The Oklahoma City Thunder struck down the Chicago Bulls 98-85 at the United Center tonight.

The Bulls looked good early on, but fell apart in the second half, only scoring 33 points, some of which were giveaway scores by the Thunder in the final minutes of the game, when they already had assured the victory.

The Bulls problem was that they had a complete inability to score in the half court. A large part of this was a result of the Thunder playing great half court defense. The Thunder’s half court defense was stifling. They closed out on shooters well, and packed the lane with big men waiting for charges, which slowed the Bulls penetration game.

But the other problem is that the Bulls have no one that can really create their own shot in the half court against tough defense. They had one of those players last year in Ben Gordon, and it looks like they will need to find a new one in free agency this summer, so that outcomes like tonight’s game don’t become a common scene. Derrick Rose is still easy to stop because of his lack of range, which allows the defense to pack it in, allowing most good teams to shut down his driving lanes. Surrounded by poor shooters, the Bulls can’t make opponents pay when they overplay Rose defensively, as the Bulls miss these jumpshots all too often, and in this game in particular, the Thunder did a great job closing out on shooters, not allowing the Bulls to take easy jumpshots.

The Thunder were led by Russell Westbrook who had 29 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds. Westbrook was a real handful, and Rose did a poor job guarding him. Westbrook scored early on by penetrating and scoring around the basket, but later in the game, he was scoring on some laxly guarded jumpshots that the Bulls were giving him.

Derrick Rose conversely had 19 points on 9-20 shooting, along with 7 assists. The Thunder did a good job contesting Rose’s drives to the baskets, which forced Rose into scoring inefficiently tonight. Rose continued to attack the basket aggressively, which drew the defense with him, opening up some easy offensive rebounding opportunities for his teammate. The Bulls snatched up an impressive 25 offensive rebounds tonight, many of which came on Rose’s misses. That is rebounding on 39% of their misses, which is impressive.

The Thunder also got a lot of help from their other star, Kevin Durant, who finished with 25 points. Durant was silky smooth scoring the ball, although he had some ball handling issues which led to his 6 turnovers, but overall, he played great.

Luol Deng had a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, although he scored the ball inefficiently. Joakim Noah also had a double double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Taj Gibson fell short of the double double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Gibson played well early in the game, but did little in the second half, although neither did any of his teammates.

Kirk Hinrich continued his good play since returning to the starting lineup scoring 15 points along with 7 assists. One has to wonder whether Hinrich’s poor play early on was a result of him putting himself in a mental funk because he was sulking because he had to come off the bench. Hinrich played fine off the bench last year, so being uncomfortable coming off the bench leading to his poor play is unlikely.

James Harden had 13 points off the bench for the Thunder, hitting many timely threes. The former Bull, Thabo Sefolosha, finished with 7 points and 9 rebounds.

John Salmons struggled, shooting 1-8, as did Tyrus Thomas, who shot 3-12.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 14-18 on the season.

Derrick Rose has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week according to NBA.com.

The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Dec. 28, through Jan. 3.

Rose led the Bulls in scoring in each game, averaging 26.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists, as Chicago went 3-0. On Jan. 2, Rose became the first Bulls player to post a 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist game since 2008 (Kirk Hinrich) when he amassed 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over Orlando.

Here is a recap of each of Rose’s performances this past week:

Dec. 29 vs. Indiana: Posted 28 points, five rebounds, six assists and one block in a 104-95 win over the Pacers.

Dec. 31 @ Detroit: Scored 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 98-87 win over the Pistons.

Jan. 2 vs. Orlando: Tallied 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over the Magic.

As I recollect, Ben Gordon is the only other post-dynasty era Bull to receive this award. Because of this, Rose is joining some rare company, even if that’s because of the franchise’s horribleness, rather than this being any type of crowning achievement.

But still, Rose should be proud of earning this honor. His play in the last week was his best string of games in his career, and he is really turning the corner into a star type of player that can lead his team to victory. Hopefully he keeps it up.

According to Yahoo Sports, Michael Beasley has checked himself into a rehab facility during a weekend filled with controversy. This past weekend, Michael Beasley posted a photo on his twitter account to show off his new tattoos. On the coffee table were two baggies, which many on the internet have speculated to contain marijuana.

Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley(notes) checked into an unidentified Houston rehabilitation hospital over the weekend, multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Sources said the Heat encouraged Beasley to check into the facility to address possible substance and psychological issues. He is expected to spend time with former NBA player and coach John Lucas, who is renown for his success in working with troubled players.

When reached Monday morning, Miami Heat spokesman Tim Donovan declined comment. An NBA spokesman also declined comment.

Beasley’s admission comes after a handful of disturbing Twitter posts were recently attributed to him.

“Y do I feel like the whole world is against me…I can’t win for losin,” Beasley wrote.

“Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done.”

I don’t think that Beasley has any serious substance abuse problems. He probably does smoke marijuana, but so do a lot of other NBA players, and people in general.

I think the Heat probably encouraged Beasley to check into a rehab center because he was having difficulty coping with a depression. Beasley has had a tough year after a disappointing rookie season, being forced to admit that he was in the room with marijuana at the rookie seminar, and having to see stories about how Dwyane Wade isn’t satisfied with him in the media.

This most recent twitter incident was probably just a breaking point for Beasley. Not only did he get accused of having marijuana (it is very possible that it wasn’t weed in that bag, of course it is also very possible that it was.), but he has had to deal with people hating on his new tattoo, which he wanted to show off.

Getting Beasley’s head on straight is key to the Miami Heat organization. Dwyane Wade and a max 2010 free agent might be able to win a championship together, but they wouldn’t be the favorites. If you throw Michael Beasley into the mix, and he reaches his potential, then the Heat could be a juggernaut.

Hopefully Beasley can get things going back on track. I enjoy watching him play, and think he can still be a superstar in the league. Beasley showed some of that potential in the last month of the season, averaging 20.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in April. His playing time was sporadic in the playoffs, but he put up an impressive 22 point and 15 rebound performance in a Game 6 win for the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

I was one of the few people who wanted the Bulls to draft Beasley over Derrick Rose. If I was able to go back in time, and draft, I would take Derrick Rose now. This is just because Rose is a known commodity. We know that Rose will probably be an allstar level player at the very least. I still think that Beasley has a lot more upside than Rose, but he also appears to have a lot more downside. I think if Beasley can ever get his head on straight, he will be better than Rose, but it can’t be assumed that Beasley will ever get his head on straight.

Working in Beasley’s favor is that he has some good friends from back in high school, such as Kevin Durant, who are also in the NBA, and who appear to have everything order. Hopefully guys like Durant can help Beasley get out of it.

It would be a shame if Beasley’s career were to get derailed because of psychological issues and drugs. Beasley is a great talent, and it will be a shame if the NBA never gets to see Beasley at his full potential.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Oklahoma City 103 to 96 in Oklahoma City to get a much needed road win.

The Bulls in the first half were led by Ben Gordon, who scored 16 points in the first half, and was just scoring at will. Gordon had a rough second half, and finished with 18 pointso n 8-17 shooting. This was a game where Gordon kind of had Derrick Rose syndrome. He shot a respectable 47.1 FG%, but finished with a poor scoring efficiency because he failed to get to the free throw line a bunch of times and failed to make any three point field goals.

Derrick Rose, however, took over in the second half. Rose scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half. He was just unstoppable in the second half, his jumpshot was falling. When Rose plays well, the Bulls usually win, and tonight was one of those nights.

This game was especially important because of the implications on rookie fo the year. Rose was going head to head against another rookie of the year contender, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook finished with 15 points on 6-16 shooting, and also had 6 assists. Having a great game against a fellow ROY contender is a good way to secure the award.

John Salmons was good as always, finishing with 20 points on 8-15 shooting. Salmons has played so well that it is time to give him a nickname, well at least an attempt to give him a nickname. I hereby dub the great John Salmons, “Salmonella”. You better watch out for Salmonella, because he might just infect your team with a loss.

Brad Miller played well once again. He finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Tyrus Thomas was solid, finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. Thomas failed to get a block in the game, so his streak of blocked shots ends at 29 games. His front court counterpart, Joakim Noah, had three blocks in the game.

For the Thunder, Kevin Durant had 28 points on 9-21 shooting. Jeff Green added in 18 points.

The former Bulls, Thabo Sefolosha, finished with 6 points, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.

With the win, the Bulls improve to 32-37 on the season. They still site securely in that eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Closing Comments

Tonight was a good win for the Bulls. Yes, it was against the Thunder, who aren’t very good, but have been playing better as of late. But we need to start out with some wins against teams like the Thunder. The bottomline is that the playoffs are there for the Bulls taking, and not just that, but potentially the Bulls could move up into that 4 vs. 5 matchup. We’ve seen the Bulls go on late season surges in the past, and this season may prove no differnet. We have 9 games at home, against many mediocre opponents. We aren’t exactly playing good teams on the road, with Washington, Toronto, Indiana, and Detroit being the remaining teams. At the beginning of the season we all looked at the stretch run as being an easy set of games that will help us secure a playoff spot. This seems to be the case. Good win Bulls, now go follow it up against the Lakers on Saturday.

Derrick Rose didn’t have a spectacular game in his first Allstar event of his NBA career. It’s not that he was bad in the competition, he was just being Derrick Rose. He played exactly as he plays for the Bulls and unfortunately, that isn’t that conducive to great play during an event like this. Still, Rose did finish with 4 points and 7 assists.

It would have been nice to see the Rookies get out and run a little more, but when players gave the ball to Rose, players often didn’t run the court, and often times, they wouldn’t even outlet the ball to Rose to initiate the fast break.

The Rookies actually looked really good tonight, it looked like they were going to win for awhile. But the Sophomore surged back, led by Kevin Durant, and got the win for the Sophomores.

This year’s game was a little bit different than past games. There was actually defense being played. I think a large part of this had to do with Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade being the coaches of the teams. These are two competitive guys, and both wanted to win this game. Unfortunately for Wade, he was coaching the rookies, who began to have defensive lapses late in the game.

Kevin Durant gained MVP honors for his 46 points performance. Durant was by far the best player on the floor and used an arsenal of offensive moves to score at will on the Rookies. His 46 points are the most ever scored in the Rookie-Sophomore game, or any Allstar Weekend event for that matter.

The second overall pick in the draft, Michael Beasley, had a great game, scoring 29 points. Beasley showed off his great offensive skills, and really carried the Rookies on his back for a bit in the second half. One had to wonder why Beasley doesn’t make use of his great set of offensive moves more often in regular games. He is a really talented offensive player, he just needs to get his focus together. Once he does that, no one should be questioning whether the Heat should have taken Michael Beasley or O.J. Mayo with that second pick. With his teammate, Wade, as his coach, it was clear that Beasley was going to be the point of emphasis for the Rookies on offense.

I think longterm, Rose will look better when he is in the big game. The true stars of the league will probably get out running, and Rose will be able to set them up for more plays. Rose should also do better in the Skills Challenge then he did tonight, as his performance will not be tied to his teammates.

Last week ESPN misreported that Ben Gordon would be a participant in the NBA’s H-O-R-S-E Challenge at Allstar Weekend. The Chicago media reported that Gordon was in consideration for the H-O-R-S-E contest. In the end, Gordon will not be one of the participants in the H-O-R-S-E competion.

The NBA has chosen Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Joe Johnson as the participants for the competition.

It was not too shocking that the NBA would choose three players who are already part of other festivities at Allstar Weekend over Ben Gordon, who the NBA would have to fly out and pay for a hotel room for.

Because the Bulls do not have a team participating in this year’s Haier Shooting Stars Competition, Ben Gordon will have to wait until next year to participate in the Allstar festivities after being snubbed from the Three Point Contest.

The NBA sent out a press release today announcing the participants in the 2009 Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam. Here is the press release that the NBA sent out.

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2009 – Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the reigning T-Mobile Rookie of the Year, lead a list of 18 players selected for the 2009 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam to be held on Friday, Feb. 13 in Phoenix during NBA All-Star 2009.

The participants in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam were selected by the NBA’s assistant coaches, with each team submitting one ballot. For the first time in the game’s history, two current NBA players, All-Star starters Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat – veterans of the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and part of T-Mobile’s “All-Star Faves” – will serve on the coaching staffs, Howard for the Sophomores and Wade for the Rookies. The head coaches for the Rookie and Sophomore teams will be the lead assistants from the 2009 NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs.

Forward Jeff Green, Durant’s teammate in Oklahoma City, joins him on the Sophomore team, which also includes Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford, Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton, Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler, Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey and a pair of teammates from the Houston Rockets – guard Aaron Brooks and forward Luis Scola.

Joining Rose on the Rookie team are two sets of teammates – guard O.J. Mayo and center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and center Greg Oden and guard Rudy Fernandez from the Portland Trail Blazers. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Clippers guard Eric Gordon, Heat forward Michael Beasley and New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez round out the Rookie team.

The T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam will be televised live nationally on TNT at 9 p.m. ET and also will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio, while NBA.com will make live audio available to fans in multiple languages. Fans tuning in to TNT will also get a special treat, as NBA All-Star starter LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a participant in the 2004 and 2005 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, will join Kevin Harlan, Kenny Smith and Craig Sager as part of TNT’s broadcast as an analyst.

As title partner of the Rookie Challenge and overall NBA Rookie Program, T-Mobile has teamed up with the NBA and NBA Cares to create the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Phoenix students to experience NBA All-Star 2009. By successfully completing fitness, nutrition, and community service requirements, more than 3,500 “T-Mobile Stick Together All-Stars,” ages 11-15, from participating school districts in Phoenix will watch the game from the best seats in the house at US Airways Arena.

As a new element to the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, fans had the unique opportunity to design the official jerseys worn by the Rookie and Sophomore teams. Thousands of fans registered for the NBA LIVE Jersey Creator Contest hosted by EA SPORTS for the chance to win a trip for two to Phoenix, AZ for NBA All-Star 2009. The winning jersey is being produced by adidas, the official uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, and will be worn by all participating Rookie and Sophomore players, marking the first time that a fan designed jersey has ever been worn during an NBA game or event. In past years, Rookies and Sophomores wore their regular team jerseys during the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. The winning design was created by 18-year-old Tim Ahmed from East Meadow, Long Island. Ahmed attended East Meadow High School and is currently a first-year student at Baruch College in Manhattan.

In last year’s T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson earned Most Valuable Player honors, making 11 three-pointers en route to a game-high 33 points, as the Sophomores cruised to a 136-109 victory. Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay added 22 points and Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar tallied 17 points and 11 assists. Durant, then of the Seattle SuperSonics, led the Rookies with 23 points.

The contest began its current format pitting the Rookies against the Sophomores in 2000 and the Sophomores hold a 7-2 advantage over the first-year players. The game will be played in two 20-minute halves. Individual foul totals will be kept, but a player cannot foul out. A team will be in the penalty situation after 10 team fouls or after the second foul in the final two minutes of each half. In the event of a tie game, there will be a two-minute overtime to determine the winner. The clock will stop after each successful field goal in the last minute of each half.

T-Mobile will provide basketball fans with the opportunity to have their vote count toward selecting the MVP of the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam by voting on NBA.com or via SMS on mobile phones during the second half of the game.

The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15, will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio beginning at 8 p.m. EST. The game will also be telecast in over 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages and broadcast on NBA.com.

NBA All-Star brings together the top NBA players and performers for a week of competition, community service and world-class entertainment. Among the many other exciting All-Star events are Sprite Slam Dunk, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, PlayStation® Skills Challenge, Haier Shooting Stars and NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas.

Building upon its already strong appeal to the nation’s youth and as Official Partner of the NBA, T-Mobile is showcasing the NBA’s youngest players — the Rookies — through the T-Mobile Rookie Program. Highlights include the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, an All-Star competition between NBA rookies and second-year players, and rookie awards presentations including the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month and T-Mobile Rookie of the Year. To learn more about T-Mobile’s partnership with the NBA, visit www.t-mobile.com/nba.

Below are the rosters for the 2009 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam:

ROOKIE TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. School/Country
Michael Beasley Miami F 6-9 245 Kansas St.
Rudy Fernandez Portland G-F 6-6 185 Spain
Marc Gasol Memphis C 7-1 265 Spain
Eric Gordon L.A. Clippers G 6-3 222 Indiana
Brook Lopez New Jersey C 7-0 260 Stanford
O.J. Mayo Memphis G 6-4 210 USC
Greg Oden Portland C 7-0 285 Ohio State
Derrick Rose Chicago G 6-3 190 Memphis
Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City G 6-3 187 UCLA

Head Coach – TBD
Assistant Coach – Dwyane Wade

SOPHOMORE TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. School/Country
Aaron Brooks Houston G 6-0 161 Oregon
Wilson Chandler New York F 6-8 220 DePaul
Kevin Durant Oklahoma City G-F 6-9 215 Texas
Jeff Green Oklahoma City F 6-9 235 Georgetown
Al Horford Atlanta F-C 6-10 245 Florida
Luis Scola Houston F-C 6-9 245 Argentina
Al Thornton L.A. Clippers F 6-8 220 Florida State
Rodney Stuckey Detroit G 6-5 205 Eastern Washington
Thaddeus Young Philadelphia F 6-8 220 Georgia Tech

Head Coach – TBD
Assistant Coach – Dwight Howard

PREVIOUS T-MOBILE ROOKIE CHALLENGE RESULTS

1994 - Phenoms 74, Sensations 68
1995 - White 83, Green 79 (OT)
1996 - East 94, West 92
1997 - East 96, West 91
1998 - East 85, West 80
2000 - Rookies 92, Sophomores 81 (OT)
2001 - Sophomores 121, Rookies 113
2002 - Rookies 103, Sophomores 97
2003 - Sophomores 132, Rookies 112
2004 - Sophomores 142, Rookies 118
2005 - Sophomores 133, Rookies 106
2006 - Sophomores 106, Rookies 96
2007 – Sophomores 155, Rookies 114
2008 – Sophomores 136, Rookies 109

Source: Bulls.com