Wilting Rose needs help
With the sort of blistering pace the Bulls have set, it's easy to overanalyze the occasional loss.
Besides weak defense, the problem with Friday's 115-108 overtime defeat in Indiana was too much reliance on Derrick Rose, if there is such a thing.
Rose scored 42 points, attempted a career-high 21 free throws and felt like someone who dragged his team back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit.
“I'm beat up,” Rose said after the game, according to espn.com. “But that's basketball.”
Rose picked up another endorsement for NBA most valuable player from Indiana forward Danny Granger. But at this point, Rose winning MVP is almost a foregone conclusion.
“He has my MVP vote,” said Granger, who actually doesn't get an official vote. “I think he's probably the most dominant player we've played against this year.”
The obvious lesson from the loss to the Pacers is the Bulls will go as far as the defense will take them. Before this game, the Bulls held 11 of the previous 12 opponents to less than 90 points.
At the same time, finding consistent support for Rose can be an issue, especially with Carlos Boozer missing the past five games with a sprained left ankle. Here are a few examples:
• Keith Bogans caught fire from 3-point range, hitting a combined 8 of 17 shots against Utah and Washington. He scored a season-high 17 points against the Wizards early last week. In the past two games, though, Bogans scored just 3 points and went 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
• Ronnie Brewer hasn't been a huge scorer this season, but he had a total of 2 points against New Jersey and Indiana. He's averaging 3.8 points over the last five games, compared to 6.2 points for the season.
• C.J. Watson scored a flurry of points in the second quarter against the Pacers, but he hit 3 of 10 shots overall and contributed just 2 points the previous night in New Jersey.
• Even Kyle Korver has been hit and miss. He knocked down 6 of 11 shots from 3-point range over a three-game span before scoring 3 points at Indiana.
Coach Tom Thibodeau credited Taj Gibson as the only player who brought much help off the bench. He grabbed 16 rebounds and helped slow down Indiana's second-year forward Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough finished with 29 points and scored 13 of those in the first quarter.
“The only quarter we played defense was the fourth,” Thibodeau said after the game. “You usually get what you deserve.
“They got 23 second-chance points. That's probably the difference in the game right there. We came out, we settled (for long shots). They were attacking us. We were back on our heels. In the fourth quarter, we got after them and it changed. Then in overtime, we did a poor job.”
Rose scored 19 points in the final 7:18 of the fourth quarter against Indiana. Yet for some reason, he felt obligated to take blame for the defeat.
“Next time, I should do something different to change the game,” Rose said, according to espn.com. “Our biggest thing is playing with an edge and being aggressive, and we didn't do that this game. And it's because of me.”