NBA teams
Scoop Jackson, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Time for Bulls to feel desperation

NBA, Chicago Bulls

You can't lie: There is doubt.

Even after the way everything seemed to fall into place right before the All-Star break, there's still that aura of skepticism that won't disappear whenever you drift back into that Chicago Bulls state of mind you hope will be with you until -- at the least -- June.

A four-game win streak, one that includes (finally) a win at home over LeBron and the Cavs without Jimmy Butler (note: Cleveland played without Kevin Love, so the playing field was level at best) and moving themselves into the three spot in the Eastern Conference, the rumors of Tom Thibodeau's demise silenced for the moment, and the strongest possibility of any point during the season that the starting lineup will be in full effect for the final 28 games of the season.

So the backend begins. Enter the 28 chambers.

But the doubt is still there. Until Derrick Rose had those recent, back-to-back-to-back OG Derrick Rose-like games, the lingering concern -- at least for me -- was the Bulls no longer had that one player who could or was willing to take over games in the end and straight will victories in games the team had no reason winning or, more importantly, losing.

They were missing that IDGAD player who seemed to take losses personally and was going to make sure that if the Bulls were to lose, no one in the locker room afterward could look at him and say any part of that loss was his responsibility.

Basically, they were missing what we like to call "a dog." (And those who know know the exact character of player I'm speaking about).

At least, that is what I believed. That's what I was going into the second half of the season thinking was the missing link, even as it seemed the Bulls were getting their swag back. But various members of the team assured me that, though not totally flawed, my premise was inaccurate.

"It's deeper than that," I was told. Along with, "Oh trust [me], Pooh [Rose] is still that dog. You'll see."

Or as Nazr Mohammed said, "We got us a dog. We got us a couple of dogs."

A healthy starting lineup playing all at the same time for an extended period of time would help. Bulls starters have only played 15 of the 54 games together this season. Their record as a unit: 12-3.

It was Mohammed who put my thoughts, beliefs and theory of what this Bulls team was missing in place.

"There's nothing in particular that we need. It's more of us not having that focus and desperation, along with the understanding of what it really takes to win a championship," Mohammed said. "So many people talk about 'They want a championship,' but it takes so much sacrifice on a nightly basis. It takes the attention to detail, the scouting reports ..."

As he tails off, he comes back with two words that get to the core of what the Bulls really need to make the remaining 28 games more like the past four (discount that underachieving win over Orlando) than the 15 games before. Those two words are "focus" and "consistency."

No dogs necessary.

"We've shown that we can do it two nights in a row," Mohammed said, almost in support of Michael Wilbon's consistently inconsistent theory of the Bulls. "But can we do it [for] three? Four? Can we do it for full games? Four quarters for 48 minutes? We've shown we can do it for 30 minutes, but can we do it for 48? I think that is what we are really missing -- just understanding the focus, that locked-in focus, that focus and sacrifice. And that thought of, 'Yo, this s--- may not happen again, being on a team like this.'"

Cleveland's recent turnaround, I was told, has become a classic example of what the Bulls must continue to do in order to survive, advance and succeed on the highest level for the remainder of the season. They must continue to sacrifice and pay attention to the details of each game and each assignment. They must continue to commit to the changes made, to sticking to pick-and-rolls and to moving the ball more fluidly and with greater purpose on offense.

All the things the Cavs have been doing over the past month, all the things the Bulls seem to have finally caught on to, were on display in Chicago's victory over Cleveland on the Thursday before the break. But until they show they've turned that corner, until they can stop underachieving or playing below what they are capable of, the doubt of what they are missing will still exist.

Underdog mentality? Gone. The Bulls no longer have to have that attitude. That "next man up" mentality they were forced to carry over the past two seasons doesn't work when there's no place or need for the next man to ball. How do you inherit a character trait that is not hereditary? DNA that doesn't regenerate? Falsify a fingerprint?

Their playbook does not have a silver lining. But their end game does.

As for the tenacity I believed was void, Thibodeau shot down my "There is an 'I' in win" philosophy as only he could.

"Tenacity comes from working together," he said.

And said no more.

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