Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose In Midst Of Early-Season Slump

The Chicago Bulls were soundly defeated by the Charlotte Hornets by a 130-105 margin when the teams faced each other on Nov. 3. Not only was it the worst loss of the season for Chicago, but it also marked the first time in more than five years that the team yielded more than 130 points in a regulation game.

The last such instance took place back in March 2010, when they were beaten by the Utah Jazz 132-108 during Vinny Del Negro’s final season as the head coach.

That, in itself, says a lot.

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And although the 25-point margin was bad enough, the Bulls were also out-hustled, giving up a 52-33 edge on the glass. Furthermore, the Hornets converted 52 percent of their shot attempts overall, along with a 61 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc. Any way you look at it, the Bulls got their heads handed to them, to put it mildly.

While games of this nature will come about from time to time, what has to be a concern is the play of Derrick Rose. The Bulls guard started out the season playing reasonably well despite missing all but one preseason game.

In fact, in victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets, Rose scored 18 and 15 points respectively. However since that time, he has been somewhat of non-factor, to say the least.

How badly has Rose played?

Well, for starters, he has failed to reach double figures in the past three contests, which marks the first time this has happened in his eight-year career. Furthermore, during this recent stretch of games, Rose has shot just 8-for-29 overall, which equates to a 29 percent shooting clip.

Along with that, Rose has also missed on all five of his attempts from three-point range. And to add insult to injury (no pun intended), Rose has attempted only two free throws.

Depending on whether or not the trend continues, this could be something to keep a watchful eye on going forward. But if you ask Rose about his recent scoring struggles, he doesn’t feel the need to make any adjustments, as ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell explains:

"“I’m not worried about my offense. It’s all about conditioning, running, getting my body in shape, getting used to moving around. All the other stuff like offensive looks and all that, that’s going to come.”"

And while Fred Hoiberg agreed with Rose’s sentiment for the most part, he did indicate that that Rose needs to play with more pace, similar to how he did in the Bulls’ preseason finale against the Dallas Mavericks, (per ESPN). In that contest, Rose scored eight points in just 10 minutes of action.

The good news is the Bulls don’t need Rose to carry the team in order to be successful during the regular season, something that wasn’t always true during the early stages of his career. On the flip side of the coin, they do need Rose to take the ball to the basket with greater frequency.

When he plays aggressively, this usually leads to opposing defenses collapsing in the paint, which in turn, creates open looks for the perimeter shooters like Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell and Doug McDermott.

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In other words, the Bulls are capable of being a difficult out in the postseason as long as Rose makes his presence felt. But if that is not the case…..well, you know the rest.