| 24 January 2010
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I don't really know what I just witnessed. Neither do Rockets fans. They thought they were buying tickets to see the Rockets take care of the Bulls at home, but really they were buying admission to the Brad Miller Sideshow Circus. It was B-rad's world tonight, everyone else was just living in it. I'm not going to lie to you. I am annoyed every time Brad Miller is in the lineup. He's usually terrible. He tries to make passes that physically can't be made...or it's not that they can't be made, it's that they physically cannot reach the intended target because there are 2 or 3 opposing players usually in the way. He does this all the time. He also bricks 16 footers at a near Tyrus Thomas consistency. And at this point, he probably runs an 8 second 40. Stacey King can go out there, not having played since '97, and still be more spry than Brad Miller. He literally moves in live-action slow-motion. It's almost like an optical illusion.
So can someone please explain to me how he was able to do what he just did? Ladies and gentlemen, it appears Brad Miller has just opened Brad Miller's Luis Scola Memorial Basketball Clinic and Variety Show in Houston, Texas. How many times can a 7 foot center on the bottom end of his NBA career who is also the guaranteed slowest player in the NBA slash down the middle of the lane slower than molasses yet continue to finesse layup after layup after layup. If it happens once in a game, it's embarrassing enough. I feel like it happened at least 7 times tonight. Luis Scola does a lot of things well, but to let Brad Miller do that to you...I would say it almost warrants a demotion to the far end of the bench. There is absolutely no excuse for not being able to stay in front of Brad Miller. Quick first step? You have to be kidding me. But I have to hand it to Brad. On a night where Joakim Noah was out due to a surprise injury (more on that later), Brad Miller stepped up. In a big big way. Big layup after big layup. It was a barrage. What a sight. On top of that, he probably had the biggest rebound of the game with 48 seconds left right after Taj missed two free-throws (way to be clutch, Taj) with the score at 99-97. 18 seconds later, Derrick Rose drains an incredibly clutch 11 foot jumpshot to ice the game. Without that offensive rebound by Brad, the Rockets come down the other way and maybe tie the game. HUUUUGE board. Just huge. Brad finished with 25 points on a very efficient 9-14 from the field, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block. What a game by Brad...once in a blue moon I guess he'll have one of these, but it could not have come at a better time.
The other big story of the night, the revival of The Captain and Tennille...also known as Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons. These two are playing exactly how they were supposed to be playing all season. I'm not sure if the bug they each caught cured whatever illness was hampering their basketball play, but something is definitely clicking now. Each added 12 points, but why are these 12 points each important you ask? Because 15 of their combined 24 points came from the three point line. And we all know how desperately the Bulls need effective three-point threats. This has probably been their biggest weakness all season. But not tonight. Kirk goes 3-5 from downtown and Salmons goes 2-3. Kirk didn't have a tremendous shooting game, only going 4-13 total, but the threes were key. Salmons, on the other hand, has been lights out lately. Coming off the bench has been the greatest thing to ever happen to the Fish Man. Likewise, starting has been the greatest thing to ever happen to The Captain. Big big contributions from both players.
Derrick Rose with another good night. 20 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and a block. He went 7-14 on the night, mostly choosing to attack the Rockets' lack of interior defense tonight...something he didn't do much of last night. His shot wasn't going down early so he attacked the basket much more and it worked. He knew exactly what to do, and he did it right. On top of that, he had the clutch shot of the night, putting the Bulls up 4 with 30 seconds left after a big Brad Miller offensive rebound, making it a 2 possession ball game and pretty much nailing the coffin shut. It was a superstar shot by a budding superstar.
Surprisingly, Luol Deng only finished with 12 points. This is surprising because he was shooting well and there was a stretch in the second quarter where he was totally unconscious...couldn't miss. I guess he didn't get that many touches late in the game since Brad Miller managed to morph into Dirk Nowitzki in the second half.
The Bulls shot 53.4% on the night. A ridiculously high number for them. Ludicrous. And this on the second leg of a back-to-back after they shot 50% last night. Who is this team? I thought they would for sure revert to the low 40's tonight, but they shot even better tonight than they did last night. Chalk that up to them attacking the rim much more tonight than they did last night. They really didn't have to last night, but tonight, it just seemed easier because the Rockets really are weaker in terms of shot-blocking than the Suns...which is hard to do. They can also thank Taj Gibson for boosting that percentage, as he shot 6-8 from the field, most of his attempts being dunks and layups. I have to give Taj a lot of credit, he went up strong tonight...nothing weak at the rim, and he used the soft touch to bank in some tough layups. He had a tremendous night both offensively, defensively and on the glass, finishing with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Those are Joakim Noah numbers...on a night where we needed some Joakim Noah since Joakim wasn't around. The Bulls frontcourt really stepped up and played very impressively in his absence. Nice nice game fellas.
Just a little Tyrus Thomas sidenote...he did the only thing he does well tonight: block shots. He had 6 blocks tonight, which ties a career high. He was swatting everything early on. Don't worry, he traveled at least once and also bricked his standard two or three 16-foot jumpers before Vinny pulled him for taking those shots. A typical Tyrus night...but he did throw a block party. In fact, every Bull except for John Salmons had at least one block tonight. The Bulls blocked 10 more shots than the Rockets with 12 total. A true block party indeed.
As for Joakim Noah, this injury sort of came out of no where. He was listed on the starting lineup sheets handed out right before the game, but couldn't go at game time. He talked about his injury after the game.
"I just couldn't get going. I got a massage earlier, I just tried everything I could. The pain is just too much right now. I'm just happy we won the game. Brad played huge."He apparently has the same injury as Taj had a week or two ago, plantar fasciitis. The only thing that helps with that injury is rest, but he said he hopefully will be ready to go Monday. I understand the precautionary move to sit him out on a back-to-back, which allows for some extended rest before the Bulls' next game. They really can't afford to have Noah miss any extended time at all if they want to squeeze into the playoffs. Every game really does count when you're fighting for those lower playoff seeds. But hey, so much for that 0-7 road trip I thought was imminent. We're looking at least going to walk away with a 2-5 record, which I can live with. But I'll definitely take a few more road wins if the Bulls have it in them. We beat the Spurs earlier this season, I suppose we can make another attempt. More on that Monday.
