The move is slightly surprising as many Chicago Bulls beat writers such as Mike McGraw, Aggrey Sam, and K.C. Johnson have previously reported that it is highly unlikely that the Bulls would utilize the MMLE this season and would likely only add a few players on minimum deals. K.C. Johnson theorizes that the signing may be an olive branch to Rose after the Bulls let go of assistant Ron Adams, who Rose was close with. The Chicago Bulls 2013-2014 payroll at just over $80 million which means the Bulls will be paying approximately $15 million in tax.

Signing Dunleavy has several big implications for Chicago.

First this signing spells the departure of Marco Belinelli unless Belinelli is willing to return to the Bulls on a veteran’s minimum deal. This may not be all bad for Chicago. Last season compared to Belinelli, Dunleavy posted up better points and rebounds and as many assists per 36 minutes. Dunleavy also posted better better true shooting , effective field goal, and defensive rebounding percentages while also boasting a better offensive rating and win shares per 48 minutes. The Bulls will lose Belinelli’s ability to work off of the dribble but that is a role that can be taken up by Kirk Hinrich.

Secondly, the signing finally gives the Bulls a much needed 3-and-D to help spread the floor and play defense. This past season Dunleavy shot a career high 42.8% from beyond the arc while going 44.2% from the field. In his career, Dunleavy is a 37.2% three point shooter and a 44.4% field goal shooter. Paired with Jimmy Butler, who shot 38.1% from three point range last season, and Kirk Hinrich, who shot 39.3% from long range last season, the Bulls now have some pretty good floor spacing.

Lastly, the signing may give some much needed rest to both Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler throughout the season. One of the biggest concerns with Tom Thibodeau is his tendency to play his starters an absurd amount of minutes. With Dunleavy in the rotation, Deng and Butler may see their minutes drop to normal NBA levels which could help the team come playoff time.

While the signing isn’t a flashy, the move could be of great benefit for the Chicago Bulls if Dunleavy does what is asked of him. Early reactions to the move have been positive. CBSSport’s Matt Moore calls the move a steal at $3 million per year. Time will tell if Dunleavy is a steal and if the Bulls made the right move.

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Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli

Richard Hamilton- F:
For his second strait season with Chicago, Richard Hamilton has once again laid an egg. Offensively his production decreased across the board and defensively he’s failed to keep up with most players and has proved to be almost as big of a liability as Carlos Boozer. To add to that, Hamilton failed to stay relatively healthy for the majority of the season. The combination of his deteriorating health and poor play when he was on the floor ultimately led to him being benched by coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls currently have a team option many expect them to decline on Hamilton’s $5 million per year contract.

Nazr Mohammed- C-:
When Nazr Mohammed was signed to be the replacement backup big man after Omer Asik’s departure, the majority of the world laughed. Given his age and general performance over the past few season, Mohammed’s expectations were dismally low and he easily lived up to them making this a fairly average year for him. As a whole, his offensive production was lacking and his defensive play left much to be desired. However, as far as backup players go the Bulls could have done worse and he did put in a great deal of effort every minute he was on the floor. While I wasn’t enthralled by his play, I can appreciate the effort. Mohammed was signed to a one year veteran minimum deal last offseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. It is expected that the Bulls will resign Mohammed to another veteran minimum deal likely to be the third string big man behind whoever else they may draft or sign this offseason.

Daequan Cook- D:
When the Bulls signed Daequan Cook they were struggling mightily with their three point shooting. At the time the Bulls were ranked dead last in the league in terms of three point shots attempted and made due to the lack of floor spacers on the roster. Cook, who was supposed to aid in these efforts as a respectable three point shooter, failed to improve Chicago’s status as one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league. Cook is now an unrestricted free agent as he only signed a contract with the team through the rest of the season. It is unknown if the Bulls will look to bring him back or not.

Marquis Teague- N/A:
Like many rookies before him, Marquis Teague barely saw the floor under Tom Thibodeau. Because of this, it is hard to accurately evaluate his performance this past season. However, based off of what we’ve seen in his limited play it’s easy to see what the front office saw in him. He exhibited strong play in many pick-and-roll sets that the Bulls ran with him on the floor, showed good speed, and knows how to get to the hoop. His jump shooting, decision making, and overall defense could use work but that will likely come with time. Teague will be on a rookie deal for another four years making him a Bulls player for a good while.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Everyone Else appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson

Name: Marco Belinelli
Height/Weight: 6’5″ / 192 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 73 games, 9.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 39.5 FG%, 83.9 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 87.9 FT%

Season Grade: B-

Recap:
I dont know about other people’s expectations for him, but for me I didn’t expect too much from Marco Belinelli this past season. Having watched him in the past, I knew he was average at best on defense and offensively he was simply a solid role player and didn’t expect him to do much better than he has in the past. Belinelli did not disappoint.

Throughout the season Belinelli continued to play as he had for his previous three teams though there were some fairly unexpected drops in production for him (ex: three point shooting). Overall, Belinelli had a fairly average season by his standards and should receive a C. However, because of his stretch in the middle of the season as a starter when he led Chicago to many victories behind ultra-efficient 20+ point games, I feel compelled to give him a higher grade.

Future:
Belinelli was also signed to a one year deal last offseason which now makes him an unrestricted free agent. Previously Belinelli signed the Mini-Mid Level Exception which paid him approximately $2 million for the season. Given that his play neither improved nor declined, he will likely be valued at the same price. For the time being it’s unclear whether the Bulls will pursue resigning Belinelli in the coming months or if they will look to replace him with a three point shooter from the draft or free agency.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Marco Belinelli appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Name: Joakim Noah
Height/Weight: 6’11” / 232 lbs
Age: 28
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 66 games, 11.9 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 bpg, 48.1 FG%, 75.1 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 10.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.2 bpg, 43.7 FG%, 64.1 FT%

Season Grade: A-

Recap:
In terms of points and rebounds output Noah’s season ended up being what most people expected it to be. However he outperformed most people’s expectations of him in just about every other regard. In terms of individual play he made large strides in just about every other aspect. One immediately noticeable improvement was with Noah’s passing game as he seemed to benefit from playing with several players skilled at cutting to the rim (ex: Nate Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Marco Belinelli, etc.). In terms of assists, Noah posted a career high 4.0 apg which, had he played four more games on the season, would have tied him with Marc Gasol for most assists per game from a big man in the league. The biggest improvement was seen on defense where Noah posted career highs in both blocks and steals per game. Noah’s improvement on defense had him in contention for defensive player of the year for most of the year until injuries derailed him towards the end of the season. Overall, Noah’s play nabbed him his first selection to an NBA All-Star team.

More importantly Noah ultimately helped lead this rag-tag Bulls team to surpass league expectations. Few had Chicago pegged to be fighting for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference let alone get a solid hold on the fifth seed. Noah’s ability to lead and energize helped this team get behind Tom Thibodeau’s message that Chicago had enough to win.

Future:
Noah’s future is set in stone as he is currently signed with the Bulls through the 2015-2016 season. As for now Noah should take full advantage of vacation to rest his injured foot. Hopefully Noah will also look to use this offseason to work with trainers to improve his body’s strength and conditioning to avoid one of the various lower body injuries that have plagued him these past three seasons, particularly with his foot and ankle. Doing so could be crucial in any future title runs the Bulls look to make.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Joakim Noah appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

What follows are the things I will remember about each player from this season, ranging from quick thoughts to very quick thoughts, both good and bad, big and little.

Nate Robinson: When he was signed, I didn’t think he would be much more than John Lucas III: a small scorer that would be a backup point guard; a guy who could occasionally fill it up and possibly steal you a game. But Nate was so much more. By season’s end he jumped into my top three favorite Bulls to watch this year (behind Noah and Jimmy). He was just pure energy and scoring, and even though the mistakes were plenty, he made games more fun—and fun was something often in short supply with this Chicago squad. At some points, it looked like he had enough energy to power a small country.

Nate did something people didn’t see coming: he ran the team well while also being himself. That’s not an easy task when you’re a shoot first, second and third point guard. Some credit goes to Tom Thibodeau, but Nate bought into the system and it paid off for everyone.

With his contract up and his bags most likely packed, I can honestly say I’ll miss him—something I did not expect coming into this season.

More quick thoughts on Nate: his Karl Malone layup. His feud with Steve Novak over a stolen celebration. Then discount double-checking into eternity against the Knicks. His sneaky jump ball. How he brought the Bulls back from 14 down very late in Game 4 against the Nets, scoring 29 points after the third quarter and in turn playing the lead role in the most exciting playoff game of the season. After the game he said “I always think I’m on fire, kind of like the old school game NBA Jam…Whenever I’m in the game, I just play with a lot of confidence.” (If one quote could sum up Nate Robinson, it’s that one, or “shooter shoot”) Swatting LeBron in the playoffs.

Marco Belinelli: Another guy probably on his way out,Belinelli didn’tlook like a valuable signing early on, but started to contribute when Rip Hamilton went down and was inserted into the starting lineup. I’ll remember his game-winners against the Pistons (with a great save from Joakim Noah) and the Celtics most of all. Oh, and his celebration against Brooklyn in the playoffs that he got fined for.

Luol Deng: Deng going down in February, bringing more Jimmy Butler into my life. Leading the league in minutes per game again, because Tom Thibodeau doesn’t care about your rotations or rest. A down year from beyond the arc. Another productive season—good defense and solid scoring.

Carlos Boozer: Another solid year from Booz, even though his shooting percentage took a big dip (his lowest shooting percentage of his career and just the second time he shot under 50 percent over a season—he shot 49 percent in 2008-2009 when he played 37 games).Boozer not driving to the basket for about 18 straight games, then unleashing a pretty nice dunk, making everyone ask “why doesn’t he drive more often?” SO MANY FADE-AWAYS. ‘Bum slaying,’ in which Booz puts up big numbers against subpar teams. The surprising opinion from many that he was an All Star, even though it was mainly just three really good weeks around when the voting took place. SO MANY SCREAMS. No-showing the first two games of the Miami series. Using the force. Boozington being one of the best teammates in the league, cheering on (read: screaming for) teammates and continuing to be professional throughout the very open “amnesty Boozer” talk. Being the healthiest Bull once again.

[Late addition from @JoeyLeCroissant on Twitter: Carlos Boozer accidentally punching the ref against Dallas]

Joakim Noah: Noah being the MVP of the team. His 30 point, 23 rebound game against Detroit and his two triple doubles—one of which being his amazing 23 point, 21 rebound, eleven block game against Philly that still blows my mind to this day. Jo playing 38.3 minutes per game before the All Star Break, then being named an All Star for the first time in his career. “Point Noah.” Playing just 32.6 minutes after the All Star Break because of injuries and because that’s the right amount of run a center with foot problems should be getting. Him fighting through plantar fasciitis through two entire playoff series and staying the Bulls’ MVP even with that injury. Coming up huge in Game 7 against the Nets (24 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks). Trolling Chris Bosh and the Heat in the playoffs. First team All Defense.

Jimmy Butler: Becoming my second favorite Bull to watch (and surprisingly close to Joakim Noah). Having that unexplainable talent of being in the right spot on the floor at all times. Playing 48 minutes per night (like a lot of nights) and becoming the new Deng. Turning into a consistent three-point shooter while (at least from my memory) hitting nearly all of his open looks from beyond the arc. His great perimeter defense. Posterizing Chris Bosh. Growing into the shooting guard of the future (hopefully).

Kirk Hinrich: The Bulls having a much, much better record when he plays, even with his awful shooting. All the different injuries because he plays with “so much heart and grit.” That one time he hit a jump shot this season.

Taj Gibson: Gibson never really looking right all season. He started off slow, got injured, came back slow…he just never had a rhythm all year. His “one amazing dunk per postseason series” habit continuing—especially his dunk over Kris Humphries, because we all want to dunk on Kris Humphries.

Omer Asik: Averaging 12.2 points and 14.0 rebounds per 36 minutes.Oh, whoops. Never mind. My mistake. He did that in Houston.

Nazr Mohammed: Rarely missing a shot in the preseason, making me say “hey, maybe letting Omer Asik walk won’t be the worst decision ever.” Missing everything to start the season, making me say “Man, letting Omer Asik walk was the worst decision ever.” That time that he dunked when I had no idea he could still dunk. Also, this move. Actually playing pretty well towards the end of the season and into the playoffs, filling in crucial minutes for Noah when he needed a rest. The joke he made at the start of the playoffs that he was the Bulls’ secret weapon and Thibs was waiting to release him. Being a lesser Kurt Thomas. His knuckleheaded play when he shoved LeBron James.

Rip Hamilton: Injuries.Rip playing in the Miami series, shooting 43 percent and yet somehow still convincing people that he still had value and that Thibs made a mistake not turning to him earlier.

Daequan Cook: An amazing amount of confidence for a three-point shooter that shot 28.6 percent from three. That time he was the Bulls’ leading scorer when Chicago got blown out by Denver. Seriously, this guy just kept chucking. How he went 1-10 in the playoffs, when all the Bulls needed from him was a few buckets. Him stepping out of bounds over and over again in the playoffs, making one wonder if he knew the width of a basketball court.

Trade exception from Kyle Korver off-season deal: Not as much production as I would’ve liked. Also, less of a lady killer than Korver.

Vladimir Radmanovic: He went 3-3 for 9 points in garbage time in the Game 2 blowout loss against Miami. And he was tall…that’s all I got on this one.

Marquis Teague: Great ability to get to the basket, without any other ability…except the ability to turn it over. Not doing much in his first season, but remember Jimmy Butler didn’t do much his rookie year, so hopefully Teague can make a jump and become valuable next year.

Derrick Rose: That time he—HAHAHAHAH…we laugh so we don’t cry. But honestly (and sadly), I’ll probably remember this season most of all as the “Will Derrick return tonight” year.

And that is extremely unfair to all the guys who actually played, because for all the reasons above—good and bad—they are what we should remember.

The post What I Will Remember About The 2012-2013 Chicago Bulls appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Derrick Rose missed the game and by extension missed the entire season, leading at least one writer to describe his much hyped “Return” packaged by Adidas as a hoax. On top of that melodrama, Kirk Hinrich (calf) and Luol Deng (illness) never recovered enough to play a single second round game, which had to be extremely frustrating for the both of them.

Meanwhile, four starters — Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson — logged 40+ minutes, with Robinson sitting for less than a minute and a half and Butler again going the full 48.

The only surprise of the night was the unexpected resurrection of Rip Hamilton. Not only did Hamilton log 35 minutes off the bench in place of an increasingly ineffective Marco Belinelli, he scored 15 points on 12 shots and compiled a game-high plus-minus score of +12.

The Bulls were coming off the worst offensive performance in their playoff history, so virtually anything would have been an improvement, but they were actually pretty effective on offense. thanks largely to strong games from Boozer (26 points, 10-for-19, 14 rebounds), Robinson (21 points, 4-for-7 on threes, 6 assists) and Butler (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals), the Bulls scored at a rate of 108.7 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference).

And, believe it or not, the Bulls were in good position to win this game.

Despite a disastrous first seven minutes that saw them fall behind 22-4, the Bulls did what these Bulls have done for the entirety of the Tom Thibodeau era.

They refused to panic.

They fought.

They competed.

By the end of the first quarter, Chicago trailed by only nine points. After outscoring Miami 32-17 in the second quarter, the Bulls took a six-point lead into halftime. That lead expanded to 11 points (75-64) with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. And it seemed like the miraculous was about to happen.

Then Miami cranked up their intensity.

On offense, the Heat went to their old standbys. Shane Battier knocked down two threes thanks to a couple drive-and-kick moves by LeBron James. Norris Cole had a brief hot streak, hitting from 17 feet and then serving up a facial at the rim. Dwyane Wade — who had to retreat to Miami’s locker room between the third and fourth quarters to have his knee re-taped — emerged from his funk to hit two of his patented running one-handers and later had a putback dunk of a missed Cole jumper. And between all those plays, LeBron was directing traffic, driving the ball and drawing fouls.

In all, the Bulls were outscored 24-15 in the fourth quarter but still managed to be down only three points and have possession of the ball with 26.4 seconds left. Unfortunately, Thibodeau had already used all his timeouts, and the Bulls were forced to freelance on that final possession.

It was not a smooth possession by any stretch of the imagination. The Bulls players were running around helter skelter in a frantic attempt to get any kind of clean or dirty look at the rim. Robinson squeezed off a three-pointer that missed badly, but Boozer corralled the offensive rebound. The ball ended up in Butler’s hands. After freeing himself up with a few ball fakes, Butler jacked a triple of his own, which also missed badly. Robinson somehow ended up with the rebound, but there wasn’t enough time left to get any kind of shot.

Game over.

Said Noah: “We kept fighting. And kept fighting.”

Added Boozer: “We grinded it out. We had chances. We just fell a little bit short.”

Just a little bit short in this game. And a lot short in this series.

And yet, despite the loss, Chicago’s performance in this final game far exceeded expectations. Which is something the Bulls had been doing all season.

Said Thibodeau: “Obviously we’re disappointed in losing the series. But I was never disappointed in our team. I thought our team fought hard all year long. There was no quit in them.”

Added Boozer: “We’ve got warriors here. If we’re healthy next season, we’re going to be pretty good.”

Of course. But good enough to defeat the Miami Heat?

ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell doesn’t think so. Not as presently constructed. Of course, the Bulls won’t return next season as presently constructed.

For starters, barring an unforeseen calamity or setback, Rose should return in 2013-14.

Furthermore, Hamilton probably won’t be back — the third year of his contract isn’t guaranteed and I just can’t see the Bulls paying Rip $5 million next season — leaving the former Piston to wistfully consider what might have been.

There’s also a good chance Robinson won’t be back. Although he’d like to be.

Said Robinson: “I would love to [come back]. Honestly, I really would. But knowing the guys that we have here, I know it’s probably limited space for me, but we’ll see how it goes. [I’ll] talk to my agent and stuff like that and figure out what’s the best plan for me. God has blessed me this far [to] continue to play the game that I love. I love this team, I love these guys, and if I could stay here it would be wonderful.”

Although Robinson had a strong season and was often the team’s best offensive player, there are several reasons the Bulls might not bring him back. For starters, there could be a logjam in a backcourt that includes Rose, Hinrich, Butler (at times), Belinelli (if he is re-signed) and Marquis Teague.

Will the Bulls — a notoriously fiscally responsible team (read that: cheap) — want to pay him? Especially if they end up bringing Belinelli back?

And will Belinelli be back? Management likes his skill set, but Marco shot a career-low 35.7 percent from three-point range, and his Effective Field Goal Percentage also dipped to a career-worst mark.

Then too, the Bulls desperately need more three-point shooters. They ranked 21st in three-point percentage and 29th in attempts this season. That won’t cut it in today’s NBA. And anyway, Rose will need shooters to space the floor for his drives, assuming he returns to anything like his old form.

There are big questions and big if’s heading into this offseason. And, for better or worse, most of the improvement will have to come from within. The Bulls don’t have the financial flexibility to sign any high-caliber players, and they still wouldn’t be able to do so even if they used the amnesty provision to offload Boozer’s contract, so you can probably expect Carlos to return for at least one more season. My guess is that the Bulls will amnesty Boozer in the summer of 2014 when Deng and Hinrich’s contracts come off the books.

So while the roster will likely be shifted around and tweaked where possible, management will probably field mostly the same team with an eager eye toward the following offseason. Meaning the Bulls and their fans will have to rely on improved health, internal development and maybe one or two key role players who might be able to contribute.

To what result? Nobody knows.

Said Noah: “It’s hard right now because we just lost. And it’s always hard to sit here knowing that your season’s over but there are a lot of positives. We’re a young team that has experienced a lot at a young age. When you see what a guy like Jimmy Butler brought to the table. … We’re going to come back healthy, we’re going to be able to compete with these guys for a long time and I think that one day we’ll get our shot.”

Only time will tell.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Game 5 Recap: Bulls fight to the bitter end appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

First, a lot of credit to this Bulls team. They were shorthanded the entire season, but never used that as an excuse. They had their nights that they faltered and fell flat, but it’s games like tonight that show you how much fight and effort this team put in every time they went out on the court. When I look back in a few years, that’s what I will remember. That and Game 4 against the Nets.

The effort was always there from the players on this team. From the new guys like Nate Robinson (who when he was signed I thought he was just an overconfident shooter, but actually bought into Tom Thibodeau’s system pretty well—and provided much needed scoring), to Jimmy Butler (taking a huge step forward into a starting role, developing a reliable three-point shot and shutting down perimeter players), to Joakim Noah (who has been giving the effort his entire career but emerged as Chicago’s MVP this season, often facilitating the offense and leading the defense). Even guys who were planted on the bench for long stretches of the season like Marco Belinelli and Nazr Mohammed stepped up into huge roles at times, including the playoffs.

This Bulls team wasn’t always the most exciting team, but they had their moments, and all you can ask of a team is that they fight until the very end. Chicago did that.

A long, injury-riddled season with tons of off-the-court news has finally ended for the Bulls. Here’s to a better 2013-2014.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the season below in the comments

The post Rapid Reaction Game 5: Heat 94, Bulls 91 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

LVP (Least Valuable Player): Pick your favorite (or least favorite) Chicago player. Carlos Boozer was 3-9 and refused to drive to the basket even though his jumper was off and he had Shane Battier guarding him for stretches. Non-savior Nate Robinson showed up, as he went 3-10 and turned the ball over four times. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson both lost their cool and got tossed in the fourth, long after the game was lost. Marco Belinelli shot 4-13 as no Bull scored more than 13 points.

X factor: The Bulls pride themselves on defending the paint and the three-point line. Tonight they did neither.Miami scored 56 points in the paint, compared to just 18 for the Bulls. As a matter of fact, the Heat had 16 points in the paint in the third quarter, nearly topping Chicago’s effort for the game in 12 minutes. And after missing lots of open shots in Game 1, Miami shook off the rust. They hit 9-18 from deep, led by Norris Cole (4-4).

That was … terrible: It was the Heat’s largest margin of victory in a playoff game, as well as the Bulls’ largest margin of defeat.  Chicago shot 35.5 percent, while Miami hit at a 60.0 percent clip. Miami had 29 assists, the Bulls had 17.Every stat was in favor of the Heat except “number of players tossed.” With all that said, this only counts as one loss and the series is even going back to Chicago. The Bulls have a lot of adjustments to make, but that’s what Tom Thibodeau does.

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LVP: Joe Johnson is making $19.7 million this season. In a Game 7, he went 2-14 from the field, including 1-9 from three and tallied six points. Marquis Teague nearly matched his output.

X-factor: The Nets grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, which is not good at all for the Bulls. But Brooklyn converted those boards into just 16 second chance points. The Bulls scored 20 second chance points on 13 offensive rebounds. When Chicago got the opportunity they took it, while the Nets failed to take advantage. That could be said for much of this series.

Defining moment: Withfive minutes left in the game,Joakim Noah grabbed an offensive rebound off of a miss from Nate Robinson. Noah then dished it to Robinson who found Marco Belinelli for a triple to put the Bulls up ten. Belinelli did a little dance and the Nets would never get closer than six the rest of the way.

That was… “Bulls-like”: The Bulls had no right to be in this series. They had injuries piling up and there was more talk about one guy not playing than the 12 guys that were. They could have quit. But Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t allow that. Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Nate Robinson and the others wouldn’t allow that. This team isn’t the best offense, or the most exciting, but they couldn’t care about that. They go out and fight every night and that’s something that should be respected. Noah said it best after the game:“I’m just so proud of this team.”

The Bulls play Miami in the second round starting Monday night.

The post Quick Reaction: Bulls 99, Nets 93 (Game 7) appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

That long game took its toll on the Bulls though. Kirk Hinrich will miss Game 5 with a bruised calf. Hinrich played 60 minutes in the triple overtime thriller, tallying 18 points and 14 assists. Hinrich was in a walking boot at shootaround today, clouding his status for the rest of the week.

With Hinrich out, it’ll be interesting how Tom Thibodeau changes the rotations. Nate Robinson will likely get the start, but he won’t be stopping Deron Williams much. Maybe the Bulls will go with Marco Belinelli at the point, and have Jimmy Butler guard Williams on defense. Who knows, but losing Kirk, especially on the defensive end, is going to really hurt the Bulls.

Hinrich wasn’t the only guy that the long game took a toll on. Joakim Noah’s 25 to 30 minute limit went out the window pretty much in regulation. Noah played just over 28 minutes in regulation, and then played the entire first and second overtimes before fouling out early in the third OT. He recorded just less than 39 minutes, well over the limit mark, but Thibs felt he needed the win and it wasn’t going to come without Noah.

But Noah wasn’t the most important part of this comeback—that distinction goes to the enigma that is Nate Robinson.

When Robinson got clocked by a Gerald Wallace screen, I joked that “you can’t kill Nate, you can only make him angry, which makes him shoot more.” I had no idea the offensive onslaught that was about to come from the little point guard that could. He dropped 23 points in the fourth quarter, on 9-11 from the field and dished two important assists when the Nets were overplaying him. He hit a few ridiculous shots, led by the go-ahead launch that he hit with 1.7 remaining in the first overtime.

Robinson took a game that the Bulls were out of—14 down with less than four minutes to go—and made it one of the most exciting playoff games of the past few years. But his, and the rest of the Bulls’, work is not finished. They have to win one more contest before they can switch their attention to the defending champs.

And that task just got harder with the news that Hinrich is out. Williams was shooting 35.4 percent in Brooklyn’s three losses this series. That’ll be where the Bulls miss Hinrich. Not to say Kirk wasn’t helping on the offensive end, but his defense on Williams was key in three single digit wins. It’s always been a team defense, slowing down Deron, but now that will be the case more than ever.

Marquis Teague might get his first real playoff minutes, after recording seven seconds earlier in the series. Teague scored eight points and had one turnover in 20 minutes against the Nets on December 15. Marco Belinelli, who played just four minutes in Game 4, will also get more run.

It’ll be an uphill battle winning in Brooklyn without two of their starting point guards. But if the Bulls have showed anything all season, including the last four minutes of regulation in Game 4, it’s that you should never count them out.

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