Bulls Road Ahead: Searching for answers late in games

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CSN's Vincent Goodwill and Leila Rahimi analyze how the Bulls can shake their recent slump in the Bulls Road Ahead, presented by Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Honda dealers.

After three quarters Monday it appeared the Bulls were well on their way to reclaiming the top spot in the Eastern Conference with an easy victory over the Phoenix Suns.

[NBC SHOP: Gear up, Bulls fans!]

42 points and a Mirza Teletovic buzzer-beater later, the Bulls were walking off the United Center floor with back-to-back losses for the first time since January of last year. Fred Hoiberg and the Bulls discussed the team needing to find its "killer instinct" after the game, and Vincent Goodwill says it may be more than that, with lineup changes on a nightly basis taking its toll in big situations.

"Tonight they went with Nikola Mirotic on the floor. he turned the ball over and then they didn't have times to switch lineups after Derrick Rose's missed shot so Mirza Teletovic grabbed an offensive rebound, Taj Gibson isn't on the floor, Joakim Noah isn't on the floor. Those are the types of things that happen when you change coaches and you turn identities from a defensive-oriented team to an offensive team. And those are the things you take the risk of, and it turned out to bite them tonight.

"But the overall lack of mental toughness in the fourth quarter, that has to be alarming, not only for tonight but for the entire season."

See what else Goodwill said the Bulls must accomplish to have a shot at hanging with the Clippers and Pelicans in the video above.

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