Bulls Vs. Wizards: Derrick Rose, Chicago Rout Washington 105-77

Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls showed the Washington Wizards what a championship-level team is. The Bulls used stifling defense and tremendous attention to detail in routing the Wizards 105-77 at the Verizon Center. 

Rose led the Bulls with 21 points and nine assists, while Luol Deng added 21 points of his own. But it was the Bulls' defense that truly dominated. Chicago held the Wizards to just 36 percent from the field, keeping John Wall in check. Wall had just nine points on 3-14 shooting, as Rose dominated the individual matchup.

The Bulls also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Wizards 56-39. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer took it to Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, both finishing with double-digit rebounds. Not only were the Bulls forcing a lot of missed shots, but they were also grabbing a lot of the rebounds. The end result was a rout.

Blatche led the Wizards with 15 points in his first game back after missing two games with a hip injury, but shot just 6-14 from the field. Nick Young added 14 points on 6-15 shooting.

Bulls Vs. Wizards: Derrick Rose Takes Over As Chicago Leads 78-57 After Three Quarters

In case there was any chance of the Wizards making a comeback in the second half against the Bulls, Derrick Rose was sure to eradicate it. Rose scored 11 points in the quarter, taking over the game and leading Chicago to a 78-57 lead after three quarters.

Rose's performance even spurred many Bulls fans the Verizon Center crowd to chant "MVP" at one point. He wowed the crowd with a nifty reverse layup in transition, then stuck a three-pointer to push the lead to 21 points. He now has 19 points, six assists and five rebounds in the game. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah have 16 points each to supplement Rose.

The Wizards continue to be stymied by a stifling Bulls defense, shooting just 34 percent as a team. Andray Blatche leads the team with 11 points, but is just 4-12 from the field in his first game back from a two-game absence due to a hip injury. To make matters worse, the Bulls are outrebounding the Wizards 42-29.

Bulls Vs. Wizards: Chicago Keeps Washington At Arms Length, 50-37, As Both Teams Struggle From The Field

The Bulls are not shooting the ball particularly well. Fortunately for them, the Wizards are shooting it worse. Neither team shot close to 50 percent during a relatively low-scoring first half of action at the Verizon Center. Chicago leads Washington by a score of 50-37.

Chicago has shot 19 for 43 from the field (44 percent), including just 1 for 9 from behind the arc. But the Wizards have shot a putrid  33 percent from the field (15-45 FG), and have shot five more free throws than the Wizards and made all 11 of their attempts at the line.

The Bulls have also killed Washington on the glass and are doing a better job at the free throw line as well. Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson are cleaning up on the boards and while Andray Blatche has 7 rebounds, Washington has been over-matched on the interior.

Noah and Loul Deng have lead the Bulls in scoring with 10 and 12 points respectively. In the point guard matchup between Derrick Rose and John Wall, Rose has eight points on 3 for 9 shooting while Wall has seven points, but has dished out five assists.

Bulls Vs. Wizards: Chicago Leads 25-20 After First Quarter

The obvious matchup going in to this game was John Wall vs. Derrick Rose. So far, that hasn't exactly been the case as Rose has shot only 2 for 8 from the floor while Wall shot 1 for 6. The Bulls lead by a score of 25-20 after the first quarter.

Chicago has cleaned up on the glass thanks in large part to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, who have five rebounds each. The Bulls have done an especially good job cleaning up the offensive glass, which has made a difference since neither team is shooting particularly well from the floor. That excludes Noah, who has shot 5 for 6 and leads all scorers with 10 points. The Wizards hot a lowly 9 for 24 from the field in the first quarter.

Andray Blatche is back in the starting lineup, but hasn't had much of an impact so far with two points and two rebounds.

While the Bulls have out-rebounded and out-shot the Wizards, they have also turned the ball over quite a bit, allowing Washington to keep this game close.

Bulls Vs. Wizards: John Wall, Washington Meet Derrick Rose, Chicago

The Wizards -- losers of five straight -- are still winless since the All-Star break. It hasn’t helped that the three teams they’ve played would all be playoff-bound if the current standings hold. Tonight, the Chicago Bulls make it number four in a row, so no favors from the schedule.

That’s not to say the Wizards haven’t competed. Washington matched the Heat through three quarters in Miami on Friday, and almost knocked off Western Conference power Dallas at the Verizon Center on Saturday

"This team (Washington) is athletic, and they’re competing hard," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said following his teams 105-99 win. "They play their best basketball against the better teams. We knew it would be dog fight."

The Wizards will need to bring their best Monday night with MVP candidate Derrick Rose leading the Bulls into town. Rose’s presence should make for a don’t-blink matchup opposite John Wall as the pair of No. 1 overall draft picks square off.

Wall has been on a tear of late, scoring 20+ points in each of his last three. On Saturday, he had eight of his 24 points in the final three minutes as the Wizards closed a 9-point deficit in the final four minutes only to fall in the end.

Here's a comparison between Rose and Wall as rookies via Basketball Reference. Of course, Wall's season is still a work in progress. (Click to enlarge.)

For more information -- for example, on Mike Bibby's reported buyout -- check out SB Nation DC and Bullets Forever.