Sweet Emotion

Go figure. Three days after losing to the worst team in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Bulls beat the second-best. Chicago 139 New York 126. My oh my. Not only does Billy Donovan show up Tom Thibodeau, Coach T’s team coughed up a nine-point lead at halftime. And the team coached by that mastermind of defense allowed 41 points in the third quarter, then another 35 in the fourth. What happened? In part, Derrick Rose, whose retirement got commemorated over the course of a 25-minute ceremony between halfs. The Spurs come to town Monday, by which time the emotional high from having Rose and Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and a host of other ex-Bulls in the building should be gone. At which point, an almot-.500 team will have to find a way to beat Victor Wembanyama.