The Bulls have a backcourt logjam. Kirk Hinrich is healthy again, which means he needs playing time — how can you trade him if you don’t play him? — but you also don’t want to take out your best player, Derrick Rose, just so Hinrich can get some run. So what do you do? You play them alongside each other, like Vinny Del Negro did against the Cavs last night.

Upon first glance, this wouldn’t seem to work, but alas, it did: The Bulls were able to move the ball more efficiently with both guards on the floor, and each was able to find shots for the other. While this was happening, I was drinking Budweiser, so I can’t really give you specific examples. So you have a choice. You can just believe me. Or you can read Kevin Arnovitz, who tracked the duo’s court time for TrueHoop last night and came away impressed:

The Bulls finish +7 with Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich on the court together.  It’s no coincidence that the two stretches during which they cooperate most in the halfcourt produce positive results.  Having two guards on either side of the court who can both handle the ball and penetrate presents migraines for NBA defenses, who are accustomed to focusing on the strong side.   With Rose and Hinrich on the court simultaneously, the Bulls will have the ability to swing the ball from side to side, and initiate action faster than most defenses can react.  These defenses will, in turn, have to pay a heavy price for cheating across the help line, particularly as Hinrich re-establishes his jump shot.

See? Co-existence is fun! It’s like a two-person point guard commune. Everyone gets playing time, and a share in the work of the Motherland. Except Ben Gordon. Ben Gordon is on the outside looking in. Does that make him a villager in the Ural Mountains? A resident of East Berlin? I don’t know. This USSR metaphor fell apart about three sentences ago, and I’m too tired to pick up the pieces.