Chicago Bulls: Injuries And Winning, Two Continuing Streaks

The Chicago Bulls are injured but they’re still winning games. And if that isn’t the story of the Bulls for the last three years I don’t know what is. Here’s a quick look at what we’ve learned about Chicago in the past few days, why injuries could be a growing concern for the Bulls and the latest in Derrick Rose Watch.

Rose Watch:

Chicago moved to 7-0 in the postseason with a come-from-behind win against the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night. Although Kevin Durant was out when the Bulls made their fourth quarter run and of course Russell Westbrook was still on the sideline, Derrick Rose continued to rack up stats and show he’s ready for the regular season. His shot wasn’t falling for most of the game and he ended up shooting 6-of-15 from the floor. But Rose found other ways to contribute, attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.

Rose finished 10-for-10 from the foul line and posted 26 points, six assists, four rebounds and one steal in 35 minutes. It wasn’t a perfect night, however. Rose committed five turnovers and shot just 40 percent from the floor. But to his credit, although his shots weren’t falling for the most part, he still went 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Which brings us to our next point:

Derrick Rose, 3-Point Shooter?

It should have only taken the average fan one preseason game to realize this, but it seems like Derrick Rose has been working on improving his 3-point shot. In six preseason games, Rose has taken 23 3-pointers and made 12 of them (52 percent!). He took it easy from downtown in his first three games back, but since his confidence has built with each passing game, he hasn’t hesitated to take open and even contested 3s.

Rose is a career 31 percent 3-point shooter, so this hot shooting streak could just be a fluke. It could also have to do with Rose’s excitement about being back on the floor again. But if it’s not, and if Rose really has fine-tuned one of the weaker aspects of his game, defenders should look out. Rose was already tough enough to stop in a team defense when he wasn’t knocking down 3s. Things could get a lot tougher if Rose continues to stroke from long range AND drive the lane like this:

And Now, The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For … The Chicago Bulls Injury Report!

I really hope I’m wrong about this, but this could become a regular segment for the Chicago Bulls. People always talk about how injuries keep the Minnesota Timberwolves out of the playoffs and that is one of the NBA’s biggest tragedies over the past few seasons, but I’d argue the Chicago Bulls’ injuries have been more devastating. The Bulls are always good enough to make the playoffs, but their injuries strike at the worst time and have prevented Chicago from being true title contenders the past two seasons.

Now it seems that Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah aren’t certain for the season opener against the Miami Heat. According to ESPN, Tom Thibodeau says neither one is close to returning and both were held out of Wednesday night’s preseason game against the Thunder. Noah said it’s possible and he wants to be out there, but groin injuries should be handled cautiously. Which means, Noah hasn’t been playing regularly and will be behind in his conditioning.

As for Hinrich, he still has to pass the league’s concussion protocol. He was originally projected to only be out a few days, but so far it seems like all he’s been able to do is a bit of running. The good news (other than Derrick Rose staying healthy, of course) is that Jimmy Butler returned to action against OKC Wednesday night. Butler had missed a little more than a week with soreness in his knee but posted 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes last night.

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