Chicago ? Scott Skiles cracked a small smile as he settled behind the podium late Saturday night. He spread his left palm upward to open the floor for questions and glanced downward at one of the ugliest box scores in recent memory.

“Do you even know where to begin?” he said to the assembled reporters.

Yes.

In honor of the Chicago Bulls’ shockingly inept 1-5 start, we’ll match the loss total with analysis of five critical breakdowns. And for those wondering, if the Bulls struggle on the upcoming six-game trip to arrive at, say, 3-9, the loss total could be matched again with areas of breakdown quite easily.

There’s that much wrong with the Bulls these days.

1. Point guard play

Kirk Hinrich owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of just 2-1 and leads the Bulls in personal fouls. The fifth-year guard threw one pass Saturday night against the Raptors that a youth basketball coach would stop a practice to criticize, a one-handed, cross-court pass across his body.

“Offensively we aren’t sharp, and ultimately that’s my responsibility,” Hinrich said. “I haven’t been playing very well.”

Worse, Hinrich’s foul trouble has forced Ben Gordon into a primary ball-handling role for long stretches. Gordon’s decision-making remains suspect, to which his three-turnover average attests.

Also, Thabo Sefolosha has struggled, with 21 percent shooting and eight turnovers in four games. That means the Bulls continue to employ a smallish backcourt that is getting burned defensively.

2. Shooting slumps

Hinrich, who revealed late Saturday he has a sprained ligament in a knuckle on his non-shooting hand, is firing away at 31.8 percent.

Gordon is at 35.4 percent. Luol Deng is at 44.4 percent, but that’s well below his career percentage of 48.0.

And the Bulls, second in the league last season in three-point shooting, are converting just 26.4 percent from that distance.

Rare is the time when Hinrich, Gordon and Deng slump concurrently. Now is that time.

“I don’t feel like I’m pressing on every shot,” Gordon said. “It just seems like it’s contagious. We need to reverse it by playing together.”

Indeed, some games the Bulls have left the page offensively and tried to go one-on-one. Other games they’ve moved the ball well and simply missed open shots.

Call it equal-opportunity ineptitude.

3. Coaching communication

Contrary to his image as a screaming taskmaster, Skiles always has displayed the ability to recognize when to coddle and when to cajole.

This season, he has allowed Ben Wallace to wear his headband and sounded out of character at times, at least publicly, by giving players outs.

4. Wallace’s woes

Slowed through four games by a sore left ankle, Wallace hasn’t come close to resembling the dominant rebounder and defender he can be. Already, he has sat for three entire fourth quarters, although the other four starters joined him for Saturday’s blowout loss.

5. Mental fortitude

The “Kobe! Kobe!” chants are now as much a part of home games as Benny the Bull. The multi-million extensions for Deng and Gordon went unsigned. The Eastern Conference is stronger.

Distractions exist every day in the NBA. The players are saying the right things about not letting them affect their play. But their unfocused and inconsistent performance suggests otherwise-or just massive regression.