The popular theory is the Bulls will go only as far as rookie guard Derrick Rose will take them this season.
Then again, some say the Bulls will cash in on a playoff berth only if big-money players such as Luol Deng earn their pay.
But after watching Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah come off the bench Saturday to help key the Bulls' 113-104 victory over theNew Jersey Nets, Ben Gordon cast his vote for those two as the players who will dictate the team's fate.
Those guys are going to determine how well we do this season and how far we can go,
Gordon said. The more they can play like that, the better we'll be.
Thomas and Noah contributed in a 9-0 fourth-quarter run that wiped out a six-point deficit. Noah started it with a conventional three-point play off a tip-in. Thomas converted a perfect alley-oop from Larry Hughes, then sank two free throws after a steal and full-court drive.
Thomas had his best game of the season with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in 24 minutes.
[Thomas] gave us the whole package tonight,
Rose said. He was rebounding, running down loose balls.
Noah scored seven points and led the team in rebounds (eight) and blocks (three) in 27 minutes.
Consistently getting such performances from Thomas and Noah has been problematic for coach Vinny Del Negro, just as it was for Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan.
Some nights it comes real easy, some nights it doesn't,
Del Negro said. When it doesn't, as you get mature, you find ways to make yourself effective. That's when you become a real pro in the league. You can have off nights but find ways to contribute.
Some guys, it takes longer than others. They have games like this, they're difference-makers.
Thomas and Noah will have plenty of opportunities to keep the good feelings going because the Bulls (11-12) play four games in the next six nights, beginning Tuesday at Charlotte.
Thomas needs to have a more productive week than his last one, in which he played five nonproductive minutes at Washington, was benched against New York and got seven minutes Friday at Memphis. He also was tossed from a practice for making a sarcastic comment.
Thomas declined to talk about that incident in the following days and avoided the subject after the game Saturday.
I worked too hard this summer to beat myself up or lose confidence in myself,
Thomas said. I'm my worst critic sometimes. I know the work I put in every day when people are not watching. I know what I'm capable of doing.
I have the ability to play in the open court and in the halfcourt. I try to come out and play hard every night. Sometimes things don't go your way, and you get frustrated.
