Bulls Review: Week 2: Nov. 8th

The Bulls had their ups and their downs this week. They went started out with a solid victory over the Memphis Grizzlies and ended the week with a commanding win over the Phoenix Suns. In between they lost to the Magic and the Cavaliers. In both their losses they had plenty of opportunities to win but just could not stay focused. Let's take a closer look at what went down this week and what to expect in the near future.
The Bulls as a whole has a good week. I thought that they would struggle this week much more then they did. What seems to stand out is the Bulls inability to win games on the road. They play great team ball at home and tonight looked like a contender with their ball movement and their domination in the paint. One would have to expect this young team to have growing pains and those pains usually manifest themselves on the road. I am starting to really believe that with some more time together this team could start to gel under the floor leadership of Derrick Rose. I see them having troubles off and on until the new year where their schedule starts to get easier with more home games. The Bulls of recent years have always done good after the holidays and I still think the Bulls will make some noise.

One good sign is the play Luol Deng. He seems to have woken up a bit. He is not putting up huge numbers but he is starting to show us some signs that he is here to play. I was starting to worry is he had lost his heart with the gain of his new contract. I hope his play continues to improve, because the Bulls really need him to be a factor every night for them to take another step forward.

As far as Derrick Rose is concerned, I would not even consider him a rookie anymore. He truly has blown me away with his control of the game. he know when to slow it down and when to drive and when to make the dish. As the season progresses I think it will become clear to all as to why he was picked first on draft day. Beasley and Mayo are nice players, but Rose is the type of player that wins Championships. I find myself excited every time he has the ball, because I never know just what he will do. I know the season is still very young, but I would have to think he is now the front runner for rookie of the year. He is averaging around 18 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds while shooting over 45% from the floor. The vast majority of his scoring is also taking place in the paint, which is going to make things very difficult for other teams to deal with. The only real issue with him is he make a few bad choices with the ball sometimes that lead to steals, but that will fade as he matures.

As a team the Bulls look quite good on most nights, but they still lack size down low. Noah is undersized and Gray is to slow to deal with the athletic bigs in the league. Dwight Howard had his way with the Bulls down low. I really thought that the Suns would crush the Bulls because they have Amare and I could not see a way that the Bulls could keep him in check, but the Bulls just played great team defense and shut all the other Suns players down instead. This is the key for the Bulls to keep winning games. If they play with fire and passion and all stick to the game plan and play tough defense then they could win just about any game.

One thing is certain, the Bulls are deep and any one player can take over on any given night. Andres Nocioni has stepped up and had a few good games, and Ben Gordon can turn into an assassin at the drop of a hat. Gordon's game against the Cavaliers was overshadowed by LeBron James' great game, but it looks like Gordon has shaken off the rust and is ready to be a factor again. While the Bulls are deep they still need a go to guy and I think Rose could be that guy in the coming months. I thought it would take him at least a year to even start. I was dead wrong. He is looking more and more like our best player and that would be just fine with me. Deng has always seemed to be a really good second option and I think he will thrive not having the burden of having to be the main scorer on the team. In fact, with Gordon on the team, Loul can slip into the third option spot and I think that is even better for the Bulls. Rose and Gordon can create their own shots while Deng needs a play to set him up.

Let's look at the ups and downs of the week

• UP: Bulls play as a team and beat the Phoenix Suns at home.
• Down: Tyrus Thomas relies on way to many outside shots.
• Up: Ben Gordon is alive and scores 31 points against the Cavs.
• Down: Luol Deng goes 0 for 8 and scores 1 point against the Magic.
• Up: Nocioni comes off the bench and scores 20 and grabs 7 boards in the Magic game.
• Down: Kirk Hinrich looks like he is not fitting well on the Bulls as of late.

Player of the Week

Ben Gordon - Ben is looking better in each game and looks poised to start putting up some big numbers. Derrick Rose is playing well also, but Gordon get the slight edge this week. As a Bulls fan this is great news. One thing i will say is that I think Rose should have the Ball at the end of close games and the end of quarters. he is just a much better ball handler.

Predictions for the week ahead

• Bulls 101 Cleveland 95- I think the Bulls bounce back against the Cavaliers and win another game at home. Look for Gordon score 30+ again.
• Bulls 92 Hawks 99- The Hawks are a lot like the Bulls in many ways but are just playing at a high level right now.
• Bulls 97 Mavericks 103- We just do not seem to match up that well with this team. Dirk just kills us.

We have a chance to win all three games of course but I do not think the young Bulls are quite ready for a four game winning streak. Let's Hope the Bulls continue to impress us with their depth and growth. That is what it is all about right now.

Written By ChiTownCliff,
CBS Spoortsline community member