Pippen Ain't Easy
Fansided

A History of the TNT Bulls

By Hunter Kuffel

Apr 20, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) and Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) react after the game against the Milwaukee Bucks in game two of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 92-81. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) and Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) react after the game against the Milwaukee Bucks in game two of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 92-81. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Game 16: A dagger from the hometown kid…No, not that one

Basketball-Reference box score.

The Bulls looked different.

Did Doug McDermott get a haircut? Well, yes. He gets one every day, but that wasn’t it. It was the two new alphas in the starting lineup: Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Wade had shocked everyone signed a two-year, $47 million deal with the Bulls in the offseason, and Rondo signed a two-year deal that may have shocked some people but shouldn’t have shocked Bulls fans. In the season opener, the new-look Bulls began their early season tradition of tricking the country into thinking that they might be good. It worked pretty well.

We had been hearing for a couple weeks about how Wade was finally going to add a 3-pointer to his game. He had been chucking up a few in the preseason, and almost everyone who talked about the Bulls’ season outlook mentioned their lack of floor spacing. Wade needed to become a threat off the ball if the Bulls were going to have a chance.

He certainly delivered on the hype in this game. Wade made four 3-pointers, including a 25-footer late in the fourth quarter that would seal the victory against the Celtics for Chicago. The Bulls would go on to spend the first several weeks of the regular season as a top 10 team on both sides of the ball. Butler led the team with 24 points in the opener and showed everyone from the opening tip that he was an elite player in this league. For a little while, it looked like Chicago was going to stick it to the skeptics.

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