In a game many fans probably had penciled in as a loss, the Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks. It marks the first time since an early season road game in Cleveland where the Bulls defeated a quality opponent. The Bulls play Sacramento on Monday followed by a road game against the Knicks. Both winnable games. If the Bulls can pull off a couple wins and form a legit win streak here, they may be back on the road to redemption.
As for this game, Vinny Del Negro had several inexplicable play calls in crunch time. Whether he called them, whether the Hawks denied what we wanted to do, or whether the players ran it that way I don't know, but I do know they ran some terrible stuff including a couple isolations for Deng. I don't think there is a coach in the NBA who comes up with worse plays out of timeouts than VDN.
Give Vinny credit [I suppose] for going small frequently. It put our five best players on the court together, and the Bulls played best that way [shocking that the five best players yields the best results I know]. While I don't consider this revolutionary, it's nice to see him use it and milk it so much.
He is running our starters into the ground again, coaching for his life, using a seven man rotation for all practical purposes, but he got another win doing it, and the Bulls need wins.
Derrick Rose played like a superstar tonight for the most part. The Hawks were scared to death of him on the final possession of fourth quarter playing heavy ball denial successfully. He hit clutch baskets over and over again, my favorite was the basket that tied the game at 92 where the Bulls charged hard after a defensive rebound rather than calling a time out. He also sank two clutch FTs with 10 seconds left to give the Bulls a three point lead, then he ripped the ball out of Crawford's hands on an offensive rebound to seal the deal [though he missed both FTs with 2 seconds left that could have put the Bulls up by 4 or 5, this was ultimately irrelevant as the Hawks were out of TOs, and couldn't get any kind of shot off after rebounding the ball].
Still Rose had his jumper going, he attacked the basket. He just looked unstoppable. I was upset everytime he passed the ball by the end of the game.
Luol Deng had a solid game, but he took the final shot in the 4th and missed, and had a key possession with 40 seconds to go and had an offensive foul. He still did a nice job despite the lack of clutch play and was used primarily at PF down the stretch of the game as the Bulls went small. Why the Bulls kept going to him in key situations in isolation plays is beyond me. They should never call an ISO for Luol Deng in the clutch. Even if I'm guarding him. I guess I don't want to rip on this too much, because Deng rebounded well as a four, and he passed well collecting 6 assists.
John Salmons didn't set the world on fire with his shooting percentages, but he did hit a big key three in overtime. Kirk Hinrich hit a key three to help the Bulls come back in the fourth and also shot well on the night. It was nice to see the Bulls knock down a couple threes in an important moment.
Joakim Noah had a decent game. He had 7 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks, but that's not really all that impressive for 45 minutes of action. His defense was decent, and he always brings the hustle.
Taj Gibson had another solid game. He sure looks a lot better coming off the bench than rolling against the starters. His rebounding has improved, and he's shooting the ball well. Nice job Taj. Taj has collected quite a few nice jobs from me lately.
Brad Miller generally made me want to smack him all game, but he did get completely jobbed on the play where Pachulia "stole the ball" from him by grabbing his arm. Instead of getting two FTs, the Hawks got a three point play. Combined with Crawfords push off on Hinrich where Kirk gets called for a hand check and a T a few seconds later it was an 8 point ref swing.
Filed under: Game Threads
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, chicago bulls, derrick rose, post game
im hoping this is the game that makes rose realize that we need his scoring rather than passing...joe johnson tried to put on a show purposely to look impressive for pax and jr as he forced up a couple of i dont know why he did that shots. he looked like gordon tonight lol... but this is another case of rose is our future.just build around him more so he can run wild.(meaning deng hinrich and salmons trade for better players and better pieces) dont mean to hurt our win..but deng and salmons show once again their not in our plans..
Finally playing like that team we were early in the season. Another nice defensive game. It's going to be nice when we get Tyrus back so we can go to 8 man rotation. We still need to get 3 point shooter off the bench though.
Those people who chose not to watch are not real fans, so **** them. Great win. I am real worried about Noah though, he seemed run down and seemed to hurt his back. Taj has put up back to back solid games. Kirk seems to be finally getting back into a groove since coming back from his thumb injury. As for Brad Miller there really isnt much to say anymore except that he is killing us in every which way and I would consider moving him for anyone even Nate Robinson. As for Rose that the boy i remember from last season. Good to see him so aggressive. As for the Hawks was it me or did this look like Mike Bibbys first nba game? he looked like he never ran a team before lol. As for JJ wow he hits that layup 9 out of 10 times lol. Great win.
one other thing with Deng on that last possesion when we were up 1 and he had Bibby one him, why didnt he take the jumper over him?
I was wondering the same thing. How do you have a mismatch in isolation on a PG that's playing hurt and WAIT ............ then bail him out by spinning closer to a prolific shot blocker? That play made me furious.
anyone know whats up with Pargo? is his hip real bad?
No he just sucks
i know that but i believe his hip is bad.
I agree with Newskoolbulls in that I hate bandwagon fans, you should be a fan in bad times and in good, and I don't want to talk to anyone that just roots for winning teams...anyways great home win, hopefully we'll win the next 2, we should anyway. I don't like nocioni so this should be good :)
Actually, I'm not shocked at all.
I thought they could split against the Lakers and Hawks. Now, they are right on track to get to .500 by the end of the month.
I'm the one calling for the 7 game winning streak.
We need to come in NY and win otherwise its one huge step back.
Hey i said 3-3 on the circus trip lmao boy was i wrong.
hey doug dont know if you want to start another thing but TT is epected back next week and thank God, Noah needs some rest from time to time.
Exactly six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured radius in his left forearm, Tyrus Thomas has been cleared for contact and is scheduled to practice Sunday.
"Sitting out has been killing me," Thomas said recently.
Coach Vinny Del Negro said even if Thomas feels great after practice, the Bulls likely will keep him out of Monday's and Tuesday's games. The target date for Thomas' return is Saturday against New Orleans.
"I want to make sure he's healed up and let him get hit a few times and be fatigued a little bit," Del Negro said. "That would give him a couple of practices to get the soreness out and get some conditioning."
0 turnovers tonight for Rose is really nice to see in the box score.
As I hoped, Derrick Rose is starting to play a little more like Isiah Thomas and a litte less like Doc Rivers. That's what he has to do, if he wants to be considered one of the best at his position.
Doug, how mad where you when you saw this happen. I believe late in the 3rd quarter, Deng received the ball at the top of the 3pt line in a 1 on 1 scenario. Deng takes one dribble towards the hoops, steps inside the 3pt line, then launches the shot. It Airballs.
I felt like punching Deng in his mouth.
Im serious that deal where you talk about fining Deng ever time he shoots a 22 ftr should be in effect. That was the most moronic shot I have ever seen a professional basketball player take.
Why would you be behind the 3, take a small step and then shoot inches in front of the 3.
For Deng it was double stupid because it was the longest possible 2pt shot and on top of that, he airballed it.
Yeah, this Deng thing drives me crazy. It might be some kind of mental thing (aren't all thing mental things), it is like he just can't get himself to shoot threes.
I think it's interesting that Atlanta similar to the previous game against the Bulls chooses most of the time to double team Taj when he gets the ball in the low post(which normally isn't very often - but in his game Taj was aggressively calling for, neigh demanding the ball, and Hinrich actually gave it to him a couple of times).
I've thought all along watching Taj in college, that his post moves were too established and productive not to have some usefulness for his game in the NBA. He's still thin enough that some guys have reached through him to steal the ball or disrupt him. Still, when he's made himself a wide bodied target, he's looked viable/able to operate.
I hope the Bulls wake up, and start running a few clear, out everyone on the weak side beyond the three(proper) isos for him to give him the optimal/proper situation. He's not Kareem, but as productive as he's been, and with three identifiable highly efficient low post moves he displayed in one of the most talent layden conferences(at that time, a lot of the guys from the Pac-10 have gone pro Westbrook, Harden, Collison, Hill, Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson, etc. etc.) Plus he's just looked plain active when he has the ball down low getting to the basket and either scoring or going to the line. At least post him up consistently four times a game or so to give him some consistent look, and see what he can do. he's earned it.
Doug- love the site (been reading for awhile) and generally agree with your takes. I waited to send this until I saw Johnson in person again last night. I have to say that your position regarding signing Johnson next year is based on an incorrect premise -- that Johnson is only slightly better than Gordon. No chance. Johnson is better in every single facet of the game except 3p shooting, and even then, he's a 37% career shooter. Otherwise, he's way bigger (he's like a thoroughbred out there), he's a better defender, a better ball handler, etc. Unlike Gordon, he's has a legitimate position on both sides of the floor and is the legitimate #1 option on a team that's currently a top 4 east team (with a supporting cast that I'd argue is worse than what he'd have with the Bulls). He also has the size, strength, and ball handling skills to get off a good shot late in games when teams know he's shooting, something Gordon struggled with mightily throughout his career here (this is something that Bulls fans have apparently agreed to block out about Gordon because he was clutch against Boston last April, but I refuse to forget the 10x per year I walked out of the UC pissed off because Gordon either hoisted an awful shot or dribbled off his foot with time expiring--Gordon's clutchness has become the most overrated think about him).
Don't get me wrong, I'd still rather have Lebron/Wade/Bosh (although I think the gap between Bosh and Johnson is smaller than people make it out to be). And I understand that we'd be paying Johnson more for longer than we had to pay Gordon. But we could do much, much worse than Joe Johnson. 6-7 all-star shooting guards aren't available every day. And we could do much much worse than a backcourt of Rose and Johnson. I say Johnson immediately makes us a serious contender for the next 3 years. That's worth the money.
As for Joe Johnson as a career 44% shooter he's going to have some off nights. Still, he's had four years or more of shooting for a high percentage. I'd definitely want him if no LeBron(yeeccchh) hate even saying it, Wade, Bosh, or Stoudemire.
A lot of Rory's comments about Gordon are correct. The clutch aspect is totally overrated. Still, he was a guy who every other night could be your staple scorer with a mound of points you could count on. I would have liked Ben regardless of his faults if he wouldn't have been provoked and turned a bit sour by the Bulls massive overpay to Deng. Over the long haul though, a career 42% shooter and 38% in last years playoffs will not get it done. But not replacing his reliable/staple scoring was a huge mistake, though largely unavoidable keeping in mind making room for the 2010 free agents, and Reinsdorf's cheapness that will never allow him to go over the luxury tax. There still might have been room to get something done if not for the Deng and Hinrich overpays(not to mention Nocioni). Pax, you're a good guy, great player(winner), but you're no business manager.
the great things about tyrus thomas, is that it will take minutes away from miller. ( last season, you would have never said that ) gibson looks really great coming off the bench. The way he's playing, we wont see JJ often/ever again.
When match ups allow, it we should play deng at pf. the floor spacing becomes awesome. plus deng is money at the midrange shot. Josh smith, even though he was absent most of the game, isn't the traditionaly 4, so i was happy that we could play deng at the 4 against atlanta..even thought smith wasn't out there that often.
Rose played awesome tonight. Hopefully, it's one of those "aha" games where a lesson is learned never to be forgotten again. Play aggressively. Take control. And as Kobe told him "just do it".
I'm really impressed with Taj Gibson these days. He obviously works hard, but he looks CONFIDENT out there. A number of times he was calling for the ball in the post and was actually converting. He's confident in his mid-range jumper, which he's starting to hit with regularity and swagger. But what I love most his hustle on the boards, getting blocks and overall defense. He doesn't look like a rookie out there. I wish James Johnson was getting the type of minutes he needs to build his confidence and game, too. Playing 4 minutes a game has not only stunted his game, it's hastening his regression. HE was supposed to be our rookie that's making a difference.
I'll say this once, and hopefully never again: I can't wait til Tyrus comes back. Damn, that hurt ...
This pretty much says it all, as far as I'm concerned. While there are a number of factors that have put the Bulls behind the 8 ball, the fact that these two have not shot like they did last year is at the top of my list.
There schedule is favorable the rest of this month.
vs. SAC
@ NY
vs. NOH
vs. IND
@ DET
I think a 7-game win streak is definitly possible here. It all comes down to the DESIRE and the WANT they show during these games.
Right now, they are only 1 game back of Milwaukee for the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference. And the 5th seed isn't out of reach either. Hopefully, the Bulls start STRIVING for a high playoff seed, instead of FIGHTING just to make the playoffs.
They need to set their GOALS, right now.
It also takes a boost from management bringing inside help for Noah and 3 point shooting for Rose...This team can be good today, terrible tomorrow and it is very difficult to foresee having a 7 win streak with this roster.
Totally agree with you on this Doug. It drives me crazy when callers to radio say things like, "I've been a fan of so-and-so for 40 years." As if that somehow justifies the stupid thing they then say.
I love basketball and watch every Bulls game, but this team is almost impossible to watch. So, I have no problem with people who aren't.
Hell, I've even considered watching the Blackhawks just to see what it's like to see a good team in Chicago, but I don't really like hockey so I haven't done this yet, but maybe I will son ... maybe I will.
Probably not.