After a 10-year NBA playing career and 208-game stint as coach in Phoenix, Scott Skiles knows as well as anyone that losing breeds negativity and disgruntlement.
That’s why Jalen Rose’s silent seething over not playing the entire fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s loss in San Antonio probably doesn’t surprise Skiles.
Nor should a postgame comment from Eddie Robinson, in which he used explicit profanity to describe unnamed teammates, make Skiles arch his eyebrows.
“I play hard,” said Robinson, who added that some teammates “want to score and not get back on defense. That’s what the problem is. We need a coach who will make [them] play defense. Everybody.”
The Bulls team that Skiles will take over Friday, when he is introduced as the franchise’s 15th coach, is an unhappy one.
It is carrying a seven-game losing streak. It has players upset with their roles and wary of Skiles’ reputation as a taskmaster.
It is buckling under the pressure of heightened expectations and is perilously close to imploding if Skiles can’t impose the discipline and order this team so badly seeks.
Coaching changes are a time to wipe the slate clean, to begin anew, to change philosophies, not to mention mind-sets and playing rotations.
Here, then, are the biggest tasks facing Skiles as he attempts to preside over a turnaround after a dismal 4-12 start:
Limit negativity
The only way to do this is to win.
In previous interviews, Skiles has made it clear that he doesn’t care if he is liked as long as he is respected. Several players, including the mellow Corie Blount, who played for Skiles in Phoenix, aren’t exactly warm to the idea of Skiles taking over.
General manager John Paxson has implored the players not to judge Skiles until he gets to know them and institutes his system. This is difficult to do on the fly, without the benefit of a training camp, and it could lead to more losing and more griping in the short term.
“Don’t expect improvement right away,” veteran guard Kendall Gill said. “Typically when there is a coaching change, there is a lull. He doesn’t know us. We don’t know him. But if we’re willing to work, things should be fine.”
Winning cures all problems.
Establish a work ethic
Forty-five minutes after a practice in Dallas on the just-concluded trip, Gill and assistant coach Ron Adams were still on the court, working on Gill’s shot.
Everybody else was on the team bus, riding back to the team hotel.
For such a young team, the Bulls don’t put in much extra individual work. Skiles has a reputation from his stint in Phoenix for being a disciplinarian. Perhaps that will motivate some players into working harder so they receive playing time.
After all, blowout losses in the NBA are a result of lack of talent and lack of effort. The Bulls have five losses of 20 or more points–two of more than 30–already this season.
That’s unacceptable, which is why Paxson felt compelled to make a coaching change.
Set a regular rotation
One of the main reasons the Bulls’ grumbling has increased is that players don’t know their roles.
In former coach Bill Cartwright’s defense, injuries hampered him from establishing a regular rotation. But now that everyone is healthy, save for Tyson Chandler’s nagging back problem, a rotation needs to be set.
Lonny Baxter looks poised to take over Marcus Fizer’s reserve minutes after a sparkling performance in San Antonio, in which he scored 19 points in 17 minutes and Fizer didn’t play
But Baxter is a classic example of the problem. He started on opening night when Chandler couldn’t go, then fell completely out of the rotation before delivering a strong game in San Antonio.
Skiles needs to pick a rotation–the shorter, the better–and stick to it.
“The good thing about this is everyone will get a chance to get a new start,” interim head coach Pete Myers said. “Bill doesn’t have his favorites anymore. I don’t have my favorites. This coach is going to come in and toss it up, and may the best guy win. That’s what it should be about.”
Limit individual play
The Bulls are averaging 19.5 assists and 16.9 turnovers per game. That’s an alarmingly narrow difference and represents the team’s inability to move the ball effectively before some player hoists a wildly indiscriminate shot.
This leads to poor transition defense because players are out of position to guard opponents’ fast breaks effectively.
Skiles will institute a new offensive system beginning Friday. The new look must feature an offense that demands that the ball be shared. The triangle offense is designed to accomplish this, but the Bulls don’t run it well.
“Guys have to put aside individual play for the team,” Paxson said. “Until that happens, we’re going to struggle. It’s clear that, as of now, we have guys with different agendas other than winning.”
Fix Chandler’s back
Chandler already has missed six games this season with his recurring back problems, which are starting to worry the organization given his tender age of 21.
The Bulls need Chandler on the court not only for his energy, rebounding and defensive ability but because he is one of the few players besides Gill unfazed by Skiles’ reputation.
“That’s because I really don’t care,” Chandler said. “I’m going to go out and play hard no matter if it’s coach Myers, Cartwright, Skiles or Paxson takes over the team.
“I think [a change] really has to come from within us. A coach is going to help. But it’s just a matter of us stepping up and wanting it. A new coach is going to bring a new philosophy, but ultimately it comes down to us.”
Skiles no doubt would agree. The work begins Friday.
PART OF THE SOLUTION?
Scott Skiles faces a mountain of problems when he takes over Friday as the coach of the Bulls. But there is hope. Lonny Baxter (left) has exhibited flashes of the ability to fit into the Bulls’ rotation. The problem is, the team hasn’t established one. And Tyson Chandler has been one of the team’s few bright lights, with his tenacity and positive attitude. The problem is, he has been waylaid by back ailments. Solving these dilemmas will be high on Skiles’ to-do list.
