Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose voiced out his frustration after their team absorbed a 108-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Bulls, who are considered as one of the title favorites heading into the 2014-15 NBA season, have lost in six of their last eight games. According to Rose, the slump will not end if they will continue giving lackluster effort.
Rose, who scored 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting on Monday night, said that they need to be "on the same page" if they want to regain the rhythm that they had earlier in the season.
Since hiring Tom Thibodeau as coach in 2010, the Bulls have been one of the best defensive teams in the league, but Rose said that they are not showing the same defensive intensity over the past several games.
"I think communication is huge," Rose told ESPN. "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."
The Bulls, who are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with their 27-16 record, are playing without injured key players Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy. Noah, the usual energy guy for the Bulls, is out with an ailing knee and ankle, while Dunleavy is not playing also because of an ankle injury.
Some analysts believe that the Bulls are still adjusting to each other after acquiring Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks in the offseason, but Rose insisted that there are no excuses for their recent slump.
Like Rose, Thibodeau also ripped his players for their lack of effort over the past several games. In their last five games, the Bulls have allowed their opponents to score 108.8 points per game. According to Thibodeau, their recent performances are totally unacceptable for a team known for their defense.
"The way we're playing is not acceptable, so we have to change it," Thibodeau told reporters. "We're going to continue to look at it. We need to build continuity. Maybe we look at different people, I don't know. I'm going to think about it, study the film and try to come up with answers."
The Bulls will have a two-day break before taking on defending champions San Antonio Spurs at home on Thursday before going on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
