By: Faisal Quyyumi, contributing intern (@_faisalquyyumi)

In a tightly knit Eastern Conference, any of the top 11 seeds have the possibility of making the playoffs. The Chicago Bulls have an advantage sitting at the 4th seed trailing only the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. Despite an impressive start to the season, they have lost the past two games, and five of their past nine games. After Friday’s quadruple overtime loss against the Detroit Pistons, Jimmy Butler was asked about dropping a career-high 43 points and his answer was simple, “I don’t care”. Butler understands that it no longer matters if he torches the opposing defense if his team does not win the game.

For any All-Star caliber athlete it is has become almost basic knowledge that it is more okay to have a poor shooting night and contribute in other aspects of the game to help lead their team to a victory. Newly acquired head coach Fred Hoiberg was hired to takeover the unfinished duties of former coach Tom Thibodeau on June 2nd, 2015 on a contact worth $25 million over 5 years. As a first time NBA coach, Hoiberg has lead the Bulls in impressive victories over the Cavaliers, Thunder, Pacers, and Spurs. However, to counter their success, the Bulls have faced defeat at the hands of the Suns (9th seed), Celtics (10th seed), Timberwolves (11th seed), and Knicks (11th seed). And because of the Bulls recent woes, Butler has audaciously voiced his concerns.

After an embarrassing loss to the Knicks on Saturday, Jimmy Butler stated that the Chicago Bulls “have to be coached a lot harder at times” and that head coach Hoiberg has to do a better job at getting “on guys” for lackadaisical play. The Bulls in-game discrepancy is constantly showing as they rank in the bottom five offenses, but remain a top five defense.

On Sunday, the two sat down for more than an hour trying to resolve any issues amongst themselves. After Monday morning’s shoot-around came to an end, Butler immediately confronted the media stating that he does not regret his comments from Saturday. Nonetheless, he’s slowly starting to accept being the franchise player and that he has to “lead better”. Then coach Hoiberg followed up on Sunday’s meeting between the two stating, “I had a great talk with Jimmy yesterday.”

On Monday night, the Bulls are up against the struggling Brooklyn Nets (7-20), and although head coach Fred Hoiberg may remain soft-spoken, it is important for him to assert his dominance.

 

Photo credit: Fansided.com