Gordon and Rose should work well together, but not as starters
Following the Bulls' loss to Cleveland on Saturday, Ben Gordon suggested he and rookie Derrick Rose should take time to get to know each other better.
Nothing wrong with some effective male bonding. Gordon and Rose probably watched the Bears game together at a sports bar, then played some darts or went bowling.
Actually, what Gordon had in mind was sitting down and watching game tape.
"I think we can still learn each other a lot more," Gordon said. "We have to learn how to play off each other better and that's something I talked to him about after the game."
Gordon and Rose made their first start together on Saturday against the Cavaliers. Those two figure to share the court frequently now that Kirk Hinrich is expected to miss three months with a torn ligament in his right thumb. Hinrich's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.
"I would assume when they drafted Derrick, the combination of me and him was something they envisioned," Gordon said. "I think it will work well. We just have to continue to be aggressive and try to make plays for everyone."
But should both Gordon and Rose continue to start? I'd say no. It makes more sense to send Larry Hughes out with the starters once he returns from a shoulder injury, which could happen this week.
Keep in mind that Gordon is off to a phenomenal start. He's shaken off the lack of a long-term contract and his preseason toe injury to average an even 20 points per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, an amazing number for a shooting guard.
Gordon and Rose might end up playing every fourth quarter together, but it just makes more sense having a taller guard such as Hughes or Thabo Sefolosha playing defense at the start of the game.
In the next few weeks, the Bulls are going to see Atlanta's Joe Johnson, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Portland's Brandon Roy, among others. Not that Hughes and Sefolosha are lockdown defenders by any means, but if Gordon doesn't have to spend the first six minutes of each half with a tough defensive matchup, the better off he'll be.
Plus, there's a certain psychological boost when the Bulls starters can stay even in the first quarter, knowing that their best scorer has yet to be seen.
Another factor is amazing as Rose has been, he has plenty of room to grow defensively. Teams have already tried isolating him against their best players, just as they used to do with Gordon.
When Cleveland's LeBron James hit a pair of game-breaking 3-pointers in the final two minutes to stretch a 2-point lead to 6, the Cavs brought Rose's man over to set the screen. Coach Vinny Del Negro admitted after the game that the strategy was to make James shoot from long range.
Sometimes that works, but on Saturday, the Bulls seemed to fare better when making James drive. Joakim Noah and Andres Nocioni did a good job providing help, then if someone remembered to pick up the Cavs' loose big man, usually Anderson Varejao, the Cavs' only option was to throw it back out to someone other than LeBron, which is easily the best option against that team.
Overall, the Bulls should be reasonably happy with their 3-4 start, especially considering the opponents posted a combined 30-16 record through Saturday. The coming week brings three challenging opponents -Atlanta, Dallas and Indiana - to the United Center, but also a chance to reach .500 before leaving on the circus road trip. The schedule gets much easier once November ends.