Snell gets nod over Hinrich in starting lineup
Coach Tom Thibodeau made an unexpected lineup change Monday. Whenever the Bulls had been missing Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler or Mike Dunleavy this season, Thibodeau always started Kirk Hinrich, if he was available.
Against Orlando, Thibodeau went with Tony Snell at small forward in place of Dunleavy. Rose and Butler were the starting guards.
Thibodeau switched the lineup at the start of the third quarter, putting Hinrich on the floor and leaving Snell on the bench.
Snell hit both of his shot attempts and scored 5 points in the first half. But the Bulls struggled defensively, giving up 63 points while the Magic shot 60.9 percent from the field.
The third quarter featured more of the same, as Orlando outscored the Bulls 30-23 while shooting 59.1 percent from the field. Hinrich played nearly all of the third quarter before being replaced by Snell with 34 seconds left.
Rose returns to action:
After missing Saturday's win over Milwaukee with soreness in his left knee, Derrick Rose shrugged off the rest day. He was back in the starting lineup Monday against Orlando.
"It's not out of the norm," Rose told reporters at shootaround. "Having two knee surgeries, it's just some type of soreness that just came from playing in the Washington game (Friday) and it held me back a game. If it was something that was lingering or I felt it the entire time along that stretch, that 15-20 game stretch, I would have been very worried about it. But I didn't feel it until after the Washington game."
Numbers add up for Pau:
Pau Gasol is in elite company. According to Stats, LLC, Gasol's performance on Saturday against Milwaukee was just the 14th time since 1970-71 a player recorded at least 46 points and 18 rebounds in a game.
The last time it happened was when Kevin Durant had 47 and 18 against Minnesota on Jan. 26, 2011. The only other player in Bulls history to post such numbers was Michael Jordan with 69 points and 18 rebounds at Cleveland on Mar. 28, 1990.
Gasol also matched the highest point total in the NBA this season, tying Carmelo Anthony's 46 points against Utah on Nov. 14.
Rose still popular:
Derrick Rose has the fifth best-selling NBA jersey, according to the league. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are the top four.
Chicago native Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans made his first appearance on the list at No. 15.
Team-wise, the Bulls rank second in jersey sales behind Cleveland. Golden State, the Lakers and San Antonio round out the top five.