The Bulls fell to 6-9 tonight in Milwaukee. The Bulls are currently on a 5 game losing streak to end their road trip. Although Vinny Del Negro's coaching performances have been unbelievably bad, the biggest problem lies in the actual offensive system.
The Bulls currently run the same offense which they ran in the Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, and Andres Nocioni era (2004-2008). At that point in time it was effective because it freed up the Bulls' many shooters and created catch and shoot opportunities for Gordon. Now that Gordon is in Detroit, John Salmons has filled in his slot in the offense.
Every single possession the Bulls run the same exact play. John Salmons runs off a double screen at the top of the key and spots up for what is supposed to be a jumper, unfortunately he turns it into an isolation. The Bulls also run a play where Salmons comes from the baseline or Derrick Rose comes from the sideline, in both cases they run their man into two picks. The average basketball fan wouldn't notice this but it's the SAME EXACT PLAY, it's just turned on its side. At this point teams know that it's coming so clearly that they just jump the play causing disarray in the Bulls offense.
For some reason Del Negro can't seem to notice this and I just don't understand why not, the majority of the plays Rose can be found in the corner without a prayer of re-entering the play. That's just unacceptable.
The system needs to be changed to fit Rose better. All season I have been screaming for Del Negro to isolate Rose more because he's flat out unstoppable in an isolation. I can confidently say that because every time they do it Rose scores at will. Tonight Rose had 8 points in the first three quarters because the Bulls ran their regular, predictable offense. But, when Rose was able to create for himself and others in the fourth, he scored 11 points and got the Bulls the lead which was their first lead since being up 2-0.
It's no secret that Rose is the Bulls franchise player, so why not give him complete control of his team?
Rose ate Brandon Jennings alive tonight in all phases of the game. Rose's ankle appears to be back to normal as his lightening quickness has returned. This situation is very simple, if Del Negro doesn't change the offensive system very soon he will out of a job. But judging by Del Negro's demeanor that won't matter. When the game is on the line he seems more concerned about whether or not to put pepperoni's on his pizza than who's going to take the last shot.
Don't get the wrong idea, aside from his horrid offense I think Del Negro is a great coach. His players like him, and he calls great plays out of timeouts as can be seen throughout the Bulls vs Celtics playoff series. This is what makes this situation so hard to understand. Del Negro is clearly a very intelligent basketball mind and has exemplified that all the way back to his playing days. My guess as to why he's not changing the offense is that in the pre-season he thought Salmons would be able to fit in Gordon's slot seamlessly. But now, after realizing that he can't, it's too late to learn a whole new system. Without a doubt trying to institute a new offense on the fly would be much more difficult. But when your team is putting up 92 points a night it's necessary. Del Negro has the offensive weapons at his disposal, if he doesn't use them effectively, someone else will.
