The Bulls are off to a 1-3 start and some fans in Chicago might already be pressing the panic button – never mind the fact that we’re just seven days into the month of November. Save for a Derrick Rose game winner against New York, Chicago could very easily be 0-4 this season as the team has looked awful on both sides of the ball.
But even more problematic, it appears the team isn’t where it needs to be mentally, either.
“We got beat in every facet of the game: the rebounding, the defensive transition, turned it over. You have to play 48 minutes against good teams,” said Tom Thibodeau after the loss, appearing just as frustrated as his players.
“They fought hard. They wanted it more than us, they got to every loose ball, every rebound. Just took it away. Disappointing,” Joakim Noah said.
In a game that was back-and-forth from the opening tip, the Pacers ran away with the game in the fourth quarter and couldn’t stop Indiana’s surge.
“They were making shots. Lance came in and hit a couple big buckets, and the momentum went to their side,” said Derrick Rose who mustered just three points the entire second half. “Defensively, towards the end, we let them get too many fast-break points.”
Chicago was outworked and outhustled, two things that have been their trademarks the last three seasons. It’s very unlike a Tom Thibodeau-coached team to get beaten in the “effort” areas, but the Bulls aren’t putting very much of that forward right now.
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“We have to work and we have to work together. That’s the big thing. That’s how you build chemistry. That’s how you learn to play off each other. That’s how you learn to cover for each other. For us right now, we’re inconsistent,” said Thibodeau. “We have a good quarter, then a bad quarter. You can’t win in this league like that. We have to be consistent with our approach and our work and in every facet of preparing for the game. We have good character. We’re all disappointed. We know we have to do better and we will.”
“Just keep competing. Get sick of losing. It’s everybody. Everybody has to come in with the right mindset,” added Noah. “We know we’re capable of a lot better. We’ll be all right though. I think we just have to play with a better edge and we’ve just got to do better. It’s all about winning and losing. Right now we’re losing. We’ve got to find a way to turn it around.”
