The Chicago Bulls were blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers 122-98 at the Rose Garden last night.
The Blazers built up a formidable 15 point lead at halftime, but the Bulls closed the lead down to 4, making it a 77-73 game with 3:53 remaining in the game. From there on out the Bulls would be outscored 45-25 en route to an embarassing blowout loss.
The Bulls really lost this game up front. The Blazers big front court was too much for the Bulls. Greg Oden especially gave the Bulls problems. Oden finished with 24 points on 7-8 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots.
The highlight of the game for the Bulls was two posterizations of Greg Oden. First by Joakim Noah, and then by Derrick Rose. However, those plays just highlight the defense that Oden was playing last night. He was out there challenging shots, and that should be applauded, as his defense was huge last night.
LaMarcus Aldridge also had a big game, putting up 24 points and 13 rebounds.
The Blazers front court was simply too big for the Bulls’. This led the Bulls to get killed at both big spots. This brings up a question of whether Joakim Noah will be big enough to play the center spot longterm. I think that Noah has done a good job at center so far this year, but I think he would be better if he was allowed to play power forward, as he would then no longer be at a size disadvantage every game.
Luol Deng led the Bulls in scoring with 25 points on 9-14 shooting. This was probably Deng’s best game of the season. What stood out to most was that Deng went 2-2 from three point land in the game. If Deng actually can hit the threes, than he needs to start taking them in volume. It will raise his scoring efficiency, and it will improve the Bulls offense, by spreading out the defense.
John Salmons also had a good game, finishing with 22 points on 8-15 shooting. Salmons was very effective shooting the midrange jumper.
Derrick Rose finished with 14 points on 7-14 shooting.
For the Blazers, Brandon Roy put in 18 points, Andre Miller 16, and Rudy Fernandez 13.
Jannero Pargo gave the Bulls a bit of an offensive spark off the bench, scoring 15 points in 13 minutes.
With the loss, the Bulls fall to 6-7 on the season.
Closing Comments
This is the Bulls’ third double digit loss in a row, but is there any reason to be concerned? All three losses were against good Western Conference opponents on the road. In addition to this, the Blazers have been a matchup nightmare for the Bulls over the past year or so, mainly because of the size and length of the Blazer front court. Last year, when the Bulls played the Blazers on the road, they suffered their worst loss in franchise history, losing by 42 points. When they met again at the United Center, the Bulls lost by 14 points. In reality, this was a game the Bulls were probably going to lose. It’s not time to worry yet. However, if the Bulls continue their losing into Milwaukee and against Detroit, then it will be time to worry.
