Watching Derrick Rose pull off another close one that
shouldn’t is sort of a testament toward your perspective on this season…and
maybe life.
With 32 points and 9 assists (which should have been 15
because there were so many misses around the rim), it only made sense he would
have to rescue the day with a fully loaded roster—finally—at home after several
days rest.
They win ugly. But they win, right?
Derrick Rose was good, as was Joakim Noah, who is finally
starting to make a difference again, and the rest of the team was passable.
Luol Deng shot poorly again and hasn’t looked quite right since tearing a
ligament in his wrist.
Kyle Korver couldn’t hit a shot and Rip Hamilton was creaky
in his 18 minutes. For some reason, the Bulls never looked themselves this game
and have been mostly flat (save for a nice showing against the Boston Celtics)
after their on-the-road act for the first two months of the season.
This was the type of February win you won’t remember minutes
after it occurred, despite Derrick Rose’s heroics. Our reverence for him has
deepened so much, that we forget to appreciate his moments against the scraps
of the NBA.
But can life be this good? Are we living in a mildly loving
marriage, knowing that when the kids move out, we won’t know how to take that
next step in our marriage?
I’m just gushing with postmodern analysis, aren’t I? In
other words, many Bulls fans are still waiting for this team to hit that other
gear, the one where the offense doesn’t look so constipated, the defense so
discombobulated.
They’re winning regular season games because they’re: A.
better; B. an intuitively better trained, smarter team that can muster enough
defensive stops when the game is careening out of control.
I finally saw Taj Gibson give us that plucky defense he’s so
widely heralded for.
I got to see a little of Rip Hamilton do a few of his patented
dribble-stop-pass-to-big-for-easy-bucket moves.
I got to see Derrick, who still looks a bit tenuous and
maybe a bit winded, zip through four defenders for a layup that has become his
go-to move when the offense needs him.
Maybe it was a good night, maybe it wasn’t.
Maybe a win against the San Antonio Spurs will make me feel
better. Yeah, that would definitely help me forget this one.
Contact Mike Mitchell
at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
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