The Bulls Fall to the Jazz

In case you didn't believe that the loss of Derrick Rose was going to ruin the season, the Bulls tried their best to refute that notion,  losing in overtime to the pathetic Utah Jazz 89-83. By no means did I think the Bulls would be good,  but losing to possibly the worst team in the NBA without Enes Kanter and with Derrick Favors limited to 26 minutes thanks to foul trouble is simply inexcusable.

The Bulls hit 1-13 three pointers to shoot a whopping 7.7%. That simply is inexcusable when the opposing team is trotting out Richard Jefferson, Alec Burks, John Lucas III, and Trey Burke as perimeter defenders. 

The Bulls looked fine defensively, forcing Gordon Hayward into terrible drives and even worse jump passes. Though he was occasionally bailed out by the officials, the Bulls did a great job containing Hayward, who I'm convinced has a much lower ceiling than many experts believe.

Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer Audition for the Rest of the League

While we know that Coach Tom Thibodeau  was forced to give both Marquis Teague and Tony Snell considerably playing time (we'll get to that in a second), I think it was clear that the Bulls wanted to feature Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng in order to make them more enticing acquisition targets. Deng and Boozer attempted 18 and 23 shots, respectively, and ended with solid games of 24/10 and 26/16. Deng managed to get 13 free throw attempts, and it goes without saying that he will be in high demand throughout the entire league. Because he isn't signed for next season, he may not yield an amazing return, but he will certainly be able to net at least a 1st rounder if he continues to score so efficiently. I still think the perfect fit for him is in Memphis.

As for Boozer, while he experienced his normal defensive lapses, he provided much-needed fire power, showing limitless confidence from everywhere on the floor. Boozer took some terrible shots, but hell, someone needs to shoot. I'm confident Washington would love to add him to the fold. The rumors of his untradeableness are greatly exaggerated, in my opinion, particularly because he only has the rest of this year and next year remaining on his contract. Washington has another year of Nene. The Bulls could also afford to eat Eric Gordon's bad contract, which would happen to fill the Bulls' void at shooting guard.

The Kids Can't Play

Tony Snell and Marquis Teague are not very good--yet. Snell showed some flashes with his beautiful, high-arcing three point shot that should develop into a fantastic weapon in the lower part of the Bulls rotation. Teague is scared to death of Thibs, and frankly, it's time to move him. He's quick and can occasionally get to the rim, but his coach despises him. He will never thrive on the Bulls.


Can We Please Stop the Derrick Rose Hate?

I understand why fans would be frustrated by seeing the Bulls' best player go down for yet another season. However, fans and radio talk show hosts alike need to calm down. It's too early to say that Rose "won't ever be the same player" especially since he's ONLY 25 YEARS OLD. He's not ancient, and he could easily have another decade left in his career. Yes, it hurts to see him miss some of his formative years, but it isn't the end of the world. There is NO REASON to want to trade him, nor is there any reason to believe he won't be a superstar when he returns. Maybe he should have gone to Germany like Kobe Bryant, but in any case, he's still a star point guard who is the heart and soul of the Bulls and Chicago. 

If you want to trade Rose or think it's time for him to retire, then you can also denounce your fandom. You think you're frustrated? How do you think Rose feels?

And if you look at his stats and say "he wasn't that great anyways," then you don't know a damn thing about basketball. The Bulls are a great team with him and a bottom of the barrel team without him. Need I say more?

Yes, the Bulls need another superstar, but not to replace Rose, but because you need multiple superstars to win an NBA title. Parker/Duncan, Wade/LeBron, Kobe/Gasol - the list goes on and on. Stars matter more in the NBA than any other sport, but luckily teams are dumb enough to let them go (I'm looking at you OKC). The Bulls will find one, fans simply must be patient. Or, Reinsdorf could fire GarPax and make the process go much quicker.  

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An Ugly First Half, but the Bulls Win!

It looked ugly there for a minute: the Bulls and Jazz were both running down the court, throwing ugly passes, and missing wide open shots. The first half was a high school basketball game played by the most ridiculous athletes in the world.

However, the Bulls ultimately overcame a terrible first half to easily discharge the Jazz, 97-73. The victory was quite impressive, especially while the Bulls registered 21 turnovers (the Jazz had 17).

What I loved

Luol Deng came to play, as he does every single game. He might be the single hardest working regular season player in the NBA, somehow grinding out 38 minutes in what should have been a massive blowout.

Deng just missed a triple double, shooting 7-9 from the field for 19 points, with 11 boards, and 9 assists. Deng also had 5 steals and 5 turnovers, so he really wasn't THAT far from a quintuple double.

I remain extremely optimistic about Deng's performance for the rest of the year. Even a hardworking, charitable citizen like Deng is motivated in a contract year. Whether or not the Bulls pay him, Deng will get at least $50 million this offseason, and performances like last night reinforce what an excellent player he is. Although a faction of Bulls fans think Deng isn't good enough of a player to contribute to a championship, I can see Deng singing this song, foreshadowing when the Bulls lose him in the offseason and LeBron drops 40 points.

Mike Dunleavy also finally hit some shots. He did look a bit hesitant in spite of having some wide open looks, but I was pleased to see Dunleavy take 7 shots in 21 minutes without once turning over the ball. While it can be easy to get down on a "blockbuster" offseason move who struggles at the beginning of the year, it looks like Dunleavy will eventually settle in and start becoming the a serious deep threat.

What I liked

Unfortunately, Derrick Rose is not yet Derrick Rose, yet every game he shows some flashes of returning to his MVP form. Rose passed the ball a little bit better and actually registered 5 free throw attempts.

Still, Rose turned the ball over far too much (4 times) and struggled to attack against the inferior defenders that guarded him. The last part of Rose's rehab is to return to game play, so let's just think of his current performance as part of his rehab program. I think we'll see him return to dominance by mid-December.

Defensively, the Bulls looked like a shutdown team, though that may have been a product of the pathetic Jazz offense. The blueprint for stopping the Jazz wasn't rocket science, but the Bulls executed perfectly, holding the team to 29% shooting. Bravo defense, bravo.

What I hated

This team is still missing a lot in terms of both effort and discipline. Lazy passes,  only 8 three-point attempts, and 21 turnovers are not positive, particularly against semi-decent teams that can capitalize. I hope that Thibs hasn't worn this team out the way Scott Skiles did in the mid-2000's. Thibs is a fantastic coach, but so is Skiles--but only for a few years at a time.

Additionally, Jimmy Butler continues to look completely lost on offense, with practically no confidence in open shots. I've seen some folks appropriately dub him Jimmy Pump Fakes, since he refuses to quickly pull the trigger on wide open threes. Butler needs confidence, so ideally, I'd like to see him take the next few open threes he gets without hesitation. As the great Colin Keeley says, great shooters shoot through adversity. If Jimmy can become a knockdown shooter, then the Bulls offense becomes significantly more dangerous.

Bottom line...it was an ok win

The Bulls need to win easy games to ensure a higher seed in the playoffs. Frankly, Bulls teams in the post-Jordan era have been notoriously sloppy against bad teams, so the weak first half performance against the Jazz comes as no surprise. Bulls by the Horns provides a more positive assessment of the game for those who do not share my frustration.

Anthony Bennett: Ready to miss some shots

The Cleveland Cavaliers come to town Monday with perhaps the worst #1 overall pick since Michael Olowkandi and a struggling Kyrie Irving.

I'll write a full preview, but at the moment, I think it's safe to say another victory is in the cards.

As always, Let's Go Bulls!

Chicago Bulls (1-3) Vs Utah Jazz (0-5) - Bulls Win

The Bulls are going to win tonight, and it should be a rout.

After losing 1st round pick Trey Burke to injury, the Utah Jazz have been forced to start the ancient Jamaal Tinsley or the incredibly undersized former Bulls chucker John Lucas III. Don't get me wrong, I think JL3 is a decent spark plug to have coming off the bench, but he is not anything close to a starting caliber NBA guard. In  his increased role, Lucas is taking 4.4 3's a game a shooting 18%! Jerry Sloan would not allow this.

Anyways, let's take a look at some key Utah players.

Gordan Hayward: The Great White Hope

 Gordan Hayward has developed into a very solid NBA player, and one who is likely to get overpaid in the offseason. I really like Hayward as your classic jack of all trades player. He's a solid three point shooter, ok defender, decent rebounder, and a good passer. He's not great at any one thing, but you'll watch the game tonight and see that Hayward somehow ends up with 19 points 7 boards and 5 dimes. 

Still, I'm not worried about him. The Bulls duo of freak wing players did a great job on Paul George in their previous game, so I'm not worried about Hayward dominating the Bulls tonight. It certainly doesn't hurt that Derrick Rose will be able to do whatever he wants tonight since he won't actually have to defend any of Utah's point guards. 

Enes Kanter

 

Enes Kanter is an intriguing player, having shown so many flashes that Utah was able to let both Stormin Normin-fave Paul Milsap (the most underrated player in the league FOREVER) and Al Jefferson (ok, a black hole) walk away. 

Kanter's off to a great start this year, averaging nearly 19 points per game on 55% shooting while adding nearly 10 boards. That's all well and good, but I think the Bulls will defend him well. Los Bulls have plenty of size in the inside, and they can throw a combo of Taj/Noah/Nazr at him all game. With fellow big Derrick Favors struggling a bit offensively, Kanter will get his shots and some points, but every single bucket will be earned. 

What? I'm picking the Bulls? 

Yes, after totally underrating an Indiana team that will contend for an Eastern Conference loss to Miami, I'm pretty confident the Bulls will be able to dismantle the Jazz. The Bulls have had a knack for leaving three point shooters wide open this year, but Alec Burks' 13% success rate from downtown and Al Jefferson's nearly as pathetic 24% three point shooting , the Bulls can afford to let Utah put up some threes. And when Utah bricks these threes, the Bulls will get out on the break, allowing for some easy buckets. 

Offensively, the Bulls should easily outplay the Jazz, particularly if they can make some three point shots. For the love of God, Derrick, PLEASE DESTROY WHOEVER GUARDS YOU!

Bottom line: Bulls 101 Jazz 85

   *Note- why I love the Internet: sommeone compiled Enes Kanter highlights!!!