Butler, however, thinks the team will gets it act together by the time the OKC Thunder roll into town tonight for a nationally-televised showdown. When you play with somebody like Derrick Rose especially, to me, I know him, he doesn’t care at all (about criticism).
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Rose was the biggest reason, burying four jump shots and hitting a pair of free throws in the final 3:35 of the game. While the offense has been as advertised so far, there were concerns about team defense, many of which were borne out in the preseason. We weren’t helping each other. Rose to go? Or will he remain in Chicago…
For Rose, however, it’s more than just your typical pro-athlete jargon. Instead, creating a free-flowing, open style of basketball that emphasizes directional shifts through the use of ball movement and diversion, whilst enhancing the still-intact straight line speed of the former MVP, needs to be implemented.
To aide his path to returned stardom, the reliance on Rose to kill in isolation and save the team in dying shot clock moments should be minimized.
For the game, the Bulls point guard dropped a team-high 29 points on 12-of-25 from the field.
Fortunately, these characteristics coincide with the trends of modern NBA, as does the basketball philosophy of Fred Hoiberg. Charlotte is not a good offensive team, and yet they were able to make a series of both Chicago big men and guards look hapless due to the squad’s endless energy. He is a rookie on a team of all-star forwards, and soon he will be one too. With Rose still experiencing a few vision issues, his current role and contributions seem to be sufficient for now.
In sum, the play wasn’t bad, at least not on the scale of the endings against the Rockets or Raptors, but the systemic problems that were causing the breakdowns never got corrected, which is primarily on coach Billy Donovan’s shoulders. Well, they were highly disappointed. Bradley would be a great addition to the Bulls because it would allow them to trade or even release Derrick Rose.
“Practice was a dog”, Taj Gibson said. Pau Gasol was the only other Bull with double-digit-digit points (11) and shot attempts (12). This unsustainable situation eventually lost them the game, because either Gasol was powering over Westbrook for baskets, or Kanter was left on an island trying to stay in front of Rose, who buried jumper after jumper in the 4th. Hoiberg backed up his words, replacing Tony Snell with Doug McDermott, who scored nine in his first career start.
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It’s no secret that because of his ultra-conservative approach to his ACL injury way back in 2013, and the second knee injury that fall, Rose will be under scrutiny the rest of his career as Chicago vacillates on his worthiness as the city’s star. Add in the fact that Rose isn’t the best defensively, and that makes him a less efficient option than Isaiah Thomas.
