What? Can it be true? Have the Bulls actually dropped two straight games in the playoffs?

Obviously it is true to all sports watchers that the Bulls are in a bit of a slide. But why? How could this be happening?

The answers, I believe, are hidden.

For starters, everyone can credit the obvious play of Karl Malone and John Stockton.

They are a dynamic duo that you can never count out.

But on the Bulls’ side of the ball, Michael Jordan’s game has changed.

The once high-flying, driving and dunking Jordan has been forced to become the jump-shooting Jordan.

Although his point totals have remained impressive, his creativity has been missed.

When Jordan takes it in the paint, he usually will make the shot, get fouled and go to the charity or create an easy bucket for the all-star cast that surrounds him. Jordan cannot win the game by himself.

I will admit that out of all the players in the league, he could come the closest to a one-on-five victory. But he needs his cast to get involved.

Secondly, Utah, as a team, is playing a much more physical game than the Bulls. The Bulls are struggling to match the pounding around that’s going on inside.

So where is the media babe Dennis Rodman? Well, he’s getting a couple of points, a few rebounds and getting nailed with technical fouls.

The toughness of Utah is beating up on Chicago to the point where the Bulls are timid to take it to the hole.

Rebounding is key to any basketball team being competitive. Utah has out-rebounded the Bulls in three of the four games thus far.

Even more surprising when you consider that the Bulls were the NBA’s leading rebounding team. In short, Rodman isn’t living up to his salary.

And what a salary he is making. Rodman seems to be more concerned with his gambling odds than the odds of the Bulls and Jordan winning the NBA championship. The color-headed rebounding fool was given leave from the team to gamble all night long in Las Vegas. Jackson said it was OK because Rodman has a lot of energy that he needs to work off. Rodman said he can’t be caged and needed to go to Vegas.

This leaves me with one question: If Rodman were playing his heart out and hitting the boards as he usually does for nearly four complete quarters, why would he have excess energy?

I think the energy he is talking about comes from a lack of commitment to his team, and too much commitment to his partying lifestyle.

Another reason why the Bulls have dropped two straight is their past success in the finals.

The post-game interviews don’t seem to be as serious as past championships.

Jordan and Pippen are often involved with laughing the issues off, rather than acknowledging that there are some cracks in the Bulls armor, which was believed to be unbreakable.

Jackson said, after the Bulls last loss to Utah, that if the Bulls played the same way as they did in game four, they would win in game five. Huh? Hello, they lost! I would hope that he would not want them to play the same way. I would hope that he would want them to play better.

If they play better, then they may win.

It doesn’t take a wizard to understand that way of thinking.

We’ll talk later.

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Chad Calek is a junior in journalism from Persia, Iowa. He is sports editor of the Daily.