Update: According to Nick Friedell and K. C. Johnson, Rip Hamilton will start tonight. Ronnie Brewer will come in off the bench. In a rematch of that last awesome preseason game, Chicago and Indiana face off tonight, again, this time at the United Center. This is the last tune-up game before the Bulls season opener […]
Archive | Preseason
The preseason (that won’t happen) schedule has been released
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes: “The Bulls are scheduled to open [the preseason] against the Michael Jordan-owned Charlotte Bobcats on Oct. 10 at the United Center. Other home games are Oct. 14 against the Timberwolves, Oct. 21 against the Pacers and Oct. 27 against Scott Skiles and the Bucks. The Bulls’ road schedule calls for them to […]
A look at the Bulls’ preseason stats
I don’t want to put too much emphasis on preseason stats. After all, preseason games are like lab experiments. Coaches tinker with various lineups and try to test the reserves, and players test new moves and try to ratchet up their games for the upcoming 82-game (plus playoffs hopefully) grind. Still, what happens in the preseason […]
Preseason Game 8: Bulls 102, Pacers 74
Pacers President of Basketball Operations and all-time NBA great Larry Bird watched last night’s game from a few rows behind his team’s bench. I’m not going to make the obligatory “he should have suited up” joke, but the Pacers probably could have used him. They sure needed something. As it was, Bird was treated to an embarrassing 28-point […]
Preseason Game 7: Bulls 110, Raptors 103
Last season, the Toronto Raptors ranked dead last in Defensive Rating, giving up a whopping 113.2 points per 100 possessions. From the looks of things, their D didn’t improve when Chris Bosh decided to take his talents to South Beach. To wit: The Bulls assisted on 26 of their 39 field goals, scored 27 fast […]
Weekend summary: Disappointing
There are losses. And then there are losses. Friday night’s home loss to the Mavericks was disappointing but also kind of uplifting. The offense was clicking early (38 points in the first quarter). Key guys played well, including Derrick Rose (23 points, 4 assists), Joakim Noah (13 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocked […]
Preseason Game 4: Bulls 109, Raptors 90
As I’ve said before, preseason games are essentially meaningless. You shouldn’t get to low after a loss, and you shouldn’t get too high after a win. Especially against a Raptors team featuring a starting lineup of Amir Johnson, Julian Wright, David Andersen, Jose Calderon and Leandro Barbosa. That said, it’s still nice to see positive […]
Preseason Game 2: Mavs 88, Bulls 83
You know what I love about the NBA preseason? It’s stress-free basketball. During the regular season and playoffs, I obsess over losses. Even worse, I obsess over what I consider to be ominous signs during wins…bad shooting, poor rebounding, and so on. During the preseason, I can simply shrug my worries away. The wins and […]
Preseason Game 1: Bucks 92, Bulls 83
Well, that was pretty ugly, wasn’t it? The Bulls shot 42 percent from the field — including 3-for-12 on threes — and missed 11 free throws. The Bucks shot an identical 3-for-12 from downtown and gave up a whopping 27 points off 25 turnovers. There were blocks and bricks and steals and all manner of […]
And the starting power forward is…
…Tyrus Thomas or rookie Taj Gibson? Nobody knows yet, except possibly Vinny Del Negro. But the coach isn’t talking. However, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that Gibson played with the first unit during yesterday’s practice. Tyrus was asked about the situation afterward, but he “politely declined to discuss the situation, smiling as he waved […]