Chicago Tribune

It was hard to watch this game since I was suppose to go. Every time something cool happened I was thinking, would have been great to see that in person. I'll get over it(no I won't). The Bulls came out and played a alright game. I mean the Piston's roster is a mess but it does have a few nice players. I got the feeling the Bulls were just in cruise control for much of the game.

The Bulls did do a poor job on RIP Hamilton as he went off for 30 which he hasn't done in sometime. Seem be open a lot and he just shot well. He looked 2004ish tonight so I think some of it was on the Bulls and the some was that it was just his night. Rebounding was an issue which is a rare problem(32 to 37). The Bulls did make it up with forcing a piston season high 20 TOs. Rose had 4 steals and a great 3 on 1 finish at the hoop.

Derrick Rose was on his game. He had a great first half, doing everything you could ask\of a PG. I think the long half sorta stumped his great game he had going. He had a nice 2nd half but I think the long wait slowed him down a bit. As he struggled in the 3rd.

The halftime thing to Rodman was nice but to long. Ran almost 40mins which isn't fair to the Bulls but hell maybe I being a bit of a bitch about it. I just think making a team wait that long is pretty big advantage for the home team. The Bulls showed it as they came out slow. Pistons got as close as 3 a few times in the game but the Bulls would pull it back out.

Carlos Boozer had a great game. Was close to a triple double. He got a ton of touches in the post and found a great rhythm and made bums like Chris Wilcox pay. He even stole the ball and dribbled it down for a lay(happy haters?)up. He needs to find a way to get this kind of production with Noah in the game. Will he in time? Not sure. I would bet if Noah and Boozer ever do get on the same page its gonna be in the first round vs the Pacers or the Bucks.

The bench was sorta hit or miss. Brewer was good again tonight. Making the most of his time with good finishes around the hoop and good defense where Korver may have had his worst game as a Bull. Terrible defense, fouling and missing wide open shots. He always bounces back.

The Bulls had to fight off the Pistons as they made a small run at the end to try and steal it but the Bulls were calm and cool as they made the right plays for the most part down the stretch(besides Rose's patten late game TO) to win the game and go 3 games ahead of Boston and 2.5 ahead of the now 2nd place Miami Heat. Bulls go Dino hunting tonight.

The Good
-Rose 3pt shooting
-Brewer bench play
-Boozer owning the block
-Rodman
-Deng back on his game
-Rose's 3 on 1 lay up.

The Bad
-Taj on defense(yeah bizarre)
-Rose's 3rd Q
-The Call on Rose where he didn't touch Wilcox.
-Half time length
-Noah's perm

The Ugly
-Rodman's awkward speech
-Korver was pitiful. 1-7.
-Ben Gordan's career
-Chris Wilcox plays.

The Players
Thomas: Hit the big jumper to go back up 5. He also had a few nice blocks.
Boozer: Ate Chris Wilcox for lunch. Was active on the both ends.
Deng: Looked like th Deng we have seen all year.
Bogans: He had me yelling at the TV on a few TOs and bad three point shots. But he did hit two threes.
Rose: Was pretty much a force. Didn't get many dimes. Just a another night of crossin fools.

The Bench Mob

Korver: ugh just forget this night. You got PUNKed.
Brewer: Filled the stat sheet in about 20 mins. Been great as a energy guy.
Gibson: Only got 13 mins and struggled on defense which is sorta bizarre.
Watson: Knows his role well.
Asik: Got only 10mins but he got one of those Turkish dunks in.

Dennis Rodman

Figured I give my own little respect to Dennis. He helped set the basketball world on fire while in the Bull uni. He brought it every night and made things fun to watch. If he wasn't head butting refs or kicking Camera dudes in the Balls he was on Opera crying about his personal life. There was never a boring moment. We gotta thank the Spurs for giving him up for almost nothing(Sorry Will Perdue). There will never be another Dennis Rodman. With out a doubt.