Coach Vinny Del Negro said afterward that the play, such as it was, didn't call for a screen. Instead, Rose was supposed to dribble right as Ben Gordon flared left, trying to create space and confusion from the defense. Rose instead dribbled left, right into Gordon, and had to force an off-balance shot with Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye guarding him. "the play, such as it was".
The article says that Rose dribbled as if waiting for a screen. I think he dribbled as if waiting for the clock to run down to 6 or 5 seconds, he was supposed to take his man off the dribble on his own, create his own shot. If he decides to drive, the other players should head to the sidelines to bring their men out of the lane or give Rose a passing option. Guards rarely set this kind of screen. They might try to help out the bigs a little on the baseline, but it makes no sense to bring a 2nd guard (on defense) to the dribbler. If the pick works, a guard is going to switch onto the dribbler. You want a guy like a big to switch onto a guy like Rose where there's a clear mismatch.
We need to start putting the ball in Gordon's hands at the end of games. Rose has proven to be terrible at end game situations.
I think the last year and a half have provided enough evidence that BG isn't a better option. End game situations and the fact that they continually put the ball in Rose's hands are one of the few bright spots as far as showing a commitment to development as far as I am concerned. The patented BG fadeaway flail isn't going to help win any games.
Blech. They need to keep going to Rose, but occasionally changing it up wouldn't hurt either. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of game winning situations coming up to practice with.
Yeah, I was a little taken aback when I saw that. Someone is going to pull him aside and talk to him about proper phrasing...
No, that's looking at it all wrong. The solution is to pull Derrick and the other 11 guys aside and tell them they damn well better bust their humps each and every time they hit the court wearing a Bulls uniform.
Trades + New Head Coach = Too much mess on this team...the losing in ridiculous fashion...the drama which probably contributes to the losing in ridiculous fashion....this team is just lacking alot of heart and pride and it's an absolute disgrace to Chicago and the Bulls franchise which players like Michael Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman (and even Kukoc, Kerr and Paxson as back runners) built. We've gone from poised stature and greatness to weak, dramatic, heartless, and incompetent (most of the time). There is no need for Vinny to explain this "mistake" because either way we would have lost: simple reality. "It's frustrating, but we try hard to win games," Rose said. "The Toronto game [Friday] we didn't try that hard, but this game we went out there and played." Ouch a contradiction by Rose. He's got to learn to be clear when he speaks to the media. I know what he was trying to say though. However: This team has to try hard every night; It's not optional to try hard or not >_>. Jordan and Pippen's Bulls didn't win championships by not trying: obviously. Rose and the rest of the team have to be willing to follow in their footsteps. With Rose being the "leader"/franchise player, he needs to step up like Jordan did and lead the team: If MJ was playing right now, this Bulls team would be getting cussed out until they played with passion every night....maybe Rose should ask Jordan for some lessons on how to lead this discombobulated team. Leading by example by playing well and then by being verbal. That's how Jordan did it. Gave it his all every night by playing smart and hard basketball and then letting his teammates know what the deal was if they were playing like shit. And if by chance he had an off night, he did everything in his power to make himself better. I'm not saying that Rose should "be" Michael Jordan because he can't, but he should work on showing Jordanesque leadership. Thus I conclude with this: I don't give a damn about an explanation; this team just needs to stop playing piss poor and we will win more games, period.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...0bYF?slug=ap-stumblingbulls&prov=ap&type=lgns What they can’t ignore is the Bulls’ struggles, particularly late in games recently. Four of their losses during this skid were by five points or less and they’ve been outscored by 21 points in the fourth quarter over the last five games, meaning they could easily be close to .500. “We’re just having mental breakdowns,” Gordon said. “It’s frustrating. That’s all I’ve got to say.” Against Minnesota, Rose had chances to win it at the end of regulation and in overtime but forced shots. With 23.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, he dribbled away too much time and drove the wrong way before forcing an off-balance shot over two defenders. In overtime, he got cut off in the paint and picked up his dribble before forcing an off-balance floater that missed.
