Derrick Rose reared his right arm back, almost
posing for a millisecond at the apex of his leap, and snapped it forward with
force, rocking the rim. The United Center finally thunders with approval.
Rose,
playing with noticeable disgust, was getting raked all game. He was bumped and
slapped for a sloppy 32 points (29 shots) that would make John Hollinger and
his clones go into some sort of odd ecstasy.
“He’s in inefficient, according to my
made-up criteria, which no one in the NBA acknowledges or uses strategically.
It’s made up! It’s made up! “
If you
watched closely, it was apparent that the Bulls were missing Luol Deeply…particularly
when the backups were in the game. The Bulls went four possessions in a row in
the early second barely able to get the ball beyond the three point line. They
ran Ronnie Brewer off a few double screens and he couldn’t get open. John Lucas
III was dribbling at the top of the key, occasionally taking jab steps toward
the paint but couldn’t get past Iman Shumpert (whom I like as a prospect), and
would just otherwise take a heave at the basket.
Deng wasn’t
there to help lift the backups, he wasn’t there to offset Carmelo Anthony, not
there to help rebound (though they didn’t miss him there) and he wasn’t there
to help space the lane. Tom Thibodeau has embedded Luol Deng into this system.
Deng matters and I assume he’ll be back to play LeBron James on the Miami Heat,
but if the Bulls ever take that next step this season, they’ll need Deng, Rip
Hamilton and CJ Watson to stay on the court. He’s just too important and his absence goes
from subtle to pink elephant.
In part,
last night’s triumph over the Knicks is indicative of what a poor team they are
and how little they work together. They have more talent than the Chicago Bulls
and the league’s best pure scorer, but they’re barely a playoff team. Jeremy
Lin, who is a solid player (definitely not a star), showed me a little
something last night, using his length to disrupt and even block shots. He
needs to play pure pick and roll with Amar’e Stoudemire (who has already
declined precipitously) and Tyson Chandler. Carmelo should be playing in an
inside-outside offense, similar to what Dwight Howard plays in.
I don’t know
if the Knicks would ever pull the trigger and see if they can grab Howard for Anthony,
but they have been active in year’s past. Really, they need to move on from
Mike D’Antoni because that system is a silly gimmick that can be used against
poor teams, but gets beat up against teams like the Bulls.
Until the
Bulls can at least get Deng and CJ Watson back, it’s difficult to get into a
tizzy about the Heat matchup on Wednesday. The Bulls are so one-dimensional as
it is, that lacking a second and third scorer slows them down to a near Van
Gundy system.
The Good
Derrick Rose’s
temper. I like when he goes a little goofy. I used to play with this guy at
Armour Park, which is adjacent to U.S.
Cellular Field, and the moment everyone pissed him off, he’d start heaving
shots from 30 feet or running 1 on 4 fast breaks. Then he would turn around and
yell at everyone for not hustling down court with him. He’s also the guy firing
balls at your ankles as you prime yourself for an offensive rebound. Derrick
Rose was like that last night…only he was good.
Ronnie
Brewer’s defense. He held Carmelo Anthony in check, keeping him mostly
disinterested throughout the second half. Carmelo is to Tracy McGrady is to
Gilbert Arenas is to Bernard King. He’ll be an enigma until he is in the right
situation (which tells you something: Is
it really a matter of a situation?).
Jimmy
Butler. I’m not usually of the “play-the-kid” ilk, but come on now, how many
Kyle Korver romps do we need? He’s got some athleticism too, which is crucial
for this team that has Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Korver—a trio with a
combined vertical of Rose.
Taj Gibson’s
heart. Gibson just grabbed more
offensive rebounds in a game than Amar’e Stoudemire will have this month.
The Bad
The
refs. They have bad nights too, but Rose
was morphing into Dwyane Wade with some of his stare-downs. If I were an old
dude, this would be appalling. But I’m not, so I liked it.
The Ugly
Taj Gibson’s
free throws. Why he is so bad at this? He is quietly having one of the worst
free throw shooting seasons as a Bull ever. First year: 64 percent; second year:
67 percent. This year? 56 percent! What the hell?
Contact Mike Mitchell at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
2 comments:
Ironically, I wonder if George Karl would be an ideal coach for Melo and this Knicks team. I assume a coach like Karl would be able to leverage the considerable talent on the Knicks team into a style that produces wins.
I kind of feel sorry for Lin; it's not like he is responsible for all the hype his play has generated, in fact he's probably tried to do more to stop it than perpetuate it. He's clearly a team first kind of guy and seems to be very selfless. Yet every PG wants to kill him.
With the trade deadline approaching (by the way I hope the Bears can score Williams and a WR like Colston. I'd take Colston for non-star money, but nothing more since, like Deng, his athletic limitations are clear) do you think the Bulls would do well to go after Jamal Crawford? I'd see what it would take to go after him.
I kind of feel sorry for Lin too. He's a victim of our era--the instant gratification, instant solution, instant analysis world. ESPN pimps this world harder than any engine and it's silly.
About the Bears: I'm a little late to comment, but I was stoked about getting Mario Williams and mildly OK with Vincent Jackson but never thought of him as an elite wr and is 29.
Looks like the Bears fared better than I ever thought: a bona fide superstar wide receiver for TWO THIRD ROUND PICKS!
This can't be happening. I'm elated. Joyed. Bliss.
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