A healthy Derrick Rose drops 23 in Chicago's Game 1 win over Milwaukee
CHICAGO – The Chicago Bulls are not the defensive team they once were. They’re also not the offensive team they once were. The Bulls can shoot now.
Chicago downed the defensive-minded Milwaukee Bucks 103-91 in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, in what was a surprisingly potent offensive affair. The Bulls, who ranked second in defensive efficiency last season, managed 60 first half points while this year’s No. 2 defensive outfit from Milwaukee added 51 of its own. The Bulls prevailed in the second half, however, behind a surprisingly potent three-point touch from Derrick Rose, who finished with 23 points and seven assists despite playing just 27 minutes.
Those minutes weren’t just a result of an ongoing minutes restriction. Rose was limited to shorter minutes during the regular season after undergoing his third knee surgery in three years in late February, and he made all of his hometown crowd gasp by falling awkwardly early in the first quarter. After a couple of uneasy possessions Rose left the contest, and though Chicago thrived in his absence, all of the United Center seemed to be staring at the Chicago bench – where Rose waived off all medical assistance.
Returning four minutes into the second quarter to rapturous applause, Rose managed to assuage all fears with a killer performance. Playing his first postseason game since tearing his left ACL in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference’s opening round in 2012, Rose nailed all five of his shots in just six and a half second quarter minutes, scoring 10 points as Chicago pulled away to enter the half with an eight-point lead.
Returning seemingly without hesitancy in the second half, Rose took to the three-point line – hitting three of four three-pointers in nine minutes (three of seven on the game), dropping 21 points in two quarters as Chicago built its lead.
Asked about his first quarter stumble and bench stint following the contest, Rose laughed and chalked up his sitdown to his need for a rest. “I was just tired, that was it. And Joakim Noah was telling me to take a break.”
Growing serious as he described his return to postseason action, Rose called the return “an honor,” crediting his teammates for support and the Bucks for “not double-teaming me” as he surveyed a Milwaukee defense that fell short in the face of a finally-healthy Bulls lineup.
Sitting next to backcourt mate at the Chicago podium, guard Jimmy Butler reminded everyone that Rose “makes everything better for everybody,” a sentiment that was supported with Butler’s white hot inside/outside scoring barrage from Saturday. The Most Improved Player candidate managed 25 points on only 14 shots with six assists in the win, leaking out in transition and showing the needed sort of confidence that apparently has sustained over from a superb regular season.
The killer here is building upon this outburst.
Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd may well have been speaking for the opposing team when he pointed out that his Bucks’ “first quarter was fool’s gold for us” and that his squad is “not an offensive team.” The Bucks ranked 25th in offensive efficiency on the season, and they seemed to get caught up in Chicago’s both sides now-attack as the game moved along. Young swingmen Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton combined to shoot 11-31 while attempting several long-range two-point attempts, and point man Michael Carter-Williams could not utilize his length in keeping Derrick Rose in check both on the perimeter, in transition, and in the half-court. After shooting 29 percent in the second quarter, the Bucks failed to string together consistent stops and scores as Chicago held them at arm’s length all game.
Chicago is not without its mitigating worries. Forward/center Taj Gibson was clearly pained by the same left ankle that caused him to miss nine games in March, and he had to leave the game early – though Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told media that Gibson was cleared to play late by the medical staff. Chicago managed 30 assists but they also turned the ball over 19 times total. Eight of those came in the first quarter, and Thibodeau credited Chicago’s ability to clean things up in the miscue department for his squad’s ability to hold Milwaukee to 62 points over the final three quarters.
Circumspect as always, and mindful of the long series ahead and frustrating impermanence of a former MVP that hasn’t played a full and healthy season since winning the MVP in 2010-11, Thibodeau was cautious in his assessment of Rose. “He’s still working his way back,” was all Thibodeau offered, before getting back to more important things like his team’s propensity to overpass and the matchup issues Nikola Mirotic creates.
That’s the Bulls way, thus far. And so far in the 2015 postseason, it’s been a healthy way. The bloom may come off of Chicago’s particular Rose as he continues to line up for the same sort of three-pointers he hit just 28 percent of in the regular season, but for one night in Chicago things seemed as they should.
Took them long enough.
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is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
