Chicago Bulls Beginning to Fulfill the Hype and Monday NBA Takeaways
Derrick Rose wasn't just blowing smoke when he talked about the Chicago Bulls pulling together and flashing their championship potential.
The proof was in the way the Bulls avoided going down in flames in a narrow 92-90 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Per Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, Rose said before the game:
"I don't want to jinx ourselves, but I think we can really make a run for this [championship] this year. But it just takes focus, discipline, and we got to sacrifice a little bit.
It's a good feeling. First time I've ever had that while I've been in the league. It takes a lot of pressure off everyone, where someone can easily go off for 15 or 20 points within a couple of quarters and put the [opposing] team away pretty quick. It's fun.
"
Most of Chicago's win over the Pacers was fun; the Bulls built themselves a 16-point lead in the first three quarters, but they nearly let it slip away down the stretch. In what's become a common theme this season, Jimmy Butler saved the day.
It was his three-point dagger that put the Bulls up 92-90 with 1:07 remaining in the game. Seven seconds later, he took a charge on Chris Copeland. Jared Wade of 8points9seconds.com chose an interesting way to describe Butler's performance:
Butler finished with a game-high 27 points, adding nine rebounds and four steals to his totals. The Eastern Conference's Player of the Month for November has actually improved a few of his stats in December. Whether that gets him a second consecutive honor remains to be seen, but it's hard to ignore the massive leap he's made this season.
| November | 21.9 | 5.7 | 3.1 | 61.6 |
| December | 22.5 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 59.3 |
To Rose's earlier point, the Bulls' current seven-game winning streak hasn't been about one player in particular—great as Butler's been. It's been about the team finally getting healthy, coming together and finding their roles.
Case in point: Pau Gasol continued to play at an All-Star level against Indiana, scoring 20 points, grabbing six boards and handing out three dimes, one of which led to that critical Butler triple. He also, as per usual, offered the most polite and positive postgame analysis:
Taj Gibson brought his trademark defense; Joakim Noah stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block; Mike Dunleavy had 10 rebounds...the list goes on.
For his part, Rose had a game to forget, needing 20 shots to make just five field goals. He went scoreless in the final period.
That's just it, though: Rose has been playing his best basketball of the year lately, and even on an off night, his team is now strong enough (and complete enough) to win without him. A squad whose fate was once totally dependent on its point guard now features him as part of a larger whole, important but not critical. Gasol noted the team's variety of weapons is one of its "strengths" (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune):
It's unwise to make bold proclamations about Chicago's future after a two-point win over the 11-21 Pacers, especially considering it surrendered a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter to an offensively challenged club. But its performance over the past few weeks points to good things ahead.
Right now, the Bulls are just two games behind the Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the East. With the team coming together and health intact, that deficit may disappear before long.
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The Kings Got Innovative, Probably by Accident
Maybe owner Vivek Ranadive was serious when he floated four-on-five defense and cherry-picking to the Sacramento Kings' brain trust before the season began.
Depending on how you view the above clip from Sacramento's 107-99 loss to the host Brooklyn Nets, we may have seen the Kings put Ranadive's wild idea into practice.
The alternative, of course, is that Evans simply thought he'd been subbed out, realized too late that he was still in the game and ran back onto the floor. Based on his shrugs at the tail end of the clip, that seems like the more plausible scenario.
But these are the Kings we're talking about, and some of their decisions to this point have signaled a willingness to get a little weird—in terms of strategy and personnel decisions. Here's hoping this was a purposeful move that portends even wackier stuff on the horizon.
I think we'd all agree a full-court press for 48 minutes and/or the barking-dog play would be welcome additions to the NBA game.
The future is now!
Brandon Knight Is Persistent
Brandon Knight has been on the wrong end of way too many highlights in his young NBA career, and the fact that he's still here shows he's uncommonly resilient.
He needed that trait to help his Milwaukee Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 104-94, in overtime on Monday.
A rocky start riddled with turnovers (he finished with eight) would have taken a lot of players out of the game, but not Knight. He recovered to score 18 points, while tallying four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
His game-tying finish with 15 seconds left in regulation was the perfect encapsulation of the mental toughness he's shown throughout his career. Stuffed once, he collected himself and went right back up for the pivotal bucket.
Also notable: Bucks coach Jason Kidd put the ball in Giannis Antetokounmpo's hands down the stretch, yielding some excellent possessions in the pick-and-roll. The Freak finished with 16 points, eight boards, four assists and three blocks on 7-of-8 shooting. He may have also grown two or three inches during the game; it's hard to be certain.
Milwaukee's 16th win gave it one more than it amassed all of last season.
I mean, honestly, how does everyone not love the Bucks?
The Heat Lost and Won
Victor Oladipo got the job done down the stretch, scoring five points in the final 2:46 to lead the Orlando Magic to a 102-101 win over the Miami Heat. Normally, that'd be cause for unmitigated concern in South Beach.
Not so in this case.
Miami got Chris Bosh back for the first time since Dec. 14, and the big man picked up where he left off, scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 33 minutes.
Also encouraging: Dwyane Wade scored 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting and got to the line 11 times, a staple of his offensive attack back in the day. He had 15 points in the final period. ESPN's Amin Elhassan described his performance simply as "vintage Wade":
Danny Granger played his best game of the year as well, scoring 21 points and hitting five triples in the first half alone. Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk apparently was reminiscing watching Granger play:
So yes, the Heat lost this round of the not-so-ballyhooed Battle for Florida, dropping to 14-18 on the season. But there were reasons to be hopeful about the bigger picture.
Washington Made a Texas-Sized Statement
Before beating the Houston Rockets by a final of 104-103 on Monday, the Washington Wizards had played just two games against Western Conference teams currently in playoff position—and both of those came at home.
Washington hadn't proved its worth against the West's superior competition during its impressive start. So, fairly, doubts lingered about its fitness as a real contender. Those doubts aren't totally gone, but they've now diminished.
Bradley Beal exploded for 33 points, John Wall handed out a dozen dimes and Paul Pierce chipped in 21 points on only nine shots because it was a big game and he's Paul Pierce. David Aldridge is optimistic Pierce has a few more of these games in him:
Houston got 33 points from James Harden but struggled mightily from the foul line for the second night in a row. After hitting 18 of 31 freebies against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, the Rockets converted just 14 of 23 against Washington.
This wasn't a perfect victory for the Wizards. It was a close contest in which they surrendered a huge lead in the second half to a team playing the second leg of a back-to-back set. Nonetheless, it was probably Washington's most significant win of the season.
There'll be no rest, though. The Wiz head to Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New Orleans over the next week. When that brutal stretch ends, we'll know exactly how real these Wizards are.
DeAndre Jordan Is a Glass Man
The Los Angeles Clippers had to sweat a little to beat the Utah Jazz, but they eventually came out on top, 101-97.
This was a game the Clips should have won, and the usual suspects made sure things went to plan. Chris Paul notched 20 points, eight assists, five boards and four steals, and Blake Griffin led all scorers with 24 points.
The most impressive stat of the night: DeAndre Jordan grabbed at least 15 rebounds for the 10th time in the month of December. That's an impressive feat in modern times, but the historical record isn't in danger.
Wilt Chamberlain holds the NBA record for 15-rebound games in a month with 19, a mark he set in January 1960, per Statmuse (subscription required).
