Without question, the highlight of the game was Rose, who finally looked like an all-star. I can't emphasize that he looked like an all-star enough--not the last MVP not named LeBron James, not a future Hall of Famer, but an all-star.
After a slow first half, Rose destroyed Irving offensively with his trademark explosive drives and acrobatic finishes. Rose also made some fantastic passes, some so excellent that the receiving player didn't see them coming (I'm looking at you, Taj).
While at times Rose looked lost defensively, a fast break drive by Irving where Rose was literally facing the wrong direction comes to mind, he did a great job locking down one of the league's best scoring point guards.
Rose only shot 8/21 from the field, but he had 16 points and 7 assists, and in his defense, the officials missed a few calls that would have sent Rose to the line. DRose did leave with a hamstring injury that occurred at an unknown time, but I doubt it will be anything serious. SB Nation posted a painful GIF of Rose limping. Every game like this is a major stride for the Bulls' MVP caliber point guard.
Boozer: Mr Efficient
Carlos Boozer played another wonderful game on Monday night, shooting 7/11 from the floor with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Boozer bullied Tristan Thompson in the post as expected, and he even demonstrated his excellent passing skills, highlighted by a beautiful dish to Joakim Noah in the post for an easy layup.
Boozer continues to keep his feet flat defensively. It becomes frustrating seeing such a powerful, athletic guy look unable to stop any decent offensive player. Still, Boozer wasn't signed to be a great defender, and his efficient scoring this season makes up for any defensive short coming.
Jimmy Shoots...No He Doesn't
Jimmy Butler played well defensively. Dion Waiters made some crazy shots, but still scored just 13 points and was a non-factor in the final outcome. I love Jimmy defensively. He's quickly becoming an elite perimeter defender.
Unfortunately, his confidence is not there, and it's painfully obvious. Butler received some great passes that gave him wide open three point looks, but instead, Butler pump faked, took 2 steps forward, and missed mid-range jumpers. Essentially, Butler trades higher expected value shots for lower expected value shots, and the reason is clearly confidence.
Butler has always had a flat shot, but last season it looked like he had made strides, connecting on 38% of his attempts. This year, he's down to just 25%. Hopefully Butler spends this large inter-game gap focusing on his shot because the Bulls desperately need his offense to get going.
Mike Dontleaveme
Mike Dunleavy earned his pay check last night, scoring 15 points in just 24 minutes, connecting on 2/3 threes and all 5 of his free throw attempts. Admittedly, 3 of those free throws came on an absolutely terrible call, but Dunleavy still looked like a very capable scoring 6th man. I'd like to work out those long 2 pointers out of his repertoire, but I don't believe the Bulls organization supports sabermetrics, so that's just a dream.
Overall, you should be very encouraged. No, Cleveland is not a very good team at all. They have loads of potential, but the Cavs still largely go as far as Kyrie Irving takes them--which wasn't very far last night.
Still, Rose played a great second half of basketball, Boozer remained efficient, and Dunleavy showed confidence in his deadly three point shot. The Bulls get another shot at Indiana this Saturday after facing the lowly Raptors on Friday.
I'll be back with previews and some features throughout the week, and, as they say in France, Let's Go Bulls.
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