Another confusing Bulls week

December 13th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

I like watching the Bulls in sweet, sweet HD as much as the next guy, but sometimes I can’t take the confusion. (Other times, Comcast broadcasts in 1080i or something, which totally bugs my TV out when everyone gets moving quickly.) Tyrus Thomas is a stud, turns the ball over once, and then gets promptly benched. Joakim Noah impresses in brief flashes, and then spends long periods cheering from the fifth seat on the bench. Ben Gordon is inefficient, Kirk Hinrich’s Roland Rating is in the gutter (nor can he hit a shot to save his life), and in general the Bulls are devoid of all the small pleasures they engendered throughout their recent resurgence.

There are problems here, but they are hard to pinpoint. Why are these Bulls — who have a core unit that should be on the uphill side of their careers — regressing? Is it possible to even have an explanation? Probably not, at least not this early.

So it may not be a perfect solution, but something’s got to give, and that something might need to be Scott Skiles. It makes sense that the Bulls — especially Hinrich, and hopefully Ben Wallace — will eventually play better as a whole, but in the meantime Skiles’ incessant lineup trickery is like scratching a rash. There is no excuse for Joe Smith and Ben Wallace to be on the floor at the same time ever, let alone for long stretches. In the past, Wallace’s energy and intuitive play led to consistent rebounding and defensive contributions. Now that player is Noah, thought Wallace still steals the minutes. And, at this point, to deprive Thomas of valuable developmental time — what else is there to lose? — just seems stubborn.

Stubborn sounds like Scott Skiles, and it might be time to cut the man loose before he tinkers the Bulls into the lottery. Or, failing that, into an Eastern Conference eighth seed, which would be even worse.