The Chicago Bulls were blown out big by the Hornets this week and star Jimmy Butler said he was not happy with the performance on defense by the team. Derrick Rose has been improving from his facial injury suffered in the preseason, while Nikola Mirotic has been playing well since being inserted into the starting lineup over Joakim Noah.
The Bulls are 3-2 to start the season and the team is still getting used to the new system that Fred Hoiberg wants to use on offense. Under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls were one of the best defensive teams in the league, but the team has struggled at times this season, including in a 130-105 blowout loss against the Hornets on Tuesday. The team has the Oklahoma City Thunder next on the schedule and Butler said to ESPN that the team has been "playing no defense" and that the team is not playing "winning basketball."
Hoiberg said that he was "shocked" by the performance, as he felt the team had a "great shoot around" the morning before the game, according to ESPN. Butler said that the team may be focusing too much on the offensive side of things, as "everybody (that) can score on the roster" and that sometimes can force some defensive lapses. The Bulls are still expecting to be one of the top teams in the east, but they have to shore things up on the defensive end moving forward.
The team has a tough test coming up with the Thunder and the Bulls now have the chance to bounce back after the Hornets loss. According to ESPN.com, Derrick Rose's double vision and issues stemming from his facial fracture injury have been improving, although Rose has been struggling the past few games on offense. ESPN Stats reports that Rose scored in the single digits in three straight games for the first time in his career, but the point guard said he is "not worried" about his offensive game.
Rose said that while things have been improving, he is dealing with some double vision and that could be contributing to the offensive issues. Rose scored eight, six and four points in each of his last three games and he will be looking to bounce back against the Thunder on Thursday. ESPN reports that the Bulls "remain outwardly confident" in Rose and that he is "rounding his game back into form" after he had to miss training camp and the preseason with his fracture injury.
Although the Bulls have struggled at times, the decision to start Nikola Mirotic over Joakim Noah has been working out well, as Mirotic is ranked second on the team in scoring and has been strong shooting from long range. According to NBA.com, Sam Smith writes that Mirotic "continues to impress" and that he could be a candidate to win Most Improved Player this season. Mirotic is averaging 16 points per game and has been a strong rebounder next to Pau Gasol with 6.4 per contest.