Requiem for a Rose

Some things are expected, yet strike with the force of the unexpected.

For me, today's news of the trade of Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks is one such example of that paradox: the surprising inevitability.

With each injury, each game missed for injuries, each column penned about the player who came to be called "General Soreness" more frequently than he was called "former MVP," the Rose era wilted, petal by petal, revealing only thorns.

That era began with something unexpected: the Bulls only had the chance to keep the Englewood native home by winning the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft. The Bulls had a 1.7 percent chance of getting that top pick, but by a fortuitous bounce of fate, the rose bloomed in familiar grounds.

I think it was time to make a move -- if not now, then during the season -- but that doesn't change the fact that this is a bitter moment in the history of the franchise.

Scott Skiles coached the Bulls to their first playoff appearances since Michael Jordan's final season with the Bulls in 1997-98. But those Skiles teams weren't true threats in any sense of the word -- Ben Gordon was a fun player to watch when he got hot, but otherwise those squads lacked any sort of starpower.

That changed when Rose joined the roster in 2008-09. The Bulls went 41-41 after missing the playoffs the previous year and took the Boston Celtics to seven games in a first-round series. Behind only Gordon, Rose averaged 19.7 points per game.

The next year, 2009-10, marked the Rose Bulls' first meeting with a nemesis they would never defeat: LeBron James.

The year after that, with James in Miami, the Bulls and James met again, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls went 62-20 and were the No. 1 seed in the East, led by Rose's 25.0 ppg and 7.7 assists per game.

That was the season when Rose transformed from the young, exciting player of his first two seasons to the dynamic force of nature he became -- for a short time.

Earlier that season, Rose did this, one of the most memorable -- if not the most memorable -- examples of Rose's upper-echelon explosion, his ability to move from one spot on the floor to the other with impossible speed and quick-twitch precision. With the aid of Stacey's King's exuberance, the play will remain etched in fans' minds for years to come:



What are you doing, Dragic? Did you not get the memo? 

Sadly for Goran Dragic, he did not. And if anyone else hadn't gotten yet, they did then. They certainly did by the end of the season, after Rose was crowned the league MVP at age 22, the youngest player to ever win the award.

In the ECF, the Bulls took Game 1 of the series, before James et al went on to take the next four. Next year, Bulls fans thought, next year will be the year that Rose -- MVP, MVP, MVP, the United Center crowd chants -- and the rest of the Bulls would get past James, like Jordan eventually vanquished the Bad Boy Pistons.

Now, all of that seems so far away. Rose flashed across the Chicago basketball landscape like a comet, only to slowly recede into the distant reaches of the basketball cosmos.

---

The following season, on April 28, 2012, it happened.

In Game 1 of a first-round series against Philadelphia, a game the Bulls had locked up, Rose jump-stopped powerfully in the lane, like he'd done so many times before.

This time, he didn't bounce back up. With that play, that one moment that started like so many other, he'd never be the same again.

The Bulls went 50-16 during that shortened 2011-12 season, but after Rose's injury, they couldn't even defeat the eighth-seeded 76ers.

Before the injuries, before the coming of age of Jimmy Butler, before the rhetorical missteps with the media, Rose unequivocally was the engine that made the Bulls go (even if one might argue that Joakim Noah was the team's heart and soul).

Enter 2012-13, filled with commercials about The Return.



That season and the offseason preceding 2013-14 offered a steady stream of news bits detailing his efforts to get back.

Finally back on the floor, the Bulls visited Portland Nov. 22, 2013 for their 10th game of the season -- and this time, it was the right knee. It was if the basketball gods, perched somewhere in the rafters up high, slung their arrows of outrageous fortune, aiming for his knees.

He missed 30 games in 2014-15 with various injuries, but come playoff time, the third-seeded Bulls once again were met with none other than LeBron James and Co.

After splitting Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland, the Bulls looked to take a series lead in Game 3. Rose had started to look a little better in the first-round series against Milwaukee, rounding into a strong iteration of a post-injury Rose. He couldn't explode like he used to, but he could still get past people, albeit en route to layups instead of dunks.

And for one final time -- at least the last time I can remember -- Rose made the United Center roar.



In classic Rose form, his face remained static as he was boosted off the floor by his teammates, like he was waiting in line at the DMV or flipping through magazines in the doctor's office waiting room.

I remember watching the game at home, raising out of my seat to yell ohhh when the shot kissed off of the glass and in, igniting a frenzy at the building on Madison Street.

Sadly, it would be the last time something Rose did would produce that kind of reaction (The Bulls would go on to lose the next three games, and the series, against Cleveland).

Oddly enough, Rose's 2015-16 was his healthiest, relatively, since before the first injury. Rose played in 66 games. But regular comments about needing to be cautious with his body and preseason comments about playing for his next contract -- with two years then left on his current one -- Bulls fans began to sour on the hometown hero. Admittedly, I became one of them.

Even today, when the news crossed my Twitter feed and friends texted me about it, I'll admit that I not only thought it was the right move, but the necessary one. Better trade him now and get something instead of letting him walk for nothing in free agency, right? He's not the player he once was, one who could lead a team with serious championship aspirations? He's not the former MVP anymore, right, but one who happened to be an MVP once, long ago, in an alternate universe?

All cogent points, I think. The Bulls, whether management will say it or not, have to rebuild. And Rose, who will ask for big money once his contract is up, wouldn't be part of those plans, for the aforementioned reasons.

So, like that, it's over. I wouldn't even say the window has closed on the Bulls' title hopes -- that closed a while ago. Maybe it closed on that April day in 2012.

But as soon as I started thinking more about this as the day went on, I thought about Rose and what he meant to Chicago basketball ... and my initial comfort with the move began to wane.

Honestly, I felt a little guilty for welcoming his departure, even if I thought (and still think) it had to happen.

Sports have a funny way of both obscuring and revealing perspective.

---
As I sit here, thinking about the rebuilding project ahead, one that will see Rose wearing Knicks orange and blue, it's hard not to be hit with a wave of nostalgia.

The post-Jordan Dark Ages offered up several seasons of truly unwatchable basketball. Players like Eddy Curry, Eddie Robinson, Marcus Fizer, Jay Williams, Metta World Peace (then Ron Artest) and so many others marked an era of lost searching; without MJ, the Bulls had lost their sight, ineffectively reaching in the dark.

That all changed with a 1.7 percent chance and the Bulls hitting jackpot. After a one-year career at Memphis, Rose returned to the city that raised him.

And with him, Rose eventually brought a player who could excite fans more than any other player in a Bulls uniform since Jordan. Of course, the Bulls never accomplished with Rose what Jordan accomplished -- not even close. And it would have been ludicrous to have expected such, or even one-hundredth of that.

Nonetheless, Rose brought hope. When he went down, fans were crushed. And when that happened, he worked hard to get back -- not once, but twice, then through the various nagging injuries of varying severity thereafter, including an orbital bone fracture that had him seeing double when shooting the ball to start the 2015-16 season.

What can you say? Like all of us, he wasn't perfect. Sometimes, he said the wrong thing (a problem that could have been easily corrected with a little PR work). Maybe he could have played through certain things. Maybe he could have tried to find a way to make things work with Butler.

But now, in retrospect -- with the barrier of finality in place -- who could blame him for his skittishness? For wanting to preserve himself for a 2015-16 playoff run (one that never came)? For wanting to look out for himself, heading into the final year of his contract, with an opportunity to score one last big contract?

Say he's selfish, say he didn't care about the fans, say he didn't work well with teammates (namely, Jimmy Butler). You could even say that some aspects of his game never really improved, namely his three-point shooting (excluding 2013-14, in which he only played 10 games, his career-best was a 33.2 percent mark in his 2010-11 MVP season). Maybe he never really blossomed into a true point guard, one who was capable of facilitating just as easily as he could run a one-man break and posterize some poor guy.

You can say a lot of things about him. Many of those things even have some truth to them.

But there's also this: Rose had the unenviable task of being the hometown kid, asked to help bring the franchise back to its previous glory.

And for a tantalizingly short period of time, the Bulls were on the precipice of such a return, or even an opportunity to return to some semblance of it -- until events intervened.

The strangest thing of all? I had to double check to make sure, but Rose is only 27 years old. Given all that has happened, I feel like I've followed his career for a lifetime.

---

Now, fans can only wonder what could have been. What would have happened if he hadn't gotten hurt? Would they have broken through? Would he still be playing in Chicago next season?

We'll never know. But what we do know is this: Rose made the Bulls relevant again.

He put the team on his back, carried it in the crook of his arm, like he carried the ball on lightning-quick takes to the basket -- a galloping running back, a speedy slot receiver, protecting the rock from vulturous defenders.

"Too big, too strong, too fast, too good."

That was Stacey King's usual refrain when Rose made a game-changing play. When Rose was on, that's exactly what he was.

But all things must come to an end. So, when Rose slips past a defender at Madison Square Garden next season and executes a reverse layup to avoid a shot-blocker, instead of lamenting what was lost, I'll remember what was gained.

The crossover, the acceleration, the high-flying dunks. The plays in which Rose seemed to be operating on a higher plane than everyone else on the floor. The low moments don't erase any of that.

I saw him with my own eyes. In his prime, he did things on the floor that very few players donning the Bulls uniform have ever done.

The last rose petal fell to the Chicago earth today. And 40 years from now, in true Chicago fashion, fans will still be talking about Derrick Rose: the MVP, the high-flyer, the Chicago kid.

Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Four, Bulls-Heat: Running on Empty, Not a Station For Miles

Chicago Bulls 65, Miami Heat 88--Heat lead series 3-1

On the heels of another dramatic contest ultimately ending in a loss--albeit much closer than the disaster that was Game Two--the Bulls limped into Game Four needing a win; otherwise, Game Five would likely be nothing more than a prolonged death knell for this 2012-13 season. 

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Miami jumped out to an early 13-4 lead, as the Bulls started off ice cold, going 2-for-13 from the field. Luol Deng was deemed "active" for the game, the latest stretch of what it means for one to be "active." If Deng could be described as "active," in spite of all the news of his post-spinal tap complications, then those of us who are otherwise healthy are superheroes, according to the relativistic continuum of NBA player health designations. 

And yet, despite a first quarter in which the Bulls shot 27% and the Heat shot 59%, they somehow managed to enter the second frame down just 21-15. As we have come to know very well this season, the Bulls have turned the execution of the "awful quarter that ends with being down by only that much" into an art form, insofar as such a thing can be considered art. 

Marco Belinelli was called for his third foul early in the second, meaning that Rip Hamilton would enter the game for the first time since his three-minute showing in Game Six against Brooklyn. Whether he was in the "dog house" or not, it has gotten to the point that Hamilton entering the game is just one more sign of the dire times for the Bulls, personnel-wise. 

Following a nice extra pass from Nate Robinson on the wing, Hamilton hit an open trey from up top, and on the following possession, Taj Gibson went up strong at the basket, completing a traditional three-point play. In short order, the Bulls had cut the lead, which had ballooned to 13, to seven, and the United Center crowd exhibited its first sign of life. 

This ephemeral momentum was quickly snuffed out, as LeBron returned from a brief trip to the bench to send home a theatrical thunderdunk after a Bulls turnover. 

Luckily, the Heat were not particularly careful with the ball, committing eight turnovers with several minutes still remaining in the first half. On the other hand, the Bulls were not able to capitalize, and continued to remain down by 7-12 points. Excluding their 6-for-6 mark from the line, the Bulls had produced just 21 points through 21 minutes of play. A point a minute is good if you're Fielding Yost, but isn't necessarily a sustainable basketball strategy (unless you happen to play in the Big Ten). 

It was not a well-played half for either team, but a poorly played half for the Bulls is a far different concept than the same from the Heat. As such, the Bulls took an 11-point deficit into the second half. Chicago shot just 27%, scoring at a clip of just 0.79 points per possession. 

Eastern Conference Semifinals Game One, Bulls-Heat: Welcome to Miami

Obligatory 

Chicago Bulls 93, Miami Heat 86--Bulls leads series 1-0 (!)

After improbably pulling off a Game Seven victory in Brooklyn Saturday night, the Bulls enter the Eastern Conference Semifinal round playing with house money. With Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both out again, in addition to Derrick Rose's continued absence, expectations are not exactly what they were the last time these two teams squared off in the playoffs. 

Nonetheless, the Bulls have played the Heat close, even without Derrick Rose, having split four regular season meetings this season. Of course, the playoffs are a different animal, especially with the Heat being well-rested after easily dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in four, and the Bulls grinding their way through seven trying games against Brooklyn. With this in mind, an enveloping fog of unease pervaded upon the lead-up to Game One, and rightfully so; there are no moral victories in sports, but if the Bulls managed to keep the first game of this series close, then maybe the vague notion of a competitive series could become a reality. 

The Bulls gained possession on the opening tip, but neither squad was able to get on the scoreboard in their respective opening trips on the offensive end, starting a combined 0-for-5 from the field. A nice move to the rim from Noah put the Bulls on the board first, however, at the 10:15 mark. Jimmy Butler extended the lead to 4-0 from the line after drawing a blocking call just outside of the restricted area. 

Neither team was exceptionally sharp in the opening minutes, but given each team's opening round, this was perhaps not unexpected. The Heat continued to misfire from the field, starting the game 0-for-7 from the field as the Bulls built an early 8-2 lead. 

Despite the auspicious start, Nate Robinson began this one 0-for-4 from the field with some questionable feeds to Chicago's big men; this would have to change if the Bulls were going to make this any sort of game. On the bright side, it was a quiet, low usage quarter for Lebron James, who was 1-for-2 from the field for two points well into the first frame. James seemed content to facilitate in the early stages, but Jimmy Butler was also doing his part in forcing that decision-making. 

Norris Cole countered a quintessentially Nate spin move into a banked jumper with a buzzer-beating floater of his own, and the Bulls took a 21-15 lead into the second quarter. 

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 6, Bulls-Nets: I Have A Bad Feeling About This

Chicago Bulls 92, Brooklyn Nets 95

I wasn't able to take notes during the first half of this one, so I'll just go ahead and skip right to the second half (this is the NBA after all, so that's probably a fair thing to do every time). 

Nonetheless, the Bulls, again with Kirk Hinrich, have up a whopping 60 first half points, with Deron Williams scoring 14 on 5-for-9 from the field. For all of the criticism Hinrich took throughout the system--some warranted, but most of it not--it's pretty well obvious by this point that the Bulls were going to have a rough go of it without him on the defensive end. Every defensive set begins with on-the-ball defense, and when you don't have your most effective player executing that role, the rest of the defense will struggle. 

The Bulls took a 60-54 deficit into the second half, which reminded me of the Michigan-Kansas game for the simple fact that it felt as if the Brooklyn lead could and probably should have been much greater than it was. 

To make matters worse, the Bulls were also without the services of Luol Deng, so it was encouraging to see them drop 54 in the first half. Still, the second half would be a struggle to keep up and continue to find enough production to stay with the Nets. 

Nate Robinson buried a trey to open the second half, cutting the lead to three, but the Nets quickly built it back up to eight in the ensuing minutes. 

Later in transition, Robinson attacked the rim and dished to an open Marco Belinelli in the corner, who nailed the three to cut the Nets lead to 69-68. Luckily for the Bulls, it wasn't an exceptionally well-played quarter for either team, but Chicago made enough plays on the defensive end to keep the game from getting away from them before the final frame. 

Bulls-Nets, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game No. 3: Hold On

Chicago Bulls 79, Brooklyn Nets 76--Bulls lead 2-1

The Bulls and Nets entered the United Center tonight tied at a game apiece on the heels of a pair of vastly different games in Brooklyn. In Game One, the Bulls were simply overwhelmed, but Game Two was a 2012-13 Chicago classic, a symphony of raw exertion and grit. 

In this one, the early going resembled Game One, as the Bulls turned it over three times in less than two minutes of play and found themselves down 13-2 by the 7:37 mark. The turnover total for Chicago ballooned to five before the halfway point of the first. Meanwhile, the Bulls couldn't throw it into Lake Michigan, starting the game 2-for-8 from the field. 

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Deron Williams had eight points (5/5 from the FT line) through just over six minutes of play after scoring eight all game on Tuesday. Luckily, Williams cooled down and the Bulls rattled off an 14-0 run, taking a two point surplus into the second after having been down 12. All in all, it was a tremendously ugly first quarter, as the Bulls didn't start hitting until the last few minutes and the Nets stuck with the outside shot even as it didn't fall (Brooklyn didn't score a basket in the first quarter's final 6:25). Then again, it's not as if "that was an ugly quarter" will be an infrequent saying during this series. 

The Nets continued to lob airball after airball, which negated the fact that the Bulls weren't lighting it up either. However, Taj Gibson absolutely posterized Kris Humphries off of a pick and roll to the put the Bulls up 26-20, a dunk that was basically a way scaled down version of MJ's throw dunk from the end of Space Jam. 

Things were getting so bad that I wondered if the Nets might have more luck blindfolding themselves and using the Force when rising to shoot. The Nets were an unbelievably awful 6-for-32 from the field through 18 minutes of play, good for 19%. 

The Bulls did very well to recover, generally outworking the Nets and taking shots much closer to the basket. At the same time, the Nets' incompetence was just amazingly comprehensive. A Jimmy Butler interception in the back court led to a wide open layup for Kirk Hinrich, who happened to still be under the basket, a play that capably summarizes the state of affairs for the Nets in the first half. 

The Bulls took a 41-34 lead into the break after Gerald Wallace hit a trey at the buzzer. The Nets finished the half just 9-for-40 from the field, or 22.5%. The Bulls weren't exactly covering themselves in glory either, having shot just 41% (1-for-6 from three).

Bulls-Nets, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game Two: The Importance of Being Gritty

Chicago Bulls 90, Brooklyn Nets 82--Series tied, 1-1

Luckily, I didn't get around to writing anything about Game One of this series, which is a good thing given the  fairly disappointing outcome. The Bulls aren't 100 percent --Joakim Noah only managed to grit out 13 minutes-- but you would have liked to see a closer game given the Bulls' nice regular season mark against the Nets. 

Noah said he would give it a go again tonight for Game Two, but it was unclear how much a factor he could possibly be, particularly given the pesky nature of a plantar fasciitis injury. I'm writing these first couple of paragraphs before the game has started, but the unfortunate reality seems to be that the Bulls are going to have to win this series largely without significant contributions from Noah. This is a shame given the season he's had, but it's not exactly unexpected when a player is forced to play the minutes that Noah has. So it goes. 

In any case, the Bulls came into tonight with the opportunity to even the series before heading back to Chicago for Game Three on Thursday. It wasn't pretty early on, but through just over three minutes of play the game was tied at 2-2: progress! Noah got the start and was playing hard, as usual, but you could pretty obviously tell that he was not 100 percent. He started his evening with a miss in the paint on a relatively challenging running layup and also failed to connect on a mid-range jumper from just past the free throw line extended. 

The next few minutes continued to resemble a poorly played, out of control JV game, but the Bulls somehow found themselves up 10-6 heading into the first timeout. The Nets were blocking Bulls shots, crossing them over and throwing down monstrous dunks, but the Bulls held on to 20-17 lead heading into the second, a huge improvement over the 25-14 deficit they took into the second frame of Game One. 

Marco Belinelli pitched in some strong minutes in the second, hitting a 23-footer and then back-to-back strong finishes at the rim for six points in the second quarter's first half. Unfortunately, Brook Lopez caught fire, scoring eight second quarter points. Old friend C.J. Watson buried a buzzer-beating trey to send the Bulls into the half with a 47-46 lead. It was not the prettiest half of basketball, but it was exactly the sort of game the Bulls needed to play. 

Game No. 81 Recap, Bulls-Magic: Magic Cures What Ails You

Chicago Bulls 102, Orlando Magic 84

The Bulls entered tonight having squandered any momentum that win against New York could have possibly generated; since then, the Bulls have lost two straight, putting them a game behind Atlanta with two games to go. A Chicago loss and an Atlanta win tomorrow night would seal the Bulls' playoff seed at the 6 spot, meaning a tough first round opponent in the Indiana Pacers.

As such, a game like tonight's, against a quite frankly horrid Orlando Magic squad, was one that a team with even a modicum of hope for any sort of playoff run should win. Jacque Vaughn's Magic team entered tonight with a 20-60 record, second to last in the Eastern Conference and the second worst mark in the entire league (they're only one game better than last place Charlotte).

Fortunately for the Bulls, both Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson made their return, albeit from the bench and under a minutes cap.

Orlando jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but a Hinrich trey from the straight away and a beautiful backdoor dish from Carlos Boozer to Jimmy Butler allowed the Bulls to pull within two; on the next possession, Boozer faced up and hit his patented jumper to tie it at 9 four and a half minutes in.

The Bulls' defense was far from lockdown in the opening quarter, but the Bulls were able to capitalize on some easy buckets in transition situations and off of turnovers. Chicago entered the game tied for second to last in the league in points per game (93.1), but the Magic weren't far ahead, ranked 24th with 94.3 ppg. Of course, this is the NBA, where games aren't won or lost in the first quarter, or even the second or third.

Nonetheless, the Magic finished the first quarter with a shooting percentage of 47.6%; to the Bulls' credit, however, that number was hovering around 55% with just a few minutes left in the first quarter, so the defense tightened up a little bit. Chicago took a two point deficit into the second quarter, but, on the bright side, Noah and Gibson entered the game late in the second, logging their first minutes in some time.

Unfortunately, Noah picked up three quick fouls in just 4-5 minutes of play, with his third coming just over two minutes into the second quarter. A couple of minutes later, Rip Hamilton also picked up his third, putting the Bulls in an awkward situation very early in the game.

Upon an Orlando 24-second violation, Neil Funk mused that sometimes "you just have to wonder what Orlando is doing." An appropriate comment given that particular possession, and yet, the Bulls were still down four.

The offense was much harder to come by early in the second, as both teams combined for just nine points in the second frame's first five minutes. A 5-0 Bulls run gave them a 29-28 lead just past the halfway point in the second.

The Bulls offense start to hum down the stretch in the second, with four buckets from Boozer and Luol Deng from within 10 feet (three of them layups) and two more treys from Hinrich. Deng added another three for good measure, and a foul on a Jimmy Butler alley-oop dunk attempt sent the Bulls into the break up 49-37. Despite a shaky first 18 minutes or so, strong halves from Boozer (12 pts), Deng (14 pts) and Hinrich (3-for-3 from three) gave the Bulls a sizable cushion as the first half drew to a close.

Game No. 70 Recap, Bulls-Heat: Rasputin Strikes Back

Bulls 101, Heat 97

The Bulls came out firing, jumping out to an 11-2 start in the game's opening minutes, causing an Erik Spoelstra timeout at just the 9:02 mark of the opening quarter. Obviously, the rest of the game would not continue this way, but it was encouraging to see the Bulls come out strong, hitting some shots and getting to loose balls. 

Carlos Boozer was in on the early hot start, helping to extend the lead to 13-2 with an offensive rebound and a solid conversion from about 10-12 feet. Unfortunately, a quick pair of LeBron threes cut the lead down to 13-9. 

However, with some more hard work on the offensive glass, Boozer forced Udonis Haslem into his third foul of the game, just 5:15 into the contest. 

The Bulls were putting on a beautiful display of spacing and ball movement early on in the game, supplemented by some opportunistic defense at the other end. Chicago was shooting very well early and cleaning up some of its misses; although the glass half empty thought would be "this won't continue," again, at least it happened at all.

Deng nailed another trey near the 4:00 minute mark, and the game was starting to remind me of the Bulls' two trips to Madison Square Garden this season. 

Thanks to a pair of absurd Nate Robinson floaters near the end of the quarter, the Bulls entered the second up 32-22 despite 13 first quarter points for LeBron. Then again, the Heat aren't necessarily new to being down early in games as of late, so the Bulls could not afford to ease off even a tiny bit.

Fortunately, they didn't in the second, keeping their double digit lead for most of the quarter. Nate did his decidely Nate thing, and various other Bulls pitched in on the offensive end. Boozer had some trouble finishing around the basket in the first half on a couple of different occasions, but he otherwise had himself a nice half, going 5/10 from the field for 10 points. 

The Bulls outworked and outplayed the Heat in the first half, dishing out 15 assists to Miami's five. A staunch defensive effort on a Chris Bosh shot attempt in the closing seconds of the half sent the two teams into the break, the Bulls up 55-46. Something something end the streak something something. 

In the third, the Heat drew closer, this time down just five, 57-52, less than three minutes in. It felt very close to gut check time for the Bulls, who could have begun to fold once Miami threatened to tie it up.

Nazr Mohammed should come in for praise here, as he hit the Bull's first jumper of the half in addition to picking up an offensive board and a defensive one that drew Haslem's fourth foul. No, starting a 35-year-old Nazr Mohammed will never be ideal, but he has been sneakily effective at times. Like Kurt Thomas of the Knicks, sometimes that old man game is better than you think. 

Despite a highlight reel alley oop from Deng to Butler, dunking over a hapless Bosh, the Bulls went into the final frame up just 69-68.  On the bright side, after 13 points in the first quarter, the Bulls held LeBron to just 11 in the second and third combined. Progress! Also, despite a 1/10 start from the field in the third, it is nice that the Bulls were not only still in the game but up one, no less.

The Bulls would need to continue being physical in the paint and not allowing Miami any easy buckets, whether in transition or the half court. Regardless, entering the fourth in the upper 60s is a win for the Bulls, who simply cannot keep up given the state of the active lineup. 

A 6-0 run by the Bulls, capped by Birdman derping an open dunk and Butler finishing over him at the other end, gave Chicago some breathing room. Still, it was difficult not to hope for the lead to grow a decent bit before the final four of five minutes, as we've seen the Bulls collapse down the stretch due to a lack of playmakers vis-a-vis the opponent.

An aggressive take by Hinrich in transition gave the Bulls a 80-73 lead with six minutes or so to go, a make sandwiched by two Deng treys. It was a somewhat lethargic third quarter, but the Bulls' outside shooting was coming to life at the right time. Now, it was all about getting stops.

LeBron baited Hinrich into driving past him on three consecutive (I believe) possessions, leading to three straight blocks and a lot of consternation. STOP DRIVING KIRK AHHHH. Well, with just over two minutes to go, Kirk drove, found on the wrap around pass at the baseline, who then swished it to give Chicago a 94-85 lead with 2:18 to go.  

A pair of Miami buckets cut the lead to just five with over a minute to go, which might as well not have been a lead at all with LeBron looking to go into heroball mode after the flagrant foul situation with Boozer several minutes earlier.

Big buckets from Boozer and Robinson essentially sealed up the win for the Bulls, sending the Heat into foul mode. 

The Heat entered the United Center and lost tonight for the first time since Feb. 1. It seemed unlikely after the Heat tied it up in the third, but the Bulls continued to fight and scratch and do all the things people scoff at because of irony and Internet sarcasm. 

The Bulls have notched some solid wins against some solid teams this season, but this one, without the service of Noah, Belinelli, Rose and Hamilton, easily comes in as the best victory of the year. Obviously, a Bulls team with all those guys is a completely different squad, and it's difficult to extrapolate based on this game how they'd do at full strength, but...either way, it's hard not to get excited after wins like this.

An excellent performance from Deng, Butler, and, yes, Boozer, powered the Bulls to victory while short-handed against a team on an insanely prolific streak. Who knows how the rest of the season will unfold, but tonight was one of a select few regular season games that will be remembered for years to come.

Game No. 70 Preview, Bulls-Heat: Have You Heard

Chicago Bulls (38-31) vs. Miami Heat (56-14)

8:00 ET, ESPN

So, due to school, the Hawks and Big Ten basketball, the Bulls sort of fell off the radar here. Such is life. It's hard to believe that tonight's tilt is the 70th game of the season, but here we are.

The Bulls have been the basketball manifestation of Rasputin this season, suffering all manner of injuries and seemingly deadly blows only to continue to trudge along, seven games above .500 and fifth in the Eastern Conference, currently slated for a winnable first round series against Brooklyn. 

Derrick Rose is still gone, and it seems fairly obvious to everyone that he won't be suiting up this season. Richard Hamilton has done his best Martin Havlat impression, having not played since Feb. 26. Taj Gibson missed 10 games with a sprained MCL, but mercifully returned to the lineup last Thursday against Portland. Since his return, he's averaged 12.3 ppg in three games. Needless to say, he was missed. 

Kirk Hinrich did return against Portland on March 21 after having missed seven straight,  but he's shot a horrendous 5/24 from the field in his first three games back. He was a -10 in Sunday's win in Minneapolis, and Robinson rightfully got 10 more minutes despite Hinrich getting the starting nod.

The Bulls will still be without Rose and Hamilton, and Marco Belinelli will be a game-time decision after missing the Minnesota game on Sunday. Joakim Noah, who has missed the last two games with a case of a return of that pesky plantar fasciitis, will also be a game-time decision. 

If Belinelli and Noah can't go, the Bulls' chances of ending the 27-game Heat winning streak are slim. If they go, I'm saying there's a chance. The Bulls are 1-1 against Miami on the season, beating the Heat in Miami on Jan. 4 but getting thumped at the United Center on Feb. 21, 86-67.

In case you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that the Heat are on a bit of a streak. Their last loss came on Feb. 1, which is fairly ridiculous. However, their upcoming stretch comes against some opponents with a pulse, so if they are going to lose it might as well be now; why not Chicago?

There's not much need to go through the standard personnel rundown. LeBron James is not from this planet, and is sure to be this season's MVP, an award he will probably win [*Sandlot voice*] for-ev-errrr. He's averaging 26.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 7.4 apg. LeBron is a basketball cyborg, sent to us from Cyberdyne to terrorize the National Basketball Association. Good luck, Luol and Jimmy. Hoping your team prevents LeBron from getting into the lane is like trying to stop a speeding locomotive. 

As always, here's the Deng-James player comparison (sample size caveats do apply, given these teams have met only twice): 

Elsewhere, Dwyane Wade has missed the last two games for the Heat and might be out for this one [update: he's playing]. Ray Allen continues to come off of the bench to drain threes in your eye (43% on the season); Mike Miller starts at the SG spot in Wade's stead.

The Heat have had a few close calls during this stretch, including a 98-95 victory at Cleveland (sans Kyrie Irving). I mean, they have to lose eventually...said every other team in the last six or seven weeks. 

If Noah can go, which I doubt will happen, the Bulls have a shot at doing some work on the offensive glass against a team with a defensive rebounding percentage of 72.8%, putting them in the bottom third of the league. Otherwise, it all depends on whether or not Boozer can nail some jumpers, Deng can pitch in something while having to check LeBron and Nate Robinson doing his best 2011-12 John Lucas III against Miami impression. 

On the bright side, the Bulls have showed some fight, winning their last two against division leader Indiana and at Minnesota after having previously lost six of their last eight. The Pacers game was yet another Big Ten-esque clash, with a combined 38 points from Noah and Boozer powering the Bulls to to a win on a night when Nazr Mohammed not only started but played 31 minutes. To his credit, he did score 11 points and grab seven boards, which I would be lying if I said that I didn't think he would reach those numbers in an entire season with the Bulls. 

But, as they say, next man up. Injuries or not, the Bulls have proven they can beat the Heat without Rose on the floor, but that doesn't mean it will actually happen.

At full strength, I'd actually feel pretty good about the Bull's chances, even if we're talking 2012-13 "full strength" (i.e. everybody but Rose). Even if Noah and Belinelli sit, I would still like Chicago's chances against a Wade-less squad. LeBron is great, but can he do it against Chicago by himself?

The answer to that question is, well, of course he can. There are a lot of injury-related hypotheticals tied to this one, but one team has LeBron and the other doesn't. Play this game ten times without Wade, Noah and Belinelli (and Hamilton and Rose) and the Heat probably win six of seven times out of ten.

Bulls 89, Heat 93.

Game No. 34 Preview, Bulls-Knicks: King of the Hill, Top of the Heap Pt. 3

Chicago Bulls (19-14) @ New York Knicks (23-12)

So, here we are again. Despite the Knicks' somewhat surprising season (I actually had a feeling they'd be pretty good, but not this good), they've struggled against the Bulls, dropping a game in both Chicago (Dec. 8) and more recently in New York (Dec. 21). In case you forgot, this happened the last time these two teams met: 

Good times. People were forced to go on timeout and many bad words were said. This just about sums up the New York perspective of this particular game: 

(HT @TheKnicksWall)

 The Bulls ambushed the Knicks with a 14-2 start and continued to lay it on as the game went on. Only at the end, after all Noah, Chandler, Anthony and head coach Mike Woodson did the Knicks mount a comeback of sorts that made the final score look much closer than the game actually was.

Chicago's aggressive defense frustrated the Knicks' potent attack, which, based on following several Knicks folks on Twitter, does not seem to be an uncommon approach for teams looking to beat the Knicks this season. 

Due to a lack of time, this preview will have to be a little shorter than normal. For the standard personnel rundown, check out my preview from the Dec. 21 contest. 

Anyway, things are a little different this time. Raymond Felton, who had been struggling mightily with his shot anyway, is out with an injury. Marcus Camby seems to have re-aggravated his plantar fascia injury last night in Indiana. This does not resonate as a huge blow on paper, but it does put a dent in New York's frontcourt, which often struggles when Tyson Chandler isn't around to patrol the floor and/or shooting laser beams out of his eyes.

Also of note, Rasheed Wallace is still out, so no change there. Speaking of Sheed, read this.

Since their 15-5 start, the Knicks have been thoroughly mediocre of late: they've gone 8-7 in their last 15 and come into tonight with a two-game losing streak (on the heels of a two-game winning streak featuring a thumping of San Antonio and a high-scoring W in Orlando). 

The Knicks took a tough loss against the similarly physical Boston Celtics, which you probably know about solely because of the post-game come-at-me-bro between Carmelo and Kevin Garnett. Last night, the Knicks got thoroughly Big Ten'd by the Pacers, an 81-76 defeat in which Carmelo was a DNP due to a one-game suspension stemming from the aforementioned incident. 

Combined with the fact that tonight is the back end of a back-to-back for the Knicks, New York's  less than stellar performance this week should at least allow for a solid shot at another win in Madison Square Garden for the Bulls. The Bulls didn't exactly look impressive themselves on Wednesday against Milwaukee, faltering in the fourth quarter after a big early lead (history, it repeats itself) en route to a 104-96 defeat. 

"Luckily," this game is not being played at the United Center. The Bulls have thrived on the road this season, having picked up big wins at MSG and against Miami more recently. Can they do it again? It comes down to this: 

• J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony combined for 55 points the last time these two teams met, but on a mediocre 19/45 from the field (42%). High volume, low efficiency. This is the formula, but it is easier said than done. Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler did a masterful job containing and frustrating Melo last time; Melo will likely look to come out shooting coming off of his suspension, so they will need to bring a similar effort. 

• Simply put, the Bulls starters need to get close to matching their shooting efficiency from the last meeting. Even Kirk Hinrich had an incredible performance, shooting 6/8 (4/5 from 3!) en route to a 16-point night and yet another underwhelming showing for Felton. 

• Transition, transition, transition. The Knicks' transition game losing a bit of zip with Jason Kidd running the show, but everyone knows that he is still capable of Jamie Moyer-ing his way to some nifty assists on the break. As always, the following chain applies: good shots=fewer long rebounds=fewer transition opportunities for the oppoent=fewer soul-crushing Steve Novak corner threes, terrifying J.R. Smith thunderdunks, etc.. The Bulls got demolished in transition Wednesday night, so you can be sure this was a point of emphasis in practice yesterday for Tom Thibodeau.

• Prediction? The odds are against the Bulls shooting the lights out like they did last time, and the odds are also against Carmelo Anthony being as relatively inefficient as he was on Dec. 21. In any case, with both teams coming off of ugly losses (for vastly different reasons), I think the energy will be high on both sides. With the Knicks' resurgence, this rivalry has easily vaulted into first place for me as a Bulls fan. Nothing will ever bring back the sheer intensity and venom of the 1990s, but that doesn't mean this still can't be a great rivalry. Unfortunately, I have a hard time picturing the Bulls reprising their first performance in MSG. The scoring will be much lower this time, and I'm envisioning the standard script: a tough game throughout marred by a lack of big plays down the stretch by the Bulls. Bulls 92, Knicks 99.

Game No. 27 Preview, Bulls-Rockets: Been A Long Time Gone

Chicago Bulls (15-11) vs. Houston Rockets (14-12)

The Opponent 

The Bulls faced the Rockets once before this season, a 93-89 loss in Houston that continued what was already a rough mid-late November for Chicago. 

In the loss, their third in a row at the time, the Bulls shot a measly 40% from the field. Nonetheless, the Bulls took an 84-79 lead into the home stretch after Nate Robinson hit a three at the 4:41 mark in the fourth quarter. In what was many quintessential "this is what happens when Derrick Rose is absent" games, the Bulls did not score again until there were 7 seconds left in the game, just over four and a half minutes of being shut out on offense in the most important portion of the game. 

Since that defeat in Houston, the Rockets have rattled off a nice stretch of play, going 9-5 and picking up wins against the Knicks (twice), Memphis and the Lakers (if that means anything right now). In any case, the Rockets are definitely trending upward. 

PF Patrick Patterson, who really hurt the Bulls last time around (20 pts, 8 rebounds), continues to be out with a foot injury; Marcus Morris (8.9 ppg) takes his place in the starting lineup. As always, the brunt of the offensive burden will fall on James Harden (25.6 ppg, 22.9 PER) and Chandler Parsons (14.7 ppg). Parsons can get up and down the floor, so if Deng is still looking as banged up as he did Saturday night against Atlanta, he might be able to have a game against the Bulls tonight. 

Likewise, Belinelli on Harden is another frightening matchup, albeit for different reasons. On the bright side, these are the numbers from last year when Belinelli and Harden were on the floor at the same time (with Belinelli in New Orleans, obviously): 

(nba.com/stats)

Small sample size, so who knows. Like the Knicks game, I imagine we'll get liberal amounts of Jimmy Butler in this one. Carmelo Anthony and James Harden are different players, obviously, but Butler has proven himself equal to the challenge. 

Otherwise, our old friend Omer Asik is busy averaging 10.6 ppg, which is kind of irritating after everyone spent his stint in Chicago bemoaning his lack of any sort of offensive ability. Thanks, Omer! 

 "you're welcome"

Also, the Rockets have this guy named Jeremy Lin, who you may have heard of; it has been a somewhat up and down season offensively for the former Knick, but he has been playing very weel of late. The month of November has seen a pretty sizable uptick in all the relevant numbers: 13.5 ppg, up from 10.2 in October; 48% from the field, up from 35%; and 35% from 3, up from 26%.

Lin was 2-for-9 for 4 points the last time around, with five turnovers to just three assists; the Bulls' guards will need to duplicate this sort of defensive performance if the Bulls are going to keep pace.

Points of Concern 

As always, James Harden provides an offensive threat that is often impossible to defend. The odds of Belinelli being able to hang with Harden with any sort of consistency are not good, which means that the Bulls will have to go with Butler, who doesn't provide much offense himself. Managing this spot in the lineup is kind of like plugging a hole in a dam; another leak will always spring up. 

As a team, the Rockets lead the league in points per game (105.4 per).  Luckily, they're second to last in points allowed (103.4 per), making them pretty much the complete antithesis of the Bulls. Regardless, a potent offensive attack against this Bulls team, one that can go silent for stretches of four or five minutes at a time, is a little worrisome.

Asik, as we know, is a staunch presence in the middle, and even blocked Joakim Noah dunk attempts twice the last time around. Noah and the rest of the frontcourt will need to finish around the basket against the Turkish Tower.

What Needs To Happen 

The Bulls didn't really do anything egregious the last time around other than completely faltering offensively in the last five minutes of the first contest in Houston. Other than that, the Bulls had held Lin in check, took care of the ball relatively well and didn't let Houston shoot an exceptional percentage.

In short, shut down the Lin pick and roll game again with Morris/Asik. Don't let the Rockets get into transition; as always, this means good shots and fewer long rebounds on the offensive end. If this becomes the proverbial track meet, the Bulls will be like that one sad guy trailing in the back of an Olympic 100-meter run.

Useless Prediction Time 

• Jeremy Lin once again struggles from the field against the Bulls. 
• The Bulls rebounded 28% of their misses last time against Houston, with Patterson out this time around, I expect that number to go up to about 33-35%. 
• Jimmy Butler is averaging over 2 minutes per game more than his season average in his last ten games. He logged 30 minutes against Houston the first time around, and I'd imagine that he'll get close to or exceed that number tonight. 
• Playing at home, the Bulls do just enough to pick off a rising Houston team (I have nothing to based this feeling off of save holiday cheer). Bulls 96, Rockets 94.

Game 8 Recap: When the Sun Goes Down

Bulls (5-3) 112, Suns (4-5) 106, (OT)

The Bulls began the dread circus trip in Phoenix tonight. They started last year's shortened season with a 4-game run out west, going 3-1, including a thrilling opening win at the Staples Center against the Lakers. Later on, the Bulls embarked on a fairly ridiculous stretch of nine straight road games, albeit all against Eastern Conference squads (save Memphis). 

Thibodeau's Bulls maintained a sterling 24-9 record on the road last season, only two games worse than their home mark. They went 6-3 during that stretch, with Rose playing less than 24 minutes against New Jersey and NOLA and not playing at all against Charlotte and Boston (a loss). 

Of course, the Bulls only had one road contest to their name thus far, a thumping of Cleveland in the second game of the season. So, this upcoming stretch, beginning with tonight's game, will serve as a decent litmus test for just how much ADVERSITY this Rose-less team can handle. 

I unfortunately had to miss most of the first half, so we'll just start with the usual halftime numbers. 

Halftime stats (Bulls 57, Suns 51)

Bulls: 

Team: Points per possession-->0.83 

• Boozer: 8/12 16 points
• Deng: 3/5, 8 points

Suns: 

Team: PPP-->0.96

• Scola: 8/13, 16 points
• Dragic: 4/5, 10 points, 3 assists, 3 turnovers 

---
First of all, it seems like there was maybe 12 people at this game. I guess that's what happens when you're playing a mediocre team and you don't have Derrick Rose. I would urge the people of Phoenix to give Nate Robinson a chance next time around.

After a couple of minutes, a Boozer 17-footer bounced high off the room and came back through the cylinder for two. It was apparently that kind of night for Boozer, who was 9/14 on the night. Shortly afterward, Joakim Noah intercepted a bad Michael Beasley pass and went coast-to-coast with it for the dunk, putting the Bulls up nine.

A Noah layup, a Deng and 1, a Deng trey and Nate-assisted Boozer two propelled the Bulls to a 79-61 lead late in the third, and my concerns regarding the Bulls' chances against teams with somewhat of a pulse (i.e. not Cleveland) on the road abated almost completely.

Of note, watching Michael Beasley turn it over, jack up horrible threes and generally be a minus player reminds me how there was actually a robust Rose-Beasley debate back before the 2008 NBA Draft. It's a good thing I am not an NBA scout.

The Bulls played solid defense in the third overall after giving up 51 through the first two quarters (a lot, for the Bulls at least). Luis Scola dropped 16 points in the first half but didn't pick up his first second half bucket until the very end of the third. Scola missed two jumpers and had another blocked by Luol Deng before finally getting back on the score sheet with eight seconds left in the third.

P.J. tucker and Scola scores in the paint to start the third brought the Bulls lead back down to 10. However, after a helter skelter Bulls possession that saw Taj Gibson saving the ball from entering the back court, Deng hit a ridiculous off-balanced shot as the shot clock expired. However, with the Suns going on a 17-9 run since the apex of the Bulls' lead (back when it was 79-61), the Bulls were not yet in the clear.

A Shannon Brow jumper cut the lead to only five, which might as well be a deficit in the NBA. Even Captain Kirk unraveled a bit, getting after an official who called an offensive foul/didn't call a Telfair handcheck foul on the perimeter. After a couple put back opportunities, the Suns had a chance to the cut the lead to two (or one) on  the next possession but weren't able to connect, a possibly pivotal moment in the game. 

The Bulls nursed a now 5-point lead heading into the second half of the fourth quarter, having seen their once seemingly unassailable lead, well, decidedly assailed. With only eight 4th quarter points through 7:20 of play, the Bulls lead was on the brink of extinction; they lead by just one coming out of a timeout with the ball. The Bulls turned to a bread and butter set, with Hamilton curling for a FT line jumper. Unfortunately, he missed, but Goran Dragic missed a solid look at a corner three at the other end. 

Noah then hit an uncontested 17-footer, but a Telfair trey tied the game up, 93 all, with just under three minutes to go. The two teams traded buckets again, with a nice shot fake into a layup for Nate and a jumper from Scola, who had started to find his offensive game a bit after a quiet third quarter. 

Luckily, the Suns fouled, sending the Bulls into the penalty on their next possession (the Bulls only had one team foul at this point). Nate, however, was only able to sink 1 of 2 at the line. Even so, this came up big on the next possession, where a Phoenix loose ball foul sent Hamilton to the line, where he sank both. 

Hinrich went to the line as well and split a pair, putting the Bulls up 99-95. A ridiculous continuation call on a Shannon Brown drive on Gibson, however, brought the lead back to only 1. It was Boozer's chance to shine here. 

He spotted up for a 16-18 footer on the baseline, for a bucket that would have given the Bulls some much needed confidence going into the next defensive possession. Despite going 11-16 until that point, Boozer missed. 

Phoenix had the ball down 1 with 26 seconds to go. Once again, Brown went after Gibson, only this time he missed. Rip hit the front end but missed the second on his ensuing trip to the line. Of course, the Suns' P.J. Tucker grabbed a loose ball in the paint at the other end and scored to tie the game at 100 all. 

The Bulls came out with Boozer, Noah, Deng, Hamilton and Nate Robinson. Rip curled around a baseline screen from Boozer, settled, and badly missed his attempt to end the game. Overtime it is. 

Scola fouled out and Deng hit a key jumper to give the Bulls a 2-point cushion. Boozer then smartly went after Beasley, drawing a foul and converting both shots from the line. Beasley then delivered a bit of an elbow to Deng's face on the other end, correctly called an offensive foul (NB: in the game of basketball, you are not allowed to elbow people in the face). 

The Suns continued to flail away on the offensive end without Scola (and with Goran Dragic surprisingly uninvolved in the proceedings). Beasley, of all people, came alive near the end, pitching in a jumper and an and 1 to bring the Bulls lead down to 4. 

Always up to the challenge, Noah hit an 18-footer after Gortat seemed reluctant to come out and guard him near the top of the key. Initiate finger gunz. Game Blouses. 

BULLets, Sponsored by "I See What You Did There, Inc."

• Adventures in Carlos Boozer shooting. Given the type of bigs the Suns have, it's not that surprising that Boozer was able to have his best night by far since the Cleveland game. 

• Taj Gibson. With Boozer and Noah both having good to very good nights on the offensive end, Gibson logged a mere 16 minutes in regulation time. With four points and two boards, it was another relatively quiet night for Mr. Gibson (although he did manage two blocks). 

• Et tu, rebounding? The Bulls had a somewhat weak night on the defensive glass, with the Suns grabbing just under 40% of their misses when I last checked about a minute into the overtime period. There's no doubt that this game would not have reached OT if the Bulls were able to clean up on the glass like they normally do. 

• Goran Dragic? Apparently he scored 12 --which all must have been scored before I started watching-- but he seemed to have no role down the stretch whatsoever, which seems a curious thing to me. Telfair was a key player in the Suns' comeback, but you would think the Suns would want to involve one of their most talented offensive players in key late game situations. You can't see this, but I'm currently shrugging. 

• Rippin' the nets. Rip scored 11 points during regulation play, but a pair of jumpers in OT, the second after an ORB, were by far his biggest points of the game and maybe even the season thus far. 

Game 7 Recap: Hot and Cold

United Center

Is a place I should visit

I need file photos

Bulls 95 (4-3), Celtics 101 (4-3)

Apologies for no preview/recap for Saturday's thrilling game against the Timberwolves; I decided not to do them because college football. 

Anyway, the Bulls took on the Celtics at the United Center, the last home contest before the Bulls embark on a 5-game road trip. The Celtics jumped out to an early lead; a 10-2 run put them up 19-10 a little over halfway through the first quarter. Rajon Rondo made the Bulls (i.e. Nate Robinson) look silly on the break a couple times early, which is obviously your primary concern when facing this Celtics team. Of course, this is the NBA, where 10-point leads are the equivalent of being down only one or two scores in the college game. 

Luckily, Carlos Boozer came alive early after four straight games of frankly terrible performances from the field. He made five of his first six shots, scoring 10 in the first quarter despite being checked by Kevin Garnett. Boozer converted a nice shot off the glass falling away, and when Garnett went out he successfully made a move and attacked Chris Wilcox for a nice bucket. 

Defensively, the Bulls gave up 33 in the first quarter, something which probably didn't make Coach Thibodeau too happy. The Bulls had more than a few breakdowns, in both transition and the half court. As expected, Garnett, Pierce and Rondo carried the day for Boston early, scoring a combined 23 points in the first quarter. 

With the second quarter underway, the Bulls were forced to play the rookie Marquis Teague, who would lead the second unit (what with Kirk Hinrich out of commission). He launched a long two on his first possession and missed. I was admittedly pretty excited about him when the Bulls were able to grab in the the draft, but it's pretty obvious that he'll need quite a bit of time before he's truly ready for the show. 

However, Teague did slip a nice pass in to Deng for an assist (and technically got credit for an "assist" on a Belinelli 27-foot three). Otherwise, he didn't do much, good or bad. He was clearly hesitant to do much of anything with the ball, which is kind of amazing if you watched him play at Kentucky last season. On one possession with the shot clock ticking down, he had the opportunity to either launch a perimeter shot or take his defender off the dribble. Instead, he shimmied, dribbled to the free throw line, and dished to Belinelli with about 2.5 seconds on the clock. Oh Derrick Rose, how we miss you so. 

After three straight buckets from Leandro Barbosa (who hurt the Bulls a bit in the second quarter), Brandon Bass and Pierce, the Bulls were down 47-38 with just under four minutes to go. Boozer then got his shot blocked by Bass, who then finished the play on the other end for two. To make matters worse, Nate Robinson turned the ball over trying to split a double team, which lead to a pair of free throws for Bass. It was a disastrous sequence for the Bulls, now down 38-51. 

The Celtics' 58 first half points was the most given up in a first half all year by the Bulls (the most since the Atlanta game in January, per Stacey King). Needless to say, allowing an opponent to shoot 60% from the field generally doesn't result in nice things. 

Halftime stats

Celtics: PPP (points per possession)-->1.26 

• Pierce: 4/7, 10 points, 5 rebounds
• Rondo: 5/6, 10 points, 5 assists
• Garnett: 3/8, 9 points 

Bulls: PPP-->0.99

• Boozer: 6/9, 12 points, 4 rebounds
• Robinson: 1/3, 4 points, 5 assists
• Deng: 5/12, 11 points

---

The game just sort of dragged along, with the Bulls down by 10-14 points throughout most of it. The Celtics continued to shoot it well and the Bulls continued to mostly live and die by the outside shot, which resulted in all sorts of air balls, shots off the side of the glass (ahem, Boozer), etc. The Bulls really never get the transition game going, where Noah held an advantage on Garnett vis a vis general mobility. Alas, Noah was only 2/6 with 6 points well into the third quarter. 

Naturally, there was a sense that Boozer's 5/6 start from the field was an ephemeral thing, and it was; he went 2/8 from the end of that 5/6 start until the end of his third quarter floor time. Boozer gonna Booze(r). 

The third quarter was a purgatorial time of the Bulls being down 10-14 points, the Celtics seemingly not interested in putting the game away and the Bulls too incompetent to get any closer. The Bulls finally pulled within nine with under a minute to go, but former Buckeye Jared Sullinger knocked in a trey with 0.7 seconds to go in the third quarter. 

So, the third quarter was essentially like watching a hamster running in his wheel for 12 minutes. However, the Bulls showed life early in the third. As if on cue, Noah put in a quick five points, and Deng then posted up Barbosa and flipped one up from the elbow (he then converted at the line for the 3-point play). With Rondo on the bench, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run (Boozer was also on the bench during this time, in case you were wondering). 

After Noah hit a pair of FTs, the Bulls were down only three for the first time in seemingly forever. The Bulls defense seemed to pick up the intensity, forcing Garnett to pull the trigger on an outside shot that he airballed. 

Marquis Teague made an aggressive move off the dribble from the top of the key but fended Garnett off with his arm while in the air, spoiling what would have been a very nice play otherwise. On the other hand, the Celtics had fallen completely cold, having shot 2/10 through the first half of the 4th quarter. The C's were shooting "only" 50% now from the field. 

A Deng layup with under a minute to go brought the Bulls to within 2, but Garnett slammed an alley oop home on the other end to bring the deficit back to 4. Just like the Thunder game last week, the Bulls just couldn't come through when they needed to on the offensive end. Gibson missed a pair of free throws and Rondo dropped his 10th assist on the night, resulting in a Bass dunk. Game blouses. 

BULLets, Sponsored by "I See What You Did There, Inc."

• Marquis Teague. I won't belabor the point re: not being ready, but he seems to be his own worst enemy at this point. This isn't saying much, but he is easily one of only a couple Bulls' who can occasionally break a defender down. Teague was very tentative, particularly late in the shot clock. On two separate occasions, he dished it to Belinelli with very little time left on the clock. Especially with Hinrich out, Teague needs to trust his best asset--his ability to break people down--and just play ball. 

• Adventures in Carlos Boozer shooting. He did start off hot, having a good stretch of shooting for the first time since the Cleveland game. However, all good things must come to an end, especially when it comes to Carlos Boozer's outside shooting. I don't need to tell you that he wasn't on the floor when the Bulls made their big 4th quarter push. 

• Captain Kirk. Hinrich is hurt all the time these days, which is kind of annoying, but it's clear that he is more valuable than we might realize. He plays good D and has led the charge in the transition game more than capably through the Bulls' first 6 games. 

• Sometimes I get a bad feeling. The Bulls enter their 5-game circus trip with a 4-3 record and a palpable sense that the Bulls underperformed against NOLA and let one get away against OKC. In any case, the Bulls start their road tour in Phoenix Wednesday night and continue with LAC, Portland, Houston and Milwaukee. If they can go 3-2 or better there, gold stars for everyone. 

• The 100+ point rule strikes again. Just saying, it is ironclad. The Bulls give up 100+, they lose. 

Game 5 Recap: Melts Into The Sea, Eventually

Thanks, banner. 

Bulls 91, Thunder 97

The Bulls stared a 2-2 Harden-less Thunder team looking to avoid a sub-.500 record. Everything in the early stages went according to the ironclad plan detailed in the game preview; the Thunder were cold from outside, missing long 2 after long 2, and that allowed the Bulls to get out in transition. Partially on the back of a hot start from Rip Hamilton, the Bulls jumped out to a 12-4 lead while the Thunder shot 2/12 from the field. 

Things began to fall apart a bit as the first quarter ended and the second began. Kirk Hinrich did his best Mobb Deep impression, looking like quite the Shook One after a crossover from Westbrook led to an easy layup. Ibaka hit a corner three, which is a pretty scary concept if he can hit that with even semi-regularity. The Bulls got beat on their second backdoor cut of the opening quarter, this time with Collison hitting Durant for the dunk. 

A turnover on the Bulls' final possession of the quarter lead to a Durant dunk in the open floor with 0.7 seconds left. The two teams entered the second tied at 24. 

Things continued to trend in the negative direction in the early stages of the second. After the Bulls had started 10/15 from the field, they then rattled off a stretch of 1/8. The Bulls were also somewhat careless with the ball, turning it over multiple times in the opening minutes of the period. Kevin Martin also continued to show the scoring prowess he has shown in the first four games of his Thunder career, completing an and 1 opportunity after a nice drive past Jimmy Butler for a nice 14-footer. 

The Bulls found themselves down 26-33 after having been up by eight earlier in the game. Fortunately, the Bulls picked it up in the second half of the second quarter by, you guessed it, converting in transition and on second chance opportunities. Kirk Hinrich continues to be, to my surprise at least, kind of a magician on the break, knowing exactly when to hit guys on the wings or in the lane. He even hit a three after Boozer sneakily picked up an offensive board that made its way to the 3-point line before the nearby Thunder player could grab it. At that point, it was 40 all and the Bulls were back in business. 

Hinrich then delivered a beautiful pass to a charging Luol Deng on the break, who maneuvered his way in the air to finish and convert an and 1 opportunity at the line. 

It was a sloppy quarter at times for the Bulls, and not a particularly good one for Boozer, who turned it over at least once and took a bad shot on the last possession. Unfortunately, the Thunder rattled off a 6-0 run to end the half, taking a 48-47 lead into the intermission. 

Halftime stats: 

Thunder: 

• Durant: 5/9, 10 points
• Westbrook: 2/10, 8 assists (!), 4 points
• Serge Ibaka: 6/11, 15 points
• Team: 50% from the field, 10 turnovers, 5 offensive boards

Bulls: 

• Boozer: 2/8, 7 points, 2 turnovers
• Deng: 6/11, 13 points 
• Hamilton: 3/5, 8 points, 3 turnovers
• Team: 44% from the field, 10 turnovers, 8 offensive boards 

---

The Bulls managed a 9-0 run early in the third to make the score 59-55. Durant and Westbrook pitched in the first three buckets of the half for the Thunder, however, resulting in a bit of concern as to whether or not they would attempt to break the game open on their own in the third period. On the bright side, the Thunder then went scoreless for the next four minutes, allowing the Bulls to creep back into the game and acquire a small lead.

Russell Westbrook took Hinrich on again at the top of the key, completing a spectacular play in the lane for an and 1 opportunity to bring the Thunder within one.

Otherwise, it was once again a sloppy quarter for both teams. The Bulls coughed it up seven times, the Thunder six times in this quarter alone. However, paced by 7 points from Hinrich and 8 from Hamilton, the Bulls entered the fourth with a 72-66 lead off of an 11-5 run.

The Bulls jumped out to a 5-point lead but an 7-0 run coming from the Thunder put the Bulls down 73-75. That's when it became the Luol Deng Show. After a trey, and and 1 off of a 16-footer and a layup, the Bulls were within two with five and a half minutes to go.

With the score then at 85 all, Deng and Hinrich missed two very good looks from downtown on back-to-back possessions, which, as a fan, was a "what could have been" pair of moments.

Westbrook slashed through the lane and finished as the game approached the 2-minute mark. The Bulls then turned it over, but Durant missed badly on the ensuing possession. Hamilton couldn't connect on a solid medium range look. There was less than a minute to go.

Of course, despite not having a transcendent night, the Thunder called Durant's number. He swished a baseline jumper to give the Thunder a 4-point lead. The Bulls would need to score on their next possession.

Luckily, they did, as Hinrich maneuvered around the perimeter before dishing to Gibson, who swished a 15-footer. However, once again, Durant knocked home a Nowitzki-esque jumper over Deng's head to bring the Bulls deficit back to 4.

From the elbow, Gibson found a cutting Noah, who slammed it home with literally nobody anywhere near him. The Bulls then called a timeout to gather themselves/figure out who to foul, what with 15 seconds left in the game.

The Thunder managed to get it in to Durant, who went on to knock both free throws. After a missed Radmonovic trey, it was game over for the Bulls, with only 3.7 seconds to go.

--
It was a sloppy game (42 total turnovers between the two teams) marked by intermittent bursts of brilliant showmanship from Luol Deng, Rip Hamilton, Russell Westbrook and, of course, Kevin Durant. Both teams built up solid leads at various points only to see them collapse like sand castles melting into the sea.

Despite lapses along the way, the Bulls managed to battle back to make it a game until the very end. Deng and Hamilton had exceptional nights, and Hinrich was pretty solid as well. Boozer struggled for the third game in a row, and the Bulls only managed 14 bench points (with a 6-man rotation, if you include Radmonovic's brief cameo). For comparison, the Thunder only played 4 subs, who scored a combined 29 points.

That will be something that the Bulls will continue to have to live with post-Bench Mob. With Boozer continuing to struggle and Gibson et al failing to be regular offensive contributors (not that I'm expecting Gibson to be 10+ ppg guy right now like Ibaka), the pressure will continue to fall on the shoulders of guys like Hamilton and Deng to be on from outside.

On the bright side, I will say this: even though the Bulls are "only" 3-2, this was another laudable effort from a squad missing the guy the makes it all go. At some point I'm going to need to stop mentioning this fact, but Rose's absence cannot be understated. Picture a Bulls squad with Hinrich running the transition against the opponent's bench, and this is a team that looks pretty, pretty, pretty good.


The Bulls have another home contest Saturday against an, as of now, 3-1 Minnesota squad. With a game against Boston after that before a 5-game road tour, we'll learn a lot about this team in the coming weeks.