No one should be losing to the mess of a team called the Utah Jazz, but the Chicago Bulls, broken and confused about Derrick Rose missing the rest of the season, managed to reach a new low in a situation that might be spiraling out of control, falling 89-83 in overtime against the worst group of players in the NBA.
Yes, the Utah Jazz, shooting 38.8% from the field and not even playing with Enes Kanter, beat the Chicago Bulls, a team some thought was the best in the Eastern conference kicking off the season.
As we mentioned before, this injury to Rose might be a bigger hit on a Bulls team that wasn’t prepared like they were last year to play without him. Kirk Hinrich is the only decent point guard this team has, and he’s suddenly forced to lead the team that’s also missing its starting shooting guard in Jimmy Butler. The use of Tony Snell in the lineup reeks of desperation and improvisation.
Not that Snell was bad – he scored 9 points, showing that Chicago have yet another small forward who can play out of position, shoot well and defend. Luol Deng scored 24 points amid trade rumors circling like buzzards over a carcass. Carlos Boozer led the way against his former team with 26 points, adding 16 rebounds. But it took the Bulls too long to get in the game, scoring only 32 first half points. Overtime can always go both ways, but Chicago shouldn’t have even been in that position to begin with.
Not that the Jazz are putting an asterisks on this win and apologizing for not facing the best the Bulls can put on the floor. When you win for only the second time in 16 games, there’s nothing that can ruin your day. Not even the horrific shooting, awful to watch offense and lack of anything pointing towards a better future this season.
I watched the young guy when he was in college at Michigan doing some spectacular things. He came to the court tonight and played a huge game in the most minutes he’s played as a pro. The young fella is good, and he’s only going to get better. He’s in a tough spot right now, as most rookies are just starting to get their rhythm, but he’s just getting going and there’ll be a learning curve.
Oh, but there is Trey Burke. Playing in only his fourth NBA game, Burke showed that killer instinct and big-time ability isn’t something that can be learnt. He came with that from Michigan, and despite shooting 5-of-17 from the field and hit one huge three pointer that was what pulled the Jazz away and towards only their second win of the season.
Aside from Burke, there was Marvin Williams with a surprising 17-point performance, adding 9 rebounds and helping Derrick Favors in the paint. Gordon Hayward was off again with 5-of-15 from the field (shooting 38.8% this season), but he did dish out 12 assists, and enjoyed not being the focal point of the offense for once. There isn’t too much to be optimistic about, but Burke finding himself in the lineup means it’ll be better than what we’ve seen so far. For the Bulls, who have a good roster in every position except for point guard, it might take some more time to get over the bad news.