Chicago Bulls Eclipse Phoenix Suns in Blowout

When Brian Scalabrine is on the court things are going really well or really badly for the opposition. When you have to call a timeout with the White Mamba is on the court, it's really, really bad. The Bulls welcomed back Rip Hamilton and made the Phoenix Suns pay for the sins of the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. 

Carlos Boozer had 26 points in the first half, and 31 points on the game. Joakim Noah hit double digits in rebounds for the third time four games, grabbing 12 tonight, showing that he's getting on track. He added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. 

Hamilton had 11 points and six dimes. CJ Watson had 23 points, five assists and four rebounds. 

Luol Deng had 15 points, six boards and three assists. 

All in all it was a great team effort. 

One of the keys was that the Bulls had a fantastic offensive night with MVP Derrick Rose on the bench. This was a great sign the team really doesn't need to have a huge night from Rose to win. 

Hamilton makes a fantastic difference to this game. He adds so many things, and he is so active without the ball that it creates shots for everyone. The Bulls are averaging 102 points per game with Hamilton in the lineup compared to just 92 when he's not. The offense is just smoother with him in the game. 

The other thing that is becoming apparent to me is that the defense is not as good without Rose in the lineup. When he's in he does such a good job of guarding the perimeter that the Bulls don't need to rely as much on the help defense. 

That forces the Bulls bigs to come out and help, which opens up the paint. The Suns did a pretty decent job of running the pick-and-roll. By pretty decent I mean darned good. Of course, it was Steve Nash running it too, but whether it was Nash shooting or Nash dishing they were carving up the Bulls defense. 

The Grizzlies were doing the same thing yesterday, particularly when John Lucas III was on the court. 

It's easy to focus so much on what Rose does on offense and miss what he's bringing on the defensive end, particularly when it's the points in the paint that are killing you. So many of those points in the paint come because the opposing point guard was getting penetration though. 

Rose should probably come back and be fine on Friday against the Cavaliers. It'll be the first time since the Bulls' third game of the season that we'll see the Bulls all together, and only the fourth game this season where the whole team is dressed and ready. 

Considering they are 13-3, have the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the most road games played of anyone in the NBA, things couldn't be much better. The 14 games they've played in the last 19 days is the most in the history of the NBA in that stretch of time.

Their schedule gets considerably  easier now with only five games in the next 11 days, and four consecutive games at home with only one back to back, That gives them a lot of time to practice and get into a good rhythm with everyone playing together before the go play the Miami Heat in what will doubtless be a huge game in Miami on the 29th.