As a Bulls fan living in New England, I must root for the team from afar. Here you can find previews, highlights, and a bit of analysis of each game, via a running diary. Miss last night's game? Just want to relive the glory? You're in the right place.
I apologize for not writing the last 2 games. Again. The Bulls have lost two straight (I didn’t watch either one), against NJ and in Washington, where President Obama, a lifelong Bulls fan, attended the game. Both games were essentially lost in the 4th quarter, although the Washington game might not have been close before then. The Bulls need a win tonight, and I’m not sure this is a game where they can get it done. But you never know - we beat the Magic pretty good. The Rockets are in town, where Yao Ming should give us trouble. I believe he had 28 the last time these teams met. Thankfully T-Mac isn’t playing; he usually gives us trouble as well. The team is now run by Aaron Brooks, after they traded Rafer Alson to Orlando at the trade deadline. Another guy to look out for is Ron Artest. He could go off tonight.
Johnny “Red” Kerr passed away this week, as well as former Bulls player Norm Van Lier. There is a special tribute on the scoreboard during pre-game intros. I’ll be sad when Jordan and Pippen go.
1
Noah’s still starting. Perhaps he will be the starter after all.
11:23 – Gordon drives and dishes to Noah for a dunk.
10:40 – Rose drives to the hoop and is fouled. I’m glad they called it, but he probably could have made the shot too. Oh well, one step at a time. Unfortunately, he misses both FTs.
10:04 – Gordon hits a foul line jumper and gets the foul. Completes the 3 point play.
9:40 – Deng takes it in all the way for a layup. Good aggressive move to the basket.
9:16 – Artest with a nice shot. He could also be the one who hurts us.
8:38 – Artest for 3. They left him WAY too wide open. He even gave them a chance to come out and they didn’t. 12-7 Hou.
Bulls are showing shots of Kerr and Van Lier for each commercial break.
7:48 – Tyrus misses a jumper but good hustle gets the loose ball back in the Bulls’ hands. Rose hits a jumper.
6:57 – Tyrus rejects Yao. Close to a goaltend, but the call went Chicago’s way.
6:53 – Salmons checks in for Deng. He led the team with 25 last night.
5:50 – Yao 2 straight hook shots inside.
5:40 – Noah gets the ball inside, and dishes to Rose for the dunk! A little role-reversal there!
4:35 – Brad Miller makes a jumper. If he can keep knocking that 15-18 footer down, Yao will have to come out and guard him.
4:00 – Nice help inside – Noah blocks Yao.
2:57 – Salmons hits a jumper after faking the defender away.
2:15 – Hinrich hits a 3 from the corner, brings the Bulls to 25-22.
0.6 – Salmons misses a jumper, but gets the rebound and puts one in just before the buzzer.
After 1: Hou, 31-26. Artest 12 points. Yao has about 8 or 10.
2
9:53 – Hinrich hits a jumper.
9:19 – Salmons knocks down another jumper.
8:47 – Miller takes it strong to the hoop, and knocks down Yao trying to take a charge. No call, and Miller gets the layup. Back within 3, 37-34.
7:36 – Bulls get a steal, Deng hits the jumper.
6:12 – Deng finds Tyrus for a foul-line jumper.
5:27 – Nice steal by Rose, throws it ahead to Salmons for the dunk. 41-40.
4:53 – Bulls got sloppy on a break, Houston ends up running for a basket. 43-40 on a 4-point swing.
4:39 – Tyrus knocks down another jumper, this time a little further than the foul line.
3:41 – Deng misses a runner in the lane, but gets the rebound, puts it in, and gets fouled. Misses the FT.
2:59 – Got a little crazy around the rim, but the Bulls eventually put it in after a few misses by Deng, Tyrus, and Rose.
2:34 – Great block on Yao by Tyrus, and good hustle to save the ball. Unfortunately he saves it to Houston, who gets an easy basket. Tyrus a little shaken up on the play. Also totally takes out a fan in a chair.
1:52 – Miller hits another jumper from the top of the key.
1:11 – Brad Miller gets T’d for arguing a non-foul call. Looked like he got hammered by Yao underneath. Teams are trading baskets, but the FT puts the Rockets up 4, 52-48.
0:40 - Nice look inside from Miller to Tyrus for the dunk.
0:31 – Artest hits a 3 to put the Rockets up 55-50.
12.8 – Miller hits a 3.
10.8 – Tyrus gets a steal and dunk on the inbounds play. Just like that, 5 straight and its 55-55.
Battier hits a 3 from the corner with 0.7. Houston 58-55 at the half. Houston is shooting 52%, Chicago 50%.
3
Luol Deng has a bone contusion on his tibia, and will not return. He’s so freaking delicate. Tim Thomas has also already come out of the game with an injury.
9:56 – Tyrus gets a nice reverse layup. 63-59.
7:44 – Tyrus with a HUGE dunk, 2 handed over Yao and Battier. Gets fouled, misses FT. 68-61, Houston is pulling away a bit.
6:52 – Tyrus hits a jumper.
3:00 – Rose back down Aaron Brooks for a 2 in the paint. 79-66 though, as Rockets continue to pull away.
2:12 – Bulls get a steal, Rose pushes it ahead to Hinrich for the layup.
1:15 – Good D by Salmons causes a miss by the Rockets on a break. He hits a 3 on the other end.
Brad Miller gets called for 2 shooting fouls in the last 4 seconds. Rockets lead 88-71 after 3. Even with Yao sitting, the Bulls can’t come back. They shot 29% for the quarter, and were outscored 30-16.
4
11:12 – Rose to Salmons to Noah for a dunk.
10:19 – Rose gets fouled down low and hits the shot. Gets the FT, 88-76.
9:45 – Tyrus hits a jumper. He’s got 19.
9:25 – Noah draws an offensive foul by Yao.
9:18 – Rose with a floater in the lane. 91-80. Let’s see if he can take over in the 4th, like he did a few times early in the season. This is already his highest scoring quarter of the game.
8:55 – Good hustle by BG, goes head-over-heels to save a ball.
7:27 – Artest with a big dunk. Just when the Bulls started to make a run, the Rockets come back and pull away again.
5:52 – Artest hits another shot. Bulls need to get some stops to have a chance. As it is, Houston keeps pulling away. 99-82.
5:37 – nice feed Miller to Gordon for a lefty hook off the glass.
5:13 – Bulls running off a defensive stop, BG hits a pull-up 3. 99-87.
4:27 – Rose hits a 2 after Bulls get 2 ORebs. Back within 10!
3:57 – Bulls force 24-second violation! They’re actually getting some stops!
3:50 – Rose hits a turnaround one-handed jumper in the lane. 99-91.
3:19 – Rose hits another runner in the lane. 99-93.
2:51 – Miller draws an offensive foul. 2 straight TOs for Houston - Artest kicked the ball OB last possession.
2:40 – Gordon misses a shot, gets the OReb (maybe gets away with an over-the-back), gets fouled. Makes both FTs, 99-95. Back within 4!
2:18 – Artest nails another 3 to stop the bleeding.
2:03 – Noah finds Rose cutting to the basket, gets the basket, and-1! 102-98.
1:41 – Another steal, Gordon gets the layup. 102-100.
1:09 – BG hits a jumper. We’re tied at 102! Bulls have erased a 17 point deficit in just under 5 minutes, going on a 20-3 run.
32.1 – Rose hits a one-handed fallaway in the paint, and the Bulls take the 104-102 lead! He has 16 in the 4th quarter alone!
11.1 – Bulls dodge 2 bullets (2 Artest 3’s), grab the loose ball, Houston has to foul. Salmons misses the 2nd to keep Houston with a 3 of sending it into OT.
Bulls knock the inbounds pass away, Houston picks it up, Artest can’t get a good look, Bulls win! Rose takes over in the 4th, Bulls end the game on a 23-3 run.
Final 105-102.
Box score notes: Bulls have 6 in double figures, led by Rose with 22, 8R, 7A, 3S. Tyrus and Noah combine for 29, 24R, 4B. Ron Artest leads Houston with 32, Yao Ming has 17 and 7R, 3B, Scola has 16 and 12R. Bulls outscored Rockes 34-14 in the 4th quarter.
Jumpers: Rose had a tough night, going 1/5. He made up for it at the end with a bunch of layups/runners. Deng 1/2, Tyrus 3/6.
First off, I apologize for not writing after the Pacers game. I almost watched the game, but saw the final score before watching it on DVR, and it didn’t seem like something I wanted to see. It didn’t look like I missed much, other than that it was a close game until the 4th quarter, when the Pacers closed it out. Rose had a bad shooting night; there just didn’t seem like much to write about. The Pacers didn't even have their best player - Danny Granger.
Tonight the Orlando Magic are in town, and I can assure you that Dwight Howard will have a monster night. Not that he hasn’t been having monster nights every game lately. But the Bulls can’t stop people down low, and I certainly wouldn’t expect otherwise tonight. Also, the Magic picked up Rafer Alson at the trade deadline to fill in for Jameer Nelson, who’s out for the season. The Magic needed something to help keep their hopes for a good playoff run alive, and Alston seems like a good fit.
1
11:20 – Rose jumper
10:51 – Joakim drives again, gets the layup, and-1. That's the 2nd time in 3 games that he's done that move.
TO Orlando. Howard is basically having his way with us inside, as expected. However, the Bulls are shooting very well to start, hitting their jumpers, for a 16-10 lead. Shooting 8/10 from the floor.
7:24 – BG another jumper.
4:53 – Tyrus hits a jumper
4:28 – quick pass ahead to Deng for the layup.
4:02 – Tyrus rejects a Rafer Alson layup.
3:43 – BG another jumper.
3:03 – Brad Miller takes a long jumper. Ugly, not even close. It's funny - I thought Brad would be the best offensive big man the team has had in a while, and yet it's Noah who suddently develops this move where he drives to the hoop and scores on a layup.
2:37 – Yet another BG jumper.
Howard has gone cold. Dunno if Miller and Joakim have been playing good D, or if he’s just not knocking down his shots. Rashard Lewis is keeping the Magic in it with his 3s.
9:40 – Tim Thomas hits a 3. It's a good thing I've always referred to Tyrus Thomas as Tyrus, now that there are two T. Thomas's on the team.
8:40 – Lob inside to an open Rose, who misses the wide open reverse layup. Rose not shooting too well after knocking down his first 2 shots.
8:29 – Tim Thomas hits a jumper. He’s playing pretty efficient in his minutes. If he has the shot, he buries it. If not, he passes it right away.
7:43 – Rose hits a jumper.
7:11 – Salmons hits a jumper. Is anyone NOT hitting a jumper for this team so far? 41-35 Bulls.
6:29 – Hinrich hits a jumper.
6:02 – Rose another jumper.
6:43 – Tim Thomas another 3, from the corner. 48-39.
4:35 – Deng hits a pullup jumper. 52-42.
JJ Redick has been getting a decent amount of playing time lately, doing the only thing he can do – hit 3s. I despise Duke, and I despise Redick. If Luol Deng didn’t play for the Bulls, I’d hate him too.
3:30 – Tim Thomas finds Brad Miller for the bucket and the foul.
2:39 – Bulls 24/40 so far tonight (60%).
2:13 – Nice alley-oop from BG to Tyrus. BG Looked like he was shooting, but it was clearly a pass, and a nice one.
1:52 – Brad Miller cuts into the passing lane, and takes an eternity to rumble down for the dunk. Defense probably should have caught him. 59-47.
Halftime: 63-54 Bulls. High-scoring 1st half, as they’re shooting lights out. Hopefully they can keep it up.
3
11:47 – Tyrus hits a jumper. He’s 4/4.
11:03 – Nice find by Deng to Noah for the dunk.
10:32 – Noah makes it 69-56 with 2 FTs.
8:38 – Rose takes it all the way and scoops in the layup.
7:36 – Rose hits a jumper. 73-64.
7:06 – Rose with another jumper. He’s now the Bulls’ leading scorer, as BG has quieted down a bit.
5:45 – BG hits a jumper.
4:35 – Rose with a nice reverse layup. Pretty move.
4:01 – Salmons in on the jumper party; hits a 2.
3:16 – Rose another jumper. He’s shooting very well tonight.
2:04 – 2 quick 3s by Orlando bring them within 3, 83-80.
1:24 – Bulls getting sloppy, and Magic on 8-0 run.
0:39 – Nice stutter-step by Rose, who drives in for 2.
0:9 – Rose hits yet another jumper. He’s got 22.
End 3rd: 87-82 Bulls. Team is shooting 59%.
4
11:33 – Hinrich a nice fallaway jumper. He’s 3/3.
10:35 – Gordon hits a jumper.
10:15 – Tim Thomas hits a 3.
9:45 – Salmons drives, scores, and gets the foul. 97-89.
9:24 – Gordon another jumper. Can’t remember a miss by him tonight.
8:12 – Salmons rebounds his own miss, find Miller for the layup. Hot Dogs!
7:15 – Hinrich deflects the inbounds pass right into the Magic player standing OB. Nice play; Bulls get the ball back.
Howard has been short on almost all of his shots since the first couple minutes of the game. Bulls must be playing some tough D down low.
6:02 – Salmons hits 2 FTs, 109-94 Bulls. They have been in complete control all game.
5:12 – Joakim stuffs it home, good find by Salmons.
4:37 – Tim Thomas hits another 3. 114-96.
3:41 – BG throws one up and in.
59.8 – Tyrus takes it in for the score and-1.
Final: 120-102.
Box score notes: Bulls have 7 players in double figures, led by Rose with 22. Team shot 57%. Dwight Howard finishes with 26 and 12R, shooting 10/18, although it didn’t seem like he played that well. Magic also had 7 in double figures.
Bulls are playing short-handed tonight; they have just 8 players dressed (one of them Lindsay Hunter) while the trades are processed. Tonight they host Denver, who is having a good year, having traded AI for Chauncey Billups. They currently sit atop the northwest division, and would be a 3 seed if the playoffs started today. Tonight the Suns dropped 140 for the 3rd straight game, this even without Amare Stoudemire, who is now out for 8 weeks with detached retina surgery. Of course, these 3 games were against the Clippers twice and OKC.
1
11:30 – Deng hits a leaner. 10:20 – Deng hits a jumper. 9:17 – Rose hits a pretty fallaway from the baseline. 8:49 – pretty feed from Joakim to Tyrus for the 2-handed slam. 9:50 – With the shot clock about to expire, Noah does a crossover and drives to the hoop. He completely missed rim on the layup, but surprised me with the move. 7:22 – Nice play Rose to Noah. 5:12 – Deng hits a jumper. 18-12 Denver. 4:42 – Gordon hits a 3, assist from Rose underneath. 4:25 – Bullups is killing us – hits a 3. 4:03 – Rose badly misses a one-handed jumper. So, he is human. 2:35 – Deng slashes to the hoop for 2. 1:53 – BG steals the ball underneath the Bulls’ basket, and takes it all the way for the layup. You knew he wouldn’t pass it. 1:32 – Billups hits a Deep 3. 1:13 – Gray puts back a Tyrus miss. 0:01 – Tyrus blocks a shot
31-19 Denver.
2
11:42 – Hinrich slashing and flips it up in the lane for a basket. 11:13 – Good find by Hinrich for an alley-oop to Noah, who gets fouled. 10:57 – Nice find Rose to Gray underneath. If the bigs run the floor with Rose, they will be rewarded. 9:57 – Hinrich steals and hits a jumper. 33-28 Denver. 9:25 – Tyrus hits a long jumper 7:27 – Nuggets go on 8-0 run, Suddenly it’s 41-30. Bulls call TO to stop the bleeding. 6:55 – nice drive and score by Tyrus. 6:25 – Nene is 7/7 with 14 pts so far. 4:04 – Hinrich finds Tyrus cutting for 2. Back within 7. 3:33 – BG with a 3! 47-43. 3:07 – Gordon hits from the top of the key. 2:37 – BG hits another jumper. Apparently he is torching Carter. Bulls back within 1, 48-47. 59.1 – Hinrich with a 3 to tie it at 52. 12.1 – Tyrus with an emphatic putback. Bulls take their first lead of the game, I believe, 54-52. 1.1 – Billups drives to tie it just before the half.
Halftime – 54-54. Gordon 14, Deng and Tyrus 12. Nene 17, Billups 16. We are on hot dog pace for the fans tonight!
3
10:54 – Nice inbound play, Rose finds Gordon in the corner for 3. Almost a 5-sec violation. Bulls 57-54. 9:45- Very pretty drive by Gordon, who lays it up over the defense. 61-55. 9:16 – Noah with another drive, and HUGE stuff over Nene. My Goodness! 7:43 – Rose with a nice toss-up off an offensive rebound. Still can’t get a foul though. 6:44 – Rose hits an open jumper. 6:03 – Rose with the one-handed push shot from the baseline. 4:40 – Gordon with a 3. 72-66 Bulls. 4:13 – Tyrus with a nice block. 3:30 – Gordon with the steal, and again takes it all the way himself. And-1. He’s got 27. 75-66. 2:22 – Gordon with another jumper. He’s on fiyah! 2:02 – Tyrus explodes out of the floor for a nice rebound. Gets fouled on the put-back. 4.6 – Rose with a pretty take on the last possession of the 3rd.
Denver goes on a bit of a run at the end, but overall it’s a great quarter for the Bulls, who lead 83-77. Now we’ll see if they can put it away in the 4th. This has been a problem spot for the team this year.
4
Tied 83. 9:27 – Deng forces a Carmelo airball for a shot-click violation. 8:00 – Tyrus hits a jumper. He goes about 1/2 on those these days. 7:52 – Good help by Noah, gets the block. 7:25 – Hinrich passes ahead to Gordon who gets the layup. Bulls back up 4, 91-87. 6:23 – Deng with a jumper. 5:23 – Hinrich to Noah for the stuff. Hinrich is playing well lately. Biggest lead of the game for Bulls, 97-87. 5:09 – Tyrus with his signature goaltend. 4:20 – Deng to Noah, for the hot dog! 101-92. 3:49 – Holy Crap! Thomas channeling his inner MJ, hits a turnaround baseline jumper, and gets fouled by Carmelo. The shot bounces around on the rim before falling, long after the whistle blows. Tyrus hits the FT. Bulls are really pulling away. 1:46 – Gordon with a nice off-balance shot. He’s got 37. If I didn’t already miss the nail in the coffin, this was it.
Final 116-99. Bulls played really well tonight, and deserved this one. They only have 8 players, and they are the 8 best to have after the deadline, in my opinion. They are only going to get better once the new players come in. They are 7-3 in their last 10. I'm getting a little excited!
Box score notes Chi: Gordon 37 points on 13/23 shooting, 4/7 3PT, 7-7 FT. Deng 22 and 12R, 10/10 FTs. Tyrus 21 and 12R on 7/11 FG, 7/9 FTs. Noah 5/6 FTs. Tyrus and Noah 5 blocks. Team shot just over 50% and 31-34 FTs. Not bad for this core of players. Hinrich 9 and 8A off the bench. Den: Billups 25 points, Nene 19. Carmelo 12 on 5/18 shooting. Luol Deng really shut him down.
So, the trade deadline has come and gone. Let’s take a look at the trades the Bulls made:
1) Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Michael Ruffin, Cedric Simmons to SAC for Brad Miller, John Salmons. I’ve already said a little bit about this before. I’m fine with those guys leaving. Brad is a former Bull, and offensively should be the best big man the Bulls will have had in years. He’ll immediately be our starting center, and Thank God for that. Noah was not a starting center, and should be in a better role as an energy guy off the bench. John Salmons is a 6’ 6” guard who wants his playing time, and is having a career year at age 30. I didn’t realize this at the time, but this likely signifies the end of the Ben Gordon Era in Chicago. We can’t keep both him and Salmons. This makes me kinda sad, as I always liked Ben. But, I think I’m ready to move on. This is the Derrick Rose Era now. Salmons’ presence also meant the end for someone else…
2) Thabo Sefolosha, to OKC for a first-round pick next year. Either from Denver or San Antonio, I believe – whichever is worse.
3) Larry Hughes to NYK for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson. Tim Thomas is also a former Bull, a former Hughes-type player, whom the Bulls traded because they weren’t going to play him. Hopefully no hard feeling linger. He’ll probably get a bit of PT now. Also, Hughes should get some PT with Mike D’Antoni, so I’m happy for him. He’ll get his shots now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played pretty will for the rest of the season, or some part of it anyway.
There were rumors about Kirk Hinrich for expiring contracts, in particular Minnesota, but nothing happened. Paxson also possibly eluded to this possibility during his press conference. Hopefully next season it will be Rose and Hinrich, with Salmons coming off the bench. Though Hinrich could possibly be 6th man instead.
Overall, I’m happy with these moves. We got rid of guys that we didn’t need (including one we weren’t playing at all), for guys that we can use right away. I’m not the guy who can tell you how it works salary-wise, but I don’t think it hurts us. And ss far as players are concerned, this should actually give us a push into the playoffs (which we might have made anyway). It will be fun to see Rose in the playoffs, I think.
Last night – the Suns dropped 140 points on the Clips in their first game since Terry Porter was fired. ***Edit: tonight they topped that with 142, again vs. the Clippers. They have a combined margin of victory of 63 points in those 2 games, which is 3rd best all-time in back-to-back games against the same opponent.***Dwight Howard puts up a 45-19-8 last night in a win vs. Charlotte. Durant scored 47 of his team’s 90 points, but Paul hits the game winner. Today the Bulls traded Noc, Gooden, Michael Ruffin and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller (a former Bull), and John Salmons. Obviously they couldn’t get a Bosh or Amare deal done, so I’m fine with this. Noc wasn’t getting much PT lately, and not earning any, and he’s just been looking like he’s run his course here. Gooden has been good on offense, but is useless on D. Plus, he’s been out the last 8 games and the team has done fine without him. I’m fine seeing him go too. Miller will bring us a good interior presence, and John Salmons will be a good guy off the bench. This could mean that another Bulls guard may be on the move…The deadline is still about 16 hours away. Hopefully the team will get rid of Hughes. For both their sakes’. Tonight is the Bulls’ first game back after the All-Star break. Derrick Rose was pretty quiet in the Rookies-Sophomores game, but made his presence known in winning the Skills Competition. That dunk at the end was a very nice exclamation point on his weekend. He seems to have introduced himself to the League and fans.
Tonight the team visits Scott Skiles in Milwaukee, where Ramon Sessions has been playing very well over the last few games. Whenever there’s an injury to give Sessions some PT, he’s stepped it up and shown what he can do. Charlie Villanueva has also been playing better, and is the big man since Bogut went down. Watch out for a Gordon-Villanueva shootout, which tends to happen when these teams meet. They played together at UConn.
2:56 – Bulls get a steal, 2-on-1 break, and Deng stuffs it home. And-1.
2:27 – Charlie Bell throws up a prayer just before the shot clock expires, which is answered. 19-17 Bulls. Joe Alexander plays for Milwaukee. He put up a bunch of YouTube videos promoting himself for the dunk contest. I like the Oreo one.
1:13 – Nice pick by Hinrich, but the layup is knocked OB cleanly. Deng takes it to the hole off the inbound for 2.
37.9 – another travel called by the refs. At least the 3rd on Milwaukee.
2
11:23 – Deng hits a baseline jumper. Announcer agrees with me that Den gnever misses that shot. Of course, he says that Gordon never misses it either. Aaron Gray getting some PT. haven’t seen him too much lately.
9:27 – Gordon hits a pullup jumper.
After Hinrich dribbles the ball off his foot, announcer says that Hinrich always plays good against the Bucks. Apparently the Bucks only play the Bulls in 06-07.
7:57 – Nice look inside from Hinrich to Thabo is too good to be true as Thabo gets rejected.
7:06 – Gray misses a quick little turnaround hook. I’m OK with him taking that shot though. It would be nice if he could develop it.
6:51 – Bulls running, and Thabo gets a slam.
6:30 – Gordon gets out front and has a nice layup.
6:11 – Tyrus picks up his 3rd foul and sits down. Along with Noah, Rose comes into the game. Rose hasn’t been playing much. Perhaps VDN likes Hinrich, since he apparently plays well against the Bucks.
5:50 – Gordon nice jumper with just a few seconds left on the shot clock.
5:33 – Nice dish from Villanueva to a cutting Sessions inside.
4:02 – Deng hits a jumper few feet back from elbow.
3:31 – Nice toss-up by Hinrich, after Noah picks up a loose ball and dishes to him.
2:18 – Another deep 2 by Deng.
1:47 – Hinrich splashes a 3.
For all the travels the refs have called so far in this game, it seems they’ve not called a few too.
1:08 – Rose a nice take, left-handed layup off Noah screen.
29.2 – Nice one-handed runner by Rose.
Halftime – Bucks 51-49.
3
11:06 – Jefferson tosses one over his head and in. Bucks already have a couple ORebs this quarter.
10:35 – Bucks take 57-49 lead after quick 6-0 run first 85 seconds of this quarter.
11:11 – Nice 3 by Gordon. 13 for him.
Announcer tells us how Gordon is 6’3”, looks 6’1”, and plays D like a guy bigger than 6’3”. I wish I saw the same Bulls team these announcer always get to see.
9:38 – Deep 2 by Deng in the corner. Might have had a foot on the 3-pt line.
9:11 – Gordon takes it strong for a scoop layup. Bulls back within 1, 57-56. That timeout was probably good for them.
8:56 – Jefferson fouled taking a jumper, makes it. 3 on Deng.
8:37 – Offensive foul on Tyrus. Villanueva’s feet were set, but Tyrus barely knocked into him. That’s 4 on Tyrus. Before I finish typing those sentences, Deng picks up his 4th as well. Both taken out of the game.
8:18 – Jefferson nice reverse jam.
7:16 – Nice offensive rebound by Rose.
7:00 – Nice rebound and put-back by Gray.
6:22 – Nice pass from Gray to a cutting Rose. Rose goes to the line, makes both.
6:00 – Rose steps in front of the passing lane for a steal.
5:28 – Bulls turn it over, but Thabo knocks the ball away and the Bulls steal it right back. Of course, they turn it back over again.
4:53 – Rose shot-puts the ball up and in.
4:35 – Rose passes up ahead to Thabo, who puts it in as he gets fouled. Completes 3-pt play.
3:54 – Thabo hits a 3. It always seems like a bonus when he makes a shot. Sometimes it’s just a bonus for him to get a clean shot off that hits the rim.
3:03 – Gray ties the game at 72 with a couple FTs, while the announcers rave about how big he is.
2:36 – Nice movement leads to a Hinrich 3. Bulls back in the lead, 75-72.
2:06 – Bulls force 24-sec violation. Almost seems like they decided to take control of this game.
1:46 – Rose takes it in from about 40 feet away. And you Bucks announcers thought the other guys were good…
39.2 – Rose takes it in again, and is going to the line for 2. Makes both.
With about 4 seconds left, Rose takes it in yet again. This time he gets rejected by Gadzuric.
79-75 Bulls after 3. Good quarter for Bulls, considering the Bucks started it with a 6-0 run to go up 7. Also considering Deng and Tyrus both picked up their 4 fouls at the start.
4
10:45 – Hinrich hits a deep 3. 16 pts for Hinrich. Good for him, he’s not scoring much nowadays, coming off the bench.
9:44 – Tyrus with a nice block inside, then Gadzuric is called for an offensive foul. Skiles is furious, and gets a T. Looks like he wanted a 2nd. FT puts bulls up 85-79.
9:05 – Rose dribbles just a bit too much, and loses the ball OB. He’ll be kicking himself for that one for a while.
8:07- Jefferson takes it in and somehow puts it in after a nice spin move. Can’t tell if he dunked it or just layed it in really hard.
6:55 – Nifty move by Hinrich, but the reverse layup gets blocked. Now VDN earns a T of his own.
6:50 – Hinrich gets redemption with a quick steal and layup.
6:17 – Hinrich knocks the ball loose from CharlieV, then hits a 3 on the other end. Fired Up, he is. You can tell on the defensive end too, as he doesn’t let 8’s shoving get the better of him.
5:52 – Deng blows a break by missing a layup. I guess it was fairly contested though.
5:23 – Gordon puts up a floater in the lane, draws contact, but gets no call. He then proceeds to stare at the ref while everyone else runs up court. I hate that shit. Get Back On D!
4:59 – Hinrich hits a cross-over pull-up jumper. Season-high 25 for him. Bulls up 96-86.
4:40 – RJ hits a 4-pt play.
4:22 – Just as I was about to yell at Deng for missing a running hook, Tyrus slams home the follow.
4:08 – Hinrich hits 2 FTs after pushing the ball. Hot Dog! 100-90 Bulls.
3:52 – RJ with his 30th point. Rose is taking the ball up slowly. This is his time to put the game away.
3:31 – Tyrus stuffs it home. 2:13 – Deng hits a jumper as the shot clock expires. Nail in the coffin? 104-94. Bulls make FTs rest of the way.
Final – 113-104 Bulls. They pick up a game on Milwaukee in the chase for the last playoff spot, now just 1.5 games back.
Box score notes: Hinrich prooves the announcers correct, putting up a season-high 31 points (18 n 4th quarter, if my count is correct?) on 8/14 FGs. 5/8 3PT, 10/10 FTs. Deng 21 points on 9/17 FGs. Rose 18 and 9A. Bucks: RJ 32 points UConn watch: Gordon (18) edges out CharlieV (17), but Villanueva also grabs 12 boards. Jumpers: I only count 3 jumpers for Rose and Tyrus, all misses. However, I counted 8/11 for Deng. His jumper was money tonight. I think it comes in waves.
So here we are, the last night of games before the All-Star break. The Bulls are coming off a huge win against Detroit, where they erased a 14-point 4th quarter deficit. Tonight they’re hosting Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. It’s the 2nd meeting between the 2 teams, who selected 1-2 in last year’s draft (this season). The Bulls appear to have gotten the better end of that deal, although Michael Beasley did play better than Derrick Rose in the two teams’ previous meeting, a day-after-Christmas affair in which the teams were tied going into the 4th quarter, but Miami eventually pulled away for a 90-77 win. Tonight, I think the Rose and the Bulls will play better, even though they still sometimes have trouble pulling out close games in the 4th quarter.
1
11:41 – Bulls turn it over on their first possession, as Tyrus Thomas throws a bad pass inside, which never touched Deng, the intended target.
11:03 – Tyrus makes up for it by giving a cutting Rose a nice feed for the layup.
10:46 – Rose picks up his first foul. I predict he’ll be sitting with 2 fouls before the 9-minute mark.
10:21- Rose with a 1-handed push jumper. He’s been using that shot a lot lately, and it looks Good.
9:56 – Another nice feed inside from Tyrus to BG for a reverse layup.
9:31 – Good interior passing by the Bulls. Deng feeds it to Tyrus, who is fouled and heads to the line for 2. Makes them both.
9:07 – Another nice sequence, Bulls running 5-on-3, Deng finds Gordon for a leaner off the glass, and-1.
7:50 – Bulls get a little sloppy and turn it over inside. I think Tyrus has touched the ball on every possession so far. He’s about 50/50 on either turning it over or creating a basket.
7:27 – Nice look from Rose to Noah, who almost misses the dunk but it bounces in. He was probably fouled.
7:04 – nice steal by Deng, who takes it in for a layup. Bulls out to a quick 17-8 lead.
5:22 – quick 8-0 run capped by a steal and Marion slam pulls Heat to within 1. On the replay you can see Marion push off with his elbow, but that stuff hardly ever gets called.
5:00 – Tyrus another nice look inside to BG, who’s going to the line for 2. It seems our offense is running through Tyrus tonight.
4:33 – Gordon dribbles too much instead of passing to Rose, and turns it over.
4:11 – Tyrus with a nice drive to the hoop, but misses badly.
3:33 – Gordon pokes the ball away from DWade, and then runs away to the other end of the floor. Luckily, the Bulls pick up the loose ball. Rose passes ahead and Gordon gets the easy 2-handed slam. He doesn’t get too many chances to dunk.
Next possession – Gordon misses a 3. It just seems like every time he scores, he misses a 3 on the next play. Or maybe I just notice when that happens, and not when he makes 2 straight shots.
2:04 – Bulls steal the ball, but Gordon’s layup is blocked by DWade, who was after him the whole way.
1:33 – Bulls blow a 2-on-1, Hinrich’s pass may have been just a bit too long, but I still feel like Deng should have tried to put it up.
1:15 – Patience pays off, as Tyrus gets open on the baseline and takes it for a dunk.
Tyrus misses a shot as the 1st quarter expires. I question him taking that shot. Perhaps he’s gotten a little too confident? The Bulls jumped out quickly in this one (7/7 FGs to start, 2/12 after), but the Heat only trail by 1, 24-23 after 1.
2
11:16 – James Jones hits a 3 to give Miami its first lead.
11:00 – Hinrich hits a jumper.
10:14 – Noah fights for a loose rebound and gets it. Good effort.
9:55 – Another Miami 3, to go up 3.
9:45 – Rose shots a jumper from the top of the key that bounces about 6 times around the rim before dropping in. I noticed this more often in the first couple weeks of the season, but he has a Very soft touch, and he gets the shooter’s bounce more often than not.
9:16 – Another Rose jumper puts the Bulls back up by 1.
8:49- great perimeter defense by Hinrich, who blocks the shot and causes a 24-sec violation.
6:46 – Thabo shoots an airball from the foul line.
6:25 – Chris Quinn misses a 3 from the parking lot, and stupid Noc stands there while Beasley bets the offensive rebound and puts it in. Noc literally shrugged his hands up while Beasley actually kept playing basketball. Noc, what has happened to you? That’s the 2nd time Noc has made Beasley look good. Heat are on a 7-0 run, leading 36-30.
5:35 – Rose makes a very acrobatic shot.
4:35 – Tyrus takes in right in for a dunk. Not sure how nobody got in front of him, but they didn’t. Blew right by Beasley.
3:48 – Bulls turn it over before the cameras can even show us.
3:29 – Gordon almost dribbles himself into trouble, but is bailed out by a last-minute foul. Makes 1/2 FTs.
3:10 – another signature BG drive-and-take-an-off-balance-layup-but-draw-enough-contact-for-a-foul.
3:00 – Nice Marion-to-Haslem pass for an open dunk.
1:57 – Very nice up-and-under layup by Wade.
1:26 – another Bulls TO, turns into another Heat dunk by Haslem. Miami is suddenly up 11, 58-37. The Bulls are just falling apart. Too many sloppy TOs. Just dropping the ball right into Miami’s hands.
Halftime: Miami 50-39. Not much to say here. Bulls looking terrible, particularly in that quarter. Gordon 14, Rose 10. No Heat players in double figures.
3
11:36 – Bulls force 24-sec violation to start half.
9:09 – Nice lay-in by Gordon, Bulls cut lead to 7 after a 6-0 run.
8:38 – nice steal by Tyrus, who takes it in strong for the jam. 52-47.
7:56 – Awesome rejection by Tyrus. He blocks it out to the top, where the Bulls start a break. Gordon gets the layup, gets hammered, and completes the 3-pt play. 54-50. 19 for BG.
6:59 – Announcers inform us that DWade has been battling the flu recently. See? Just another case in the NBA. Funny how it gets around. Also, apparently the Bulls are a team that Wade has a hard time having very good games against. Strange, considering he’s a Chicago native.
6:41 – Tyrus with another nice feed, this time to Gordon, who actually dunks the ball over a few defenders. Very nice!
6:02 – Very strange sequence – with BG dribbling and Marion guarding, the ball bounces off of Marions foot and heads towards the sideline. At the last second, it takes a right turn, and rolls along the line staying in bounds and allowing Miami to pick it up and get a 2-on-1 break. Not sure how the ball made that turn. I’m also not sure why this wasn’t a kick on Marion.
5:40 – 3-sec violation on Noah. It’s been a while.
4:40 – Rose another sick layup. Cuts it to 4.
4:26 – Dwade right back with a posterization of Noc. I’m kinda glad, Noc deserves it.
4:12 – BG with a layup, “unmolested.”
3:29 – Noc puts Wade in a bear hug; a defensive move to prevent himself from appearing on another poster.
2:48 – Beasley puts the Heat back up by 10. He’s 6/7 from the field. Having himself a nice little game. Apparently he’s the coaches’ favorite player on the team. Works hard and accepts criticism well.
1:36 – Beasley hits a 3, and suddenly the Heat are back up 14, 74-60.
:4.3 – Noc hits the Bulls’ first 3-pointer of the game. His first basket, having started 0/6.
Heat lead 76-65 after 3. Beasley is about 8/9 for 19 points. He clearly carries a grudge against the Bulls for passing over him for Rose. Apparently the only person who doesn’t think it was the right move.
4
10:45 – Gordon banks in a jumper. He’s got 27. Doesn’t seem like that many, although he has taken a lot of shots.
8:58 – Hinrich with a pretty reverse layup. Back within 5! 76-71; Heat have gone cold.
8:19 – Beasley hits an outside jumper with Noah in his face. 9/10. Wow.
7:58 – Tyrus with a nice spin move, and-1. FT cuts it to 4.
7:35 – BG Almost knocks down a jumper after getting fouled. Goes to the line with a chance to cut it to 2. Only makes 1.
7:03 – nice look by Gordon to Noah, who can’t quite finish but will go to the line. Makes 1, lead is 4.
6:52 – Hinrich steals it, lays it up, cuts it to 2.
5:50 – Daquean Cook hits his 4th 3-pointer, with Noah in his face. Damn. Back up 5.
5:10 – Hinrich with another steal. He’s showcasing his defense tonight. Rose forces a pass inside, and the Bulls can’t capitalize.
4:23 – Tyrus takes it strong to the hole again, goes to the line again. Good thing he developed his FT shooting this offseason, as he’s been going to the line a lot recently. That’s how he’s been scoring 20+ the last 2 games. He certainly can’t do that with his jumper.
3:54 – BG gets a runner to fall, and-1. Cuts it to 1! He’s got 31.
3:17 – Rose with a stop-and-go so nice, I thought my DVR skipped. Bulls take their first lead since the first quarter. !.
3:02 – good acting job by Wade, gets Hinrich called for a lame foul.
2:51 – Chalmers with a nice reverse layup. Heat back on top.
2:34 – Rose rejected inside.
2:20 – DWade sails in for a dunk.
1:42 – DWade banks one home, another goddamn 6-0 run puts the Heat up 5.
1:32 – Rose with a nice split of the defenders, dishes to Noah, who misses the layup. I thought he’d learned to dunk?
1:13 – Wade hits his 3rd straight FG. He’s only shooting 9/21 but is hitting them when they count.
:41 – Noah blocks Wade inside! Bulls run and Thomas gets a twisting layup with 35 sec. left. 93-90.
:15 – Wade tries to draw another foul on Hinrich, who pulls back. Wade misses, Bulls get rebound. Here we go……Another Gordon 4-pt play would be awesome, cuz I don’t feel like going into OT.
:6.5 – wow, I wasn't really expecting it, but they actually fouled Gordon takin a 3. He didn’t make it this time, although it was close. He better knock these down…yes! 34 for BG.
:4.7 – Hinrich steals the inbounds pass after Wade can’t handle it! Holy crap! Plenty of time for a shot…
3.5 – Dammit! Thabo can’t get the ball in, and throws it to Wade, who call TO before falling OB. Why the hell is Thabo taking the ball out?
1.1 – Marion dunks it. Game fucking over.
Final: 95-93 Heat. I’m so pissed. Sorry folks, no notes tonight. You'll have to look at the damn box score yourself.
Tonight the Bulls honor Johnny “Red” Kerr. I don’t really care as much as a lot of other people; I only know Kerr as an announcer the last 2 years, and he just seemed like the Chicago version of Tommy Heinsohn - Annoyingly ultra-homer. However, Jordan and Pippen are supposed to be here, so that’s cool. Detroit has not been playing too well with AI instead of Chauncey (despite this play recently), as AI is a scorer first, not a distributor. However, AI is out tonight with flu-like symptoms (seems to be going around the League - Garnett, Bryant recently had it). So, we’ll probably get another 40-pt night from Stuckey.
1
11:50 – Gordon throws a fastball to Noah, just a bit outside. TO. Makes up for it by blocking a jump shot on the other end, but the Bulls proceed to fall short on 2 shots in the ensuing possession.
9:13 – Tyrus misses 2 closes shots but is going to the line. He already has 3 or 4 misses. Hopefully he’ll do better than the 5-15 he put up 2 games ago. 1/2 FTs
9:05 – trap by Noah and Rose, Noah gets steal at halfcourt. Gordon dribbles for a while, passes to a cutting Rose for a nifty layup. As if there were any other kind for him.
7:55 – Gordon another dish, this time to Tyrus, who gets Rejected. Not a good start for Tyrus.
7:26 – Nice dish from Rose to Noah, but he doesn’t finish. Too far to dunk, so there was no chance.
6:56 – Rose picks up his 2nd foul, on Stuckey. Stuckey could take control of this game. Hinrich in, Rose out.
6:43 – Gordon dribbles into a TO. Might have been poked away from behind.
6:20ish – Just showed Kerr in the stands. He looks like he has no idea what’s going on.
6:14 – Tyrus makes a move but loses the ball OB before he could go anywhere. He’s looking like his old self again.
5:45 – Rasheed makes a 3 as the shot clock expires. 14-5 Pistons. Not a lot of whistles so far. Low scoring game. At least, for our team.
5:10 – Bulls get a steal and Rasheed picks up his 2nd foul stopping Hinrich from breaking for 2. At least he has to sit down.
4:52 – Gordon a nice fallaway jumper off the glass. Good shot. Neil Funk tells us “that was a possession where no one touched the ball but Gordon.”
4:27 – Bulls dodge a bullet at Amir Johnson misses several tips from underneath the hoop.
4:22 – Tyrus takes it strong to the hole, gets fouled. He’s been playing a lot more aggressive lately, taking control, taking it strong, getting fouls. Just needs to play a bit more consistently. I’m guessing that will come. He’s basically just now learning how to play basketball.
4:12 – another steal by Bulls, Gordon hits a 3! Guess we know what that mea….....and Gordon steals the inbounds! But Deng gets blocked and the Bulls can’t capitalize. But whoa! 14-14.
3:32 – Nice dish inside from Deng to Noah, Noah puts it in and-1! Makes FT!
3:11 – Nice little bounce-pass from Gordon to Tyrus, who has the open lane and takes it in for the slam! 19-15 Bulls. That’s a 14-1 run!
3:05 – It’s Air in da house! Jordan is wearing a lime green jacket. Interesting choice.
2:46 – Hamilton nice jumper from top of key. Gotta like Hamilton. I remain loyal to the UConn boys. Rip won the team's first title in 1999. Still got my pennant from the parade.
2:27 – Gordon nice leaner bounces in.
2:08 – Noc in for Tyrus. Noc probably doesn’t get the minutes he used to. And you know what? He doesn’t seem to mind. Don’t hear him complain (well, except when they call a foul!). Speaking of Noc, check out what he did on an day off earlier this week (Scroll down to "Notes, Quotes").
1:53 – Pistons again turn it over on the inbounds, and once again the TV camera misses it.
1:43 – Nice look but bad pass from Noc to Noah. Threw it behind him. I wonder if the lack of PT is hurting Noc? Or is he just in a bit of a slump.
1:19 – Deng misses step back jumper from baseline.
1:15 – Stuckey double-dribbles. Detroit has lots of TOs.
1:04 – Detroit gives Hinrich a wide open 3, and he makes them pay.
:46 – Noc plays trailer, gets an open 3.
:05 – Hinrich throws the ball away, but Gordon steals it, drives, draws contact, and throws the ball behind his head and it goes in with 1.1 left! Awesome! Gordon misses the goddamn FT. Why isn’t he shooting them better this year? I just looked it up, and he's only shooting .861 on the season. He should be a 90% shooter.
End of 1st – Bulls 30-22. Big turnaround in that one, down 14-5.
During the commercial, they show a Jordan interview about Kerr. Jordan talks about how he’s come and gone, but Kerr is still here. Kerr started it all; was there first, yadda yadda yadda.
2
11:12 – Gordon another runner in the lane. He’s got 11.
10:36 – Tyrus gets another foul call. Took it to ‘im. Makes goth FTs. Nice.
10:16 – Will Bynum nice take, and-1. Misses FT. Kinda looks like El-Amin.
10:04 – Thabo turns it over. VDN calling “Push the ball push the ball push the ball!”
9:30 – Noc nice spin and jumper. 5 pts in 5 min.
8:24 – DRose hits a jumper!
7:30 – DRose jumper way short (from a little deep). You could tell he didn’t get his legs into that one.
6:52 – Rose bolts by everyone, but misses layup he probably should have made. Noah misses a few tips, fights really hard for ball, but can’t get it. Almost.
6:20 – Tyrus a nice drive and hooks it in off the glass. 40-37 Bulls.
6:03 – Noc and Tyrus fight for the same rebound and Noc slaps it OB.
5:44 – Sweet look Noah to a cutting Noc who lays it in.
5:16 – Noc quick take on the run and lays it in again!
Another "Red" Kerr tidbit – Red played in the black & white era. Played against Wilt many times. One night against Wilt, he put up 27 pts, 34 rebs. Not to shabby.
4:33 – baseline jumper by Tyrus! 46-43.
3:16 – Tyrus throws it to Detroit right after stealing it from them.
3:13 – Funk jinxes Hamilton at the FT line.
2:59 – Gordon pump fakes, drives, dribbles off his knee.
1:36 – Good read by Deng, knocks down the lead pass from Stuckey to Prince. Another steal for Bulls. In ensuing possession, Gordon fumbles, Tyrus picks it up, drives and fumbles. Detroit scores with 1:03 to take a 49-46 lead.
46.9 – Good look from Deng to Noah, who puts it in in heavy traffic. Stacey King says “crab dribble.” This has become his word-of-the-week.
:21 – Hamilton nice spin move.
5.1 – Detroit gives a foul. Gordon takes it out on the side. Gets ball back, hits shot. Appears to step one foot inside line, but they give him a 3. 51-51 for now, but will probably be changed to 51-50.
Halftime: 51-50. Score gets corrected. Chi: Gordon 13, Tyrus 11, Noc 9. Rose 6. Noah 7R. Hinrich 5A. Det: Hamilton 17, Prince 10, Rasheed 7R.
During halftime, my NBA League Pass channel shows absolutely nothing from the Kerr tribute. Isntead, we get an interview with C-Webb, who just had his number retired by Kings tonight. He's clearly been crying. After a few minutes with him, the channel shows stats from all tonight's games on the screen for 10 minutes. Why couldn't they show anything from the Kerr tribute? Not that I care, but really? You have to go way out of your way to not show anything from halftime.
3
11:13 – Interesting possession with Tyrus. Motions for Rose to move, takes it strong, cradles ball, puts up a runner he had no chance of making. But I liked the drive and cradle. Plus the motioning and communication with the teammate. He’s learning a thing or 2 from Rose.
10:52 – Tyrus goaltend. Hit ball against backboard, apparently an instant too late.
10:32 – Bulls blow the inbounds underneath, Deng passes it right to Rasheed. It almost looked like that was planned.
10:07 – Rose hits a jumper from top of key!
9:24 – Gordon swishes a baseline 3, seconds after missing a layup cuz he was unexpectedly too wide open. All works out in our favor. 55-55.
45 seconds later – Gordon 3 in-and-out. At least he waited 45 seconds this time.
7:59 – Rose a nice runner off the glass!
7:37 – Gordon takes it hard to the hole, misses, hits the floor. Not sure if there was contact or if he was just out of control.
7:08 – Noah taps in a Tyrus missed jumper.
6:20 – Rasheed knocks down a 4. Pistons extend lead 66-59.
6:07 – Deng knocks down jumper.
5:30 – Rose knocks down another jumper from the elbow.
5:04 – Rasheed nice turnaround j.
4:44 – Rose another jumper!
4:20 – Hamilton a 3. 73-65 Pistons.
4:04 – Tyrus may have gotten away with a charge. Blocking called.
Scottie Pippen joins Stacey and Neil as Tyrus makes 1/2 FTs.
3:34 – Tyrus tip dunk off Deng miss.
3:03 – Gordon gets into trouble, turns ball over, but Pistons throw it away. Kind of a sloppy game by both teams.
2:48 – Gordon gets Hamilton up in the air, jumps into him for FTs. Misses BOTH. Has he ever missed 2 FTs before? Seriously, what is wrong with him? Did he work out too much in the offseason?!
2:34 – Hamilton does same exact thing to Gordon, but makes both FTs.
1:23 – Another Rasheed turnaround j. 81-69 Detroit. They are pulling away, albeit quietly.
:44 – Yet another nice look from Deng to Noah, but Noah gets Rejected by Prince.
:00 – McDyess put back as time expires. Not a good quarter for the Bulls. 85-71 Detroit, 34-21 that quarter.
4
11:39 – Nice one-handed jumper by Noc, bounces in.
11:09 – Kirk hits a jumper.
10:26 – nice pass Noc to Noah for the slam. Still down 12.
9:58 – Noc steals, passes ahead to Thabo, has to change shot and misses layup. Noah misses putback. Dammit!
9:05 – Bulls force a miss by Detroit, throw it away. Not looking like they have it in them to come back.
8:26 – After another defensive stop, Hinrich throws it off the back of the backboard. WHAT?
8:10 – Stuckey manages to throw the ball in as he’s fouled. Makes FT. Bulls cannot win this game. 92-77. At least Rose is back in the game after a long rest.
7:20 – Nice pass Gordon inside to Noah, and-1. Rattles home FT. Back to 12, 94-82.
6:51 – Tyrus jumps about 18 feet in the air for a rebound off a missed Rose jumper. Drives, tripped up, fouled.
6:38 – Tyrus catches a Gordon airball, 2-hand dunks it home! 10! 94-84. 5 straight points for the Bulls.
6:20 – Rose gets his hand in Stuckey’s face, forces a missed j. Any coincidence that with Rose out of the game, Detroit pulled away, and with Rose back in, Bulls coming back?
6:08 – Tyrus going to the line yet again. How many FTs does he have? Sinks them both! 94-86.
5:50 – Noc gambles and loses, letting Prince score. How’d he even back Noc down? He's a string bean.
5:38 – Bulls being aggressive, taking it strong and getting contact. Gordon 2 FTs. 96-88.
5:13 – Bulls force 24-sec violation! Chance to close the gap a bit more…
4:55 – Tyrus misses an ugly jumper, but Noah gets Offensive board. Noc misses 3. Damn.
4:34 – Nice crossover by Stuckey, but Noah blocks the layup! Gordon throws away the possession.
4:01 – Rose dribbles around defense and somehow has an open lane for a 2-handed jam.
3:27 – Rose drives and is going to the line for 2. Can he knock them down? I bet he goes 1/2. he’s 8/12 from field so far, 16 pts. Makes both! 100-92. Not getting closer than 8, and time is running out.
2:50 – Great sequence – Gordon misses a wild shot, but Tyrus gets the rebound, shoots it in as he’s fouled an falls to the floor. Chance for 3-pt play to cut it to 5 and……no, he misses FT. Still, 100-94 is progress…
2:27 – Gordon drives and is going to the line, after Rose bothers Hamiltons shot. Makes them both, 100-96!
2:01 – Spin move by Stuckey, Rejected by Tyrus!
1:55 – Rose dribbles all the way and gets fouled on the layup. Makes 1/2. 100-97!
1:35 – Bulls force another tough shot., Hamilton misses.
1:15 – Rose hits jumper! 100-99!
1:01 – Rasheed gets fouled, makes 2 FTs. 102-99. Bulls need to score.
46.1 – They do! Rose nice drive, splits defenders, layup! Rose has 23 on 10/14 shooting. 102-101.
:33 – great D by Bulls, Rasheed takes a turnaround 3 from the corner with Noah on him! Unbelievable! What was he thinking?
:27 – Almost throw inbounds pass away. Rose drives, misses, gets rebound, kicks out to Gordon in the corner…
16.7 – Gordon puts up the 3….IT'S GOOD!!! AND1!!!!! Stuckey plows him over! Gordon hits the FT; that’s like his 3rd 4-pt play of the season! 105-102. What an AMAZING sequence!
10.6 – Hamilton drives for 2 instead of taking a 3, dishes to McDyess who isn’t looking, ball hits him and goes OB. Rose ran into a screen on the play and hurt his head. Noc hits 2 FTs, Rose goes back to locker room early. Bulls steal inbounds play to seal the game. 107-102! What a comeback! 17-2 run to close out the game!
Final, 107-102. Bulls win!
Box score notes: Tyrus 22 and 10R. Where’s this offense coming from? FTs I guess. 10/13 from the line tonight! Tyrus has 6 double-doubles in his last 7 games, and 2 straight with 20+ points. Noah 12 and 16R. 1 block each. These 2 are really stepping it up lately. Rose 23 on 10/15 shooting, Gordon 24 on 8/18. Noc 14 off bench. 16 TOs for the team. Det: Hamilton 30 and 8A, Rasheed 20 and 10R. 15 TOs for the team.
I must say, I had given up on this game. But, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that as long as Derrick Rose is on the floor in the 4th quarter, the game is never over. He always manages to keep the Bulls close.
I kept track of jump shots by Rose, Deng, and Thomas. Basically shots in the 15-foot range, give or take a few feet. If Rose is on, he doesn't miss. By my count, he hit 6/9 jump shots. Deng was quiet, just 1/3, and Tyrus was also 1/3. These counts may not be perfect, but they should be close. I'd like to continue keeping track of these, for a few reasons: 1) I feel like Deng hits jumpers with great consistency. 2) Rose isn't always consistent, but has the ability to never miss. 3) Tyrus is developing his jump shot, so I'd like to see how it's coming along.
Unfortunately, I was unable to watch this game, as my roommates accidentally canceled the DVR recording. This is bound to happen a few times, so I apologize. Looks like I missed a frustrating game anyway, so perhaps it's for the better.
Reading the recap, I notice that Tyrus Thomas hit a 3 pointer at the end of last night's game. This is the 2nd straight loss in which Thomas hit a pointless 3-pointer at the end of the game (his first came at the end of the Rockets game). I only mention this I never knew he was capable of making a shot from that range. I also read that Derrick Rose once again had the ball in his hands at the end of the game with a chance to win. And once again he missed a layup and didn't get a foul. I'm not worried, he'll get better at that in the future. But I often wonder why we don't give Luol Deng a chance to win a game? If he gets a halfway decent look at a 15-18 ft jumper, he'll make it more often than not. Gordon won a few games hi rookie year, but has missed chances several times since then. Rose has blown a few chances this year, so why not give Deng a try?
Some thoughts, and some stats (assuming my math is correct): The Bulls finished their 7-game road trip with a record of 4-3. This is their first winning road trip since - you guessed it - the Jordan Era. So what's different? Why are they playing better? First, Luol Deng seems to have returned to the level he was playing at 2 years ago. During the trip, Deng shot 50% and averaged 19 points and 7 rebounds. This includes a relatively quiet night in the Hornets blowout, and a rather poor shooting game last night against Dallas. If Deng keeps this up, the Bulls should be winning more games, and he'll no doubt be earning that 6-year, $71 million contract extension he signed in the offseason. The way he started this season, he seemed to be turning into a bust. Another reason the Bulls have been winning is the improved play of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. These two are often linked, and for good reasons. They are both young, lottery picks the previous 2 years, drafted for their athleticism, energy, and potential. And up through this season, neither seemed to be reaching their potential. They were criticized for their lack of energy, and neither was contributing much to the offense. However, during this road trip, something seemed to click with them. They ran faster, hustled more, played with more energy. They ran the floor, and Derrick Rose rewarded them with easy baskets. Tyrus doesn't take too many bad shots anymore; his jumper has improved, and Noah, who shouldn't be allowed to take any shot that's not a dunk, has been doing nothing but dunking. Their combined numbers during the road trip - 56.6% shooting, 24.9 ppg, 17.1 rpg. Together, they make up quite the player, but with the ability to be 2 places at once!
So it seems as though Larry Hughes has been “Marburied” on the Bulls’ bench. Basically this just means that as a player, he has no future with the team, and he happens to be signed to a large contract; more than he’s worth. As a fan of the team, I’m happy. Larry Hughes does not belong on the floor. There were questions as to what would happen when Kirk Hinrich came back from his injury, and this seems the best solution moving forward for the team. He did play pretty well for a period, and actually has the only game-winning shot for the team this season, sinking the Jazz after a fortunate rebound went his way. But in the long term, Hughes has no future with the Bulls.So what’s wrong with Larry Hughes? Well, he takes a lot of bad shots. So many, that when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, a fan created the website, heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com. That says it all. Too many times we have seen him jack up a shot literally inches in front of the 3-point line, with a defender in his face, and 20 seconds left on the shot clock. Not what you want to see. Don’t get me wrong – Larry Hughes is by no means a bad basketball player. He has some skills. He’s a capable scorer. But on this team, he’s one of the last options. The problem is that he believes he should be a 1st option. The team already has a shooter in Ben Gordon who takes a lot of shots. Hughes may be a better defender than BG, but he’s not nearly as good a shooter, and we don’t need them both taking 90% of the team’s shots.Anyway, the Bulls took him as part of the deal that sent Ben Wallace to the Cavs. Wallace was himself locked into a overpaid contract, so taking Hughes in return was not much of an option. Hughes was somewhat serviceable this season in the absence of Captain Kirk, but with Hinrich back in the lineup, that leaves no room for Hughes. Even as a bench player, Hughes was unhappy. He felt he should be a starter. Then, he had a long string of DNP-CDs, and was even more unhappy. Finally, the Bulls put him on the inactive list, making his career in Chicago all but over. The Bulls now have to hope that 1) they can find a team that is willing to trade for him, and 2) that the injury bug does not return to the Bulls backcourt. Point 2 isn’t even that much of a risk, as Thabo Sefolosha has proven a capable reserve, and the team still has Lindsey Hunter at the end of the bench.Now, I must say, I feel a little bad for Hughes. Yes, as a player, I’m glad he’s not playing for the team. But I feel bad for him as a person, because Hughes has been a fairly good sport during all this. He publicly complained about playing time once, and the coaches and management spoke with him and put a stop to that. Now, he is understandably unhappy at not playing. I would be too; but he appears to have been rather silent about it all. He is by no means one of the worst players in the NBA. The reason I feel bad is that during his string of DNPs, he was asked by the media how he felt. He responded that he just wanted to help the team and earn his paycheck; he doesn’t like earning all this money while not playing. I must say, this is rather commendable. In an era where players make more money than they know what to do with, and most athletes in general come off as greedy to the average fan, Hughes at least understands why he’s paid so much, and just wants to earn it. Good for him. The problem is, the Bulls don’t want him; they were forced to take him. I only hope that the team can make a deal soon, and Hughes can go earn his paycheck elsewhere.
