Chicago Bulls at Denver Nuggets Recap
November 23rd, 2008 by Andrew WamboldtThe Chicago Bulls lost to the Denver Nuggets 114 to 101 in the mile high city.
This game was especially frustrating for Bulls fans because the Bulls were in the game up until about 4 minutes left in the game. At this point, the Bulls interior defense completely disappeared, giving a wide open lane for the Denver players to drive in and score at will in.
Derrick Rose is partially responsible for the loss. Rose missed layup after layup towards the end of the game. These were some good looks at the basket for Rose, so by no means were they bad shots, and a rookie is going to miss some of these shots. Still, it was a close game and in a close game your stars need to step up. Rose finished with 15 points, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers.
Vinny Del Negro and John Paxson are probably the most responsible for this loss. Vinny Del Negro insisted on running a small three guard line-up when the Nuggets had Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, and Nene in the game. When the other team is playing that big you need to play bigger as well. You simply need to have good adequate defense at each position to win the game and having one of our shorter guards on Carmelo Anthony just isn’t going to cut it.
John Paxson is responsible for not getting enough shooters on this team. Lindsey Hunter, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefolosha were a combined 2-13 from three point land tonight. If we had some talented shooters taking those shots, that may have been enough to swing us the game.
After the Bulls set of defensive lapses, the team simply lost it in the last 2 minutes of the game. First, with the game already close to being out of reach, Gordon turned the ball over trying to make a move on Anthony Carter. Then the Bulls had a stretch where they couldn’t get an offensive rebound. The most embarrassing moment was when the clock was ticking down and Drew Gooden took a stat stuffing three point shot only to be blocked by Nene.
None the less, Ben Gordon was very impressive tonight. At the conclusion of the first half, Gordon’s scoring efficiency was at 104.2 TS%. Gordon finished the game with 28 points and 5 assists. The Nuggets had difficulty keeping up with Gordon and had to foul him many times just to slow him down. Ben Gordon went to the free throw line 9 times tonight and converted on all 9 attempts. Ben Gordon’s free throw streak is now standing at 36 consecutive free throws. Gordon is still 62 free throws away from breaking Michael William’s NBA record for most consecutive free throws.
The Bulls got some production out of their front court tonight. Drew Gooden finished the game with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Aaron Gray had 8 points and 6 rebounds and looked good for a small stretch.
Larry Hughes had 13 points but 6-15 from the field.
For the Nuggets, Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 8 assists. Carmelo Anthony had 21 points 13 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Nuggets front court completely dominated our front court. Nene had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Kenyon Martin had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Our front court’s lack of defense continues to be a major weakness and is probably the main reason for our loss tonight.
The Bulls are now 6-8 on the season and 1-3 on the circus trip. We predicted that the Bulls would win 2 games on the circus trip, so the Bulls’ performance so far is pretty much what was to be expected.
The Bulls next game is tomorrow night against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
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Tags: Anthony Carter, Ben Gordon, Carmelo Anthony, Chicago Bulls, Circus Trip, Collapse, Denver Nuggets, Derrick Rose, Drew Gooden, John Paxson, Kenyon Martin, Larry Hughes, Lindsey Hunter, Nene, Thabo Sefolosha, Vinny Del Negro
