ESPN.com - NBA - Bulls: No closer to any contention at all

For every NBA team that is on a roll, there is a team that isn't. That's why we need the doctor -- Dr. Jack Ramsay. Each week in Dr. Jack's Prescription, the Hall of Fame coach will analyze a team in distress, and offer a cure to what ails them.

This week: Chicago Bulls


	Mercer


	Brand

The Symptoms
The Bulls have the worst record in the NBA (8-41) but have won two straight games after ending the longest losing streak in franchise history (16 straight). Their record over the last three seasons is 38-143. In that time span, they've won fewer games than the championship Bulls teams lost (43) in the previous 3-year period.

This year's Bulls average the lowest point total (86.6) in the league; they shoot the third-lowest field goal percentage (.422); and are last in rebounds per game (38.7). Those aren't good indicators by any means, but there are other teams in the NBA, like Miami and New York, who don't score a lot of points, nor shoot a high field goal percentage, nor collect volume numbers of rebounds -- but yet win because they defend well.

But the Bulls are also deficient in that category. They allow the second-highest field goal percentage to opponents (.464) and the No. 8 highest points (96.7). The combination of an unproductive offense and a porous defense is lethal. No team can win with those attributes.

Another negative factor for the Bulls is the high number of young, inexperienced players on their roster. Seven rookies and four second-year players have seen action for Chicago this season. It's difficult to win in the NBA with that number of youngsters. The pro game is so different from college or international basketball, that it takes at least a couple of years for recent graduates to adapt to it. It's possible to absorb one or possibly two rookies into the player rotation of a playoff caliber team ... but more than that is counter-productive.


	Pippen


	Harper

There's a heavy distribution of veteran players on most championship teams. The starters on the Bulls 1998 NBA Champions (Michael Jordan, Ron Harper, Luc Longley, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen) averaged about 34 years of age and 12 years of experience. There's an old adage in the NBA -- "Rookies who get a lot of playing time only get the coach fired." I hope that doesn't happen in Chicago. I happen to think that Tim Floyd is a good coach.

The Diagnosis
The future health of the Chicago franchise is uncertain at best. The timetable set by General Manager Jerry Krause to rebuild the Bulls in the post-Jordan era would have the team back in contention by now. Obviously that is not the case. Krause counted heavily on the franchise's ability to lure top-level free agents to the Windy City. Instead, his team is getting blown away.

The free agents that Krause counted on signing -- Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady -- went elsewhere. The only free agents he was able to sign were well-traveled 2-guard Ron Mercer, and journeyman big man Brad Miller. Mercer, playing with his fourth team in as many years, brought a 16 ppg average with him; Miller averaged 7 ppg and 4 rpg in 15 minutes of play at Charlotte.


	Miller

Mercer, the most experienced member of the team, averages 20 ppg and, along with outstanding big forward Elton Brand (20 ppg, 10.5 rpg), gives Coach Floyd the only consistent scorers he can count on. Also, 6-6 swingman Ron Artest gets about 11 ppg, but shoots only 41 percent and pulls but 4 rebounds. The rest of the squad is even more inconsistent.

Floyd shuffles his lineup frequently looking for a productive combination he can stick with. But of the 12 players that have appeared as starters this season, eight of them shoot under 40 percent from the field; there's not a capable center on the roster; and none of the point guards possesses the necessary skills to do the job at both ends of the floor.

Without solid defense, the Bulls are usually in a catch-up game -- one ill-suited to the skill level of its scorers. Brand and Mercer put up consistent numbers every game, Artest makes a contribution; and the others make a noble effort, but there's not enough scoring talent to make the Bulls a truly competitive team.


	Drew


	Hoiberg

Good team defense begins at the perimeter. Mercer is only adequate in that category, and there's not a good enough defender among all the point guards -- Bryce Drew, Khalid El-Amin, Jamal Crawford or Fred Hoiberg and A.J. Guyton, who sometimes play that position.

Brand, the team's best shotblocker (1.9 bpg), and Artest work hard on defense; but Miller and rookies Dragan Tarlac, Dalibor Bagaric and Jake Voskuhl lack the skills and/or experience required of a starting center on a competitive NBA team ... despite Krause's contention that the 27-year old rookie Tarlac "is a very smart basketball player who has great fundamentals." ( So far this season, Dragan has averaged 15 minutes of playing time, scored 2.4 ppg and taken down 2.9 rebounds.)

Another factor that may hinder the Bulls' chances of winning more consistently is the triangle offense it uses. It is said to be a "democratic offense" ... there are shots for everybody. But if the team has only two viable scorers, it wastes opportunities on players who shoot below 40 percent from the field.

Yet, through Floyd's perseverance, the scoring of Mercer and Brand, and the players' pride, the Bulls often hang in games until the last period, when their weak defense and inability to score usually do them in.

The Cure
The Bulls need talent ... NBA level talent. They keep coming up with college and international players who have demonstrated ability at those levels, but, with the exception of Brand and Mercer, aren't able to adapt well enough to the NBA game.

At the end of last season, they had a lot of free agent money to spend and six draft picks. They whiffed on their free agent quests; and in the draft, they selected Marcus Fizer (4th pick), Jamal Crawford (7th pick in a deal with Cleveland), Dalibor Bagaric (24th), A.J. Guyton (32nd), Jake Voskuhl (33rd) and Khalid El-Amin (34th).

Now, more than halfway through the season, the jury is still out on Fizer, a small-sized big forward; Crawford and Guyton haven't played well enough to get consistent minutes; Bagaric and Voskuhl have shown limited skills for NBA big men; and the 5-8 El-Amin, while demonstrating flashes of grit and pizzazz, is small and has a chunky frame that contributes to his weak defense.

Player selection is an inexact science, and hindsight is always 20-20; but one can't help wonder why the Bulls took Fizer, who plays the same position as Brand, when Mike Miller, Morris Peterson or Hidayet Turkoglu were all available. So were Desmond Mason and Quentin Richardson when the Bulls selected Mihm/Crawford.

The Bulls must make the best draft selections possible, because it's unlikely that they will attract high-profile free agents. Quality free agents want to be with a team that is or is about to become a contender. They don't want to sign on with a team that's rebuilding ... and that's what the Bulls are doing.

I made the same assessment of the Bulls at the end of last year's regular season. I told both Krause and Floyd that I thought they were unduly optimistic about signing the free agents they wanted, and that they would have to be patient and work their way back to playoff contention by the draft.

They are no closer to that goal now than they were then.