http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago-bulls/post/_/id/21866/where-can-the-bulls-turn-down-the-stretch MILWAUKEE -- Each time this season when it seems as though theChicago Bulls have turned the corner, that they've made the leap from inconsistent pretenders to solid championship-level contenders, they always offer up a reminder that their best is still a mirage they are unable to grip. Wednesday's disappointing 95-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks was the latest such reminder for a Bulls team that came into the affair having won five of its past six games. All the old issues came to the forefront for a group that felt as though it was finally hitting its stride. The Bucks outrebounded the Bulls 48-40, outscored them 44-38 in the paint, and had 23 second chance points compared to just 10 from Tom Thibodeau's team. Compounding those numbers was the fact that the Bulls turned the ball over 20 times on the night and couldn't find any consistent rhythm in the second half. But as the Bulls get set for what they hope is a long postseason run, an intriguing issue reared its head amid a sea of the same old problems. With Derrick Rose out of the lineup, where should Thibodeau turn down the stretch in games when his team is in need of a couple crucial buckets? In order to take the next step as an elite team, Thibodeau needs to find an answer to this question just as much as he needs to clean up the mental mistakes and defensive lapses that continue to plague his team.
The quotes in the article are good reads. "We need everyone," Thibodeau said. "It could be Jimmy one night, it could be Pau [Gasol] one night, it could be Niko [Mirotic] one night. It's whoever has [a] hot hand, good matchup. The ball will find you. But Jimmy's been terrific all year." "We're very conditioned by the call of the coach," Gasol said while discussing late-game options. "So it's not about one guy trying to take over or anything." "We had good looks, too. We had a bunch of looks, missed them. Mike [Dunleavy] had a good look, missed [it]. We had a bunch of good looks, we just shot the ball poorly tonight, turned over the ball too much, and we gave up too many offensive rebounds and we lost the game." "We know who's going to take our big shots," Bulls forward Taj Gibsonsaid. "And we know, at times, we're going to have three different guys that got it going. "We've got so many guys in a good rhythm right now. So it's really tough, you don't really know who's going to step up because Niko's been playing extremely well on the floor, Pau's been playing well, Jimmy's been playing well. Aaron's been playing well. You never really know who's going to knock down the big shot late -- and I think we got a lot of guys that are willing to take the big shot."
I'm a believer in having one go-to guy. That player doesn't have to take the shot, but I want the ball in his hands and I want him making the decision. If you have more than one, you don't really have any.
Way too simplistic. You're way better than that (I think). For those who were too young to remember, it was Jordan who decided that Paxson and Kerr should take the shot.
No, it was PJax. Lots of old footage on TV of them in the huddle during a timeout and PJax asking Michael, "who's open?" Get them the ball.
Did you see the one where Michael asked Kerr if he'd be ready for what turned out to be the biggest shot of Kerr's life? http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&mid=D35D9DAE81E7EC8CF899D35D9DAE81E7EC8CF899 Phil was not consulted.
