A Spiritless Start to the Bulls’ Season
Spir•it (ˈspirit): those qualities regarded as forming the definitive or typical elements in the character of a person, nation, or group or in the thought and attitudes of a particular period.
Head coach Jim Boylen always seems to find a way to bring up the word spirit, when talking about the Bulls. Whether how much he liked the team’s spirit in a win, or how the opposing team hurt the Bulls spirit in a loss.
Maybe he has some type of spirit test that he gives players that will determine if they play or not.
Maybe that’s why the likes of Daniel Gafford, Denzel Valentine and as of the last couple of games Chandler Hutchison have been confined to the bench, because Boylen didn’t see enough spirit.
Maybe he sees so much spirit in Shaq Harrison that he decides to start the 6’4 guard at the small forward spot.
Photo: Jonathan Daniel
Or why he likes to run three and four guard line ups because those players like Ryan Arcidiacono are just bursting with spirit. To Jim Boylen, the Bulls probably lead the NBA in spirit! Somebody needs to tell him, there is no statistical category for the spirit and that his coaching is draining the spirit of his players and the fan base!
The Bulls are off to a disappointing 6-12 start. A start that has seen them blow various double-digit leads and lose to teams of lesser talents. The Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, bad teams that the Bulls are supposed to beat.
The players are not totally absolved from this bad start to the season, but a lot of it falls on Boylen and his coaching chops. Night in and night out its the same thing, as he has the Bulls blitz the pick and roll. Yes, the Bulls are near the top of the NBA when it comes to forcing turnovers, but this defensive scheme is easily figured out and adjusted to in-game, by the opposing teams.
Photo: Ronald Cortes
Boylen having Wendell Carter Jr. show hard at the top of the key usually leaves him out of position to be able to get down in the paint and rebound the basketball. This is why the Bulls keep losing the rebounding battle and are allowing opponents to come up with offensive rebounds and second-chance points.
Also having the Bulls show so hard on pick n rolls have to lead to miscues in who are supposed to show and when, which lead to the roll man getting easy drives to the basket, or the space to kick it out to the corner for a wide-open 3. A lot of that has to do with the rotation of players Boylen has on the floor trying to run this defensive scheme.
Photo: Rebecca Blackwell
Instead of running a scheme that can help mask the defensive deficiencies of Zach LaVine or Lauri Markkanen, he has them blitz hard, leaving Carter to try and cover up everybody mistakes to the best of his abilities.
It’s not just the defensive end, however, as Boylen has the Bulls running an equal-opportunity offense. The problem is all players’ offensive games are not created equally! Kris Dunn should never be shooting five 3 pointers in a single game. Nor should he be in a position to do so.
But again this is the cause of Boylen’s rotations, running Dunn in an offense where the only scoring threat on the floor is a 19-year-old rookie in Coby White is very problematic. Boylen needs to stagger Markkanen with the 2nd unit and mandate that Dunn gets Lauri the ball to get him in rhythm and get him going.
Running a line up featuring White, Markkanen, and Dunn gives you two scoring threats along with a player who can be the floor general to make sure those players get their shots. Too many times, LaVine or White are your only scoring threat on the floor, and all opponents have to do is run a double team at Zach or Coby and dare somebody else to shoot.
Why not play Zach and Coby together more? Why not stagger Wendell’s mins to where he plays at the 4 while Daniel Gafford is at the 5? That gives you a solid frontcourt of athletic rim protectors, who can guard, and rebound the ball.
You know maybe make actual NBA level coaching adjustments based on player’s skill level and physical abilities, instead of the spirit you perceive that they possess. Because as of right now the fan base’s spirits are broken, and it doesn’t seem that the teams are far behind.
Featured Image: Jonathan Daniel, Rebecca Blackwell, Ronald Cortes, Bob Leverone.
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