PROTECT THE PAINT

The Bulls are playing Horri-BULL basketball. Losing to the New Jersey Nets and then being blown out by the Lakers. The Bulls showed no fight and no effort in their blow out defeat. If Del Negro cannot get more from his talented roster he might be sacked before the new year.

Derrick Rose started the season playing with a gimpy ankle and has picked it up as of late. However, that is not the main reason for the Bulls struggles.

The Bulls have been nothing more than a jump shooting team this year. Other than Rose driving and Joakim Noah putting back missed shots via the offensive rebound Chicago has had little inside presence.

The Bulls must drive and attack more in order to create the spacing for open jump shots. Instead, there is to much one and done type possessions which makes it easy to defend and transition against Chicago.

John Salmons has not been much help this year. He is shooting a miserable .395 from the field and his scoring has dropped 4 PPG this season.  He is a integral piece of the offense and needs to turn it around by putting his head down and drawing fouls.

Kirk Hinrich has been slowed by his thumb injury, and looked terribly out of sync with unforced turnovers against Los Angeles.

Jannero Pargo has been a major disappointment, hip injury or not.

It’s obvious that the Bulls desperately need of Tyrus Thomas to return. He might not have stellar numbers that turns heads but he is a concern for any team the Bulls face. His presence in the painted area helps keep a defense honest and opens the floor for easy jump shots.

Taj Gibson has been a surprise for the Bulls, but his offensive attack is raw and he lacks moves to finish at the rim, opting for the typical Bulls jump shot. Taking running 5-foot jump shots rather than driving to the cup will not get a whistle blown in most instances.

Making faces won't motivate a young Bulls roster. (Credit:picapp.com)

If Vinny Del Negro Cannot get his team to buy into attacking the rim, he should put the players in the game who will. Otherwise, his coaching career might be involuntarily on hiatus due to his termination by GM John Paxson.

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