Chicago Bulls: Latest Loss A Microcosm Of Mediocre Season

Chicago Bulls stars Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler are not pleased with the team’s latest loss and the duo did not pull any punches in voicing their displeasure.

When the Chicago Bulls assembled their roster going into the 2016-17 campaign, it was reasonable to wonder what exactly was the front office thinking. Yes, Rajon Rondo led the league in assists with the Sacramento Kings last year, but he has also had moments when he didn’t see eye-to-eye with his coaches.

Having said that, it was only a matter of time before a similar incident took place during his stint with the Bulls. That moment came in December when Rondo got into a heated exchange with assistant coach Jim Boylen and was handed a one-game suspension.

While the offseason acquisition of Dwyane Wade has panned out reasonably well, the one area where the Bulls missed the mark was the perspective the team had about its younger players. With nine few faces on the roster coming into the season, the front office was hoping that the reserves would take their cue from the veterans and find ways to make an impact on a regular basis.

To date, this has not happened as often as the team would have liked. Additionally, the Bulls are still finding ways to lose games they should win despite the fact they’re nearly 50 games this season.

To make matters worse, one of the factors that contributed to the Bulls’ disappointing 2015-16 campaign was chemistry within the locker room. And although they have managed to avoid such conflict so far, this element could be an issue following the team’s recent 119-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Not only did the Hawks notch their seventh straight win over the Bulls, they managed to overcome a double-digit deficit in the final three minutes of the game. During that stretch, they outscored the Bulls 19-4, literally stealing a game they had no business winning.

As a result, the Bulls dropped below the .500 mark once again (23-24) and now lead the Milwaukee Bucks by just one game for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

To say that the two stars of the team — Jimmy Butler and Wade — did their part would be an understatement. Butler finished with 40 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals on an efficient 13-for-22 shooting, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Wade, meanwhile, chipped in with 33 points (on 14-for-24 shooting) and five rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals in just 31 minutes of action. Unfortunately, their efforts went for naught and during the final 90 seconds of the game, the offensive sets the Bulls ran did not include either of them (more on that in a bit).

As one would expect, neither of the Bulls’ top two playmakers were pleased with the final outcome and had little problem voicing their opinion.

Let’s first begin with the three-time champion Wade.

"“It just doesn’t mean enough for guys around here to want to win ballgames,’’ Wade said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “It [ticks] me off, but I can’t be frustrated, and I can’t care too much for these guys. They have to care for themselves.”“I wish I could say that everyone in here is going to go home and not eat tonight. I can’t say that. I wish I could, but I don’t know that they care enough. Games are supposed to hurt. You’re not supposed to sleep; you’re not supposed to want to talk to anybody. These games are supposed to hurt. I don’t know if that is in guys in this locker room. Hopefully, they can prove me wrong, but I will challenge them to see if losses like this hurt.’’"

Butler — who was recently awarded with his third All-Star selection — chimed in with this blunt, but accurate observation:

"“At a point in the game like that, no offense, but you gotta get the ball to your best players. That’s just how the game goes. Let it come down on my shoulders or D-Wade’s. Let us be the reason why. I understand if you’re open, yeah, shoot it, but [not] at a time when a guy is making shots like he was and like I was. . . . I felt like everything was going in that I put up there.’’"

Butler’s comments were made in light of the fact that third-year forward Nikola Mirotic and rookie Paul Zipser were hoisting up shots during the game’s critical moments. That in itself was strange enough, but the story doesn’t end there.

Following the critical assessments provided by Wade and Butler, a couple of the Bulls’ reserves took to Twitter to voice their side of the story.

Shortly after that, in a Tweet that has since been deleted, seldom-used backup point guard Isaiah Canaan posted this to his account @SiP03.

Tough Loss!!! We Win & Lose Together #FreeSip

Taking all of this into consideration, the Bulls have several areas they will need to address. For starters, it appears that Wade and Butler — and to a lesser extent Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez — are the only players who can be relied upon to give a solid effort at both ends of the floor on a nightly basis.

Secondly, the Bulls have yet to establish a consistent rotation as we approach the All-Star break. This especially holds true at the point guard spot, where Fred Hoiberg has shuffled between Rajon Rondo, Michael Carter-Williams and recently Jerian Grant.

Last, but certainly not least, the comments provided by the team’s superstars are an indictment against the front office, who is largely responsible for the up-and-down season that has unfolded.

From this point forward, only two things can happen: 1) The team’s younger players will somehow find a way to improve, making all of this a moot point or 2) The Bulls will be heading toward another season in which they fail to qualify for the playoffs.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 14

And if the latter does occur, look for Wade to strongly consider playing somewhere else next season.