Bulls' Dunleavy after loss to Magic: 'Don't think we're good enough'
If the Chicago Bulls intend to make the playoffs for the eighth straight year, they're going to need to turn things around in the next two weeks.
Following their third straight loss - a pathetic 111-89 trouncing by the Orlando Magic on Saturday night - the Bulls continued to face questions about their recent effort, or lack thereof.
"We give off that impression of being beaten down," small forward Mike Dunleavy told reporters. "I don't think anybody’s giving in. I just don't think we're good enough."
It was a strong statement from the 14-year veteran, but recent developments back it up.
The Bulls surrendered 68 points in the first half to Orlando, which came into the game ranked 26th in the NBA in offensive rating. They had also lost six in a row coming in, and were without both Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic.
Dewayne Dedmon scored a career-high 18 points and added 13 rebounds for the Magic.
The Bulls are a bottom-10 team in defensive rating since the All-Star break, and have the fifth-worst net rating in the league in that time.
Yet a total lack of effort was the order of the night for Chicago on Saturday, their failure to defend or chase loose balls as clear as 6-of-24 shooting from beyond the arc. With the loss, the Bulls sit outside the top eight in the Eastern Conference, percentage points behind the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.
Not even head coach Fred Hoiberg, frequently maligned in his first season at the helm, sounded convinced that the team hasn't given up.
"I sure hope not," he said, according to CSN's Vincent Goodwill. "What I'm saying right now, my message isn't getting across."
When Jimmy Butler was asked where his team's resilience had gone, he gave a long pause before telling K.C. Jones of the Chicago Tribune: "Um, I don't know. It's not with us right now."
Backup point guard Aaron Brooks expressed the Bulls' frustration by picking up two technical fouls in the fourth quarter and being ejected. It was the second time this month Brooks was ejected from a game in Orlando. He said after Saturday's game that he planned to appeal.