Rookie Iman Shumpert made his first appearance on NBA’s Top 10 Plays yesterday debuting at #8! The play comes from the game last night vs. the Bobcats where Shumpert stole the ball from DJ Augustin, making it look easy. He brought it down the court for a quick two..
The Bulls began their one and only back-to-back-to-back by handing another loss to the struggling Detroit Pistons who are now 2-7. The Bulls got off to an aggressive start, as predicted, and never looked back.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The Pistons would never lead in the game as Chicago finished them off convincingly, 92-68. The Bulls are only allowing their opponents an average of 69 points at home this season. Derrick Rose was a difference maker in this game, attacking the rim early in the 1st to establish the tempo of the game. He finished with 22 points and 8 assists. The only criticism I would have for Rose is that he again took too many 3-pointers. He finished a lousy 1 for 6. Many of Rose’s 8 assists were dished to Ronnie Brewer, who was on fire with his jumpshot, finishing 6-9 with 12 points and 4 assists. The rest went to Derrick’s pick and roll accomplice, Carlos Boozer who had a team high 23 points (his season-high) and 8 boards, on an impressive 9-13 shooting. John Lucas III remained efficient as Derrick Rose’s back-up, connecting on a few pretty layups at the rim. The only Bull who really struggled was Luol Deng who shot a disappointing 2-12, missing a couple point blank layups. The plus side is that with the early lead, Thibodeau was able to cut down Deng and Rose’s extensive minutes by a few. They played about 33 minutes each compared to the usual 40.
Stat of the night: Jimmy Butler entered the game late in the fourth quarter and finished the last 2:43. In an impressive cut to the basket, Scalabrine gave him a lead pass for the easy layup. Butler has now scored in 4 of the 5 games he’s been given limited minutes in. He has an impressive stat line for the garbage minutes he has picked up, given that most rookies or 13th man players would exploit the minutes and force the ball. Not Butler, he has remained calm, and stuck to the game plan. So far this season, he’s 5-6 from the field, a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line, has 6 rebounds (3 offensive, 3 defensive), and a block in 21 total minutes of play. Can you tell I’m excited to see this kid when he gets consistent minutes?
The Bulls travel tonight to Minnesota to play on national TV as chosen by the fans on NBA TV, and locally on CSN Chicago. Look for the same game-plan as last night.
The Knicks got their revenge last night when they beat the Bobcats at home (91-87).
The game began and it was all Bobcats. Leaping out on a 10-0 run, the Garden was in disbelief. But it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Stoudemire drove to the basket and was fouled. He would make both foul shots to potentially break the ice and get the Knicks rolling, and it did.
From that point on, the Knicks took control of the game. Proving Mike D’Antoni and his staff made the right decision, Shumpert played with zest. He got the Knicks going on an alley-oop to the struggling Fields, and from there on we saw a different Knicks team. Throwing down countless alley-oops in just the first half, the Knicks were showing chemistry that we hoped we would see this season. The Knickerbockers led by 5 at the half (50-45).
Despite the lead at half time, the Knicks would have to rely on their defense to win this game. Shots just weren’t dropping. Stoudemire shot a repulsive 7-25 as he still managed to contribute 25 points. Carmelo Anthony also had trouble from the floor. Struggling in Saturday’s game vs. Detroit, he would continue that streak shooting a disappointing 6-18 for 22 points. Chandler, however, put up some of his best numbers of the season. Tyson shot a near perfect 7-8 (most of which were alley-oops) for 20 points, 13 boards, 3 steals and 3 blocks. There’s no doubt he was a huge contributor last night, as was the rookie Iman Shumpert. Shumpert managed 16 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, one of which resulted in an exuberant dunk with Diaw trailing closely behind.
The Bobcats shot lights out in the win vs. the Knicks last Wednesday (118-110), but it wasn’t the same story last night. After shooting 55.3% from the field, the Bobcats would only shoot 42% last night. Guard DJ Augustin shot a mere 4-13 for 14 points. However, Boris Diaw continued to play well at the Garden. Scoring a season-high 27 points last game, Diaw played another great game all around. Boris shot 8-12 for 19 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
“There’s going to be definitely nights where we’ve got to lean on our defense, but I think once we start clicking we’ll be in the upper 100s and these games will be blowouts,” Chandler said.
Like Chandler states, they would have to lean on their defense.
With 3:00 left, DJ Augustin hit a 3 pointer to tie the game at 82. But Carmelo Anthony came right back with an aggressive layup to put the Knicks up (84-82).
With 33.7 seconds left in the game, the Knicks had a 3 point lead (87-84). The Bobcats would have a chance to tie it up, but a missed jumper by DJ White would lead to a rebound by Fields who was then fouled. The pressure would be on Landry to knock down the clutch free throws. After missing the first and keeping Charlotte in the game, he would knock down the second to put the Knicks up by 4.
10 seconds remained, but the game isn’t over ‘til it’s over. DJ Augustin hit a fade-away 3 from the corner to bring the Bobcats within 1. But it just wouldn’t be enough after Melo knocked down 2 free throws to put the game out of reach. The Knicks take this one 91-87 in a satisfying win for all of the fans at the Garden.
Positive:
Shumpert starting was proven once again a smart decision. He provides energy at both ends of the floor as he displayed tonight with 3 steals. The Knicks had to rely on their defense tonight, and they came up big. They made a lot of key stops towards the end of the game. Though they didn’t always capitalize on them, they showed improvement on D and it gave them another chance to put points on the board.
Negative:
Shumpert left early with cramps again. He’s done this in the last couple of games. After being estimated to be out for 2-4 weeks, Shumpert came back after only 10 days. Though we appreciate his motivation to get back, he may be playing more minutes than he can handle right now.
Bottom Line: This was a great start for a team trying to improve their defense. They had many deflections, team steals (11) and contested shots. The margin they win by should only increase from here on out.
Watch and listen to the United Center erupt into their loudest cheers of the night.
Here are some links for the fans suffering from the MSG lockout, and tonight the NBAtv lockout….
It’s not great but it’s something!!
Links:
http://www.firstrow.tv/watch/101254/1/watch-new-york-knicks-vs-charlotte-bobcats.html
The Bulls look to bounce back tonight from their second embarrassing road loss of the season as they return to the Madhouse to play the struggling Pistons again. Chicago beat them convincingly for Rip Hamilton’s homecoming at the Palace last week. Tonight they will be without their veteran swingman who is still treating a nagging groin injury. I would be shocked if the starters don’t tip off with dramatic energy, something they completely lacked in Atlanta. The Bulls are first-class at recognizing mistakes and capitalizing on them. I’m sure they saw plenty worthy of this in their most recent film session, and should be able to iron out the wrinkles tonight. I expect their defense to be intensified and to share the ball and make that extra pass. Thibodeau admitted that while the guys on the team genuinely want to win, “you got to be careful trying to do it yourself.”
Tonight, look for the Bulls to get back to true team basketball, which we have seen exciting glimpses of over the last 9 games. Hopefully they can get an early lead to allow Rose to rest his bruised elbow that he has been wearing double padded sleeves on. However, in order for this to happen, D. Rose must ATTACK early. The Bulls only day off this week is Thursday. With Rip out, it’s been difficult to establish an early team chemistry; him and Ronnie play their positions very differently. – this may be why the team has not been consistently “clicking”.
It will be intriguing to see if Kyle can continue his hot streak at the United Center, because if so, the crowd intensity will provide even more confidence for him to keep it going. The bench proved to show more vehemence, togetherness and overall will to win against the Hawks so look for them to get more minutes on the court. It is very important to have a bench that can produce, and the Bench Mob has been playing with extreme credence. The starters must get off to a hot start, make themselves known, and establish an early lead that they so desperately need to do this season. Joakim Noah is coming off a very poor performance in Atlanta (0-4, 0 assists and only 4 rebounds), and we really haven’t seen that spark, that tenacity that he possessed last season. I expect him to assert himself tonight, along with the rest of the starting line up. They have no excuses. Bottom line: If the Bulls learned anything from Saturday night’s game, they should win tonight.
If your’re one of the many Knicks fans suffering from the childish brawl between MSG and Time Warner Cable, here are some locations in the City where you can catch the game…ON TV!!!
Attend a Knicks viewing party at any of the following locations, ENJOY!!
Amity Hall
80 West 3rd St
(between Thompson & Sullivan)
Kelly’s Sports Bar
12 Avenue A
near 1st St
Wharf Bar & Grill
587 Third Ave.
(between 38th & 39th St.)
The Long Room
120 W. 44th St
(between 6th & 7th Ave)
The Central Bar
109 East 9th St.
(between 3rd Ave & Lafayette Court)
NY, NY 10003
Bunga’s Den
137 W 14th St
(between 6th & 7th Ave)
Dark Horse
17 Murray St
(between Church St. & Broadway)
Village Lobster & Crabhouse
225 Varick Street
(between 7th Ave S & Hudson St)
Automatic Slim’s
733 Washington St
(between Bethune & Bank)
Murphy’s Law
417 E 70th St
(between 1st Ave & York)
McGee’s Pub & Restaurant
240 West 55th St
(between Broadway & 8th Ave)
Perdition
692 10th Ave Frnt 1
(between 48th & 49th)
Jake’s Dilemma
430 Amsterdam Ave
(between 80th & 81st St)
Metro 53
307 East 53rd St
(between 2nd & 1st Ave)
Reservoir Bar
70 University Pl
(between E 10th & E 11th St)
[Locations Courtesy of CityMaps]
the_windy_apple
the_windy_apple
the_windy_apple
the_windy_apple
the_windy_apple
the_windy_apple