minutes on each of the team's players in order to keep them fresh for the playoffs.
However, it seemed the scheme failed to work, and now the Bulls are nursing three injuries – Rose, Butler, and sixth man Taj Gibson.
In spite the failure, coach Thibs is reportedly sticking with the plan. A proof of this is Joakim Noah's benching in the crucial final quarter of their game against OKC. In a report, the Bulls coach said he literally ran out of time on Noah.
"I ran out of minutes with him," he said. "I thought Jo played a very good game for us."
If Chicago fails to address these injuries and playing minutes issues soon, they might as well kiss their chance at the Eastern Conference Finals goodbye.
