Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks: 5 Takeaways from Thursday Night

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:59 p.m. ET

Fansided, Michael Whitlow/FanSided via Pippen Ain't Easy

Jan 12, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) drives to the basket past Chicago Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams (7) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls were playing their third game in four nights against a New York Knicks team that had lost their point guard earlier in the week and nine of their last 10 games. So, in confusing Bulls fashion, they got worked.

Let’s just state the obvious with the Chicago Bulls: they’re a bad basketball team when Jimmy Butler isn’t playing because of a flu bug that’s going around.

That statement was on full display Thursday night, as the Bulls were trounced by Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and the New York Knicks, 104-89. Rose took control in the first half of play, while Noah racked up a double-double in a strong performance during the second half.

Also, some guy with a name no one can pronunciate right on the first try — Mindaugas Kuzminskas — carved the Bulls up for 19 points off the New York bench, too. (In all seriousness, he’s a young player with some nice potential for the Knickerbockers and it showed on Thursday.)

Now that we’ve established that the Bulls aren’t good, here’s five takeaways from their third loss this week, starting with the previous era’s core guys.

1. Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah (and Carmelo Anthony) led the way for the Knicks

Is it really surprising that Rose and Noah had good games against the Bulls? It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, especially with two rotation players out for the Bulls, including their most important and best player on the roster being back in Chicago with the flu.

Rose had a nice 15-point first half, getting into the lane seemingly whenever he wanted. When Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade are your own two obstacles in getting to the basket for a bucket, your chances of scoring are fairly high at this point.

Noah dominated the window for the Knicks, registering 15 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. His offense is still just tipping in a missed shot at this point, but he provided some good energy for the Knicks throughout the night.

Rose finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Noah had a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, rounded out by Carmelo Anthony’s 23 points, nine rebounds and … six assists? Is that box score accurate? Are we sure?

2. Paul Zipser got the start on Thursday, and yes … we’re being serious here

This is not a drill.

Paul Zipser started his first NBA game on Thursday night.

This is a real thing that actually happened.

Here’s the really crazy thing: Zipser led the Bulls with 34 minutes of game action against the Knicks. What in the blue hell is going on around here?

In those 34 minutes, Zipser scored seven points on 2-of-6 shooting, pulled down five rebounds and dished out a couple of assists. His performance didn’t wow anyone, but he looked OK. The spotlight didn’t look too big for him. He was active, and even made a 3-pointer, too.

Paul Zipser 3 pointer. pic.twitter.com/y20W664h2Q

— ⓂarcusD2.0 (@_MarcusD2_) January 13, 2017

Get a good look at this shot.

This is the last 3-pointer the Bulls would hit until Jerian Grant hit a 3 with 2:18 left in the game with the outcome basically all but decided.

That’s not good, Bulls. At all.

But, Paul Zipser starting an NBA game isn’t bad. It’s just something to put on the list of an extremely strange Bulls season so far.

Nov 5, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) is guarded by Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) and forward Doug McDermott (11) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeated Chicago 111-94. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

3. Without Nikola Mirotic out with the flu, Doug McDermott can’t be this bad

There’s been good Doug McDermott and there’s been bad Doug McDermott moments.

Unfortunately for the Bulls as of late, it’s been pretty much all bad for McDermott.

How so? Here’s how.

For a guy that shot over 42 percent from 3-point range this season and has been seeing more and more time on the floor, this is not a good stretch for McDermott whatsoever. Yeah, there was the concussion that put him on the shelf for multiple games (and weeks) and little nagging injuries throughout this season.

But, with the Bulls as shorthanded as they’ve been all season, they need someone like McDermott to step up and help carry the huge load that’s missing when Jimmy Butler isn’t on the floor. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Bulls are a lottery team without Butler.

Hell, they’re probably one with him anyway, and that’s partly due to guys like McDermott not helping out when the Bulls need them to.

Dec 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against Brooklyn Nets guard Randy Foye (2) during the second half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

4. Speaking of Jimmy Butler, the Bulls need him more than ever

Don’t listen to me say how important Jimmy Butler.

Let a smart person tell you how important he is.

Jimmy Butler is getting buckets. To see how many buckets, watch the latest BIG Number with @tomhaberstroh – Episode 8.9 pic.twitter.com/pm3zv8s1xL

— TrueHoop TV (@TrueHoopTV) January 12, 2017

When Butler’s importance is ranked up there with the likes of Westbrook, James and Harden, that tells you all you need to know about his impact with this Bulls roster.

Nights like Thursday night show the importance of Butler’s role on this team.

The Bulls were terrible offensively basically from start-to-finish against the Knicks. When you score 38 points in a half of an NBA game, that’s not good at all. No NBA team should score just 14 points in a quarter. Especially against a team that had lost nine of their last 10 games coming in.

The Bulls needed Butler on Monday, Tuesday and tonight this week. He and Mirotic, and Denzel Valentine (flu) for that matter, could all be back for the meeting with the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, but nothing’s set in stone just yet for those two.

Dec 6, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 102-91.Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

5. The Bulls need a point guard badly

Michael Carter-Williams shot 1-for-8 from the field for three points.

Rajon Rondo missed seven of his nine shot attempts and scored just four points.

Jerian Grant had a solid night of 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes, but that was really the first time in a while where it’s felt like he’s had an impact on the game.

Simply put, the Bulls’ point guard situation is a complete trainwreck.

It feels like a subject that many keep harping on, but seriously … not many teams have a worse situation at the lead guard position on the floor than the Bulls do.

During the game on Thursday, I told my colleague that we were watching the wrong game because Washington point guard Markelle Fultz — the potential No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft — was playing elsewhere.