Chicago Bulls Blog

Small doesn't come up big for Bulls this time

You figured this "small ball" thing had to catch up to the Bulls at times, and it will continue to do so as it did here Friday with the Memphis Grizzlies jumping all over the Bulls, figuratively and literally, in a 103-96 victory.

The loss dropped the Bulls to 10-12 with a wakeup call to play the New Jersey Nets at home Saturday. While Friday was billed as a matchup of the two likely candidates for rookie of the year in the Bulls Derrick Rose (12 points and 11 assists) and the Grizzlies O.J. Mayo (14 points), Saturday's game features Rose and Devin Harris, the two point guards perhaps fighting it out for the last spot among the reserves for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

And once again the Bulls will find themselves looking up. Not drastically in the standings to the 11-10 Nets, but to a front line of several seven footers, whom the Bulls have little counter for but to hit those jump shots and run the fast breaks.

"You cannot go small all the time," acknowledged Larry Hughes, who continued his hot streak shooting with 12 points off the bench and a pair of threes. "You have to have the paint. It's where the game is won, low post scoring and rebounding. When you go small, it's kind of tough to control the paint. You allow teams to get to the free throw line, get second chance points when you have to double a lot of times. It's tough to go completely small."

Though Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro doesn't seem to feel he has much choice with his "bigs" of Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray and Tyrus Thomas.

Gooden did have 10 points and 13 rebounds, his third straight double/double after two poor shooting games. But Gray, Noah and Thomas played bit parts as the Bulls reverted to those three-guard sets with Luol Deng or Andres Nocioni at power forward and Gooden at center down the stretch.

Leading early in the game by 14 after a sizzling first quarter shooting exhibition by Ben Gordon of 18 points with five threes, the Bulls pulled within 83-79 with about 10 minutes left on a Nocioni three. But little Mike Conley snuck in for a rebound, one of a career high 10, and Hakim Warrick hit a short bank shot. Nocioni missed and Rudy Gay knocked in an 18 footer, part of his season high 29. Gooden countered with a nice inside cut for a layup, but Darko Milicic—yes, Darko with season highs of 13 points and 11 rebounds—spun inside for a score. After Luol Deng got himself loose for a reverse along the baseline after a miss, Warrick turned into Dominique Wilkins, bouncing around for a layup off his own miss on three consecutive possessions, 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies pull away.

In all, the Grizzlies outscored the Bulls by a whopping 52-26 in the paint, and that was with the Grizzlies missing perhaps 10 layups.

"Give them some credit," said Del Negro. "Warrick hurt us. Gay hurt us. We didn't handle Milicic well in the post. We couldn't get good matchups against their lineups. I don't always prefer to play small. I felt we needed to go small and trick it up, but we couldn't handle their penetration. They were getting in the middle and breaking us down."

As we've heard before with this Bulls team: Live by the jump shot; die by the jump shot.

How it happened this time on defense with Gay leaping over Bulls like a young Dr. J was the difficulty you get in trying to squeeze through so often with small lineups. That said, I am not opposed to it with this group, though the question always remains if you give regular time to players like Thomas, Noah and Thabo Sefolosha, the latter finally getting six minutes after sitting out the last five games, do you end up with more production? Or do you run into quicker losses because they give you so little and your guards are your best scorers?

It looked that way as the Bulls built a 26-12 lead.

First Gordon and then Hughes were punishing and embarrassing Mayo, who couldn't stay with either and the Bulls kept picking on him to take that big lead.

But after leading 30-22 after one quarter, Gordon drew his third foul 35 seconds into the second quarter and sat down with 18 points.

"I was locked in and focused," said Gordon, who finished with 26. "After I got in foul trouble, I wasn't a big factor in the game. I kind of let my team down not being out there."

And give him this: You pick on his defense or ball handling, but when the guy is hitting his shot, there are few players in the NBA as deadly. You still need to score to win the game, and it would be difficult to see how the Bulls could score enough to win much with this roster and Gordon not playing.

I also enjoy Gordon's direct answers.

I asked him if he thought of asking Del Negro if he could stay in since he was hot.

"Yeah, but I knew he'd take me out anyway, so I didn't bring it up," said Gordon with a gentle smirk.

Actually, my favorite comic moment of the game was with Gooden checking in. He was standing in front of the scorers' table when one of the scorers said, "Dwight, can you sit down."

"You guys keep calling me Dwight," Gooden says. "It never changes."

So after the game I was standing with Gooden and asked him what that was about. He was a first round pick of the Grizzlies but traded a few months into his rookie season. He said everyone always got his first name wrong and called him after the infamous baseball pitcher. So as we're standing there, a local radio guy comes up and says, "Uh, Dwight, can I ask you a question."

"See, see," Gooden said. "I think it may be southern for Drew."

Anyway, the Bulls went south after Gordon went out, though not right away, leading 54-52 at halftime. The Bulls shot 53.8 percent in the first half with eight of their 54 points inside. Gordon, Hughes and Rose scored 48 of the Bulls 54 first half points. You knew that couldn't last.

From a tie at 66 with four minutes left in the third, the 8-15 Grizzlies went on a 15-4 run with Milicic and Marc Gasol scoring inside and Mayo and Gay hitting threes, and Warrick finished it off.

The Bulls tried playing zone on occasion, but didn't react well enough to contain penetration and were losing position for offensive rebounds. Given Memphis is a young team and young teams often cannot take advantage, the Bulls tried to front the post on Memphis' big guys, which required Gooden to come over and help behind. But too often that left a guard matched against Warrick or Gay and it was no contest as those guys were jumping over, throwing lobs and dunking in spectacular fashion, especially Gay, a stunning athlete.

Deng had 19 points and was as active as he could be gathering up loose balls and following misses. But he is in the unenviable position of playing against the most athletic players in the NBA at the small forward position and had huge problems trying to stay with Gay or Warrick.

"Gay and Warrick are as athletic as you'll find in the league," said Del Negro. "Their length definitely bothered us. We couldn't sustain anything after the first quarter and were playing catchup in the fourth."

Otherwise, it was a homecoming for Rose, who attended the University of Memphis and was tremendously popular here.

He was introduced as being from the U. of Memphis instead of from Chicago as he is introduced at the United Center and got a standing ovation from the Grizzlies largest crowd of the season.

"I have great fans," Rose said. "They came out and supported me and I love them for that."

Though the Grizzlies, one of the lowest drawing teams in the NBA, were aware as well and there seemed to be a little extra in their step.

“We knew what the people were coming for tonight, but we wanted to put a show on for the fans even though its Derrick’s homecoming," said Conley. "I thought we did a great job of not letting that get to us."

Rose's Memphis team was off playing at Georgetown, so they weren't in attendance, but Rose has become close with Mayo and the two talked. Rose said they stayed with one another in the summer in Los Angeles and Chicago and Rose said Mayo is his closest friend among the rookies.

They were matched up only occasionally, mostly on switches. But neither played a major role in the game, though it's perhaps more vital for Rose with the Bulls, especially when his teammates' shots stop going down. Still, Rose played more than 44 minutes.

"I didn't want to force up shots," said Rose. "That's not my type of game. I try to pass if guys are open and let someone else create and I can play off them.

"I felt like I was at home," Rose added of the appreciative crowd. "It felt good. It seemed like it was a Memphis game."

In more ways than the Bulls preferred.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

Bulls show D'Antoni the run and shoot game

Start printing the playoff tickets? In outlasting the New York Knicks 105-100, the Bulls Tuesday moved to 10-11 on the season and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Of course, that also likely would mean a first round playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Only 61 games to go.

"It is a different team (from last season)," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro "We made some mistakes, (but) we were able to overcome that. Our guys hung in there."

And in some respects, it was playoff like at the United Center, with celebrities in the crowd in Vice President-elect Joe Biden and presidential advisor David Axelrod. The Knicks played a tight rotation of seven players and the Bulls just eight. There were six lead changes in the fourth quarter before the Bulls finally prevailed on a Larry Hughes three to break a 97 tie with 55 seconds left. Hughes then gathered in a fumbled rebound between Al Harrington and David Lee with 27 seconds left that gave the Bulls the valued possession and forced the Knicks to foul the game away.

Joe Biden attends a Bulls victory

"The last two minutes, for whatever reasons, we just didn't get any tips of loose balls," said former Bull Chris Duhon, who had 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds in 45 minutes and has been a revelation for Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni's spread floor game. "We had the opportunity to win this game but didn't capitalize on it. We were right there so I don't think fatigue was a factor. It's similar to when I was a rookie here. We were up five in the fourth and had the opportunity to seal the deal. We controlled most of the fourth quarter, but missed some shots, and defensive errors cost us the win."

And so the Bulls move on to 6-15 Memphis Friday with a chance to get back to .500 on the season, playing an eclectic group of small players in an open court, offensive oriented game that more resembles what D'Antoni played in Phoenix when Del Negro was also there as an assistant general manager.

It was mostly three guard lineups and perimeter jumpers again, and the Bulls had just enough to overcome a poor Ben Gordon shooting game (six for 18) as Drew Gooden again showed how vital he is to team success with 22 points and 16 rebounds.

"I felt like I was not playing up to par so I wanted to at least have energy out there tonight," said Gooden. "The scoring came within the offense. I knew I could present myself with rebounding and playing defense."

Though Aaron Gray actually played the old Bill Cartwright/Luc Longley role of getting the first possession and first basket and Joakim Noah showed some life in 19 minutes with four blocks and five rebounds, it is only Gooden who is able to provide an real inside offensive threat. When he was a combined one for 16 against the Bucks and 76ers last week, the Bulls lost both games. When he's failed to score in double figures or been out this season, the Bulls have lost six of those nine games.

But against the Knicks it's a bit easier for someone like Gooden to produce with New York's small, skinny lineup with David Lee at center and occasionally Jared Jeffries.

Against the Knicks, it's also a game of seeing whose shots go down, and the Bulls made a bit more as the Knicks shot an obscene 28 threes and made only six while the Bulls, at times, did get lured by the siren song of the high arcing, quick three, the seductress of the hardwood. She's beautiful when she makes twine music, but the thud can also be a desperate letdown.

The Bulls seemed in control of the game several times, ahead 38-27 in the second quarter, and again by nine in the third. But each time like they were mesmerized by the Knicks rollicking shotmaking, Gordon or Andres Nocioni or Hughes would fire off quicker jumpers without a pass or much offensive movement, only to see the ball kicking long and the Knicks running out to make a play.

"We did not share the ball as well as we can," said Del Negro. "We made plays down the stretch. Neither team shot the ball great. We found a way and I am happy with that. We can play a lot better. We wanted to get them off the three point shot. They still got them up. We were fortunate, especially early in the game, when they missed some that they usually make."

Perhaps typical, but ultimately not fatal, was the sequence midway through the second quarter with the Bulls up eight and the Knicks repeatedly missing layups. DePaul's Wilson Chandler, who is from DePaul, had one of his poorest games in obviously trying to impress the home folks and was two of 13 with five turnovers, taking repeated bad shots and unaware of game situations. Quentin Richardson, also from DePaul, had perhaps the highlight of the game at that point in the second quarter after Hughes took a quick three on top of the floor with his teammates in deep and no one back. Richardson took a lob left handed from Duhon and slammed the ball with ferocity, knuckles to forehead in what is generally regarded as the Blue Demon horned salute.

Still, Richardson was nine for 24 overall for 22 points and three for 10 on threes, perhaps strained as the Knicks Seven get little rest anytime, especially Duhon, who piled on another 45 minutes and seemed to tire badly down the stretch with two pullup threes that hit way short on the front rim, getting a shot blocked by Derrick Rose and two of his four turnovers in the last eight minutes.

"Al (Harrington with a game high 28) was great," said D'Antoni. "He's playing with a lot of confidence, but I think he got tired in the fourth. Once we get Nate (Robinson) back, and some of the others like Jared (Jeffries) getting his legs back, it will help the whole team. Overall I'm happy with the effort and what we did tonight."

Which was almost steal the game with a solid run to open the fourth quarter.

With Gordon dribbling into a 24 second violation at the end of the third quarter and giving the Knicks time for a Harrington buzzer beater, the Knicks pulled within 78-77 after three. They then opened the fourth quarter again catching the Bulls in major mismatches with Richardson or Jeffries scoring over Gordon and the Knicks taking a 92-87 lead with 6:41 left.

Earlier in the game, Rose, playing with his left elbow in a sleeve from that knife cut Monday (he supposedly was using a knife because it was a candy apple), likewise, found himself repeatedly disadvantaged at the core of the defense.

D'Antoni often is criticized for his teams' lack of defense, though I believe you can win in the NBA playing his style—assuming the players are good enough--and I still believe the Suns did with the championship in 2007 over the Cavs. If not, of course, for those unnecessary suspensions when the Spurs Robert Horry suckered the Suns into leaving the bench when Horry assaulted Steve Nash. No, the Suns didn't win, but averaging almost 60 wins for four years and a couple of conference finals still sounds awfully good. The Bulls would take that.

And D'Antoni can sure coach offense.

Though his Knicks are decimated and shorthanded by injuries and the recent trades and have had revolving personnel all season, the Knicks mostly seem to respond to game situations beautifully.

They almost instantly find mismatches on offense and exploit them like Chuck Daly at his best with the probing Pistons of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. The Knicks simple pick and roll game got big guys inside frequently and often inexplicably with the smaller Knicks matching the Bulls in points in the paint.

I thought the Bulls guards should have dropped under on the pick and roll more and challenged Duhon shoot since he is, at best, a streaky shooter, and averaging more than 40 minutes per game. Give Duhon this: He never had much chance with the Bulls with the excess of guards and starting off defying the team when they wanted him to start his career in Europe. But when the team was collapsing on interim Jim Boylan on the Western Conference trip last February and several players were not playing, an injured Duhon kept going and almost single handedly fought off a potential losing streak with 34 points in beating a then good Golden State team. He would make his share of mistakes with the team afterward as his playing time diminished, but he remains a heck of a competitor.

"It was fun. I expected to get booed," said Duhon. "But they were pretty kind to me. It was fun to compete against those guys.The win would have been the icing."

On the candy apple, so to speak.

Rose played 41 minutes and had 15 points on seven of 11 shooting and seven assists, though it wasn't easy.

D'Antoni was ready, despite the notion his teams don't defend, with a nice plan on Rose. The Knicks mostly trapped Rose on the pick and roll, forcing him to move the ball as Lee pushed Rose and scrambled back. Which isn't much of a problem since the Bulls rarely can throw inside, other than when Gooden is there. But then when Gooden got going, the Knicks switched on various possessions, sometimes dropping off to play straight up and mixing in some traps so Rose didn't know what to expect.

But Rose's maturity is perhaps most remarkable as he never seems to hurry and almost always makes the right play.

Coming out of that timeout trailing by five, the teams traded missed jumpers, Richardson's missed three a potential dagger that didn't stick. The Knicks then trapped and Rose moved the ball to Hughes on top and he found Nocioni in the deep corner for a three.

"Nocioni hit a tough three from the corner," said Lee. "And Hughes hit the dagger at the end. I am disappointed and feel we should have won this game."

After Jeffries airballed a six footer, Rose pulled up and hit an 18 footer, Duhon lost the ball and Rose crossed over Duhon and went hard to the rim and scored a layup to put the Bulls back ahead 94-92.

But the Bulls went dry again with Hughes and Gordon missing long shots, though all three were good looks, while Harrington's three put the Knicks back on top 97-94 with 4:03 remaining. Chandler then stepped out of bounds in the deep left corner and Gordon finally hit that corner three he'd been missing to tie it at 97 with 2:51 left.

Chandler then missed a wild shot and a tip, Rose missed a jumper, Duhon came up short on that three and Hughes with 16 points and eight rebounds hit another big shot in what's been an excellent stretch.

"Larry Hughes hit another big shot in what's been an excellent stretch."

"It's always good to make them when it counts," said Hughes. "I'm not going to turn them (shots) down. I'm never going to turn them down. It's going to be one of two things: It's either going to go in or it's not. But as long as it's a good look and my teammates find me, I'm definitely going to take the shot."

Call it a philosophy, though it's working of late. Never regarded as much of a worker, it seems that Hughes may have gotten the hint here that he needs to get serious. His shot looks better and in more control than I've seen it in years, which suggests he is working on it and staying in shape. There's no doubt he's a talent. Everyone has always known that. But it's been, at times, about what he would put into it.

It's working for him and the team now, so it seems he'll stay where he is as the first guy off the bench and getting plenty of time in a short rotation.

Given that short rotation, Tyrus Thomas didn't play in a game that should have fit him with open court and small, quick players. Gray started again, though hardly a matchup fit against this Knicks team and style. He did a few nice things early in each half, sealing to get a score and wheeling in for another. But he wasn't quick enough to stay too long.

It should have been the kind of game for Noah, and he got in 19 minutes, his longest stretch in almost a month. Noah was especially active and effective to open the second quarter with a block on Richardson that Hughes saved falling out of bounds and two good defensive plays when the Bulls went out to their biggest lead of the game at 38-27. Though it's still painful to watch him even attempt a shot.

In the plus/minus statistics for the game, only he and Luol Deng with 16 points, most early again, were on the plus side, though Noah was pulled early in the fourth quarter after losing Jeffries on a switch for an easy layup as the Bulls then finished the game with their guard heavy lineup plus Gooden.

Still, in the last 10 years, the best any Bulls team has been after 21 games in 11-10. So, all in all, not bad, and we'll see where this goes.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

NBA news & notes and other weekend thoughts; Wittman fired

Randy Wittman is out. Kevin McHale who put the T-Wolves together (is that a good thing?) takes over on a full-time basis. According to wire service reports McHale will step away from his front office duties. 

There had been a ton of speculation regarding Wittman's future in Minnesota. 

It's Sunday and I'm feeling good. The Bulls got a win Saturday night. My wife has put together a great spread so I can relax watching the Bears-Jags game.

I turn on my computer and go to basketball web sites to get the latest news around the NBA. I love reading Marc Stein. He is one of my favorite people regardless of occupation. But I was taken back with his decision to quote an unnamed Eastern Conference scout on the job status of several current pro coaches: The UNNAMED scout tells ESPN:

"The number of people who've been fired already means that the next few guys that are teetering -- [Reggie] Theus, [Marc] Iavaroni, [Randy] Wittman -- will probably get axed soon, too. The earliness of the firings makes it easier for teams [to follow] because there's no surprise factor. It won't look like you're jumping off a cliff. But Minnesota probably has a little bit more patience being so young. It would be more dangerous for Wittman if he had a good veteran player or two to make more of a ruckus."

I have never understood the policy of stating people's opinions who won't put their name(s) on the record -especially a remark when it comes to the status of employment or lack there of. Pro sports is a rewarding, intoxicating, calculated business full of many highs and many lows. News gathering bureaus are embroiled in daily competitive battles. It's a tough business. Editors put a ton of heat on their reporters to get it first-get it fast-get it accurate. But in my world if you're going to rip a coach, or go after a GM/owner/player, "man up "and accept the responsibility of your actions. If an unnamed NBA source is that willing to gossip—and a lot of people do—then I think the party in question should be transparent enough to go public with his/her name. It's easy to hide behind a cloak of insecurity. Thank you. I just had to get that off my chest!

The Knicks ended a three game losing streak beating an on-again off-again Pistons club. Chris Duhon played the entire game. He's getting plenty of burn with the Knicks. David Lee has recorded nine straight double-doubles. Wilson Chandler stepped up and was solid as was Harrington, Richardson, etc. Didn't see a lot of life out of Michael Curry's team.

The Raps found another way to lose. They are too good to be two games under .500. Portland is terrific but Toronto still should have claimed a "W."

The Celtics now 20-2 after beating the Pacers in OT. Ray Allen with 35 points. Boston doesn't play Cleveland until Jan 9th in Ohio.

The stats prove Larry Hughes is a better player when he comes off the bench rather than starting.

I would love to see Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas bust out. You see flashes but inconsistent play has hurt them this season.

Happy Birthday #24 to Aaron Gray. He's a hard worker and a good guy.

I haven't met one NBA player, coach or executive who has anything negative to say about Derrick Rose on or off the court.

The game-ops department with the Bulls is as good as it gets.

Good win for the Bears. Solid.

I'm not a believer that a loss is good for a team but maybe this a minor setback for the Giants will force them to step outside their comfort zone.

Of the available college jobs, the least appealing is Syracuse. For a scathing report on the 0-12 University of Washington program, check out Jerry Brewer's Seattle Times Sunday column.

I think the 49ers will keep Mike Singletary as their coach of 2009 and beyond.

Put a fork in the Packers. They're done.

Great game with the Steelers and Cowboys. The only thing that ruined it was T.O. flipping out at the end of the contest. Seen that movie before and it's getting tired.

Congrats to the Cards winning their first divisional title since 1975. Somewhere Jim Hart is enjoying the moment.

Come on Detroit—I'm pulling for you... can you hear me? Only three left. Do it for the Swirsk. I need 0-16.

I bet Mike Holmgren can't wait to board the first jet out of Seattle.

Always a pleasure. E-mail me at cswirsky@bulls.com

Bulls win Run, Pass and Shoot competition over Wizards

It would be nice to be a good defensive team, but it's not going to happen for these Bulls. It would be nice to be able to throw it inside and get some scoring inside/out, which is considered the tested NBA formula for success. But it's not going to happen for these Bulls. It would be nice to get consistent perimeter shooting, but it doesn't really happen for anyone.

So you go with what you have and what you think is best, and it's what I've basically been saying about this Bulls team, which played, in effect, it's prototype game Saturday in defeating the Washington Wizards 117-110.

The Bulls scored a lot and got scored on. They shot well and couldn't do much against the opponents' shooting because they put their best players on the floor, who basically added up to an average height of about 6-5. But almost all can dunk.

Their strength is their offense and quickness. Their best players are guards and small forwards. So in quest of a victory after two disappointing losses to the losing 76ers and Bucks, the Bulls went small and outran, outshot and played not quite as poor defense as the Wizards.

This is your 2008-09 Chicago Bulls, a lot closer to the best of the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors than the best of the champion Bulls or this season's Boston Celtics.

Ready, set, score.

“The small line-up was more effective," said coach Vinny Del Negro of the group with Andres Nocioni at center and Luol Deng, Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose that opened up a 17-point lead late into the third and through the middle of the fourth quarter. "We need to get more commitment and consistency from our bigs. I just thought the guys who were competing and playing the hardest whether small or big was who we wanted out there."

And I cannot disagree, at least for the short term.

Joakim Noah was benched for Aaron Gray and didn't play. Tyrus Thomas made a five-minute cameo and missed a shot. Del Negro basically went with a seven-player rotation throughout the game, emphasizing ball movement and perimeter shooting, stealing not only a page but a volume from the Mike D'Antoni handbook.

D'Antoni and the Knicks are in Chicago to play the Bulls Tuesday.

Anyone ready for 158-139?

“They went small and we went small," said Luol Deng, with a second straight strong effort and team high 26 points. "That turned out great for us. We moved the ball real well with the small line-up. All the guys on the floor can make shots. When we do that, we are pretty tough to stop.”

The Bulls really were, especially with a season high 31 assists on 43 field goals. There were season highs in points, three-point shooting and matching a season best in Ben Gordon blocks.

Gordon had 21 points and seven assists, but he also made the best defensive play of the game, a face up block of Antonio Daniels as Daniels had a running start from the top of the key as the Bulls began a 19-6 run to end the third quarter and take an 88-74 lead.

Gordon caught the athletic Daniels (we thought) at the top of his jump and blocked the attempted dunk.

Gordon stopped as the Bulls ran out for another slashing Deng basket off a nice inside pass from Larry Hughes, who if he was in an audition for an eventual trade back to Washington was brilliant with 24 points, five assists, zero turnovers and five three pointers.

Gordon then did the Dikembe Mutombo finger wagging wave off, "Don't bring that weak stuff in here."

"I always wanted to do that," said Gordon, seeming to enjoy what he said in the preseason was likely his final season in Chicago. "I used to see Dikembe do it. I figured tonight was the perfect opportunity."

Daniels left shortly thereafter for the rest of the game with what was described a back injury.

We think he caught a severe case of Gordonitis.

The only thing missing was that noxious bell clanging we used to have in Chicago when Ben Wallace got his one block a week.

Yes, it was a night for enjoying things, and Del Negro did as well, quipping when he came out for his postgame media comments: “That was a pretty normal game for us, 31 assists and 52% shooting.

"Why are you laughing?"

It should have been a laugher because the Wizards, now 3-15, pretty much go through the motions of competing. They don't close on shooters or contest many shots, and just try to outscore you, which they can do with Caron Butler with 27 and Antawn Jamison with 23.

Like Friday in Washington when they came back and almost stole a game from the Lakers. Saturday they were trailing by 17 with about seven minutes left when the Bulls stopped paying attention. It was like that for Washington against the Lakers Friday when coach Phil Jackson went with his reserves the rest of the way and Butler missed a three to win it after being down 19 in the fourth quarter.

Del Negro was only playing seven guys, so there wasn't much bench to use. But up 15 with 5:54 left, Del Negro took Rose out.

So what had been a beautiful Bulls game of ball movement, cutting and hard screening became a one dribble and fire it up carnival: Gordon quick jumper, Andres Nocioni quick jumper, Gordon another force and now the Bulls were ahead 102-94. Timeout:

"Derrick! Get in there!"

So much for stealing some rest, though Rose, in the top 10 in the league in minutes played, went for 37, one below his average. It also was the kind of game Rose loves to play but probably will ultimately deny him an All Star spot this season. Rose had 15 points, eight assists, two steals—he always asks first after the game how many turnovers he had—and zero turnovers.

Players like the Nets' Devin Harris have become more shoot first guards piling up big points numbers, which generally sway All Star voters and coaches. Rose's way eventually will pile up more wins.

Coming out of a timeout with 3:45 remaining, Deng missed off a quick inbounds play and then Gordon missed a quick jumper. And, uh oh, it was 102-98 with 2:34 left as the Wizards scored on seven of eight possessions.

So who do you go to when you are desperate for a score?

Drew Gooden, streak buster? The guy one of 16 in the last two games? I guess Gooden was taking it literally that December is a cold month in Chicago.

Like I suggested with some fear the other day, "As Drew Gooden goes so goes the Bulls?"

Because even though he'll never score like Deng, Gordon or Hughes or play like Rose, he's really the only Bull now who can get a score inside as even with all the happy Saturday statistics, the Bulls were outscored by 10 inside.

And Gooden came up big.

He backed his way in strong and drop stepped in a layup and was fouled by Darius Songaila and made the free throw in the "Whew" moment of the game for the Bulls. Though Songaila knocked in a 20 footer in the next Wizards possession, Gordon found Hughes with the ball swinging against a finally trying Wizards defense and Hughes knocked in a three, then stole a Juan Dixon pass and was fouled and added a free throw on the runout.

“Larry has been consistent all year," said Del Negro. "He wants to compete. He wants to play every minute. He's one of my best defenders. He's got versatility and years of experience. He was hitting his shot and got us going early. He had a real solid game."

The nine-point margin with 1:24 left was breathing room enough even though the Bulls let the Wizards get two more threes and 10 points in the last 70 seconds. Fortunately, Washington seems to prefer to accumulate statistics rather than wins.

“It was nice to see the ball move," said Del Negro. "When they move the ball like that they make the game easy. That is why you shoot a higher percentage. As we get better at that, you see the benefit of making an easy basketball play and keeping the other team out of transition."

Gray also had a solid effort, even if you cannot count on him much for scoring—he took one shot and missed in 22 minutes—and when the Wizards went with a more perimeter oriented big man in Andray Blatche, Gray was getting caught trying to run out and committing fouls or giving open looks. That's when Del Negro went small, and though the Wizards went to Blatche and he scored twice quickly over Nocioni when Gray went out, it is, after all, Andray Blacthe and not exactly Tim Duncan for that much of a matchup disadvantage.

The Bulls took advantage the other way with Del Negro outmaneuvering Washington interim coach Ed Tapscott, scoring on eight of the next 11 possessions to end the third quarter and take control of the game as Nocioni popped out for a three and then cut in from the top for a score on a clever pass from Deng. Gordon hit a three, Deng continued his hard curling off screens and was open again for a score and was active on the boards in following up a Nocioni miss that drew the defense.

Oh, that Luol Deng.

“He was aggressive, he moved the basketball and only had one turnover," said Del Negro. "He rebounded and guarded well. He was aggressive and he was cutting to the basket well and our guys found him. This is a progression for Luol. In some of his slow games it was not just him. We needed to do a better job of getting him in the flow and I thought we did. His aggression of defense and being aggressive is his game. He played a lot of minutes but he was productive.”

It was a nice change from the Deng we'd been seeing this season who was trying to beat guys off the dribble, hardly his specialty, and facing up and shooting quick jumpers.

I thought Deng worked very well early off Gray setting weak side screens and Deng coming over them hard and diving to the basket, which he hasn't been doing.

"I was slowed down with the injury a little bit," Deng conceded of his ouchie hammy. "But now I'm feeling better. I'm just trying to take open shots. Definitely I'm more aggressive out there.”

The Bulls offense this season, whether because Del Negro was new or some of the players couldn't figure out what to do (and perhaps didn't play Saturday) was extremely basic with almost no weak side action, which is where an offense frees cutters and shooters. But Gray knows the game, and while he is slow, he seems to know where he is supposed to be to get in position for a screen. And with his body he is capable of delivering a jarring one.

I have held off saying it, but I may not be able to any longer.

Yes, yes, Aaron Gray is the Bulls best center.

There. Though I don't feel that much better.

Del Negro was the most experienced coach in Saturday's game, so I'm not quite sure what Tapscott was doing. But his best defender looked like JaVale McGee, who blocked three shots in the first 52 seconds and even put in a couple of drives, despite looking awkward on offense. Yet, he played just 11 minutes and wasn't in foul trouble.

The Bulls had to be glad to get him out of there. It also was a sign Del Negro has had it with Joakim Noah since Del Negro always talks about matchups, and Gray was hardly a matchup for the slender and athletic starting McGee. Who would seem to rival Noah. We assume he didn't play because he didn't know the plays or where to be. Like Noah?

Gray stepping out and screening on the side instead of the team's usual high screen action got Deng going and it was Washington 25-24 after one, though Washington primarily was shooting jumpers. The Bulls pulled ahead when Nocioni, with a new haircut in an anti-Samson (not Ralph) sort of strategy, cut his hair apparently to gain strength and broke his slump of failing to shoot better than 50 percent the last nine games. Nocioni was six for 11 for 19 points, his best output in three weeks.

Hughes then hit consecutive threes and soon added another as the Bulls were 11 of 20 on threes for the game as they went to 9-11 for the season.

But Washington finally got a slow starting Jamison going and took advantage of the Bulls smaller size as Jamison scored after four offensive rebounds on the same play. Though Gordon ran out to finish the quarter with a high banker for a 57-52 halftime lead. The Bulls outscored Washington 17-2 on fast breaks. We hope Obama does as well with Washington as the Bulls did.

The Bulls now are one of a dozen teams giving up at least 100 points per game, only two, the Suns and Nets, with winning records. It's not a way to win a championship, but the Bulls are not playing for one this season. They're trying to be competitive and win some games. It just may work.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

There was no Passing the Bucks this time for the Bulls

I am about to write one of the most frightening sentences in the basketball language.

As Drew Gooden goes, so goes the Bulls?

Yikes!

And this is not to blame Gooden for Wednesday's Bulls 97-90 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, though going one of 11 shooting Wednesday after zero for five shooting in Tuesday's overtime loss to the 76ers suggests if only Gooden could...

Wear glasses?

No, it was much more than Gooden, and it was starkly apparent against the Bucks as the Bulls "big" men—OK, tall fellas—of Gooden, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray combined for four of 18 shooting. That was 20 feet nine inches of front line players totaling eight points.

We don't expect that much offensively from Noah and Gray, though they did combine for 37 minutes and were dominated by Dan Gadzuric. This is not usually easy because I think "Gadzuric" in Latin means stiff.

But Gadzuric was a game changer in the second quarter that ultimately doomed the Bulls and pretty much dominated the entire Bulls interior.

"They were more physical than last time we played," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, referring to the Bulls 108-95 opener win over the Bucks. "Their front line is pretty big so we tried to go small to be more aggressive offensively and switch a lot of things defensively. We had some opportunities but couldn't come up with a few loose balls and didn't make the plays we needed to."

The Bucks, led overall by Charlie Villanueva off the bench with 23, including 11 on an assortment of rangy jump shots in the fourth quarter, and Richard Jefferson with 21, outscored the Bulls by 13 in the second quarter to take a 52-41 halftime lead, and the Bulls never again caught up.

They did pull within four after a fabulous Ben Gordon stretch to end the third quarter with 15 straight Gordon points. But Gordon had shot himself out, and forced a pair to open the fourth quarter and was pulled. Larry Hughes and Andres Nocioni each missed one and Nocioni in another undisciplined night trying to chase quicker players, added a turnover. Nocioni seems especially to be lost and frustrated, out of position often trying to defend outside. He had three fouls, two turnovers and one point against the Bucks and now hasn't scored in double figures in the last seven and nine of the last 11. He's shooting a career low 38.7 percent in playing a career low 23.7 minutes per game. It was the 10th time this season he's had two or fewer field goals in a game.

That opening fourth quarter dry stretch enabled the Bucks to regain control and an 82-72 lead, and then they held on against a Derrick Rose assault until the end.

And this is a point that's most difficult to analyze with the young point guard.

Rose had 18 points, nine assists and four steals, pretty good numbers for a point guard.

Gordon led the Bulls with 22 and Luol Deng added 21 in his best effort of the season on nine of 14 shooting and six rebounds, a positive sign for the team.

But Rose didn't really didn't seem to look to score until the Bulls had gotten down double digits again in the fourth quarter. At that point, he did about all he could to chase down the Bucks, and who knows what would have happened had he gotten a foul call as Gadzuric gave him an arm bar on a drive with 37 seconds left and the Bulls trailing 95-90.

Three point play, maybe? The Bulls hardly deserved this one with the Bucks much tougher and sharper. Winning it would have been misdemeanor theft. Del Negro was his most animated of the season in arguing that non call, perhaps not receiving his first coaching technical because maybe he was right.

The larger question, and maybe unfair, is how much can the team ask of Rose?

Especially given how much he's already doing as he again played a team high minutes, this time 43. It was Rose's third straight game of at least 40 minutes and fifth in the last sixth. Don't ask him. He never looks tired and seems baffled when he's out of the game over why.

Yet, you wonder also about the effect of all this.

You wouldn't mistake Bucks coach Scott Skiles for a subtle person but some of the things he does in coaching are, and one he did Wednesday which didn't really work, was aimed at Rose. The Bucks didn't aggressively trap or double team Rose to deny him the ball or make him give it up since they really don't have many good individual perimeter defenders, anyway. So what Skiles did was the old football tactic of pounding on them all game and perhaps at the end you get a mistake or short shot.

So every time on defense, the Bucks tried to run Rose into as many screens as possible to try to tire him. It's not easy with a wide eyed, excited 20-year-old, and it didn't seem to have much effect as Rose scored 10 of the Bulls 18 fourth quarter points with a pair of magnificent drives for three-point plays, and he didn't miss a free throw in the fourth.

On one hard drive with the Bulls trailing 93-85 with 1:55 left, Bucks guard Luke Ridnour tried to lean in to Rose to take a charge. Rose simply elevated above Ridnour, Rose's feet at about Ridnour's eye level as Rose finished the layup and drew the foul.

That Rose three point play and a previous one with 3:29 left was sandwiched around Hughes and Tyrus Thomas, who had a quiet seven points and two blocks, missing jumpers, Thomas' way off left and barely grazing the rim. Rose then missed on a drive that could have brought the Bulls within three with 92 seconds left, after which Gadzuric again grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled and made both free throws. That made it 95-88 with 1:08 left and too far to come back.

As for Gadzuric (this has to be the most anyone has mentioned his name in a positive way in a game story in his seven seasons), it was a remarkable effort. He had season highs in points (11) and rebounds (14, seven offensive) and tied his season high with three blocks. Some people even learned how to pronounce his name.

"I thought Danny G. came off the bench and really picked us up from an energy stand point and the way he played," said Skiles, who still apparently can't pronounce it. "I feel Danny has had a good year so far. He's played with energy almost every game. He's done something productive almost every game. I'm comfortable with Danny out there."

One time in that fatal second quarter for the Bulls, Gadzuric caught a Jefferson air ball and just backed Noah away from the basket and laid the ball in. Noah was much too weak to deal with him and Gray, who did have eight rebounds with five offensive and probably the most effective of the Bulls centers, was too slow to react. Gray makes nice passes on offense and gets into good position, being fundamentally sound and aware of the plays and situations. But he's usually unable to catch the more athletic players.

Veteran Bucks announcer Jim Pashchke likes to refer to Gray as "a slow Tom Boerwinkle."

It was evident in that second quarter as the transition defense failed again.

Gordon had trouble in the size match-up with Michael Redd, who had 13 points in 26 minutes coming back from injury. Twice as Deng got inside cuts for shots—the coaches seemed to be force feeding more plays to get Deng going—the backcourt players got caught when Jefferson ran out for a layup and a three.

The Bucks, effectively, won the game with the starts of the second and fourth quarters, opening the second 10-0 and the fourth 13-2.

"Our defense just didn't get the stops we needed to," said Deng. "We fought our way back. But if there was a big play or a big basket it wasn't from us. We almost felt like a few stops could have turned the game around but a couple big plays from them really changed that."

But here's the dilemma for Rose.

He essentially wants to be a facilitator, a classic point guard. But he's already the Bulls most reliable scorer.

Sure, Gordon can be unworldly, like in that third quarter stretch when he shot the team back into the game: Pop out 17 footer from Rose; past Redd for a an 18 footer, drive and fouled after nice ball movement and a pass from Rose to Gray to Gordon; 16 footer around a screen after a pass from Rose; one-on-one drive and high banker; 16 footer coming off a screen again on a Rose pass and then a Ben special dribbling out the quarter with the floor open and lofting in a 17 footer over good defense from Bucks defensive specialist Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who just came in to defend Gordon.

"In the third quarter we were able to bring it to within four points but we just couldn't maintain the momentum," said Gordon. "We fought hard but dug ourselves into too big of a hole at the beginning. We made our run we just weren't able to sustain it. We didn't play well. We didn't play together. It shows when we start to move the ball around good things will happen. We just have to continue to trust each other and believe in the system and that's just something we are struggling with right now for whatever reason."

Mbah A Moute seemed to have an effect on Gordon as the fourth quarter opened and Gordon went to the bench two minutes in after two misses.

It was a nice adjustment from Skiles, though you did wonder what took so long. Still, you saw some Skiles specials in the game, Malik Allen starting and hitting three jumpers on drive-and-kicks as the Bulls big guys couldn't make it out fast enough or switch, and some terrific interior screening on the weak side that pops out players for open looks or moves.

I loved one of those in particular when Villanueva got an uncontested layup when Andrew Bogut screened inside away from the ball and sealed and Villanueva was able to swoop around untouched to make it 50-39 late in the second quarter.

Which brings me again to the question that is most difficult to answer: How much should and can Rose do?

Rose seemed to spend much of the game obeying the game plan, finding his teammates. And it paid off in that wonderful Gordon run at the end of the third. Rose does plenty and averaging almost 20 per game as a rookie from that position is historic stuff in the NBA. But should he have started scoring earlier? Would it have made a difference? Or would it have affected him for the end of the game, when he has taken over and won some games for the team? And would it take away too much from the others? That's something Rose never would want to do.

It seems clear he spends the game, amazingly enough, monitoring his team and deciding when he has to be a playmaker or a scorer, rare for any player, especially a rookie.

Could he average 30? I'd say he could. Would it help the team? Who knows. It's the delicate balance of team basketball and the learning process going on for Rose and the Bulls.

Still, even with these two disappointing losses to fall to 8-11, it's a Bulls team playing competitively despite some obvious deficiencies. And just think of what 10 points from Gooden would mean.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

What! The Bulls lost to THAT 76ers team?

Make no mistake. And don't listen to what they said. This was a bad loss for the Bulls Tuesday, 103-95 in overtime at home to the Philadelphia 76ers after more than two weeks away from the United Center.

The 76ers, one of the preseason teams to watch, are virtually unwatchable. They play in ragged spurts, defending on occasion, which is impressive when they do it, but then grow disinterested for long stretches, which, like the Bulls win in Philadelphia Sunday, enabled the Bulls to breeze back from trailing by 16 in the second quarter. The 76ers seem to spend a lot of time yelling at one another, perhaps to wake them out of their occasional torpor. This time it seemed like Samuel Dalembert, playing 12 minutes, as the 76ers, despite a huge size advantage, went to a smaller lineup to try to combat the Bulls, seemingly playing to the Bulls strength. Philadelphia, curiously, continued to put non-playmaker/non-shooter Andre Iguodala on top of the floor to make plays. That enabled the Bulls to come from seven down with under three minutes left and tie the game in regulation when Iguodala, despite 25 points, blew the 76ers last five regulation possessions. It included  a pair of turnovers and a crazy pass to Andre Miller for a long, last shot that fell way short while Elton Brand stood around apparently wondering, "Am I still playing with Jeff Sanders?"

The 76ers, then apparently realizing Miller and Brand were a much better two man game, relied on that duo to pull away in overtime as the Bulls reverted into too many of those quick jump shot misses.

"We had far too many turnovers," noted Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro of the team's 24, including six each from Derrick Rose and Drew Gooden.  "They were definitely more aggressive than we were.  We just did not move the ball well enough and did not execute well enough, and they were a step faster than us tonight for whatever reason."

But despite it all, it could be a huge game for the Bulls if, indeed, they found Tyrus Thomas.

Yes, Tyrus! That's what you're supposed to do.

OK, Thomas put up the occasional 18 footer you put your head in your hand about, like the one with 1:47 left and the Bulls down five that pretty much put it away. Andres Nocioni, all game at his Good Noce/Bad Noce best, did follow with a three. But Iguodala rainbowed in a wild looking three, after which Drew Gooden, with an uncharacteristically poor offensive game of late as the 76ers smothered him, perhaps symbolized what went wrong as he floated along the baseline to attempt a three while Rose stood inside and did grab the miss, but couldn't convert the follow.

"We had so many opportunities to get this game," said Rose, who led the Bulls with 24 points.  "We were down several times and got back in it.  We just did not take advantage."

Though perhaps Thomas finally did.

Thomas had 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the kind of performance the Bulls imagined when they drafted him and fans have been pining for while Thomas mostly did things that only brought him time on the pine.

Hey, he is still just 22.

Thomas scored the points to tie the game with 17 seconds remaining in regulation by diving at the basket-as we're always yelling for him to do and he did relentlessly Tuesday-and slamming in a Rose miss. Even Thomas' offensive foul with 40 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls down two wasn't bad since he went hard to the basket, the 76ers playing small helping, obviously.

But this seemed no fluke. Thomas swished two free throws for the Bulls first points of overtime after missing on a dunk. He rebounded Nocioni's miss to open the overtime to give the Bulls a second chance at an important overtime lead.  Thomas gobbled up a loose ball and was fouled and made two free throws (six of six overall) to bring the Bulls within three with four minutes left. And in the second quarter when the Bulls were making their comeback, Thomas was on the floor and contributed a resounding followup slam of a Larry Hughes miss.

But what I was most impressed with was when Rose drew his fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, again with Miller suckering him in with a head fake and jumping into Rose, which always is called on the defender in the NBA.

"Andre Miller is very clever and he had a very strong game tonight," noted Del Negro of Miller's 28, though on nine of 26 shooting and nine in overtime. " He has been around.  He knows the tricks of the trade."

Rose seemed to grow frustrated and began to argue. It was Thomas, who usually is lost in some moody far away place in games, who began to comfort Rose, walking him away from trouble and giving him a soothing palm of the head.

The next thing you know Tyrus will be rolling in for slam dunks the way Tyson Chandler does with Chris Paul.

Rose can make that play, and sometimes you scratch your head watching the Bulls wondering why some non scorer like Joakim Noah is in the pick and roll with Rose and clearly doesn't want the ball. Defenses hardly respect Thomas, which is why he gets all those wide open 18 footers.

But if he could get into a two-man game with Rose and dive to the basket instead of circling out to the perimeter as he usually does, the Bulls lack of a big man will not seem so acute. Yes, Chandler has perhaps five inches on Thomas, which makes a difference. But the way Thomas can jump there are all sorts of possibilities.

Will he get it? Stay tuned for Wednesday's game in Milwaukee.

Tuesday's loss denied the Bulls a chance to get to .500, and despite the 24 points, it was a learning experience game for Rose with the six turnovers and his first foul trouble of the season as he drew his fifth, again falling for a Miller fake, and had to leave the game with 5:43 left in regulation and the Bulls down seven after Rose had just scored five straight points.

"Miller is a good point guard," said Rose.  "He got me in foul trouble.  It got to me a little bit.  It got me out of my game.  He definitely got to me a little bit. I need to concentrate a little more, make crisp passes.  I had a lack of focus so I just have to go out tomorrow and do a much better job.  At least we get to play again tomorrow."

Rose had been driving Miller nuts again with moves blowing by Miller as Miller was defending like they hadn't covered the ice up in the United Center.

But Miller attacked back. Still, the Bulls survived with Rose out as Hughes went to the top of the floor at point guard instead of Ben Gordon, which the team needs to do more when Rose is out. Gordon got six consecutive free throws on a drive, a loose ball foul and a foul on an offensive rebound. Yes, li'l Ben was hitting the boards and had eight, second most to Thomas.

Rose returned and the Bulls closed regulation with seven straight to tie the game on a Rose drive and one of two free throws, a layup off a Gordon pass as Gordon earlier actually whipped a beauty to Rose for a score, two Gooden free throws after he dove for the basket and was fouled as the defense collapsed to Rose with 1:15 left and then Thomas' followup slam dunk to tie. Thomas just a few seconds earlier had batted away a point blank Miller layup that would have given the 76ers a four-point lead with 53 seconds left.

"We fought," said Gooden.  "You cannot ask for any more than that.  We were down seven with three minutes to go and most other teams would have folded at that point but ultimately we did not get it done."

Del Negro went with Nocioni over Luol Deng down the stretch and in overtime, and as the good (play) book says, Noce giveth and taketh away. He had that three in overtime that was the team's last gasp and harassed Iguodala into a mess of bad plays at the end of regulation. But then he inexplicably dropped off Iguodala to double on Miller 20 feet from the basket with three minutes left that enabled Iguodala to dunk for the 76ers last points of regulation.

As a coach, you have to go with what you believe will help you win in the game, though the Bulls also have to get Deng playing at a high level and at opportune times to develop some sort of core or foundation. It hasn't happened yet as Deng is averaging 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and one assist in 27.8 minutes per game since returning from injury four games ago.

Again, the Bulls fell behind early with a plethora of turnovers and rather uninspired play, though teams usually say the first game home after a long road trip can find some lethargy.

Especially after the way the 76ers seemed to yield so easily Sunday.

"I worry," Del Negro said before the game. "We found a way to win some games on the road, so all of a sudden we beat Philadelphia and can get complacent. You've got to keep your focus and take nothing for granted."

I have no doubt that was Del Negro's pregame speech.

And then trailing by 16...

When the 76ers are aggressive defensively, they are a good team, as they were in the first quarter, overplaying the Bulls guards and Gooden and the passing lanes. That's when you have to go to some pressure release plays and back door, but the Bulls didn't. Fortunately for them, the 76ers lost interest in the second quarter and committed nine turnovers, mostly unforced, as they say in tennis. The ball thus went into the Bulls court, Nocioni had a good run with three scores and Hughes again was economical and effective on offense, getting the Bulls within three by halftime.

But the 76ers finally must have gotten rosters passed around again and realized Elton Brand, with 22 points and 14 rebounds, was on the team and began using him inside again instead of wildly racing around and firing isolation jumpers.

"We faltered a little bit, but we stayed,"  said Brand  "We're a work in progress. Gooden really hurt us at our place, so we really wanted to take him out of the game.  They have a good bench.  Nocioni comes in and he starts scoring. We tried to limit their possessions in the paint, but Derrick Rose... He's a heck of a young player and he got in the paint at will."

Still climbing uphill after opening the fourth behind 67-61, the Bulls finally tied it on that last Thomas follow at 90.

Now, it will be worth it if Thomas follows it up with a few more like Tuesday.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

Playoffs! Playoffs! Playoffs?

This was after the Bulls 104-91 win over the Indiana Pacers on the last game of the home stand before the current Western Conference trip. I was still writing, and my old buddy from the Tribune, K.C. Johnson, was leaving.

It's a change for me writing for the Bulls.com web site and a pleasant one, though I find myself taking longer. No more newspaper deadlines. K.C. had to send his story as soon as the game ended and then had just enough time to gather a few quick quotes and insert them in his earlier story. It's the bane of newspaper writers, deadlines only getting tighter with growing circulation and production difficulties. Without such deadlines any more, I tend to spend more time around the locker room after the game, chatting with players and coaches and the occasional agent, the kind of contacts you need to get a more complete picture of the team.

So I was typing away a finger at a time (K.C. uses all 10 so goes more quickly, anyway), and as he passed by he said, "Could this team be better than we thought?"

The Bulls had just gone to 5-5, and now at 7-8 heading into San Antonio Wednesday before a three-day holiday break, they seem to be defying most expectations.

Where playoffs seemed like something Jim Mora would laugh about a few weeks ago, the way the Bulls have played this season with resolve and spirit despite not getting much from players counted upon like Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, and the way they've remained competitive with only bad losses in Boston and Portland and perhaps Los Angeles, it suggests this team could well make this season more interesting than anyone imagined.

It also helps that much of the Eastern Conference is in some form of rebuilding or retooling or retreat.

Boston? Terrific. Cavs? Playing great with LeBron the easy early favorite for MVP. Magic? Reasonably good and a certain division winner, though the Bulls scared the mouse pants off them down there earlier this season. Pistons? They're getting Antonio McDyess back, as expected—wink, wink—though no one should be fooled by that. They recognized the end with this group is near and the deal for Allen Iverson is with the idea of being a major free agency player in 2010 as Rasheed Wallace's contract expires after this season as well. They should be a playoff team, but Iverson changes everything they did because they were a man movement and ball movement team and now have a guy who drives the ball all the time. They're quite vulnerable. I see the Hawks with Josh Smith's return ahead of them now.

And then what? The Raptors are bickering about how to play with Jermaine O'Neal breaking down already. The 76ers have been mediocre despite adding Elton Brand as it's changed their style as well and their successful running game from last season has slowed. The Nets have been a surprise because .500 is considered a surprise for them.

The Wizards already fired their coach. The Bobcats are a mess. The Heat is even smaller than the Bulls and with no defined game. The Bucks and Pacers are playing in fits and starts. The Knicks blew up their team to wait for LeBron.

Whereas I thought the Bulls preseason could be on the edge of the playoffs, probably ninth and perhaps eighth with some bad fortune for other teams, it's difficult now to see more than four and perhaps a fifth team guaranteed the playoffs in the East. From being one of three or four teams fighting for eighth, the Bulls have played like they should be in the group with Philadelphia, Toronto, Miami, Milwaukee and New Jersey going for one of the last three spots.

Yes, it helps to have a star, and no matter how much most of us said Derrick Rose should be the No. 1 pick and he'd be a great player, no one saw this coming so fast.

Rose had 23 points and eight assists in that Pacers game, a dozen points in the third quarter when the Bulls took control. Rose has been, according to the statistics website 82games.com, one of the league's most productive players after halftime, seventh in scoring in the third quarter, when teams come out looking to control a game.

Rose trails just James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, John Salmons and Richard Jefferson. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Rose averages 6.5 points in the third quarter and 4.3 in the fourth, scoring almost 60 percent of his points after halftime.

Rose also is shooting 35 of 39 on free throws after halftime, almost 90 percent, truly remarkable for a rookie, especially one who came with the knock that he wasn't a good shooter and had messed up some clutch free throws in the NCAA championships.

It's hasn't only been Rose, though it's been the little men.

Larry Hughes hit that wonderful game winner in Salt Lake City Monday in another one of those 1998 Michael Jordan nightmares for Jazz fans. He is averaging 18.3 points the last three games on 46 percent shooting and eight of 16 on threes. We know Ben Gordon has his difficulties with defense and ball handling, but in those 82games.com ratings, the Bulls point guard and shooting guard positions are ranked in the top five in the league.

Yes, and then there's Rose, who took over down the stretch in both Western Conference wins. He had the last four field goals against the Warriors and five of the last seven. Against the Jazz, he scored the last four, including still another spectacular drive through the defense, before Hughes' game winner off his miss.

Vinny Del Negro has adjusted and played small to emphasize the team's strengths and he's had the team playing hard despite some minor sniping from some players. Credit them as well for being able to put that aside, which the team often did well with Scott Skiles when they were that team greater than the sum of its parts we so admired. They seem to be trying, which is a good start.

And as K.C. left that night, I offered, "It helps to have a great player."

Yes, folks, that was a real behind-the-scenes conversation. And who says we don't have in-depth basketball sessions?

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

Bulls walk off with a win as Jazz exclaim 'Oh Guard'

Now that was positively Jordanesque. No, not Larry Hughes' 22 footer as time ran out to give the Bulls a 101-100 victory over the Utah Jazz. Though it was a terrific shot and better recognition and good fortune as Hughes recovered Derrick Rose's miss off the back iron, pump faked C.J. Miles and nestled a win into the basket.

“I’ve never had a walk off," Hughes said. "That’s no time on the clock, doesn’t give the other team another chance. I’ve hit some game winners, but never without any time on the clock."

But, hey, we've got to get past the Michael Jordan comparisons for Rose. There hasn't been another yet and I still don't see one here or coming along.

So perhaps that last three minutes for Rose was more Bird-like or Kobeesque or reminiscent of Oscar or West or Barry or Magic.

The kid took the ball down the stretch, like he did in last Friday's win at Golden State when he scored the team's last four field goals and five of the last seven on the way Monday to a team high 25 points and nine assists, and made just about every play: Drive past Mehmet Okur, who led the Jazz with 26, to make it 93-92 Bulls. Drive from the top (I think the Bulls ran the same play 18 straight times, a high pick and roll) and foul for two free throws and Bulls lead of 95-94. Drive and scoop to put the Bulls back up 97-96. Drive across lane and pushing one in from nine feet as he's slipping crossing the lane to put the Bulls back up again 99-98.

No, the Bulls didn't stop the Jazz, even though they were missing Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Matt Harpring. The Bulls don't stop much of anyone anymore, especially on this Western Conference trip in which the five opponents are shooting a combined 50 percent with the Lakers 47 percent being the lowest. The Bulls have become one of the league's poorest defensive units, 16th in opponents' field goals and 24th in points yielded.

But that's not who they are anymore. They are an open the court, drive the ball and try to get the occasional runout, find Rose team. They're third in the league in shooting free throws at more than 80 percent, easily the best in franchise history. If you are going to play the game the Bulls do now, mostly small with more attacking thanks to Rose, you better make the free throws, and they are this time.

See, no one could coach that before Vinny Del Negro.

Okur and Kirilenko had dunked previously, and when Okur missed a 20 footer and Miles put the ball in after a rebound from Ronnie Brewer with 11 seconds left for a 100-99 lead, it looked over. The Bulls didn't call time out, but this time it wasn't a rerun of that loss in Orlando earlier this month when Del Negro skipped the time out and Ben Gordon ended up with a forced attempt into Dwight Howard.

This time, as he had been all fourth quarter, Rose drove into the middle after scoring eight straight, but his shot hit back rim and came to Hughes, who finished with 16 points on an efficient 10 shots. Hughes, as we know, usually isn't the most reliable shooter. But he'd made two of three threes in this game, and we know he'll shoot the ball. Sometimes it looks great, and this time it was.

“I just knew I had to get it up, got some space, and was able to get a good enough look to knock it down," said Hughes, noting clock malfunctions in the arena all game kept players guessing on time. "It felt pretty good. I definitely gave it a chance. I wasn’t going to shoot it short."

Still, it was another breathtaking finish thanks to Rose, who in both wins certainly bailed out the team and had his share of highlight moments, like his full court drive through every Jazz defender to close the first half and give the Bulls a 53-45 edge.

Now, a 2-3 mark on this trip looks pretty good with a decent chance to get one of the next two in San Antonio Wednesday with Tony Parker out and Manu Ginobili just returning and Sunday in Philadelphia as the 76ers are just 7-7 after losing to lowly Charlotte Monday.

Give Del Negro some credit here.

No, it doesn't appear he's going to match strategy with Hubie Brown or Alex Hannum. But his player-friendly ways seem to be something of a balm for this Bulls team that could have exploded. They're 7-8 with Kirk Hinrich out three months and Luol Deng just back Monday, but clearly not ready to play as he moved stiffly around the court for two points in 16 ugly minutes.

"It’s a terrific win for us," said Del Negro. "Our guys hung in there. Derrick (Rose) made plays down the stretch. I thought our bench in the second half really helped us a lot, gave us a big boost so our stars could get some rest. But it was just an overall really good team effort. Everybody contributed, did their role and we made plays. Both teams were going back and forth at the end. We got the last shot, and Larry (Hughes) was in the right spot and pulled up and hit it. We were just trying to get Derrick in isolations and penetration. He was making plays."

They got a wild night from Andres Nocioni, who was being beaten on defense and picking off his own teammates when the Jazz hit the Bulls with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 87 with 3:47 left. Then Nocioni came out of the timeout with a jumper and frustrated Paul Millsap, whom he'd been pounding on as Millsap had 21 points and 10 rebounds, into a foul and made both free throws. Millsap is the Jazz' best interior defender, and it was his fifth and he was soon to foul out before Rose made three more successful assaults on the basket.

The Bulls don't have much inside presence, though Aaron Gray had another nice stretch, this time for about the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter as among his eight points was a back to back baby hook and tip in and a nasty put back when he seemed to push Okur out of bounds without a call as the Bulls took an 85-79 lead with about six minutes left.

He had been running that high screen roll every play with Rose, though wore out soon after that score with a lazy pass out of bounds for a turnover and was replaced by Drew Gooden. Gooden had another solid offensive effort with 18 points and six rebounds, though he is a little small to fight off the big size inside. Gooden has made up with it on this trip with a nice pop out game that bothered the Jazz' interior players.

The Bulls finally made the adjustment of putting someone who could make a shot in that pick and roll or pick and pop play instead of Joakim Noah or Tyrus Thomas, who often run out to set those screens. Why? No one is passing to them.

Noah did show some exceptional energy running out to congratulate Hughes as his winner went in with Hughes offering, as usual, little expression.

But it was the most animated the often morose Bulls bench has been in some time.

Noah had six points and seven rebounds, four offensive, in 16 minutes mostly in the first half as he again wound down quickly and signaled to the bench with three minutes left in the first quarter to get him out of the game. And apparently to emphasize that hauled up a wild shot after he'd raised his hand to be excused.

Meanwhile, it seems as if Rose has one of those super charged nickel hydrogen batteries that power the space stations.

The kid just keeps going and going, offering little or no expression, and as the game grows tighter and more demanding, he is willing to—heck, wants to, demands to—take the ball and the responsibility.

It really is the most rare trait in sports.

Guys like Jordan and Tiger Woods and Reggie Jackson and Kobe and Bird and Tom Brady and Joe Montana have that. There were always guys around who could jump higher and shoot better and throw farther and hit a ball farther and straighter. But they were the ones who could do it when it was needed most and when everyone was watching to see if they would fail. They did, but they always came back and wanted it again because they were sure the miss was an aberration.

It seems like that with Rose, who with a seeming nonchalance simply takes over. There's no fuss or braggadocio, just a man going to work. Ben Gordon will try to do that, but he doesn't have the athletic moves or that first step quickness and jumping ability like Rose, who can get to the basket seemingly anytime he wants and past multiple defenders.

“We needed that win and we didn’t care how we got it," offered Rose casually, as usual. "We just wanted to come out of here with just a victory. (I) missed the shot and Larry gathered it and he’s been in this situation before and he just shot the ball. We left on a good note and this won’t do nothing but help us.”

This was a Jerry Sloan team, after all. And while it was devastated with injuries and down its two best players, it's always a tough team and was 9-5 without a loss this season at home.

The Bulls got the Jazz into their game most of the time, the Jazz falling into more individual play and jump shots as the Bulls pushed the pace. The Jazz got little resistance at the basket and shot 51.4 percent and ran out on 19 Bulls turnovers for a 21-4 fast break margin. The Jazz did have 30 assists on 43 field goals, far better than the Bulls, who still shoot too many individual jumpers. The Jazz generally is disciplined and forceful, but they could not find space in front of Rose.

“We gave them too many opportunities," lamented Sloan. "That last shot that they made, we kind of fell asleep a little bit, they came up with the offensive rebound and buried us. There are always a million things you can think of, but the bottom line is they beat us at the last second. It just takes one play to beat you.”

Good win. Great last shot. Remarkable young player.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

In the Rockies and spending too much time admiring the view

 

This one was a lot better than the final score, 114-101 Denver Nuggets over the Bulls.

 

I know, I know. That doesn't matter much as the Bulls now are 1-3 on this Western Conference so called circus trip, and 6-8 on the season.

 

It's too bad because this is a Denver team that will be pushing just to make the playoffs in the West despite now being 8-2 since the trade for Chauncey Billups. Billups was one of three Nuggets with 21 points while Kenyon Martin was a ridiculous 10 of 10 shooting with 26 points.

 

Sometimes it happens. He hit a lot of jumpers and you want him to take those.

 

Carmelo Anthony also had 21 points in a good all around effort with 21 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Though you don't see the joy in Anthony's game much any more and you wonder how long before he snaps. Once, he was dueling with LeBron James, the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in the 2003 draft, supposedly the next great NBA rivalry, something of a second coming of Magic and Bird. But while James has been to the Finals and is heading to an MVP this season and perhaps the greatest bidding war the NBA ever has seen, Anthony is stuck on a competitive, if not special team, 4-20 in the playoffs with five first round exits and cutting back payroll and going nowhere with that roster.

 

Anthony wasn't a major factor in Sunday's game, at least until the Nuggets with about six minutes left stole a game the Bulls looked like they had and would have deserved.

 

They were better and smarter than the Nuggets for most of the game.

 

"Chicago is going to be an interesting team this year," said Nuggets coach George Karl.  "They're different. They play small, and they play so many pick-and-rolls you get tired of covering them.  That Rose kid is going to be special; Chicago is going to get better as the year goes on."

 

They'd like to think so, given Luol Deng is day-to-day and Kirk Hinrich is out until February.

 

I liked the way coach Vinny Del Negro moved the Bulls in and out of the zone, especially late in the third quarter when the Bulls went on a 13-5 run to take a six-point lead while Denver stood around and fired long jumpers.

 

It was an Aaron Gray highlight film at the time, and we don't even imagine that.

 

Denver isn't particularly big, and though I often advocate small ball with this Bulls team, I thought in this game the Bulls were having their way on the boards with Gray and especially Joakim Noah, who was more active and effective than usual with nine rebounds in 19 minutes. But Del Negro stayed small, and I thought it hurt this time down the end, though mostly because the "small" guys were losing sight of penetration and help down the stretch and the Bulls were outscored 31-16 in the fourth.

 

Tired because of the altitude?

 

"(Altitude) That's all in your head," said Drew Gooden. "I remember coming here in college and playing Colorado and Roy Williams was saying, 'It's all in your head, it's a bunch of bull crap at altitude and if you are feeling it, it will go away.' I felt fine and I know the majority of the guys on the team felt fine tonight.  (What happened in final run) I think we kind of got rattled and they got a lot of easy baskets.  Defensively we gave up too many easy baskets down the stretch.  We have to get stops in the crunch time; especially if we are going to turn the ball over we have to get more stops."   

 

Exactly. If it were so tough to play in Denver, perhaps the Nuggets would have won a playoff series in the last 14 years.

 

I thought Del Negro made a mistake early in the game apparently worrying about thin air too much as he substituted liberally in the first quarter to give guys rest. I think that creates an excuse for players and puts in their mind they may tire. Noah was very good to start, but was gone for Gray about five minutes in, and I thought the bench emptying first quarter with 10 players playing put the Bulls in an unnecessary 27-18 hole after one.

 

Del Negro pretty much went back to a regular rotation after that and didn't play Tyrus Thomas and not much of Thabo Sefolosha, though Larry Hughes was firing erratically again and was one of six on threes.

 

It reminded me of a Cleveland fan's web site for the career 29 percent three-point shooter: "Hey Larry Hughes. Stop taking so many bad shots."

 

During that third quarter run, meanwhile, Gray put back a Ben Gordon miss and was fouled and even made a clever drop step move to fake Renaldo Balkman for another three-point play.

 

Gordon had it going with 28 points, five of seven threes and all nine of his free throws, and when he dropped consecutive pull up threes with about seven minutes left to make it 96-92, it looked like the Bulls second chance to get a game in Denver since 1998.

 

Denver began forcing the ball inside with Gray drawing his fifth and Noah not getting back in the game. I was surprised to see Lindsey Hunter in so long and playing alongside Rose in the fourth quarter, though when Hunter left the Bulls only were down 102-99. Hughes came in and fired up those two misses after a quick hook earlier in then fourth when he got his fifth foul.

 

Gooden, with 21 points and seven rebounds, was sharp popping out and shooting, but with three guards, Andres Nocioni and Gooden, the Bulls were wheezing. The Nuggets would fail to score on four straight attacks of the basket while Gordon hit those threes, and the Bulls looked in good shape.

 

With six minutes left and the Bulls leading 99-96 after a Lindsey Hunter three, the defense went brain dead.

 

Anthony hit a three outside the sagging zone for a 100-99 Denver lead, and then Anthony came cutting down the lane for a slam as both Hunter and Nocioni let him go by untouched. Hughes then went singular with a quick drive and three, both of which missed, while Billups lost Rose on a screen and Hughes didn't roll into cover and allowed Billups to score a layup untouched.

 

Martin then slammed after Gordon lost the ball on top of the floor making a dribble move between his legs and Martin was fouled by a late arriving Gooden.

 

So 12-0 run in two minutes, and suddenly it's 109-99 Denver with 2:51 left and the game effectively is over.

 

After Gooden knocked down a jumper, the Bulls were done. The Nuggets grabbed two misses to get an unlikely Martin three and that was it, 18-2 to end the game for Denver when the Bulls should have had a better result.

 

"We had a lot of mismatches out there," said Gordon, though that will be the story of every game for this small Bulls team.  "I think we looked a little confused on who was covering who since we normally don't cover those types of guys.  They got a lot of easy baskets, too many dunks in the paint.  On the other end we didn't make sharp plays and it bit us in the butt.  I think defensively it was our big problem: a lot of points in the paint (50-32), uncontested shots and the easy lay-ups really hurt us (29-9 Denver on fast breaks).

 

Rose had a solid line with 15 points and six assists, though four turnovers. But you wonder if he is getting tired, of the road, of the altitude and of the bouncing around he's taking from opponents that is inevitable with all the national attention he is getting.

 

 Despite having Hunter, Rose played 44 minutes, the most on both teams, and is averaging 37.5 per game, 15th in the league and going up as it's 39.1 per game this month and six of the last nine games at least 40 minutes.

 

 So you wonder about the lack of aggressiveness Rose showed against the Nuggets despite a few of his specialty highlight drives. In the third quarter, he scored on a fabulous drive faking left and then right to baffle Anthony and later in the quarter split a double team and scored, though he seemed to carry the ball-hey, at least the Bulls finally have a guy who can do the Iverson-Wade carry.

 

 But Denver's strategy was to trap Rose to make him give up the ball, and I thought he did so much too quickly. Denver trapped off the pick and roll, sending two players with him, and the Bulls too often had non scorers setting the screen, like Noah. So the ball remained on the perimeter. But often when Rose brought the ball across, Denver would show a light trap with the big man coming out and Rose would pass it cross court quickly. Usually, the Denver big man sank back quickly, and I'd like to have seen Rose attack that double, especially with Martin often coming out, though playing 44 minutes that probably was asking too much.

 

 That's the problem. He's so good we forget he's a kid and just learning.

 

I commend Del Negro and the players for hustling efforts after the miserable start in Los Angeles and Portland. Next time if they can just finish.

 

"We weren't as crisp at the end there, but the guys played hard again and gave ourselves an opportunity," said Del Negro.  "We just weren't able to convert down the stretch.  They were switching and trapping and doing different things and we were going back man-to-man and zone and trying to make some things ourselves. But they were posting Carmelo and we had a couple of doubles at times and they got some easy baskets underneath on us.  They are a big athletic team up front and we made some mistakes down the stretch.  Offensively we got a little stagnant and with their traps and stuff we got to do a better job of moving the basketball."

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.

Going small gets Bulls a big win at Golden State

I'm glad coach Vinny took my advice about playing small and having five guys out there who could make an impact against the Golden State Warriors Friday. Now on to the economy and health care.

I know, I know. The Warriors aren't your everyday NBA team to go inside/outside, try to dominate you on the boards and play physically. They won't win a championship and a Nelson team never really has gotten close. Though he hasn't exactly had Michael, Magic, Larry, Kareem, Tim, Shaq or Kobe. What makes Nelson special as a coach and his teams always competitive is that he uses what he has and tries to put them in the best position to succeed no matter what anyone thinks.

So everyone thinks you need a seven footer at center and more size next to him and a big man post presence.

If you don't have it, you don't keep putting big people in there who don't, won't or can't impact the game.

The Bulls finally didn't Friday, and it resulted in a nice 115-110 victory over the Warriors.

"I thought the Bulls did a good job, matched up with us at the beginning of the game," said Warriors coach Don Nelson. "We did a marvelous job the first half with (Derrick) Rose and he figured it out in the second half and showed why he’s the number one pick in the draft. We’re big Rose fans here, love to watch him play, love to watch him as he gets better in games. Wow. Second half he put on a show. An incredibly talented point guard. He’s right up there with the best of them, in a short period of time”

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro finally stuck with the players who could contribute the most, especially Rose, who was absolutely brilliant and took over the game until a potentially career threatening hip bruise (anytime he falls down we fear that) with just over a minute left and the Bulls leading 111-106. It doesn't appear to be that serious as Rose left the court with an ice pack held to his rib cage after being kicked by Corey Maggette on a drive.

“I should be alright, it stung a little bit at that time, but I am better now," Rose told reporters after the game and said he'd play Sunday in Denver.

Del Negro said Rose could have returned if necessary, though Del Negro has more faith than I do as the Warriors looked sure to cut it to one with 10.3 seconds left before impressive looking rookie Anthony Randolph missed on a wide open drive that should have been a dunk.

"We really needed this one tonight," said Rose, who had 25 points on 12 of 19 shooting with five assists but five turnovers, most early. "We thought that we could come in here and compete against them, and that is what we did. I have to shoot, and that is what I did. I stopped thinking about stuff and started reacting. I know I can hit the shots they were giving me. My teammates want me to shoot the ball, and that is what I did.”

So the Bulls, 6-7, held on and made a nice statement coming back from their 375-point loss in Portland Wednesday. C'mon, it felt like that, didn't it?

The Bulls played hard, harder than the Warriors, who kept talking about the lift they'll get from Friday's trade for Jamal Crawford. We'll keep quiet about that and let them find out. If Nelson thinks they don't defend now…

The Bulls shot 51.1 percent—yes it helps when the shots from a jump shooting team go in—scored a season high in points, and were led by one time Warrior Larry Hughes with 26 points and five of five three pointers.

But perhaps what was most encouraging was their competition level after the brutal loss in Portland and Del Negro sticking with his best athletes and performers. Joakim Noah didn't play, and it's a game he should have against Andris Biedrins. But perhaps it was a message to finally get in shape. Aaron Gray didn't play, and it was too quick a game for him. Tyrus Thomas was in occasionally, and mostly laid off his jump shot with three shots and seven points in 17 minutes.

"For us to bounce back the way we did after last couple of games I’m real happy for the guys," said Del Negro.

Luol Deng was out again with his sore hamstring, and Thabo Sefolosha with a dozen points got the start along with Rose, Ben Gordon, Hughes and Drew Gooden. In effect, a four-guard, sort-of-a-center lineup that matches what Golden State does. The Bulls were better at that game this time.

Yes, the Lakers and Portland are big, and you probably don't get away with it against Yao Ming. But there aren't that many dominant big men in the NBA these days, especially in the East, and Gooden does a reasonably good job keeping big guys off balance, as he did earlier this season against Dwight Howard and Amar'e Stoudemire before hurting his ankle.

Gooden, a native of Oakland, was terrific with 18 points and 16 rebounds, eight offensive in an active performance.

“We just wanted to win," said Gooden. "We didn’t want two bad losses on this road trip. We figured that this is a must win tonight. Even though we made a lot of mistakes, we are on the road, and we have to understand to value the basketball (17 turnovers, 10 from Rose and Gordon combined, four from Rose in his ugly first half), and take good shots. Derrick Rose was a big key factor in this game tonight. We can’t exclude him. He was the one who picked us up in the second half after having a bad first half, and went out there and got a victory for us.”

Translation: Give the kid the ball and don't freeze him out. Stop taking those quick shots and use a screen on occasion. Perhaps we should have some more weak side action on offense. Work at it and you never know what will happen. Drew Gooden, leader? Sorry, not with that facial hair.

But Denver, the next opponent on this trip, won't beat you going big and Utah's biggest player, Mehmet Okur, plays mostly outside and Carlos Boozer is about the size of Gooden and an awful defender. Come to play and it makes up for all kinds of deficits. The 76ers are bigger. Fine. Let them go to Samuel Dalembert all they want. I'd have Ben Gordon guard him. Nothing messes up an offense, I believe, like being sucked into matchups you don't prefer but appear to favor you. It's always been one of Nelson's great strengths.

Nelson's weakness Friday, or at least his team's, was he didn't have the best player on the floor.

That was Rose, though certainly not in the first half when you had to be pulling for Del Negro to get Rose off the floor. It was an awful performance to begin, though the Bulls remained in the shootout with the Warriors thanks to the shooting of Hughes and Sefolosha.

So who had them in the pregame pool for best first half?

 Sefolosha also did a nice job defending in a game in which it wasn't a high priority, knocking some balls loose to get the Bulls on the break. The Warriors were good in the first half trapping Rose and collapsing on him and also sending help on Gordon with long armed players Gordon couldn't see past. Handling the ball on the top of the floor in the last six minutes of the second quarter, Gordon was a basket case in dribbling off his foot out of bounds against no pressure, going behind his back and losing the ball.

Lindsey Hunter actually started the second quarter and scored some big baskets as Rose forced himself into defenders for offensive fouls and committed some bad fouls while also being blown by while trying to play defense. Perimeter defense has been Rose's one issue this season. It's as ordinary as he's looked this season.

That would change dramatically, as we've come to expect.

By the way, do you have to be out of basketball five years to get into the Hall of Fame or can they put you in during your rookie season. Sometimes we make it sound that way.

 But this time there was Hughes with weak side help on defense and Gooden flying around the court. The Bulls went into the second half trailing 59-57 after a Hunter three. Yes, Lindsey Hunter with 10 points.

It was your classic back-and-forth game, which makes for nice entertainment, and also suggests two teams, which they are, that merely hope to make the playoffs and have about the same levels of talent.

Rose came out after that one of three shooting first half with a hard drive for a three-point play followed by a pullup jumper. Sefolosha showed a nice show-and-go with the ball, Hughes, which he can do though not consistently, was firing in three balls after coming into the game with one this season, and after a Warriors turnover with the Bulls up 77-76, Rose missed on a run out but Gordon and Hughes were running as well while the Warriors weren't and Gordon got the easy basket.

That kind of play was a vast departure from the games against the Lakers and Trailblazers.

The Warriors put Gordon in pick-and-rolls three straight times and Stephen Jackson scored six straight in the kind of mismatches you can get caught in with small lineups. But I'm glad Del Negro didn't cave in and resort to bigger players who haven't scored or played much defense this season, but basically just been tall.

Rose had 11 in the third quarter, and was just beginning. There'd be another dozen in the fourth.

His fourth quarter was a thing of beauty.

The Warriors got a nice lift from Randolph, whom some scouts said before the draft could end up one of the top three rookies of this class within five years. He's an impressively versatile athlete who had a brilliant block on a Hughes breakaway that looked like it would cinch the game with 1:15 left and the Bulls ahead by five as Randolph also got Rose earlier in the game.

But there was no denying Rose late. Jackson, with 32 but eight of the Warriors 15 turnovers trying to run an offense with no true point guard playing, and Maggette with 24, began to cool off and the immortal Anthony Morrow, who had 62 in his first two pro starts from nowhere, was just two of nine. The Bulls had the real kid.

Rose hit a pull up for a 98-93 lead after a clever lefty drive by Hunter and then a second three by Hunter, of all things, as Hunter was paired with Rose the first part of the fourth quarter. Small was big this time.

Rose's drive through three Warriors and slam dunk with about five minutes left was the oooh and aaah of the game. Yeah, the Bulls still shot too many times without much movement as Hughes missed badly on a jumper with the Bulls ahead 105-100, but then Rose took the ball left off a screen and hit a jumper from the elbow and kept the Bulls up by five a few minutes later going left again for a pull up and then with a driving bank shot as Rose made the Bulls last four baskets and even showed a rare puckish side with a finger to his lips as he was a crowd silencer.

“Rose is good.  Oh man," said Jackson.  "For a young guy at that age, a rookie to come in here and take over that game like that, regardless of who he’s playing, that’s real impressive.  He didn’t buckle under pressure. He stayed solid.  I’m definitely a Derrick Rose fan now.  I will have one of his jersey’s up in my house.”

Rose went down with 1:13 left, but Randolph missed that finger rolling potential slam and the Bulls hit free throws to walk away with their heads up this time.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors.