Bulls doing their best to navigate 'bumpy ride'
The Bulls did not practice Thursday, after needing overtime to pull out a 104-95 victory at Philadelphia.
It wasn't a complete day off for Pau Gasol, though. The veteran center logged 43 minutes against the 76ers and produced his 44th double-double of the season, with 27 points and 16 rebounds.
A day later, Gasol released a new blog, in which he discussed the loss of Derrick Rose, among other teammates, to injury.
"I truly think the team is responding well to Derrick Rose's injury, which has been a terrible blow to us both at a personal level and on court," Gasol wrote. "When we found out about it, the whole team was devastated. ...
"I don't want to become a TV preacher, but we need to adjust to the situation on this bumpy ride we're having in Chicago. We're trying to win every game, but sometimes it's impossible - that may sound obvious, but it isn't."
Joakim Noah joined the injured list Wednesday with a sore right knee, so the Bulls were happy to accept any sort of victory against the lowly Sixers (14-50). Guard Aaron Brooks tossed in a season-high 31 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
This was the sixth game the Bulls played without Rose, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, who are three of the team's top five scorers. They've gone 3-3 during that stretch.
Besides Gasol's steady presence, the Bulls' offensive output has shifted significantly. Rookie Nikola Mirotic has been the team's second-leading scorer over the last six (18.7 ppg). Brooks is next at 16.7.
Tony Snell, who was playing so well a few weeks ago, hasn't responded to playing heavy minutes. He's averaging just 9 points over the last six games. Mike Dunleavy isn't much better at 10.5 points.
Gasol keeps rolling along, though. His 44 double-doubles leads the NBA and is a career-best. Whether he can keep up this pace at age 34 is an important question for the Bulls. Gasol has already played in more games (62) than he did in either of the last two seasons with the Lakers.
"Hopefully (the workload) won't affect me negatively down the road," Gasol said after Wednesday's game, according to espn.com. "And when we do have a full squad, I'm not going to need to do so much probably."
The Bulls just went from playing four games in five nights, to a three-game road trip while the Big Ten tournament fills the United Center. They'll face Charlotte on Friday, followed by Oklahoma City on Sunday afternoon before getting a couple days off.
"The schedule is tough. It's hard. It's been really hard as of late for us," Gasol said. "We just got to get through it the best way we can, and that's what we're trying to do."
Maybe the busy schedule got the best of Noah, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee after last season. He is hoping to return to action Friday.
"(I'm) just not feeling great," Noah said Wednesday, according to espn.com. "Just got to use the next couple days to recover and get my body feeling right and get ready for the next one. I don't think it's a big roadblock at all."
Coach Tom Thibodeau said Butler and Gibson are getting closer to a return, though it's tough to predict when that will happen. Butler is out with a left elbow sprain, while Gibson has a recurring right ankle injury. Both worked out on the court before the game in Philadelphia.
"I'm making progress, but this one is tough, just reinjuring the same one," Gibson said Wednesday. "I've played through pain all year. … I'm no slouch, but this one is far beyond playing through pain. It's about really getting it strong and preventing another injury because this thing keeps happening. I have to be smart."
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