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

The Chicago Bulls fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 103 to 96 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.

The Bulls had the same problem that they always do, their front court was pathetic. Gooden had a solid stat game, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but his defense was atrocious as usual.

Darko Milicic had 13 points and Marc Gasol added in 11 points. Hakim Warrick ate up the Bulls inside on his way to a 21 point game. Rudy Gay and Michael Conley took advantage of the Bulls soft interior defense as well, driving to the basket. Rudy Gay finished with 29 points.

Ben Gordon was the Bulls’ best player. Gordon got off to a great start, scoring 18 points in the first quarter. However, he picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and only played 8 minutes in the first half. With Gordon on the bench, the Grizzlies fought their way back into the game and the Bulls never quite recovered. Gordon finished with 26 points on 8-15 shooting. The best part about Gordon’s game tonight was his 7 of 11 shooting from three point land. Gordon has struggled with his three point shot for most of the season, so if Gordon gets back to his usual great three point shooting, the Bulls will be much more difficult to beat than they currently have been.

Derrick Rose had a solid game, scoring 12 points and 11 assists. Rose was never able to take over scoring wise, but the Bulls added a new wrinkle into their offense, and that is the return to drive and kick basketball. Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon were very effective tonight in the kick and drive offense, Rose passing it to Gordon and Gordon converting for three.

One of the Bulls problems was that Luol Deng took too many shots in the fourth. It seemed as though Rose and Gordon hardly had the ball in their hands in the fourth to create offense. Luol Deng still had a solid game offensively, scoring 19 points on 7-17 shooting. Not great, but better than what he was doing. Deng had a lot of trouble guarding Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick though.

Larry Hughes had another solid game, scoring 12 points on 4-7 shooting and playing within the offense for the most part.

The Bulls need to address the front court problem asap. They are not getting good offense, defense, or rebounding from the front court, which makes it clear that changes need to be made. When Michael Ruffin is back from his injury, they should work him into the rotation. Also, I would like to see if Thabo Sefolosha could play the power forward similar to Boris Diaw in Phoenix a few years ago. Sefolosha has always been a good rebounder, and his long arms might make this possible. Sefolosha could potentially create some mismatches offensively at the power forward position.

O.J. Mayo didn’t have a very good game, scoring only 14 points on 5-14 shooting. He was completely embarrassed by Ben Gordon in the first quarter on the defensive end. Mayo also struggled offensively. This was probably the result of having to expound extra energy to slow down Ben Gordon, as Mayo picked up his defense substantially in the second half.

With this loss, the Bulls fall to 10-12 on the season.

The Bulls sent out a press release yesterday announcing that Derrick Rose has been named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for November. Here is the press release:

NEW YORK, December 1, 2008 The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Memphis Grizzlies’ O.J. Mayo today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November.

For every point scored by the players named the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, T-Mobile will donate $20 per point scored to school districts in Phoenix, in support of a season-long effort to better the various youth communities in Phoenix, the Host City of NBA All-Star 2009. The four Phoenix school districts that will benefit from the donations are the Creighton School District, Isaac School District, Phoenix Elementary School District, and Roosevelt School District.

This month T-Mobile will donate $7460 on behalf of Mayo and $6260 on behalf of Rose winning the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month Awards. The donation is part of the overall T-Mobile Rookie Program and builds on T-Mobile’s strong appeal to the nation’s youth as the official wireless partner of the NBA. Other highlights of T-Mobile’s partnership with the NBA include the T-Mobile Rookie of the Year, T-Mobile Rookie of the Month Awards, and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, an All-Star competition between NBA rookies and second-year players. During NBA All-Star 2009, T-Mobile and NBA Cares will host more than 3,500 local students from the aforementioned school districts in Phoenix, to sit in the lower bowl of the arena to watch this year’s T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam on Friday, February 13.

Rose is ranked first among all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring average (18.4), assists per game (6.0) and minutes per game (38.0). He has scored in double-figures in all but one game and has led his team in scoring six times and in assists 13 times. He became the first Bulls rookie since Michael Jordan, in 1984-85, to score 10 or more points in the first 10 games of his rookie season. His nine assists in his NBA debut tied for the second-most by a No. 1 pick in his pro debut since the common draft began in 1966.

Mayo leads all rookies in scoring with 21.9 ppg, the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Allen Iverson (23.4 ppg) in 1996-97. He ranks in the Top 10 among rookies in seven major categories, including scoring average, minutes, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and is the first rookie to have four 30-plus point games within his first 17 career games since Allen Iverson (five) in 1996-97. In addition, Mayo is on pace to become just the fifth rookie since the 1996-97 season to average over 39.0 minutes, joining LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Shane Battier.

# Here is a recap of the month for both Rose and Mayo:

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

# Nov. 1 vs. Memphis: Tallied a career-high 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists in a 98-86 victory over the Grizzlies.
# Nov. 11 vs. Atlanta: Matched a career-high in points (26) and rebounds (10) in a 113-108 loss to the Hawks.
# Nov. 18 @ Los Angeles: Posted 25 points and nine assists in a 116-109 loss to the Lakers.
# Nov. 24 @ Utah: Recorded 25 points and nine assists in a 101-100 win against the Jazz.

O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies

# Nov. 5 vs. Sacramento: Tallied 28 points and had a career-high three steals in a 100-95 loss to the Kings.
# Nov. 9 @ Denver: Posted 31 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a 100-90 loss to the Nuggets.
# Nov. 10 @ Phoenix: Registered career highs in points (33), assists (five) and steals (three)
in a 107-102 loss to the Suns.
# Nov. 28 vs. San Antonio: Scored 32 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 109-98 loss to the Spurs.
# Nov. 29 vs. Oklahoma City: Registered 30 points and seven rebounds in a 111-103 loss to the Thunder.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, Milwaukee’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, New Jersey’s Brook Lopez, Portland’s Rudy Fernandez, Sacramento’s Jason Thompson and San Antonio’s George Hill.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 96-86 tonight at the United Center.

The Bulls looked lost in the 2nd quarter, as the Grizzlies jumped ahead to an 8 point lead at halftime.

Derrick Rose came out gunning in the third quarter to get the Bulls back in the game. Rose scored 10 points in the third quarter. Ben Gordon made a buzzer beating runner to give the Bulls a 5 point lead going into the 4th.

Darko Milicic and O.J. Mayo scored early on to make it a 75-74 game, but then Ben Gordon took over the game. Gordon started off by making a 3 point shot. Then created an open three point shot for Kirk Hinrich. Gordon then drived in to draw a foul, and he made both free throws. Then Derrick Rose threw down a dunk off of a Gordon dunk. The Bulls ended this run on a Drew Gooden jumpshot, giving the Bulls an 87-80 lead.

Vinny Del Negro then subbed in Kirk Hinrich for Ben Gordon, as the Bulls played strong defense to hold on for victory.

Del Negro is walking a fine line here. This is two straight games where Del Negro has taken Gordon out for the final minutes of the game, after Gordon was starting to get something going. If Del Negro continues to do this, it will be clear that Del Negro is purposely suppressing Gordon’s scoring totals. Gordon should be playing more than the 20 minutes he got tonight.

Gordon was still solid tonight, scoring 11 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes, although he shot poorly, 3-10, but picked it up in the 2nd half a little. The most impressive thing about Gordon’s game tonight was his defense. Gordon had his man on lock down for most of the game. Gordon’s passing display was also impressive tonight.

But the story of tonight’s game was undoubtedly Derrick Rose. Rose finished the game with 26 points and 3 assists. Rose was able to hit his jumpshot, and like always, was great when driving to the basket.

The Bulls big men played good defense tonight, contesting every shot in the paint. Tyrus Thomas had 5 blocked shots and Drew Gooden had 20 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Kirk Hinrich started the game off hot, scoring 11 points early on, but was strangely exiled to the bench for an extended amount of time by Vinny Del Negro. Hinrich finished with 18 points.

Luol Deng again struggled, only scoring 11 points on 4-13 shooting, but had some key scores that helped shift the momentum of the game.

Rudy Gay had 20 points on 8-19 shooting, and was clearly bothered by Luol Deng’s defense. O.J. Mayo had 16 points and 5 turnovers.

If the Bulls keep on winning games against team’s they are supposed to beat like the Memphis Grizzlies, they should be easily be able to make the playoffs.

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.