KC: Zach tired of losing and speaks out

[TheSuzerain]

Look at the Bulls roster going into this season

PG
Dunn - former top five pick, traded Jimmy Butler to get / Payne - a guy you traded two NBA rotation players + a 2nd for just 16 months ago / Archi - two way guy you're trying to see if there's more too

SG
Lavine - a guy you are paying 19MM a year to / Valentine - former lotto pick

SF
Parker - a guy you just gave 20MM / Holliday - a veteran you signed / Hutchinson - a first you just drafted in the previous draft

PF
Lauri - a guy you drafted #7, traded Jimmy Butler to get / Portis - a former first round pick

C
Carter - a guy you literally just drafted #7 / Lopez - a veteran / Felicio - a guy you gave 4/32 last summer

The idea that this team "tried to lose" or "tried to tank" is simply not true. They seriously thought they were going to contend for the playoffs this year. They thought they'd be Brooklyn this year: a random assortment of veterans and young guys playing together. That never happened because a lot of these guys (read: all of them) have shown they're wildly too inconsistent to be considered players on a good team. I've said for years (Taj v Tyrus!) that consistency is the thing that good teams are built on and what you should strive for.

The problem that I have now going forward with this organization is that they've shown no real ability to win without massive, massive luck (getting Derrick Rose as a #9 lotto team). We can argue forever whether or not you can ever win at a high level with Jimmy Butler but there is a floor that Butler takes you to and it is not like you are guaranteed to be there.

This team's "plan" is quite laughable. They show little to no foresight to anything they're doing and their overall team roster construction is some of the most individually based talent with no concern to five man basketball that the current league has. I don't see how this ever changes without falling backwards into a game changer. The tl;dr is that the Bulls are the Process Sixers with way worse lottery odds and by accident.

What teams do win without "massive, massive luck"? CLE lucked into Lebron. GS lucked into Curry, Draymond in the second round, and Klay. OKC lucked into Westbrook and Durant. HOUS lucked into Harden becoming an MVP caliber player. MIL lucked into Giannis.

At some point, unless you are the lakers and can snatch up any huge FA that comes onto the market, you need to acquire that top 3 player, and it's usually in the draft, and its usually just a matter of luck- having the first pick in a year that Lebron or AD comes out, or drafting later and having a player like Curry or Giannis turn out to be huge surprises.

Philadelphia.

The whole point of The Process is that it minimizes the need for luck.

Instead, GarPax basically rebuilt in direct opposition to Hinkie's ideas.

[Leslie Forman]

What teams do win without "massive, massive luck"? CLE lucked into Lebron. GS lucked into Curry, Draymond in the second round, and Klay. OKC lucked into Westbrook and Durant. HOUS lucked into Harden becoming an MVP caliber player. MIL lucked into Giannis.

At some point, unless you are the lakers and can snatch up any huge FA that comes onto the market, you need to acquire that top 3 player, and it's usually in the draft, and its usually just a matter of luck- having the first pick in a year that Lebron or AD comes out, or drafting later and having a player like Curry or Giannis turn out to be huge surprises.

This front office somehow lucked into a borderline top-10 player with the 30th pick…

…and this is the result.

[BloodyQ]

Well maybe if Kris Dunn or Lauri actually tried to improve their games during the Summer all this losing wouldn't have happened huh

[Drellberg]

I am calling it. This is the bottom. I have posted (occasionally) here since 2003. The Bulls have hit bottom. They will get better from here and end the season considerably better.

[the ultimates]

Well maybe if Kris Dunn or Lauri actually tried to improve their games during the Summer all this losing wouldn't have happened huh

Or maybe if Boylen actually runs an offensive system other than slow down they'd be better.

[SHO'NUFF]

LOL I"m sorry this is funny. Zach wanted his own team and complains it loses! What did he think was going to happen? Zach Lavine isn't leading any team out of the lottery.

I think he’s complaining about the way they’re losing & getting blown out by a lot compared to being more competitive earlier in the season not not being blown out by as much....all that while not at full strength beginning of the year.

[Louri]

Zach is only crying ’cause his early season All Star stats are gone. He can’t lead this team to wins. Bull were 3-2 when Lavine was injured. Do the math.

[StunnerKO]

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[MisterRoy]

Dunn went 3-14. That doesn't help. Let's say he makes 5 of those misses, that gives the Bulls 10 more points and who knows what happens to Miamis total.

My point - gotta make shots. Lauri, Lavine and Portis did their job. So did Parker. Dunn? Had an off night...again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[BigUps]

Read on Twitter

[BigUps]

LaVine is averaging career-highs with 22.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists after the Bulls matched the four-year, $78 million offer sheet he signed with the Kings as a restricted free agent. But his free-throw attempts per game have dropped from 7.5 to 6.6 to 4.2 to 4.1 by month this season.

This is it in a nutshell. The team has become so passive on offense that their swagger and confidence is dwindling. Boylen has coached them into a hole and they haven't begun to crawl out of it yet.

[logical_art]

The next time Zach takes a hard foul or dives on the floor will be the first. Act like you're tired of losing - stop just talking about it.

[LateNight]

I mentioned this in another thread, but the Bulls definitely were losing by double digits earlier this season.
The idea that the team was on track to do well under Hoiberg is not true.

DOUBLE DIGIT LOSSES BEFORE BOYLEN:

Oct 18:: 108-127
Oct 26:: 106 - 135
Oct 29:: 124 - 149
Nov 14:: 82 - 111
Nov 16:: 104 - 123
Nov 17:: 83 - 122
Nov 24:: 96 - 111
Nov 30:: 88 - 107
Dec 1:: 105 - 121


The team played 24 games under Hoiberg, and they had double digit losses in 9 of them. As the season goes on and players get more fatigued, it's not surprising that they're continuing to get blown out.

[ZOMG]

People think the Bulls played better early in the season because everyone was excited about Zach scoring 48 per game on 75 shots or something. It was all smoke and mirrors.

Zach is mad now because the first months of the season were like a wet dream for him. He thought he was gunning himself straight into the All Star game.

[kulaz3000]

I find it amusing that one of our better players are speaking out about the team not playing well, and not really being competitive which is something us fans say after every single game, and yet when he says it we find reasons to be critical for it, like he is lying, or because of something absurd like he is saying it now because he isn't playing as well.

He is just speaking the truth, and though other's may not be publicly saying it if they aren't as frustrated if not more, then that would be alarming.

[TheSuzerain]

Zach’s the only one who can speak out like this because of his contract. You can be sure his thoughts are shared by the rest of the team.

[kulaz3000]

Zach’s the only one who can speak out like this because of his contract. You can be sure his thoughts are shared by the rest of the team.

I'd be extremely disappointed if the other's didn't feel the same way. Honestly, I would like it if Lauri shared the same sentiments publicly.

[ZOMG]

Zach’s the only one who can speak out like this because of his contract. You can be sure his thoughts are shared by the rest of the team.

I'd be extremely disappointed if the other's didn't feel the same way. Honestly, I would like it if Lauri shared the same sentiments publicly.

What would that accomplish? Taking stuff like this to the press is simply a way of avoiding responsibility. The media won't help you or the team. The only result is that you look like a guy who insinuates that the problem is everyone else, not you.

[kulaz3000]

Zach’s the only one who can speak out like this because of his contract. You can be sure his thoughts are shared by the rest of the team.

I'd be extremely disappointed if the other's didn't feel the same way. Honestly, I would like it if Lauri shared the same sentiments publicly.

What would that accomplish? Taking stuff like this to the press is simply a way of avoiding responsibility. The media won't help you or the team. The only result is that you look like a guy who insinuates that the problem is everyone else, not you.

I don't agree, he is accepting fault because he stated that he is part of the problem, and they need to collectively figure a way out of this slump they are in.

[kyrv]

Somewhat of a non-story, from what I read of it. You don't want players who like losing. He, from what I saw, wasn't throwing coaches/teammates/FO under the bus. You don't imo want guys like Lavine to be happy getting big bucks and tons of shots and winning, nice, but not important.