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Post-Game Grades For Rose, Bulls Following Close Loss to Magic

By Matthew Price

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The Chicago Bulls traveled to Orlando to face off against Nikola Vucevic and the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. The game was a thriller, but a near buzzer-beater by Victor Oladipo gave the Magic a 105-103 win. It was yet another poor performance by the Bulls, who have had several bad games against sub-par teams this season. Chicago, led by Jimmy Butler and their bench, had a 12 point lead over the Magic but blew it as the game got closer to the final buzzer. Vucevic and Oladipo led the Magic with 22 and 23 points respectively.

One big reason as to why Orlando came back was because the Bulls finished with 17 turnovers, which translated to 26 points for the Magic. It was another game where Chicago just walked into the arena and expected to come out with a W, only to be disappointed when they ended up losing. The worst part is that now the Toronto Raptors have the third seed because of a tie-breaker over Chicago, and so if the season ended today, the Bulls would be playing the Washington Wizards. Not good! Here are post-game grades for each player:

Derrick Rose – C

Stat line: 9 points, 3-9 from the field, 1-6 from beyond the arc, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Derrick Rose finally returned to the starting lineup for Chicago after missing the last 20 games with a torn meniscus. He played exactly the way most of us expected: poorly with noticeable signs of rust, settling for too many three-pointers and not driving to the rim as much as we would like. However, Rose’s return cheered up his teammates, and his presence on the court helped them offensively. Orlando’s starting point guard Elfrid Payton did a great job of putting a lot of pressure on Rose, and this added to his struggles. Rose finished with 19 minutes, and, although we didn’t see anything spectacular out of him, his return to the court is hopefully a great sign of things to come in the playoffs.

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Jimmy Butler – B+

Stat line: 19 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds 6-10 from the field, 37 minutes

Butler had a strong game against the Magic, but it wasn’t enough to give Chicago the win. He needed to take charge in the fourth quarter, but instead he scored just two points. Butler also was defending Oladipo when he made the game-winning layup, and he should have had more help once Oladipo had entered the paint. Overall, Butler played well, but he could have been more active in the final quarter.

Mike Dunleavy – C+

Stat line: 8 points, 3-6 shooting, 1 rebound, 3 assists

Dunleavy played like he usually does, by doing more on the court than the statistics can show, but overall being relatively quiet. His shooting has been fabulous over the last few games, and he should try to be more aggressive when he’s on the floor (only 22 minutes tonight). The important thing right now is for Dunleavy to keep his hot shooting going into the playoffs, because if the Bulls have to play the Wizards, they will need all the help they can get.

Pau Gasol – B+

Stat line: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists, 4-10 from the field

Gasol wasn’t feeling it on the offensive end. Gasol had averaged 23.5 points per contest against the Magic this season coming into the game, but Wednesday night he simply couldn’t find his rhythm. He tried his best to carry the Bulls in the last few possessions, but even his two free throws to tie the game up at 103 wasn’t enough for Chicago to win. At 34 years old, Gasol has arguably had to do the most for Chicago (remember Butler was injured for a couple weeks), and it could be having an effect on his game. Hopefully he can finish the regular season with a bang, because when Gasol struggles, the Bulls usually do too.

Joakim Noah  – C+

Stat line: 4 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2-6 from the field

Jo had a quiet game for the first time in a while, and he didn’t do too much outside of his rebounding and defense. Of course his energy and passion helped motivate the Bulls, but he did not appear to be leading the team tonight. It may have been because of Rose’s return, but either way, Noah has proven time and time again that he can lead the Bulls. He should have tried to do that again tonight.

Bench – B+

Stat line: 48 points, 16-38 from the field, 13 rebounds

Led by Taj Gibson and Aaron Brooks, Chicago’s bench mob had a very solid game. The bench consisted of Kirk Hinrich, Brooks, Gibson, and Nikola Mirotic. Surprisingly, Snell got less than one minute of playing time, and this may have been because Mirotic was playing small forward the majority of the game. Niko didn’t shoot too well (3-11), and although he hit a few big shots, nothing else seemed to be working for him. The Magic players eventually stopped biting on his pump fake, and this led to a couple turnovers late in the game from Niko. Gibson and Brooks scored 15 and 13 points respectively, and they both did a good job of keeping the Bulls in the game.

Conclusion

It was another bad loss for Chicago, who couldn’t hold their 12-point lead. This loss currently gives Toronto the third seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning that if the season ended today, the Bulls would be playing their newly-formed rivals, the Wizards. That playoff series could be a very tough one for the Bulls, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see either team come out as victors. Although Chicago finishes off with a relatively easy schedule (outside of our last game against the Hawks), the Raptors do as well. Simply put, it looks more and more likely that the Bulls will end up with the fourth seed, especially if they cannot defeat sub-par teams like the Magic. The good news from this scenario is that if the Bulls do defeat the Wizards, they would then face the Hawks in the second round, who I believe to be an easier team to beat in the playoffs due to their limited experience compared to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Which playoff opponent do you all think the Bulls would have an easier time with?

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