The Chicago Bulls have been a dumpster fire all year. They fired their former head coach Fred Hoiberg, who employed a modern offensive system. The Bulls front office claimed that he had lost the locker room, and instead promoted from within Jim Boylen.
Boylen is a former Gregg Popovich staffer and has introduced his own ideas of how their team should be run. He uses very antiquated offensive ideas, like not running in transition and posting up a big man one-on-one. It has hurt the development of the Bulls young players, and in fact, the players aren't happy. Zach LaVine told the Chicago Sun-Times:
“It feels like my rookie year again right now, but I’m just older in the process of it. We have a lot of young guys and when you’re younger, like 19 or 20, you’re working on your game. But when you’re a few years in, and you have goals, I’m not going to lie this is getting tough, man. I’m trying to stay locked in and level-headed, but this is getting tough.’’
LaVine hasn't played particularly well under Boylen. His role as a dynamic transition scorer has been limited by the constructs of his coach's offensive scheme. So far this season, LaVine has averaged 23.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Early on in the season, LaVine had averaged nearly 30 points per game and played extremely well with high usage, being the Bulls' best primary ball-handler. He's regressed since then and won't improve any further until he's in the right offensive scheme.
The Bulls are now 10-34 and sit in 14th place in the NBA's Eastern Conference. They will play the Denver Nuggets this upcoming week at the Pepsi Center.
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