I was supposed to be in harmonious bliss as I exited Easter
Sunday mass. I was supposed to admire a seamless destruction of the New York
Knicks. And I was supposed to enjoy Derrick Rose’s return.
What I saw, and what you might have, was slop. The Bulls had
three points in the first 9 minutes, shooting one of 12. Then they make a run.
They take the lead, look like they’re about to dig themselves out of the hole
and then…three minutes of awfulness, followed by an over time filled with more
awfulness.
The Good
Derrick Rose’s
confidence. He looked shaky out of the gate and will probably struggle for
a week or so until he returns to game shape. He wasn’t getting calls early and
for some reason his teammates were whiffing at makeable passes.
Luol Deng. It’s difficult
to praise a guy who was just lit up for 43 points, but he certainly understands
the nuances of the game and did a passable job against Carmelo Anthony in the
second half of the game.
Carlos Boozer. He
had about three putbacks, two of which from Rose’s efforts. It would have been
nice to use him late in the fourth quarter but he would have been forced into
guarding Carmelo Anthony.
Iman Shumpert. As
I said before, I rather have him than Jeremy Lin. He was an interesting
prospect coming out and he seems to understand his role better than most
rookies. His length, athleticism and basketball smarts make for a real
intriguing mix. If he develops a true jumper or can run pinch point, he might
be a star in the NBA.
The Bad
The Chicago Bulls’
effort. Do the Bulls party when on the road? I don’t know. This is probably
the sixth or seventh early weekend game that the Bulls have looked awful in.
Derrick Rose’s
dribbling. Anyone who has gone a long time without playing, knows that your
shot is not the first skill to decline, it’s usually your hands or dribbling.
It showed Sunday.
Rip Hamilton.
Still waiting for that “once he gets back” moment. Haven’t seen it.
The Ugly
Derrick Rose’s clutch
free throw shooting. Bank the shot, will you?
Luol Deng’s free
throw shooting. If your primary skill is midrange jumper, shouldn’t you be
an ideal free throw shooter?
Joakim Noah. Noah
was completely outplayed by a similar player in Tyson Chandler. I’ll let
Thibodeau summarize Noah:
“He’s got to bring energy. When
you’re an energy player, you have to bring it every game. When he plays with
great energy, he’s terrific. When he’s playing with great energy, we’re playing
with great energy. But it wasn’t only him. It was our entire team.”
Noah’s indifference can be the most frustrating aspect of
this Bulls team. He’s an important player who doesn’t understand how little can do when
he isn’t playing at 100 miles an hour.
I don’t look at this matchup as a word of caution. The
Knicks are better, certainly, when they opt to actually play defense, but they
needed the Bulls to do everything wrong, including bad close outs on Carmelo
and the Bulls blowing four free throws. Had Derrick or Luol sunk one of them,
we’d be praising for the Bulls for their resilience.
But I’d take the Knicks in a first round matchup because
they simply don’t rebound or defend well. They also throw up a slew of bad
shots. Some go in; most don’t. I actually believe the Bulls would sweep them
with home court advantage.
Contact Mike Mitchell
at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
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