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Archive for the ‘Game Preview’ Category

Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Memphis Grizzlies at the United Center tonight at 7:30 PM.

The Bulls are coming off an embarassing 96-80 loss to the Boston Celtics. The Bulls were hardly competitive. Derrick Rose had a solid game, scoring 18 points on the Celtics.

The Grizzlies are coming off of a thrilling win over the Orlando Magic. The Magic tried to throw a lob pass to Dwight Howard which was intercepted by the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies then called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Rudy Gay made a fade-away buzzer beating game winner, as the Grizzlies defeated the Magic, 86-84.

The Bulls split the season series with the Grizzlies last season. Drew Gooden had 21 points and 14 rebounds in the Bulls late season win over the Grizzlies.

The Bulls are expected to stick with the same starting lineup, starting Derrick Rose, Thabo Sefolosha, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Drew Gooden. The Memphis Grizzlies are expected to start Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Darko Milicic, and Marc Gasol

The Bulls will have to bring more energy if they want to escape with the victory tonight. These Memphis Grizzlies are much better than last year’s, with the addition of O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol, and the continued improvement of Mike Conley and Rudy Gay.

The game is on at 7:30 on CSN-Chicago.

Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics Preview

Friday, October 31st, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Boston Celtics tonight at 7 PM in Boston.

Both the Bulls and Celtics come into the game with records of 1-0.

The Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 108-95 in a great overall team effort on Tuesday.

The Celtics beat the Cavaliers 90-85, after receiving their championship rings. The Celtics were powered by a 27 point performance by Paul Pierce.

Tonight’s game will serve as both Derrick Rose’s first national television game, as the game will be broadcast on ESPN, and as Rose’s first road game.

The Bulls are expected to start Derrick Rose, Thabo Sefolosha, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Drew Gooden. The Celtics are expected to start Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins.

The Bulls struggled mightily against the Celtics last year, losing 81-92, 82-107, 93-116, and 92-106 in their 4 games against each other.

The Celtics are a 10 point favorite for tonight’s game.

The game is at 7 PM and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at the United Center against the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 PM.

The Bulls finished off the preseason strong, winning three straight to finish 4-4. The Bucks on the other hand finished the preseason with three straight losses to finish 1-7.

The Bulls and Bucks finished the preseason by playing each other. The Bulls defeated the Bucks 112-104 in overtime, powered by Andres Nocioni’s 26 points. During the game, Andres Nocioni, Luke Ridnour, Kirk Hinrich, and Richard Jefferson were involved in a scuffle after Nocioni lightly fouled Jefferson. Perhaps tempers will fume again tonight.

Luke Ridnour, Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, and Andrew Bogut are expected to start for the Bucks.

Derrick Rose, Thabo Sefolosha, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Drew Gooden are expected to start for the Bulls.

While Sefolosha finished the preseason off with a solid game, he was horrible for the rest of the preseason. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to bring both Hinrich and Gordon off the bench in favor of Sefolosha.

The logic behind this move is that Del Negro wants more size in the back court because the front court is small. The problem is it likely won’t work. With a team like the Bucks with the fire power of Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson, and Charlie Villanueva, the Bulls could easily find themselves down early.

Betus.com has the Bulls rated as 6 point favorites over the Bucks.

The game is at 7:30 PM and will be on WGN and ESPN 1000.

Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview

Friday, October 24th, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 PM at the United Center.

The Bulls enter the game with a preseason record of 3-4. The Bulls are coming into the game on a 2 game winning streak after beating the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

The Bucks enter the game with a preaseason record of 1-6. The Bucks are currently on a 2 game losing streak. The Bucks lost to the Timberwolves last night 95-76.

Derrick Rose will try to continue his streak of great play. On Tuesday, against Dallas, Rose had 30 point and 7 assists. Against Minnesota on Wednesday, Rose had 17 points and 6 assists.

The Bulls won the season series agains the Bucks last season 3-1.

In one of the games, the Bulls defeated the Bucks in an exciting 151-135. The Bulls were powered by a 22 point and 15 assist performance by Chris Duhon, 32 points from Luol Deng, and 29 points from Ben Gordon.

In a game two years ago, Ben Gordon and Michael Redd got engaged in a shoot out. Michael Redd outscored Ben Gordon 52 to 48, but Gordon led the Bulls to a 126-121 victory in overtime.

Bulls fans will not be treated to a preseason version of the Gordon-Redd shootout, as the AthletiCo injury report states that Ben Gordon will sit out tonight’s game.

Tyrus Thomas is listed as questionable for tonight.

The game is at 7:30 PM and will be on CSN - Chicago.

Chicago Bulls at Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Dallas Mavericks in Minnesota tonight at 7 PM CT.

The Bulls are entering the game at 2-4 in preseason play. Last night, the Bulls came back from 23 down to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 109-105. Derrick Rose scored 30 points and had 7 assists.

The Timberwolves enter the game at 5-1 in preseason play. The Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 111 to 107 on Sunday. Randy Foye had an impressive 12 point and 15 assist performance.

In the Bulls first game against the Timberwolves in the preaseason, the Bulls gave up a 15 point lead at the end of the first quarter, and fell to the Timberwolves 96 to 86. Derrick Rose had 9 points and 7 assists in this game, Drew Gooden had 20 points, and Nocioni added in 18 points. The Timberwolves were led by Corey Brewer’s 15 point 9 rebound game.

Ben Gordon is expected to play tonight. Vinny Del Negro held Gordon out of yesterday’s game despite Gordon saying he wanted to play. There is a small chance that Vinny keeps Gordon out of tonight’s game as well.

The game is at 7:00 PM on CSN-Chicago.

Chicago Bulls at Dallas Mavericks Preview

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas tonight at 7:30 PM.

The Bulls enter the game 1-4 in preseason play after splitting a back to back set with the Utah Jazz. The Bulls won the first game against the Jazz as a result of Ben Gordon’s clutch play. That was the only game Gordon has played in, and so far is the Bulls’ only win.

The Mavericks enter this game at 4-2, and they are looking strong. They are coming off of a 124-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings in which Gerald Green scored 29 points.

The Mavericks beat the Bulls 110-102 in the Bulls’ first game of this year’s preseason. Gerald Green, again had a strong game, scoring 18 points. Aaron Gray had 14 points and 9 rebounds.

The Bulls are expected to have their full roster for the first time of the preseason. It will be the first chance that fans get to see how Del Negro will handle the guard logjam.

Statistically, Larry Hughes, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kirk Hinrich have performed so poorly in preseason thus far in preseason that they should not be getting a single minute on an NBA court. Larry Hughes’ and Thabo Sefolosha’s struggles are just following trends regarding the players from the past few years, but Kirk Hinrich’s continuing struggles is surprising. It looks like Hinrich just isn’t cut out to be an NBA shooting guard.

So statistically speaking, Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon should be the starting back court. The Bulls will only be wasting Derrick Rose’s great passing talent by surrounding him with poor offensive talent who cannot convert on his passes.

Ben Gordon definitely wants a starting spot, but he vows that he will do whatever it takes to help the team. It is unclear to Gordon how Del Negro will use him, as the great communicator hasn’t quite communicated well with Gordon.

”I haven’t spoken with him about it,” Gordon said. ”Whatever it is, my role is pretty much always going to be the same: come in, make plays, score the ball. I’m not worried about any of that. I’ve pretty much seen every look: starting, coming off the bench, whatever. I’m going to come out, play and try to help us win games.”

Vinny Del Negro, who promised to come in with no predeceived notions, seems to be coming in with some predeceived notions in regards to Gordon coming off the bench.

”I wouldn’t sit here and say I’m never going to start Ben,” Del Negro said. ”But really, he hasn’t played, so I have to go with the guys who are healthy. I haven’t seen him enough with the starting group to figure out where he can best be used. I know he can score the ball and do things. I like his ability to score off the bench and give us a boost, but I’m not sure yet either way.”

It would be a real shame is Del Negro didn’t at least test out a starting Rose-Gordon backcourt in preseason play, which he seems hesitant to try.

The game is at 7:30 PM and will be on CSN - Chicago and NBA TV.

Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz Preview

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

The Chicago Bulls take on the Utah Jazz at 7:30 PM tonight at the United Center.

The Bulls are entering the game with a 1-3 record. The Jazz are coming in with a 2-3 record.

This game is the second of a back to back. The Bulls edged out the Jazz 108-105. The Bulls were powered by the great three point shooting of Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni. Both finished 4-8 on their three point field goal attempts. Gordon finished the game with 23 points in his 2008-2009 preseason debut, and Nocioni scored 20.

Derrick Rose looked impressive against Deron Williams, putting up 14 points and 5 assists, although Deron Williams was even better. Williams finished with 14 points and 9 assists.

Larry Hughes, Michael Ruffin, and Demetris Nichols are questionable for tonight’s game.

Derrick Rose, who left yesterday’s game with cramps, is expected to play.

Ben Gordon, who made his preseason debut last night, is not expected to play. Gordon may not want to push himself in back to back games. But their is still a small chance that Gordon plays, and if his toe felt fine during yesterday’s game, he will probably play again today.

The game is at 7:30 PM on WGN - America.