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Ask Sam | Sam Smith opens his mailbag | 12.19.2014

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

By Sam Smith | 12.19.2014 | 11:00 a.m. CT

It’s understandable that Rose still has rust and is inconsistent. What I don’t understand are some of his post game comments. Rose sounds like a rookie with the I should or shouldn’t have. The guy was the MVP and has well over 300 games in the league. The repeated statement of his adjustment to his time away are reasonable but he certainly should not have forgotten how to read and properly react to various game situations. It’s starting to sound like a mental as well as a physical challenge which is reinforced by his self convincing statements of how good he feels. Should we reasonably expect to see a “normal” Rose (whatever that might be) at the All-Star break?
John Petersen

Well maybe Aldridge had the very hot hands in the Bulls and Blazers game. I mean, how do you stop that guy? But I think what's more interesting is Derrick Rose and Damian Lillard. Whatcha think of both of these guys? Both are great inside-outside players. Although Derrick is better at driving to the basket and Damian is better at shooting three pointers. Given that Rose inspired Lillard and both their games are pretty much similar, personally, I think this is a match-up worth watching more than any other point guard Rose is going up against.
Josiah Regencia

I understand Kirk was hot last night (Atlanta), I believe he was 0-7 from the floor to be exact, but why not go with Dunleavy down the stretch? We were trailing and needed points. Didn't make much sense to me.
Billy Habibi

I must say Mirotic has given this team much more than I thought he would this season. Yes, he still has a lot to learn. But I'd love to see him on the floor more with Rose. A true stretch 4 Rose has never had. I know Thibs could never pull Noah or Pau from the starting line up. But as great as Noah is in so many aspects, he can really clog the lane sometimes. And we have all noticed the slow starts in the 1st Q. Niko screening for Rose would create a lot of easy baskets. Hopefully in the future. Thibs has a lot of different options and line ups to close out games now.
Phillip Bracero

With the departure of Deng I figured it was only natural that Jimmy would basically take his spot, with a similar focus on defense, size and all around game. But besides the fact that nobody could have anticipated Jimmy's rise to becoming a serious offensive threat, I think the guy is Dunleavy. I was never a fan of his (and still a bit stung that we let Marco go) but after his defense made Lebron and Carmelo work those first couple games, and how he always seems to impact the game in a lot of ways, he's clearly earned the right as a legit starter, even though he'll play with the bench guys a lot. I never thought I'd say he was as tough as Taj, Kirk or Jimmy.
Elijah Humble

Do I remember correctly that Tony Snell was really coming along at the beginning of the season? I almost want to say he was filling the role expected of McDermott, but with better defense and perhaps slightly less accuracy on the threes. I was really looking forward to seeing him continue to develop. Are there some aspects of his game I haven't noticed that have led to his lack of playing time?
Brian Becker

I’ve never said a negative thing about Thibs since he’s been a Bulls coach. When talking to others, I’ve always defended him about the player minutes and about how he manages players. This year however, I think that he is doing a mediocre job. He can’t reign in Derrick Rose with his sporadic defense and lazy passes, as well as his three point barrage (averaging six attempts per game at 28%). That’s a horrendous percentage with so many attempts. And Thibs hasn’t found an effective or consistent method to getting some of his better players minutes (McDermott & Mitotic). Also, Taj Gibson doesn’t want to play off the bench anymore. These are the reasons the Bulls are a middle of the road team in the East. I love the way that Thibs praises his players, but he is slacking in other areas of coaching, such as player development and management of his veterans. It’s as if the players have gotten comfortable with Thibs and his rhetoric and are starting to do their own thing regardless of what he says. Do you think this is a Championship team? I say no way. Not unless they shake things up and make a few trades.
Yuriy Fomin

A really interesting story is to see if Phil Jackson can do the front office thing. He was a good player and for sure a superb coach, but front office is different. I'm not automatically buying the idea that just because someone is good at one thing that same person is good at something entirely different. Maybe he is, but it's not the same job. There's real risk there for Jackson. Good for him that he didn't back down. Agreed that is a woeful roster if what you want is to play the basketball that Jackson has in mind.
Pete Zievers

It was great to see Derrick smiling during the game in Miami. It looked like they were giving Lu the business. Hopefully he can go back to having a little fun, take some of the weight off of his shoulders.
Jim Harlan

Two steps forward, I take two steps back... was that classic song by Paula Abdul written towards the 2014-15 Chicago Bulls? Man give me a break. This has been the most frustrating team to watch this season. We are meant to be contending yet are not far off .500. Don't give me this 'the bulls are working in new players' rubbish either too please. Gasol has arrived and been our best player, Brooks very solid off the bench. My boy Jimmy outstanding! As for the others, wow inconsistent to say the least. When is this team going to wake up and start playing to it's potential?
Andrew Brown