I liken that game on Sunday to, well, being Sunday
afternoon.
The Detroit Pistons are a largely unmotivated team with a
bunch of decent players on big contracts who should be distributed throughout
the league. Charlie Villanueva, who when signed in one of the worst free agent
derbies in recent memory, is barely an eighth man on most NBA benches and yet,
has one of the most lucrative contracts on his team—a really bad one.
Of course he nearly dished out another injury to Derrick
Rose, who can barely make it through a quarter without these kinds of assaults.
No matter, the Bulls held on in overtime as this once proud
franchise played sheepishly in the fourth quarter and overtime. Like a high
school senior, finals are nearly over and you’re thinking of what apartment you
want to live in when you start your first year in college.
Unlike the slew of teams who are tanking for a chance at
Anthony Davis, the Bulls still have a few goals before the playoffs commence:
- Get healthy. This pertains to probably the whole roster, but we know who were talking about.
- Stay healthy. Luol Deng might even sit out Monday’s game with bruised ribs. Rip Hamilton is still on another strict minute count, as he’s yet to do much at the end of games.
- Develop chemistry in the half court. The problem with missing so much time this season is that Derrick has to fight his instincts with Rip…that is waiting. Watching him weave his way through screens, while also reading the lane for an easy score takes time. Certainly Derrick will figure it out, but we didn’t anticipate this “get to know ya” sessions in the playoffs.
- Get the most out of your spare parts. It was nice that John Lucas III and Mike James were able to pitch in throughout the season, but if the Bulls are going to beat the Heat (Magic, Pacers and Atlanta Hawks are no pushovers), they need production from Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver. They matter.
For now, we’re watching Derrick Rose’s rehabilitation
program at full speed. He’s been sloppy since coming back from his hiatus, but
the results were promising Sunday as he did hit the game-tying three to put the
game into an unlikely overtime. He’s going to be taking a lot of those shots,
and while a lot of players would relent after an injury or an awful game on
Thursday, Rose flashed his Kobe-Michael esque instincts in the closing seconds.
Joakim Noah netted 13 offensive rebounds in the kind of
effort that might seem hollow by the playoffs because he seems to really shine
against weaker competition. They’ll need his rebounding against Miami when the
time comes because they Bulls simply don’t make enough shots consistently to
beat teams.
Contact Mike Mitchell
at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
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