After an embarrassing 117-92 loss to Lebron “King” James and the Cavaliers the night before in Cleveland, the Bulls returned to the United Center Saturday with the hopes of taking out their frustrations against the hapless (6-25) Minnesota Tim
After an embarrassing 117-92 loss to Lebron “King” James and the Cavaliers the night before in Cleveland, the Bulls returned to the United Center Saturday with the hopes of taking out their frustrations against the hapless (6-25) Minnesota Timberwolves.
But with three players absent from the starting lineup (Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng), the Bulls were outhustled, outclassed and outplayed throughout the night.
“We didn’t play well as a team,” said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. “In spite of having three players out, we needed guys to step up.”
As the fans would boo mercilessly throughout the night for the team’s lack of effort and poor performance on the floor, the Bulls added more fuel to the fire, shooting a dreadful 30 percent from the field along with being outscored 28-8 in second chance points.
Despite a poor shooting night by the Bulls, Derrick Rose was one of the few bright spots, leading all scorers with 22 points and five assists, on 9-of-19 shooting.
“Twenty-two points really don’t matter in a loss,” Rose said. “It’s really frustrating to keep losing games in which we have chances to win.”
In addition to Rose’s scoring, Bulls power forward Tyrus Thomas was subject to limited action in the fourth quarter, after posting a career high in blocks (eight), 15 points and eight rebounds.
“We just wanted to try a different lineup against (Al) Jefferson,” said Del Negro. “We felt that Joakim (Noah) gave us some pretty good minutes … off the bench.”
Del Negro blatantly ignored the question about Thomas’s superb play in Saturday’s game, and he still seemed a little steamed about the locker room incident from a week ago, where he fined Thomas and guard Larry Hughes for eating at their lockers.
“It’s done, and it’s over with,” said Del Negro about the incident. “We have more important things to focus on as a team.”
Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
