Scary, But Satisfying Ending

Derrick Rose might still be trying to find his stride in the regular season, but that doesn't mean he can't provide some clutch moments.  With the Bulls struggling to close out the New York Knicks in their home opener tonight, Tyson Chandler split a pair of free throws to give the visitors a one-point lead with 10.8 seconds to go, setting the stage for Rose, who had a forgettable shooting night of 7-for-23. 

On the subsequent possession, Rose hit a teardrop, knocking the clock down to 5.7 seconds and sending the United Center into a frenzy.  Carmelo Anthony, who led all scorers with 22 points, missed a would-be game winner and Chandler failed on a tip, ending the game 82-81 in the Bulls' favor.

Four Bulls starters scored in double figures, led by Rose's 18 and Luol Deng's 17.  Carlos Boozer had 14, but ceded his double-double card to Jimmy Butler, who finished with a nearly even line of 11 and 10.  On offense, Joakim Noah continued to struggle coming off a rash of preseason injuries.  He dropped just six points, but kept the team in it with 15 rebounds.  He also dropped a "hell yeah" in a postgame interview on the Bulls' radio broadcast, much to the delight of the fans who stuck around to hear it.

There's a long season ahead, but Tom Thibodeau will emphasize those 19 turnovers and being outscored 20-11 in the fourth quarter during the next practice.  We shouldn't expect the Bulls to be perfect in their victories.  Easy contests will become tough ones and more often than we would like, many will come down to the final few seconds. 

Still, every indication seems to be that this is the strongest Bulls team since the last championship.  Rose is himself again, much of his supporting cast is in its prime, Thibodeau won't rest until his group has improved yesterday and the core has been together for a few years now.  Tonight was just a small taste of things to come.  Don't worry.  Not all victories will be this stressful.  It's merely something every NBA team, good or bad, has to go through.  The Bulls are just better equipped than most, as evidenced by tonight's outcome.

As you down your Halloween candy, remember that the Bulls will be back at it Saturday in Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.  Rose would have loved to play in that city with higher stakes a couple seasons back, but maybe he can make up for lost time with one of his best games of this young season.  Of course, he'll need the rest of his team to help get a win.

Reality Knocked In

People can hype the Bulls as the primary adversary to the Miami Heat's quest for a three-peat all they want, but to quote Joakim Noah a couple of years back, "at the end of the day, you gotta go out there and you gotta play."  The Bulls can say whatever they want in the aftermath of tonight's season opener, but they weren't ready and they paid dearly with a 107-95 defeat.

On the night the Heat received their championship rings and raised their banner, they initially appeared to be headed to their typical battle with their archrival.   The 2-point lead they nursed after one quarter suddenly mushroomed and they never looked back.  Poor shooting for their opponent was one thing, but they did the most damage with their quick transition offense and crackdown defense which took away passing lanes.  John Stockton would have had trouble making quality passes tonight. 

A 17-0 run in the second quarter put away any doubt who would come away victorious.  Never mind that the Bulls somewhat made a game of it by getting to within eight in the final minutes.  Even the most optimistic fan had trouble believing the comeback would actually be completed.  Miami made it so by scoring enough points down the stretch to fight off any chance of a true rally.  A good time was had by all who backed the team from South Beach.

There was no one player who shined for the Heat.  LeBron James led the team with 17 points and eight assists, but this was a team effort every coach in the league would love.  All but two of the nine Miami players who saw action scored in double figures.  The champions shot 51 percent from the field and 11-for-20 from three-point land.  Not only did they take advantage of a Bulls team that just looked lost, but they gave an effort that would have given any other NBA team trouble.

Carlos Boozer led all scorers with 31 points, a very bright spot on a downer evening.  Jimmy Butler finished behind with 20 and Derrick Rose scored 12 in his first meaningful game in 18 months.  Joakim Noah grabbed 11 rebounds, but only had one field goal.  That was far from the Bulls' biggest problem though.  Butler and Luol Deng had to take early seats in the first half when they each picked up three fouls.  Miami walked all over their foes with two prime defenders out of the picture.  That duo finished with four fouls apiece, but Kirk Hinrich fouled out towards the end of the game.  The Bulls were never really allowed to play that hard-nosed defense they're known for when it counted.

Most of the game, the Bulls put on a shooting clinic not even worthy of a 16-seed during March Madness.  That 42 percent from the floor makes it look better than it actually was.  Mike Dunleavy, the club's supposed three-point shooter, had brick after brick in the first half, yet somehow recovered enough late to finish with 10 points.  As a whole, the team continually took shots from places they don't normally go to and always came up short.  They found very little offensive rhythm and paid for it dearly against a club with superior talent.

A hard lesson was learned tonight in that nothing can be assumed in the NBA no matter how good prognosticators make you out to be.  The Bulls are much better than what they showed most of tonight, but they need to be better prepared when it comes to playing quality opponents.  Maybe it was just a bad night, or maybe they were a little overconfident in the aftermath of their perfect preseason.  Whatever it was, these games need an overall better effort if this team wants to keep everyone thinking they might actually take the East this year.

Some individual lessons were learned as well.  In his first NBA shift, Tony Snell tried to go right after James, but got called for a foul on a continuation.  He also lost a battle in going after a loose ball.  This is a whole new game here, kid.  The ball doesn't stay on the floor as much at this level because someone will scoop it up very quickly.  He'll learn even more over the next 81 games.

The Bulls will try to get their first win again in their home opener Halloween night against the New York Knicks.  Derrick Rose will play a game with the stakes at the United Center for the first time since his ACL tear.  A great ovation is sure to be had for him.  Hopefully, he'll respond to that energy by turning it a much better performance, with his teammates following suit.  The offense can only get better, but will it?

Makings of a Winner: 2013-14 Preview

When I first started this blog just before the 2011-12 season, I did it with the possibility of chronicling a championship team in mind.  Then, Derrick Rose tore his ACL and I could have just stopped doing this if I wanted to.  Instead, I kept to it like the journalist I am, even though I knew the quest for a seventh championship banner at the United Center was put on hold.  Despite reaching the conference semifinals last year, no one in their right mind thought they could get any further.  Now, as I begin my third season of writing about Bulls basketball, the aspirations couldn't be higher.

There was a column earlier this month that mentioned how the two tenants of the United Center could offer what the other major sports teams in Chicago couldn't, and that's real hope to go all the way.  The Blackhawks are a popular pick to repeat as Stanley Cup champions while the Bulls are a legitimate contender to win the East.  They're not the only team seen as a threat to derail Miami's quest for a three-peat, but they have the makings to be the strongest team of the post-Jordan era.  That says something considering what we've seen the past few years, which is pretty good basketball.

The front office was mostly quiet during the offseason, limiting what I could do with this blog during that time.  Only one veteran free agent came aboard during the prime signing period and of course, there were the two rookies picked on draft night.  The last official addition came this weekend as the final preseason cuts were made. 

Of course, the general consensus is that Rose is the biggest new face on the roster and the Bulls didn't even need to dish out additional money to get him.  All they lost was a year of one of the most valuable contracts in the NBA.  Let's break him down along with the rest of this team.

Everyone is talking about the starting backcourt, so we'll begin there.  Rose is a year older, a year wiser and better conditioned.  All accounts within the roster say it's the best they've ever seen him.  Even by watching him in the preseason, we could see he built more muscle, his face is more fleshed out and above all, he's still the player who won MVP in 2011. 

So far, he's driven to the lane, found looks for teammates, gone after loose balls and demonstrated his explosiveness that has made people constantly search for him on YouTube.  His shooting game appears better too, making him the most complete player in the East not named LeBron James.  As in years past, this team will live and die with him.  Barring an unexpected setback, he will keep the Bulls in the national discussion all year long.

Jimmy Butler was a bench-riding rookie when Rose went down.  Now, he gets to start alongside him at shooting guard.  Throughout last season, we saw him develop into an all-around player who could excel at any aspect of the game if given the opportunity.  The way he stepped up in the playoffs erased any doubt that he would be in this year's starting lineup.  The ceiling was high for him the moment he came out of Marquette and he's only going to get closer to that in the years ahead.  Since the Bulls love to protect their young, promising investments, don't be surprised to see him thrill the United Center for a long time to come.

The starting forward duo of Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer couldn't have bigger targets on themselves if they stood near a giant dartboard.  Both are aware these might be their last hurrahs in Chicago.  Deng, entering his 10th season with the Bulls, will test free agency after the season and Boozer is a candidate to be amnestied with one year left on his contract.  If either wants to persuade Gar Forman and John Paxson to keep them around beyond next spring, they'll need to have the best season of their careers, but even that might not be enough to prevent fans from calling to let them leave anyway.

For now, they remain valuable to helping this team win.  Deng has been an All-Star the last two years thanks to his remarkable offense and tight defense.  The Bulls simply won't be able to win without him and he was badly missed when he went out in last year's playoffs with a spinal tap.  He might be one of the quietest stars in the league, but any winning team would love to have him.

Boozer is remarkable too.  He's almost guaranteed to give you a double-double every time he steps onto the floor.  The big issue with fans, besides soft play, is that his scoring typically doesn't outpace his rebounding by a wide margin.  People love to point out that he only got the contract he did because he was the best player left on the market after the Big 3 came together in South Beach in 2010.  He's still a veteran leader though and if anything, he shows the younger players how to excel when you've been in the NBA for over a decade.

Joakim Noah, the starting man in the middle, is the most popular player on this team not named Derrick Rose.  His infectious energy feeds to the rest of the players as well as the home crowd.  Now in the prime of his career, his aggressive rebounding, crackdown defense and occasional offensive clinics made hm worthy of last year's All-Star selection.  He's not the team MVP, but he's its heart and soul.  Without his emotion, this club wouldn't be able to take its game to a level that can put opponents out of their misery.  Don't expect him to leave Chicago anytime soon.

The bench made one major addition this summer in Mike Dunleavy Jr.  In the role previously held by Kyle Korver and Marco Belinelli, Dunleavy provides the Bulls with a three-point shooter every team needs.  How he pans out compared to the aforementioned role players remains to be seen, but the Bulls will need him if they're going to win games.  Consistently making the long ball will kick your momentum up another notch and it will be exciting to see Dunleavy do his best to fulfill his duties.

Taj Gibson, who would leap into the starting lineup should Boozer depart, continues to give the Bulls a post player who does well on both sides of the ball.  A winning team needs a man that plays as well as a starter when the first unit needs a break and Gibson possesses all the tools needed to make it in the NBA.

Kirk Hinrich will come off the bench after being forced into the starting point guard role last year.  He has a better chance to succeed when he doesn't have to run the offense the majority of the time.  At his age, he's a second-tier player at best and on a winning team, this is the role that best suits him. 

Hinrich's injury concerns made the Bulls realize Marquis Teague, who will continue to develop into a unique NBA player this year, wasn't enough at the point.  They kept 38-year-old Mike James from the preseason roster as insurance.  Hinrich has had concussion problems recently and that's likely one reason we'll see quite a bit of James, who just wants to contribute whatever he has left in the tank.  Same goes for Chicago native Nazr Mohammed, although he'll receive more playing time as the center who's able to get to the dirty areas.

Although Tom Thibodeau never gives much playing time to rookies, those on his roster will get their share.  Tony Snell is the more impressive thanks to the smooth shooting stroke we've seen from him thus far.  I wouldn't be surprised if he received more playing time than Bulls rookies typically do these days for that reason alone, though that may be wishful thinking on my part.  Erik Murphy has a better chance to ride the bench most of the year.  He's still developing as an offensive-minded big man, so this season will mainly be about learning from observance.  My guess is you'll see him at the end of quarters and only for a couple of minutes at a time.

Tom Thibodeau has been under animosity recently for playing his starters late in meaningless games.  The fact that we'll be hearing it a lot more as the season goes on speaks to the widely-held attitude that your best players need to be rested as often as possible so they'll be at their best in the playoffs.

It's a legitimate gripe too as we've seen the Bulls haunted by injuries for much of his tenure.  It likely stems from his refusal to step off the gas, even in games his team can afford a loss.  Yes, the Bulls went 8-0 in the preseason, but it means nothing.  Plus, the main criticism is that his starters were out late in the fourth quarter when they simply didn't need to be.

It is what it is with Thibodeau.  What we're seeing out of him is why he's a head coach in this league, whether you like it or not.  As long as he's at the helm, the Bulls are going to go all out almost every single time they play a game.  I'm not saying I'd go that route myself, nor do I dislike Thibodeau's style.  I love that the coach cares that much about winning at all costs, which can develop a good attitude with the fans.  Only results matter and Thibodeau sure knows how to get them.  Enjoy what he brings, Bulls fans.  It sure beats the alternative.

The Bulls will tough it out with Indiana for the Central Division title and I think they'll win a close race to the top to get a high seed in the East.  They're definitely built to win at least two playoff rounds as there's too much talent and high-level coaching for it not to happen.  When they inevitably play Miami though, we'll see what both teams have at that point in time.  I'm not sure this is the year they exorcise that demon as the Big 3 still has the power that's won the Heat back-to-back titles.  Still, this is a very strong team that will likely get to the conference finals and might even challenge for the championship if everything falls into place.  A lot of anticipation is to be had.

For the second time in the calendar year, a Chicago team will be the opponent on a champion's banner night.  The Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings in January and the Bulls will visit the Heat tomorrow.  Remember, they spoiled the evening LeBron James accepted the MVP trophy in last year's playoffs.  They can do it again.  Yes, they'll have 81 games to go when it's over, but a strong start could mean a strong season.  Time to give the champs, and the league, a battle.

Winning in Wichita

Has it really been a week since I last blogged?  My apologies for not being able to watch more preseason games.  I'll be home on Opening Night, so you'll definitely see something from me after that game, but let's talk about tonight.

In a potential NBA Finals match-up, the Bulls met the Oklahoma City Thunder in Wichita, Kansas.  Though meant to be a Thunder home game, the crowd looked very bipartisan.  I guess when you only get NBA basketball in your city once a year at most, fans of both teams are going to show up in droves.  What they got was a back-and-forth 104-95 Bulls victory.

Those hoping to see two of the NBA's best do what they're paid for were not disappointed.  Derrick Rose led all scorers with 26 points and Kevin Durant had 22.  Somehow, Jeremy Lamb tied his teammate in points and it would be very shocking if he played like this regularly during the actual season.  Look out for the Thunder even more in that case.

Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng each scored 20 while compiling respective rebounding totals of 14 and 10.  Their agents will love to see those games from them as they prepare to be amnestied or test out free agency.  The Bulls meanwhile, will be happy to see those contributions as they try to back up the preseason predictions that they'll be the team best equipped to knock off Miami in the East.  More on that when I write my official team preview before the opener.

Jimmy Butler looked impressive in scoring 12 and Mike Dunleavy came off the bench with nine, giving a preview of what we'll see from a new regular starter and the bench's new three-point specialist.  There were no previews from Joakim Noah or Kirk Hinrich though.  They're both still out with injuries and there's word that Noah may not be ready for opening night. 

It always seems if one key player isn't hurt on this team, it's another.  Such seems to be the story throughout the Chicago sports landscape in recent years.  The fact that the Bulls are legitimate contenders makes it tougher for them to swallow.  Hopefully, the injuries are getting out of the way now so they won't hurt the team when it matters.

The Denver Nuggets invade the United Center for the Bulls' final preseason game this year on Friday.  More than likely, Tom Thibodeau will play his starters the same number of minutes that have given some media folks fans ulcers.  It happened tonight, so why change it up now?  You can't convince Thibodeau to ever let up, so there's no way to bother trying.  That's a logical argument, right?

Night of the Position Battles

Of course, the biggest story of the Bulls' first home preseason game was Derrick Rose playing on the United Center floor for the first time in over 17 months.  Even so, this is the time of year to really focus on the lesser known players that could make an impact when the games start to count.  We saw contributions from them and more familiar faces at the Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons tonight 96-81, never trailing.

Rose did not disappoint the crowd, scoring 22 points in 22 minutes.  Apparently, scoring 13 in back-to-back games got a little dull.  Plus, he felt he needed to show the Chicago fans he was very much like the player of old.  He showed off some thrilling dunks, aggressive drives, calm free-throw shooting and an unbelievable continuation play near the end of the first half.  Also, something about his appearance was a little different.  Maybe it's because he's a little older now or it might have to do with the muscle he put on during his rehab.  Whatever the reason, I feel very confident in what he can do this season.

Rose must have been working with Tony Snell and Marquis Teague recently.  They sure looked like they've been doing so tonight.  Snell in particular had his first breakout game of the preseason.  With his college coach in attendance, he demonstrated the smooth shooting stroke the Bulls drafted him for.  He ended with 12 points, knocking down two three-pointers.  He also had three steals, showcasing a complete package that's required of an NBA player.  Meanwhile, Teague scored 11, making the race to take playing time away from Kirk Hinrich more compelling.  While Hinrich helped his case with a team-high five assists, that doesn't change the fact that these younger players are competing for the backup point guard spot should he be traded during the year.  This is definitely the race to watch.

Solid contributions came from the power forwards too.  Carlos Boozer's patented double-double was a 10-11 line.  Taj Gibson didn't want to be left out, so he had one of his own:  11-12.  This painted a bigger picture of the Bulls' future at that position.  All indications are he'll have his biggest season yet, fully justifying the team's possible decision to amnesty Boozer.  I'm excited to see what he can do that would possibly put him in next year's starting lineup.  I'm currently on the fence on what to do with Boozer, but hopefully, Gibson can put me in the amnesty camp beyond a reasonable doubt.

With the first four fake games out of the way, the Bulls do not yet have a blemish on their record.  That will be put at risk Friday when the Indiana Pacers invade the West Side.  It will be our latest chance to see what could be a norm between now and spring.  If you actually make the trek, let me know somehow.

Sore Over Rose's Knee

Yes, I am well aware that there isn't the kind of ridiculous outcry as the one that surrounded Derrick Rose last spring.  Still, the news that he was held out of Saturday's exhibition in Brazil with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee was enough to turn some heads in worry.  That said, I will trust what the Bulls brass said about this being a precautionary measure.

As big a bummer as it was for the Rio crowd to not see one of the NBA's most popular players as advertised, I hope they all understood that this was not like the league taking a regular-season contest to London.  This was an exhibition that happened to take place in their city.  They could play a preseason game at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the team would still approach it like another tuneup for when the real games begin.  Yes, this doesn't happen in Brazil every year, but if its citizens are lucky, they'll see Rose in Olympic action in a few years, so it's not likely they've seen the last of him.

Back in Chicago, some are starting to get concerned (again) that maybe Rose is just damaged goods from here on out, so it might be time to accept that this will be another season in which we see him in limited action.  I call bull on that.  Remember, these games do not matter.  Did you forget that Joakim Noah is also missing action due to injury?  Heck, I remember seeing Scottie Pippen in street clothes during a 1996 preseason game and he started every single contest that season.  Once the game begins, no one remembers what went down during the exhibition season with few exceptions.  Even fewer of those have an overall impact on the season that eventually unfolds.

I only say this to stop anyone who may be thinking of jumping ship already.  Just calm down and remember what I've said here.  Rose is back for a full season and because of that, the Bulls are being widely picked to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.  Unless lightning somehow strikes twice with Rose's knee, they'll be in that discussion.  Plus, I don't see this latest tidbit being a problem once the real season tips off in Miami in two weeks.   It'll be just another story everyone jumped on too early.  Sound familiar?  I thought so.

Lucky 13?

I'll try not to turn this blog into a constant Derrick Rose watch, but considering how 1) this media coverage is justified and 2) I didn't get to watch the Bulls' first two preseason games, this is how it's going to be right now.

As the Bulls prepare to face the Washington Wizards in Rio de Janeiro, all eyes will undoubtedly remain on Rose.  After all, he's not only continuing his comeback, but visiting the place where he's likely to help the U.S. defend its gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.  What's more, one of the NBA's top stars is more or less serving as an unofficial ambassador to the league since he's bigger than everyone else on the two rosters combined.

Likely to be overlooked during all this hoopla is how Rose has fared in the preseason to this point.  In both games, victories over the Pacers and Grizzlies, he has scored exactly 13 points in a time limit posed by Tom Thibodeau.  Playing no more than slightly half of each game, 13 points is a pretty good contribution for anyone else in the league, especially if that player is coming off the bench.  And although this is Derrick Rose, what's he's done so far is all we can ask for.

It could be argued that this preseason is the final step in completing Rose's long rehab.  Since none of this counts toward what this season will ultimately be remembered as, they could be called glorified pickup games with stops in non-NBA cities in between.  That considered, I'll take 13 points per game.  They're a good stepping stone for when it's time to drop 30 or more on an unsuspecting opponent.  Opponents can plan around the point guard all they want, but this is the guy who recently said he would go full blast against his own mother to win a game.  Though LeBron James hasn't said anything about it of late, he recognizes Rose as an obstacle in winning a third straight title.

Rose is merely buying his time until the stakes really mean something.  We've seen a couple of highlight-worthy plays from him, though nothing overly exciting.  Before long though, he'll routinely be cracking SportsCenter's Top 10 and accumulating thousands of hits on YouTube.  No one can complain how he and Thibodeau are treating this as a warmup to what's on the horizon.  Every other player in the league is doing the same, but with Rose returning from a serious injury, this is as magnified as could be.  Everyone is watching, so the former MVP and his coach need to manage the situation much better than the Bulls did last spring after Rose was cleared to play, but didn't suit up.

13 points is okay by average NBA standards, but I'm willing to give up a pass to a recently banged-up superstar.  Maybe he'll get close to 20 on Saturday, which would really give the Brazilian crowd a treat.  Until then, let him and the rest of his team enjoy the mid-80s temperatures that have moved away from Chicago.  Warming up in South America?  That's where many of us would like to be now.

The Unofficial Return

I don't think most people would be sad if every sport just did away with preseason.  That's how popular it really is.  None of it counts towards the team's achievements for the upcoming season, so why should we care?

Those thoughts will be thrown out the window tonight when the Bulls open their exhibition schedule in Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers.  It's all because Derrick Rose, who turned 25 just yesterday, will be playing in a full-fledged NBA game for the first time in over 17 months.  I don't think one player's return has made so much noise since Magic Johnson's ill-fated comeback in the 1992 preseason when his HIV diagnosis was still very fresh.  If anyone wants to dispute that, I'd like to hear it.

Now obviously, we can't really count this is Rose's first official game back.  That will come at the end of the month in Miami.  We're not even going to see as much of him now as we will when the real games begin.  Tom Thibodeau plans to play him two or three times tonight for between six and eight minutes each.  It's not much of a sample size to go on considering how much he's typically played.  Still, we'll see him for half the game at most, and that will be enough time for him to show everyone that he's ready to play. 

Whether he'll be his familiar explosive self is not clear, but his mere presence has made this the most anticipated game of the entire NBA preseason.  The Bulls are lucky that it involves them.  Plus, this is the first league action we'll be seeing since the NBA Finals ended, so the right cards came into play here.  The NBA has to be excited about this.  It's the perfect preview to what promises to be another exciting season.

There will be other anticipated games during the preseason, most notably, the game in Rio de Janeiro.  That will a nice preview of what will happen there during the next Summer Olympics.  For now, let's welcome Rose back.  True, it's not in Chicago, but we can feel his return.  So can Adidas, whose profits from this will increase just as much as our interest in Bulls basketball.