Talent - Wins = Goodbye, Coach Skiles

Is it just me, or is Scott Skiles a bad coach?

Is it just me, or is John Paxson a scared GM?

And is it just me, or are the Bulls a talented team that doesn't know how to win?

I have to wonder how a team that wins 49 games one year can struggle so badly the next season with the same corps of players, regardless of how much the league—and especially, the Eastern Conference—has improved.

This team should not be hammered by a Raptors team led by an average Chris Bosh. This team should not be run over by a Lakers squad, with Derek Fisher handing them their heads.

Why isn't Jameson Curry even dressing for games?  Why is the offense running through Joe Smith? And where did Luol Deng go?

These are questions that must be addressed by the coaching staff, and Paxson needs to demand quality answers from Skiles.

The Bulls have started slowly every year under Skiles—however, the Bulls would usually return from their West Coach/Circus trip in early December and tear up an easy schedule until the All Star Break.

But guess what? This year's December schedule is not so easy. And even if it were, what excuse is there for a professional team to start every season in the garbage can, and then be forced to climb furiously out of it?

A good NBA coach should have his squad ready to go on Halloween, and not seek a Christmas miracle or make a New Year's Resolution to play better basketball.

This team reminds me of the Bulls in the late 1980s. That team had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and some of the pieces necessary to make a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, they lacked stamina and could not beat the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

Am I agitating for Kobe Bryant? Well, yes and no. Even if Kobe came to Chicago, it is unlikely he could co-exist with Skiles and Paxson.

Although the current leadership has gotten the Bulls this far, it's time to bring in the guys who can take this team back to the promised land. Guys who will make on the fly changes. Guys who will take risks. Guys who at least seem to know what they are doing.

And most importantly—guys who have a desire to win, fire in their bellies, and the intensity necessary to intimidate and strongarm any team in the league.

I noticed during a Pistons game how Detroit plays with strength and interior power. They have the confidence and will to play their type of basketball, and make their opponent play it too—whether the opposing team wants to or not.

The Bulls don't have that kind of attitude. They don't scare people.

They play a bad, jump-shooting, collegiate style of basketball.

Can you imagine what will happen on December 8th, if the Bulls haven't made any changes by the time the Celtics come to Chicago? The Boston Tea Party and Chicago Fire will seem like a quiet afternoon sip with a book of matches in comparison.

It's this simple: Look around the NBA and show me a team with the same level of talent as the Bulls that would not have their coach and GM on the hot seat in this situation.