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Rajon Rondo is making it clear how important point guard play is in the NBA playoffs.

Rondo is the first player with at least 20 points and 16 assists with no more than one turnover in a playoff game since Tim Hardaway for the Golden State Warriors in 1991, who had 27 points, 20 assists and one turnover against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Rondo, Hardaway and Magic Johnson are the only players to accomplish this feat in the last 25 years.

In the last 25 seasons, a Boston Celtics player has had at least 16 assists in a playoff game eight times. Rondo has seven of those performances (Larry Bird had the other in 1990).

Rondo consistently gets it done in the playoffs. Among players in NBA history with fewer than three turnovers per game, only John Stockton (10.1) averages more assists per game than Rondo (8.6).

With Rondo on the court in the playoffs, the Celtics are 14 points better per 100 possessions than they are when Rondo is off the court.

Their offense is significantly better with Rondo, scoring 21 more points per 100 possessions. They're shooting 10 percentage points higher from the field and 13 percentage points higher on 3-point attempts, and they're averaging nine more assists with 5.5 fewer turnovers per 48 minutes with Rondo on the court.

A popular definition of a great point guard is one who makes his teammates better. There’s no better example of that in the playoffs than Rondo with Kevin Garnett. When Rondo is on the court in this series, Garnett is averaging eight more points per 48 minutes and shooting 25 percent better from the field.

Garnett, Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass are all scoring more, shooting better and have a better plus-minus when Rondo is on the court.

How important is a reliable point guard in the playoffs? Just ask the Bulls, who lost Derrick Rose to a torn ACL and went from an NBA title favorite to a First Round underdog.

Or how about the New York Knicks, who were outscored by a combined 60 points in their first three games against the Miami Heat before barely staying alive in Game 4?

Certainly, injuries to Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert have hurt the Knicks at point guard. No team has fewer assists (12.5) or more turnovers (19.5) per game in the playoffs than the Knicks. Their starting point guard, Baron Davis, who exited Game 4 with a dislocated patella, has 13 assists and 13 turnovers in the series. Every single other playoff team has at least one player with more assists per game in the playoffs than Davis, who leads the Knicks.

Still not sure how important strong point guard play is in the playoffs? Over the last three seasons, point guards with at least 12 assists are 19-6 in playoff games.

Ricky Rubio and Derrick Rose both tore their ACL’s this season. Rubio did so March 9 against the Lakers after the Timberwolves entered the day tied with the Rockets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Rose went down with 1:10 remaining in Game 1 of the First Round and the game already in hand for the Bulls.

Which point guard was more valuable to their team’s success this season? Most would probably assume Rose, the reigning MVP, was once again one of the most valuable players in the NBA when he was healthy. But is it possible that Rubio could’ve been a more valuable player than Rose?

RICKY RUBIO
In games Rubio played this season, the Timberwolves were 21-20 and had a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Without him, the Timberwolves lost 20 of their final 25 games and finished last place in the Northwest Division.

With Rubio off the court, the Timberwolves were 7.1 points worse per 48 minutes. The Timberwolves offense wasn’t affected as much as their defense was without Rubio. They scored 1.4 more points and allowed 5.7 fewer points per 48 minutes with Rubio on the court.

DERRICK ROSE
Rose missed 27 games during the regular season and the Bulls were 18-9 in those games. They were significantly better at 32-7 with Rose, but they still maintained the top seed in the East without him.

The Bulls were 3.5 points worse per 48 minutes with Rose off the court this season. The Bulls were greatly affected offensively without Rose, but their defense actually improved. They scored 8.2 fewer points and allowed 4.7 more points per 48 minutes with Rose off the court.

SUMMER OLYMPICS
Neither Rubio nor Rose will be able to compete for their respective countries in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Which player’s injury will have a larger effect, Rubio on Spain or Rose on USA?

In the 2010 FIBA World Championship, Rubio averaged 8.1 assists per 40 minutes, the second-highest behind Argentina’s Pablo Prigioni. Spain had to rely heavily on Rubio running the point without Jose Calderon, who injured his leg and didn’t play in Turkey.

Calderon will be an offensive asset, but Spain could be hurt defensively without Rubio. Since Calderon entered the NBA in 2004, nobody has better than his 4.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. This season, the Raptors scored more, shot better and had a much better assist-to-turnover ratio when Calderon was on the court, but their opponents also scored more and shot better while Calderon was out there.

Raul Lopez, Sergio Llull and Juan Carlos Navarro could also contribute for Spain at the point.

Rose led USA in assists per game (3.2) in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Without him, USA’s point guard options are Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. In the 2010 FIBA World Championship, Paul and Williams didn’t play and Westbrook averaged 18.8 points, 5.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Paul (9.1 APG) and Williams (8.7 APG) both ranked in top five in the NBA this season in assists per game (Calderon was 4th and Rubio was 6th).

The Chicago Bulls are used to playing without guard Derrick Rose. But at least during the second half Tuesday night, they looked like a team helpless without the 2010-2011 NBA MVP.

Out for the season after tearing his ACL in Game 1, Rose could only watch from a skybox as the Bulls were trounced by the Philadelphia 76ers after halftime in a 109-92 defeat. The 17-point loss is tied for the largest in the 34 games Chicago has played without Rose since drafting him in 2008.

The Bulls, who were 18-9 in the regular season without Rose, fared well in the opening two quarters, dominating the offensive glass to take an eight-point lead into the half. However, the team must not have been too inspired by coach Tom Thibodeau’s halftime speech.

The Sixers ran the Bulls off the court in the third quarter, outscoring them 36-14, including 11-0 on fast-break points. Philly also shot 68.2 percent from the field (to the Bulls’ 25 percent) and outrebounded them 14-5. The 22-point margin is the most the 76ers have outscored an opponent by in any playoff quarter in the last 15 seasons.

Nobody took advantage of Rose’s absence more than Sixers guard Jrue Holiday. Holiday poured in a postseason career-high 26 points and shot 11-15 on field goals. During the series, Holiday has shot the ball nearly twice as well with Rose on the bench than when he was on the court (70.6 to 37.5).

In fact, the entire 76ers team was accurate from the floor Tuesday night. Their 59 percent shooting from the field was Philly’s highest mark in a playoff game since 2001. This number was bolstered by their dominance inside of five feet (20-27, 74.1 percent). It was the third-highest field goal percentage allowed by Chicago from that distance this season.

In their two seasons under Thibodeau, the Bulls have never allowed a team to shoot 59 percent. And Michael Jordan was still on the team the last time they let an opponent shoot that well in a playoff game (1998).

The Bulls now must head to Philadelphia with the series tied 1-1. In order to regain home-court advantage, they will need to find a way to replace Rose’s production. C.J. Watson, who started for Rose, and John Lucas were unable to do that in Game 2. Although the two combined for 27 points, they handed out just seven assists. Center Joakim Noah, who led the team with 21 points, had five assists himself.

They’re still in the series, but the Bulls will have to cool the 76ers’ red-hot shooting soon. Or else, the bloom will be off their outstanding 50-16 season.

Last season's MVP, Derrick Rose, will miss the rest of the 2012 NBA Playoffs with a torn ACL in his left knee.

The Chicago Bulls lead their best-of-7 series against the Philadelphia 76ers, 1-0, and statistically they should be OK without their point guard, at least for this series.

In three games against the 76ers during the regular season, the Bulls were 11 points better per 100 possessions with Rose off the court, including one game that Rose did not play.

The Bulls played 27 games without Rose this season, and won 18 of them; however, their overall numbers were down across the board in his absence, although they did play more minutes without Rose this season (see chart).

With Rose on the court during the regular season, the Bulls shot 3 percentage points better from the field and scored 8 more points per 48 minutes.

But the Bulls, at least statistically, are a better defensive team without Rose. They allowed about 5 points fewer per 48 minutes with Rose off the court, and opponents shot a lower field goal and 3-point percentage and committed more turnovers with Rose off the court.

Expect C.J. Watson to move into the starting lineup and more minutes off the bench for John Lucas III. In the 26 regular-season games without Rose, Watson and Lucas' combined minutes went from 25.5 per game to more than 48, and they combined to average 21.9 points per game. On March 24 with Rose out, Watson matched his season-high with 23 points in an overtime win against the Toronto Raptors.

However, the Bulls were 11.6 points better per 100 possessions with Watson off the court this season. Defensively, the Bulls allowed 99.8 points per 100 possessions with Watson on the court and 92.6 when he was on the bench.

After Rose's injury, Accuscore projects the Bulls chances of winning the championship fall from 15.8 to 9.8 percent.

That said, the Bulls played very well this year without Rose. And at 9.8 percent, the Bulls still are a strong fourth in terms of having the best remaining odds at winning the title.

The Miami Heat are the main beneficiaries of Rose's season-ending injury, going from a 25.5 percent chance of winning the championship up to 30 percent. The Spurs are second at 20.8 percent and the Thunder are third at 19.4.

All photos Getty Images

Chicago Bulls
PG Derrick Rose  SG Ronnie Brewer  SF Luol Deng  PF Carlos Boozer  C Joakim Noah
Minutes Played: 284
Offensive Rating: 111.6 points per 100 possessions
Defensive Rating: 91.8 points per 100 possessions

How it works offensively
In 2010-11, the Bulls were a middling offensive team that relied on one dominant mode of attack -- a dynamic Rose at the top of the floor. This season, Rose is still the prized asset in the Bulls' scheme, but he's orchestrating a deliberate, savvy offense that's expanded its breadth.

This unit plays at a plodding pace of 90.9 (which would rank them last in the NBA), but it's a tight, killing-you-slowly kind of assault. How many teams pressure you with a point guard like Rose, who collapses the defense anytime he works off the dribble, but can also feed the post and have three quality options from there? When you watch these Bulls move around the court with purpose, it's hard not to see hints of the best of the Deron Williams-Boozer era in Utah -- only better, because Noah's screens and ball skills are so exceptional for a big man.

This group also features two world-class athletes in Deng and Brewer who understand how to play off a penetrator, as well as a couple of big guys who know how to hit a cutter. Ever since Derrick Rose arrived on the scene in Chicago, we've been hearing about how the Bulls have a fatal hole at shooting guard. Bulls fans, you have your shooting guard. His name is Ronnie Brewer.

The rap on Brewer has always been that he can't space the floor. Fair enough, because Brewer is a subpar shooter from beyond 10 feet. But elite teams find workarounds for flawed players, and the Bulls have maximized Brewer's many strengths beautifully. Spacing is a nice attribute to have in an offense, but movement is woefully underrated in today's game. And you won't find a lot of players who move more intently off the ball than Brewer. He might not hit a shot for you from 24 feet, but he never stops moving. Feed, clear, cut and repeat.

Would there be more space for Rose to work if he had a couple of wings who were better conventional shooters than Brewer and Deng? Possibly, but there are more ways to bludgeon an opponent than a drive-and-kick. Putting bodies in motion and forcing opponents into bad decisions with endless actions has its virtues.

How it works defensively
The vaunted Tom Thibodeau defense is no longer an exotic mystery cooked up in some lab in Cambridge, Mass. It's simply standard operating procedure for several NBA defenses -- but few, if any, of the imitators run it with the precision this unit does.

On nearly every half-court possession, the Bulls' defense has one objective -- keep the ball out of the middle of the floor. Once they have you confined to the sideline and you try to, for example, run a pick-and-roll, the Bulls will strangle you like a python by trapping, then bringing a third defender to the ball side of the paint to add further pressure.

What makes this unit particularly deadly when they implement this defense? Let's start with Joakim Noah. Bringing three guys to the ball is all well and good, but it doesn't help if you don't have two defenders who can cover the rest of the floor in what's essentially a two-man zone. There isn't a big man who performs this task better than Noah. He instinctively knows where the offensive threat is coming from -- when the ball will be reversed out of that pressure, to whom it will go to and how to best help without compromising the system.

Throw in two lanky defenders like Brewer and Deng, whose length, agility and smarts allow them to both stifle defenders on the ball or work as Noah's partner in that backside zone, and you have the components for the most difficult defense to score against in the NBA.

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Orlando Magic
PG Jameer Nelson  SG J.J. Redick  SF Hedo Turkoglu  PF Ryan Anderson  C Dwight Howard
Minutes Played: 178
Offensive Rating: 118.3 points per 100 possessions
Defensive Rating: 98.4 points per 100 possessions

How it works offensively
How good has this group been with the ball? There isn't a five-man unit that's recorded a higher offensive rating or a larger point differential in its favor. This isn't Orlando's most-used unit -- that would be the starters with Jason Richardson at shooting guard instead of Redick (402 minutes on the floor versus 178). The starting five aren't chopped liver, but the Redick-at-the-2 unit blows them away.

In many respects, this unit evokes the halcyon days of the Magic, circa 2009. Stan Van Gundy is one of the great pragmatists in the league. He deftly appraises his personnel on the floor and always seems to find a way to maximize those players' strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. These are familiar schemes that leverage Howard's presence down low to open up the perimeter for the Magic's snipers along the perimeter -- specifically Redick and Anderson.

Many times it starts with a high pick-and-roll with Nelson and Howard. The Magic get penetration or a deep feed to Howard in the paint, which forces the defense to collapse. When that happens, you know the drill -- a kickout to Redick or to a lifted Anderson for a clean look at a 3-pointer. Nelson has also developed a nice pick-and-pop rhythm with Anderson to find him open shots.

Other times, they initiate offense through Turkoglu on the left side. Turkoglu's efficiency numbers have fallen off since 2009 (he's shooting poorly and turning the ball over too frequently), but he's still capable of putting the ball on the floor and finding shots for others, and getting Howard the ball where he likes it. Redick is in constant motion in the Magic's half-court sets, breezing around baseline screens, getting free via pin-downs and using his escape dribble along the perimeter to find space.

And that's how an NBA unit chalks up a gaudy true shooting percentage of 60.5 percent, even with a below-average free throw rate.

How it works defensively
This unit earns its money on the offensive end -- a 98.4 defensive rating isn't anything to be ashamed of, but doesn't qualify as elite. Still, these five are getting a sufficient number of stops.

Unlike their contemporaries up in Chicago, Orlando places more of a premium on chasing shooters off the 3-point line, and they have the luxury of staying at home because they have a very large man with very broad shoulders manning the basket area and cleaning up any blow-bys that might occur. How is that going? Opponents are shooting 24 percent from beyond the arc against this unit and converting only 4.8 3-pointers per game. That is what chopped liver tastes like.

As imposing as Howard is under the basket, altering shots and intimidating, his pick-and-roll defense is also a key ingredient to this unit's defensive success. The Magic don't need to rotate all that often and, when they do, Howard recovers promptly to the back line and those rotators can immediately dash back to the perimeter where they can contest long shots with a close out, or just stagnate the offense.

One-on-one defense can occasionally be problematic, but Redick's tenacity -- both on-the-ball and chasing rabbits like Ray Allen around screens -- is vastly underrated. Turkoglu is no Tony Allen, but his length and awareness of where Howard is lurking makes him an adequate defender, as well. Finally, Nelson is a sturdy fireplug who can use his strength to bother opposing point guards, though he does yield his share of blow-bys.

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Miami Heat
PG Mario Chalmers  SG Dwyane Wade  SF LeBron James  PF Chris Bosh  C Joel Anthony
Minutes Played: 389
Offensive Rating: 109.9 points per 100 possessions
Defensive Rating: 94.7 points per 100 possessions

How it works offensively
This past summer, Erik Spoelstra immersed himself in a single exercise: Examine how he could make life easier for the Heat's offense by diversifying their attack. In 2010-11, Spoelstra grappled with several strategies -- elements of the Rick Adelman's corner offense, "elbow sets" run through Bosh with multiple triggers and even some old Hubie Brown sets to free up shooters. The Heat finished the season as the NBA's third-ranked offense.

Spoelstra came to a realization, one that didn't necessarily conform to his natural instincts: The Heat could do better, and to achieve that improvement, it would require less conventional structure. He has freed up James and Wade, made transition opportunities and early offense priorities (Miami has gone from 21st in pace last season to 12th this season) and found new ways to space the floor.

So far as Wade and James, they have one imperative -- catch the ball and attack and don't allow the defense to set. No more dawdling at the top of the floor, waiting for stuff that never materializes. Off that, the Heat have found gold with Chalmers' vastly improved outside shot. The Heat were assembled with the idea that James and Wade would have quality shooters primed for kickouts, and with Chalmers, they have a teammate shooting 44.3 percent from 3-point-land.

Fewer sets are being run through Bosh at the high post with this unit, though he's still able to facilitate when the pace settles into a more deliberate, half-court game. Many of those sets that started with Bosh at the high post are now being initiated with James at the "Karl Malone" spot off the mid-post. Meanwhile, Bosh and Anthony screen with the best of them -- especially to lend space for Wade to attack -- and Bosh is still superb at lifting to a spot 18 feet away from the hoop for a no-dribble J.

How it works defensively
Spoelstra is still experimenting and tinkering with the Heat's schemes. Many a night, Miami is flirting with a Thibodeau-style strongside strategy, but one with a bit less structure and more freedom for James and Wade to rove. This isn't coming without costs: This unit is giving up 19.2 3-point attempts per 48 minutes, and opponents are shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc in the process.

The Heat are aware of the shortcoming and seem willing to tolerate a few gimmes on the perimeter in service of their larger defensive goal -- create chaos. That means more ball pressure than ever from Chalmers, and Bosh and Anthony jumping out with impunity on every ball screen. When it comes to defending the pick-and-roll, Bosh and Anthony might be the best big man tandem in the business at showing hard and recovering to the right spot on the back line.

Most of all, Spoelstra is encouraging James and Wade to operate as free safeties in what can be described as a quasi-two-man zone. Spoelstra's nature favors order over chaos and he traditionally has discouraged gambling, but he's come to appreciate that doubling-down on his team's athleticism makes good sense.

The results are there. Opponents are turning the ball 16.8 times per 48 minutes against this group. More impressive, the unit generates 23.3 points per 48 minutes off these turnovers and 22.5 fast-break points per 48 minutes. There simply isn't a defense in the world that can stop James and Wade in the open floor and the Heat's newfound guerrilla defense has maximized these opportunities.

Since Ricky Rubio entered the starting lineup, the Timberwolves are 7-4 compared to just 3-7 with Rubio coming off the bench. Much of the Timberwolves' success lately is due to Rubio's superb play down the stretch of games.

Rubio was nearly flawless in the second half of the win over the Rockets on Monday, totaling seven assists and just one turnover while shooting 4-of-6 from the field. For the game, Rubio had 18 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and three turnovers while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. It was perhaps Rubio's most complete game of the season.

In the second half of the last three games, Rubio has 18 assists and just one turnover. In those three games, the Timberwolves are +26 in the second half, including +14 in the second half of Monday's win.

In fact, it's the fourth time that Rubio has totaled at least seven rebounds and eight assists in a game, and the Timberwolves are now 4-0 in those games. Rubio has 10 double-digit assist games this season, which leads the NBA.

But the fourth quarter has been where Rubio has been at his best.

Rubio leads the NBA in fourth-quarter assists with 46. By comparison, the next-highest is Derrick Rose with 36. Over his last three games, Rubio has seven assists and zero turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves are 2-1 in those games with a five-point loss to the Lakers sandwiched in between two wins.

During a three-game winning streak from January 16-20, Rubio had seven assists and two turnovers while the Timberwolves were a combined +33 in those fourth quarters. Rubio had 12 assists and five turnovers while his team was +45 in the second halves of those games.

Rubio is +38 in the fourth quarter this season, which ranks third in the NBA among point guards behind Derrick Rose and Jrue Holiday.

Rubio's shooting has drastically improved in the fourth quarter as compared to the first three quarters. He's shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 46.7 percent on 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter, but is shooting just 36.3 percent from the field and 30.3 percent on 3-point attempts in the first three quarters.

With Rubio's improved play since entering the starting lineup, especially late in games, the Timberwolves have exploded offensively. They've scored more than 100 points in four of their last seven games and are averaging 100.6 points in those seven games after scoring more than 100 only once in their previous nine games.

For once, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose didn’t come through when needed most.

Rose was 3-for-13 from 10 or more feet away, including a miss of the potential game-tying shot with three seconds left in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Heat.

Rose is a 41 percent shooter on shots from that distance at home, but just 31 percent on the road.

Rose, who did finish with 34 points, also missed a pair of free throws late in the game, snapping his string of fourth-quarter free-throw perfection. Prior to those misses, Rose was 29-for-29 on fourth-quarter foul shots this season.

LeBron James led the Heat with 35 points, along with 11 rebounds and five assists. James recorded his 64th career game with a 30/10/5 combination, by far the most in the NBA since his rookie season, 2003-04. The player with the next-most in that span is Dirk Nowitzki with 23.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, James has had at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 22 straight games dating to last season, the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history and the longest since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1965.

James was 6-for-7 from inside five feet and was 5-for-8 from beyond 15 feet, matching his best field goal percentage of the season (63 percent) from the latter distance.

The Heat had seven dunks Sunday, all from James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Heat are 5-0 when recording at least seven dunks this season.

Kobe sets a record

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant set a franchise record in Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as the team’s all-time leader in field goals made. Bryant had 14 field goals and 35 points in the win.

Bryant is now the team’s all-time leader with 9,946 field goals made, 11 more than Abdul-Jabaar. Bryant is 54 field goals shy of becoming the 10th player to make 10,000 field goals in the NBA.

Magic stage another disappearing act
For the fourth time in five games this week, the Orlando Magic offense disappeared in the second half. Sunday, the Magic led by 3 at the half but ended up losing to the Indiana Pacers by 21.

In their last four losses, the Magic have been outscored by an average of 50 to 28 in the second half and have shot just 29 percent from the field.

Plus-Minus Note of the Night
Lakers forward Metta World Peace scored only two points, but was a plus-19 in a 106-101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This was the second time in the last three games that the Lakers had a close win and World Peace had a good plus-minus. He was a plus-20 despite scoring only three points in a 96-91 win over the Clippers on Wednesday.

Also, Cleveland Cavaliers rookie guard Kyrie Irving had 23 points and six assists, including the game-winning layup to close a 12-0 run in an 88-87 win over the Boston Celtics.

The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics by eight points in his 33 minutes of play. Irving has now had three straight games with a positive plus-minus rating.

Cavaliers backup forward Mychal Thompson, playing in his second career NBA game, was the only player on the team to have a better plus-minus than Irving in this contest. He was a plus-9 in his 12 minutes.

Over the past few weeks, some of the Chicago Bulls' key players have been hit with the injury bug. Starting point guard and reigning league MVP Derrick Rose has been nursing turf toe on his left foot. Big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are nursing ankle injuries and starting small forward Luol Deng has a torn ligament in his non-shooting wrist that has kept him sidelined the past few games, and maybe longer.

The Bulls, who currently lead the Eastern Conference by two games over the Miami Heat, should be able to stay afloat. Below are three reasons that Bulls fans shouldn’t be worried.

Bench mob
The Bulls are one of the deepest teams in the league with reserves who play specific roles on both ends of the court.

Kyle Korver continues to be one of the best shooters in the NBA, primarily in spot-up situations. His 1.30 points per play leads the team and ranks fifth in the NBA among players with at least 40 spot-up plays this season. Korver is fourth in the NBA in three-point field goals off the bench with 28.

Backup point guard C.J. Watson has developed into a reliable floor general behind Rose. He leads the Bulls’ primary bench players in scoring, averaging 7.7 points in games he’s come off the bench. Watson has also been one of the Bulls’ best spot-up shooters; he’s second behind Korver on the team with 1.22 points per play in spot-up situations.

Inside, Omer Asik and Taj Gibson continue to be the Bulls’ defensive enforcers. Their 26 blocks each are tied for second in the NBA among players in games they did not start.

Defense
The Bulls’ defense remain one of the best in the NBA. This season, they're allowing just 87.0 points per game, the fewest in the league.

Chicago is fourth in the NBA in opponents’ points per play (0.81) and sixth in opponents' score percentage (39.6) in the half court.

The Bulls have also limited their opponents' production close to the basket, allowing an NBA-low 49.6 points per game within 10 feet of the rim.

Derrick Rose
Above all, Rose remains the key to the Bulls holding their season together. His scoring average is down from 25.0 points last season to 21.9 points this season, but he’s become more efficient in the offense, attempting fewer shots and averaging a career-high 7.9 assists.

Being the ball handler in the pick and roll has become Rose’s specialty. He’s scoring 1.02 points per play in that type of offense, ranking fourth in the NBA among players with at least 50 plays. Rose has also increased his shooting percentage (49.0) and percentage of plays he’s scored (48.1) as the pick and roll ball handler to almost 50 percent.

Things don't look much different from last season for the Chicago Bulls, who rolled to a win over the Orlando Magic on Friday, with perhaps one subtle exception.

Since the start of last season, the Bulls are now 29-11 against teams that are .500 or better. That’s the best mark against such teams in the NBA.

One much-discussed trend evident from Chicago’s strong start is Derrick Rose’s evolution into becoming more of a pass-first player (he had 10 more assists in Friday’s win).

The proof of this can be seen in video review of situations in which he is the ballhandler on a pick-and-roll play.

Rose has increased the rate at which he’ll pass on pick-and-roll plays in the early part of the season. Last season, he did so slightly less than half of the time of the time.

This season, he’s done so slightly more often, and with greater success, as noted in the chart on the right.

One extra time per game of choosing to pass rather than shoot has led to good results so far. He had four of his 10 assists on pick-and-rolls in Friday’s win.

That said, Rose’s high assist total early this season is actually almost a near match for what he did in the first eight games last season, when he registered 76 assists. It will be worth watching to see if his pass-first ways continue.

Elsewhere in the NBA

Golden Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets won again, beating the New Orleans Hornets, 96-88 to improve to 6-2. Denver is playing at the fastest pace in the league, registering upwards of 100 possessions per game and averaging the most fast-break points per game (24.3).

But what stat is most shocking? They rank first in the NBA in defensive efficiency, allowing 92 points allowed per 100 possessions.

A Night To Forget for Pierce
On a night in which the Boston Celtics were held to just 25 first-half points (their-worst output, via Elias, since 1995), Paul Pierce was just 3-for-17 from the field.

It was just the second game in Pierce's career in which he made that few shots in that many attempts.

Pierce was 3-for-19 in a Celtics loss at the Charlotte Hornets on April Fool's Day in 2001.

Spreading the Love Around
In a 98-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love had 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Love is the first to have at least 20 points and 12 rebounds in his team's first seven games since 1975 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -- 10 straight).

Plus-Minus Stat of the Night
Carmelo Anthony starred for the New York Knicks with 37 points, but fan-favorite guard Iman Shumpert made an impact again.

The Knicks outscored the Washington Wizards by 20 points in Shumpert’s 37 minutes on the floor on Friday. They were outscored by 17 points in the 11 minutes in which he was on the bench.

Anthony, by the way, has 204 points through the Knicks first seven games. According to Elias, only one Knicks player had more points in that many games—Bernard King with 228 in 1984-1985.

In a couple of weeks, we'll start hearing the inevitable chatter about hot seats in the NBA. The formula for who rides the hot seat is pretty reliable. The coach's team has underperformed and his critics believe he has been given ample time to succeed. His contract can't be too onerous because most teams don't enjoy subsidizing the salaries of broadcast commentators, which is the landing spot for many departed coaches.

There's a certain allure to death pools and elimination reality shows, but there are far more interesting sideshows this season than the guillotine. Some of the coaching ranks’ highest achievers have fascinating challenges in front of them:

Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls
Challenge: Use the Bulls' ball-moving big men
Among the unintended consequences of winning 62 games and coach of the year in your inaugural season as a head coach are the expectations that bubble to the surface in Season 2. That's Thibodeau's burden as the Bulls try to topple the Heat for the East's crown.

The Bulls' defense can't get much better than it was in 2010-11, but their offense finished the season as the league's 12th-most efficient. Derrick Rose is a domineering point guard who thrives in isolation and in high pick-and-rolls, so it's tempting to leave well enough alone and allow the MVP to do his thing. But there's something missing from the Bulls' half-court offense, deficiencies that became glaring against Miami (and at times, against Atlanta and Indiana) last spring.

The Bulls' personnel is simply too skilled, too versatile and too big not to finish as a top-10 offense. In Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, the Bulls feature two of the best and smartest passing big men in the game. Their ability to create opportunities out of the high post should give the Bulls a ton of options. Then there's Rip Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer and Luol Deng -- three wings who have the capacity to run a combined 25 miles of cuts, curls and flares over the course of a game.

With a team populated with this combination of talent, there's really no excuse for stagnation. Can the Bulls find their groove this season?

Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs
Challenge: Life in a world in which Tim Duncan doesn't warrant a double-team
There's still no better technician in basketball than Popovich, and last season's 62-win regular season was a testimonial to that.

So much of what the Spurs have been running over the past decade or so revolves around the Spurs' guards looking for Duncan on the block early and late in sets. Traditionally, defenses have been so attuned to Duncan's presence that either A) they end up leaving seams through which Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili can glide to the rim or B) they front Duncan, which leaves the back door open or C) they're forced to double-team Duncan on the block, which opens up clean looks on the perimeter for the Spurs' snipers.

The Spurs have been adjusting to a world in which Duncan's rim rum, deep seal and quick spin no longer compose the league's most deadly attack, and haven't missed a beat. They finished second in offensive efficiency last season by putting more of a premium on spacing and creating double gaps for dribble penetration. Watching that process continue this season will make for compelling basketball.

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Challenge: Keeping the faith
There isn't a coach in the NBA who took a more sober look at his playbook during the offseason than Spoelstra.

As narrated by Tom Haberstroh last week, the Heat's cerebral head coach went on a coaching tour that included a couple of visits with the architect of the Oregon Ducks' spread offense -- which is played on the gridiron. Take that spread offense, add a few parts Rick Adelman and a dash of John Calipari, and you have the Heat's new high-octane offense that has racked up a scintillating 207 possessions in two games against slow-pokes Dallas and Boston.

The Heat's early success must be liberating for Spoelstra, as his team has taken to the change in philosophy like pigs in slop. Spoelstra is one of the league's most resourceful coaches -- a coach whose strength has always been preparation, precision and tactical strategy. But what happens if the Heat struggle?

Spoelstra thrives on order, and might be tempted to impose a little of it on his team. The trick for him will be finding that equilibrium between structure and freedom, a place where the Heat can still exploit teams with speed and athleticism but have a sense of purpose when the game situation demands it. That will mean remaining faithful to the principles of pace and space and keeping his foot off the break -- but also figuring out how to slip wrinkles into the offense so that it doesn't fly off the rails.

• In a parallel universe last night, NBA fans were treated to a Bulls-Thunder/Spurs-Trail Blazers doubleheader. Basketball Prospectus' Bradford Doolittle ran the simulation and found that Derrick Rose went off for 34 points. For those tracking the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook dynamic, Westbrook went 4-for-13 from the field and coughed up six turnovers.
• Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell says that the music industry should look to the NBA as a template for developing young talent: "If music was run like the sports industries, the NBA or the NFL, we would have a healthy school system."
• Kentucky's Terrence Jones, who might have been a lottery pick last June, stayed in school in large part because of advice from cousin Damon Stoudemire regarding the NBA's labor unrest.
• Benjamin Polk of A Wolf Among Wolves likes Luke Ridnour, but also wonders whether average point guards who lack dynamism "are the stock-in-trade of bad teams."
• Kevin Durant's Goodman League Greatest Hits.
• Would a more punitive luxury cap hurt the Thunder's long-term chances of retaining their young core?
• Shawn Bradley has recovered his enormous, stolen bicycle: "The crime perplexed both police and Bradley since the 80 cm frame Trek was built to hold the 7 foot 6 NBA star. 'My brother is 6 feet 10 inches and he can’t ride it,' a baffled Bradley told the Deseret News. The bicycle was stolen from a barn on Bradley’s Murray, Utah, property. Despite having his pick of ATVs, motorcycles and normal-sized bicycles, the thief only took Bradley’s gigantic wheels."
• J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas take a straw poll of NBA players and find that James Harden is the NBA's biggest hipster. Beard density seems to be a disproportionate factor in the criteria.
• Trey Kerby lies on a bed and says funny stuff to the HoopSpeak Live crew.
• Metta World Peace and Devin Ebanks will be serving ice pops in a solar-powered food truck.
• One way to address the financial ills of smart-market teams is to live in a world where the NBA derives the majority of the league's broadcast revenue from the international market. Graydon Gordian, Andrew McNeill and I discuss this, market parity, the sleeping giant that is the San Francisco market, "Party Down" and making the NBA more like the Premier League at the 4-Down Podcast.
• Thad Young has a conversation with Tom Sunnergren of Philadunkia. Young has no idea whether Andre Iguodala will be back with the Sixers: "I’m not sure. He’s not sure either. It’s hard to tell with the lockout, so we pretty much are just playing it by ear and just trying to work out the situation at hand." Young says Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA and that Dirk Nowitzki is the player he admires the most.
• When he was 4 years old, Sundiata Gaines was the victim of a stray bullet while he was standing outside a photocopy store. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the story (Hat Tip: Kelly Dwyer, Ball Don't Lie).
• The Bobcats have a logjam at the forward spot, particularly with Bismack Biyombo arriving on the scene. How do you distribute the minutes? Can Tyrus Thomas claim them?
• Another primer on what decertification means, this one from Tulane law professor Gabe Feldman.

• On the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, union president Billy Hunter insisted there were only "six or seven" NBA veterans who were pulling in bloated salaries in the $6-10 million range without contributing all that much on the floor. On Tuesday, Zach Lowe of the Point Forward pored over salary data and found no fewer than 34 veterans who could be fairly characterized as overpaid. Andrew Lynch of Hardwood Paroxysm went through the list of "Bad Mid-Tier Contracts," and discovered that the five teams who carried three or more of these contracts averaged a woeful 33.2 wins. Meanwhile, the eight conference semifinalists had only four such contracts combined (two of four belonging to Atlanta).
• Tom Ziller of SB Nation offers a smart rebuttal to my case against revenue sharing: "Without more robust revenue sharing, a new revenue split will only serve to shift the conditions a little: teams like the Spurs will make a couple million in profit or break even, the Knicks will make even more money. It's still not fair or productive. It still doesn't incent the pursuit of excellence for small markets." At some point, we'll need to look at the very sensitive issue of what constitutes a viable market in a sports world driven by broadcast revenue and television households. This is a relatively new model because, for decades, the gate was king. I'm still intrigued by the Costas plan, whereby the visiting team would earn its fair share of local television revenue, because it's a proposal guided by principle. I still have hope that, in the coming decades, robust revenue from international broadcasts could level the playing field across the league. Yet right now, it's nearly impossible not to lose money in a number of NBA markets. Nobody wants to see loyal fans in any market lose a product they love. The atmosphere in Salt Lake City and Sacramento is intoxicating and every chance I get to travel to these arenas is a treat. But let's acknowledge you'll have a hard time finding any other commercial sector where huge operating losses are subsidized every year because the idea of a business leaving a market makes people sad or queazy. This returns us to the age-old question: Are sports teams entertainment products or public trusts?
• In the not-so-distant future, it's very likely some of your favorite NBA players will be pitching products in their Twitter feeds.
• Zach Lowe explores whether less restrictive trade parameters would give an edge to wealthier teams.
• The best Milwaukee Buck of the past 20 years? That's easy -- Ray Allen. Josh Hilgendorf of Bucksketball writes that, as good as Allen was, the trade that sent him to Seattle didn't turn out all that bad for the Bucks.
• Derrick Rose, easily among the league's most underpaid players, on the salary cap: "I wish it was back like where it was in the old days where there wasn't a cap ... Back in the day, they were giving guys coming out of college multimillion-dollar contracts, so why stop it now? The game is growing. There's no need to stop it."
• Could Jamal Crawford be a hot free agent target when the NBA gets back to work? Crawford might be a chucker, but has generally been exceptionally well-liked among his contemporaries.
• Morris Almond with some recommendations for your listening pleasure: "Did i mention that the Film Score radio station on Pandora is a goldmine?"
• Social networking tools plotted along two dimensions.
• Mike Fratello is back in the winemaking game.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks for LeBron James. He entered the Finals having outplayed regular season MVP Derrick Rose in the previous series. Scottie Pippen even went as far to say that James might be better than his former teammate Michael Jordan.

Fast forward to Game 4 of the NBA Finals, where for the first time in his 90 career playoff games, James failed to reach double figures. He was noticeably absent in the fourth quarter where he was held scoreless and has only contributed nine points for the series.

Even with his seven assists, LeBron scored or assisted on only 22 of the Heat’s points in Game 4 against the Mavericks. That’s the fewest total points he’s contributed to his team in any single playoff game in his career.

So what happened to James on the offensive end in Game 4?

A good way to measure LeBron’s involvement in his team’s offense is with the advanced statistic Usage Rate. Usage Rate is how often per 40 minutes that a player shoots, assists, gets to the line or commits a turnover.

In Game 4, James had a usage rate of 16.9. That was his lowest single-game usage rate for any of his 98 games played this season. In fact, it is the lowest usage rate of his postseason career. His previous low was 17.2, which came in Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals.

Out of the 627 regular season games James has played in his career, he has had only two lower usage rates – and both occurred in his rookie season.

James’ declining usage rate wasn’t just a problem in Game 4, but rather has been a developing theme as the postseason has gone on.

LeBron had a slightly higher usage rate than Dwyane Wade in the 2011 regular season, but while Wade's usage rate has remained fairly steady in the playoffs, James' has seen a significant drop in the finals. As a result, Wade has registered a higher usage rate in each of the four games vs Dallas, relegating James to sidekick status.

In addition to LeBron deferring more to his teammates, he is also less efficient as measured by PER (Player Efficiency Rating). PER is a per-minute, pace-adjusted measure of a player’s statistical productivity, with the league average being 15. LeBron’s career postseason PER is 26.5, highest among all active players. James had a paltry 6.6 PER in Game 4, his lowest of the 2011 postseason.

For Miami to win the series it is crucial to get the ball in James' hands late in the game, whether he's scoring or not.

In Games 1 and 3 of the Finals, both Heat wins, James had a touch on 78.6 percent of the Heat's possessions. In Games 2 and 4, Heat losses, James had a touch on 60 percent of his team's offensive possessions.