Rose, Rondo offer strange week of lost and found point guards
The theme for this week is NBA players being in Chicago instead of New York for a game at Madison Square Garden.
The Bulls confirmed Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic will not play against the Knicks on Thursday due to illness. Mirotic traveled to Washington with the team, didn't play in Tuesday's loss to the Wizards and was sent home. Butler did not travel with the team at all this week.
The Bulls have reason to feel somewhat optimistic, though, after being competitive against Washington without Butler, Mirotic and Dwyane Wade, who was given the night off to rest. Wade is expected to play in New York.
The story of former Bulls point guard Derrick Rose isn't so cut and dried. Rose didn't show up for the Knicks' game against New Orleans on Monday at MSG and didn't tell the team he wouldn't be there.
A day later, Rose spoke to reporters at practice and admitted he went home to Chicago to visit with his mom. Rose was fined but was in the starting lineup Wednesday night when the Knicks played at Philadelphia.
Although he didn't fully explain his absence, Rose has talked about missing his son, who lives in Chicago. Rose also was benched in the fourth quarter of New York's previous two games.
Speaking to reporters at Wednesday's shootaround in Philadelphia, Rose said he has gotten past whatever mental anguish he experienced.
"Of course. That's one of the reasons I came back," Rose said, according to The New York Post. "If I felt I needed a little bit more time, I would've talked to the front office. But I feel everything is all right."
Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony talked about what it was like to take the court Monday not knowing where Rose was. "It was a scary situation to be in," Anthony said. "I don't even like thinking about that coming into a game, not knowing where somebody's at, their whereabouts, if they're OK. That's the first thing that comes to mind. … I just wanted to make sure he's OK."
Anthony ended up getting ejected from the New Orleans game. The Knicks have been slumping, with 8 losses in nine games before playing the 76ers.
Facing the Bulls on Nov. 4 at the United Center brought out the best in the Knicks. New York won 117-104 behind 27 points from forward Kristaps Porzingis. Rose recorded his season high in assists (11) that night, and ex-Bulls center Joakim Noah set his season high with 16 points for the Knicks.
The Bulls have their own version of the lost-and-found point guard.
Rajon Rondo returned to the court Tuesday after being benched for five games. He played well, finishing with 12 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. Coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game he expects Rondo to get minutes against New York.
"It was great to have Rajon back in the lineup," Taj Gibson said after the game, according to bulls.com. "His coaching ability on the court, how he moves the ball, it helps us a lot. We are a much better team with him on the court."
Added Rondo, "It felt OK. I felt fast. I was just trying to bring energy off the bench and push the pace. That's what I do."
Several players took advantage of the increased playing time. Rookie Denzel Valentine led the Bulls with 19 points, his first game scoring in double figures. Bobby Portis, who hasn't been in the rotation, finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Valentine may have learned a lesson the hard way in the fourth quarter. After hitting a 3-pointer to put the Bulls ahead 92-85 with 7:37 left, Valentine did a little celebratory dance on the Wizards' end of the floor. As the game headed into a timeout, Gibson walked off the Bulls' bench and appeared to be yelling at Valentine to knock it off.
Wizards guard John Wall saw it and following the game told reporters he walked over to Valentine after the timeout and told him, "You woke a monster."
Washington immediately went on a 10-0 run. The Bulls regained the lead at 99-97 with 57 seconds left, but Wall buried two jumpers in a row; the second provided the winning points with five seconds left.
According to Elias Sports and The Washington Post, Wall had been 3-for-32 in his career on potential tying or go-ahead shots in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime.
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 7 p.m. Thursday
TV: TNT
Radio: WLS 890-AM
Outlook: Derrick Rose was back in the Knicks' starting lineup on Wednesday at Philadelphia after skipping Monday's loss to New Orleans to make a quick trip home to Chicago. He didn't tell the team he wouldn't be there. New York lost 110-96 while both Carmelo Anthony and Kyle O'Quinn were ejected. The Knicks had lost eight of nine games heading into Wednesday's action. Rose is averaging 17.3 points and 4.5 assists this season. Ex-Bulls C Joakim Noah is the Knicks' top rebounder at 8.8 per game. Anthony is the top scorer with 21.9 ppg, followed by second-year PF Kristaps Porzingis at 19.8. The Bulls lost to New York 117-104 at the United Center on Nov. 4 with Porzingis scoring 27 points. Rose set a season high in assists (11) that night, while Noah recorded his season high in points (16).
Next: New Orleans Pelicans at the United Center, 4 p.m. Saturday
- Mike McGraw