Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat: Postgame Grades and Analysis
After a brief stretch that had them looking like a recharged bunch, the Chicago Bulls came out flat Sunday and lost to a Miami Heat team that entered with a .422 winning percentage, good for only seventh in the East.
Despite being fully healthy, it was an offensive struggle all game long for Chicago. After trailing by 12 at halftime, the Bulls were never able to make up the deficit, struggling to bring their field-goal clip over just 40 percent. They finished at 36 percent, losing at home 96-84.
| Mario Chalmers | B+ |
| Dwyane Wade | A- |
| Chris Bosh | B+ |
| Luol Deng | B |
| Hassan Whiteside | A |
| Rest of Team | D |
| Derrick Rose | B- |
| Jimmy Butler | C |
| Pau Gasol | B+ |
| Joakim Noah | C |
| Rest of Team | C+ |
Miami Heat
Mario Chalmers: B+
The Heat point guard enjoyed moderate success on the offensive end, going for 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with four boards and three assists, but more importantly, Mario Chalmers was responsible for holding Derrick Rose to a mediocre shooting clip all game long. Rose shot just 7-of-17 and wasn't allowed to take over with Chicago trailing, finishing with 19 points and four assists.
Chalmers was able to control Miami's pace and made a number of plays in transition, playing at a speed that Chicago wasn't accustomed to. Though he was hardly flashy Sunday, Chalmers was as solid as ever and played a big part in the Heat's controlling victory on the road.
Dwyane Wade: A-
Miami was able to spread its offensive output well against Chicago, which cost Dwyane Wade a few shot attempts early on but still resulted in the W. The Heat's first option shot it 18 times, going for a game-high 26 points.
He did get to the line often, making all six of his attempts from the stripe. His game-high five turnovers were a bit discouraging, though his teammates were able to pick up the slack on that end—Miami turned it over just 11 times altogether. Wade clearly played a secondary role in this one, but he fit well within the scheme and was able to affect Chicago's defense by merely being on the floor.
In the fourth quarter, where Wade has been effective all season, Wade took on a more primary role as Chicago made its strongest comeback attempt. He came into the game averaging a league-high 6.5 points in final periods and came through for Miami to seal the win Sunday.
Chris Bosh: B+
Chris Bosh led Miami in shot attempts, though it never seemed as if he was forcing anything offensively. He misfired on all four of his attempts from beyond the arc but shot 9-of-16 from two-point range. The Heat were able to lean on him offensively throughout the first, though Dwyane Wade shouldered more of the load as the game evolved.
Wade took over the primary offensive role when Bosh was resting to begin the fourth quarter, but the big man finished with a game-high plus-16 plus-minus for the day. If Wade and Bosh pair good performances this well the rest of the way, it's hard to imagine Miami not being a legitimate playoff threat come April.
Luol Deng: B
In his first United Center appearance since being traded from the Bulls last season, Deng was reliable if not stellar. He put up 15 points and grabbed 10 boards, giving Miami a steady option on both ends of the floor throughout his 35 minutes.
He missed his two three-pointers but converted on five of his seven attempts from the free-throw line. Chicago's wing players suffered through miserable shooting performances, and Deng played a major role in that.
Hassan Whiteside: A
On national television, this one acted as a coming-out party for Hassan Whiteside, Miami's 25-year-old center getting an extended NBA look for the first time in his career.
He swatted five shots in his first seven minutes of action, finishing with an astonishing triple-double which included 12 blocks, 14 points and 13 boards. His dominance, albeit in limited time (25 minutes), makes you wonder how good the Heat could've been over the last few years with Whiteside in the middle.
He mentioned on the ESPN broadcast after the game that he wanted to "get his 2K rating up." It's safe to say he accomplished that goal on Sunday.
Rest of Team: D
Whiteside was the most noteworthy Miami role player, warranting the high grade despite less impressive performances from Shabazz Napier, Shawne Williams and the rest of the bench. Napier went scoreless, and Williams scored just two. Chris Andersen put up just four points, though he was a factor under the rim defensively and played through an elbow injury in the second half.
Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose: B-
Derrick Rose's strongly worded calling out of his team last week seemed to inspire Chicago over its promising two-game stretch leading into Sunday's contest. But there's no way around it: The Bulls lost at home to an inferior team.
Rose shot the ball decently from inside the arc, but he missed all six of his attempts from three, contributing to the team's struggles from there all game—the Bulls finished just 7-of-24 from the arc.
Rose dished out just four assists and turned the ball over four times, which isn't the ratio Tom Thibodeau expects from his star. Rose didn't have a bad game, but he needs to perform better for Chicago to win, especially as the team attempts to inch closer to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Jimmy Butler: C
He's still arguably the most improved player in the NBA, but Jimmy Butler has struggled mightily in the month of January. He's averaged 17 points on 40 percent shooting this month after putting up 22 points on close to 50 percent shooting previously.
Though he played over 40 minutes, Butler posted only five points on just 2-of-8 shooting, getting two of those attempts blocked.
Pau Gasol: B+
For an area that the veteran hasn't generally been known for throughout his career, Pau Gasol has put up some monster rebounding games for the Bulls this season—and this was one of them. He grabbed 17, including six offensive boards, which marks his 10th game with 15-plus boards in 2014-15.
He seemed to get into a brief altercation with Hassan Whiteside in the final minute, though the situation seemed to be more friendly than confrontational. He scored 13 on 16 shots, which is less than ideal. But considering how heavily Chicago was leaning on him most of the way, we'll give the man a pass, especially since he was effective in other areas.
Joakim Noah: C
In just his second game back from injury, Joakim Noah played a quiet 22 minutes in Chicago's loss. Putting up just four points and five rebounds, he wasn't able to be much of a factor all game long.
Rest of Team: C+
Aaron Brooks made a handful of jumpers off the bench for Chicago, finishing with 17 on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 on threes. He was a rare source of energy in the otherwise flat performance for the Bulls on Sunday.
The team shot just 36 percent, and no other reserve was able to have any sort of success shooting the ball: Nikola Mirotic 2-of-7, Kirk Hinrich 1-of-6 and Taj Gibson just 3-of-10.
Up Next
The Heat, who improve to 20-24, travel back home to face the Milwaukee Bucks, who are also fighting for a middle-of-the-pack playoff seed. They then hit the road to face the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and later the New York Knicks.
If Miami looks to re-establish itself as a playoff contender this season, it'll need to take advantage of its relatively easy schedule in the near future.
The Bulls' schedule gets harder before it gets easier, featuring a contest against the league-leading Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, beginning a West Coast swing. Bouts with the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns follow before the team travels to Houston to take on the Rockets to begin the month of February.
Chicago currently stands at fourth in the East, but just one game behind the Washington Wizards for second place, it may not be long before the Bulls settle into a top seed heading into the second half.
