Bulls Breakdown: Nothing But Bull in Chicago

The Bulls' staple offensive sequence starts with Kirk Hinrich feeding a forward at the elbow, then cutting to the basket. A wing then comes in for a handoff leading to a screen/roll. The set worked last year, because the Bulls had a handful of forwards who could set the screen, fake a handoff, then unleash an elbow jumper.

With deadeye big men like P.J. Brown and Malik Allen no longer on the roster, though, opponents can sag into the middle and choke off the screen/rolls .

Nor do the Bulls have a legitimate post-up threat.

Nor do Gordon, Deng, and Hinrich have the right combination of athleticism and strength to be true franchise players.

The Pistons more or less handed the Bulls the win Friday. Detroit was lethargic throughout, yielding 16 offensive rebounds in the first half—including eight for Smith and seven Wallace.

To their credit, the Pistons were able to abuse Hinrich, Duhon, and Gordon by forcing them to chase Rip Hamilton through screens, or or to defend the bigger Piston guards in the post.

Unfortunately, Flip Saunders used Chauncey Billups only sparingly in the post before the fourth quarter.

The only other positive for Chicago was Nocioni's ability to create his own offense at the 4—taking Antonio McDyess off the dribble, slipping screens for jump shots, and making timely passes for layups.

Maybe Gordon and Deng should be shipped out so Kobe Bryant can play around the No-man?

It couldn't hurt, because as it stands the Bulls lack the firepower to win games.

Hustle, energy, and ball movement can only take a team so far. In Chicago’s case, that "so far" looks like 13th place in the Eastern Conference.

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