Feb. 02--The Bulls dropped to 26-21 following their overtime road loss to the Jazz. Here are three observations.
The Bulls failed to recognize favorable matchups
This has been an on-again, off-again issue all season. But the Bulls failed to find Pau Gasol down the stretch after he successfully drew Rudy Gobert away from the basket with a succession of early jumpers. That caused the Jazz to switch the shorter Derrick Favors onto him in the second half.
Gasol attempted just one shot in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"They switched coverage with bigs and smalls and we didn't punish them enough for those switches," Gasol said.
Jimmy Butler looks tired
He won't admit it. In fact, he bristles when asked about it and long has taken pride in handling whatever is thrown his way.
But Butler missed three free throws in the extra session and Gordon Hayward consistently had a step on Butler, one of the league's premier defenders.
Butler is leading the league in minutes-per-game again. Star players play a lot, and Butler has become an indispensible two-way player. But with Butler getting no break during All-Star weekend, he will have to continue being smart on offdays, which included Tuesday.
Derrick Rose lost his matchup
Rose has quietly played stronger defense of late, particularly in matchups with higher-profile players. But unheralded Jazz point guard Raul Neto scored a career-high 14 points matched up against Rose and routinely beat him off the dribble.
