Five Takeaways From the Chicago Bulls First Two Games
By Jeremy Karll
Oct 28, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives around Brooklyn Nets guard Donald Sloan (15) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Chicago won 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Bulls need Derrick Rose to win
He may be injury-plagued, and a lot of people may not think he’s worth the $20 million Chicago is paying him, but if the Bulls want to compete for a title, then they need Derrick Rose. They look like a whole different team when he’s on the court. Rose allows them to play at a faster pace and he has done a great job distributing the ball and getting to the basket.
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Derrick Rose has missed a lot of shots so far this season — 13-for-33 (39.4 percent) — but this early in the season, there is no reason for concern because he has been able to get to the basket. Rose has only shot a trio of three-pointers through the first two games, but has still been able to score at least 15 points in both games. He’s not settling for jump shots like most people expected and in a running offense, it’s good to see him driving to the basket again. A big reason his field goal percentage is so low is because he gets hit on a lot of plays around the basket and doesn’t get a call. But, he should start getting calls as the year goes on.
He may have the second lowest plus/minus out of the Bulls five starters (only Pau Gasol at +15 is lower), but point guard is also one of their thinnest positions.
When Aaron Brooks is in the game, he looks for his shot and doesn’t look to pass as much as Rose. Brooks has shot nine times in each game and even though Rose put up 22 shots in the season opener, he was getting to the rim and taking shots when open. There were a lot of forced shots by Brooks in the game against Brooklyn that probably won’t go in most times. Brooks is a scorer so you can’t blame him too much for the amount of shots he takes, but it’s still concerning.
Rose had one play against Brooklyn’s Shane Larkin that stood out from the rest. He put a spin move on the Nets young guard and had a nice finish at the basket. It looked like vintage D-Rose and it was nice to see him still have that much confidence driving to the rim.
He’s a great talent, but if he can stay healthy, then he’s ‘the guy’. Jimmy Butler is a phenomenal player and not one that could be replaced on this roster, but Chicago will only go as far as Rose takes them.
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