Jonathan Daniel - Getty Images
It's an even more beautiful photo if you picture him kicking Zaza in the nads. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Sponsored post, try and show love to those showing love to SBNation. -yfbb.
Derrick Rose returned in the Bulls victory against the Hawks, and looked well enough. He had several drives to the basket and even took a hit or three.
Though he (strangely) didn't speak to reporters post-game, Rose told the ESPN telecast things were fine, and Carlos Boozer gave the locker room report, saying Rose went through a normal post-game routine for him. Thibs is even less trustworthy than Rose himself when it comes to delivering a prognosis, but did remark he was pleased with how Derrick looked physically, though the conditioning may not have been all-the-way there.
What gave me the ol' feel-goodies in that post-game wrap (complete with coincidentally-named title) from Nick Friedell was how the rest of the Bulls responded to Rose's return. Starting with Joakim Noah, who, again, is just the best:
When asked just how much different things are with Rose on the floor, Bulls center Joakim Noah looked frustrated that he had to field such a question.
"I think that's pretty obvious," Noah said. "We're not going anywhere without Derrick's play."
He did get more technical:
He knows everybody's tendencies. It's just good to have our floor general back ... When he's attacking the basket, it opens up a lot of lanes and bigs have to go and try to contest his shots. It gives me lanes to the basket so I can get my tip-in game going.
As did Ronnie Brewer, with a similar reasoning:
Him attacking the rim allows somebody like myself to cut backdoor, get easy shots on the baseline or in the corner. Easy drop off passes to (Carlos Boozer) and Joakim. He does a lot of things out there really well and takes a lot of pressure off our team.
As Noah's first instinct indicated, it's indeed obvious that Rose makes everything easier. Yet I'm not sure his absence is completely responsible for how the Bulls have looked in recent weeks. Sam Smith had something interesting with help from Luol Deng that caught my eye today:
The record is great, but the play doesn't quite seem at this point to translate to playoff excellence, and the Bulls sense it. Which is why Luol Deng, who had 10 points and nine rebounds on a poor shooting night, says Wednesday's final game before the All-Star break, against Milwaukee, is crucial.
"We know we played bad against New Jersey," acknowledged Deng of Saturday's 97-85 loss. "We won tonight, but at the same time we know we can play better. We did not play that well. Our record is great, even though we always want to do better. You win them however you can, but we want to win it right. The next game before the All-Star break, if we don't win it right, when we come back we've got to sit down and say, ‘There were periods during season we were playing great basketball. Let's get back to that.'
"Because," said Deng, "We know we are not playing as great as we did when we were beating teams (a month ago). Our defense has to get better. Defense suffers without practice, the rotations, different scenarios. Last year, defensively we did have a lot of practice. This year it's tough with the schedule."
Deng alluded to this theory some have that defensive teams are going to suffer more in this kind of season. The thinking is defense is much harder to sustain than offense because of the intricacies of the teamwork on defense. Great offensive teams, like Oklahoma City, for example, can just have their great individuals attack the defense, which comes naturally. Yes, the Bulls have a guy like that, but just one. Teams like the Thunder and Heat have at least two.
(emphasis mine)
In that post, Sam refers to some defensive categories where the Bulls are slipping, like FG% on 2s as well as 3s, but in terms of defensive efficiency they're still 2nd in the league. They're even statistically better on that end than last season, though offense is down across the league in these post-lockout times.
And as acknowledged, they do have a gaudy record. I sense something is 'off' too, but could it just be all needless fretting? I'm sure I'm more susceptible to it than most. Maybe everything's just fine and I'm looking for a concern, and/or the answer all-along is Rip Hamilton, but whether it's real or midseason malaise it sounds like the Bulls feel it too, which is interesting.
Getting Rose back is the start of everything again, but it is just the start. The second half of the season will hopefully provide some answers to the Bulls capability to ramp back up to championship caliber, and even better yet if we can actually calibrate such a thing. There are only a few weeks after the All-Star break until the trade deadline.
1 recs | 78 comments
I've been sensing the same thing, but I think I know what it is. It's not just that Bulls' play has slipped, but Miami has gotten massively better in the last few weeks.
They are just annihilating teams. Good teams. And the Bulls don’t look like the world beaters they were to start the year. They play suffocating D for stretches, but then they let up. They have dominating stretches on offense where the ball is zipping from side to side and its really a site to behold, but then they will go a while where they stagnate and it feels like they might never score again. They can’t afford those periods of poor play against a team like Miami.
fundamentallysound - February 21, 2012
Yeah, but with Bulls, isn't it as simple as they just need to get healthy?
I mean, they’ve been missing key players here and there for a while now, and it was bound to catch up with them a bit sooner or later. Consider this: they’ve played more games than anyone in the league to this point, and more ROAD games than anyone in the league to this point, yet they still have the second best point differential in the league next to the Heat, and have a comfortable lead over the third best team. I’m finding it hard to get down on the team (and this is coming from someone who panics frequently).
Also, to judge anything based on the recent games without Rose is just silly (he’s kinda important). And even looking at yesterday’s game is dumb because everyone had to get acclimated to playing with one another again. Let’s not forget that we were annihilating a lot of teams too right up until a few games after Rose was out (not as good as the teams the Heat are whooping, but still. And honestly, we need to stop comparing ourselves to the Heat. they’re the best team in the league this year, and we’re gonna have to play REALLY well, in a very long series to beat them).
Everything comes down to health with us. If Rip comes back post-All Star and responds well to the time off, and everyone else remains in relatively good health, I predict it will be a kick ass second half of the season. If he continues to sit out, and/or more injuries keep piling p, I think we’ll continue to have lapses in the level of play.
Juiceboxjerry - February 21, 2012
Yeah, this
Prevenge - February 21, 2012
"and this is coming from someone who panics frequently"
an understatement if I have ever heard one
metalkiwis - February 21, 2012
If we're going to look at point differential
as the measuring stick, I think it’s important to take into account strength of schedule. Furthermore, differential vs. teams above and below .500 should be examined. We kill some bad teams, but we have shit the bed against the good ones.
In the end, like you say, it comes down to injuries… We have no idea what this team can do. We know who the Heat are (those fucks).
Johannes Factotum - February 22, 2012
I don't know if "shit the bed" is accurate
A lot of those losses had interesting circumstances surrounding them, plus they were close games for the most part. The only game that had me legitimately concerned was the beatdown Philly put on us, but even in that game we were without Rip.
Also, we don’t really have anything to prove in terms of beating great teams. We’re a good team. We proved it last year by getting to the playoffs.
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
*By getting to the Conference Finals
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
deng wasn't playing in the philly game either.
Jaina - February 22, 2012
Oh yeah, you're right
Well, fuck that loss too. Excuses rule
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
beat the clippers, beat orlando
beat boston and atlanta twice. and if derrick hits two free throws in miami, that’s probably a win.
obnoxious american - February 22, 2012
Lakers too
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
i believe the heat had the worst record against good teams last season
much worse than ours… what did that get us? what did sweeping miami do for us in the ecf? nothing.
also consider:
@ hawks – no rip
@ grizz – no rose, no rip, cj’s first game back
vs pacers – no deng, no taj
@ heat – no deng, rip admittedly on one leg, no cj
@ 6ers – no deng, no rip
@ bos – no rose, no rip
i don’t like using injury excuses, and it’s not like these are guaranteed wins even without all our guys, but 5 of our losses came with injuries to 1 starter and 1 major role player or another starter.
the atl game and the nets game, though we were missing 1 starter, just don’t count because we did not look interested in playing either of those games. we sucked.
this all will mean nothing if the bulls can have some semblance of a healthier roster in the second half of the season, because we’ll be able to judge better how they fare against the top tier.
Jaina - February 22, 2012
er, even with all our guys
Jaina - February 22, 2012
Yep, I don't see the big deal at all
We’ve been damn good this season, nothing to complain about at this point.
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
yep
we were beating the better teams when we had a fuller roster. we start losing to the good teams when we’re missing major players. whodathunkit!!!
Jaina - February 22, 2012
I don't mean this in a bad way, but I think some people, myself included
just get a little spoiled from all the winning. It gets to the point where some people think we should beat Boston on the road by 15 without the MVP and your starting two guard. Doesn’t work that way
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
Meh
No point peaking during the regular season.
cayal - February 21, 2012
if miami had the same amoutn of injuries as the bulls, they wouldnt be this good.
The only major injury they had so far is wade and it was earlier in the season. Now they are healthy and had plenty OF PLAYING TIME TOGETHER. The bulls have rotating bench players in and out too many times this season and it has obviously effected the way the bulls have been playing. At this point, the team needs to focus on getting healthy and then try getting sync in the second half toe schedule (which is in fact easier and more comfortable than the first half of the season).
Geo4MVP - February 21, 2012
yes they would
as we saw when wade went out it just meant that bosh and lebron could dominate even more.
sin - February 22, 2012
I agree about Miami getting better. Wade, in particular, has improved.
He started the year slow, then got injured, then was recovering from injury — and now he is back to his old superstar self.
But I think the Bulls are still a great team. In many years, they would be far and away the best team, despite some significant injuries. Deng and Rose are back and Hamilton will return after the All-Star Game. They could still catch the Heat for the best record in the league.
Tim S. - February 21, 2012
Lebron shooting 55% and dominating from the post
We aren’t beating them even with a healthy roster as constructed
sin - February 21, 2012
guess it's time to pack it in, and close the ol' account then.
obnoxious american - February 22, 2012
Hurry up and go the Knicks blog already
And dont come back! [Me sobbing]
T.Moore - February 22, 2012
honestly...this is a trend that (to me) looked like it started with Game 1 against Indiana last year
kpd - February 21, 2012
i would rather
the bulls not put their foot on the gas until it really matters, in the playoffs. we busted our butts every night last year and walked into the heat series healthy but only on paper. i think everyone was nursing some kind of an injury.
it has to be different this year.
anorexorcist - February 21, 2012
As long as Rose keeps putting up PS Vita numbers
It’s all good. #gamechanger
pb&j - February 21, 2012
yfbb = corporate sellout
BroLaxChill - February 21, 2012
If Rose starts putting up Vita numbers we'll come in second at best
#portable game consoles are dead with cellphones
Prevenge - February 21, 2012
Still can't play Mario on cell phones
jrobulls - February 22, 2012
you can play them on home consoles
I dunno … haven’t wanted to play a portable system for any reason for a long time. Except Pokemon.
Prevenge - February 22, 2012
I beg to differ
Up to N64…but that can’t be too far away
SidM - February 23, 2012
wooooooowwwwww
is this legit?
Belize - February 23, 2012
Depends what you mean by legit
it works….but it’s about as legit as the usual reply to “anyone got a link?”
SidM - February 23, 2012
ahhh
Belize - February 24, 2012
yeah, no
obnoxious american - February 22, 2012
I think that it would be a bigger problem if the players themselves did not sense it
By acknowledging it, they imply that they can play better. An example of my point is the Lakers. They are not playing up to the level they need to be at for Kobe to win a 6th title and instead acknowledging that they need to play better, they talk about Pau possibly being traded and start holding private team meetings.
It is clear that we have not seen the best of this team yet. I think that the problem is simply the slew of injuries. When Noah and Booz were hurt last year, we had enough frontcourt depth to plug in the holes. When it is Rose, Deng, and Rip Hamilton hurt, well…that’s a different thing entirely.
Plug in a healthy and mostly productive Rip into this lineup and I am confident that we are capable of dethroning the Heat in the playoffs. I’m not guaranteeing a victory, but I feel that the odds are very close to even for both sides.
Brigade17 - February 21, 2012
great post
Awesome pic….I’m a lil bit hoping for a trade
Belize - February 21, 2012 via mobile
Looks like Rose is going for the Liu Kang kick on that pic
JustAnotherFan - February 22, 2012
Wawawawawawawawa
T.Moore - February 22, 2012
Thibs: FINISH HIM!
Belize - February 22, 2012
For what its worth,
I didn’t see Rose nor did I hear rumors of him at Rush today.
jpchi - February 21, 2012
guys let's stop beating around the bush here...
you can make all the excuses you want about the team not being 100% or the team having to shuffle through lineups like crazy….bottom line is this team is not going to beat Miami. Am I the only Bulls’ fan here who realizes that Hamilton will not push this team over the top? they need a legitimate scorer at the two who can bail this team out when Rose is sitting out or having a cold streak. Deng can provide that at times but it’s not enough. If only this team could sign Eric Gordon
ChicagoTsar - February 21, 2012
We have not seen Rip enough to know that. We played the Heat tough in Miami with half the roster injured.
Legitimate scorer at the 2? Isn’t that what Rip is and why we got him? Granted, he cannot drive to the hoop, but he can back down smaller defenders and also run some iso plays that result in decent looks. He certainly isn’t perfect, but with the money we have to offer, who better was available?
Eric Gordon is not a free agent who we could just flippantly sign. He is hurt, too. I’d love to have him if and when he becomes a free agent, but bringing him up at this point is unhelpful.
I am personally in favor of a trade for a second star for Rose, such as Howard and to a lesser degree Pau Gasol because when you can pair stars together you win championships. I do think this team can beat the Heat in a 7 game series. The games between the two teams always comes down to just a few plays. Yes, they do have more players who can make the clutch shot, but all we have to do is execute. I just think you are being too rash with your comments.
And I don’t beat around bushes. How dare you claim that?!
Brigade17 - February 21, 2012
yeah and we all learned how much meaning regular season matchups have
and how good of an indicator of playoff success they are
sin - February 22, 2012
turn that post around to your beloved Miami
regular season thrasings, and lebron dominating in the post in the regular season mean what exactly?? That argument is a two way street, and I also think its a bad argument
straylan - February 22, 2012
well, might as well give up then and stop watching the bulls...
ONTO TO BASEBALL!!!
Geo4MVP - February 21, 2012
ugh...
don’t even get me started. i’ve never felt more hopeless about my cubs. last time I swear was probably 1996 when they started 0-11 goodness gracious
ChicagoTsar - February 22, 2012
We all know the Bulls are underdogs to the Heat in the playoffs,
but who thought the Mavs would beat the Heat last year? Most didn’t even think the Mavs would be in the Finals. The Bulls getting the best season record and home court advantage through the playoffs wouldn’t be an upset at all — they already did it last year. The Bulls beating the Heat in a seven game series would be an upset, but not a huge upset, particularly since we don’t know what the health of the respective teams will be come the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tim S. - February 21, 2012
Glad you're here to tell us these things.
So we can just close BaB for the year?
It was sin who recced this too, wasn’t it?
Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. - February 21, 2012
I am so glad he set us straight. How dare any of us have the gall to root for our team?
Brigade17 - February 21, 2012
you guys are taking this way too personally
of course I hope that I’m wrong but you can’t kid yourselves. Bulls are going to need to make moves if they want to beat the Heat. I’m sure half of you are the same guys who were crying their eyes out when the Bulls traded Oakley for gimpy bill cartwright…but in the end it had to be done.
and who knows, if hamilton does gel with this team quickly and effectively, then yes they could definitely stop the Heat, I just can’t see it with Rip’s many injuries and the loss of his offensive game.
ChicagoTsar - February 22, 2012
Healthy Rip and I think we have a better than average shot really.
Prevenge - February 22, 2012
I seriously hope you're right
and the Bulls just kick their ass with good solid fundamentals, defense, and team-oriented basketball. I don’t want to see Lebrick jump around like a jackwagon while Bosh starts prancing about like the Brontosaurus from Land before Time
ChicagoTsar - February 22, 2012
Better than a 50% chance of beating the Heat?
It’s probably better than last year’s chances but let’s not kid ourselves.
MrBungle - February 22, 2012
I clicked on your stupid ad
Hope it somehow helps. Even turned off Ad-Blocker on BaB.
You’re welcome. Don’t forget us when all our clicking on your ads makes you rich.
metalkiwis - February 21, 2012
I’d rather hold out for Harden than Gordon. Harden has legit size and hasn’t shown to be as injury prone as Gordon.
C Smoove - February 21, 2012
we arent beating the heat with this team plain and simple
if both teams are healthy the heat are clearly a tier above everyone else right now. lebron has become the beast we’ve all feared he would become since day 1. hes finally posting up and taking advantage of all of his talents. mike miller and haslem are both healthy and finally living up to the roles they were signed to play last year.
the only way i see us beating the heat is if they suffer a major injury. im sorry rip is just not the answer. we need another guy who can break defenses down and rip is not that guy. coming into the season i really hoped boozer would become that guy and post up more and show us why we paid him so much damn money but so far hes been just as awesome as last year.
we need a dwight or pau shakeup cause we arent winning as constructed.
sin - February 22, 2012
This is the one comment like this you are allowed to do for the rest of the year.
Do it again and you’ll receive a permanent banning from the highly esteemed BaB Power Rankings. :-P
Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. - February 22, 2012
I don't understand this...
You talk about how Miami has turned into an offensive machine, but fail to mention some of the stifling defense the Bulls have played this year.
As constructed last year, the difference maker in the series was the return of Haslem. Who’s to say that the difference in this years series can’t be someone of a similar talent level in Hamilton?
straylan - February 22, 2012
Keep crowning their ass. That worked so well for them last year.
bleigh82 - February 22, 2012
Someone just needs to sweep LBJ's leg
Brigade17 - February 22, 2012
- Insert Turkish Delight Picture -
Here.
Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. - February 22, 2012
People say this same thing about LeBron every year.
defensive indifference - February 22, 2012
I like how Miami is the unstoppable juggernaut yet without Deng, the Bulls had a shot to beat them on the road.
Miami’s offense is a monster when right, so is Chicago’s defense. They’ve played enough times that we can say Wade has issues dealing with Thibs’ system. James is going to dominate no matter what you do, the real issue is Bosh. Last year he had a fantastic series while Boozer and Noah actively hurt the team offensively. If they don’t exert some dominance inside it makes no difference whether Rip is back to his 2005 self. The Bulls only win a series if they dominate the offensive glass and force Miami to play strictly in the half-court.
Ozzie Montana - February 22, 2012
Well stated
To add further, Wade against Thib’s Bulls:
That puts Wade at 21.8ppg at .415 shooting with 4.1 TOV and 3.2 asst.
For his career Wade is 25.3 ppg, .485 shooting with 3.6 TOV and 6.3 asst. His shooting percentage has been above 50% with the Heat, so he definitely has struggled against the Bulls.
Don’t get me wrong, Rose and our big men have struggled too, but there are struggles on both sides. The point differentials in all the Heat Bulls games have looked like this (the regular season comes first, then playoffs). -4, +1, +4, +3, +21, -10, -11, -8, -3. The Heat lead the series 5-4 and the point differential is 7 points. Seriously, less than 1ppg has separated these teams. It is just silly how the Bulls are thought to be such underdogs. Also, let’s remember that Derrick’s last game against the Heat was far better than any of his playoff performances. 34 points 6 rebs 6 asst and only 2 TOVs was pretty good. I am not saying the Bulls are going to beat the Heat, but they may have a better chance than any other NBA team.
DRoseO1 - February 22, 2012
we didn't have deng
and we also had to play a midget that lebron dunked over…
Jaina - February 22, 2012
I agree that Miami looks incredible...
in the open court. Their fast break is, quite literally, unstoppable. They are too big and too in tune to stop when they get out and run. However, with proper strategy, this element of their game can be nullified, especially if we are dominating the offensive glass. If this is the case, Lebron and DWade will not be able to leak out and get those easy points. I think that we could take them down in a series with strong play from the front-court.
Remember game 1 from the ECF last year. I thought we had the series in the bag. The real X-factor in that series was Haslem crashing the glass and mitigating our rebounding advantage.
THEKILLERWHALE - February 22, 2012
Haslem AND Mike Miller
Miller is one of the better rebounding wings in the league. That fucker was killing us last year in that regard, and he’s doing it this year as well.
I agree that the Heat are especially built to dominate the regular season though. That, and the fact that I still don’t like the James/Wade combo are the only things that give me hope.
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
I agree.
I still think Miami’s best line up is Haslem, Miller, and the big three, with James at point and Bosh at center. Because James doesn’t like playing point and Bosh doesn’t like playing center, they only bring it out in the fourth quarter of close games, and most of their games aren’t close. Ira Winderman calls them the “Finishing Five.”
Tim S. - February 22, 2012
Actually they're more an "unstoppable juggernaut"
because they beat us in five games last year when we had home court, and they weren’t fully healthy, and now they’ll likely have full court, and are currently fully healthy.
Not that I think they’re impossible to beat, but I think they very much have to be the favorite at this point.
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
there's no guarantee they will be healthy by the end of the year
and you are saying that like we were. yeah, we had all our guys, but derrick had been having ankle problems since the indiana series, boozer with his toe, etc etc…
Jaina - February 22, 2012
Yeah, but people are gonna be dinged up in the playoffs
I mean, Lu is already dealing with an injury that is gonna fuck with him for the rest of the year.
As for the Heat, yeah, No one knows how things will turn out, but as long as they’re healthy and playing well, you just have to assume that will continue. Plus, I’d rather play them, and beat them, healthy. I don’t want any asterisks. Wouldn’t mean as much (well, at least in terms of one of their big three being out. I wouldn’t mind if someone like Haslem or Miller went down).
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
Yeah
Three of our best guys getting dinged up is totally equivalent to Haslem being rusty and Miller being dinged up. Because Boozer, Noah, and Rose have less of an effect on Bulls-Heat games than Miller and Haslem.
Also, Dwayne Wade isn’t injury-prone at all! No chances of a Heat injury
Prevenge - February 22, 2012
Who is equating Rose and Deng getting hurt to Haslem and Miller? Because it certainly isn't me...
Juiceboxjerry - February 22, 2012
From first post:
Saying they weren’t fully healthy is kind of a dumb argument to make regarding that series.
Prevenge - February 22, 2012
I wish people would stop brining up injuries on last year's team
especially since none of the injuries kept the key Bulls players off the court. At the end of an 82 game season, no one is going to have perfect health.
Basketball Smurf - February 22, 2012
I think it's clear the missing ingredient
is a Ron Harper…not Bogans’ ancestor from his Bulls’ days but the Cavaliers’ Ron Harper
ChicagoTsar - February 22, 2012
or Clippers' Ron Harper I guess would make more sense
ChicagoTsar - February 22, 2012
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