The Chicago Bulls got a big win over the Orlando Magic tonight, behind a big game from Derrick Rose.

Rose came out aggressive tonight, attacking the Magic’s defense. In the third quarter, Rose came up big, scoring 16 points, which coincided with the Bulls building up a big lead in the game. In the fourth quarter, as the Magic began to creep back into the game, Rose was the one to hit the big shot to answer the previously 10 unanswered points scored by the Magic to bring it from a 90-75 game to a 90-85 game.

In all, Rose finished the game with 30 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, in what was one of his finest games of the season. When Rose attacks defenses as aggressively as he did tonight, he increases his scoring efficiency, as he creates higher percentage shots for himself, but he also opens up the game for his teammates. In driving with this type of aggressiveness, Rose forces other players on the opposing team to react, opening up shots for his teammates, and also, when he drives, he can bring help defenders with him, opening up easier offensive rebounds when he does miss a shot.

Another big part of the Bulls win was their ability to shutdown Dwight Howard. Howard finished the game with 9 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulls showed a real team effort in guarding Howard, collapsing on him with help defenders, and having some annoying hands flailing in there to frustrate Howard.

But the biggest factor in the Bulls’ ability to guard Howard was the Magic’s inability to hit their three point shots. The Magic shot 14-37 from three, which is still good for 56.8 TS% on those shots, which isn’t bad at all, but they hit a dry spell from the third quarter to late fourth quarter which really did them in, and kept them from utilizing Howard in the post, as the Bulls collapsed in on him.

John Salmons was big off the bench for the Bulls scoring 15 points on 5-9 shooting, and Kirk Hinrich was solid, scoring 11 points on 4-9 shooting. Both players have been shooting much better since they swapped roles.

Matt Barnes was key in keeping the Magic in the game, scoring 23 points, going 5-6 from three. But Barnes’ big game wasn’t enough for the Magic to win, as both Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis played terribly. Vince Carter finished with 8 points on 3-15 shooting and Rashard Lewis finished with 7 points on 2-9 shooting.

Taj Gibson stepped up for the Bulls, getting a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with 3 blocks, all of which came late in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Anderson gave the Magic 12 points an 9 rebounds off the bench, and J.J. Redick added in 11 points, also off the bench.

Jameer Nelson had a double double with 10 points and 10 assists.

Both Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas were only given limited minutes, but both played pretty solidly. It appears that the only reason that those two didn’t get more playing time was because Taj Gibson was playing well, and Vinny favored Miller’s bigger body on Howard over Noah.

The Bulls are playing some very confident basketball right now, and could make a run up to the fifth seed by the end of the season if they keep up this kind of play.

With this win, their fourth in a row, the Bulls improve to 14-17 on the season, and have yet to lose since Tyrus Thomas returned from his broken arm.

According to Bulls.com, Tyrus Thomas has been named to the Dream Team For Public Service.

SAN FRANCISCO (November 23, 2009) – Ronnie Lott, NFL Hall of Famer and founder of All Stars Helping Kids, today announced the ten “Dream Team For Public Service” winners from 53 nominees selected for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, including Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas, which will recognize the top athletes who have given back to their community.

The ten will be officially recognized in New York City at the third annual Sports Business and Philanthropy Luncheon on Tuesday, December 8. In addition, two top winners will be honored at the national Jefferson Awards ceremony June 22nd in Washington, D.C. Past Jefferson Awards winners include four Supreme Court Justices, seven Secretaries of State; as well as Oprah Winfrey, Alan Greenspan, Peyton Manning, Colin Powell, Lance Armstrong, Barbara Bush and Bill and Melinda Gates.

The ten “Dream Team For Public Service” winners (whose capsule accomplishments are attached) were selected by the prestigious Jefferson Award board and public voting:

* Nnamdi Asomugha (Lafayette, La.) defensive back, Oakland Raiders, NFL
* Curtis Granderson (Chicago, Ill.), all-star outfielder Detroit Tigers, MLB
* Stuart Holden (Houston, Tx.) forward, Houston Dynamo, MLS
* Dwight Howard (Orlando, Fla.), all-star forward, Orlando Magic, NBA
* Dirk Nowitzki (Wurzburg, Germany), all-star forward, Dallas Mavericks, NBA
* Tyrus Thomas (Baton Rouge, La.), forward, Chicago Bulls, NBA
* Justin Tuck (Coosa County, Ala.) all-pro defensive end, New York Giants, NFL
* Lauryn Williams (Rochester, Pa.), Olympian and World Champion sprinter
* Venus Williams (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) Olympian and Grand Slam champion, WTA
* Ryan Zimmerman (Washington, N.C.) all-star outfielder, Washington Nationals, MLB

It’s good to see Tyrus Thomas continually recognized for the great work he has done in making the world a better place.

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Orlando Magic
3. Boston Celtics
4. Detroit Pistons
5. Miami Heat
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Washington Wizards
——————-
9. Chicago Bulls
10. Philadelphia 76ers
11. New York Knicks
12. Milwaukee Bucks
13. New Jersey Nets
14. Indiana Pacers
15. Charlotte Bobcats

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Portland Trail Blazers
5. Denver Nuggets
6. Phoenix Suns
7. Utah Jazz
8. New Orleans Hornets
——————-
9. Golden State Warriors
10. Los Angeles Clippers
11. Memphis Grizzlies
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Houston Rockets

Eastern Conference First Round

1. Cleveland Cavaliers over 8. Washington Wizards (4-1)
4. Detroit Pistons over 5. Miami Heat (4-2)
3. Boston Celtics over 6. Atlanta Hawks (4-2)
2. Orlando Magic over 7. Toronto Raptors (4-0)

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

1. Cleveland Cavaliers over 4. Detroit Pistons (4-2)
3. Boston Celtics over 2. Orlando Magic (4-3)

Eastern Conference Finals

3. Boston Celtics over 1. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3)

Western Conference First Round

1. Los Angeles Lakers over 8. New Orleans Hornets (4-0)
4. Portland Trail Blazers over 5. Denver Nuggets (4-2)
3. Dallas Mavericks over 6. Phoenix Suns (4-3)
2. San Antonio Spurs over 7. Utah Jazz (4-1)

Western Conference Semi-Finals

1. Los Angeles Lakers over 4. Portland Trail Blazers (4-2)
2. San Antonio Spurs over 3. Dallas Mavericks (4-3)

Western Conference Finals

2. San Antonio Spurs over 1. Los Angeles Lakers (4-2)

NBA Finals

San Antonio Spurs over Boston Celtics (4-3)

Coach of the Year: John Kuester (Runner Up: Gregg Poppovich)
MVP: Lebron James (Runner Up: Dwight Howard)
Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans (Runner Up: Blake Griffin)
Sixth Man of the Year: Manu Ginobili (Runner Up: Leandro Barbosa)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (Runner Up: Ron Artest)
Most Improved Player: Brook Lopez (Runner Up: Michael Beasley)

The New Jersey Nets will have a promotion this season where they will be giving away reversible jerseys when you buy a 10 game plan to the 10 hottest games of the year. Instead of the reversible jerseys reversing from a home jersey into an away jersey, like we are used to from when we played basketball as kids, the Nets jerseys reverse into an opposing team’s player.

It appears that the five jersey combinations will be Jarvis Hayes - Lebron James, Courtney Lee - Kobe Bryant, Brook Lopez - Dwight Howard, Devin Harris - Dwyane Wade, and Yi Jianlian - Kevin Garnett.

It is a bold marketing decision by the Nets.  As a Bulls fan, I don’t think I would want a Derrick Rose jersey that reverses into a Dwyane Wade jersey or a Joakim Noah jersey that reverses into a Dwight Howard, or a Kirk Hinrich jersey that reverses into a Ben Gordon jersey.  Okay, maybe I’d take that last one.

I actually only got to watch the first half of tonight’s game, which makes me one of the big winners tonight, because looking at the box score, the Bulls got absolutely drubbed by the Magic, en route to losing 107 to 79.

From what I saw in the first half, one of the Bulls problems was Ben Gordon. He was doing some nice things on offense, attacking the rim, but he was missing the layups. If you make a nice move and can’t make the layup, the move really doesn’t matter. He had two short bankshots that he usually hits that he missed. Bottomline, this was Ben Gordon’s worst game of the year. He was dreadful. He finished with 4 points on 1-10 shooting. I don’t think this is anything to worry about. This is only Gordon’s third game not scoring in double digits this year. It’s not a regular thing, and probably won’t happen for the rest of the season. Gordon’s resilient and should bounce back.

Brad Miller was another big problem. He finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds, but at least from what I saw, the guy was horrible. He was consistently in the wrong place on defense, making it easy for the Magic guards when penetrating, as well as the Magic big men to score.

Marcin Gortat was really taking apart the Bulls from what I saw. He finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. If you can’t contain Gortat, you have no hope at winning the game.

John Salmons was solid from what I saw. He finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds. He just did his normal thing, giving the Bulls a solid scoring contribution.

Derrick Rose wasn’t very good either, finishing with 7 points on 2-12 shooting and 3 assists.

Joakim Noah was the one guy that looked good while I was watching. He had 4 points and 5 rebounds in 11 minutes. He was hustling pretty well, and just got in some bad foul trouble with some ticky tack fouls the referees called on him when he was trying to defend Dwight Howard.

His front court counterpart, Tyrus Thomas, didn’t seem to be playing with much energy.

Dwight Howard was good as usual, finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in just 22 minutes.

Toni Battie had 18 points off the bench and J.J. Redick added in 13 points.

Courtney Lee gave the Magic 14 points and Rafer Alston added in 10 points.

Anthony Roberson had his Bulls career high, scoring 8 points.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 29-36 on the season. They are now tied with Milwaukee for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Final Thoughts

This is a bad loss. Yes, we’re expected to lose to the Magic on the road, but we aren’t supposed to lose this bad. We’re in the middle of a playoff race, we need to play with more heart and hustle, to at least make these games close.

This is the one “free pass” game the Bulls can have for the season. Ben Gordon had his worst game of the season and they were coming off an emotional loss to the Miami Heat. But this can be the only game like this, the Bulls need to get their heads screwed back on straight, and start putting together some win streaks to secure a playoff spot.

The one positive from this loss, is that it puts Vinny Del Negro closer to being in a position of being fired. Here is the criteria the Bulls should use to decide whether Del Negro gets fired or not, and that is, whether or not the Bulls have a losing season. Making the playoffs should not be enough, he should have to get the Bulls to a 41-41 record at the least. Making the playoffs because the rest of your conference sucks is nothing to be proud of, and nothing that Vinny should be rewarded for. If the Bulls do make the playoffs with a losing record, and the Bulls manage to knock off one of the Eastern Conference powerhouses, then Vinny can keep his job while having the Bulls be a losing team. But that is unlikely, and being a .500 team is also looking more and more likely, therefore, Del Negro is looking more and more likely that he deserves to be fired.

The Chicago Bulls blew out the Orlando Magic 120 to 102 tonight, as they play strong to keep themselves in the playoff hunt.

The Bulls crept to some double digit leads in the second and third quarters, but Orlando wouldn’t go down without a fight. The Magic nearly tied the game, bringing the score to 83 to 82. Following that, Rose hit two big shots to give the Bulls a 5 point lead going into the fourth.

Then a lineup of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, John Salmons, Tim Thomas, and Brad Miller/Joakim Noah led the Bulls to victory in the fourth, opening the game into a blowout.

Tonight was one of those nights where no one really played bad for the Bulls.

Derrick Rose struggled early in the game, but had an explosive 14 points in the third quarter, which were big in preserving the Bulls’ lead. Rose finished the game with 22 points and 5 assists.

Ben Gordon snuck under the radar tonight for an efficient 20 points on 9-14 shooting. He just played completely within the offense, and very rarely tried to create anything on his own.

Gordon was called for a type one flagrant foul, when he hammered Courtney Lee. It didn’t look like much of a flagrant foul, just a good old fashioned hard foul.

Kirk Hinrich had 6 points on 3-4 shooting. His defense was really bad for the first three quarters. He managed to give up 10 points to J.J. Redick, who scores almost exclusively on Hinrich. But Hinrich’s defense was big in the fourth quarter run that turned the game into a blowout. Hinrich forced a lot of Orlando turnovers in the fourth.

The Bulls young front court was solid. Tyrus Thomas had 11 points, and Joakim Noah added in 14 points and 8 rebounds. Noah really struggled guarding Dwight Howard. He’s just not strong enough to guard Howard.

Howard finished the game with 26 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulls got Howard into foul trouble, drawing 5 fouls on him. He got pretty much whatever he wanted against Noah, but struggled to score on Brad Miller.

And on that note, John Paxson’s trade is looking like a grandslam early on. The thing about the trade is the Bulls traded Andres Nocioni, a chucker who didn’t play defense and Drew Gooden, another chucker who didn’t play defense, along with a bunch of scrubs. In return, the Bulls received three legitimately talented NBA players.

The Bulls main nine man rotation currently is: Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, Tim Thomas, and Brad Miller. There is no question, all those guys are quality NBA players. John Paxson should be lauded for putting that group of players together.

Brad Miller’s defense on Dwight Howard was great. He is a legitimate center, and would not allow Howard to back him down. Miller finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Two of his points came on a breakaway dunk after he stole the ball. Miller is just a good offensive big man. He can make both interior passes and passes out to the perimeter, he can set screens, and he knows how to cut to the basket. Having such a skilled center will really shape up the Bulls offense.

Tim Thomas was huge in the game. He was hitting big shot, after big shot in the fourth to help open up the big lead. Thomas finished with 17 points, going 4-6 from three point land. Thomas fills the Nocioni role quite well, as he is a bit of an upgrade over Nocioni.

The interesting thing about Thomas, is that he has been directing his new teammates while out on the floor, especially Derrick Rose.

John Salmons had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He dribbles around a lot, looking to create his own shot. It doesn’t quite kill the offense because he has the ability to make his shots, as well as make some nice passes when he is driving to the basket.

Hedo Turkoglu had 16 points for the Magic, and Courtney Lee added in 14 points.

Both Luol Deng and Rashard Lewis finished with 10 points.

At the end of the game, Del Negro subbed Rose in for Gordon to give Gordon the standing ovation. It’s a little weird that he didn’t use Anthony Roberson or Lindsey Hunter for the standing ovation sub.
With the win, the Bulls improve to 26-31 on the season. The Bulls are now 1.0 game behind Milwaukee for the 8th seed, and 2.0 games behind Detroit and Philadelphia for the 6th and 7th seeds.

Tyrus Thomas said that he wanted to stay in Chicago in a blog entry that he wrote on Mouthpiecesports.com. Here is what Tyrus wrote:

Although I didn’t attend All-Star Weekend this year, I’ve been watching the festivities. And first I have to say, CHI-TOWN STAND UP!!!! I know you all seen my man D-Rose bring home the crown in the skills competition. Congratulations Rook!

Man, the slam dunk contest was crazy! JR and Fernandez did some impressive dunks, but Nate and Dwight had the crowd into it. I loved the whole kryptonite deal by Nate.

Now, I know everybody wants to know about the trade rumors. But I must say, I honestly want to stay in Chicago. I love my teammates, my organization and this beautiful city. However, this situation is beyond my control. Hopefully on the 19th I’m still a Bull. Keep your fingers crossed for me y’all!

Gone,

Tyrus