Sourly Hitting the Road

With a season-high five-game homestead ending, the annual Circus Trip on the horizon and Kirk Hinrich out with an injury, the Bulls needed to beat the Boston Celtics last night in the worst way.  Much like the Oklahoma City game, it was competitive most of the way, but the opposition's star power couldn't be matched.  A major difference was the Bulls tied it once, but never led in a 101-95 defeat.

I have a friend from college whose favorite athlete is Rajon Rondo and she wasn't disappointed after the game.  In another reminder that Rondo may be the most important player on the Celtics, his final line was 20 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and five steals.  If that's not a sign of a valuable point guard, I don't know what is.  It just about epitomizes the fact that the NBA is moving toward a perimeter-oriented game that no longer relies heavily on big men.  Rondo is among those leading that charge.  With Hinrich's defense unavailable, Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague could do nothing to slow down their assignment.  All five Celtics scored in double figures, no doubt largely having to do with the decisions Rondo made.  If there was ever a "welcome to the NBA" moment for Teague, it came in this contest.  Now, I'm going to stop praising Rondo before I turn into my friend.

Luol Deng played nearly the whole game and led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 55 percent from the field and 60 percent from the free throw line.  His 11 rebounds gave him a double-double, which Joakim Noah also achieved with a 17/11 line.  Carlos Boozer's shooting improved from the win over the Timberwolves, making 50 percent of his shots and scoring 15.  Nate Robinson made all four of his free-throw attempts, adding onto his 11-point total.

The Bulls finish their homestand at 2-3, which only highlights that they should have beaten New Orleans when it began.  That's a disappointing record, but 4-3 overall is about what we should expect from this team.  Sooner or later, one would hope a win against a quality team is forthcoming.  I would like to expect a lot of wins against good teams as we have the last two years, but this group is different and still learning what they are without Derrick Rose.  Again, we see why expectations are lower this year.

Tomorrow, the Circus Trip kicks off with a trip to Phoenix against the Suns.  Marcin Gortart is tied for the league lead in blocks with Serge Ibaka, so the inside players will have their work cut out for them in the beginning of this long stretch of road games.  For the first time in the regular season, I'll be able to actually watch a full game on TV, so expect a post to come soon after.  Before that however, I'll be making post number 100.  Something special will be part of that, so check me out both before and after tomorrow night's game.  You won't want to miss it.