Bulls hold team meeting amid struggles

Pau Gasol recently spoke out about his team's struggles. Derrick Rose did the same after an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. 

The entire Chicago Bulls' roster had a chance to join two of their biggest stars Tuesday and clear the air about the team's recent slide. 

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau canceled practice in favor of a team meeting a day after Chicago lost for the sixth time in its last eight games.

"It was a good meeting," Gasol said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Jon Greenberg. "Positive, important, where people just spoke up, shared their thoughts. If we want to get out of this slump, we've got to do it together. We can't really do it individually. We have to do it together as a team, as a group. And that's how you get through stuff, especially adversity."

Chicago's 14-point loss to Cleveland continued what has been a difficult two-week stretch, which has seen the Bulls fall to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. While losses to the Cavaliers, the conference-best Atlanta Hawks and a pair to the Washington Wizards isn't something the Bulls should be pleased about, they weren't exactly the easiest contests. But losses to the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic over that stretch highlight the team's struggles. 

The Bulls have surrendered an average of 106.7 points over the six losses, including 121 to the Magic, the NBA's third-worst ranked offense. Chicago's recent woes is a microcosm of the season as a whole, as - despite better offense with the addition of Gasol and a healthy Rose - the team's defense has fallen dramatically compared to a season ago. 

Thibodeau's Bulls had the NBA's second-best defensive rating during the 2013-14 campaign, surrendering 100.5 points per 100 possessions. This season's version of the Bulls, however, rank 14th through 43 games, allowing 105.9 points per 100 possessions. 

Making matters worse, the Bulls won't have an easy time getting out of their recent slump, as the team closes out January with a difficult schedule and then begins February with a pair of tough road assignments.

Despite uncharacteristic play and tough stretch on the horizon, the Bulls are one of the league's best teams and hold a 4.5-game advantage on the Cavaliers in the Central Division. But with LeBron James recovered and back to dominating, the Bulls had better figure out how to correct things fast. 

Perhaps Tuesday's team meeting was the first step to solving that.