New-Look Chicago Bulls Still Searching for Answers to Old Problems

CHICAGO — Meet the new Chicago Bulls...same as the old Chicago Bulls.

The inconsistent energy, the long scoring droughts, the general burnout—these are all things that were blamed on Tom Thibodeau's uncompromising coaching style. Fred Hoiberg's more player-friendly approach, as well as his more dynamic offensive system, were supposed to put those issues to bed.

So far, that hasn't been the case.

Hoiberg is eternally unflappable, but he was as close to angry as he'll ever be after a 102-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, when the Bulls failed to score a single point in overtime for the first time in franchise history.

"It's tough to fathom how that can even happen," Hoiberg said. "You get 82 opportunities to put your uniform on and go out and play for your teammates and do everything you can to win."

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

This has been the Bulls' story for several seasons—this tendency to play up—or down—to their competition. Chicago gave up 130 points to the offensively challenged Charlotte Hornets, then beat the fully healthy Oklahoma City Thunder on national television and fell apart late against the Timberwolves.

It brings to mind a stretch from last January, when the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena (they were one of only two teams to do so all season) and followed that up with three consecutive losses—two of which came at the hands of non-playoff teams.

"It's just a lack of aggressiveness, a lack of desire, a lack of intensity," Pau Gasol said.

"Those are the things you have to bring every night in the NBA in order to win games. We have to make up our minds going forward about what we want to do, and what team we want to be—if we want to be an up-and-down team, a team that does OK but doesn't really have a chance to win a title. So far, that's what we've been showing." 

Even against a team that is uninterested in fielding a competitive roster, the Bulls had trouble. In Monday night's 111-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, who had 10 active players and were without key big man Nerlens Noel, Chicago spent most of the first half letting an inferior opponent hang around. It gave up almost all of a 31-15 lead during a stretch of the first and second quarters before pulling away in the second half.

"I wish I could give you an answer on why that happens," Hoiberg said. "When I played this game a million years ago, one thing I did was I'd run through a wall every time I stepped on the floor. And we're not doing that on certain nights for whatever reason. And we've got to fix that."

It may be early in the season, with five months to go until the playoffs, but it's never too early for this lack of effort to be a concern, especially for a team whose window to contend is squarely in the present.

"It is right now," Derrick Rose said Monday night. "Even though it's early in the season, it's something that we can stop—something that we're aware of."

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

In an effort to find a fix, Hoiberg has been tinkering endlessly with lineups and rotations. Six games in, he moved Doug McDermott to the starting lineup in place of Tony Snell. He also very nearly benched Nikola Mirotic in favor Joakim Noah for the Sixers game, until Noah tweaked his surgically repaired left knee during warm-ups.

Hoiberg has said consistently that he isn't married to any combination of starters, and the experimentation will continue. The Gasol-Noah combination, something Hoiberg has largely avoided after its mixed results last year, is on the table again.

"We're still learning each other," Rose said. "We're getting more familiar with each other. It's only six or seven games in. Coach is doing a great job of putting us with different groups and lineups. I think this is the worst you'll probably ever see us play."

The Bulls have made those promises before. This is a group with plenty of elite-level talent, and right now it's as healthy as it'll likely ever be. The Bulls have a new coach, but these are players who have been together for several years. They can be better than they've been, and they know it.

"Nobody on this team wants to be an up-and-down team or an average team or a team that strives to make it to the playoffs and then we're out," Gasol said. "We have a lot of talent. It would be a waste if we didn't play better than we are right now."

Said Rose: "We're going to get tired of getting our asses whooped one day."

Until then, they're left searching for answers.

Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.