Amid reports that Chicago Bulls first-year coach Fred Hoiberg has lost the locker room, one player has come out strongly in defense of his coach, that player being Bulls starter Taj Gibson. From CBSChicago.com:
“They need to just shut up,” Gibson said Friday. “Everybody just tries to discredit this man, and it’s rough. He’s a rookie coach taking on a veteran group. Just give him some slack, man. It’s already hard enough as it is to come in, you’ve got this whole city of Chicago on your back. It’s tough, but I think he’s just learning. He’s learning. He’s doing a good job. He’s staying with us every day, and I’m riding with him no matter what. Me and him have had long talks, especially over the break, from time to time. He really cares about the players, and we’ve got to do our part to help us gets wins and do what’s right for him. At times in the NBA, it gets a little crazy and things go south, but we just got to do what’s right for him. We got to play harder for him.”
Currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls are in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season. But after losing four straight games, Chicago has bounced back with road wins at Indiana and Houston this week to get within a game of the Pacers for eighth place.
While Hoiberg’s first year hasn’t gone smoothly, he’s had to deal with a lot of key injuries. Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler has missed 15 games, point guard Derrick Rose has missed 12 and All-Star center Pau Gasol has missed eight. The Bulls also lost defensive anchor Joakim Noah to a season-ending shoulder injury.
Gibson, meanwhile, has missed just two games but is dealing with a rib fracture that could keep him out for some length of time.
The Bulls have seven games left to get into the postseason mix, including Saturday’s pivotal game against Detroit, which sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Chicago.