The Chicago Bulls lacking leadership and a voice is their downfall

The Chicago Bulls are reeling right now, and are a far cry from the team we saw open the 2021-2022 season.

The problem is very clear. The Bulls are 4-11 over their last 15 games, yet head coach Billy Donovan’s demeanor on the sideline would lead you to believe that they’re 11-4 in that stretch.

Now, there is something to be said about remaining calm and level-headed during tough times. Donovan has seen it all over his career, and one of his strengths is being able to stay patient and smart during the hard times.

However, that’s now becoming his downfall. Donovan is currently coaching one of the most talented teams he’s ever seen, and if he doesn’t do something soon, these Bulls will be looking at one of the biggest collapses the league has ever seen.

The Chicago Bulls are severely lacking vocal, passionate leadership from two key people.

Just a little over a month ago, the Bulls were sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference. As we speak, they are the fifth seed and one loss away from dropping to number six. Chicago has lost games to Sacramento, New Orleans and New York in the past two weeks — all games they should have convincingly won.

The team continues to be unable to beat the best teams in either conference, but that’s nothing new and, quite frankly, towards the bottom of the worry list at the moment. The biggest issue for these Bulls is with Donovan. He absolutely must switch things up.

It isn’t in his character to get more animated or aggressive in his coaching style, but you know what they say: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

Donovan is a veteran coach and he has got to start trying to get ahold of these guys. The team has been extremely soft for most of the season, and their demeanor proves exactly that. Night-in and night-out, it’s either DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso showing the most passion and effort. Zach LaVine is up there, too, but he decides when he does and doesn’t want to play on defense.

Not only do the Bulls need Donovan to step up and be more vocal, demanding more from these guys than he’s seeing, but the Bulls have to see someone do the same on the floor. This team needs DeRozan to step into more of a Chris Paul role. He’s the veteran on this team, and he’s the one handling the ball more often than not.

DeRozan is as cool as they come, but this is now the time for him to find his voice on the court. This team does not have a vocal leader at the moment, and if they are going to do anything in the playoffs, they’ll have to find one.

This is on DeRozan and Donovan to bring these guys together, and put forth a more respectable effort each night. No more giving up easy offensive rebounds. No more lazy offense. No more playing with a half-hearted mentality. If the Bulls are going to do anything beyond these next seven games, it’s time for a dramatic change.