Tom Szczerbowski- USA TODAY Sports
It’s nice to see Marco Belinelli getting more minutes ever since he successfully filled in for Richard Hamilton when he got injured. It was even nicer last night when he hit the game winner against the Boston Celtics in Boston.
He may have only played 21 minutes, which was a decline from the 35 he played the two nights earlier but let’s focus on the good instead of the bad. The good is that he not only came in to knock down the seemingly impossible off-balanced turnaround jumper over Jason Terry but also that the Chicago Bulls extended their road victory streak to 15 games.
So what else did the Bulls get right last night? Well, Carlos Boozer had another double-double with 19 points and 20 rebounds as did Joakim Noah with 14 points and 13 boards. Jimmy Butler also impressed with 13 points including six in overtime. But who is to thank for the overtime? That would be Kirk Hinrich who may have only had eight points but none were more important than the two he put in to send it into overtime at 88.
The best news might have been what we saw not in the game but in the shoot around. Yes we saw Derrick Rose shooting around with the team before the game started. He is rumored to return in late February but I’m sure Bulls fans everywhere were excited to see him on the floor.
The bad news came on the defensive end where the Bulls allowed Rajon Rondo to score 30 points. The worse news came when Luol Deng told the press that he might not be able to play Saturday with his aggravated right hamstring. If he doesn’t play maybe we see Daequan Cook get some minutes? Or maybe we see Butler continue to grow as an all-around player.
Up next for the Bulls is the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 8 followed by the stumbling Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
