Bulls so good in home opener even coach is happy
The Bulls turned in a historic performance in their home opener, which turned out to be a test for the bench in more ways than one.
First of all, by pounding the Memphis Grizzlies 104-64 on Sunday night at the United Center, the Bulls set a franchise record for margin of victory in a home opener.
The previous mark was set in the 72-win season of 1996-97, a 29-point victory over Philadelphia.
After this victory, coach Tom Thibodeau practically overwhelmed his team with praise, considering his history of nitpicking the most minor negatives.
“I thought we were good on defense and good on offense,” Thibodeau said. “So it was a step in the right direction.”
The sidebar to this victory, though, was injuries. Bulls guard Richard Hamilton was a late scratch from the lineup and did not dress because of a groin issue.
Instead, Ronnie Brewer got the start and kept up his solid play with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
“He had a tweak (against the Clippers on Friday),” Thibodeau said of Hamilton. “But we wanted to play it safe, wanted to make sure he's good.”
Early in the fourth quarter, backup point guard C.J. Watson suffered a left-elbow injury. He was chasing a loose ball near midcourt when he dove to the floor and landed awkwardly on his left elbow.
After lying motionless on the court for a minute or two, Watson walked straight off the court with his left arm locked at his side.
The official prognosis was sprained left elbow. X-rays were negative, and Watson will have an MRI exam Monday, but it doesn't sound like it's too serious.
His replacement, John Lucas III, came in with confidence, scoring 8 points in the first four minutes he was on the floor.
“When you have an injury, the next guy has to step in,” Thibodeau said. “That's why you have him. John has filled that role before. We have a lot of confidence in our guys on the bench.”
Memphis (1-3) had injury problems of its own. Point guard Mike Conley already was out with a sprained right ankle. Then the Grizzlies lost top scorer Zach Randolph late in the first quarter with a knee injury.
Randolph was hurt when teammate O.J. Mayo fell into his left knee after Mayo had his shot blocked by Taj Gibson. Randolph walked gingerly off the floor under his own power and did not return.
The Bulls (4-1) led 25-12 after one quarter and kept pouring it on. Carlos Boozer finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Derrick Rose had 16 points and 6 assists but ignited the strong performance by relentlessly pushing the ball upcourt. When Rose runs, his teammates follow and defenders usually are sent back on their heels.
“All that conditioning in training camp is paying off,” Rose joked.
The Bulls finished with 33 fastbreak points. They produced a higher total just twice last season.
“We definitely want to play at a fast pace,” center Joakim Noah said. “It helps me get easy baskets in transition. We have the fastest point guard in the world, so why not utilize his speed?”
The Grizzlies spent much of the night with a field-goal percentage below 30 and finished at an even 31. Their top scorers were subs Josh Davids and Sam Young with 10 points each. Memphis' starting lineup combined to shoot a pitiful 19.5 percent from the field (8-for-41).