While the Utah Jazz continue to look like the saddest thing around, the Chicago Bulls finally pick up a win after recent struggles, as Luol Deng needed one more assist to get a triple double and Derrick Rose continues to suffer from comeback disease, needing more time to find his way back to stardom.
The Bulls easily won 97-73, forcing the Jazz to 29.4% from the field. It’s the first time since March last year a team has shot less than 30% from the field. Not a rare occurrence, but it just goes to show how badly built this team is, mostly on purpose. Building around Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and Gordon Hayward might be cheap and workout for them in the future, but right now it’s making them look like the worst team in the league, starting at 0-6.
The Chicago Bulls? This was more like we’ve gotten used to seeing them, minus the superstar. Rose has this special way about him that turns all the attention to him, but so far he hasn’t been able to put on a real show. Like most of the Bulls’ players, he didn’t stay on to play for too much, but there’s no doubt that his adjustment pains aren’t just shedding off smoothly like they have for Russell Westbrook, who hasn’t missed that many games or time.
Deng was the only who stayed till almost the very end, as the team kept trying to get him that 10th assist. Deng scored 19 points, adding 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. The Bulls kept trying to do everything they could in order to give him that milestone, but at some point, Thibodeau took him off the floor, which got the Bulls crowd slightly upset.
I think we tried like five times to get Luol the triple double, , but it didn’t work out. When Tibs brought him out, the fans got kind of upset, but if anything, I’m super proud of his performance tonight.
The Bulls were dominant from the start, with the game over quite quickly thanks to some excellent defense and a strong start from Derrick Rose. He finished with 12 points and 5 assists, but turnovers (4) continue to be a problem. He’ shooting 32% from the field this season so far, averaging 5 turnovers per game.
This isn’t the game that puts the Bulls back near the top of the Eastern conference. The way they lost to the Indiana Pacers was too bad in order to erase in just one game, even if it was only a falling apart of the final quarter that night in Indianapolis. Until Derrick Rose starts playing better, this team will continue to look quite sluggish on offense, and will rely on just how desperate they can make other teams with their early defense.
For the Jazz, things are much worse, on both ends of the floor. They haven’t started this badly since 1974, off to a 0-11 start and a 23-59, the worst record in franchise history. If their offense continues to look this bad for much longer, breaking that record isn’t out of the question.