New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls: Postgame Grades and Analysis
With each team missing its respective star, the Chicago Bulls defeated the New York Knicks Thursday night, 103-97. Carmelo Anthony headlined a long list of New York injuries with soreness in his left knee, while Derrick Rose (illness) sat atop a string of inactive Chicago players.
Still, Chicago's Jimmy Butler, who enjoyed a career night, provided the star power necessary to drive the Bulls to victory after four close quarters and a series of late runs in both directions.
New York—whose season has brought little success—put forth a good effort despite being short-handed but ultimately fell short as Butler led a Chicago attack that proved unbeatable in the closing minutes.
| Jimmy Butler | A+ |
| Pau Gasol | A |
| Joakim Noah | B- |
| Kirk Hinrich | C+ |
| Rest of Team | B |
| Amar'e Stoudemire | B |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. | B+ |
| Jose Calderon | B- |
| Travis Wear | C- |
| Rest of Team | D |
Chicago Bulls
It took just one quarter from Jimmy Butler for the Bulls' shooting guard to establish himself as the game's most dynamic player. With Rose out, Butler stepped up as the backcourt leader, scoring often—he had a career-high 35 points, including 12 in the first quarter—and efficiently (11-of-21 from the floor).
He was driving hard and hitting his jumpers, showing his offensive versatility in the process. He also served as the team's top distributor, ending the night with seven assists. He made a defensive impact for which he first garnered notice, logging four steals, including one in the clutch that led to a crucial transition basket.
Butler is quickly establishing himself as one of the league's brightest young stars, and nights like these show he can be more than just a role player. With growing confidence—evident in his play Thursday night—and the ability to take over a game, he's well on his way to stardom.
Pau Gasol: A
Gasol's post-Los Angeles renaissance continued Thursday night, with the big man turning in another dominant performance on both ends of the court. With Joakim Noah struggling to make an impact on the scoreboard, Chicago needed Gasol to step up big time—something he certainly did.
Scoring 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, he found his offensive rhythm early and served as the Robin to Butler's Batman throughout the night.
Most impressively, Gasol added five blocks, proving that he's much more than an offensive stud.
Joakim Noah: B-
Quite simply, Joakim Noah was terrible offensively. Making just one of his eight shot attempts, the Bulls center let Gasol make the scoring impact while he took care of the rebounding burden.
He finished with 13 boards, effectively saving the rest of his team—who combined for just 19—from being embarrassed on the glass. He also logged the offensive rebound on the final key possession that solidified Chicago's victory.
He made the defensive impact the team has come to expect, but with such a horrid offensive showing, it's difficult to label his game as anything but average.
Kirk Hinrich: C+
Without Rose, Kirk Hinrich got the opportunity to spearhead the offensive attack as the squad's top floor general. Not only did Jimmy Butler usurp that role in the starting lineup, but Hinrich was outplayed at the point guard position by Aaron Brooks, who added 18 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, Hinrich contributed just three assists and eight points on 3-of-7 shooting and remains limited on the offensive end. Though he made history by moving up in Chicago's all-time assist list and hit a crucial three down the stretch, it was another disappointing night from Hinrich's end, as he failed to make a major impact in any facet of the game.
Rest of Team: B
Only two members of the Bulls' roster received significant minutes off the bench—Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks.
As previously mentioned, Brooks had an especially memorable night, putting on an impressive shooting display that included a 3-of-5 clip from deep and 5-of-9 from the floor. Providing the offensive flair that Hinrich lacked, Brooks was an invaluable asset to this Bulls team that lacked its deep arsenal of scoring weapons.
Mirotic also showed up on the stat sheet with 13 points in what was a strong and well-rounded performance. With Doug McDermott out, Mirotic's role will continue to increase, and solid outings like this one should give Chicago confidence to expedite his development.
New York Knicks
Amar'e Stoudemire: B
Amar'e finished with a modest stat line of 16 points and six rebounds, but his impact was certainly felt.
In fact, it was probably most recognizable during his absences—particularly his time on the sidelines during the Bulls' fourth-quarter run. New York looked lost without "STAT" on the floor on both ends of the court. Offensively, they couldn't get anything going, and their defensive rotations were simply a mess.
The Knicks' leading big man almost didn't play tonight, but ultimately gave it a go after learning that Melo would sit out, according to Knicks beat writer Steve Popper. Even if his statistical impact was modest, New York's disarray without Stoudemire on the floor is proof that if he had joined Anthony on the inactive list tonight's game would not have even been close.
Tim Hardaway Jr: B+
New York entered the night without Melo, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert—the three players whose presence seemingly prevents Tim Hardaway Jr. from shooting at will on a nightly basis. With the trio absent, Hardaway found himself as the best offensive option at the wing and predictably took advantage of the increased role.
The sophomore took 19 shots and despite a slow first quarter ultimately finished with eight makes for 23 points. He also added a team-high five assists. Though Stoudemire was indispensable in an under-the-radar manner, Hardaway was the backbone of the team's offensive attack and the only reason why New York was able to hang with Chicago throughout the night.
The fact that Chicago knew where the Knicks' offensive production would come from only adds to Hardaway's strong performance, as he managed to overcome heavy defensive pressure and turn in a dynamic scoring outing without much help.
Jose Calderon: B-
With Melo out, the lack of a well-defined star meant that New York would be able to seek out open shots on offense rather than specific players. Even with the opportunity to move the ball more often than usual, Jose Calderon turned in just two assists, though he made an impact on the scoring end—totaling 12 points on 10 shots.
His shots came at integral moments—he sank a few during the team's third-quarter run but all in all failed to make the impact necessary from a facilitating standpoint with Melo out.
Even so, Calderon wasn't especially bad. His plus-minus was plus-four, and his mistakes were kept to a minimum. He simply didn't do anything all too memorable on either end to warrant anything more than a B-.
Travis Wear: C-
With Melo sidelined, Travis Wear got the start. It took just minutes for the UCLA product to score a pair of baskets. Finishing with eight points (4-of-7 shooting) and four rebounds, he made a minor statistical impact in his 25 minutes of action.
However, he's the type of player whose value doesn't lie much deeper than the stats. Any positive impact he makes shows up in the stat books, and tonight nearly every contribution did—including his minus-11 in the plus-minus column.
Wear would hardly be a rotation player on most rosters, and though he didn't have a terrible offensive night, he ultimately brings very little to the table.
Rest of Team: D
Cole Aldrich got the start and made an impact with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but New York's other role players failed to show up in nearly every capacity.
Shane Larkin had the best opportunity (30 minutes) but was noticeably absent on the stat sheet. In fact, no Knicks reserve logged more than six points on the night.
The bench did combine for a respectable 16 rebounds but as a whole was very ineffective in a game that demanded a strong effort from the role players.
Coming Up...
The Bulls, now 16-9, will next face the Memphis Grizzlies on the latter half of the back-to-back, while New York, 5-23, will host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday as they look to bounce back after this disappointing loss.
