The Chicago Bulls are soaring…back to the draft lottery

Although the Chicago Bulls overhauled their roster over the summer, the final product unfortunately appears to be more of the same.

Truth be told, this is not the article I expected to be writing just four games into the NBA season. It certainly isn’t the article I want to be writing. But it’s impossible to ignore the current reality for the Chicago Bulls on nights like Monday, where they dropped a game 105-98 against a bottom feeder team like the New York Knicks.

The same Knicks team that finished with the worst record in the league last year and was demonstrably mocked for their poor decision making in free agency over the summer. It’s simply inexcusable for a team with playoff aspirations to drop one against New York.

And you know, sometimes it’s forgivable. A team just gets hot on the right night, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But that wasn’t the case last night. The Knicks shot 31.0 percent from 3-point range, and an embarrassing 62.5 percent from the free throw line. This loss is especially egregious after the Bulls failed to defeat the Hornets in their home opener and barely closed out their game against the Grizzlies.

These are not the performances a disciplined playoff team puts on display. From top to bottom, several mistakes must be corrected moving forward.

Let’s start with the most obvious. How difficult can it possibly be to gameplan against Bobby Portis — who spent three and a half seasons wearing a Bulls uniform — off the bench? Chicago’s coaching staff should already know his tendencies on the court, yet it didn’t stop him from abusing the Bulls to the tune of 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and a game high Plus/Minus of +31.

The poor coaching didn’t stop there however. Tomas Satoransky and Kris Dunn combined for five total points while shooting 2-for-11 from the field. Poor defense from Satoransky and awful shot selection from Dunn didn’t stop the pair from logging 45 total minutes. Meanwhile, Coby White was relegated to  just 16 minutes of play time despite being the only dependable shot creator on the team besides Zach LaVine.

Speaking of LaVine, can someone remind him that he’s not Damian Lillard? Pulling up from 35 feet out when you’re up only one point indicates a low level of basketball IQ and a selfish play style that will never make his teammates better.

These boneheaded decisions are the culprit behind New York’s 15 point run in the game’s final three minutes. Up 98-90, the Bulls went scoreless to close out the game while New York cranked up the intensity, led by the efforts of Portis.

Poor coordination on both the offensive and defensive ends are symptoms of a larger problem at hand. Just take a look at how Chicago’s defense completely breaks down in the game’s final moments.

No communication. No help defense. Not a clue of what to do. Also, can we buck the trend of doubling every single pick and roll? This isn’t high school basketball, and it’s clearly not working out.

These issues were also exacerbated on the other end of the court, as many of Chicago’s possessions involved four guys standing around watching LaVine or Satoransky dribble around the perimeter before chucking up a bad shot. When the Bulls did pass, there was not nearly enough player movement.

Other teams have abused Chicago by passing around to find the wide open man. Yet, the Bulls entire offensive scheme revolves around the ball handler penetrating and kicking it out to the perimeter. If the shooter isn’t open, they just start it all back up. Why are the Bulls not making the extra pass? Why do several players look uninvolved on every offensive possession?

In a game where Wendell Carter and Thaddeus Young shined — combining for 35 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks — this loss is entirely on the shoulders of Jim Boylen. He must make better in-game adjustments. He must reel LaVine in during late-game situations. He must feed the hot hand instead of designating impactful players like Coby to the bench in critical moments.

Until Boylen can incorporate these changes, you can expect more of the same from these Chicago Bulls. If he fails to do so, it may finally be time to clean house at the managerial level, a moment so many fans have anxiously awaited.