Pippen Ain't Easy
Fansided

The Return of Derrick Rose Showed Rust, But Also Hopes For Playoff Success

By Lamar Battle

facebooktwitterreddit

Derrick Rose returned just in time for the playoffs, but on Wednesday night the Orlando Magic had to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, the Chicago Bulls lost to them 105-103 in a game where Rose played just under 20 minutes.

More from Bulls News

How did he look? There was the expected rust as Derrick scored nine points on 3-for-9 shooting including 1-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. The good news was the way Derrick looked while navigating the court. There were no visible signs of pain or discomfort, and Rose reminded us that the jets are still intact as he took off for a full-court drive resulting in a left-handed layup.

One overlooked aspect of Derrick’s impact is the way he sees the entire floor during fast breaks and increases offensive efficiency after rebounds and made baskets with Jimmy Butler often the frequent beneficiary.

The Bulls were led by Butler with 19 points, six assists and five boards. Pau Gasol added 15 points and nine boards.

The Magic were led by Victor Oladipo, who in addition to scoring the game-winning layup, led the team in scoring with 23 points, five assists and five boards.

The Bulls surrendered a 15-point first half lead in what amounted to another half-hearted effort against a sub-.500 team. The Bulls have had past troubles with the Magic who are led by the promising core of Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic.

The NBA is trending young and athletic these days, and the Bulls have had their share of problems with teams fitting this profile; however, there are some signs of hope. The Bulls’ starters have not really had time together and it showed against Orlando as they committed 15 turnovers, resulting in 26 points for the Magic.

The game lacked any meaningful penetration and (with the exception of Taj Gibson having one of his better games with 15 points) post-up opportunities by the Bulls. I expect this to change as the team prepares for the playoffs. I also expect defensive improvement with the bigs stepping up early in the lane to deter dribble penetration followed by adequate support via rotations.

At this time, the team could be going through yet another adjustment period and may need more than the four games left on their schedule to get back on the same page.

With possible first round match-ups against either Milwaukee or Washington, the Bulls will have to settle on a rotation and scheme that will set the stage for consistency from players like Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Tony Snell.

Watch out for the Bulls to win a hard fought first-round series in six games and improve incrementally as the playoffs proceed.

Next: Would Michael Jordan Average 50 PPG? Not So Much

More from Pippen Ain't Easy

Home/Bulls News