McGraw: Team first always for Bulls
The Bulls have followed this familiar formula many times during the Tom Thibodeau era, but rarely have the circumstances been this impressive.
Playing without Derrick Rose (left-hamstring strain) and Pau Gasol (left-calf strain), the Bulls opened the circus road trip late Monday with a convincing 105-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.
The Clippers (5-4) haven't been tearing it up early this season, but they were at full strength, with a roster expected to contend for the Western Conference title.
The Bulls (8-3) actually trailed by 14 points late in the second quarter, thanks to a hot shooting stretch by Clippers guard Jamal Crawford. From that point through the end of the third quarter, though, the Bulls outscored the home team by an astonishing 47-18.
That performance would be tough to explain, except the Bulls have performed well so many times before with starters missing.
“We've got guys that have been around and in the system,” Taj Gibson said after the game, according to espn.com. “We've got guys on the bench that can start other places. We've got humble guys, guys that understand put the team first. We've got a great coaching staff and everybody just wants to win.
“Our philosophy is one guy goes down, the next guy is going to step up and do the job to the best of his ability.”
Gibson helped provide one of the game's highlights when he poked the ball away from Crawford just before the end of the first half. Jimmy Butler picked it up, drained a 19-foot jumper and completed a 3-point play with 0.2 seconds on the clock to bring the Bulls within 50-48.
Just as impressive was a Gibson blocked shot a few minutes earlier, when he went up and swatted away a Blake Griffin jumper.
Butler led the Bulls with 22 points, Gibson had 20 and Mike Dunleavy continued his hot shooting. Dunleavy scored 19 points and hit 4 shots from 3-point range with his father watching from the stands.
What stood out most in the box score was the way the Bulls shared the ball — 28 assists to 8 turnovers. Butler had 8 assists, while Gibson and Noah dished out 6 each. When the non-point guards share the ball like that, the team is functioning well.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who worked with Thibodeau in Boston for three years, was impressed.
“They trusted their offense,” Rivers said. “We took them out of a lot of stuff, but they just kept playing. I thought our trust was broken today offensively. I thought we all tried to do it individually, and that's the old way we played where there's no ball movement.”
One benefit of Gasol's injury was more playing time for rookie Nikola Mirotic. He produced 12 points (and 2 assists), matching his season high set Nov. 1 at Minnesota.
One subplot from the past week was declining minutes for Mirotic and Doug McDermott. If one or both rookies are knocking down outside shots, the Bulls could be more dangerous down the road. McDermott went scoreless against the Clippers, going 0-for-2 from the field.
What's different this year is the amount of talent sitting on the bench. If Rose and Gasol stay healthy for most of the season, the Bulls won't be a scrappy underdog anymore but a championship contender. In theory, anyway.
The road trip only gets tougher. There's a chance to Bulls might be back at full strength for back-to-back games at Sacramento and Portland on Thursday and Friday.
“It's November, man,” Noah cautioned. “It's November. And the truth is we have a lot of work to do. As long as we stay humble and we keep working, keep getting better as a team, hopefully, we'll have a chance. But we're nowhere near where we have to be.”
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