A lot has happened with the Chicago Bulls since I started this blog, so this'll be a long blog. The first thing I want to talk about is injuries. The Bulls have had so many injuries in the past week that at this point they don't really have a bench or a starting lineup. Jimmy Butler, the Bulls' starting small forward who is the leader of their team and leading scorer every single game, got injured a few games ago. He has a bruised right heel and has missed the last three game because of it. Fortunately, he is slated to return tonight for their game against the Phoenix Suns. Dwyane Wade sat out during the game against the Warriors with a "respiratory illness", while bench players, Isiah Canaan, Paul Zipser and Cristinao Felicio are injured as well. There's more information about each the players' injuries below.
http://www.espn.com/nba/injuries/_/team/chi
First of all, the Bulls without Jimmy Butler is a completely different team. Without his scoring and explosive offense, incredible defense of top players and energy, it is very difficult for them to win games. There are all these trade rumors swirling around regarding Butler and personally I think these rumors need to be put to rest. Unless the Bulls' front office wants a complete rebuild of the team, he is not going anywhere for a long time. Since they ruled this out after draft night this year, they will make no trades involving him. Jimmy Butler is the new face of the team and the best player on their team (no argument there), so it would be a horrible move to get rid of him. Considering this, it's not a shock that the Bulls have lost 2 of their last 3 games without him.
In the game against the Houston Rockets earlier this week, the Bulls put up a good fight without their star player. The young players really stepped up in his absence. However, without Butler, they couldn't finish the game and pull out a win. The Rockets are a great, hot western conference team currently and to lose in overtime against them is not a bad loss at all. Michael Carter-Williams in particular has stepped up in the last few games, scoring over 20 points. He needs to be one of the first players off the bench or a starter.
Knowing their coach, Fred Hoiberg, he'll be at the end of the bench again. Hoiberg constantly switches their lineups around every single game, which doesn't allow them to become consistent. When a player plays exceptionally well, they end up starting and then at the end of the bench during the next game. This is very strange and I think he needs to be fired at the end of the season. He doesn't play certain players for some reason, he doesn't know how to incorporate his offense in the games of this roster and he can't control his players. Hopefully, he will be fired at the end season, but this is unlikely as the Bulls' front office loves him. He also may be contributing to the Bulls many losses as well.
The Bulls are currently seventh in the eastern conference, which isn't terrible, but with stars Butler and Wade and a bench of high first round draft picks, they should be higher up in the standings. They can't get a wining streak larger than three games going, so that's why they may not make the playoffs.
Some games they play exceptionally well, while others are ugly losses. Speaking of ugly losses, the Bulls played the Warriors a couple of nights ago. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty. Without their two star players (Butler and Wade), the Golden State Warriors (The best team in the NBA) completely sweeped the Bulls 123-93. With all of their injuries the Bulls don't have a chance against any team, much less Golden State.
That's all the Bulls news I've got for this week. I'll be back next week to report on their next few games and have updates on their many injuries. The Bulls are playing the Phoenix Suns tonight (the fifth game of their road trip), so if Butler returns tonight they can hopefully start a new winning streak.
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