Derrick Rose looking better despite loss
Look, you already know that I wasn't predicting great things for this western conference road trip, so the loss doesn't bother me all that much. Heck, I got it even worse, because I had mentally put the game as a 9 o'clock start, so I flipped it on with the Bulls up 14 and got to see them go -33 for the rest of the game.
The game turned when Chauncey Billups was given an absolutely wide open three. I mean could have counted one mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi and shot the ball before anyone got to him. After that point, he hit his next three shots and had four free throws single handedly bringing the Nuggets back from behind.
Derrick Rose played some atrocious defense over that stretch on Billups, but it was Hinrich who gave up the initial shot.
On offense, Derrick Rose looked aggressive and attacked the basket most of the night. He finished with 28 points, shot over 50% from the floor and made it to the line for seven free throws as well as a few times he could have earned some but didn't. It's been consecutive blowout losses, but I feel encouraged overall, because Derrick Rose has started showing something again and quite simply, that means more to me than a win.
Luol Deng had a solid night offensively scoring 22 points on 19 shots. It's still not superb efficiency, but for the Bulls a guy who's getting a TS% over 50% for a game is having a breakout offensive performance.
The Bulls ultimately lost the game big by losing small in every area. They lost a bit on turnovers, a bit on the glass, and a bit on shooting percentage. They didn't really win any facet of the game, so despite not getting killed in any facet, they got killed overall.
Joakim Noah had a quiet game. Who would have thought that 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists for Joakim would qualify as a quiet game? The funny thing is that our offense was actually fairly decent except for Noah's lack of offensive rebounding. It shows how much the Bulls have relied on his offensive put backs to stay in games.
Taj Gibson did his "Doug Thonus you are a moron" impersonation early, but after the first quarter he seemed to struggle. His lack of interior defense and rebounding was one of the Bulls biggest struggles later on in the night. I can count three separate offensive putbacks that were allowed because Gibson failed to make an effort to box out. Still, he provided a boost early, and with a guy like Gibson you can't ask for a whole lot more.
Hinrich and Salmons combined for 5 for 21 from the field, though Kirk at least hit two three pointers while shooting three of 10, so his efficiency wasn't too horrendous. Brad Miller went 0-3 from the field, and the trio's lack of shooting was probably the biggest difference maker in the Bulls efficiency on the night, though Miller did have four assists.
James Johnson looked okay on offense in garbage time for whatever that's worth.
All in all, not a particularly enjoyable game to watch. The Bulls were blown out. However, Derrick Rose coming alive for a big game is a probably about as good a sign as you could hope for on the circus trip.
Derrick Rose played some atrocious defense over that stretch on Billups, but it was Hinrich who gave up the initial shot.
On offense, Derrick Rose looked aggressive and attacked the basket most of the night. He finished with 28 points, shot over 50% from the floor and made it to the line for seven free throws as well as a few times he could have earned some but didn't. It's been consecutive blowout losses, but I feel encouraged overall, because Derrick Rose has started showing something again and quite simply, that means more to me than a win.
Luol Deng had a solid night offensively scoring 22 points on 19 shots. It's still not superb efficiency, but for the Bulls a guy who's getting a TS% over 50% for a game is having a breakout offensive performance.
The Bulls ultimately lost the game big by losing small in every area. They lost a bit on turnovers, a bit on the glass, and a bit on shooting percentage. They didn't really win any facet of the game, so despite not getting killed in any facet, they got killed overall.
Joakim Noah had a quiet game. Who would have thought that 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists for Joakim would qualify as a quiet game? The funny thing is that our offense was actually fairly decent except for Noah's lack of offensive rebounding. It shows how much the Bulls have relied on his offensive put backs to stay in games.
Taj Gibson did his "Doug Thonus you are a moron" impersonation early, but after the first quarter he seemed to struggle. His lack of interior defense and rebounding was one of the Bulls biggest struggles later on in the night. I can count three separate offensive putbacks that were allowed because Gibson failed to make an effort to box out. Still, he provided a boost early, and with a guy like Gibson you can't ask for a whole lot more.
Hinrich and Salmons combined for 5 for 21 from the field, though Kirk at least hit two three pointers while shooting three of 10, so his efficiency wasn't too horrendous. Brad Miller went 0-3 from the field, and the trio's lack of shooting was probably the biggest difference maker in the Bulls efficiency on the night, though Miller did have four assists.
James Johnson looked okay on offense in garbage time for whatever that's worth.
All in all, not a particularly enjoyable game to watch. The Bulls were blown out. However, Derrick Rose coming alive for a big game is a probably about as good a sign as you could hope for on the circus trip.
11 Comments
6timechamps said:
yeah i agree, not a good game but good sign...
Biggestbullsfan said:
So if we dont win a game at all on this road trip, do you think management starts to think maybe we make some type of move or is this year ride it out until 2010.
Also, what do we do if Salmons doesnt opt out. Its starting to look that way. With a new baby especially, I feel he may try to take the safe route and skip the market.
Doug Thonus said:
I think they'll wait until next summer unless something really good falls in their lap.
Biggestbullsfan said:
Is Kevin Martin good enough at a reasonable price?
Bigway said:
Can I agree and disagree at the same time?
First Taj just never blocks out on the defensive boards. Noah would have had several more defensive rebounds(and another double double)if Taj simply stuck his ass in his mans thigh, heck if he just kept track of him and got in his way.
Yes, Rose was more assertive, and he played more of the style that I would like to see him play all the time, but he still isn't exploding around the basket and his ability to finish still appears greatly diminished.
The thing that worries me even more is the total deterioration in his ballhandling skills. He is borderline attrocious, Ben Gordon territory. The number of unforced errors seems to be growing daily. This is a trend that started in the second half of last season and seems to be excellerating this season. Did he spend so much time working on his shot in the offseason that he completely forgot how to handle the ball? He needs to refocus on this area and redouble his efforts.
The Bulls just appeared to break down and give up in the second half. I believe the score was 69-68 with Rose at the line late in the third. So we were outscored 44-22 from there on out. Maybe the elevation got to them.
As big as Billups was in the first half, the 3 that JR Smith hit at the end of the third when Hinrich left him alone and wide open seemed to ingnite Smith and the Nuggets from that point forward.
Still not impressed with Deng, he still can't seem to hit even 50% of his shots, and many are so far off that you can tell that they will clank the second that they leave his hand. He just doesn't seem to have the same stroke that he had 2 years ago. Salmons is even worse, maybe we do need a shooting coach. Too bad that the one good habit that Gordon had couldn't infect the rest of the team the way that all his bad habits did.
Bottom line is that we have a bunch of mediocre players, many of whom are perfoming even less than mediocre, no consistency and in no way able to complete with the top 10+ teams on talent alone.
Doug Thonus said:
I can agree with all of that.
If Hinrich/Salmons could shoot as well as last year then the team would be close enough on talent, but as they're playing now they aren't even close.
Another underrated factor is that Brad Miller really looks like he's playing a step slower this year. I thought at the start of the year some team would give him a 2-3 year MLE, but watching him so far, I don't think that's likely anymore.
He's physically tough, but his speed kills the team on defense at times, and his offensive ability is diminishing as well.
He'll have a role due to his physicality, shooting, and passing, but his mobility is too big an issue to play him big minutes.
I think Tyrus will help the team considerably when he gets back.
Danka Shane said:
Lets address the real issue at hand. DEREK ROSE IS NOT A POINT GUARD!!! He doesn't make those around him better. MOVE HIM TO THE 2-GUARD. A real point guard...a real floor general settles his team down when they're starting to falter. A real point guard controls the pace of his team out there...gets them into a rhythm. We have none of that. A real point guard is a master ball handler and low on turnovers. How many assists did Derrick have last night to turnovers? 3:5. YES it's good to see his scoring back up and him being more aggressive..but when it comes at is the expense of those around him. In the games where you all are happy with Derrick when he is scoring...how is he playing? LIKE A 2-GUARD. We lack a floor general...a quarterback. A leader. That is not quiet Derrick's nature. Doesn't anyone else see this? Put Billups on this team and see how much better we are. Put ANY real PG on this team and see how much better we are. We don't have one. Hinrich isn't one either. Yes, we need a low post scoring threat to keep teams honest...but even more than that, we need a floor general. Rose, Deng and Salmons is a horrible mix. They're all clumbsy with the ball. We don't have a single ball-handler on this team. When the going gets tough, your team is going to lose with that...because you have no glue to keep the team organized out there. Period.
Houston said:
I think Rose is decent in the point guard category, I don't think he can do much with the way the other guards are shooting. Hinrich can only hit 2 or 3 out of every 10 open jumpers so Rose has to alter his game a bit to adjust to not being able to drive to the basket as much. I don't think he will ever be Jason Kidd, but he can run a team. The question is, can he play off of players like Wade and Joe Johnson who can handle the ball, or any other point guard. I don't know about that.
Doug Thonus said:
I think Derrick's a quality ball handler though he's been sloppy recently.
Also, in our offense, there really isn't much difference between the PG/SG positions anyway. In fact, that's the case for a great number of teams.
The question is, do you want Rose playing off the ball or on the ball. I mean who cares who brings the ball up the court, it's not like we're getting frequent turnovers through that process or anything.
Once you're in the half court, I want Derrick to have hte ball in his hands, because I don't see what he's doing without it.
Danka Shane said:
When you analyze the great PG's in this league, they all have a natural ability to control the ball, the pace, and to lead. They came into the league with that general instinct. there is no way Derrick has that in his repertoire now. Perhaps some of you think that will come with time and learning on the job, but I'm not sure why it's assumed it will come. I'm definitely not saying to trade him lol I'm saying, find a real point general and let Derrick be in a position where he can play to his strengths and not have the responsibility of leading a team and trying to manage the cohesiveness of a group. That is so not him. He shouldn't be the one responsible for finding the best opportunities on every possession....he lacks that instinct and he's a pretty poor ball handler.
Seth said:
I agree, I am not seeing the skill in rose which make him a point guard (elite ball handling, court vision, etc). His turnover to assist ratio has been terrible all year. He is playing like a 2 guard forced to play 1.
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