Struggling Bulls fire coach Skiles
DEERFIELD, Ill. – The Chicago Bulls were sure this was their season to challenge for the Eastern Conference championship. If they do, it’ll be with a new coach.
The Bulls fired Scott Skiles on Monday, hoping to shake up a team with one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference.
“I felt like something was going to happen,” forward Luol Deng said. “I didn’t know whether it was players or coaches. But you could definitely feel there was something. It just didn’t seem like we were on the same page.”
The underachieving Bulls (9-16) have lost three of their last four and were booed throughout by the home crowd during Saturday night’s 116-98 loss to the Houston Rockets. Their next game is Wednesday at San Antonio.
With three straight playoff appearances after a long postseason drought, the Bulls’ expectations were soaring. Then, they dropped 10 of their first 12 games, and they’ve been unable to capture the intensity that catapulted them into the second round of the playoffs last season.
They’ve lacked a consistent inside scoring threat the past few years, and now, their perimeter players are off target. Chicago is shooting a league-worst 41.3 percent, which partially explains why it hasn’t been able to sustain a winning streak.
“I don’t have a long-term solution as of today,” Bulls general manager John Paxson said. “I’m disappointed in the way we’re playing, the way we’re competing, the energy or lack thereof that we’re playing with on the floor. I know expectations coming into the year were really, really high and we’re not even close to those. I honestly believe we’re a better team than we’ve played this year.”
A message was left seeking comment from Skiles.
The Bulls didn’t immediately announce a replacement for Skiles, who went 165-172 after replacing Bill Cartwright in November 2003. Paxson said he does not expect to hire a coach until after the season, with assistants Pete Myers or Jim Boylan likely taking over on an interim basis. Myers will coach the team against the Spurs.
Chicago is in a familiar spot with this season’s slow start. The Bulls wobbled out of the gate the last three seasons, too, before generating turnarounds that produced playoff spots. But they made no major acquisitions in the off-season.
Deng called Skiles “a great coach” but the effort wasn’t there – particularly the past few games. Whether this wakes them up or is just the start of a shake-up remains to be seen.
“It’s a lot on our shoulders right now,” Deng said.