The Chicago Bulls fell to the Golden State Warriors 95 to 83 in their first contest in the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League.

The Bulls fell behind early, as Anthony Randolph poured in 16 points in the first quarter. The Bulls would take control of the game in the second quarter, making it a one point game at half time, 46-45 in favor of the Warriors.

The Bulls took the lead, 63-62 with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter on a James Johnson jumpshot, but it was all Golden State from there.

The story of today’s game was Anthony Randolph of the Warriors, who finished the game with 42 points and 3 blocks. The 42 points tied a Las Vegas Summer League record. Randolph now joins Marcus Banks and Von Wafer for having the most points in a Las Vegas Summer League game. Randolph, with his combination of length and athleticism was a tough cover for the Bulls, forcing the Bulls to foul often, as Randolph went to the free throw line 21 times.

James Johnson was impressive in his Bulls debut, scoring 21 points on 9-13 shooting and grabbing 8 rebounds. There isn’t much that James Johnson can’t do on the offensive end, he is a very skilled player. Johnson was shooting the ball well, even hitting a three point shot near the end of the second quarter. Johnson had another three in the fourth quarter that just rimmed out.

Johnson handled the ball very well. There aren’t many players, if any in the NBA, who can handle the ball like he can. He handled the ball for the Bulls often in the half court, but also in the full court, where he led multiple Bulls’ fastbreaks, many of which were successful. He also showed the ability in the half court to take his man off the dribble, and finish off his dribble drive move.

The discerning part of Johnson’s performance tonight was his effort defensively and on the glass. His defense was subpar, and he didn’t show much effort on the glass, lazily going after rebounds, rather than viciously attacking the boards.

Taj Gibson was the opposite of Johnson defensively and on the glass. Gibson was in there fighting for every rebound. Gibson’s motor is excellent, and has the length to be a good rebounder. He looked as long as advertised in pre-draft measurements out there on the court.

Gibson finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He showed an ability to get out and run the court, which should be a good fit when he’s out there playing with Derrick Rose in the regular season.

The discerning part about Gibson’s game tonight was his 9 personal fouls. A lot of these fouls were on attempted blocks by Gibson. Gibson needs to learn to go straight up with his arm when attempting to block a shot. Not only will he avoid the foul, but he will get more reach, which should lead to more blocks.

Johnson and Gibson shared one really impressive tag team play in the second quarter. Jamal Sampson went up for a shot on the left block, and Johnson and Gibson simultaneously blocked the shot.

James Augustine scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Augustine hit some jumpshots, and put in a lot of easy shots in the paint set up by his teammates.

Stephen Curry had a tough game, scoring 10 points on 3-15 shooting, but he did have 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Curry looked like a solid point guard, but doesn’t appear to have the skills to be an elite point guard if he isn’t scoring in bunches.

Anthony Morrow and Joe Ingles both put in 10 points for the Warriors as well.

Demarcus Nelson had a solid 14 point, 6 assist, 5 rebound game, while Anthony Roberson put on a brick fest, scoring 11 points, but shooting 3-13 from the field.

Closing Comments

A solid start to summer league for the Bulls. Yes, it was a loss, but in summer league, how you’re prized young players perform is more important than the game result. Tonight, both James Johnson and Taj Gibson showed exactly why the Bulls drafted them, and put on performances that should have Bulls’ fans excited about both players’ futures with the team.

Go Bulls!

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Tags: 2009 Las Vegas Summer League, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Anthony Roberson, Chicago Bulls, DeMarcus Nelson, Golden State Warriors, James Augustine, James Johnson, Joe Ingles, Marcus Banks, Stephen Curry, Summer League, Taj Gibson, Von Wafer

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