The Chicago Bulls were getting trounced in Atlanta on Friday night.  The Hawks were leading the Bulls by 30 points and it was only mid-way through the third quarter.  All one needed to know is that the Bulls were outscored in the first quarter 35-13.  The Bulls were making 37% of its shots from the floor. That is a cold night and the score is reflective of that statistic.

This game is not even competitive. The Bulls are being routed now.

The Bulls will lose this game to fall to 21-23 for the season.

The offense looks directionless. After the Dallas game, Jimmy Butler, who will be starting for the East in the upcoming All-Star game, said,

“We keep making the same mistakes.”

These are professional basketball players. Why are they making the same mistakes?  To me, it falls upon the coach to set a tone, a path for a team to follow. The Bulls look like they are in a sailboat without a rudder.

Coach Fred Hoiberg finished his first season two games over .500 and out of the running of the playoffs. It looks like this team might be out of the playoff picture soon, unless things get turned around. But that seems unlikely. The players don’t seem to have a passion and focus in each game. Atlanta is taking them to school. Are the Bulls learning a lesson?

Honestly, it doesn’t appear so.  The Bulls look disorganized on offense and at times they can barely get a shot off. There is little pace to their game, and most of the offense revolves around Jimmy Butler or Dwyane Wade. Guard Rajon Rondo, who was brought in before the season with much fanfare, was benched for 5+ games. He now has a backup role on the squad. He put in some good performances earlier in the year. He looked like he found his shot, and his assist per game was excellent.  Apparently he is hard to coach. I don’t know if coach Hoiberg can reach him. Hoiberg looks like he is having a hard time getting through to anyone on this team.

The Bulls should be 5-6 games over .500 instead of two games below .500.  At their current pace, this team will be out of the playoffs.

It remains to be seen if Coach Hoiberg can hold onto his job.