Bulls win 101-91. Detroit scored just 28 pts the second half. Rose 39!! Noah 15 pts 17 rebounds, 3 blocks JJ 8 pts 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks
Few notes: - I never thought I'd see the day James Johnson became useful. He needs to bring that type of defensive energy every game and he'll have a spot in this rotation. He was filthy. - Noah may very well be the very best rebounder along with Dwight and Kevin Love. The guy could get 10 offensive rebounds. He's not physically gifted, but he knows how to use what he's got. I think he could be an all star, assuming he meshes well with Boozer. - After bashing Rose for that completely selfish game he played two days ago, he played much better tonight. He didn't play within the system, but he did play well. He still needs to learn when to pass and when to score though. And he turned the ball over too much. Overall, he played a really good game. - Taj, where were you? - Great team D in the fourth quarter. That's what I was expecting from this team in the Thunder game. Still wanna see if they can play at that level defensively against a team like the Heat, Magic or Celtics. - Korver was a horrible signing. Ronnie Brewer was a horrible signing. And since Boozer's out for another month, he's been horrible thus far too. - That chick in the santa costume was sexy
Well well well JJ . JJ. Yep. He can play. I expect he will continue with bouts of inconsistency here and there ...like that dumb arse 3 he took at the 8m mark of the 4th quarter followed by the full court outlet pass ( in traffic ) off the defensive rebound. But he knuckled back down and i thought his positional defense was quite good To be fair we have to acknowledge that the Pistons were coming in on a back to back road game ..so they were always likely to fall away in the 2nd half ...but hey you take what you are given . And JJ did that tonight. He has legitimate NBA skills , size and athleticism ...and he's shown he's got a work ethic and he wants to learn . If he stays this course he definately has an NBA career in front of of him instead of a talented kid just passing through Omer Asik showed me tonight why he belongs in the rotation. Before he broke away in the 4th, Omer contributed with a couple of key stops where he recognised the pattern early and stepped in to the breach and took the heat drawing 2 key offensive fouls. Smart smart work ...not to mention that he has the physical tools. No denying that he has a presence out there. Props to Coach Thibs for taking the gamble and going to question marks like Omer and JJ who with their energy helped beat up the back to backers and snuff out their flame ....behind Derrick 's killer "book em Danno" approach to finish off the game. As great as Derrick was tonight ....JJ's 4th quarter , and to a lesser extent Omer's filled me with a lot of optimism.
That block of JJ's as the 4th was running down where he came out of nowhere and pinned it on the back board was very impressive Y'know ...Lu included , he may be the most naturally gifted athlete and skilled baller we have on the wing .....but he's not necessarily a better ball player than everyone else ahead of him .... Yet.
Seemed like Detroit went away from what was winning the game for them. Greg Munroe was a big part of them blowing up their lead to 21, yet he didn't play in the 2nd half at all. He did have 3 fouls, but that shouldn't have kept him from getting PT in the 2nd half. They stopped being aggressive and settled for outside shots, and fouled more. Signs of a team on the 2nd game of a back to back on the road. As FJ said. Ben Gordon had a 20 point 2nd quarter, and the Bulls adjusted by putting Deng on him, and Deng stuck with him no matter where he went. They swarmed him with double and triple teams, too. They didn't have Prince on the floor, who could have taken advantage of being guarded by Korver or Scalabrine. They didn't play their zone much either, which basically stopped the Bulls in Q2. The Bulls' offense was a lot of triple screens/picks at the top of the key for Rose. What happened to all that motion offense stuff we saw in preseason? Deng didn't play in Q4, let alone close out the game. JJ was that good. If Rose can play like this all the time, nobody's going to talk about his efficiency anymore. He needs help, though, and I don't mean Noah cleaning up on the tip ins and offensive boards after misses. The Bulls still need an SG. The guys we've played so far have been D-League quality in their play.
Yes we need a SG no doubt. We won because coach played JJ and not deng in the 4th quarter. I really believe that. His D was just as good ad the D luol plays, yet we really needed his energy. I am not minimizing the play of Rose. Truly MVPesque, but I really feel that if Deng had played most of the 4th quarter, we would have fell short. Last nights comeback reminded me of the glory days! No, this team is no where near that team in terms of championships and play, but I remember many teams the Bulls would be down 18, 20 pts in the 4th quarter to good teams like Orlando, Milwaukee, etc; and they started playing defense! They would come back and win. Detroit scored just 28 pts in the second half. The bulls dominated. Especially in the 4th quarter. If we had not played such a poor first half, we would have blown out Detroit! There was a 31 point swing in less than 24 minutes! Amazing. Asik contribution to the game does not show up in the stats. His presence was needed! He even took a charge in the second half. The kid can play!
Last night Thibs showed the difference between good coaching and what they had last year. Last year in a double digit blowout, Vinny would have gone back to Deng at the 8-10 minute mark in the fourth after JJ had taken his dumb shots and made his TO's. But Thibs stayed with him because he knows it's more important for JJ to get his feet under him and make some plays and calm down so that hopefully in subsequent games, JJ won't be quite as amped when he gets in. Deng would have made all of the plays JJ made, and fewer of the TO's. But for the bulls to be a good team, they need guys like JJ to calm down and play at a more consistent level. And they don't need to burn out Deng early.
