Bulls v. Lakers - "Mama, there goes that man..."
You might be thinking that I'm talking about Derrick here, I mean he did hit that ridiculous floater with Pau's paw in his face (you see what I did there). But I'm actually talking about Lt. Deng and his stupid looking faux-hawk. Deng came up huge down the stretch. He had nine points in the 4th quarter (21 in the game) and played an integral part of the comeback win. When everything was all but lost, Luol had a three point play, made two free throws, made the steal that led to Rose hitting the floater with 4.8 seconds left, then blocked Kobe's last second shot. The Bulls scored the last 7 points of the game and Luol was guarding Kobe the entire time. Rose had an efficient game himself scoring 22 points on 13 shot attempts. He had his long range shot going which was nice and had a ridiculous reverse layup. For the first game of the season after a long lockout ridden off-season, he had a good game. I just don't think he was aggressive enough on the offensive end (zero free throw attempts). Rip was a non-factor as he was in foul trouble the entire game. Boozer was decent putting in 15 points, and carried the offense at times. But he didn't show any improvement in defense. The bench mob had its first appearance and struggled to do anything offensively. As a team, they played well defensively. I would say that 87 points allowed is a success. Another thing to be noted was that neither Rip nor Boozer were playing down the stretch. Korver wasn't even being included in offense-for-defense substitutions. I predicted an easy win against this depleted Laker team, maybe I underestimated Kobe and his white teammates' resilience or overestimated the readiness of the Bulls. Either way, the Bulls pulling off a win was a Christmas miracle.
Bulls v. Warrios - "Hand down, man down..."
Very frustrating game to watch and not just because the Bulls lost to a team coached by Mark Jackson and Pete Meyers. Plain and simple, the Bulls were dominated on both ends of court and in every facet of the game. The Bulls couldn't defend the high pick-and-roll. The Warriors doubled Rose off the pick-and-roll and he couldn't get past it. The Bulls couldn't get back in transition as Oakland looked like "Lob City North". The Warrior backcourt of Ellis and Curry combined for 47 points (26 and 21 respectively) compared to the 23 put up by Rip and Rose (10 and 13 respectively). All 10 of Rip's points were scored in the first half and Rose was not aggressive on the offensive end again. Where do I start with Boozer? Six points in 26 minutes. UGH. Seriously dude, what the fuck. Three straight times he tried to get the ball in the post, he let his entry passes get tipped away for steals. His defense was an atrocity. There was one play where Rip got his shot blocked by Ellis as he curled off a down screen and Steph pushed the ball up the court. Boozer just let him get to the rim without making him change directions or pace. But at least he pointed at Steph and yelled "hey" in transistion. MOVE YOUR FEET BOOZER! He was severely exposed in the 3rd quarter by David Lee. Biting on pump fakes, getting schooled in the post. Boozer often left Joakim the only one in the paint to try and grab a rebound. It's frustrating that both Lee and Boozer were given very similar deals for $80M, but Lee actually rebounds and works hard on both ends. Thibs took too long to take him out for Taj. The Bulls went with a smaller lineup with Rose/Watson/Deng/Korver/Taj down the stretch to get more scoring, but it was too much too late. It sucks because the Bulls were on the verge of getting blown out of the gym, but made a small comeback at the end and couldn't rest Rose and Deng. Rip, Boozer, and Joakim were all on the pine in the closing minutes. That's, uh, not very good.
I know it's only 2 games into the season, but it's frustrating to see Boozer the same level defensively as last year. Rip Hamilton was more of a factor against the Warriors, but disappeared in the 2nd half. Rose only had 13 points and again wasn't aggressive getting to the rim. The only stalwart on both ends was Luol. When Rose has a bad game, it seems like everyone around him crumbles too. That can't happen, especially when Boozer and Joakim are being paid that amount of money. Next game is Thursday against the Kings (who beat the Lakers last night) and Friday against Lob City. Hopefully the Bulls don't come back to Chicago with a 1-3 start.
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