The above image is all you really need to know about last night's 106-102 win against the Miami Heat. If John Lucas has anybody to thank last night, it should be Derrick Rose. Had the reigning MVP been in the game, a healthy C.J. Watson would have been playing backup point guard and Lucas likely would have seen the whole thing from the sidelines. Instead, Lucas was called into the line of duty as No. 2 on the depth chart. All he did was lead the Bulls with 24 points and shoot 75 percent from the field. Imagine how this would have gone if he had been the player the public generally makes him out to be. It wouldn't have been pleasant.Don't think it was just Lucas though. Every other starter except Carlos Boozer scored in double figures. So did Kyle Korver, who along with Jimmy Butler shot 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. This is what you call team basketball. No overly relying on one or two superstars to get the win. Just play well together and good things will happen. Take away D-Wade and LeBron's scoring totals from last night and the Heat have a collective 31 points with Chris Bosh leading everybody with a hapless 12.
This brings me to a conversation I had on the air with The Score's Les Grobstein late last night after I got home from work. I've provided the link for the hour below and my call is a little before the halfway mark. In summary, I express concern about how James Jones knocked down a pair of threes towards the end that kept Miami in it. He hadn't attempted any prior to that. Grobber responds that while the Heat might have role players just as good, they don't have as many as the Bulls. In a sense, he's right. Just read last night's box score and you'll get a taste of what he's talking about. Like last year, with all the money they had to dish out for that three-headed monster, they couldn't afford better players. They did add Shane Battier, but that signing is really starting to look like it was overblown. Then again, everything seemingly good the Heat does these days is. And that's why I'm immune to everything the national media says about them.
With all the injures the Bulls have had to their stars, there should be more tallies in that loss column. They really had no business winning last night. But whether it's Thibodeau's coaching or the talent on the bench or a combination of both, it's working. The Bulls are 3 1/2 up on the Heat and have the best record in the league. They must be the better team because it's getting increasingly difficult to find reasons other than James/Wade to pick against them.
Not only that, it's easier to get behind them than some might think. Miami has star power. The Bulls personify what basketball is supposed to be about: all 12 guys finding a way to contribute. They're as likable as last year's Mavericks were too. How happy were people that Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd finally got that title they had been pursuing for so long? And how happy would people be that hometown boy Derrick Rose has truly played for his city and added another championship banner to the UC rafters? The Heat is filled with imports. Even Wade is from Chicago.
Now that the largely hyped game is behind them, the Bulls will continue their homestand by playing the far more modest Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow night. Hopefully, they'll have recovered enough from their Miami hangover to pull off a win. In any case, the United Center will be rocking again, even if it won't be the most important basketball on the minds of most people there.
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