Looking Way Up at Warriors

Oh Lord, where to begin?  Any flickering hopes the Bulls had of matching up with the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday was snuffed out in a hurry.  Sure, they led by as many as four in the first few minutes, but the Warriors soon unleashed their trademark offensive artistry.  This was long over before that 125-94 final became official.

Reigning MVP Stephen Curry was the top dog with a double-double of 25 points and 11 assists.  Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored 20 and Harrison Barnes was just behind with 19.  Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green pulled down 12 and 10 rebounds apiece.  Off the bench, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa each scored 12 while last year's Finals MVP Andre Iguodala had 10.

Derrick Rose played brilliantly throughout and led all scorers with 29 points, though he did exit the first quarter early due to fatigue.  Jimmy Butler took until the second half to get going, but finished with a respectable 23.  Bobby Portis scored 16 in a glimpse of the Bulls' future and E'Twaun Moore, likely not a long-term Bull, had 13.  But those weren't enough to overlook Pau Gasol's putrid 0-for-8 from the field, somehow making one free throw in between.

The 39-4 Warriors bested the 24-17 Bulls in every relevant category.  Maybe the two most glaring differences came from 3-point shooting (12-for-32 vs. 1-for-20) and assists (38-14).  Those show how far apart the teams are in offensive power, floor spacing and general flow.  One did everything as smoothly as possible while the other looked like a high school freshman B team playing the varsity.

Perhaps it's fitting that this game occurred at the halfway point of the Bulls' season.  Not only was this a measuring stick on how far they have to go to hang with the best in the NBA, but maybe a opportunity for Gar Forman and John Paxson to assess where this particular team should go.  Even if the Bulls luck their way into the Finals, they face certain defeat against whoever comes out of the West.  Heck, there's no way anyone in the East stands much of a chance come June.

It's more likely GarPax will look at how close everyone in the East is to each other and decide that's all that matters.  They might as well go all in with what they have no matter how bleak the situation might be.  Then again, "bleak" probably isn't in their vocabulary.  They try so hard to justify their moves, even though many of them don't work that well.

In a perfect world, GarPax would think long-term.  While it's still hard to believe them dealing Gasol or acquiring future draft picks, they might as well at least scout the market to see who they can get.  It's up to them to give Fred Hoiberg a group that can learn his system quickly and without reservation.  If they have to sell pieces off to adjust to a smaller, quicker NBA, so be it.

Hopefully, what we just saw wasn't one where the bottom falls out and the whole season spirals downward.  Probably not with the talent around, but you never can tell a team's mental state.  Regardless, the Bulls can try to return to winning Friday against the Boston Celtics.  Even if they lose, it can't possibly be as bad, right?