By Thomas Tyler

The Bulls can only go as far as Rose can lead them.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be far. Rose is a great man and a good player, but a lousy leader. While the rest of the Bulls improve, Jalen continues to get worse. The Bulls have lost 14 games this year by less than 10 points, games they could have won. Jalen shot below 40% in 8 of those loses and on the rare occasions that he shot over 40% he had at least 6 turnovers in all but one of those 6 games. The last game coming at home against the Clippers, he shot well but committed 7 turnovers. Six of them were bad passes, one was an offensive foul. The seventh came with 28 seconds remaining and the Bulls down 4. After the turnover he was forced to foul so instead of having a chance to pull within two they end up down 6. The Bulls had their chances before this point, as the Clippers went over 4 minutes without scoring the Bulls decided to sling three’s instead of going back inside to Curry who finished with 26 points. The 3 point charge was lead by Rose, who was 3 of 8 from downtown.

In many of the games they have lost this has been the case. Rose talks about players needing to bring in every night. He needs to direct those comments to himself. Since the all-star break Curry and Chandler have elevated their games and lead many to see hope for the future. However, as they have improved Rose has gotten worse, averaging over 4 turnovers a game.

There was an article published March 7 in which the writer states he believes the Bulls can win a title within the next 5 years. Although many of his facts were wrong, I agree with that if Jalen Rose wakes up in time. He is a 2-guard not a point and the improvement just is not there. I Like Jalen Rose both on and off the court. He has to realize however, that the Bulls can not succeed until he elevates his game, too. He must play the role of the veteran and begin to make better decisions on the court. All the turnovers and ill-advised threes have to stop for the Bulls to have success, this year or any year. He is the backbone of the team and right now that spine is broken. He may put up over 23 points a night, but are those points really helping? Not if he continues to miss nearly 60% of his shots and turn the ball over nearly 5 times a game.

Jay Williams and Jamal Crawford have allowed their personal battles to spill over onto the court at the expense of the team, regardless of what management and coaches say. It is apparent in their inconsistent play. Eddie Robinson is still stealing money. He is the 5 million dollar a year flop. He is timid and soft, and has no desire, heart or dedication. He may have a great vertical leap, but has only found the will to demonstrate that on paydays. He is a liability they will have to live with unless Krause can find someone dumb enough to take him off their hands this summer. Trenton Hassell was the steal of the draft last year, but has turned into a flop this year.

So that leaves Rose. He is the key. There is only so much that Donyell and company can contribute. The team's young players will keep improving, but Jalen has to be the glue that holds everything together and helps take them to the next level.


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