Pau Gasol: Bulls struggle with concentration, toughness

The Chicago Bulls have been a fairly mediocre team this season — one that seems to go through some sort of regression every time it appears a corner is about to be turned. Pau Gasol attributes that to a lack of focus.

After a tough loss to the Miami Heat Monday night, Gasol spoke about how the Bulls are stuck in a pattern that needs to change.

“It’s definitely a pattern. It’s repetitive. It’s happened all season long and it continues to happen,” Gasol told reporters. “Right now that’s just who we are — capable of great games and capable of not being able to sustain those efforts.”

More specifically, Gasol feels the Bulls are getting lost on defense far too often.

“We struggle with concentration and sense of urgency and toughness. We can say all we want, we can say different things, we need to do this, we need to do that, we need to be better at this and that,” Gasol said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “But at the end of the day you have to bring it on the floor. And there’s too many breakdowns. I feel there’s some times where it’s just [we] just lift the foot off the pedal and we’re not disciplined enough at times. And that’s when we allow teams to get back in the game.”

Gasol added that he believes some of his teammates are too concerned with missing shots rather than focusing on their defensive role. There were several breakdowns Monday night with guys not helping out in the post, and Jimmy Butler chalked it up to a “miscommunication” between him and Gasol.

“I don’t know,” Butler said. “That’s what happens when you miscommunication. You don’t know whether to switch or stay with your own. We just got to talk it out … That’s just on both of us.”

Derrick Rose left the game with what was described as a lower back/hamstring injury, though it does not sound serious. The Bulls have lost seven of their last 10 games, so they can’t afford for him to be out long.

Between rumors about possible trades and speculation that there are serious problems in the locker room, this has already been a trying season in Chicago.