Behold those last six minutes in Monday's underwhelming victory over the Kings.Jimmy Butler scored on a tough reverse layup. Pau Gasol sank four free throws. Derrick Rose hit back-to-back jumpers. Butler tipped home a Gasol miss and then found Mike Dunleavy for a 3-pointer following Taj Gibson's steal.
The veteran lineup, the one that has played just two games together all season and won both, came through.
Is there muscle memory for playing winning basketball? Is determination part of this core's DNA? The final 13 games, provided no big injuries are forthcoming, should provide answers.
Dunleavy believes that five-man lineup knows enough to finish the playoff push.
"There's definitely a sense of confidence and comfort level with that group," the veteran forward said. "We've played together quite a bit, especially last season. Not so much this year. But we know what's going on. We're veteran guys and have a good feel for each other."
Not counting Joakim Noah, who has been sidelined since January after shoulder surgery, E'Twaun Moore is the only rotation player out for Wednesday night's game against the Knicks. The Bulls are trying to finish a 4-0 homestand.
This being the Bulls, minutes limits remain in place for Gasol, Rose and Butler, although Butler's time extended to just more than 35 minutes against the Kings. But coach Fred Hoiberg said such restrictions make it unavoidable for him to have stretches with no starters on the floor.
That's unless he wants to not start Rose, Butler or Gasol, a route he obviously said he isn't taking.
"It's about getting that chemistry and figuring out where the ball needs to get," Hoiberg said. "We did a good job getting the ball to Derrick, who had it going late in the game. Taj made some big plays all game long at both ends. Pau hit a big shot.
"When we have guys who are on limits, we have a stretch where we don't have any starters on the floor. We have to try to balance that as well as we can with the restrictions we have on our players. Hopefully we'll continue to add minutes to our players and get the rotation back to where we need it so we don't go through those dry spells on the floor."
The core's chemistry also must flourish despite the season being at the point where practice time is scarce if non-existent for all teams. The Bulls have no stretches with two days between games the rest of the season.
So an emphasis will be placed on mental preparation, with film sessions and walk-throughs the norm.
Getting Butler right would help too. Despite five steals and impact plays late, he played a low energy game overall offensively. He is shooting 25-for-66 in five games back after missing 14 of 15 to a left knee injury.
"The most important thing Jimmy is giving us right now is a great defensive presence," Hoiberg said. "He's doing a really good job making it difficult on the other teams' best scorers. … He just gives you that physical wing presence when he can guard the other teams' best player. That's what we really missed when he was out of the lineup.
"I have no doubt his offense will come back and come back soon. He's putting the work in. He's going to come back in and get another workout in (Tuesday night), just to get shots up to try to get that rhythm. Jimmy has been so clutch for us all year long. We all have no doubt that will be back soon."
The Bulls need that clutch gene to be contagious. Missing the playoffs would be a dark blemish for the veteran core.
