Scott Powers, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Thibodeau: Bulls have a lot of work to do after preseason finale

ST. LOUIS -- The bad outweighed the good for Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau in his team’s final preseason tuneup on Friday.

The good was represented by Bulls guard Derrick Rose playing a preseason-high 31 minutes, 37 seconds and again being aggressive offensively, finishing with a game-high 27 points. Center Joakim Noah also played a preseason-high 31:58 to go with 6 points, 17 rebounds and 9 assists.

The bad came in the form of the Bulls committing 18 turnovers, allowing 35 first-quarter points, being outscored 30-21 in the fourth quarter, blowing a 13-point lead in the game’s final eight minutes and losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-112 at the Scottrade Center.

Thibodeau was in regular-season form when it came to his frustration over the defeat.

“We obviously got a lot of work to do,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what it reveals to you. Give up 30, score 21. Blow a 13-point lead. Turn the ball over like crazy.”

Even Rose couldn’t escape Thibodeau’s disappointment.

“We lost,” Thibodeau said. “He runs the team. He’s the point guard.”

Rose also wasn’t happy with the result, but put the game in perspective. It was another significant step in his return. He created for himself and his teammates within the offense and in transition. He knocked down 3 of 7 3-point attempts. He worked hard to defend Timberwolves point guards Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea. Just as important, his minutes increased again.

“Moving up, man,” Rose said. “Moving in the right direction. I felt good. Just trying to stay positive even when I do things wrong, just try to learn from it, try to learn from my mistakes and just try to make myself a better basketball player by using my IQ of the game.

“I feel like I’m in a good place. Just missing two years, coming back, being able to play again against all these great players and really go up against them. I don’t know if they would be able to do the same if they were in my shoes, but the situation happened with me and all I can do is try and be motivated by it and just try and move in the right direction every day. Stay positive.”

While Rose and Noah closed out the preseason strong, Thibodeau had mixed feelings about Pau Gasol's overall performance. The forward ended it on a low note as he committed seven turnovers and was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter Friday.

“Probably over-passing right now,” Thibodeau said. “Rather have that problem and get him to look to score more than have a guy who’s not unselfish. It wasn’t all on Pau. We have to play with an edge. We have to play defense. There’s no getting around that. You have to be in great shape. There’s no getting around that. You have to play with a lot more toughness. I know that.”

Rose agreed that the Bulls have some work to do, but said he didn’t think they were that far off from putting it all together.

“I’m not concerned at all,” Rose said. “I’m not concerned with the team. I know how hard we work as a team. Individually, I’m definitely not concerned with that. But as a team, seeing how everybody is focused. As long as everybody is focused on the same page, like I said, keep putting in that consistent work, that’s all you can ask for. That’s all you can ask from your team.”

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