Thunder vs. Bulls Preview

“I’m preparing for it. This whole summer I had tunnel vision”.

This came from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, as seen in this video clip.

We’ve all gotten a little exhausted of talking about Kevin Durant’s impending free agency, so how about talking about Derrick Rose’s impending free agency instead?!

Thus, the Derrick Rose rumors will resume but there are actually limited trade destinations. Though significant hurdles have been leaped, concerns rightfully exist for Rose, particularly his ability to explode laterally with his unprecedented quickness.

While Thibodeau’s results earned him the respect of many outside the Bulls organization, his players were not the only ones worn down by his approach. Rose continually drove past Russell Westbrook, his summer workout partner, in their first game against each other since 2010 and took advantage of switches when he got Enes Kanter on him. Any time a defense can close on KD, his physical advantages disappear, and the Bulls used this knowledge to disrupt KD just enough so that he didn’t turn in his normally efficient offensive performance. So a move gaining Rose wouldn’t really improve anything on the team.

Unfortunately for Hoiberg, this is the team he’s been given.

One team has good reason to do that. Rose and Butler combined for 55 points, outscoring the Westbrook-Durant duo by two.

In sum, the play wasn’t bad, at least not on the scale of the endings against the Rockets or Raptors, but the systemic problems that were causing the breakdowns never got corrected, which is primarily on coach Billy Donovan’s shoulders. They aren’t getting any offensive rebounds and they’re allowing them at an alarmingly-high rate. You just have to sit in the house all day. Sure Rose’s reputation is a lot greater than any of the point guards the Celtics own, but I think collectively they are much better, and will be for the rest of Rose’ career.

By no means, do I want to disrupt the current guard rotation by adding Derrick Rose. First, Derrick Rose needs to get out of his slump and starting hitting shots regularly. But Fred Hoiberg inserted Joakim Noah and the nine-year veteran gave the Chicago Bulls a spark.

Of the Bulls big men, the only real candidate for this role is Taj Gibson. Pau Gasol had 11.

The big deal for the Bulls is that they will have cap space in the summer when Joe Johnson’s deal expires.

Chicago may not be crumbling down, especially not on the court, but there’s no question that Rose’s days in a Bulls uniform are numbered. Gasol, Noah and Tony Snell provide length but don’t overwhelm with sheer physical gifts.

Rose didn’t have a sharp start to the season, but given the context that he missed most of the preseason after getting whacked in the eye during the first practice, it makes sense he had a slow start.