Ballin': The Chicago Bulls Are 10-4 Without Derrick Rose This Season
By Jason McIntyre
Chicago 85, Orlando 59: The Bulls improved to 10-4 without Derrick Rose by embarrassing Orlando on the road. If the Magic hadn’t beaten the Bulls the last time around – in Chicago, with Rose – and this result had happened … does Dwight sign that extension? Orlando shot 4-for-20 on 3-pointers. No coach has ever gotten to 100 wins faster than Tom Thibodeau.
Philadelphia 105, Charlotte 80: A tuneup for Philly before an important 3-game stretch – vs the Knicks, vs the Celtics, at the Spurs. If they go 0-3, and if the Knicks continue … eh, not even worth getting excited about. I refuse to let the Knicks tease me anymore.
Cleveland 105, New Jersey 100: Quite a night for the Cavs’ first-round draft picks – Kyrie Irving had 26 points and seven assists and Tristan Thompson scored 27 points and collected 12 rebounds.
Boston 79, Atlanta 76: Jeff Teague is turning into an extremely poor man’s Russell Westbrook. Meanwhile, Boston is 24-21, just 1.5 games back of Philly.
Dallas 112, Denver 95: Double whammy – not only did the Nuggets get thumped at home, but Gallo the passing wizard fractured his thumb (non-shooting). He told the Denver Post, “I don’t know how long it’s going to be. It’s not going to be short. It’s a fracture. The doctor told me the fracture takes four weeks to heal. Hopefully I can put something on and play sooner than that.” Andre Miller injured his shoulder, too. Yes, there was some good news – Wilson Chandler returned to the lineup (13 points on 16 shots in 27 minutes.).