Bulls have tough time in preseason opener
Bulls fans can dream all they want about the impending arrival of Vinnyball, which in theory features rookie Derrick Rose leading a constant fast break filled with ankle-breakers and alley-oops.
Before they'll win a game, though, the Bulls need to learn about defense and ball control.
They opened the preseason with a 110-102 loss to Dallas at the United Center. The final score was respectable, but the beginning was very ugly.
Facing the Mavericks starters for the entire first quarter, the Bulls gave up 36 points and allowed Dallas to shoot 62.5 percent from the field. By halftime, the home team piled up 14 turnovers, to go with just 7 assists, and trailed 62-44.
Asked to evaluate his own performance, Rose called it "terrible."
"I wouldn't say nervous, but I was anxious," he said. "As a point guard, you don't want any turnovers. So for me to get numerous turnovers, it stays on your mind."
The NBA's No. 1 draft pick led the Bulls with 6 turnovers, but finished strong. While totaling 10 points and 5 assists, Rose went 1-for-6 from the field in the first half, then hit all 3 of his attempts following halftime. Twice, he drove toward the basket and scored over 7-foot Dallas center DeSagana Diop.
"When I was in college, I was getting a lot of turnovers early in the year," Rose added. "As the season goes on, it goes down."
First-year coach Vinny Del Negro keeps saying the Bulls have a long way to go and emphasized that idea by running a full practice Thursday afternoon instead of the usual light shootaround.
"We turned the ball over too much," Del Negro said. "We weren't sharp defensively, either. Too many middle penetrations. We want to keep the ball out of the middle as best we can."
"I liked the way we competed in the second half. We weren't sharp and right now, we're not supposed to be that sharp."
The Bulls played without Ben Gordon (toe), Joakim Noah (eye) and Michael Ruffin (ankle). Their starting lineup featured Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden.
"I just thought those guys have been playing together a lot during camp," Del Negro said. "Don't read too much into that. There's still a lot of camp to go and we've got to get some guys healthy."
On the Bulls' second possession, Thomas couldn't corral an alley-oop pass from Rose. About a minute later, Rose was fouled on a lob pass from Hinrich. After that, the Bulls didn't throw any more alley-oops and were outscored 14-12 in fast-break points.
There were a few positives for the Bulls. After dropping about 25 pounds over the summer, second-year center Aaron Gray appeared agile, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Deng asserted himself in the third quarter to score 14 points. Playing as an undersized center, Gooden had 11 points and 7 boards in 19 minutes.
The Bulls opened the third quarter with a 12-1 run against Dallas' regulars, then gave it all back in the next five minutes.
With Gordon sidelined, the Bulls went 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the first three quarters. Guard Darius Washington (14 points) finally knocked down a couple 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Former slam-dunk contest champ Gerald Green led Dallas with 18 points, while Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 in 18 minutes. The Bulls are back in action tonight against the Indiana Pacers in Fort Wayne, Ind.