This Boozer not much help to Rose, Bulls

Derrick Rose was awarded his MVP before Wednesday night's game, but the NBA honor was not nearly grand enough.

Maybe he should have been nominated for sainthood.

What was painfully obvious in Game 1 was just as apparent even in a Game 2 victory over Atlanta at the UC.

The reality is no other Bulls player is capable of consistently creating his own shot against a playoff-caliber defense, and Rose will have to go out of his way to spoon-feed the Bulls' big men in order to keep them involved.

It's hardly a new theory, but the hope was that come playoff time, Carlos Boozer would be that option inside, that he'd wake up and smell the postseason.

It hasn't happened, the Bulls and Boozer say, because he's still injured.

“It hurts a lot,” Boozer said of a bad toe. “But I'd rather be out there.”

Nevertheless, Rose remains incredibly patient. He tried early and often in the Bulls' 86-73 victory to get Boozer into the game and hand him easy buckets, but Atlanta is just too long and too quick for the Bulls' $80 million power forward.

After scoring 14 points with 8 rebounds in Game 1, Boozer managed just 8 points on 4-of-12 shooting with 11 boards in Game 2.

“Carlos is giving us everything he has,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, hardly delivering good news. “He's nicked up, but his offense will come around.”

The Bulls won and tied the series at 1-1 in spite of Boozer, almost entirely because of a better defense that limited the Hawks to 34 percent from the floor after Atlanta shot 51 percent in Game 1.

The Bulls also destroyed the Hawks on the boards (58-39), out-hustled them for at least a half dozen loose balls and outscored them in second-chance points, 18-10.

Right in the middle of that was Taj Gibson, who sparked the Bulls to a lead late in the first quarter after entering the game for Boozer, a lead the Bulls never gave back.

“It's an adjustment for me, but however many minutes I get I'll do all the garbage work and anything my team needs,” Gibson said. “I'll get the boards, or dive for loose balls, or lock someone down. Anything.”

Gibson collected 5 rebounds in just 15 minutes, but he brought more life in that short time than Boozer did in 32 minutes, and he had just as many offensive rebounds (3) as Boozer.

“Taj,” Thibodeau said, “deserves to play more.”

While Boozer was awful, Joakim Noah joined the series and piled up 7 offensive rebounds, 14 total and 19 points, as the Bulls showed the defensive intensity up front that was nonexistent in Game 1.

“It all starts with our defense and rebounding,” Thibodeau said. “You establish that and go from there.”

It helped that Atlanta's bigs decided to hang out 15 feet from the bucket even as their guards were penetrating and drawing extra defenders.

They settled for terrible looks outside and the result was Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams shot a sickly 9-for-35 (26 percent).

And after Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford went off for 56 points in Game 1, they collected 27 in Game 2, and only Jeff Teague's 21 points made it a game in the fourth quarter.

It was ugly all around, the Bulls winning while Rose (25 points) went 10-for-27, but the Bulls were firmly in control the final three quarters.

Maybe Thibodeau had a feeling because he certainly acted before the game as though he knew something.

He was relaxed and jovial, and even took a poke at Boozer.

Asked pregame if he had any concerns about Boozer, Thibodeau replied, “From a health standpoint, no.”

He need not put voice to any others.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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