Undermanned Bulls Slipping In East, Have Little Margin For Error
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) – The current sorry state of the Bulls was perhaps best illustrated Saturday night in the postgame locker room, where not long after a 103-95 loss to the Blazers, wing Tony Snell sat like a statue in his swivel chair, stat sheet in hand.
Around him there was chatter, even a laugh in the corner at one point. This loss didn't sting. It didn't cause rage. There was simply a feeling of helplessness on this night.
At the bottom of the single sheet of paper that the stoic, expressionless Snell stared at, it read "DND – left knee strain" for All-Star wing Jimmy Butler and "DND – right hamstring tendonitis" for point guard Derrick Rose. The fact that those two didn't dress explained and magnified the box score's other contents.
E'Twaun Moore was forced to be a creator and shot a career-high 22 times. That turned out like you might expect for a role player, as he started cold (0-for-8), got hot for a bit and finished an inefficient 9-of-22 for 19 points.
Snell also stared at his own name. He's been cold more often than not this season, and here was a time in which the Bulls couldn't afford it. His going scoreless in 27 minutes on 0-of-5 shooting stood out, even if it wasn't all that surprising.
With four players sidelined who were in the top six of the rotation to open the season, the Bulls are simply overmatched right now.
"I thought our guys competed, I thought we battled, I thought we played the right way," coach Fred Hoiberg said, referencing a season-high 33 assists before then admitting the obvious.
"It's obviously tough. I'd be lying if I told you differently."
About two hours before tip-off, Hoiberg confirmed Rose would sit out his third consecutive game because of a right hamstring that continues to have soreness and prevent him from exploding off that leg. It was more unfortunate timing for Rose and the Bulls.
Before the recent flare-up, Rose was amid his best month since March 20212, averaging 21.9 points and 6.0 assists this February. The offense looked smooth of late after being inconsistent for most of the season.
Rose's recent stellar play had helped the Bulls grab wins against the Raptors and Lakers, good vibes that kept up when he sat out Wednesday's victory against the Wizards too. Then the percentages of attrition played out like you'd expect, and Chicago has dropped two in a row.
The differences Saturday were Portland scoring 19 fast-break points and getting to the free-throw line 15 more times than Chicago, which lacked off-the-dribble creators. Pau Gasol was brilliant in registering the ninth triple-double of his career (including playoffs) with a line of 22 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists, but it wasn't enough.
"It's just frustrating because we got so many injuries," forward Taj Gibson said. "But at the same time, we got a lot in this room to win. But we just got to shorten up our mistakes. We can't make mistakes. It's tough. Trying to win for Fred, he's a good coach. Just trying to push through and do whatever it takes."
Time is now running shorter for the Bulls, who dropped to 30-28 with Saturday's loss. Chicago sits alone in eighth place in the East, just a half-game up on ninth-place Detroit after it won against Milwaukee.
Bulls wing Mike Dunleavy acknowledged the Bulls are well aware of their precarious standing and that every night matters. There's just no easy answer for the path to success at this point.
"We just know we got to play harder, and we can't mess up," Gibson said. "We have a small window for mistakes right now."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
