NP: Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur

With all the sports talk furor -- I think, based on secondhand reports -- focusing on Kirk Hinrich's performance and role with the Bulls, I get the feeling that the fans and the pundits are missing the bigger point.

As stated in the title of the post, Ben Gordon is the bigger problem.

You could make a case that Gordon missing every shot he took in the second half against the Celtics was no different from Hinrich missing every shot he took in the second half the night before against Detroit, but the Bulls won against Detroit, and Gordon just so happened to be sitting out the final stretch in the fourth quarter.

The bigger issue is that Ben Gordon continues to think he can carry the team with his one-on-one play, but as he forces up bad shot after bad shot, it's increasingly clear that's not the case. How many times does Gordon receive the first pass out of the offense, dribble a couple of times, and heave up a crappy three-point attempt?

Gordon is the biggest offender of this notion that the Bulls believe they're a jump-shooting team. Or rather this misconception of that what actually means. Chicago makes jump shots when they move the ball, when they dump it into the post and bring it back out, when they drive into the lane and kick it out. Whenever they struggle, it tends to be because they're not doing those things, and nobody gets off the game plan as much as the former sixth man of the year.

My easy solution for now -- stopping short of trying to unload Gordon for a low-post player before anyone else realizes what a liability he can be -- is to give Chris Duhon more minutes. Duhon has been raising his profile in the last couple of games by executing all the little things that Gordon isn't, and should be rewarded.

And what happened to Tyrus Thomas? This is two games in a row where I don't think he got a single minute. Can we package Gordon and Thomas and still get Pau Gasol?