Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are sorely missing their center, Joakim Noah.  Rose has been stepping up his play with Noah out, but Noah and his plantar fasciitis injury has really set the Bulls frontcourt back, especially when it comes to defense and rebounding.  Without Noah, the Bulls are a different team defensively and they need to score more points because of it.  They haven’t really been doing that, and the Bulls have now lost four straight games because of it.  You can’t blame Derrick Rose though, since he has been playing some great basketball lately.  In the past five games he is averaging 27.6 points, 4.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 steals while shooting 56% from the field.  Rose is definitely doing his part, but he (and every other Bull) could help a little more hitting the glass.  Rose is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game on the season and he has been consistently below that average lately, so rebounding is the only thing he needs to improve on right now.  Although Rose has been stepping it up when it comes to scoring, he can’t do it himself and the win/loss column is proving that.  Taj Gibson and Brad Miller have been doing their part lately, but guys like Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Hakim Warrick, and Flip Murray are not carrying their load on offense.  If those guys don’t start shooting the ball better and helping Rose with the scoring load, the Bulls are going to be in big trouble.

With Joakim Noah hurting the Bulls really need Brad Miller to step up. In his last 5 games the 33-year old Miller is averaging 22.6 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 35.5% shooting from the floor. Miller has now played in 59 games (22 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 22.6 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He is only shooting 41.5% from the floor and 29.5% from three point range as he is finally starting to play like a man his age and that is not good news for the Bulls.

Kirk Hinrich was the subject of a lot of trade rumors but he is still a Chicago Bull. With that in mind and John Salmons now playing with the Bucks it appears as if Kirk Hinrich will be in the starting lineup for the rest of the year barring injury. Hinrich has played in 46 games (25 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 32.6 minutes, 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Hinrich will need to start shooting better as he is only hitting 38.4% of his shots from the floor this season and that just won’t get it done.

Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich has not been the player he once was, and he is a big reason why the Bulls have been inconsistent this season.  Hinrich has played in 42 games (21 starts) this season, and is averaging 10.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.  Now those aren’t terrible numbers, but other than last season where he was limited to 51 games (thumb), they are all career lows.  Also consider the fact that he is shooting a dismal 37.7% (career-low) from the field and is hitting only 34.9% of his threes (career-low).  Hinrich is still a very good wing defender, but at only 6′3″ and 190 pounds, he is undersized.  It looks like the Bulls are looking to trade Hinrich, who is making over $9 million this year and for the next two seasons.  I’m not sure what the Bulls can expect to get back for Hinrich, but trading him will help free up some more cap space for the big 2010 free agency class that includes superstars like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Rumors have been swirling for over a week now that Chicago Bulls’ head coach Vinny Del Negro will be fired.  Del Negro has not brought the Bulls were they want to be so far this season, but injuries and inconsistent play (most notably John Salmons) are more to blame than Del Negro.  Either way, the Bulls front office needs to either fire Del Negro, or back him publicly 100%.  John Paxson and GM Gar Forman have been dodging questions about Del Negro’s future, and giving vague answers.  Del Negro has been frustrated by the constant questions about his future with the Bulls, as well as the lack of confidence his bosses have shown for him.  With a young team that is playing below expectations, they can easily give up on their coach if it is obvious the organization is not backing him.  The Bulls need to be firm and direct on what their intentions are before the season turns into a disaster.  It is not too late to turn it around and the Bulls have won three straight to bring their record to 13-17.