Things can change rather quickly in the NBA. A team can look completely hopeless in one month to dominant in the next (Detroit Pistons come to mind). Conversely, a team can look absolutely dominant in one month but can go through a rough stretch where questions begin to pile up.
The Chicago Bulls have been a good example of the latter: after starting the season 25-10 and looking like one of the top teams in the league, they have dropped six of their last eight games and are now 7 1/2 games behind the conference leading Atlanta Hawks.
The Bulls looked relatively lifeless on Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road and suffered their second consecutive loss 108-94. No one in the starting lineup shot better than 40 percent from the field (Taj Gibson shot four-of-10 from the field) and Pau Gasol was dominated by Timofey Mozgov, who had 15 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
After the contest, Michael Wilbon of ESPN was at it again about the Bulls after ripping them last week.
How quickly things change in the NBA…Cavs on the move up…Bulls are about the 6th best team in the East last 2 weeks…if that…
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) January 20, 2015
To be fair, the Toronto Raptors have also looked pretty bad over the past couple of weeks – they’ve only won three of the last 10 games. It’s also worth mentioning that Joakim Noah has missed the last three games (two of them losses) due to a sprained ankle.
The Bulls will have to figure things out on the fly as they try to get fully healthy for a prolonged stretch. Until then, there is still half a season left to play, so it’s probably too early to come to any conclusions.
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Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
I love it when the main stream sports media think they know everything. It wasn’t long ago that everyone was convinced that the Bulls were going to be playing in the EC Finals, and that the Cavs had no chance of going to the Finals.
Injuries play a HUGE part in the NBA (Noah for the Bulls and LeBron for the Cavs). Its looking like replacing Varejao with Mozgov is working. Of course its no surprise that Cavs need LeBron to win. As long as they peak before the playoffs, and are healthy, don’t assume LeBron won’t win his 3rd championship. There is still a chance they can add to their team. Andrei Kirilenko should be desiring to play for David Blatt, before the trade deadline. He’s still a great defensive player, and that is what Cavs need. He’s been working out in Brooklyn, until his wife delivers.
Meanwhile ATL has had no real injuries, and I understand that their starting Five has played well over 500 minutes together.
A couple of years ago, IND had no real injuries, and they had the best record in the East.