Agreed on both counts. I could see Gasol sitting out as well as Noah. It looked to me like he was struggling with his back. As per Hinrich, Brooks seemed particularly ill fitted tonight as he has all preseason. I would be in favor of a Hinrich/Moore backcourt with Moore running the point. You don't need your point guard jacking up shots when you have Portis, Moore and McDermott off the bench. Tonight was an ugly win but I think there was a lot to build on. The team is still falling back into its old habits, which is going to take some time to break.
I think tonight has to go down as a very positive sign. I liked the minutes distribution, and the rotation and slots were about what you'd want. My favorite takeaway from the game was the solid-but-unspectacular play of Doug, Tony and Moore. None of them blew you away, but their play was good enough to justify their spot in the rotation. That's big because it means our depth chart won't have gaping chest wounds and I think the team quietly needs those guys to have important roles to play to its potential. Even if their games aren't that visible. If this becomes a trend I think it bodes very well for our long-term success. And the Mirotic watch is officially on: 19 points on 11 shots in 25 minutes, with the highest +/- on the team. He might be the saving grace of Hoiball.
The box score anomaly in this game was that the front court besides Mirotic scored a grand total of 7 points on 10 shots. It's amazing that the Bulls were able to survive that little production from two positions. I was thrilled by how well Mirotic played -- I just wish his defense was a little better.
Pau Gasol stuffs LeBron James' would-be tying layup as Bulls hold off Cavs For all the talk about their fast-paced offense, defense once again lifted the Chicago Bulls in their season opener. Pau Gasol's block of LeBron James and a pass deflection in the closing seconds helped preserve the win for new coach Fred Hoiberg. And that had to please the president. Nikola Mirotic scored 19 points and Derrick Rose added 18 to lead the Bulls to a 97-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers with President Barack Obama watching on Tuesday night. read more http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400827889
