NBA: Rose Comes Up Big for the Bulls Again

The Chicago Bulls hold a 2-0 lead in their series with the Indiana Pacers but both wins came in tougher than expected fashion. Derrick Rose, the NBA MVP-elect, once again came to the rescue for Chicago on Monday night.

Growing up fast
There has been no slow maturation process for Derrick Rose and it’s just as well because the Bulls need him to be a leader right now. A poor defensive effort from Chicago on Saturday, followed by an equally inept offensive showing on Monday, meant the Bulls had far more trouble than expected in moving to 2-0 against the Pacers. With the series moving to Indianapolis for the next two games, the sweep is still on but looks unlikely. That is unless Rose keeps putting up human highlight reel performances.

Rose had 36 points in Game 2, including a crucial 12 of 13 from the line, and 8 rebounds in a commanding performance. That’s the second straight game where Chicago has needed a big performance from the man we’re not allowed call the next Michael Jordan to save them. Rose’s 39 points in Game 1, including 67 percent shooting in the final five minutes, proved decisive in that encounter.

Korver comes up big again
Kyle Korver nailed a three-pointer in Game 1 to give the Bulls their first lead of that game with less than a minute to go. He was once again on hand with the big score last night. With just over a minute on the clock, Joakim Noah made a pass in traffic to find Korver in the corner. The former Utah Jazz man made just two field goals in 22 minutes on Monday but NBA betting fans can see he is developing a tendency to make the big play in the clutch.

As for the rest of you
We know Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah can get the job defensively but could do with making their presences felt on offense. Noah was an ugly 2 of 10 from the field to add just 4 points to his 10 rebounds. Boozer fared better with 17 points for his efforts but a sloppy 5 of 9 performance from the line simply won’t do in the playoffs. Defensively however Boozer came up huge with 11 defensive rebounds and 16 boards in total.

The stars are not the real problem for the Bulls. Instead Chicago’s bench needs to shoulder much of the blame. The Pacers matched them in production in both the first two games. Players like Kurt Thomas and Ronnie Brewer, both of whom log significant minutes, need to be counted on at this time of year. Without more from the bench, these Bulls may not last long in the post-season.