The Bulls fired Bill Cartwright today after starting the season 4-10. There is still a lot of games left to turn things around, especially in the weak Eastern Conference. But is Pete Myers the man for the job? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
The Bulls have a lot of talent but generally play stupid basketball. That’s a combination that will get any coach fired. But the overall problem with the Bulls is that the talent doesn’t fit together. It would make the most sense for the Bulls to try and take advantage of their inside strength by feeding the ball into Curry and Fizer with Tyson Chandler crashing the boards. In Cartwright’s defense, Chandler and Fizer have missed games with injuries. But even so, the strategy would be hard to implement with perimeter players, such as Rose and Crawford, handling the ball. These guys shoot first, and then shoot some more. It’s also distressing to watch Donyell Marshall, Pippen and Gill, jack up jump shots repeatedly, as none of these players can be considered “shooters”.
Of the bunch, Crawford has probably been the biggest disappointment. He might be the most talented player on the team, but has no concept of “team”. The worst thing that can usually happen to the Bulls is for Crawford to get off to a hot start. Because he will then proceed to put up ill-advised shots for the rest of the game. That’s why Cartwright had to insert Hinrich into the starting line up even though he isn’t nearly ready for such a role. But at least Hinrich attempts to get the ball down low. And Crawford is so stupid he’s at a loss to explain why he’s been pulled from starting lineup. Maybe its because you take shot after shot without even passing the ball once. Do you not know what a point guard does? Do you think you're Michael Jordan? Even Michael would work within the framework of the offense until the closing minutes of the game. Do you not see a correlation between losing and poor shot selection? Do you know what a poor shot is? But I digress.
Role players like Hinrich (if he can cut down on the turnovers) are probably what this team will need to win. But with the ability to score from all five positions, the current roster had the potential to be a good team. Cartwright was ultimately resposnsible for trying get things to work. But I'm not sure anyone is up to the task of getting Rose or Crawford to pass the ball. That's why Paxson will be trying to unload both of them before the season ends.