Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls/Pacers Game 1

I was all ready to write a blame game for this one. There was so much to go around, I was going to have to go to decimals.

Then Derrick Rose happened.

Again.

Don't get me wrong, Derrick's not getting all the credit, but there's no way we win that game without Derrick's trademark fire. You know what, fuck this not-comparing-him-to-Jordan crap. Let's bring it out. More than anyone since 23, when Derrick decides to win a game, only the basketball gods can stop him. Kobe does it sometimes, but Mr. 6-for-24 doesn't know how to do it while getting his teammates to rise to the occasion. Lebron looked like he might be able to do it around when he dropped 23 in a row on the Pistons, but then Delonte West met Gloria James, and we all know the rest.

In crunch time, Derrick changes everything about the game. It doesn't matter how hot you are, like Hansbrough and Granger learned tonight. You know exactly what's going to happen, and you can't stop it anyway.

Your 2011 MVP- 50%

Because of a freezing cold track meet I had to watch the game on delay by myself at home. After deftly avoiding the score all day (any student who told me anything about the game today would be running the mile for the next 4 meets), I came home with the radio and my phone off and put the game on. Despite my complete isolation, when Derrick made the and-1 on Hibbert, then pounded his chest in front of the home crowd, I jumped around on the couch like a 5-year old that's why there are pillows everywhere, Sam), and could probably be heard at the bar down the street. Derrick turns you into a little kid watching basketball again. I love it. I love him. I have no qualms about announcing this to the world.

Luol Deng- 20%

All that being said, I think that maybe the most important moment in the game was Luol Deng picking up the tech when Hansbrough fouled Derrick with about 5 minutes left, and getting the crowd fired up. Jon Barry was right that it was just a good hard foul, not even that hard really, but was completely wrong about Deng needing to keep his cool. Deng brought the toughness that (most of) the Bulls used the rest of the game, and finally got a disappointingly quiet crowd to life, both of those factors would have been worth the point even if Collison had made the free throw.

Deng also gets credit for some clutch shots in the 2nd half and excellent individual D on Granger in the 1st half, but loses some for his help D. Too late on rotations in the first half.

Joakim Noah- 15%

The Bulls were outhustled in the first half, which is completely unacceptable. It changed when Jo started crashing the offensive boards and being the toughest guy on the floor on D. Jo beating everyone down the floor, and Derrick hitting him for the dunk to cut it to 4 was the point I knew we were winning this game. The Bulls need this Joakim every night (and hopefully for more than 30 minutes) to be able to beat the better Eastern Conference teams.

Fredo- 12%

Fredo is usually the +/- whipping boy, but he led the Bulls with a +13 tonight, in no small part due to his decent effort defensively on Paul George, and of course the 4 for 4 from beyond the arc.

Big Sexy- 5%

I think 24 minutes for Sexy is a little much, but he certainly picked up the defense and rebounding when he was in the game without outright hurting them offensively. There were a few slow rotations or jump outs on Hansbrough, but not nearly as much as Boozer, and I'd say his +11 shows he was certainly came out on the right side of the balance sheet.

TBN- 3%

Nothing about Ronnie's stat line will jump out, but he continued to do the little things, get loose balls, disrupt passing lanes, and do all the TBN things that make him valuable.

No Credit

TT's Rotations- While Big Sexy was good tonight, I still think 24 minutes for Kurt to 3 for Turkish might come back to hurt us later. We are going to need Asik to play big in the Orlando series (or the Atlanta series, if it comes to that.) Not to mention the Pacers were getting too many offensive rebounds. You know who has the best rebound rate on the Bulls after Noah? Turkish D.

TT's Defensive Strategy- TT is usually much better at adjusting his gameplan quickly. So why the hell did it take so long for the Bulls to stop letting Collison and Price go through screens completely free? After the 5th three-pointer, maybe they could have had someone show over the top? I think this is the big reason we were down the whole first half.

Negative Credit(like, I'm taking points from a previous assignment for this crap)

Carlos Boozer- -5% Savvy mathematicians would notice that the previous percentages add up to 105%. That's because they needed to overcome whatever the hell Boozer was doing on the court all day. 4-11 from the field (and those 7 misses were mostly dumb shots), 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, and someone of the worst defense I've seen Boozer play all year. Not even just slow or weak, but also disinterested, which is unacceptable. In the first quarter the Pacers get a fastbreak oop on a turnover where Paul George is about 20 feet behind Boozer when the break starts and beats him to the basket by a good 15 feet. Then the whole second half Hansbrough had open jumper after open jumper where Boozer gets caught in no man's land between helping and not. In a way, we might have had a Ben Gordon situation where his 5 fouls helped us, since he might have cost us this game if he played more than 26 minutes tonight. Get it together, Boozer. Quickly.

Game 2 Liveblog Monday night. Set your calendar accordingly.