Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010
Updated 12:17 AM
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
Fears of a letdown the night after a huge win over the defending champion Lakers were unfounded, as Chicago (14-8) avoided the dreaded trap game phenomenon and easily dispatched visiting Minnesota (6-18), 113-82, Saturday evening. Led by a career-high five 3-pointers from Derrick Rose and tremendous offensive balance, the Bulls cruised to their fifth consecutive victory.
From the start of the season, were trying to build the right habits and we were talking about being ready for each game and how important that isyou want to be consistent in your approach. You want to do the same things and I think its important not to look ahead or look behind. You want to learn from each game and correct the things you need to improve upon and prepare for the next opponent. In this league, all the teams are talented, so if youre not ready to play, every team is capable of beating you, said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards.
After Timberwolves small forward Michael Beasley (16 points, six rebounds) got off to a quick startalthough not reviving the past debate about whether he or Rose (21 points, seven assists) should have been the top pick in the 2007 NBA Drafthis Bulls counterpart, Luol Deng (19 points, four rebounds, three assists), fueled the home teams early surge by hitting his four shots. Dengs offensive effort was complemented by a balanced attackRose, Carlos Boozer (17 points, seven rebounds) and Joakim Noah (nine points, 10 rebounds, six blocked shots) all contributed in the opening minutesthat allowed Chicago to build a double-digit cushion over the visitors.
I thought we got off to a good start, remarked Thibodeau. I thought our team defense was very good and I thought our rebounding was terrific.
Added Deng before the game: I think the Cleveland gamenothing against Cleveland, but we werent at our bestand after beating such a good team, its so easy to let up, but I expect we learned from last time to just go out there and be aggressive early, especially the starting five.
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The ever-energetic Noah shared his thoughts on the Bulls avoiding the proverbial trap game against the lowly Timberwolves.
Theres not much you can do. I think its a mindset thing. Youve just got to come out and understand whats at stake. Energys a funny thing. Its easy to come up for a game like the Lakers because you know the energy and the crowds going to get you going, said Noah. I think we have a great crowd. Were lucky. They dont really let you be down too much because theyll get on you and thats a good thing.
A subplot: Noah and Minnesotas Kevin Love (23 points, 15 rebounds) lived up to their billing as the leagues two leading rebounders, as Noah snatched six in the period, while Love grabbed eight caroms.
When we rebound well, we have a better chance of winning. I dont know what the numbers were, but I think we rebounded the ball pretty well as a team, said Noah, who led the Bulls to a 53-36 edge on the glass. Love is a handful. Hes not the highest jumper or anything, but hes somebody whos mastered the craft. That might be an understatement. Hes very good at what he does.
Added Thibodeau: I think, overalland the way Love has been rebounding is incrediblebut I thought our team rebounding was excellent. I thought our help was very good and when someone left Love, I thought our weak side filled in and we were on his body and he still got a lot of rebounds, but I thought our gang rebounding was very good.
Following a Rose buzzer-beater to end the period, the Bulls held a 27-18 advantage.
Chicagos bench apparently wasnt in the mood for a letdown performance, as it extended the winning margin left by the starters after Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau went with an all-reserve unit in the second quarter. A particularly aggressive Taj Gibson (12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists)the second-year power forward had been a solid contributor as a rebounder and defender off the bench, but struggled as a scorer as of lateand swingman Ronnie Brewer (eight points, five rebounds) were the main catalysts during this stretch.
Having maintained the lead, Thibodeau came back with his starterswith the exception of sharpshooter Kyle Korver (12 points)midway through the period and with Boozer finding his groove, the Bulls lead became as swollen as the inflatable Benny the Bull mascots that raced on the United Center floor during television timeouts.
First of all, when you add a player like Boozer, who hasnt really played in the system defensively, just integrating him into what we were doing and he was hurt in the preseason, so he was just thrown into the action right away. He was there, but the game goes at a different pace when youre playing out there compared to watching and playing in practice, explained Noah. I think that hes understanding the schemes a lot better and as a team, I think that were shrinking the floor a lot better in pick-and-rolls. I think our help side is coming along better than it used to. Weve still got a ways to go and thats a very good thing.
Thibodeau concurred: Hes still not 100 percent, but what he does for offense is give us an opportunity to establish an inside game through the post. Hes a very unselfish passer, excellent in the pick-and-roll and he has great instincts; he knows how to find seams. Defensively, I think hes still finding his way. Theres some parts he does extremely well. His rebounding is still not where his ability ishes proven to be a great rebounder in this league; hes done it throughout his careerso as he gets his legs under him, I think his rebounding will continue to improve also.
Propelled by a strong close to the half by Rose, Chicago took a 58-37 advantage into the intermission.
A Minnesota surge keyed by Love to start the third quarter snapped the Bulls out of their reverie, as an 8-0 run rectified things, as Chicago quickly dug the Timberwolves a 22-point hole to climb out of by virtue of offensive efficiency and stout defense.
Were moving in the right direction, said Rose of the teams defensive effort. Guys are hustling, were closing down the paintmaking sure that somebodys right therebut I think we have to take more charges and block more shots.
Even according to the high standards of Thibodeau, The defense is coming around. I think our ball pressure has improved, our weak side has improved, but we still have a long way to go. Theres a lot of areas we can improve upon.
Rose hit three long bombs (he was 5-for-6 from deep and 8-for-10 from the field in the game) to keep the Bulls ahead by a healthy amount. Chicagos offensive balance and adequate effort on the other end of the floor allowed them to coast to an 87-65 lead through three quarters.
I was just taking what they give me and right now, theyre giving me time to shoot, said Rose afterwards. Whatever the game tells me to do, Im going to do it and my man was sagging and they left me wide open to take the shot theyre giving me forever to shoot, so Im just shooting it.
Going off picks, they have to chase me over now and thats my whole key to this yearsomebody like Steve Nash, you cant go under on him or hell shoot, so right when I get that down, I think Ill be more of a threat, he explained further. Im trying to show everybody what Ive been working on. You want to show opponents new things, so that they know its going to be a hard night. They were leaving me wide open on the shots, I was just taking my time, my teammates were passing me the ball when I was open, and I was just shooting.
The way I worked on it this summer, I have a lot of confidence in my shot and Im going to shoot it, no matter what or how many shots I miss. As you can tell, as many games where Ive been missing early, Im going to continue to shoot, continued Rose, who credited Bulls assistant Ron Adams for diligently making sure he performs daily maintenance on his shot. I know thats a big part of my game now, being able to hit a consistent jump shotespecially from behind the arcand Im grateful that Im hitting all these shots.
I told you before the season started, somebody in the low post like that, sometimes youve got to double team him or if the guard even takes an inch, Ive got to be able to spot up, so as long as they keep double-teaming Los Boozer and leaving me wide open, Im going to shoot.
Opined Thibodeau: Hes put a lot of work into it. He gets there early, he stays late and he does it year-round. His commitment to the team and to the game is very unique and special.
Noah chimed in: Hes gaining more and more confidence on his three-ball. Its a scary thing.
Korvers marksmanship, Brewers all-around play and Gibsons energy paced the Bulls early in the final stanza. As in every Bulls blowout win, the games biggest drama became whennot ifChicago would crack the 100-point barrier, which led to free Big Macs for the loyal home crowd, as the Bulls cruised to the eventual triumph with the starters sitting out the entire period.
I dont know if theyll be upset with me or not, but it was a good chance for our bench and I think our bench has been playing very well, said Thibodeau. I thought they helped us get the Lakers game turned around and theyre playing really good defense, theyre moving the ball and theyre playing with energy, so it was good to see them play an entire fourth quarter.
Games like this are lovely, where we put away a team, everybody played well and thats what were supposed to do, added Rose. Everybody came out focused and ready to play.
I think we had a good shootaround, he continued. We came out aggressive and attacking them.
Added Noah: When we play with an edge to us for 48-minutes, were going to be tough to beat.
Thats the only thing that matters, not getting too caught up in the hype. Theres definitely a little buzz going on right now about the Chicago Bulls. It feels good to win five in a row, but weve just got to stay hungry, stay humble and stay driven. Weve still got a lot of work to do to become the team that we want to be and we want to be one of the elite teams in the East.
Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.com's Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.