In a lot of cases, when people try to completely reinvent their personalities, it goes over like a lead balloon. But sometimes a drastic change to your interpersonal communication techniques is desperately warranted. In the case of Bulls’ head coach Fred Hoiberg, it might be the only way to salvage the season (and/or his job). Which is why Taj Gibson seemed pretty psyched about the abrupt change to the tenor of Chicago’s practice sessions recently.
Taj; "Lately the practices have been great. Fred did a great change. He’s been even tougher. He’s been cursing guys out. It’s been fun."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 23, 2016
Taj Gibson said Fred Hoiberg is cursing in practice. Hoiberg never drew technical as player and is only coach in NBA without one this season
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 23, 2016
You’ll recall that Jimmy Butler infamously said back in December that Hoiberg needs to coach his players harder, so it appears the otherwise laid-back coach has finally taken heed of that suggestion. But at this point, it might be too-little-too late. He’s mostly failed to implement the type of uptempo offense the front office brass was looking for when they hired him, and the Bulls have struggled all season long to pin down their identity on both ends of the floor.
With injuries to both Butler and Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls have won just three out of their last seven games and fallen all the way to the No. 8 spot in the East. But with the season in its home stretch, there’s still time for the Bulls to sort some of these issues out before postseason starts. They don’t have any other choice if they plan on making a deep playoff run.
