It's getting old isn't it?  The Bulls played tough and fought hard through three quarters Tuesday night in the United Center.  But it seems that a new president isn't enough to change the Bulls luck when it comes to performing in the clutch.

There was plenty of blame to go around on this night.  The Bulls four guards combined for 13 turnovers and none were bigger than when Derrick Rose threw a pass away with the Bulls trailing by four with two minutes remaining.  It was a struggle all night long for Rose who ended up with 13 points and four assists.

But no player epitomizes the Bulls fourth quarter ineptitude quite like Lou Deng.  The 71 million dollar man usually is nowhere to be found late in the game.  On this night he at least tried to score a few times down the stretch.  Unfortunately he missed on two big possessions.

It isn't so much that Deng is underachieving, which he most certainly is, it's that he isn't even a player the opponent needs to be concerned about in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls are proving that they can play with the best teams in the league.  Unfortunately they just can't beat anyone when push comes to shove. Derrick Rose has shown that he will most likely develop into a clutch, go to player.  It might be hard for him to achieve that when he has no one to learn from on the Bulls.

Ben Gordon was the only one who showed up tonight in the fourth quarter, but he can be just as much as a non-factor in any given fourth quarter.  Kirk Hinrich always seems a little too jazzed up to make big plays down the stretch.  And as for the 71 million dollar man, well, he seems to only punch the clock for three quarters.