The Bernstein Brief: Now The Bulls Need A Players-Only Meeting?
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) After yet another overtime choke job in a 105-96 loss to the Jazz on Monday night, Derrick Rose now says the Bulls need a players-only meeting.
Who's doing the talking? Him?
Rose had us all Googling Utah's Raul Neto on Monday, as the little Brazilian rookie guard was buzzing by him to score an NBA career-high 14 points. By all means, Derrick, please lecture everybody else. I'm sure they can't wait to hear what you think they have to do, as you and Jimmy Butler take turns dominating the ball while everybody else watches and then not guarding anybody.
Half the time Rose speaks, nobody can understand what he's saying or why he's saying it anyway, so that would be perfect. Indeed, let's hear from the guy ranked 82nd out of 84 NBA point guards in Real Plus-Minus and is always one next awkward landing away from "listening to his body" again.
Perhaps Butler should talk, seeing as he's the self-proclaimed leader of this outfit that's now 26-21 and 11-13 since mid-December. He already emasculated the new coach, publicly and completely, so let him have the responsibility. Butler's the guy who told Fred Hoiberg to "coach harder," then ignored him when he actually did -- Hoiberg tried to install his quick-passing offense, but Butler vetoed it for more isolations and turn-taking possessions. Or Butler can have movie star Mark Wahlberg lecture the Bulls, if Jimmy's busy having another one of his emotional moments when he disappears from a game in which his team needs him to score.
I think Gordon Hayward just blew by Butler again for another dunk.
Pau Gasol loves to talk. He's wonderful at it, in fact. He's always available to decry his team's lack of effort on the defensive end. If we could only figure out in whom he's so consistently disappointed, we'd be onto something. Gasol's not going to be here long, so perhaps he's got a good motivational speech in him before he shops around for a new team.
Possibly the animated corpse of Kirk Hinrich has a thought, or maybe Dougie McWindburn does, if he can take time away from trying to find his man. I know -- he was there a second ago! Where could he have gone? Oh.
Joakim Noah could stand there in the locker room, just screaming and clapping like a deranged, hirsute sea lion. Would that make the Bulls better at basketball?
Let's get this meeting started. Then when it's over, they can unlock the door and let Fred back in.
Fred?
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
