Bulls coach Billy Donovan talks about it daily, shows it on film and works on it in practice and shootarounds.
There is no word yet about whether he has resorted to pleading with his players, but the season isn’t even at the halfway point yet.
Missed communication, an unwillingness to box out or dive for a loose ball and inconsistent physicality are things the Bulls continue to struggle with too often.
That’s why they started the season 5-0, including victories against the Pistons and Knicks, then later dropped five games in a row when All-Star-caliber players on opposing teams took over late in games.
That’s why they beat Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in Denver and a week later started a seven-game skid that featured losses to teams such as the Pelicans, Hornets and Pacers (twice).
That’s why they had a modest two-game home winning streak going, then were taken to the woodshed once again Saturday by the 12-win Hornets.
‘‘Just got to keep putting that stuff on film,’’ Donovan said of the issues that plague the Bulls from game to game and quarter to quarter. ‘‘I think a lot of that stuff, to me, is just concentration and focus, just being in the moment.’’
But there’s a bigger problem with the Bulls and something Donovan never would admit publicly: They don’t have the elite talent to overcome a lot of deficiencies.
The Lakers are a horrific defensive team but are 21-11 in the Western Conference. The Celtics are without the face of their franchise in Jayson Tatum but are in third place in the Eastern Conference. That’s what a player such as Luka Doncic or Jaylen Brown can do for a franchise.
Donovan needs his entire roster intact. And even when it is, he needs his players dialed in and focused at a high level just to compete on most nights.
That’s his battle, and the loss to the Hornets was a reminder of that.
‘‘We don’t have the margins not to [do the little things],’’ Donovan said. ‘‘To me, [it’s] the consistency part, the concentration part. For the way we’re trying to play — and I don’t necessarily think that we’re different from other teams because the pace of the game is definitely sped up throughout the league — that’s what we’re fighting for. Can you come back and do it again? Can you come back and do it again? Can you come back and do it again?”
It’s a question Donovan has asked more than just three times and one that needs
answering soon.
The NBA trade deadline is a month from Monday. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has built a mediocre product yet again, with the Bulls sitting at 17-18 and looking at a fourth consecutive trip to the play-in tournament.
Will he stay the course, or will he finally realize that the talent gap is too vast and that he must choose a different path? Either way, Donovan likely will have his hands full, hammering the same message and details home in as many ways as he can come up with.
‘‘I’ve always been a big believer in shots are going to come and go,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘You can say, ‘OK, we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight because we had tired legs.’ I still think you can block out better, I still think you can put your body in plays on drives, still can communicate. There’s things I think you can do.’’