The Bernstein Brief: Bulls Are Hard To Trust
By Dan Bernstein–
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) If the Bulls could play defense as well as they talk about playing defense, they might have something.
As it stands, though -- after a 114-100 loss to the Wizards on Monday night -- this current combination of flat feet and blank stares isn't enough to earn our trust that they want to elevate themselves to status any greater than what they are and have been -- a decent team that can accrue more regular-season wins than losses.
They all keep saying the right things about desire and intensity and communication but still can't stop a simple ball screen, rotate in time to help on penetration, protect the rim or close out on shooters.
It's like clockwork -- the Bulls string together enough solid performances to make some people think there's more to this mismatched roster than we've seen, only to have it undone by a miserable loss like Monday's at home to a mediocre team missing two starters.
The schedule now is busy but soft, with a chance to snap back Tuesday night in Milwaukee against a Bucks team lacking the kind of dynamic ball-handler that routinely carves them up. The Bulls can either keep blathering platitudes about what they have to do, or they can actually do it.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.