Game Recap: The Bulls fall to the Nuggets

There are things I hate doing in life, and then there is addressing the issue of a Bulls' loss. This marks the 7th consecutive time the Bulls have fallen to the Nuggets in Denver, though for 2 3/4 quarters this game looked like it was in hand.

What went wrong?

It wasn't rebounding. The Bulls out rebounded Denver 58-48 while grabbing a whopping 22 offensive boards. Unfortunately, these second chance opportunities didn't matter as the Bulls shot just 38.8% from the field. The Nuggets' defensive wasn't necessarily lockdown, but the Bulls simply aren't a great shooting team, and the Nuggets' limited the Bulls post game in the second half, making scoring nearly impossible.

Carlos Boozer got off to a great start in the first quarter, but he couldn't help himself from broadcasting his shot. Thus, he finished with just 15 points on 7/18 shooting.

Deng was horrible offensively. He also began the game with a corner snipe, but he missed nearly every shot thereafter, shooting 3/18 on the night for 6 points. If you didn't notice there's a trend developing here--the Bulls can't score.

How about Derrick Rose? The star point guard scored 17 points in the first half, and for the first time all season, he looked comfortable every time he took the ball to the rim. Rose only had 2 turnovers, one of which was inexplicably thrown up the court and easily intercepted by Kenneth Faried.

In the second half, Rose mostly settled for jumpers, and things got ugly quickly. It's easy to see that Rose's jumper looks NOTHING like should. For some reason, not only are his feet staggered, but he is clearly not shooting at the peak of his jump, making him push the ball towards the rim. It was my understanding that Rose spent his time off honing his jumper, but as of right now, it looks uglier than it did in high school. He seems able to take threes, but any other jumper is a huge concern. I expect teams will start to sag off until he proves he can shoot.

Nasty Nate

Nate Robinson ignited a crucial 7-0 rally by himself last night, and Bulls fans across the world collectively cursed GarPax for not keeping him. Even in his post-game interview with Rachel Nichols, Robinson sounded devastated about his departure. Robinson only shot 3/13 from the field, but it was enough to spark solid play from Darrell Arthur and 17 points from Jordan Hamilton.

It hurts to see Nate do what he did best for the Bulls for the Nuggets, but it pains me even more to know that the Bulls do not have a comparable presence off the bench. Yes, Tom Thibodeau coined the good Nate/bad Nate moniker, and we know he hates players who don't play great defense (Nate tries!). However, it is easy for me to see the value of a high volume, irrational confidence scorer who can come off the bench and spark the offense. And Nate did just that for the Nuggets: Wilson Chandler was scoreless, Randy Foye and Ty Lawson weren't scoring much either.

Nate came in off the bench, took a lot of shots and gave the Nuggets are comfortable lead that boosted the confidence of everyone around him. The Bulls could use a guy like that, but they simply do not have one at this juncture. My hope is a Ben Gordon reunion next season but that seems like a pipe dream at best.

The Nuggets game was difficult, but I'm more upset from seeing the value of Nate Robinson than anything else. Perhaps the Bulls will find an irrational confidence guy at some point, but it probably will not happen this season.  

As a side note, I loved watching Taj Gibson and Thibs show emotion, even if it resulted in technical fouls. I do not like to see the Bulls go down silently.

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What's Going on with Derrick Rose?

The last time this Bulls blogger was able to write consistently, Derrick Rose won the MVP, and then faced a year riddled by injuries.

Flash forward to 2013: Rose is perfectly healthy, except for a sore neck, which has lead to some Kerry Walsh-inspired athletic tape.

After a dominant preseason, Rose has certainly stalled out during the first few games. To start the season, the former MVP has averaged 14.3 ppg on a disgusting 28.8% shooting. The second figure literally causes me to vomit.

Offensively, this phenomenon can best be described as rust. His shot is flat, he's having a hard time beating the first defender, and his famous ability to split double teams has been non-existent.



On the plus side, he definitely did not lose any jumping ability; in fact, Rose asserted that his vertical is 5 INCHES higher now at 43 inches. The athleticism is there, the confidence to split double teams and hit deep shots is not.

It may take a while, but he will be the Rose of old, and if his preseason jumper provides any insight into the future, it suggests he will be shooting at a higher percentage than ever. I expect a 45-47% shooting percentage to become the norm when he's healed, and if he can learn how to get LeBron/MJ calls, we could see that number move over 50%.

Once Rose is back, the offense will look brand new. 

Let's face it: the Bulls don't have another creator on the roster sans Rose. Jimmy has occasional flashes, but he's much better as a corner three point shooter who runs the court for easy buckets. Carlos can do some wonderful things in the post, and frankly, he looks better than he has at any point during his Bulls tenure.

But Dunleavy, Deng, Noah, Taj, Kirk and co. do not create opportunities for themselves. Unless the departed Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli were on the court last year, watching the Bulls play offense was an exercise in torture.

This year's offense looks familiar, but once Rose starts beating the first defender, defenses will collapse, corner three pointers will be open, and opposing defenses will have to choose between closing out on shooters and letting Rose drive, or stopping Rose and letting shooters go wild like they do in Miami. Here's a great story from SB Nation that explains why I love corner three's so much.

By no means is Mike Dunleavy quite the shooter that Ray Allen is (ok, he's the best shooter ever), but he will thrive when he gets open shots.

Patience is in order when it comes to this Bulls team. However, a championship is definitely not out of the question.