Everyone is in full on panic mode about the Bulls, and on some level that is understandable.  It’s never fun to watch your team lose 4 straight.  The problem is that some combination of raised expectations, a lack of understanding about the Bulls schedule, poor shooting, and of course Rose’s bum ankle (or confidence, but probably the ankle) has made people stop thinking straight.

Let’s look at the facts:

• The Bulls have the 2nd toughest schedule in the NBA so far this season, with opposing teams having a combined .593 winning percentage.
• They have played 9 of their 14 games on the road, 5 of which have come on this west coast trip.
• The Bulls are shooting just 43% from the field as a team, with most of the players shooting WAY below their career averages.
• The Bulls are extremely thin up front with injuries to Gray and Tyrus, leaving Noah, Miller, and Gibson to shoulder most of the load.

6-8 at this point in the season is exactly where the Bulls want to be.  If you were expecting them to win about 40 games (or if you expected less, then this point is even more correct), how are you disappointed with 6-8 through one of the toughest stretches of their schedule all season?  In fact, shortly after predicting the Bulls would win 40-something games and seeing how tough their schedule was, I said this about the October/November schedule way back in August:

Not only do the Bulls play the Spurs, C’s, Heat, Cavs and Nuggets, those games don’t even include the wonderful 6-game road trip lovingly known as the Circus Trip.  With 9 of 13 on the road in November, and 10 of the first 15 against playoff teams, if the Bulls win 6-7 games out of these first 15 they will be in good shape.  Yeah, its that tough.

That was before we thought the Bulls would all of a sudden forget how to shoot.  Now we have a defense as well that was unexpected.  If the shooting comes around (which it will, we can at least expect that guys like Hinrich and Salmons will get back to near or at their career averages), the Bulls will still be on pace to win 40-43.

"But Doc! If the Bulls don't win 72 games every year, I'm not going to be a fan!" "Okay Marty, then we'll name the Delorean 'The Bandwagon' and take it back to 1996! Get in! Hurry!"

The other issue here is expectations.  How are people disappointed with the Bulls losing to 4 teams that are clearly better than them?  Did you expect the Bulls to be a legitimate contender in the East this year?  If you did, you are an idiot.  What we were all hoping and expecting is to see improvement from Rose, a resurgence for Deng, a step forward from the young big men (Noah and Tyrus), about 42 wins, and maybe a few wins in the 1st round of the playoffs.  A team that is hoping for those results should not disappoint you when they lose to the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers and Jazz all on the road.

Here is a suggestion for Bulls fans that are disappointed with anything less than 6 championships in 8 years.  Buy a Delorean.  Install a flux-capacitor in said vehicle.  Obtain some weapons-grade plutonium.  Then drive the vehicle until it hits 88 mph and head back to the mid-1990s.  That is pretty much the only way you people will be satisfied.  If you somehow do pull this off, please stop by and pick me up first though.  I would love to re-live the Bulls glory years.

As the new Bulls season approaches, we can all excited about a few things: the arrival of Derrick Rose as a superstar, Tyrus Thomas finally reaching his potential, Noah taking a step forward, Deng coming back full strength, and others.  But there is one thing the makes me dread the upcoming season, and that thing is Vinny Del Negro.

Vinny proved to be a terrible coach in many ways last season.  His inability to draw up plays during timeouts, make halftime adjustments, get his players to play team defense, and put together any semblance of an offensive system or philosophy was extremely detrimental to the team’s success night after night.  As a rookie coach with a budding young superstar point guard, handing Rose the keys and just saying “go” was somewhat acceptable and may have helped Rose to feel his way out on the court.  This year is going to have to be different, however.  And according to John Jackson at the Sun-Times, it will be:

But Del Negro also did a lot of things right last season. I was especially impressed with the way he worked with the team’s young players and got them to improve as the season went along. He did a very good job getting Derrick Rose ready to play from the start of the season and also had a positive effect on Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.

Fans don’t get a chance to see a coach work with players in practice, so I can understand why most Bulls fans had a negative opinion of Del Negro. All they saw were the games and there were too many mistakes to have any other opinion.

I know it’s just the preseason, but I’ve noticed a change in Del Negro so far. The year of experience seems to have made a big difference. He’s more confident and isn’t as defensive. He’s been very organized and the team got a lot accomplished in the first two weeks of camp. Barring any major injuries over the next three weeks, the Bulls should be prepared for a fast start in the regular season.

Boy that Vinny Del Negro sounds like a great assistant coach doesn’t he?  He was able to motivate Noah and allow Rose to improvise and be creative last season, and he sure can get those Bulls to be organized in practice.  As far as a head coach goes? It would have been nice for him to gain this experience and confidence from farther down the bench instead of throwing him, and the Bulls, into the fire.

Oh and another thing, I don’t know about this whole fast start thing.  This Oct/Nov schedule does not look pretty for the Bulls.

Thu 29	vs San Antonio	7:00pm			ESPN Radio 1000
Fri 30	@ Boston	7:00pm	WGN		ESPN Radio 1000
November	Opponent	Time	Local TV	Nat TV	Radio
Sun 01	@ Miami	5:00pm	CSN-Chicago		ESPN Radio 1000
Tue 03	vs Milwaukee	7:00pm	CSN-Chicago		ESPN Radio 1000
Thu 05	@ Cleveland	7:00pm			ESPN Radio 1000
Sat 07	vs Charlotte	7:00pm		WGN America	ESPN Radio 1000
Tue 10	vs Denver	7:00pm	CSN-Chicago		ESPN Radio 1000
Wed 11	@ Toronto	6:00pm	WCIU		ESPN Radio 1000
Sat 14	vs Philadelphia	7:00pm	CSN-Chicago		ESPN Radio 1000
Tue 17	@ Sacramento	9:00pm	WGN		ESPN Radio 1000
Thu 19	@ LA Lakers	9:30pm			ESPN Radio 1000
Sat 21	@ Denver	8:00pm	WGN		ESPN Radio 1000
Mon 23	@ Portland	9:00pm	WGN		ESPN Radio 1000
Thu 26	@ Utah	9:30pm	WGN		ESPN Radio 1000
Mon 30	@ Milwaukee	7:00pm	CSN-Chicago		ESPN Radio 1000

10 out of the first 15 on the road, and 10 out of the first 15 against playoff teams? Ouch.  Also, if the Bulls get off to a slow start, you have to think Vinny’s job would be in jeopardy. It just doesn’t look good for Vinny Del Crapo.