With Derrick Rose still not mentally prepared to play basketball despite receiving medical clearance March 9, the Bulls could not stop his counterpart Deron Williams from pulling the Nets to within a game of the Chicago and forcing a game six in the best-of-seven, first-round Eastern Conference series. Just two years ago, Rose averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game, and the three other point guards were either splitting time as back-ups or playing for Pike High School (see stats for all four Bulls point guards below).
| Bulls Point Guards | Season | Age | Tm | Lg | G | RB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Rose | 2012-13 | 24 | CHI | NBA | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Kirk Hinrich | 2012-13 | 32 | CHI | NBA | 60 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 7.7 |
| Marquis Teague | 2012-13 | 19 | CHI | NBA | 48 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
| Nate Robinson | 2012-13 | 28 | CHI | NBA | 82 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 13.1 |
| Derrick Rose | 2011-12 | 23 | CHI | NBA | 39 | 3.4 | 7.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 21.8 |
| Kirk Hinrich | 2011-12 | 31 | ATL | NBA | 48 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
| Marquis Teague | 2011-12 | 18 | Kentucky | Coll | 40 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 10.0 |
| Nate Robinson | 2011-12 | 27 | GSW | NBA | 51 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 11.2 |
| Derrick Rose | 2010-11 | 22 | CHI | NBA | 81 | 4.1 | 7.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 25.0 |
| Kirk Hinrich | 2010-11 | 30 | WAS-ATL | NBA | 72 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 10.2 |
| Marquis Teague | 2010-11 | 17 | Pike | H.S. | 26 | 4.2 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 22.1 |
| Nate Robinson | 2010-11 | 26 | CHI-BOS | NBA | 59 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
Williams and CJ Watson played a two point guard set much of the night, combining for 34 points in a 110-91 win. Kirk Hinrich has been filling in for Rose, but he has been injured twice in the series and missed Game 5. Nate Robinson filled in well as the third option, and even scored to cut the Nets lead to 95-90 in the fourth quarter before Brooklyn pulled away.
With Rose and Hinrich watching, Robinson’s only back-up is 19-year-old Marquis Teague.
During Rose’s MVP season in 2010-11 Teague almost matched him with 22.1 points and 6.0 assists per game. Of course, he was a 17-year-old playing against high school players for Pike High School in Indianapolis. Last year, he scored 10 points per game for Kentucky’s national title team, but he is not ready to play more than a couple of minutes a game at the NBA level.
For the complete AP story on the game, click here.
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