Coach Thibodeau also blasts team for their recent performances…
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Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was left frustrated after the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night and insisted the whole team needs to wake up.
The Bulls slipped to a sixth loss in their last eight games on Monday and they have certainly dropped their energy particularly on the defensive end when compared to last year.
While Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy continue to be sidelined through injury, Rose insists that the rest of the players aren’t communicating enough and it is getting very frustrating.
“Everybody has to be on the same page,” Rose said. “Until then, we’re going to continue to get our ass kicked.”
Asked who was not on the same page, Rose was quick with a response. “It’s just the whole team,” he said.
“I think communication is huge. We’re quiet when we’re out there, and it’s leading to them getting easy baskets. We got to give a better effort. It seems like we’re not even competing, and it’s f—ing irritating.”
Coach Tom Thibodeau was equally damning of the recent performances as he endures one of the worst stretches since he took over in Chicago.
“We got to decide when enough’s enough. The way we’re playing is not acceptable so we have to change it.”
Rose dismissed the notion that their struggles were down to integrating new players into the roster, including the likes of Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks. The 26-year-old insisted that it is mid-way through the season and so that shouldn’t be an issue now although injuries have certainly disrupted their progress.
Gasol insisted that the players do talk off the court, but it is the lack of competitive edge on it that is the most worrying part for the Bulls who have looked a shadow of themselves defensively when compared to recent years.
It doesn’t get any easier for Chicago either with games against San Antonio and Dallas coming up before a West Coast swing next week which starts against the Golden State Warriors.
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