Jeff Mangurten @JeffGurt The Bulls have set a franchise record for most points in a quarter with 49 in the 4th.
Jeff Mangurten @JeffGurt Bulls were 14/20 (2/2 3pt) from the field and 19/22 from the foul line in the 4th quarter.
This was a very satisfying game. I think this is the first team we've had in the Thibodeau era that can win in a variety of ways. Even during Derrick's MVP years we won big by always finding a way to do the same thing. Not the case this year. Did anyone else notice less Noah/Gasol this game and more Gasol/Taj and Noah/Mirotic? It was those two frontcourt combos that beasted in the second half. The backcourt rotation has quietly undergone a transformation as well. It looks like Thibs' answer to the backup SG problem is just to get rid of the backup SG entirely because we don't have one that's any good. We basically do Jimmy/Dunleavy or 2 PG's with Jimmy at SF the whole game now. It works better.
Kirk and Brooks combined for 45 minutes. Dunleavy only 23. So yeah, Jimmy played 25 minutes at SF. He plays all the SF minutes when Dunleavy's out, and maybe Dunleavy plays some SG while Jimmy plays SF anyway
The big story is that this was the first time Pau Gasol didn't close a tight game. I would have bet a small fortune that it would have been Gibson who knocked him out of the rotation, but it ended up being Mirotic. How do you guys think Pau's going to handle it? How much do you guys love the Noah-Mirotic-Butler-Rose-Brooks line up? We saw it one other time this season (was it against the Mavs?) and it was killing that time too. It's like Mirotic and Noah are so active in their switching that opposing guards forget to seek out their bigs or attack Brooks, and all the sudden the opposition is taken out of their rhythm and starts to make bad choices. And then on offense and in transition, nobody can match up against that lineup. It has natural isolation advantages at four positions.
For just this night I doubt it's a big deal. FWIW I don't think what we saw tonight is necessarily the canary in the coal mine. Pau's good enough that there will be a need to have him on the court a lot in the 4th quarter. I think Rose is unguardable with Brooks, Mirotic and Jimmy on the floor. I liked the lineups a lot this game. We said 'Snell ya later' to Tony and ran a ton of 2-pg lineups that could always attack the defense. Lots of spacing and inside-out.
This was an interesting, fun game. Noah looked like dog crap the whole game, except the 4th when paired with Mirotic he came alive. He's such a shell of what he was last year. Really happy to see Mirotic doing so well, just feel bad its at the expense of Taj. I loved those teams with the tough as nails Gibson and Noah manning the 4/5 down the stretch, but Mirotic opens the floor up so much, which allows Noah to do his thing and Rose and Butler to have a field day. Was really shocked to see Mirotic taking Gasol's minutes in the 4th. It worked though! Good on Thibs for being flexible. He really did a tap dance in the post game presser explaining why Gasol wasn't in there.... and that it was a one time thing based on momentum. Having 4 really great players at the 4/5 seems like a good thing, but tough to manage the egos. Kirk looks so rough out there. It would be interesting to see some more Brooks / Rose time. Brooks is playing so well! This has to be the most talented team since the MJ years. It still seems like it isn't really clicking. Long stretches of bad, uninspired play. If they can solve the puzzle though, it could be a lot of fun in JUne!
Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler lead Bulls' late surge to top Raptors Even surrounded by an array of offensive talent, Derrick Rose proved he is still the go-to guy in Chicago. Rose scored 29 points, Jimmy Butler added 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls snapped the Toronto Raptors' six-game winning streak with a 129-120 victory on Monday night. Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400578702
