Why is Derrick Rose held to a different standard than Jay Cutler?

April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By: Rick Telander
Source: Sun-Times

He comes out before the game, sits on the Bulls’ bench and starts to lace up his new Adidas D Rose 3.5s.

Derrick Rose is ever friendly, ever courteous, so you ask him, ‘‘When are you going to play?’’

 He doesn’t say anything, just smiles. Not a happy smile. Not a sarcastic smile. But a smile that, if I’m reading it correctly, says: ‘‘I wish I knew.’’‘‘How about those shoes?’’ you say, just for conversation. ‘‘They weigh, like, 12 ounces ?’’

‘‘Less than that, I think,’’ he replies, taking an unlaced shoe off his foot and handing it to you for inspection.

This is not an arrogant superstar, people, but it might be a confused one. Surely, it is.

Rose hasn’t played in almost a year since having surgery on his left knee, and he didn’t play in the Bulls’ 90-82 victory Monday against the Brooklyn Nets that evened their playoff series 1-1.

Could the Bulls use Rose? Could Noah — the one from the Bible, not the one on the Bulls — have used an animal trainer?

 Read more about Telander’s breakdown here.

 

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Bulls’ 1st-Round Exit An Opportunity Lost

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By David Haugh

As C.J. Watson’s desperation, three-quarter-court heave at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim Thursday night to clinch a 79-78 victory and the series for the 76ers, harsh reality hit before the ball landed.

Mercilessly, a Bulls season was over before anybody expected — and long before it should be.

“Tough loss,” Luol Deng said. “We fought hard.”

Effort didn’t fail the Bulls as much as execution.

Of all the injuries the Bulls endured in a series defined by attrition, nothing exceeded the pain and suffering of watching the 76ers celebrate as confetti fell onto the floor. Nothing could have hurt worse than knowing they lost to a team with less talent and experience. Nothing tortures an athlete more than this question: What might have been?

The Bulls and their fans will ask that often during the longest of summers.

What might have been if Derrick Rose hadn’t torn an ACL? What might have been if Joakim Noah hadn’t twisted an ankle in Game 3? What might have been if Deng had two good hands or hadn’t been hit in the nose hard enough in the first quarter of Game 6 to require stitches and get knocked out of rhythm? What might have been if officials hadn’t waved off Gibson’s 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left on the shot clock upon review — the correct call — to increase the 76ers’ halftime lead from five to eight?

Though tempting, please don’t dwell on asking what might have been if officials had swallowed their whistles with 2.2 seconds left instead of calling a foul on Omer Asik as he attempted to block Andre Iguodala’s layup. Iguodala hit the two most clutch free throws of the Doug Collins era in Philadelphia, but to blame the end of the season on a bad call would be wrong. Good for Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau that he resisted that temptation, albeit reluctantly.

“It looked like Omer had the ball, but I don’t want to put it on the officials,” Thibodeau said. “We didn’t do what we should have done.”

This was not the 2012 Bulls’ Hue Hollins moment. One referee didn’t shorten the Bulls’ postseason and allow the 76ers to become only the fifth No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the NBA playoffs.

What did?

Start with Asik missing two free throws with 7 seconds left. Go to Watson showing a stunning lack of awareness in passing the ball to Asik, a 46 percent free-throw shooter, with a one-point lead. How about Carlos Boozer disappearing during the biggest game of the season by shooting 1 of 11 and scoring three points?

“I’m disappointed with the loss but not disappointed in our team,” Thibodeau said.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Banged-Up Bulls Looking For Answers

May 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

The banged-up, beaten-down Chicago Bulls returned home Sunday night, scheduled to take the practice court Monday afternoon at the Berto Center.

Joakim Noah won’t practice. Neither, of course, will Derrick Rose.

Without their best player in Rose and emotional leader in Noah, the Bulls face long odds to avoid becoming just the fifth top seed to lose to an eighth seed since the NBA went to a 16-team playoff format in 1984. Trailing 3-1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bulls face elimination on Tuesday night at the United Center.

“We need to play with more intensity,” Taj Gibson said. “It’s always hard to replace guys like Derrick and Joakim. But guys just have to step up.”

What can the Bulls do to address their lack of offense and fourth-quarter collapses? Coach Tom Thibodeau rarely changes his rotation, so playing Mike James is likely out. Thibodeau could try a smaller lineup featuring Luol Deng, who also is hurting with his left wrist, at power forward and Kyle Korver and Richard Hamilton at wings to flood the floor with shooters.

But Thibodeau has been hesitant to play Hamilton down the stretch, failing to play him in the fourth quarter of three games thus far.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Bulls Face Questions For Game 3

May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

Will Richard Hamilton play in the fourth quarter? Will Carlos Boozer score more? Will the Chicago Bulls respond to avoid losing two straight games for just the fourth time in 15 months?

More questions than answers emerged from Friday’s morning shootaround in advance of the critical Game 3 against the Philadelphia 76ers. With their best-of-seven series tied at 1-1, the Bulls sound confident they can return to the defensive and rebounding mindset that led them to a league-best, 50-16 regular-season mark.

“I think we’re great, honestly,” Carlos Boozer said. “We had a great practice yesterday. You don’t really get a loss out of your system until you win the next game. But we’re all highly motivated and that’s what we need to be.”

Hamilton has yet to play in the fourth quarter of either game. On Thursday, coach Tom Thibodeau merely replied “just our rotation” when asked why Kyle Korver is closing games. On Friday, he expounded on the subject.

“Our whole team didn’t play well,” Thibodeau said. “So you have to say, ‘Ok, the third quarter we had a problem.’ You’re looking at everything. That doesn’t mean it will always be that way. But we didn’t play well so we started looking for different answers. And we didn’t find them.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Bulls Must Limit 76ers’ Fast Break

May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

When an opponent posts 25 fast-break points off just eight turnovers, something is up.

“It’s floor balance,” Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They leak out. They’re small. They’re quick. When they have Thaddeus Young on the floor, it’s like having another small out there. You can’t have just one guy or two guys back. On the raise of the shot, you have to have the discipline to be back.”

The Chicago Bulls flew to Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon after a 90-minute practice at the Berto Center. And with the 76ers tying their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals in advance of Friday’s Game 3, the Bulls were on the defensive end of a question-and-answer session.

“We’ve been through tougher things than this,” Luol Deng said. “I know how everyone feels. We’ve got a lot of guys who are fighters. We’re going to fight our way out of this.”

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Minus Rose, Bulls Locked In Series Struggle

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

The last time the Chicago Bulls lost home-court advantage in a playoff series, the Miami Heat stormed to four straight victories to advance to last season’s NBA Finals.

Before that, the Bulls rallied to eliminate the Atlanta Hawks in six games in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

Both series, of course, were played with Derrick Rose.

As a slightly annoyed Luol Deng reminded all late Tuesday, following the Bulls losing home-court advantage and watching the Philadelphia 76ers tie their best-of-seven series at 1-1: “Derrick is not here. This is a different team. Go back and watch how we won those games (without Rose). It’s not one guy who has to go out of character. We’re a team and we’ll get it done together.”

The Bulls, who went 18-9 without Rose during the regular season, took Wednesday off from the practice floor. They opted for individual workouts, treatment, some walk-through stuff and film session. What they saw was a failure to imitate what they did during the regular season without Rose.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Minus Rose, Boozer Needs To Stand Tall

April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By Steve Rosenbloom

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of Carlos Boozer’s “quiet the haters’’ life.

The Bulls have no hope of winning the NBA title without Derrick Rose. If they did, why did the team pay him an extra $100 million?

Because superstars win, that’s why. Here’s the rule: You need one of the top five players in the league to win a title. You can go back to Magic Johnson’s first championship in 1980, the start of the NBA’s modern era, and the only argument you’d have is maybe the 2004 Pistons.

But just because their title hopes are dead doesn’t mean the Bulls believe it. They shouldn’t. It’s their job to believe coach Tom Thibodeau when he says they have more than enough to win, starting with Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against Philadelphia on Tuesday.

That would seem to start with Boozer and this would be the perfect time for the screaming power forward to “quiet the haters’’ the way he told the Our Bulls Guru K.C. Johnson five months ago.

Boozer was supposed to be a 20-and-10 guy. That was a lifetime ago.

Boozer was supposed to be a low-post presence. That became a guy looking for the La-Z-Boy comfort of the mid-range jumper.

He was bad and hurt in last year’s postseason. Geez, he didn’t even see the court in many of the most important fourth quarters.

He owes the Bulls.

Time to pay up.

Boozer lost weight during the offseason. He looked better and was the only Bull who started every game in David Stern’s suicidal schedule. Great.

Except Boozer was less productive on offense. He averaged fewer points, rebounds and assists than his career line. His field-goal and free-throw percentages also finished worse than his career averages. Just to clarify: not a good thing.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Bulls’ Rose Avoids Setback

April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

Derrick Rose participated in the majority of Monday’s Chicago Bulls’ practice at the Berto Center and, according to coach Tom Thibodeau, is “feeling great” after returning from his right foot injury to play Saturday.

Rose suffered no setbacks after logging just under 32 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, the Bulls, on the second day of their only non-All-Star-related, three-day break of the season, are as healthy as they’ve been as they chase the Eastern Conference’s top seed.

Their magic number to clinch the top seed and home-court advantage through at least the Eastern Conference playoffs stands at one. Any Bulls victory or Miami Heat loss would give the Bulls the top seed for the second straight season.

“We’re trying to get home-court advantage,” Joakim Noah said. “That’s pretty important. Secondly, we’re in a situation where we’ve had injuries. We haven’t had a lot of time to play together. The more experience you have on the court, the better. We’re a pretty healthy group. Guys are getting back to where they need to get to. We’re fine. We’re hoping to clinch.”

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Tempers Flare As Heat Beat Bulls 83-72

April 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

Chicago Tribune

By K.C. Johnson

There was trash talk. There were flagrant fouls and double technicals. There even was an ejection.

If these teams, as many predict, eventually reprise their Eastern Conference finals showdown, consider the Heat’s 83-72 victory over the Bulls on Thursday night as the appetizer.

And the Heat, who lost James Jones to an ejection and outrebounded the Bulls despite sitting Chris Bosh and Ronny Turiaf, didn’t just win to send the playoff race into deeper suspense.

They smashed the Bulls, who played with Luol Deng but without Derrick Rose, in the mouth. Where’s Charles Oakley — or even Kurt Thomas — when you need them?

“Every time we play them, that’s the way it’s going to be,” a calm coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You have to have the mental toughness to get through all that. You can’t shy away from that stuff. It’s going to be there. And that’s the way we like it.”

Maybe. But when Jones started the shenanigans midway through the second quarter by drawing a flagrant foul-two for his forearm shiver to the head of Joakim Noah, nobody responded.

When Dwyane Wade — quiet in the first half with five points — woke himself up by drawing a flagrant foul-one for shoving Richard Hamilton to the ground, nobody retaliated.

And when LeBron James, who led the Heat with 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, flattened John Lucas III with a blind pick in the backcourt, no Heat received the same treatment.

“There was a lot of stuff going on,” Thibodeau said. “But that’s to be expected. You’re on the road. They’re a good team. We’re fighting for the same thing. We’re going to have to deal with that more effectively.”

Asked if he’d like to see the Bulls shove somebody back or merely play harder between the whistles, Thibodeau paused.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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Do The Bulls Have A Clue About Being Smart With Rose?

April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune

By Steve Rosenbloom

Toe, back, groin, ankle and now foot — that’s Derrick Rose’s starting five.

The Chicago Bulls’ only hope for a championship suffered another injury to another body part while playing another meaningless game. Fun, huh?

A lot of people yakked at me for writing last week that the Bulls’ only hope for a championship should sit for the rest of the season. Rose was coming back from a groin injury. He missed 12 games because of it. He missed 11 other games because of other injuries. There were eight games remaining in the ridiculous regular season. He was playing, I guessed, because there were no adults in charge.

And now he has another injury. Whoa, didn’t see that coming.

The Bulls seems particularly insistent that Rose play, and I’m thinking, yeah, good thinking, because there are body parts that he hasn’t hurt badly enough to jeopardize the Bulls’ title chances.

Palm to forehead.

Our beat guy K.C. Johnson writes that a Bulls officials sighed “he needs to play’’ to regain his timing.

You want sighing? Play Rose in these meaningless last five game of the regular season and watch him get hurt again.

Let’s try this again, people. Ahem. Tap, tap, tap. If this thing on? Yes? Good.

THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS AN NBA TITLE.

Team officials say things like “he needs to play’’ because that’s the way they’re trained to act and think. Practice, play, practice, play, try to fire Stan Van Gundy.

But look, if your superstar is an actual superstar, then he’ll find his touch and rhythm quickly enough. If he doesn’t, then he’s probably not a superstar and you should’ve saved the receipt.

Click here for the full report from the Chicago Tribune.

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