Bulls-Magic recap
By Kent McDill
After watching the Bulls beat the Orlando Magic Friday 99-90, I have a new opinion about the Bulls' 2010-11 season. I think the Bulls can with the NBA title this year. I'm not saying they are going to win the title. I'm not suggesting they are likely to win it, or will be favored to win or should win it. I'm just saying they can win it.
I got this idea first Thursday night when I watched the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. In that game, the Knicks looked way too frenetic, and proved they aren't very good at defense, while the Heat looked discombobulated. The Heat were playing without Chris Bosh, but I'm not sure how that might have mattered. I think Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are still having trouble figuring out their respective roles and that will come to play in the post-season.
That brought me to the Bulls game Friday, in which Derrick Rose tried to play through the pain of dual ulcers. I applaud him for the effort, while I have to wonder whether the young man is too brave and willful for his own good. Rose scored 22 points and had 12 assists in 37-plus minutes. He occasionally grabbed his stomach in pain, and admitted after the game it was tough going. Having another game Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, it will be interesting to see if he tries to go again.
It was important, perhaps, to put up a good fight against an Orlando team that shellacked the Bulls back in December when Carlos Boozer was making his return from injury. Given the choice, I think Rose would rather play with the pain than sit and watch with the pain. But what I found out in the game against Orlando is that the Magic are a two-man team: Dwight Howard is one, and the 3-point shot is the other.
The Magic shoot the most 3-pointers in the league by far (the Knicks are second) and the Magic only hit at a 37.5 percent rate. In the playoffs, those shots are going to become harder to come by, and the Bulls, for one, do a great job rotating out on those shots when they have their best defensive group in the game.
Against the Bulls Friday, the Magic got 40 points and 15 rebounds from Dwight Howard and very little else. They shot five for 21 from 3-point range, got out-rebounded 54-40, and managed just 17 points in the third quarter when the Bulls played lockdown.
Howard depends entirely on how officials are going to call the game. His very physical inside play produced 16 free throws as Kurt Thomas, Carlos Boozer and Omer Asik shared 14 fouls. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls get a chance with Joakim Noah healthy.
HERO: Luol Deng scored 26 points, 24 in the second half, and could not be stopped offensively. He also came up with two big steals, one that secured the outcome late in the fourth quarter.
By Kent McDill
After watching the Bulls beat the Orlando Magic Friday 99-90, I have a new opinion about the Bulls' 2010-11 season. I think the Bulls can with the NBA title this year. I'm not saying they are going to win the title. I'm not suggesting they are likely to win it, or will be favored to win or should win it. I'm just saying they can win it.
I got this idea first Thursday night when I watched the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. In that game, the Knicks looked way too frenetic, and proved they aren't very good at defense, while the Heat looked discombobulated. The Heat were playing without Chris Bosh, but I'm not sure how that might have mattered. I think Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are still having trouble figuring out their respective roles and that will come to play in the post-season.
That brought me to the Bulls game Friday, in which Derrick Rose tried to play through the pain of dual ulcers. I applaud him for the effort, while I have to wonder whether the young man is too brave and willful for his own good. Rose scored 22 points and had 12 assists in 37-plus minutes. He occasionally grabbed his stomach in pain, and admitted after the game it was tough going. Having another game Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, it will be interesting to see if he tries to go again.
It was important, perhaps, to put up a good fight against an Orlando team that shellacked the Bulls back in December when Carlos Boozer was making his return from injury. Given the choice, I think Rose would rather play with the pain than sit and watch with the pain. But what I found out in the game against Orlando is that the Magic are a two-man team: Dwight Howard is one, and the 3-point shot is the other.
The Magic shoot the most 3-pointers in the league by far (the Knicks are second) and the Magic only hit at a 37.5 percent rate. In the playoffs, those shots are going to become harder to come by, and the Bulls, for one, do a great job rotating out on those shots when they have their best defensive group in the game.
Against the Bulls Friday, the Magic got 40 points and 15 rebounds from Dwight Howard and very little else. They shot five for 21 from 3-point range, got out-rebounded 54-40, and managed just 17 points in the third quarter when the Bulls played lockdown.
Howard depends entirely on how officials are going to call the game. His very physical inside play produced 16 free throws as Kurt Thomas, Carlos Boozer and Omer Asik shared 14 fouls. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls get a chance with Joakim Noah healthy.
HERO: Luol Deng scored 26 points, 24 in the second half, and could not be stopped offensively. He also came up with two big steals, one that secured the outcome late in the fourth quarter.
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