Good teams find ways to win games and bad teams find ways to lose them. In typical fashion for this year the Bulls managed to lose in the 2nd half of the game. They managed to compete with the Golden State Warriors and make it look like an actual game... for the first half. But they once again fell apart towards the end. Yes Ben Gordon scored 29 and Andres Nocioni scored 28. Those are nice statistics, but when the game is one the line, the Bulls still do not have a clue how to finish.
No matter how good individual statistics and games are, what matters is how you play as a team. The Bulls aren't in possession of a player that can take them on their back and force them to victory. So they must play very well as a team to complete a game where they held a lead throughout most of it. The 4th quarter is pretty much death for them. There have only been a few instances where they held on and looked tough in the final moments. Where the defense held up and they made tough shots.
Baron Davis scored 40 points on the Bulls. The Warriors have their go to guy. And look what happens when you have someone who accepts that role and can produce when they need him. A decent team turns out to be a good team when there is a clutch guy. John Paxson needs to find a way to bring a go to guy to the Bulls. This game proved it. They played well for most of the game and had a lead into the final moments. But when it mattered, they couldn't hold on. And something needs to change in that regard or they will never climb above .500.
Keywords: Andres Nocioni, Baron Davis, Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, John Paxson
