Derrick Rose Wins First Battle With John Wall in Duel Of Calipari's Disciples
In the first battle of John Calipari's former point guard stars, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls came out on top 103-96. Rose also topped Wall in the personal battle, posting 24 points and 8 assists to Wall's 16 and 6. Rose played for Calipari at Memphis and Wall played for him at Kentucky. Both players were drafted first in the NBA draft.
The Chicago Bulls young nucleus of Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah continued to bolster the team as each broke the 20-point barrier. Deng finished the game with 20 points, six assists and nine boards; Noah had 21 points and nine rebounds. Keith Bogans, who went three for seven from behind the three-point line, also reached double figures with 11 points.
There were other areas of improvement as the Bulls continue to learn and improve in new head coach Tom Thibodeau's offense. After committing 25 fouls a game through the first six games, the Bulls have only committed 21 in the last two, seven against Golden State and only 14 tonight against Washington. The Bulls were never in the penalty in the second half.
Additionally the Bulls were assisted in 24 of their 34 field-goals, hit on nine of 23 three-pointers, and outscored the Wizards in the paint, 34-28. All three of these areas were problematic for the Bulls last season, who were near the bottom of the league in each. Particularly impressive is that they continue to outscore their opponents in the paint in spite of the fact that their key offseason acquisition whom they signed to fill that weakness has yet to suit up for the team.
Defensively, the aggressive, busy-handed Thibodeau defense, reminiscent of Boston, forced 23 turnovers which led to 18 points. Led by Taj Gibson's five blocks, they teamed up for a total of ten, and overtook the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA lead in blocks per game.
For the Wizards, the trouble-ridden Gilbert Arenas came off the bench and scored 30 points, including seven of ten from behind the arc to lead the team in scoring. Hilton Armstrong also played a strong game off the bench, scoring eight and leading all players in rebounding with ten boards.
It was also Washington shooting guard Kirk Hinrich's first game in Chicago since being traded by the Bulls last spring. The Bulls sent Heinrich to Washington in a salary cap dump in the hopes of acquiring LeBron James. Hinrich is the franchise leader in three-pointers with 812.
Prior to the game he received a round of applause from the United Center fans. “I love Chicago,” Hinrich said before the game. “It’s a great city. It’s really my home." Ironically, Kirk is precisely the type of shooting guard Thibodeau seems to want, one who can shoot the three and play excellent defense.
Now that they've swept their three-game home stand the Bulls are ready to set out on their seven-game "Circus Trip," so named for the circus that will be occupying the United Center for the next two weeks necessitating the prolonged road trip. The trip will be a real test for the young Bulls, as they will be playing several of the perennial powers out West, including two games against San Antonio, and games in Dallas, at the Lakers, and in Denver. There are also more winnable games in Houston and Phoenix.
Historically the trip has been difficult for the Bulls. Coming back with three or four wins would be a success.
