Chicago Bulls Rose OVER the Washington Wall 103-96

Wizards-Bulls: At First Glance

Derrick Rose vs. John Wall round 1:

Two point guards, one common denominator: Kirk Hinrich. It's kind of scary to think that the future of the NBA at point may hinge on the teaching methods of one Kirk Hinrich. If you remember, Kirk WAS the starting point guard in Chicago until Derrick Rose showed up. After spending two seasons together, the Bulls sent "Captain Kirk" to Washington. Now he plays alongside 2010 No. 1 overall pick John Wall.

I'm not sure if he's lucky or just can't catch a break. Thanks for the memories Kirk.

Quick Points from the Bulls 103-96 win over the Washington Wizards:

A zone defense is like kryptonite to the Bulls. They've struggled against the zone in two straight games. First against Golden State, and now the Washington Wizards. When Golden State switched to a zone late in the third quarter, the Bulls failed to score on their next seven possessions. Of course the Wizards' scouting team saw this too because a zone was the first thing the Bulls saw.

If the Bulls were a better shooting team, facing the zone wouldn't really be an issue, but they aren't. The Bulls are most dangerous when guys like Rose and Deng dribble-drive to the basket. Here's why:

Derrick Rose changes gears faster than defenders can react. The moment he blows by his man, one of two things happen: He either takes it straight to the basket, or he gets doubled and finds the open man. Any way you look at is it's a win-win for the Bulls. Same thing with Deng. Name me five players at his position with a quicker first step.

Passing the ball around the zone is not the answer, speed is the answer. What did Superman do when he saw kryptonite? He'd run, fly, do whatever it took to get away as fast as possible.

Bottom line: he used his speed. The Bulls should do the same.

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Keith Bogans took seven shots against the Wizards. All seven shots were three point attempts. All seven shots were uncontested. All seven shots were uncontested because his defender went to double someone else, leaving him wide open. He made three of his seven attempts. If he can keep hitting open shots, opposing teams will think twice about playing a zone.

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Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were Bulls in the paint, but could have been better. The two combined for 30 points on 10 of 18 shooting, 16 rebounds (eight offensive), four steals and six blocks against the Wizards. I say they could've been better because the Wizards out-rebounded them 47-40. Are Noah and Gibson to solely to blame? No, but I'm just a little disappointed that they only managed to grab 16 rebounds just one night after Minnesota's Kevin Love pulled down 31 rebounds by himself. The Bulls bigs need to be stronger around the basket until Boozer arrives.

On a positive note, imagine how much better the Bulls will be when Boozer returns and Taj comes off the bench.

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Coach Thibodeau needs to do a better job reeling in his players. Here's why:

Derrick Rose was 1-8 shooting in the first quarter. What's worrisome is his number of assists matched his number of made baskets.

We all know scorers go cold from time to time, but Derrick isn't a scorer just yet. In my eyes, he's a scorer in training. Rose spent this past summer working countless hours on his jumper. While there's no question his shot has improved, it still needs to be kept in check. Jordan had Pippen. Rose has __________ (fill in the blank). When Rose is cold, so is the Bulls offense.

Until Derrick has his Scottie, he needs to be a little more Magic Johnson and a little less Jamal Crawford.

Coach Thibs needs to make sure he's aware of that.

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The annual circus trip is upon us. Seven games in 12 nights against the brutal Western Conference. The Bulls play in Houston on Tuesday night with a three game win steak on the line.

Bear Heiser covers the Bulls for www.FanHuddleChicago.com

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