Taj Gibson says blame the players, not coach Fred Hoiberg

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Taj Gibson prides himself on protecting the paint.

The Bulls veteran big man takes even more pride on protecting coaches.

When Tom Thibodeau was in his cold war with the front office, it was Gibson that very publically sided with his then-coach.

And now with the court of public opinion starting to generate criticism around Fred Hoiberg, it was once again Gibson pulling no punches about where the fingers should really be pointed.

“We’re definitely buying into what Fred is telling us, but at the same time Fred isn’t on the court,’’ Gibson said to the Sun-Times. “People want to forget that sometimes. We have to do a better job. He’s coaching his tail off, and it’s hard when you’re trying everything possible. You gotta look at the roster. We gotta lot of young guys, man, and not that much experience.

“It’s tough to be in his position, but like I said we have to be the ones that go out and do the job for him. He can stress all the things we need to do in meetings, but we’ve gotta do a better job. Just overcome this wave. Every team goes through it. We gotta get it together.’’

Easier said than done lately, as the Bulls have lost three straight. More than just three defeats, however, it’s the way they lost them. Blowing a 21-point lead against Thibodeau’s Timberwolves was bad enough on Tuesday, but then to look lethargic and unprepared in back-to-back losses to Milwaukee only heated up the seat under Hoiberg in the minds of fans.

But critics of Hoiberg seem to be forgetting one thing. Make that five things. Hoiberg signed a five-year, $25-million contract prior to last season, and the likelihood that the Reinsdorfs want to remove Hoiberg after this season and hand out another $15 million over the next three seasons, as well as what it will cost for a replacement, is unrealistic.

Gibson insisted that he wasn’t alone on his feelings toward Hoiberg, and Jimmy Butler reiterated that, saying it started with the players.

“We just didn’t do what we were supposed to do,’’ Butler said of the two losses to the Bucks. “Whether we switched the game plan, stayed with the game plan, we didn’t come out and execute what the game plan was.’’

The fact that the players have Hoiberg’s back is key in all of this, especially since several players sold out Thibodeau in the exit meetings after the 2014-15 season. According to a confidant of Joakim Noah’s, Noah was one of those players and has since apologized to Thibodeau.

That doesn’t mean that Hoiberg is without flaws.

He delegates a lot to his assistant coaches, which would be fine if it was a staff that was all in on Hoiberg. The problem is it’s a staff made up of several individuals who have put their loyalty in general manager Gar Forman above anyone else. Whether it’s for their own coaching survival or the chance to eventually push Hoiberg out and take his chair.

“The biggest improvement [Hoiberg] can make is saying no to that front office more often,’’ one NBA insider said.

Considering the direction the Bulls look to be heading it definitely couldn’t hurt.

“When we get down we have to do a better job with just showing some fight,’’ Gibson said. “That’s on us, the players. You’re not going to come out and always get the lead. But that’s why the good teams know how to counteract and come back.

“I will say this, luckily we play in the East, no doubt about that.’’

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