While you may be happy dreaming of Gar Forman grabbing Jim Boylen on his way out the door (if either seat actually gets hot enough this winter), it’s worth remembering that Boylen still has the full confidence of this front office, per most reports. And that means, for now, he’s sticking around despite the fact that – just 18 games into the regular season – he’s found a way to weaken his already tainted reputation.
That’s some quick work! I don’t know how he does it!
But I do have some ideas.
We got into some … eh, hem … suggestions for the defense yesterday, so now let’s point out some of the problems on the other side of the ball.
Bulls head coach Jim Boylen is running an almost embarrassing show on the offensive end of the court this season. The Bulls have the 28th offensive rating in the NBA as of today, underscored by the fact that the team can barely hit a bucket from anywhere on the court.
The Bulls offense is supposed to generate wide-open 3-pointers, and to its credit, it’s done just that (Chicago has attempted the third-most wide-open 3-pointers in the league). Although, how long can Boylen keep this up if the team isn’t hitting them?
Michael: In a lot of ways, this is just like the defense … there are things to like about the aggressive/blitzing strategy, and in some ways, it actually is working. But when adjustments are screaming to be made based on what’s actually happening on the court, you have to be receptive and show some initiative.
A couple of nights ago, the Bulls shot just 23.1 percent from behind the arc, missing a total of 30 attempts. That’s now the 6th time this season the Bulls have finished a game shooting under 30 percent from 3-point range, yet they’re taking the 8th most attempts per game in the league. Yuck, that’s not a winning formula.
With the team ranked last in buckets from five feet or less, I know it’s difficult to view more work in the paint as a worthy solution, but something clearly needs to change. Whether it’s drawing up more designed plays for a bucket underneath the hoop or even letting Zach LaVine shoot his mid-range shots (I know, testy topic), Boylen can’t have another 9-39 shooting performance from downtown. If the head coach continues to allow this heavy dose of missed 3’s, he’s setting the Bulls up for failure.
In related news, how does Boylen allow Kris Dunn to take five 3-pointers?
Jim Boylen’s lineup that includes Kris Dunn, Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono, Thaddeus Young and Daniel Gafford has now clocked the fifth-most minutes out of any five-man combination. Together, they’re a -18.4 in point differential. I don’t just have one question … I have all of the questions.
Chandler Hutchison was placed in the starting lineup to fill the Otto Porter void, and after he went down with shin splits, guard Shaquille Harrison had to takeover. Harrison has done well, but Hutchison comes with a bigger build and better rebounding capabilities. For some reason, even though Hutchison is supposedly back at full health, it appears he now has to work his way back into the rotation. He was available during the Bulls game against the Charlotte Hornets but didn’t see the floor. Then, in the following blowout loss to the Trail Blazers, he only played approximately 8 minutes. The point here isn’t that Hutchison makes or breaks the Bulls, it’s that Boylen’s lineup decisions seem wishy-washy.
Another area we see this is in the team’s minute distribution. As of now, Zach LaVine is the only Bulls player averaging above 30 minutes per game. Boylen’s trying to give everyone minutes like this is the Celebrity All-Star game (now that I think about it, can we sign Michael B Jordan to a contract?). He has to establish a hierarchy and stick with it.
Also (last thing for now because this post makes me sad), this needs to stop …
NEWSLETTER
