A Modest Suggestion

Hey-hey, ho-ho, Bulls’ coach Fred Hoigberg has got to go!  Hey-hey, ho-ho….You get the idea.

I’ve come to this conclusion seven games into a 2-5 season after Monday’s 149-124 humiliation at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.  The game, if you can call it that, featured guard Klay Thompson (brother of Sox outfielder Trayce) setting an NBA record with 14 three-pointers, good for 52 points on the day in slightly under 27 minutes on the floor.  By the way, Golden State scored 92 points in the first half, second-most for the first two quarters of a game in NBA history.

Yes, the Bulls are banged up, trying to compete without the services of Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine.  But you still have to play the hand they dealt you.  The problem with Hoiberg is he lets other people see his cards.

What has it been, three years ago since Jimmy Butler said he had to coach harder, two years since Butler and Dwayne Wade called out the younger players for lack of intensity?  Already, this season Jabari Parker has said his new team didn’t make the necessary adjustments in a blowout loss to Charlotte.  Whatever the sport, defense wins games, to say nothing of championships.  Guess whose responsibility that is?  Hint: not the players.

My God, the Bulls are a franchise whose identity is based on defense.  Long before Michael Jordan, there were Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan, long before Phil Jackson, Dick Motta.  Scott Skiles wouldn’t have allowed this level of ineptitude; ditto Tom Thibodeau.  Skiles and Thibodeau probably would’ve taken to tackling Thompson to keep him from scoring.

But in the world of owner Jerry Reinsdorf, loyalty outweighs ability.  Oh, Hoiberg may get fired sometime this season, when the stink and the empty seats become too much to ignore.  The point is, he should be fired now.