Bulls Fall to Warriors: Sloppy Play to Blame

Playing back-to-back games on the road is never fun.  No player wakes up excited about being tired from travelling from out of town but the Bulls better get used to it.  That’s what you get for fitting 80% of the season into just 4 months.  The Bulls won a game they shouldn’t have yesterday in LA and today Golden State got their number. 

The Number? 20.  That’s how many turnovers the Bulls had.  Teams contending for a title don’t turn the ball over that much.  It looked like the Bulls resumed the sloppy play that they put on pause in the last 4 minutes against LA. 

Golden State did not meltdown like the Lakers did though.  They bent and the Bulls had stretches where they looked like they would make that come back happen but even if they won Chicago can’t play the way they did tonight.

They need to go back to what they did last year. Start quarters fast and finish them as well. The Bulls had a chance in this game if they would have made some shots around the basket.  They get there and don’t finish… Look at the shot chart. 

It looks like the basket is a garbage can and someone was trying to toss rotten tomatoes.  It can’t happen, and not just because it’s painful to watch. It doesn’t help your transition defense either which the Bulls need to work on but it will probably come in time as they re-familiarize themselves with their teammates. 

Derrick Rose hasn’t been as spectacular as he was at the end of last season, just 13 points in tonight’s game.  Rose not carrying the team could be a blessing in disguise.  Other players need to develop and step up.  Maybe it’s finally Luol Deng’s time to be an all-star but because of the way Deng plays it’s doubtful.  Unless Ronnie Brewer changes the way he physically releases his shot I’m not sure he could ever be a leader. 

My pick would have to be CJ Watson.  Watson is quick, long and has improved his shooting over the last 2 seasons.  Tonight he had 13 points on 3 of 6 shooting from behind the arc.  He is a ball handler and right now is looking to get his shot and hit his stride.  He can step into that vacuum that Rose leaves when he isn’t playing at MVP level. 

To be fair to Derrick though, he is the focus of every team’s defense. After last season the Bulls are the team to beat especially for teams like the Warriors. Hopefully the Bulls can salvage the road trip and hopefully they can work on finding a man to step up and make plays.