As the Chicago Bulls continue to have a troublesome season, it is time to ask: is head coach Fred Hoiberg at fault?
There is no sugar-coating it. The Chicago Bulls are terrible.
Maybe not on paper. Maybe not when looking at the numbers. Maybe not in comparison to other teams in this league. But as far as meeting the franchise’s expectations, the current organization does not even come close to living up to its potential. And unfortunately, this has been a continuous storyline for the entirety of the 2015-16 season.
As of Sunday morning, the Bulls are sixth in the Eastern Conference. They have a 27-23 record. And they have no answers to their problems.
At the start of 2015-16, both fans and the media sang the same tune: give it time.
After all, former head coach Tom Thibodeau was replaced with Fred Hoiberg. Derrick Rose was once again returning from injury. And there were new faces aboard, such as Bobby Portis.
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Then of course, there was the time everyone blamed Chicago’s failures on injury.
And yes, between the likes of Mike Dunleavy‘s bad back, Rose’s never-ending ailments and Joakim Noah‘s reoccurring shoulder problem, health concerns certainly made themselves present throughout this year.
But here we are, a week away from All-Star Weekend, 50 games into the season, and nothing has changed.
So it is now finally time to ask a question many have tried to stray away from. Is Hoiberg to blame?
The coaching systems of Thibodeau and Hoiberg could not be more different.
While Thibodeau ran a defensive bootcamp, Hoiberg seemingly relies on offensive strategies, most commonly used in college basketball. As Jimmy Butler publicly acknowledged, he does not necessarily push his guys hard enough. And what is probably most obvious, he has not been able to give the group an identity.
Regardless of their actual success on the court, under Thibodeau the Bulls had a clear-cut reputation. They were a defensive powerhouse, fighters who hustled hard night in and night out. They owned up to their failures, refused to use the excuses often handed to them, and kept on the grind.
In comparison, Hoiberg is…soft. He is mild-tempered and level-headed. He is in many ways, the anti-Thibodeau.
Is that the reason behind Chicago’s recent struggles? Is Hoiberg not the kind of coach this organization needs?
In some ways, yes.
While Hoiberg may not actually be a bad coach, his players are seemingly not responding to him; they themselves have even admitted they currently lack discipline. And although besides Butler, no one has yet to speak out against him, they have not necessarily sung his praises either.
Hoiberg might not have done anything wrong per se, but some may argue the point of what has he really done right, either?
It seems like short of an upgraded roster and the guarantee that no one will fall victim to injury thereafter, what the Bulls need right now is a swift kick in the rear. That is to say, someone who can once again bring back the fire that used to live within them. And at least for now, Hoiberg does not seem capable of such a task.
Do not misunderstand: Hoiberg is not the sole reason Chicago is having such a lackluster year. There are an array of factors contributing to their downfall, some of which may actually be more harmful than Hoiberg’s hiring. But he sure has not done much to get them out of their slump.
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Therefore, it is time for Hoiberg to wake up and get to work.
The front office may not want him to put up a fight, but the team needs him to. He cannot be their friend, nor their mentor. He has to be the driving force behind their success.
So enough with the blind-optimism. Do away with the lackadaisical attitude. Leave the complacency behind. Be the head coach the Bulls need. Or, find a home somewhere else.