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Flower Power: Derrick Rose meets Roy and the Blazers in the Rose Garden Arena
Flower Power: Derrick Rose meets Roy and the Blazers in the Rose Garden Arena
Monday 10:00 pm et NBA TV
Its the first time these two teams have played this year, and for the Bulls it could be a long night. Rose played his first game in Portland against the young Blazers squad on 11/19 of last year and it wasn't pretty. The Blazers finished with a 116 to 74 victory, holding Rose to just 1-8 from the field and 6 points total and only 1 assist. But of course, this was only Rose's 12th game in the NBA, and he showed rather quickly that he was capable of a lot more than what was demonstrated on that day. The unfortunate story is that this is nothing new for the Bulls, as they have fallen to the Blazers in their last 4 meetings by an average just north of 16 points. This will be their 4th stop on a six game west coast road trip, as they look to even the score against Portland's Trailblazers Monday night. The opening line for this game is Portland by -8.5 and a total of 179.
The Trailblazers have started 10-5 on the year, and 5-2 at home. They are one of the younger NBA teams with their average player being just 25 years of age. Its an incredibly well rounded group too, with a lot of talent and athleticism at every spot on the floor. The Blazers might suffer from lack of experience and veteran leadership more than anything, but every game played only improves and strengthens that area. While they won't impress too many people at the offensive end of the floor, their defense has been nothing short of spectacular. They are in first place for opponents points allowed, opponents field goal %, opponents rebounds, and opponents assists allowed. They simply don't let other teams move the ball effectively, take second chance shots, nor high percentage shots, and allow for fewer possessions. They themselves rank in the middle of the pack in offense, passing the ball along the perimeter and probing the defense, usually attempting to use a majority of the shot clock to wear down the opposing defense and drain energy. The pick and pop between Roy and Aldridge isn't something that can even really be guarded against (its nearly as effective as the Stockton/Malone combo) and just in case that fails Portland is surrounded by shooters on the perimeter and a dangerous though unfinished big man is always lurking in the paint. Its a potent and effective team, to say the least. The only style of play that has troubled Portland has been that of the run-and-gun, as they have dropped games against Golden State, Atlanta and Denver, all teams that excel in the open floor. Against slower half court teams Portland has essentially dominated, and remains a tremendous force at home.
Back in Chicago, the Bulls are an impressive 4-1 at home, but only 6-6 on the year for all of their games. They're a team who, like Portland consists of a young core of athletic promising players, but unlike Portland the majority of their bench players are older, and well quite frankly, in decline. That fact shows up in the box scores, as the Bulls have only won a single game by double digits, and it required that their starters play about 40 minutes on average and using what was essentially a 7.5 man rotation. As one might expect by this and the combination of injuries (Gray, Thomas) the Bulls rank 4th last in points per game, 5th last in FG%, and 5th last in 3 point %. Their defense has been much better, hovering around 6th or 7th in all of the defensive categories. Losing Thomas hurts the Bulls energy and explosiveness, and takes a solid rebounder and shot blocker off the floor. Not having Aarron Gray may not seem like much to a casual fan, but he's been a big guy who can eat some minutes and has more potential than some might think. While he averages about one third of the numbers of Noah, he also receives one third of the playing time. With Gray out, it forces the hand of Del Negro into using Brad Miller as a back up big. Miller may be the most absurd excuse for a 7 footer in the league, averaging less than 5 rebounds a games, shooting 43% from the floor and 23% from 3 point range. Essentially he's a similar mold of Rasheed Wallace, but he gets paid more than twice as much and might be even more prone to complain and whine.
This game looks heavily weighted in Portland's favor. Each spot on the floor for the Blazers features more depth than that of the Bulls. Rose's shooting is going to be the x-factor here, he's begun to heat up in LA and Denver. Salmons meanwhile has continued to struggle, and he's unlikely to see any significant breaks while being guarded by Roy. Noah is going to have his hands full once again dealing with Oden and Przybilla, and Deng will probably be stuck with Aldrige, which may be the least enviable position on the floor. All that, combined with the travel and altitude in Denver back on Saturday, I expect the Bulls to be a step slow here. Portland is a very tough place to play for visiting teams, and the Bulls have already struggled to put up points this year especially on the road. Portland will look to slow Rose and control the pace, scoring often from the perimeter and with Aldridge down low. Defense will be a priority here for both teams, and I predict a rather slow and close game that opens up a bit in the fourth for Portland.
Final Score: Blazers 94 Bulls 82
Play: Blazers -6.5 (B.5) and lean towards the under 184
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