Let’s hope this is an injury that is making Derrick Rose look like Matt Forte.
A sophomore slump happens, but despite a decent box score, Rose does not look special at this point four games into the season as the Chicago Bulls came back to beat a pedestrian Milwaukee Bucks team 83-81, lead by soon-to-be-star Brandon Jennings who looks like a hybrid between Allen Iverson and Tony Parker.
On Tuesday night Jennings looked like the better player, but Rose got the best of him on the final player as they tried to isolate the rookie guard on the perimeter who eventually was blocked by the taller player.
Thankfully Rose didn’t bite.
Nevertheless, there are so many elements of Rose’s game that looks out of sync: dribbling, passing and, while he was never really good at it last year, his defense is really suffering. Rose is not very aggressive on defense and tends to under screens instead of fight through them.
He did this last year but he looks especially passive this time around.
I can only hope this is a conditioning-injury-rust issue for Rose.
We can look around the league and see that he is clearly not the only point guard with unique abilities and scoring talents. And if anything, as we’ve seen with Jennings, youth is not an excuse at this point. The team made is run in the 3rd quarter without him.
For now, let’s hope this is rust because we can’t blame his development on the offensive line.
Luol Deng had another nice outing with 24 points and 20 rebounds , clearly showing that he does help out on team defense and should be commended for his effort—something that the Bulls cannot always count on since he tends to get frustrated and space out at times.
And, on a brighter note, it may be that Deng has improved in an area of his game.
It also shows that Tyrus Thomas won’t be missed when the Bulls let him walk af the end of this season. He was “sick” on Tuesday, sent home after showing up with fever symptoms.
This, after Vinny DelNegro sat him in the 4th quarter Sunday against the Miami Heat and then called him individually for not rotating on defense.
One can only imagine what this conversation sounded like:
“You need to get over when Luol’s man get’s beat,” says Vinny.
“I did,” Tyrus looks confidently.
(Vinny looking with eyebrows arched upward…pauses).
“Sit down.”
Then, Tyrus shows up Tuesday for the team’s shoot around in sandals and a hoodie with a cough drop in his mouth, sniffling.
“I’m sick, Coach.”
(Vinny looking with eyebrows pointed down).
“Should I call your mother to come pick you up?”
While the season is young, the Bulls do look like they’re going to struggle offensively without an improved and aggressive Rose. They cannot shoot—and for a jump-shooting team this will cause problems.
John Salmons appears to be pressing and relies too heavily on his jab steps and pump fakes instead of taking the open jumper. For this offense to get moving, Salmons will have to learn how to catch and shoot.
The same may need to be said for Brad Miller who has this belief that he’s a two-guard as well. Sure we hear announcers like Stacey King admire Miller for being “savvy, “ but the shot is so slow and awkward that defensive players can actually rotate in time and set their feet to draw the travel.
We’ll find out how “sick” Thomas was on Wednesday and Thursday, and whether he’ll be needed for rebounding help against Shaq and LeBron because it’s clear that Joakim Noah won’t be able to body up Cheesecake O’Neal.
My favorite play of the game: Kirk Hinrich running the open floor and passing to Luol Deng before he even reached the 3pt line. He caught him in stride and it’s something that many players overlook.
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mmitchell
I'm a journalist who has previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in the Chicago area, covering features, entertainment, city government, police and crime, and--yes--sports. However, my primary qualification for Bulls analysis: I'm a cynic and a humorist.
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