Rajon Rondo Comments on Bulls' Commitment, Work Ethic and More

Through 28 games of the 2016-17 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls are 14-14 and currently sitting in a tie for the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. 

For a roster that includes star guards in Jimmy Butler alongside veterans Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, it's an underwhelming start considering the lack of strength in the East. 

And it's bothering Rondo, as he spoke with the media Thursday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

"

This isn't college. We don't have to go to class, you don't have to wake up at 6 in the morning and do other things. Our job is to play basketball. I feel like, certain individuals are different from others. We might need to spend a little more time learning the playcalling or learning defensive schemes, whatever we need to do. This is our only job. Young, experienced or not, we have enough older guys, we have enough coaches on the staff that do a great job on the scouting report to get us ready for the gameplan. We just have to stay disciplined to do it.

"

His comments come less than a week after Butler tried to instill some tough love among his teammates amid a Bulls slump.

"You don’t need to sit in a circle and hold each other’s hands and talk about all that," Butler said, per Joe Cowley of Chicago Sun-Times. "We don’t talk that much on the floor, and that’s where the problems begin. We need to be vocal. We don’t need to sit in a circle and pat each other on the back."

The Bulls have lost four of their last five games, including a 107-97 loss to the 13-15 Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. 

In fact, each of those four losses have come against teams with losing records, most notably two in a row to their division-rival Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 15 and 16; the Bulls' fourth-quarter struggles continue to lose them games.

It's prompted Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune to label the team as "Slow. And. Bad. In. The. Fourth. Quarter." which "Happens. To. Old. And. Bad. Teams."

As the point guard and offensive facilitator, some of that blame will fall on the 30-year-old Rondo, who leads the team with 7.3 assists per game. But for a team that had aspirations of being a top-four unit in the East at the beginning of the season, the entire roster will have to step up if Chicago wants to be a real contender this season.