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 the Chicago Bulls official twitter, Joakim Noah has been fined $15,000 for throwing the ball into the stands and striking a photographer.

chicagobulls

Joakim Noah has been fined $15,000 for throwing the ball into the stands and striking a photographer, it was announced today by Stu Jackson half
a minute ago from TweetDeck

I would assume that this transpired when Noah was ejected from Saturday’s game against the Raptors. The most interesting thing about this is the NBA’s inconsistency with it’s fines. Matt Barnes was fined $20,000 earlier in the season for throwing the ball into the stands, and I would guess that he probably didn’t hit a photographer when doing so.

Chris Sheridan said that the Suns still could trade Amare Stoudemire for financial reasons, during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take. Financial reasons will drive the Suns decisions between now and Thursday.

Sheridan says the Suns are a team that will lose $30 million if they stand pat. They want to move Shaquille O’neal primarily because that would take them from losing $30 milion, back to a positive $10 million.

Sheridan says that Robert Sarver is in Western Alliance Bancorp, and that company has lost 80 percent of it’s value in the past two years.

And this is why a trade involving Amare Stoudemire is still a possibility. There is a good chance the Suns will not be able to unload Shaquille O’neals contract and therefore, they will have to seek other avenues for financial relief.

If the Bulls were to trade Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, and Cedric Simmons for Amare Stoudemire, Louis Amundson, and Matt Barnes, the Bulls would be saving the Suns a little more than $16.93 million next year (Sheridan’s Shaq number is exaggerated as not all of it would be under the luxury tax), in addition to $4.24 million in savings this year.

If the Bulls were to use their trade exception in a second part to the deal to take back Jared Dudley, the Bulls could sneak the Suns under the luxury tax this year, and save the Suns an additional $1.12 million this year and an additional $1.31 million next year.

This trade of Amare Stoudemire to the Bulls would save the Suns a total of $23.6 million in salary, and this is why a trade is still possible. Yes, a trade of Shaq for expirings would save more, but they aren’t likely to find a trading partner that gives them that package for Shaq.

In addition to these savings, the Suns would get extra savings from their share of the luxury tax revenue, as they would now be under the luxury tax in both seasons.

This is why the Bulls continue to have a shot at Amare Stoudemire. Trade talks in the NBA die and come back to life. That’s the nature of trade talks in the NBA. Even if talks are dead right now, there is always the chance that the talks resume. The Bulls and Suns will have talks on Thursday, to think they would not is naive.

Anything you read about the Bulls not being sure about the trade because the Bulls think Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, or multiple draft picks is too much to give up for Amare is likely not true. The recent play of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah isn’t good enough to halt an Amare Stoudemire trade.

Instead, the financial side of things would be why the Bulls turn down a potential trade for Amare Stoudemire. If the trade I proposed above (including Dudley for the trade exception) were the one to go through, the Bulls would take on an extra $7.07 million for this season. The Bulls would then have to spend $20.38 million more than they are obligated to right now, next season. And that is without Ben Gordon in the mix yet, who the Bulls would have to pay double the dollar for, as they would already be in the luxury tax.

In addition to these expenses, the Bulls would lose out on their share of the luxury tax revenue.

While this wouldn’t sink the Bulls into the red, it would cut into the Bulls profits quite a bit. Although these amounts would be somewhat mitigated from the extra revenue the Bulls would receive from making the playoffs, and extra ticket sales. (The Bulls have not been selling out every game this year).

For this reason, an Amare Stoudemire trade, if it does happen, might be accompanied by a salary dump of Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and/or Andres Nocioni. If the Bulls are unable to lessen their salaries from dumping one of those players, the Bulls could just let Ben Gordon walk in free agency. The latter option would make the Bulls far less competitive.

While the Amare Stoudemire trade is a home run trade basketball wise, the ownership group has to be less than ecstatic about taking on all the extra money.

If the Bulls somehow do end up in a position to reject an Amare Stoudemire trade, it will be a financial decision, not a basketball decision.

-The savings and spending numbers for this year should only be taken as estimates, as it is impossible to determine how much money has already been paid off.
-Next years numbers are based off the luxury tax staying the same at $71,150,000 and use the Shamsports.com salary data.

The Amare Stoudemire trade talks could finally come to an end on Monday. In his Washington Post article today, Michael Wilbon mentioned that Amare Stoudemire probably would be traded on Monday. It seems like the question of “Whether Stoudemire will be traded or not?” has been answered. But one question remains, to who?

A report form the Sacramento Bee from earlier in the day suggested that the Bulls and Cavaliers were the two teams still in the running. But a report from Ken Berger of CBS Sports says that the Cavaliers never had serious talks with the Suns and are now pursuing Marcus Camby.

This corroborates with the reputable Cavaliers poster, Wine and Gold, who sent Cavs Nation in a frenzy when they overreacted to one of his posts last night and thought it meant that they had landed Amare. Today, he took a more sobering view, trying to lower the expectations of Cavs fans.

Amare Stoudemire going to the Cavaliers never made much sense. The package they were offering did less to help the Suns shed salary this year than the proposed Bulls package, and the young player in that deal has much lower potential than Tyrus Thomas. The proposed Bulls deal at least gives the Suns a player who they can be hopeful about. I don’t think any sane NBA fan thinks that Hickson has any type of serious potential like Tyrus Thomas does.

So with the Cavaliers being out of the running, that means that Amare Stoudemire is coming to the Bulls. Right? Not quite, according to Arizona Central, the Blazers might be in it again. This time for a package of Raef Lafrentz, Jerryd Bayless, and a first round pick.

I just can’t see this package going through. For starters, a potential Bulls trade of Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, and Cedric Simmons for Amare Stoudemire, Louis Amundson, and Matt Barnes does more to save Phoenix money this year than Portland’s package of Raef Lafrentz and Jerryd Bayless for the same Phoenix package. The Bulls package would save Phoenix $4.022 million this year (in cap, not actual money), getting Phoenix down to $71.74 million in salary. The Portland trade would only save the Suns $1.949 million. It is pretty much impossible to find a workable scenario where a Portland trade based around a package of Lafrentz and Bayless can shed more money on the Suns cap than a Bulls trade based around Gooden, Thomas, and Simmons.

The Blazers deal may be able to save the Suns a little more money if this was the only trade they were to make. But with the Bulls trade, the Suns would just have to do a small trade to slide under the luxury tax threshold of $71.15 million. If the Suns can get under the luxury tax threshold, not only do they no longer pay the tax, but they will get some money in luxury tax revenues. So the Bulls package can do more for the Suns in terms of getting the Suns under the luxury tax than the Blazers can, which presents the best money saving option for the Suns.

It is also unlikely for this package to go through because it would set up Portland to compete for championships for near a decade. The Blazers may be able to contend with just what they have right now. Adding Amare to the mix would surely make them championship contenders, but not only that, powerful championship contenders. Yes, the Suns are rebuilding, but you have to believe they have enough foresight to see that putting together Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Amare Stoudemire, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden will keep them out of the finals for many years.

I do think however, that the Suns and Blazers could be talking trades. Perhaps the Blazers could facilitate an Amare trade between the Bulls and Suns. NewsOK, mentioned Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng as potential Blazers. Or maybe the reports are what they appear on the surface and the Blazers are pursuing Stoudemire hard. I just don’t see them being the team that gets Stoudemire, especially for the rumored package. I don’t think Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver want to hear about how they were Pritchslapped for the next few years.

Oklahoma City has also sprung up as a potential destination for Amare Stoudemire. What they would trade has yet to be determined.

I actually think Oklahoma City can put together the best package. They have the best young talent to trade away in Jeff Green and five first round draft picks in the next two years. A deal based around Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox, and Saer Sene would do more to shed money from Phoenix’s salary numbers this year than the Chicago or Phoenix packages. But they are not really being treated as serious contenders by the media, just as a team that will end up as an also ran. Pairing Kevin Durant with Amare Stoudemire is something the Suns probably aren’t too interested in doing, since the Thunder are in the same conference as them.

There is a little bit of inside info regarding the Bulls in this trade. InsideInfo of the RealGM forums, who is a legitimate insider, says that Tyrus Thomas, Cedric Simmons, and Thabo Sefolosha all would welcome trades, but Drew Gooden is reluctant to be traded.

Chris Ballard in his SI.com column made it seem as though the Chicago beatwriters are confident that an Amare trade will be done. According to John Hollinger, the Bulls package of Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha, and Cedric Simmons is the leader in the Suns’ clubhouse as we approach the trade deadline.

So do today’s rumors make it seem as if Amare to the Bulls is more likely to get done? Not really. But they do seem to indicate that an Amare trade is imminent. And if Wilbon is correct, it might just be done by Monday. We can only hope that it will be to the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-83 at the United Center last night. The Bulls are now 3-0 at home and 3-3 on the season.

Shaquille O’neal and Matt Barnes did not play for the Suns.

The Bulls held the Suns offense down with their suffocating defense. Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls defensive effort by shutting down Steve Nash. Kirk Hinrich finished the game with 5 steals.

Hinrich left the game with a wrist injury. He is having an MRI today and is doubtful for today’s game against the Cavaliers.

Vinny Del Negro moved Kirk Hinrich into the starting lineup. Aaron Gray also was moved into the starting lineup.

Off the bench, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah both had good games. Tyrus Thomas had 14 points and 7 rebounds and Joakim Noah had 9 points and 14 rebounds. Noah struggled with his free throw shooting.

The story of the game for the Bulls was the great play of guards Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon. Rose finished with 18 points and 6 assists and Gordon finshed with 23 points and 6 assists.

The two players split point guard duties throughout the game. This was great to watch as the Bulls were able to get different offensive looks. Ben Gordon played more of the Gilbert Arenas point guard role while Derrick Rose playe a Dwyane Wade/Young Steve Francis type of role.

Each player takes a lot of defensive attention off of the other, allowing them to effectively operate one on one. There are very few players that can guard Rose or Gordon one on one in the NBA.

Derrick Rose also looked for Ben Gordon out at the three point line whenever he drove the ball.

This has been one of the Bulls’ biggest weaknesses, that they cannot effectively find Gordon for those open three point shots. When Deng, Thomas, Noah, Gray, or Gooden have the balls, Gordon will be wide open for three somewhere on the court, but none of these players possess the court vision to pass to Ben. Well that, or they think that Ben has already taken his fair share of shots. It’s really nice to see a player like Rose feed it to Gordon like that.

Ben Gordon also had another great defensive performance. If the early trend keeps up, we will be able to officially dub Ben Gordon a good defender in the NBA.

Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon already look like one of the best backcourt duos in the NBA. It’ll be exciting to see how great they can be when Rose has had a few more years of seasoning in the league and is, I would assume, a much better player than he is now.

A very good win for the Bulls. The Bulls take on Cleveland tonight at the United Center.