Weak effort vs. Portland
Noah says loss is ‘really disappointing’
It wasn’t supposed to be like this after a week of high-energy practices and the return of Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson.
The players were still angry about an overtime loss to the Nuggets on Monday, and this game was supposed to be the start of a playoff push. The Trail Blazers were expected to be a team that was just standing in the way of progress.
After the 99-89 loss, however, the fading Bulls had more questions than answers Thursday.
“It’s really disappointing,’’ Joakim Noah said. “We’re not playing good. This is the final stretch, and we’re not getting it done, so we got to find a way.’’
When asked what needed to change, Noah paused and said he didn’t know.
That was the running theme after the Bulls (36-31) lost their second consecutive game of a threegame homestand and dropped into a sixth-place tie with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Thibodeau downplays playoff seeding, but with 15 regular-season games left, the seventh and eighth spots aren’t exactly inviting, considering the Bulls could draw the Pacers or the Heat in the first round.
That’s why Gibson (sprained left medial collateral ligament) pushed to get back, and even though there was still some pain in the knee, he gave the Bulls a boost by scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in just under 25 minutes.
“I just went out there and played, knowing that we’re battling for these spots and need to get hot,’’ Gibson said. “It’s all about being the hot team late and who can progress as the games go on.’’
The Bulls allowed 32 points in the second quarter to a team that has only 10 road victories, so “hot’’ would not be the operative word to describe the team.
“What we should be able to count on every night are the defense and the rebounding,’’ Thibodeau said. “Right now, we’re not getting stops, we’re not rebounding, so we can’t get out and run. We’ve got to clean that up.’’