Knicks Best Bulls on Christmas Day: Where Do The Teams Go From Here?

The Chicago Bulls fell to the New York Knicks in their first Christmas game since the days of Michael Jordan. The loss came in spite of the Bulls' Carlos Boozer outplaying the Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire. The Knicks' second win over the Bulls this year was primarily a result of their shooting from behind the arc, as they went 12 for 22 from there.

The game was close up until the final three minutes when Boozer dribbled into the circle, and Stoudemire, with one foot clearly inside the circle, drew the "charge." Instead of the Bulls turning a five-point deficit into a two-point deficit, the Knicks got the ball and sank yet another three-point shot. After that, the game was never really within reach again. 

The incident seemed to amplify a growing theme with officiating and the Bulls this season where there have been consistently bad calls against them, or non-calls that they don't get. This isn't to say that there is a "conspiracy" against the Bulls but that the Bulls, a young team with a rookie head coach, haven't learned to play the officials yet the way some of the better head coaches and elite teams in the league have. 

When you look at the elite teams that get a lot of calls, it's not because the officials favor them but because the coaches and veteran players know how to work them. Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers are masters of this game. In order to step into the elite category of teams, Tom Thibodeau needs to learn how to play that game. 

Lest you think that this is "homer-vision" or something of the sort, keep in mind that the Bulls are 25th in the NBA in free throws per field goal attempt offensively and 11th defensively, in spite of the fact that they are the third-ranked defense. It is not a "homer" notion that the Bulls are getting less calls, it's a statistical fact. 

In today's game there was the Boozer call, which is a clear fact—you can't charge a player who is inside the circle. There was another offensive foul called on the Bulls that Deng "drew" when Gallinari was clearly moving, it wasn't even close. The commentators agreed. There was another call where the ball was "blocked" by Amar'e while it was on the way down, and there was no goaltending call. Moments later on a near identical play, Kurt Thomas was called for the goaltending. 

There were numerous other calls through the game, at least nine by my count, that were not called on the Knicks. Now some of that might have been my subjectivity, but on those three that I mentioned there was no question, and that's six points, and two plus ones. It's a very different game in the last two minutes if you count those points. 

Again, I'm not blaming the officials or the NBA for a conspiracy. The fault lies with the Bulls. They need to learn to get in the refs' ears. It's a part of the game that the elite teams play. They also need to learn to "flop" a little better. While it's a distasteful thing, it's clearly become a part of the game, and if the Bulls don't learn how to act, they are going to lose games at the line.

This was a game where the star power was very much in the Bulls' favor. Derrick Rose and Boozer combined for 51 points, nine assists and 26 rebounds compared to the Knick duo who combined for 40 points 14 assists and 11 rebounds. 

One other struggle the Bulls had in this game was in trying to find a third scorer when Luol Deng was not able to provide the scoring they needed. The efforts to secure J.R. Smith might fulfill that need, although it might open up some new problems as well. 

The other issue the Bulls need to address is their perimeter defense. They weren't contesting the three-point shooting of the Knicks, and that might have more than a little to do with their losing the game. Their defense inside the arc was actually pretty solid, holding the Knicks to 44 percent from the field inside the arc. It may be time to move Ketih Bogans out of the starting lineup. 

The Knicks should feel good about themselves and have their confidence bolstered with their second win over the Bulls. They are certainly a team on the rise in the East, although they do need to shore up their defense. It seems that should be a priority over securing yet another explosive offensive, marginal defensive player.

It will be interesting to watch these two teams develop over the season and see how they mature and strengthen their present weaknesses. The possibility exists that these two teams could be the four and five seeds in the first round of the playoffs. Whichever team learns more, and secures those weak spots, may be the team to enter the second round.