Chicago Bulls Jazz Up New Jersey Nets 110-95 in Derrick Rose's Return

Derrick Rose was back in the lineup tonight as the Chicago Bulls and their ex-Jazz players outplayed the New Jersey Nets and their ex-Jazz players in a game that ceased to have meaningful minutes somewhere in the first quarter. 

Rip Hamilton celebrated his 15,000th point by getting 10 assists in the same game. Hamilton added 22 points and four boards. 

Rose matched Hamilton's 22 and added eight assists. Boozer had 14 and grabbed nine boards. Noah had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Brewer, filling in for the injured Deng had 11 points and five boards. Omer Asik also scored in double digits, totaling 10 points and grabbing four boards. 

This year, the Bulls are averaging 4.42 players scoring in double-digit points per game. Last year, that was a sum of 3.95. That's a difference of half a player more per game averaging in double figures. 

The Bulls also had 33 assists tonight on 43 field goals. That's another great stat and it's one that's been happening with remarkable consistency. It was the third game this year that the Bulls topped 30 assists, something they did only five times last year. 

They are 16-1 in games in which they've had 28 or more assists in the last two seasons. This year, they are 6-0 in games where they've had at least 27.

In games when they've had at least 27 assists this year, they are scoring an average of 108.7 points. 

When the Bulls have more assists than their opponents they have won 62 of 67 over the last two seasons, and they are now 13-0 this year. 

Last year, they had more assists than their opponents about 66 percent of the time. This year they're doing it almost 75 percent of the time and they've done so in 13 of their last 15 games. Particularly since Hamilton returned, the Bulls have been extremely effective, averaging 29 assists per game as a team. 

Yes, this is all going somewhere. The point I'm trying to make is that the Bulls offense is far more diverse. They are doing an amazing job of sharing the ball and they aren't remotely close offensively to what they were last year. 

Matt Moore of CBS Sports said today that  "I know what the records say. I know how good Chicago and the Thunder have looked. But the Heat at their best are a better team than they were last year. OKC doesn't look as good, and Chicago is the same."

It makes you wonder if Moore has even watched a game the Bulls have played this year. They are the "same as they were last year." Really, Matt? In case you're not aware, the Bulls have added Richard Hamilton, and he makes a bit of a difference. 

After tonight's game, the Bulls are somewhere around second or third in offensive rating, easily top five in offensive efficiency and second or third in team assists. Last year, they were 12th in offensive rating, 12th in offensive efficiency and ninth in assists per game. 

People like Moore need to pay a little "more" attention to what is actually happening on the court instead of making assumptions about the Bulls.

And yes, I'm grinding an axe here. It's one thing to be lazy about your analysis if you're just a casual fan, but if you're a paid professional, it's probably a good idea to not just see how long you can keep your preseason assumptions without actually paying attention to what is happening 

To suggest that the Bulls offense is the "same" as last  year ignores the exact sort of thing that was typified in tonight's game. The Bulls are better at sharing the ball and are much more effective at utilizing everyone. 

They are not nearly as Rose dependent as they were last year. Rose's usage percentage is down and the Bulls offensive numbers are up. How is that the "same as they were last year?" 

Meanwhile what seems to matter to Moore is that blazing hot start the Heat had, going 5-0 to blister the record books on their way to...wait, 5-0? And they needed buzzer beaters against two teams with losing records to get that? Since then they're 6-5? But yeah, Miami's better and Chicago's the same. 

Anyway, enough of a diatribe there. 

Speaking of Miami, I imagine some of the Bulls fans were shouting so loud at their TVs near the end of the game with the Bulls holding a 20-point lead and four of their starters on the court, yelling for Tom Thibodeau to get the starters out. 

It's pretty clear he was just using this for "live practice" playing around with some different lineups, running some different plays. Make no mistake about it, this week is all about the aforementioned Heat, whom the Bulls will be playing on Sunday. 

The ironic twist of all the injury stuff hit me today. Carlos Boozer is now the only starter that has not missed a game this season. Bet no one saw that coming!