The third quarter ends with a flurry of buckets. Eleven points from little Jeff Teague helps Atlanta cut an eight point Bulls lead to one, and then Josh Smith knocks down a jumper to give the Hawks their first advantage of the game, 64-63. From there, it is back and forth. Deng gives the Bulls the lead, Horford takes it back. Deng does so again with two free throws, Pachulia takes it back. The Bulls charge the court without regard for the location of their MVP, Taj Gibson flips it to Ronnie Brewer, Brewer lays the ball into the basket, Jamal Crawford’s desperate three falls short and the quarter is over.
“Who is that little guy?” Rob asks. We were watching the game at 6 Corners Sports Bar, and That Little Guy was antagonizing the partisan crowd, as he has all series.
“That’s this little guy Teague,” I say, “Jeff Teague.”
“He’s young.”
“The crazy thing is, he averaged like fifteen minutes a game in the regular season, and then played eight minutes total in the first round. Then Hinrich got hurt, the ex-Bull, and because Atlanta was already low on guards and they wanted to keep Crawford, the other ex-Bull, in his sixth man role, this dude Teague got the call. And now he’s playing 40 minutes a night and killing us,” I said, “just killing us. 16 points on 52% shooting.”
The fourth quarter begins and Teague knifes to the basket and converts. “Whoa!” Rob shouts as the crowd at 6 Corners collectively keels. “He doesn’t stop!”
“Nope,” I say, “but neither does Rose,” and just like that Rose gets a bucket, then dishes out a pair of breathtaking assists, the first a no-looker in the middle of his dribble to a streaking Deng, the second even more brilliant, Rose taking his dribble to the heart of the Atlanta de-fense, pulling up at the foul line in front of Teague, leaping toward the basket as the Hawks surround him and then flipping the ball over his left shoulder to Gibson, who ducks under defenders, lays the ball in, takes the hit, pumps his fist, roars with approval, steps to the line, knocks in the free throw, and returns to his defensive stance.
Rose is at it again on the next possession, this time by himself. The Bulls employ a bench-heavy lineup for the duration of the fourth quarter, Rose and Deng flanked by Gibson, Brewer, and Omer Asik, and now the floor is spread with Rose on top, Deng to his left, Brewer and Gibson in the corners, and Asik trotting up to set the screen on Teague.
Only Asik does not hold the screen. He leaves Teague free to stay with Rose. It’s a ploy: Asik was actually screening the bigger Al Horford, who’d wandered up to trap the Bulls’ wily guard. Rose darts around Teague and flies past the sealed-off Horford, dribbles straight to the middle of the lane, and rises up to face Josh Smith, Atlanta’s acrobatic shot-blocker.
The 6 Corners crowd gasps, and Rob does too, but this is vintage Rose (so young, and already vintage) as the 22-year-old stutter steps ever-so-slightly, just enough to sew doubt in Smith. The Atlanta forward back-pedals, and Rose leaps off his left foot, cups the ball with his right hand, shields Smith with his left arm, and bounces the ball off the backboard and straight through the net.
Jeff Teague has been brilliant for the Hawks. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The lead is now back to eight; Atlanta would get only to six the rest of the way as Rose, Deng, Brewer, Gibson, and Asik swarmed and attacked, forcing turnovers like Peanut and Danieal Manning. Again and again, the Bulls demonstrate their offensive cunning and defensive brilliance, intercepting passes and storming the rim. At the center of the display is Rose, the team MVP turned league MVP, waves upon waves of fierce lay-ins and nifty passes, and then Gibson channeling his inner-Boozer with an array of baby hooks, mid-range jumpers, driving layups, and the lead is 14 and the deed is done and the Bulls have won Game 5.
As we paid our bill and left, Teague was finished. Another brilliant game – 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting with 7 assists – but nothing compared to Rose, who continues his torrid affair with beauty and greatness. For the series, he is averaging 32 points and 9 assists, and shows no signs of stopping. The power of this Bulls team has been challenged by critics, pundits, and opposing fans – not to mention the Pacers and Hawks – but where there is doubt, so there is Rose. His brilliance with the basketball is unmistakable. Like all great pop performers, he entertains novices while amazing those who know exactly what they are seeing.
Rest well, young Teague. It’s not your time.
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Jack M Silverstein is a freelance writer covering music, sports, and community in Chicago. He has written his opinion column "On the John" for 11 years. Say hey at 