Chicago Bulls all-star Jimmy Butler believes the boo’s from friday night were warranted, and ripped his teams’ poor effort and execution.
“Don’t nobody come out to watch us get beat the way we got beat,” he said postgame, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “The way that we’ve been playing, it’s unacceptable, especially for this city.”
The Bulls have dropped six of its last eight games, recording the second-worst point differential in the NBA over that stretch mostly because their early-season shooting numbers have waned as expected. Just three weeks ago, they were third in the East, and raving about their chemistry.
Despite his team falling out of the playoff picture, Butler isn’t panicking. He’s not ready to hold a players-only meeting, and questions their efficacy.
“It’s all hype, man,” Butler said. “It’s all hype. We know what we’re capable of, we know what to do. Go out there and execute, do what we’re supposed to be doing. We don’t need to sit in a circle and hold each other’s hands and talk about all of that.
“We don’t talk that much out there on the floor. That’s where the problem begins. We got to help each other, we got to be vocal, we (don’t need to) feel sorry for ourselves and sit in a circle and pat ourselves on the back.”
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are among the teams that have held players-only meetings this campaign, with both performing better afterward.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg commented on his star’s words about the players needing to speak more during games.
“It starts with communication,” he said. “We’ve taken a step back in that area. We’ve got to get back to talking to each other. Getting in our coverages early, and we’re not doing that right now.”
