Derrick Rose is the undisputed leader and star of the Bulls, but last night’s 99-90 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder — one of the better teams in the strong Western Conference — proved that the Bulls can win even when Rose has a bad game.
Rose was 3-for-13 shooting from the floor and had five turnovers, one of his worst games of the season — and yet the Bulls won with relative ease, largely because Carlos Boozer had his best game to date, with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Boozer finally looked in sync with the rest of the team — that’s actually pretty good, after playing just four games — and it means that in the future, if teams double-team Rose, Boozer can get loose and dominate games.
Joakim Noah also pulled down 12 rebounds after a couple of poor games on the boards last week.
The Bulls have a quick jaunt to Cleveland to face the declining Cavaliers tomorrow before they come home for a marquee matchup against the Lakers (which will be nationally televised on ESPN) on Friday.