Former Bull D.J. Augustin returned to Chicago Monday on his 27th birthday. His team is now the Detroit Pistons, who were just coming off a one-point defeat to Utah the day before. Much to his chagrin, the Bulls played their first game this season with all five members of their projected starting lineup. Even worse, the final was 102-91 in the Bulls' favor and the United Center crowd was cheering for free Big Macs.
The first half was one Tom Thibodeau would be pleased with afterward, which shouldn't be a surprise considering a 13-point halftime lead. Then, the Pistons turned up the heat in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 26-18 to cut the lead to five. The fourth would provide a bit more tension as Detroit got to within two. But led by the returned Derrick Rose, the Bulls would deny the visitors their first lead of the game and pull away at the right time.
Rose led all scorers with 24 points and had a team-high seven assists after being listed as questionable earlier in the day. It was reported he would test his sprained ankles out in the pregame warmups and it paid off. While he also led the Bulls with three turnovers, the club totaled just 10 of them. For at least one night, his detractors were kept at bay.
Jimmy Butler, who has not had much starting experience with Rose, benefited from the former MVP's presence by scoring 19. Of his six field goals, four of them were shot from beyond the three-point line. One of those threes gave the Bulls a seven-point lead with 1:56 to play. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for this duo.
Pau Gasol contributed a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds in what has quickly become a norm for him. Joining him in the DD Club was Joakim Noah with 13 points and 14 boards. He came rather close to a triple-double with six dimes. This might have been just what the premier center needed to get in the right gear while coming off of knee surgery.
Thibodeau has recently expressed concerns about his team routinely getting outrebounded, which had happened in the last six games entering Monday. For a group that stresses defense as its strongest point, it's practically a disaster to show any chink in that armor. The Bulls corrected that against the Pistons to win the battle 49-46. It's certainly not a huge improvement, but it's a step in the right direction which can hopefully last a little longer with a completely healthy lineup.
What Augustin gained besides 16 birthday points off the bench was a former insider's perspective on how it feels to play the Bulls. There's little doubt he has much of what he learned in Chicago still in his mind, but the additions of Gasol and a healthy Rose forced him to see something he didn't have last season. A 2013-14 Bulls team that struggled to score now has an easier time doing so. Perhaps if that hadn't been the case, they wouldn't have had to count on Augustin so much, resulting in fewer chances and thus, no resurrected NBA career for the point guard.
It always feels good to be healthy and these Bulls probably know that better than most other teams. If the past few seasons have taught them anything, it's that there's a huge difference between who you have on paper and who you have that's actually available. A 6-2 record is nice, but the best way to maintain that is for all major players to see as much time as possible while conserving energy for the playoffs. Although a .750 winning percentage may not be maintainable for the 82-game grind, seeing all that talent on the floor will make these Bulls fun to watch.
After two days off, the Bulls travel north of the border to play the Toronto Raptors, who have gotten off to a surprising 6-1 start. It's the first time in their 20 seasons they have been alone atop the Eastern Conference. Perhaps they'll take the third seed as they did last year this coming April. But the Bulls are expected to go further this year, making this game a perfect chance to let Canada know that.
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