In Chicago, the opposite opinions have become reality.
Faithful of the Windy City have come to the realization that, pleasantly, the Chicago Bears are definite playoff contenders. The coach who had fans rooting against their own team just so he could be fired has now secured a ballot of respect throughout his own league. In an entirely different sport, the brand new skipper brought in earlier this off-season had fans jumping for joy, but all has turned around.
Those two coaches, of course, are Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls. Who would’ve thought?
Following a 107-78 blowout at home versus the Orlando Magic, Derrick Rose and his squad went on the road to face the Beasts of the East in the Boston Celtics. Well, let’s just pray that true colors weren’t on display.
Overall, Chicago picked up where they left off with their normal second and fourth quarter surges of brilliance, while becoming a poster-board for the first and third periods. However, while watching this game, a disturbing factor in the Bulls’ performance found it’s way into my hatred.
Noticeably, the Bulls looked unusually undetermined and showed little effort at times. In a blue collar city like Chicago, not to mention home of the most die-hard fans in all of the world, this is considered fundamental flaws.
Speaking of fundamentals; the Bulls didn’t have any of their own to show for.
At the free throw line, Chicago shot 73.5 percent, including two bricks off the rim at the line with during the short stints of a tie. Moreover, the team who prides themselves off rebounding and defense found themselves getting physically outplayed on the boards. There were many dropped rebounds and multiple times that one Celtic dominated a huddle of three Bulls while the latter stared at the sky, as if waiting for the ball to magically land in their grasps.
Offensively, the possessions were horrible. It’d be a privilege to call it such.
One man would run up court on a fastbreak, only to hold onto the ball with no movement whatsoever and try to shoot a deep two, with men draped across his chest.
This cannot be put on the players by all means, as the lack of strategy and flow is solely on the coaching staff. The same effort was put into all phases of the game by the Bulls, while Boston exerted all their energy into running Chicago up and down the court.
Granted, you could call this an angry fan’s rant, but at least the unexpected return of the Monsters of the Midway shines among the fading lights of Chicago.
Chicago Bulls
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | |
| C. Boozer | F | 21:12 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 4-6 | -21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| L. Deng | F | 38:04 | 5-13 | 3-4 | 2-4 | -12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| J. Noah | C | 38:46 | 5-8 | 0-0 | 4-7 | -16 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| K. Bogans | G | 12:33 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Rose | G | 36:19 | 7-17 | 1-5 | 5-5 | -29 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| R. Brewer | 29:18 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-4 | -3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| T. Gibson | 26:20 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 4-4 | +11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| C. Watson | 11:49 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 3-3 | +15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| K. Korver | 14:18 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| O. Asik | 08:26 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | +1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| J. Johnson | 01:47 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| B. Scalabrine | 01:07 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 240 | 31-74 | 5-13 | 25-34 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 18 | 17 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 92 | ||
| 41.9% | 38.5% | 73.5% | team rebs: 9 | total to: 13 | ||||||||||||
Boston Celtics
| pos | min | fgm-a | 3pm-a | ftm-a | +/- | off | def | tot | ast | pf | st | to | bs | ba | pts | ||
| P. Pierce | F | 32:25 | 8-16 | 0-3 | 2-2 | +17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |
| K. Garnett | F | 33:11 | 7-11 | 0-0 | 6-6 | +28 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | |
| S. O’Neal | C | 19:58 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 2-4 | +9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| R. Allen | G | 35:56 | 5-12 | 0-2 | 4-4 | +27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |
| R. Rondo | G | 34:44 | 6-11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +29 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| G. Davis | 22:11 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| M. Daniels | 25:52 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-4 | -17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| S. Erden | 19:39 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | -13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| N. Robinson | 13:24 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 0-0 | -15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| V. Wafer | 01:47 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| L. Harangody | 00:53 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| A. Bradley | DNP – Coach’s Decision | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 240 | 43-81 | 1-9 | 17-22 | 8 | 36 | 44 | 29 | 23 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 104 | |||
| 53.1% | 11.1% | 77.3% | team rebs: 8 | total to: 9 | |||||||||||||
D-Rose Sends the Bulls to Overtime Win Against Rockets
Read MoreFor More Great Chicago Sports Content
Get the latest Chicago sports news, analysis, and breaking stories on the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Sky, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, so you never miss a story on your favorite Chicago teams.
Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
