Dec. 03--The Bulls fell to 11-7 following Tuesday's draining 132-129 double overtime loss to the Mavericks. Here are three observations:
Derrick Rose remains the Bulls' main last-second option.
Despite Jimmy Butler's offensive emergence, Pau Gasol's metronomic double-double pace and the Bulls' improved offensive depth, Tom Thibodeau put the ball in Derrick Rose's hands late. This produced an air ball at the end of regulation on a tough 3-point attempt, a banked 3-pointer to force the second overtime at the end of the first extra session and another air ball on his final attempt, another tough 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
"Just a learning experience," Rose said.
Thibodeau said Rose's conditioning will improve the more he plays, which will aid last-second scenarios.
"You have to remember: He's reading defenses and getting used to new teammates," Thibodeau said. "There's a lot going on. He just has to keep grinding."
Pau Gasol faces a tough back-to-back on Wednesday in Charlotte.
With Taj Gibson out with a sprained ankle and Joakim Noah in foul trouble, Pau Gasol logged 50 minutes, 9 seconds. Too much emphasis is placed on minutes these days. Star players always have logged heavy minutes. And Thibodeau gave the Bulls Monday off, they merely have a walkthrough with no shootaround on Wednesday in Charlotte and another off day is scheduled on Thursday.
Still, the unique game demanded a lot of minutes for Gasol and he knows the turnaround is quick.
"Ice my legs -- pretty much my entire body -- (Wednesday) morning or afternoon, whenever I wake up. And just mentally be ready for it," Gasol said of his approach. "The only way to kind of make it up for this game is to win [Wednesday]. It would be a lot worse if we were not able to bounce back and get on the winning track. So that's what we have to do -- really mentally dig in and play through the fatigue and the soreness."
Nikola Mirotic is making a case for minutes when Gibson returns.
Previously, when the big-man trio of Gibson, Noah and Gasol all are healthy, rookie Mirotic's minutes have dropped. But Mirotic came up with another big effort with Gibson sidelined, providing 15 points in just over 25 minutes.
Thibodeau previously has said Mirotic can't guard small forwards. But he has averaged in double figures over his last eight games and gives the Bulls an element as a stretch four forward they don't otherwise have.
When Gibson returns, it will be intriguing to see how much playing time Mirotic gets. His skill is obvious, though he also struggles at times on the defensive end.
