The Bulls are reeling as Jimmy Butler laments Chicago's lack of competitive effort

Chicago started off great, but things have gone downhill in a hurry

By Matt Moore

Nov 6, 2016 at 3:19 pm ET • 1 min read

The Bulls looked great the first two weeks of the season, but a three-game losing streak has them reeling. They lost to the Celtics, then were beaten by the Knicks on national TV in Derrick Rose's return, and on Saturday, the Pacers absolutely smoked them.

All the good early vibes are gone, and Jimmy Butler is frustrated.

Butler: "We don't even look like we're out there competing."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 6, 2016

OK, that's a boilerplate response. No big deal. Except here's Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg's comment:

Hoiberg: "We looked like a tired team."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 6, 2016

"Got to find a way to bounce back and get back to the things we did that made us successful earlier this season," Hoiberg said.

The reason that's notable is that Hoiberg is kind of passing off the game, while Butler is frustrated. Independently, that's not a problem, but Butler was frustrated with a lack of intensity from Hoiberg last season, which contributed to the Bulls' collective anxiety. This isn't anything to freak out over, it's probably a blip, but it's something to note for a Bulls team that started off so much better than expected, and has plummeted back to earth.

Dwyane Wade continues to surprise from 3-point range, shooting 42 percent from deep even during the losing streak, but the Bulls have been awful defensively while he's on-court, giving up 121.9 points per 100 possessions. The Bulls face the Magic next.