Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler Lead Like The Bulls Envisioned
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In one of his most upbeat moods of the season after his Bulls earned a 98-85 win against the Grizzlies in one of their most complete performances of the year at the United Center, Chicago big man Joakim Noah directed credit where it was due Wednesday night while serving up a reminder as well.
The success of this Bulls team and the heights it wishes to ascend to depend primarily on the cohesion of point guard Derrick Rose and wing Jimmy Butler, be it in their on-court flow in rookie coach Fred Hoiberg's read-based system or their rallying of teammates when facing adversity.
"Most importantly, the leadership came from the right people," Noah said, referring to Rose and Butler. "Guys were very motivating and pushing guys out there. It was great."
Butler scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-22 shooting, while Rose added 19 – including 10 in a tone-setting first quarter – on 9-of-19 shooting. Most importantly, the Bulls (15-8) avoided any lulls when they were on the floor, and their play had a cascading effect.
Rose and Butler each had steals that resulted in easy transition buckets and bench celebrations. Their high level of play meant their big men didn't have to bang so much for baskets against a tough-minded Memphis squad. They found cutters and spot-up shooters in combining for nine assists, opening up space for others – notably Doug McDermott, who said, "I finally know where I'm going to get my shots – I know how to read D-Rose and Jimmy."
Wednesday night was what the Bulls' front office has envisioned all along out of a backcourt duo combining to make around $36 million this season.
"Those are our floor generals," Noah said. "It just adds another dimension to our team when those guys are vocal and pushing guys. Today was definitely the best I've seen from them.
"Not only did they play well, but I thought they led very well tonight, Jimmy and Pooh, just talking to everybody on the court, being very vocal with everybody. They were encouraging with everybody. That's what we need from our leaders, everybody being into it, telling the younger guys what they can do better on the court. Overall, it was probably one of best wins of the year, just in terms of our energy."
Despite some joyless basketball from the Bulls for stretches this season, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. The defense continues to be stout, boasting the second-best defensive efficiency rating and top opponent field-goal percentage defense. The offense has been bad, but Hoiberg's a bright mind and seems to have figured out that relying on the big man pairings of Pau Gasol-Taj Gibson and Noah-Nikola Mirotic is prudent.
Butler's also been steady all year in averaging 20.8 points, a theme Rose acknowledged while he's struggled himself in averaging 13.1 points on 37 percent shooting.
"Jimmy's been playing consistent," Rose said. "He's been playing great basketball. I got to come along.
"That comes with finding our identity. Just playing, figuring out situations during the game … We're all trying to figure that out now."
As he's wont to do, Rose still puzzled with a postgame comment. Asked whether his success in getting to the rim Wednesday would push him to continue to aggressively attack – six of his nine field goals were within three feet of the hoop – he was having none of that suggestion.
"No, no," Rose said before offering a contradiction. "I'm going to play my game. My game is whatever they give me. I'm going to play the way I want to play, not the way people want me to play."
Still, Wednesday was a sign of progress from Rose, his teammates and coach agreed, noting one last point: If Rose goes, so too do the Bulls.
"Right now, Jimmy's picking up a lot of slack," Gibson said. "He's getting a lot of double teams, being fronted a lot. When Derrick is being aggressive, pushing the ball, it just helps us take it to a whole new level."
Added Hoiberg: "Hopefully he's off and running now. It was great to see. It was fun to see Derrick getting in there with that explosiveness."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
