The haters who claim the Bulls are a one-man team led by Derrick Rose were silenced last night when the Bulls bench beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat, 106-102, without their star player in front of a raucous crowd at the United Center.
What You Need to Know:
- The stars of the night were the Bulls’ bench, the 2nd string-guys and relievers, led by Derrick Rose’s replacement for the night, John Lucas III. Rose sat the game out with a groin injury.
John Lucas III
- The win is significant not only because it was against the Miami Heat – the most hated and popular team in the NBA – but because the Bulls won it without MVP, Derrick Rose, showing just how good and ‘deep’ this team is even without their star player.
- “Bench Mob” is the name for the Bulls’ outstanding 2nd string of players – particularly John Lucas III, CJ Watson, Taj Gibson, and Omer Asik. For more info on who these guys are, check out our post on the Bench Mob.
Your Take Away Piece: “It may have only been a regular season game, but it sure looked like a Playoff game to me. This year though, the Bulls really have what it take out the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.” (The Bulls beat the Heat last year in every regular season game – called a sweep – but they lost in 5 games, out of 7 total, to the Miami Heat in the 3rd round of the NBA Playoffs – the Eastern Conference Finals).
What’s Next: The Bulls maintain the best record in the NBA at 36-9 and have a 3 1/2 game cushion ahead of the Miami Heat. The Bulls have games both Friday night against the Portland Trailblazers and on Saturday night vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, making this a great weekend to head out and watch basketball – between the NCAA Tournament and the level the Bulls are playing at – this is the type of weekend hoops fans dream about.
