This post could easily be a blame game for the Hawks (losing in a shootout for the 2nd night in a row...) but it would be pretty similar to last night. So let's focus on the positive.
Ronnie Brewer- 22%
Play of the game: 7:45 left, tie game (80-80). CJ turns the ball over to David West, who passes to Marcus Thornton going down the middle of the lane. Ronnie chases him down and blocks the layup, leading to a CJ 3 on the other end. Bulls never trailed the rest of the game. Ronnie makes plays all the time like this and doesn't always get the recognition, but are just as important as a Derrick spinning layup. Exactly why Ronnie finished with a game-high +16.
Derrick- 20%
They showed a graphic before the game I wish I had in front of me, but it was basically showing Derrick's numbers against all the other "best PG in the NBA" contenders. And they were damn good. Derrick tonight: 23 points, 6 assists (8-8 from the line. Suck on that, Hollinger). Chris Paul: 15 points, 6 assists. Derrick isn't the kind of guy to say he has something to prove out loud, but his play certainly shows it.
Luol Deng- 10%
Only two weird shot choices for Deng tonight, and despite being 0-3 from downtown, I was ok with the rhythm of the shots. He spent most of the night attacking the basket, and the Bulls are much better on offense when he chooses to do that. Also, nice D on Ariza (although I guess Ariza is really self-guarding this year.)
Taj- 10%
Not a great line for Taj: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 5 fouls. However he was +15, and that was because the Hornets could not attack the basket when Taj was in the game. He only pulled down 2 rebounds because he was coming out all over the place to play help D and contest shots, with Asik and Kurt pulling down the boards after. Now if only he would stop getting weak foul calls...
CJ- 10%
CJ only had 7 points and a +1, but he gets the 10% for his excellent D on Chris Paul and Jarret Jack all night. His D was the main reason TT felt comfortable leaving him in from the 10 minute mark (with the game tied) until about 4:30, with the Bulls up 5. Speaking of which...
TT's faith in CJ- 8%
Thank you, TT. When we can pick up a win against a good team and Derrick not playing the entire 4th quarter, it helps the rest of the team's confidence now, and will help Derrick's legs later.
Asik- 8%
4 points, 11 boards (4 offensive) +7. Nothing spectacular, but he outplayed all of the Hornets big white guys, so that's worth something.
Boozer-7%
Booze did a good job taking it to the rim for the most part. He would be higher but he was somehow a -6 in this game, which I think had a lot to do with how weak his help defense was.
Bogans- 5%
Gotta give Bogans credit any time he scores in double figures (4th time this season, and the 1st since November). But he got lit up by Marcus Thornton, so I couldn't put him too high.
No Credit:
Kyle Korver- 1-5, -7. Luckily without Okafor the Hornets aren't a team you need to beat from the outside.
Kurt Thomas- Yeah, he had 11 boards, but he also had some bad turnovers and late rotations. I certainly hate Kurt a lot less than I did earlier, but this was not his best night.
Any time we can come back from a west-coast road trip with a winning record it's a good thing. Now let's see if we can actually beat the stupid Bobcats Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment