Rose-less Bulls Grab First Road Win of 2013

“He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”
— Cormac McCarthy, The Road

CHICAGO — While the dystopian frontier McCarthy acknowledges doesn’t exactly resemble Toronto, ‘the road’ has not been kind to the Chicago Bulls in 2013 – having lost their first three matchups in opposing cities. Friday however, was a little different, and Chicago took the first step towards morphing the dark and desolate road game into a semblance of light.

The déjà vu of last night felt more instilling than eerie in Chicago’s 96-80 victory over the under-resourced and individual-oriented Raptors. Never trailing, the Bulls overcame a career-best 37 points from DeMar DeRozan to win all but one-quarter Friday and with it, the first road win of the season.

There’s something transcendent about watching the Bulls without Derrick Rose, like watching a doorbell work without the outer shell. Fleeting moments arise where the fan in all of us yearns for the only man not named Lebron James to win the NBA MVP award in the last five years to spurt onto the court to lead the offense. However, with Rose averaging over 6 points less per game in scoring (14.7), 1 rebound (2.8), 2 assists (6.8), and 10 FG% below his career average (46.1%), Friday was a little easier to muster.

Joakim Noah had his most productive game thus far, finishing with 18 points and 9 rebounds on 70% shooting, including some much needed closure for fans wary about his physicality and rhythm this season. Carlos Boozer’s numbers didn’t excel in any major area but his versatility was on full display, finishing with a near triple-double (14pts, 8rebs, 6asts). Tom Thibodeau was able to utilize ten of his twelve available players, in which each player tallied points, showcasing a fluid and balanced attack offensively. It’s also important to note that Kirk Hinrich didn’t completely make an ass of himself for one of the few times this year, and showed that if promoted he can occasionally handle the reigns on offense (dear god, I hope this isn’t tested often). Also, Jimmy (Butler) got a haircut and no longer appears like Bart Simpson!

It’s easy to credit the Bulls defensive schemes as the causation for the 16-point victory, but really, Toronto just isn’t really that cohesive. A team that ranks last in the league when it comes to assists per game (16.4) and twenty-first in points per game (95.6) spelled doom from the tip. A game that Raptors coach Dwayne Casey called “a stinker” was just about sealed  after an 11-43 first half of shooting (25%). That being said, DeRozan took and buried some incredibly well defended shots and his maturity appears to have improved since:

The Bulls next look to their first back-to-back game night of the season, where they will take on a disturbingly powerful and undefeated Indiana Pacers (9-0) in the United Center Saturday. Hopefully, we’ll have Rose back – but if not…well, you might not want to watch the second half.