John Lucas III goes off, Bulls beat the Heat 106-102

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Sean

With most of the NBA world watching the Dwight Howard saga unfold last night, the Bulls were able to come off with a stunning Derrick Rose-less win over the Miami Heat at home last night, winning 106-102. Third string point guard, John Lucas III came off the bench to lead the Bulls with 24 points on 9-12 shooting. Joakim Noah continued his string of great games, chipping in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Taj Gibson also came off with an impressive 8 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade combined for 71 of the Miami Heat’s 102 points.

This was easily the best game I’ve watched this season. After it was announced that Derrick Rose would not be playing due to a strained groin injury, I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting much. Derrick Rose accounts for the Bulls entire offense so coming off with a convincing win against the world’s most talented basketball team is a big deal.

John Lucas III was obviously the man of the night. After getting dunked on by LeBron James the last time these two teams met, Lucas came out with fierce intensity. For a guy who’s generously listed at 5’11, to be able to come out and shoot 9-12 from the field is amazing. JL3 hit some of the biggest shots of the night including an array of 3 pointers, floaters and the shot every guy fantasises about taking; a fade away jumper right in the face of LeBron James.

The defense really kept the Bulls in this game the entire 48 minutes. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are getting to be so meticulous about how they block shots, that it’s almost an art. The timing they have is just fantastic. Add that, along with a bunch of ridiculously good passers and back door cuts and you have the NBA’s most team oriented basketball club.

The sad part about all this is that the Bulls were only able to win by 4. The Miami Heat effortlessly came back from a 15 point deficit in just a few minutes of play. Chicago has to play perfectly to just get a win against these guys. Could you imagine how good the Heat would be if the entire team put in the same kind of effort the Bulls do? They’d be unstoppable.

Nevertheless, the Bulls were able to get a quality win without their star player. The Bulls host the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night. Portland has made a series of trade deadline deals and have just acquired Mehmet Okur & Shawne Williams from the New Jersey Nets for Gerald Wallace. They’ve also traded Marcus Camby to the Houston Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet and draft picks. It’ll be interesting to see who suits for the game. I have a feeling that Rose and Deng will probably both sit this one out.

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A look at the idea of a Boozer for Gasol trade

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

As the NBA trade deadline approaches this Thursday, one trade that I could see potentially popping up is some discussion of a Carlos Boozer and Pau Gasol trade.  There has been some murmurings of an idea of this type of trade in the past, but nothing really concrete, and it isn’t something Bulls fans should expect to happen at all, but it’s interesting enough to at least take a look at.

Why would the Lakers look to trade Pau Gasol now?  Well for starters, they tried to trade him for Chris Paul before the season started, only to have the trade vetoed by David Stern.  While Gasol has made the best of the bad situation, they might still want to trade him to get rid of any hurt feelings that might still be lingering from the failed trade.  Additionally, the Lakers are having a disappointing season, only middling out in the Western Conference playoff picture right now, so they might see a shake up to the team as being necessary.

For starters, let’s look at comparative stats for Boozer and Gasol.

Carlos Boozer – 15.4 pts, 54.5 ts%, 8.1 reb, 107 o-rtg, 96 d-rtg, 19.5 PER

Pau Gasol – 16.8 pts, 55.2 ts%, 10.5 reb, 112 o-rtg, 99 d-rtg, 21.0 PER

Just looking at the base statistics, Boozer and Gasol are having pretty comparable seasons.  Gasol is averaging 7.4 more minutes per game, so that accounts for some of his additional production to Boozer.

From the Bulls perspective, I think this is a trade you absolutely do.  While it would shake up the team some, I think it would be in a good way.  Gasol has championship experience, both in the NBA and in international play, and he is a legitimate 7-footer.  I feel as though a 7-foot player that gives you Boozer’s production is always going to be better than Boozer himself.  I think being 7-foot, in particular will make Gasol a stronger player for the Bulls on the defensive end than Boozer is.

From the Lakers perspective, I think they’d have to view it as losing on the talent front, at least by a little bit.  Still, I think, as mentioned earlier, it might be a good idea for the Lakers just to shake up their team a bit, and try to get back in the championship chase.

For the Lakers to take this trade, they would absolutely need additional compensation, in addition to Boozer.  They would be taking on an extra year of salary with Boozer’s contract than they have committed to Gasol.  I think adding C.J. Watson would be a natural fit to the trade, as the Lakers need improved point guard play, and a future first round draft pick to sweeten the pot a little bit.

I don’t think it’s a trade that is likely to happen at all, but just wanted to make the point that even though Boozer is having a good season, if someone offers a player of similar production, such as Gasol, it may be a trade that the Bulls should do, even if it means shaking up the team’s chemistry a bit.

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Rumors: Dwight Howard and Ben Gordon

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

There are two new rumors fresh from a poster on RealGM today about trade proposals and interests of the Bulls.

The first rumor, says that Orlando is offering Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu to the Bulls for Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Omer Asik, and Kyle Korver.  The second rumor says that the Bulls are interested in bringing Ben Gordon back.

These two rumors are of particular interest to me, as a Bulls fan, just because of the likability factor of this team.  Luol Deng and Joakim Noah are two of my favorite players in the league, while Dwight Howard isn’t a player that I like all that much, but getting Gordon back at the same time as losing Deng/Noah would help bunches with the likability factor.

Now, breaking down the rumors, I’ll start with the easy one first.  Assuming Dwight Howard is willing to sign an extension, this is an absolute no-brainer trade for the Bulls.  Putting the best point guard in the league together with the best center in the league is too good to pass up.  Good inside-out duos have typically been successful throughout the history of the NBA, and Rose/Howard would have to be on the Kobe/Shaq level of inside/out combos.

Assuming these are all the moving parts for the trade, the Bulls roster would look like:

PG -Derrick Rose/C.J. Watson
SG – Richard Hamilton/
SF – Ronnie Brewer/Hedo Turkoglu
PF – Carlos Boozer/Taj Gibson
C – Dwight Howard

That is a solid 8-man rotation that could work.  Brewer can slide down for some minutes at shooting guard, and Thibodeau has played the Rose/Watson combo plenty, so that should take care of that.  Gibson can get some minutes at center when Dwight’s out, but that shouldn’t be much of an issue, since Dwight is able to seemingly play around 38-40 minutes a night.  As a result, Gibson/Boozer should both be fairly happy with the minutes they get.

The Bulls would want to sign a shooting guard and a center just for insurance purposes, and a few minutes here and there.  Not really sure what the free agent centers look like right now, but I think Keith Bogans would be a great pick up for the rest of the year since he knows Thib’s system.  It could also be time for Jimmy Butler to step up into some minutes as well.  Still would like to have a guy like Bogans on board, even if we go the Butler route just because of Rip’s injury problems.

The bottom line when it comes to Howard is that you have to be willing to trade anyone not named Derrick Rose on your team for Howard.  If you combine Rose/Howard together (with another good player in Boozer no less), you are probably going to win a championship.  Giving both players ages, it would be shocking if they didn’t win multiple championships together.  It sucks to have to give up both Deng and Noah in the same trade, but it’s absolutely the best move basketball wise for the Bulls to win a championship.

Now, moving onto the next rumor about Ben Gordon.  I love the idea of bringing Ben Gordon back.  He was one of my favorite players when he was here in Chicago, and it would be nice to have him back.  He has played horribly since being in Detroit, but Detroit is basically basketball hell, so I think there is a strong chance he would bounce back with a return to Chicago (on a championship contender too).  The guy can still shoot the ball, so he will be fine on that front.  He would give the Bulls the bench scorer that they’re lacking at the moment, and another late game option for when Rose sees the double teams.  Not too concerned defensively, since Thibodeau is a defensive wizard who will make things work, just as they do with the Rose/Watson small lineups.

The problem with bringing Gordon back is that his contract is just too big.  I could see it as part of a Howard trade, but things get a little mucky when you start messing around with the trade under the assumption we don’t trade for Howard.

I think the most likely trade would be Richard Hamilton and Kyle Korver for Ben Gordon, both for money reasons and basketball reasons.  Hamilton has been injured all year, and the Bulls have proven they have been able to play well without him.  And while Korver’s advance stats are pretty impressive, watching the games, it always seems that he misses the big threes when we need it.  Gordon would replace Korver as our three point specialist, and Jimmy Butler would probably take up the backup small forward minutes that Korver occupies.

I think the route we would go is to start Ronnie Brewer at shooting guard, as we’ve done when Rip has missed games, and bring Gordon off the bench for a scoring punch.

Not too sure about the likelihood of any of these things.  I think if the Magic trade Howard, we are the most likely destination, just because of the superior talent package we can offer to the Magic, but I don’t think they necessarily trade them.  Expect this to go right up to the deadline, as the Magic explore deals for Nash, Ellis, and others as they try to convince Howard to stay.  If he tells them he’s leaving again before the deadline though, I think they do end up trading him to either Chicago, New Jersey, or the Lakers, with the Bulls/Nets being the favorites.

No matter what, this trade deadline should be a fun one.  One of three things can happen: 1. We get the best center in the league.  2. We get one of my favorite players in the league.  3. We stand pat or make a minor trade, and we’re still the best team in the league.  Hard to feel too bad about either outcome.

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Rip Finally Returns to Lineup As Bulls Beat Hornets 99-95

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Sean

The Chicago Bulls were able to pull off a very nonchalant nail biter against the New Orleans Hornets Tuesday night, winning 99-95. Derrick Rose lead the way with 32 points, 9 assists and 3 steals. Joakim Noah had another great game with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Taj Gibson, provided a spark off the bench with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. Richard Hamilton also returned to action after missing 12 straight games. Rip chimed in with 5 points and 5 assists. Chris Kaman lead the Hornets with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

This was one of those games where you knew regardless of how close the game was at the end, the Bulls were going to win. Derrick Rose lives for the moment to hit the game winning shot. He’s slowly becoming one of the most clutch guys in the league and last night proved that.

This was the first game I was able to watch in about month so it was nice to see them come off with a victory. I haven’t had much time to write about any of the games either so that’s my explanation between an almost 2 month lapse since my last post. It’s great to see how well Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah have been lately, they’re all having great seasons. I secretly hope that Dwight Howard gets shipped out west so Noah can finally have a shot at being an All-Star. Noah definitely has stepped it up over the last 2 months, however, it wasn’t enough to bump Roy Hibbert out of the All-Star game.

Seeing Rip Hamilton coming out of the gates last night and getting an almost immediate and one opportunity was great. Rip is such a great player and this Bulls team would be fantastic if they all stayed healthy at the same time. Last night was only the 6th or 7th time the entire starting lineup had played together which is really sad. This lockout shortened/game crammed season is making for some really terrible basketball games and unfortunate injuries.

The Bulls take on the old, musty San Antonio Spurs tonight in a nationally televised ESPN game. Tip off is at 9: 00 p.m. Hopefully the Bulls can scrap out another one.

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State of the Bulls at the All Star Break

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

The Bulls have to be pretty happy with how they’ve played so far this season, and they are really entering the All Star break in a pretty good position to make a run at a championship this season.

The Bulls come into the break with a 27-8 record, second to only the Miami Heat, trailing the 27-7 Heat by half a game.  The Thunder are also slightly ahead of the Bulls with a 27-7 record.

What is so impressive about the Bulls’ record, is that they have missed Derrick Rose for a significant amount of games, as well as his backup, C.J. Watson, and Richard Hamilton has seemingly not played at all this season, and the few times he did play, the Bulls seemed like a much more potent offensive team.

The Bulls are boasting the third best offensive rating, trailing the Thunder and Heat, and the second best defensive rating, trailing just the 76ers.  Teams that excel this much in both categories usually win the championship, so the Bulls are in a good position right now going into the break.  The Heat have to be considered fairly frightening themselves, as they boast the best offensive rating, and the seventh best defensive rating, which isn’t too shabby.  The Thunder on the other hand, just have an average defense, which makes them the worse of the three elite teams in the league in my eyes.

Best of all for the Bulls, is that they are finally clicking as a cohesive basketball team.  Derrick Rose is playing good as always, but the Bulls’ other big money players are also playing well.  I’m not the biggest fan of PER, but it illustrates the point fairly well, with Derrick Rose leading the way with a 24.4 PER, Carlos Boozer with a 20.4 PER, Joakim Noah with an 18.8 PER, and Luol Deng with a 15.8 PER.  I think this is what the Bulls had in mind when they put this team together, especially as far as the big money players.

Looking at their basic stats, Carlos Boozer is averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 30.1 minutes. Joakim Noah is averaging 9.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 29.9 minutes.  As a whole, the Bulls’ starting front court is averaging 25.3 points, 18.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game in 60 minutes, stats that are actually somewhat deflated because of the Bulls’ slower than average pace.

As a whole, Boozer/Noah combine for 25 percent of the Bulls minutes, and are combining for 25.7 percent of the Bulls’ points, 40.6 percent of the team’s rebounds, and 18 percent of the Bulls assists.  The way that the Bulls’ front court duo has been able to come together and put together this great play is the reason why the Bulls are only a half game away from the best record in the league, despite all of the injuries.

Moving forward, past the break, it would be nice to see the Bulls go on some long winning streaks to lock up that first seed in the conference.  While I think the Bulls could still beat the Heat as the two seed, home court advantage will seemingly help the Bulls much more than the Heat (who beat the Bulls without home court advantage last year).

Nonetheless, Bulls fans should be excited about the position of this team at the All Star break, and the prospects of the team going forward this season, and kick back and relax and enjoy Rose and Deng playing in the All Star Game on Sunday.

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Bulls continue to persevere without Rose

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

As the season continues to grind on, the Chicago Bulls continue to pile up the wins, getting their record up to a league leading 25-7 after an 89-80 win over the Boston Celtics last night.

The Bulls were again without their star point guard Derrick Rose last night, but that didn’t seem to matter as the Bulls other core players all stepped up with Carlos Boozer having 23 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists; Luol Deng 23 points and 10 assists; Joakim Noah 15 points and 16 rebounds.

As Charles Barkley aptly put it on the broadcast last night, the Bulls are becoming the San Antonio Spurs of the Eastern Conference.  That is, the Bulls are going to be a perennial powerhouse in the conference, who seems to play well, even when missing key players, because of the strong defensive system implemented by their coach.  But I think the Bulls are becoming more than that.  Right now they have the 2nd best offensive rating and defensive rating in the league, which signifies largely that they are probably the team to beat in the playoffs if they’re healthy, as teams who are that dominant in both categories usually win it all.

The most impressive part is how they’ve been doing this with missing so many key players.  Rose has missed nine games, or 28 percent of the season.  Deng has missed a handful of games.  Richard Hamilton has been out for 21 games, or two-thirds of the season, and the Bulls are undoubtedly a better team with him in the lineup.

The Bulls have already survived two long road trips, coming out of both with really good winning records, even as injuries plagued them throughout the second.  After slow starts, the Bulls front court is really rocking with productive play from both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.

Get Derrick Rose consistently healthy, and Richard Hamilton back into the mix, and this is going to be the team to beat in the playoffs.  They just have too good of an offense/defense to be stopped by anyone not called the Miami Heat.  So as this season continues to unwind, what we all predicted at the beginning of the season, Chicago versus Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, is the collision course that the Bulls season seems to be on, and once again, that series will decide the fate of the Bulls season.

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Luol Deng named to All Star Team

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

For the first time since 1997-1998, when both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen made the team, the Chicago Bulls will have two all stars playing in the NBA All Star Game.  Luol Deng was named a reserve for the Eastern Conference squad, joining teammate Derrick Rose, who was voted in as a starter for the East.

For the season, Deng is averaging 16.0 points on 50.9 TS%, and 7.3 rebounds.  These aren’t exactly All Star numbers, but I think the coaches got it right.  The Bulls have the best record in the league at this point, after having the best record in the league last year, and have just too good this season, posting the best offensive rating and third best defensive rating in the league.  A team that good deserves to have multiple players on the All Star team, especially after the precedents set by giving the Pistons/Celtics of yesteryear four players on the team in certain years.

What’s to like about Deng that gives him this All Star nomination?  He is one of the best defensive players in the league, probably the second best defender at his position after Lebron James.  As far as his importance to the Bulls, he has been a steady second option next to Rose, and gives the Bulls a guy willing to take shots with and lead the second unit.

Ultimately, I think Deng made the All Star team because of his amazing defense, and his general likeability.

Another Bull that at least deserves mention as far as the All Star game goes is Carlos Boozer.  He is averaging 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per a game, playing in all 28 games for the Bulls.  While Boozer definitely has some really disappointing games this season, he has also had some games where he has been the man, putting up 20+ points and dominating the game.

What’s even more insane is Boozer’s advance statistics.  He has an offensive rating of 110 and a defensive rating of 95, which means the Bulls outscore their opponents by 15 points when Boozer has been on the court this season.  Kind of crazy that Boozer has been one of the best defensive players in the league, at least by advanced statistics this year.

Not sure if Boozer has done enough to warrant an All Star selection, especially with the crazy numbers that Tyson Chandler is putting up, but I thought he at least deserved some mention for his play this season.

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Week in Review: Bulls Missing Deng, Dwight Howard Speculation

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

This past week of the season has easily been the worst of the Bulls’ season so far, with the Bulls going 2-2.  The Bulls got wins over the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, neither of which is a very good team.  The Bulls lost to two of the better teams in the Eastern Conference in the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.

One thing that has become clear to me coming out of this past week of the season is that the Bulls will need Luol Deng to be healthy if they want to win the championship this year.  They have a great player in Derrick Rose along with a great defense, which will allow them to compete with anyone on a nightly basis, but in the long run, I just don’t see them having a winning formula over the long run of the playoffs.

Against Miami, it was kind of amazing the way the Bulls got back into the game, as it was one of those games where it seemed like Miami had control of the game throughout.  If the Bulls want to win a championship this year, they will have to go through Miami at some point in the playoffs, and as evidenced by this game, without Luol Deng, the Bulls will really struggle to guard Lebron James.

The game against the 76ers highlighted how the Bulls really miss Deng on the offensive end against good defensive teams (something that I would assume would also come up against Miami over the course of a seven game series).  Since Thibodeau has been the coach of the Bulls, Deng has really stepped up into a role of second option, not being afraid to shoot when he receives the ball.  He isn’t always the most efficient scorer, but Deng’s willingness to try to score is a lot better than the hesitation shown by his replacements when they get the ball.

If Deng can’t stay healthy for the playoffs, I don’t foresee the Bulls necessarily being an easy out.  But once the Bulls get into the second round and have to face the Pacers, 76ers, or even the Heat, it’s not going to be an easy series for the Bulls by any means.  Even if the Bulls escaped the second round, it would just get even more and more difficult as the level of competition rises in the conference finals and finals.

Could Bulls really get Dwight Howard?

Additionally this week, Dwight Howard said that he would be fine with playing with Derrick Rose in Chicago.  If Dwight Howard is getting good advice from his agent, Chicago should be where he should want to end up.

No matter what the Bulls have to give up in the trade, whether it is Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, or all three, the Bulls should come out of the trade a better team.  Pairing the best point guard in the game with the best center in the game would undoubtedly be a winning combination.  Compound that by pairing the best defensive player in the game, who is also a center – which means he can anchor a defense, with the best defensive coach in the league, and now things are just getting scary.

The Bulls would be the clear cut favorites for most of the next decade with Rose and Howard, and that would most likely mean multiple championships.  Even if Dwight Howard would always be No. 2 in the heart of Chicago fans, getting four, five championships is going to be a lot better for his legacy and marketability than zero in New Jersey or Orlando.

No team is better prepared to trade away a lot of their team, and still be ready to compete than the Bulls are.  If they trade Luol Deng, there’s still Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver.  If they trade Carlos Boozer, there’s still Taj Gibson.  If they trade Joakim Noah…well they already will have his replacement in Dwight Howard.

The Bulls also will have Nikola Mirotic coming over for likely the start of the 2013-2014 season.  Mirotic would be a tremendous fit next to Dwight Howard, as Howard would occupy the paint on offense, while Mirotic tends to play closer to the perimeter, ala Dirk Nowitzki.

If there is any shred of a chance the Bulls can get Dwight Howard, they need to do it.  Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard are enough to make a dynasty, and a chance to build a dynasty is something that should neither be passed up by the Bulls management, or Dwight Howard.

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Bulls start to season encouraging and scary at same time

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Andrew Wamboldt

I haven’t had a ton of time lately with school starting up again, and working a full time job to find the time to consistently write about each and every Bulls game like I have liked to do i the past, so with this post, I am going to just give an overview of my thoughts on the Bulls first 1/3 of the season.

Overall, I think Bulls fans have to be encouraged by the Bulls record right now.  They are 16-4, in first place in the Eastern Conference, and hold a two game lead over the Miami Heat.  They’ve done this all while playing the most games in the entire NBA, and dealing with a horrible rash of injuries.

The injuries are what is tarnishing what would have been an otherwise amazing start to the season.  The most concerning injuries are the turf toe injury to Derrick Rose and the torn wrist ligament of Luol Deng.  It looks like Rose should be able to play on his injury, although it’s the type of thing that could potentially linger and cause him to miss a game here or there, and wins aren’t going to be easy if we have to play a good team without Rose.

Deng’s injury is definitely the most scary.  For now, he says he will try to play through the injury, but losing Deng, a great two way player who Tom Thibodeau depends on for heavy minutes will be a decent blow to the team.  It won’t completely devastate the Bulls hopes of title contention because they’re still deep at the position with Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, and Jimmy Butler, but you would much rather have Deng out there than Brewer.

One thing that this start to the season, with all the injuries and all, has probably proven, is that the Bulls have a great coach in Tom Thibodeau.  Even when they’re missing key players, they’re still managing to win games, often decisively.  The Bulls are elite in both offense and defense this year, with a 108.0 offensive rating, the third best in the NBA, and a 96.6 defensive rating, the second best in the NBA.  The Bulls offense actually has regressed from last year (by the slimmest of margins), but for the most part, the rest of the league has been struggling offensively, while the Bulls have rarely put up to many offensive duds this season.

If the Bulls ever can get healthy, I think they will be the clear favorites to come out of the East.  The addition of Richard Hamilton is what really puts them over the top.  Hamilton gives the Bull an additional scoring threat that they didn’t have in Bogans last year, a good passer who can serve as a secondary playmaker to Rose, and Hamilton is the best player on the team at making that post entry pass, which should increase the productivity of Carlos Boozer.

Speaking of Boozer, I’ve been impressed with him thus far this season.  He is averaging 15.0 points and 8.4 rebounds.  His scoring efficiency is solid at 53.9 TS%, which is actually quite good compared to other players who have struggled to score as efficient as they’re used to in the lockout shortened season.  His PER is 20.2, which is also quite good.  I think as him and Hamilton get more time together, he will continue to put up more and more big games and impress some people.

The big thing with Boozer this year is he is actually trying on defense this year.  Because of his lack of athleticism, there are an occassional play or two in which Boozer just gets completely owned, which stick out in most Bulls fans minds after the game, leading to criticism of his defense.  However, Boozer seems to be making good rotations, and playing good positional defense to make it difficult for his man to score.  It shows up in the advanced stats, with Boozer having the second best defensive rating on the team out of the rotation players.

The guy who has the best defensive rating, is Omer Asik, who is putting together one of the best defensive seasons in recent memory.  I think that it would probably be the best move if Asik was given the starting center position, as when he is in the game, the other team has a lot of difficulty scoring anything within 10 feet of the basket.  On the other hand, Noah (who has actually played a bit better), doesn’t anchor an entire defense anywhere close to the level that Asik is able to.

Overall, it has been a good start to the season.  As a Bulls fan, the only thing we can really hope for is for the players on the team to get healthy.

This is all I have for this post.  I will be trying to post much more frequently in the coming weeks than I have for the past two as I get more comfortable with my work and school schedule and find some times that work for me to write about the Bulls.

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Bulls Beat Timberwolves, Move Into 1st Place in the East

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Sean

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night, 111-100. Derrick Rose exploded for 31 points, 11 assists and 2 blocks. Luol Deng had a great game as well, posting 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer did a fantastic job filling in for Rip Hamilton scoring 17 points. Luke Ridnour lead the Timberwolves in scoring with 22 points including 3-3 from three point range. Ricky Rubio looked awesome coming off the bench for Minnesota, ending the game with 13 points and 12 assists.

This game looked like a blowout early in the first half. At one point in the 2nd quarter, the Bulls were up 24 points. This wasn’t even because they were playing great defense or anything either, they were shooting 74%! Had the Timberwolves shown any defensive resistance, they probably wouldn’t have dug themselves in such a hole. Derrick Rose had to leave the game at one point re-aggravating his turf toe injury. John Lucas filled in decently for about 5 minutes. However, at the end of the 2nd quarter, the Bulls shooting went cold and Timberwolves went on a nice run, cutting the lead to 6 to end the half.

The Timberwolves tied the game in the 3rd and D-Rose went to work like always, shouldering the load the rest of the game. While the Bulls were able to hold off the Timberwolves at the end, this looked like a team that could be very good in the near future…that is if Love and Rubio decide to stay.

Kevin Love is one of the best power forwards in the game. He’s arguably already the best rebounder. However, he proved last night that his post game and defensive game need a little work. It’s great to have a PF who can shoot the three but when he can’t post up against guys like Boozer, he could probably stand to add that to his game over next summer. Ricky Rubio looks like the real deal. He dazzles in a way that’s not flashy but effective. He has a great shot at winning rookie of the year and could definitely develop into the next Steve Nash.

With the Miami Heat blowing a big lead last night and losing to the Golden State Warriors, the Bulls move into 1st place with this win. Chicago plays the 1-8 Washington Wizards tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST on Comcast Sportsnet.

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