The Better:
Seeing the team’s point guard return from injury. Ha, not Derrick Rose, but Captain Kirk Hinrich. The Captain didn’t shoot particularly well (2-for-7), but he did a solid job directing the offense with a team-best 10 assists. He also played his typical strong defense (even if he did get beaten off the dribble now and again) and generated three steals…including one off an inbound pass after he hitting his only three-pointer of the game.

Said Carlos Boozer: “He played great tonight, man. For being out as long as he was out he came back in and it was almost seamless, man. He did a great job of getting everybody involved, made some big plays, hit a couple of big shots for us, played great defense, got a tough whistle tonight, but he still played great.”

Hinrich finished with a co-game-high plus-minus score of +11 and Chicago’s offense was much steadier when he was running the point. Statistically, Nate Robinson is much better than Hinrich. Robinson leads the team in Player Efficiency Rating (18.2), Effective Field Goal Percentage (.508) and Assist Percentage (31.9), and he’s second in Offensive Rating (110 points per 100 possessions) and Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (.161). Meanwhile, Hinrich has a PER of 10.8 — which is well below league average — and he’s shooting a miserable 37.8 percent from the field.

And yet, according to Basketball-Reference, Hinrich is in the team’s top two lineups and four of the top seven overall.

Hinrich is obviously the better defender. He can’t score with Nate, but he gives the ball up much more readily and quickly. This is most evident on fast breaks. Robinson usually holds the ball until the last second and he’s looking to attack the basket. Hinrich gets the ball to the open man immediately, often before he even passes halfcourt.

Said Joakim Noah: “Kirk played huge for us today. He does a lot of things that you don’t see in the stat sheet that really help our club. … He just brings a whole different dimension, his defensive intensity, his feel for the game when he calls plays, ball movement, everything. He’s a great player.”

Key Stats:
Chicago won the rebounding battle 47-39. That included a 33.3% to 25% advantage in Offensive Rebounding Percentage, which in turn led to a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points.

The Bulls also did a good job protecting the basket. According to Hoopdata, the Hornets converted only 48 percent of their shots at the rim (12-for-25). And New Orleans didn’t make up for that deficit with outside shooting, as Chicago held the home team to 4-for-17 shooting from downtown.

Here’s my favorite stat of the night: The Bulls had 30 assists on 39 made field goals. The ball was really moving.

Now here’s my least favorite stat of the night (per ESPNChicago): The Bulls didn’t shoot a single free throw in the first half. Crazy.

Dominating Frontcourt:
The Bulls starting frontcourt combined for 52 points on 21-for-40 shooting to go with 32 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. Luol Deng lead the team in scoring with 20 points while the Bulls got double-doubles from both Boozer (17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals) and Noah (17 rebounds, 15 points, 5 assists, 3 blocks).

Speaking of which…

Player of the Game:
It was Noah. Maybe his foot is feeling better after the platelet-rich plasma treatment he had last week. Maybe he was pumped up from his first All-Star appearance. But Jo dominated the boards, scored efficiently, moved the ball well (5 assists) and with care (only 1 turnover). He did a little of everything.

Coach Thibs says:
“I thought the level of intensity was very good. I loved the pace to start the game. I thought our defense was solid. The ball was hoppin’, making quick decisions, not shortcutting things, making the extra pass, setting good screens, I thought overall it was very good. Joakim [Noah] was everywhere, multiple effort plays and that was probably one of his best screening games since I’ve been here.”

Point of Concern:
So Chicago’s frontcourt was dominant. Kirk Hinrich played the good floor general. The Bulls controlled the backboards both defensively and offensively. The defense held New Orleans to 41 percent shooting and a scoring rate of only 94.7 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference). Even Thibs seemed happy with the effort and intensity of his team’s play…and Thibs is almost never happy.

But the Hornets hung around. They got to within a point in the fourth quarter. This is a 19-35 team that ranks 15th in Offensive Efficiency and 27th in Defensive Efficiency. They are the league’s 18th-best team according to John Hollinger’s stats-based power rankings and 24th in Marc Stein’s weekly power rankings. It just felt like the win should have been a little more overpowering, if not a blowout, but the Bulls could never quite pull away.

I may be picking nits here.

Quote of the Night:
Boozer on having Hinrich back: “It’s huge, man. That’s why our chemistry is so good. You look at our team over the course of these two and a half years we’ve been together, the more we play together we get better and better, man. I think our chemistry continues to grow, which is a big deal. As you guys know, having chemistry gets you through some of those tough moments you have in a season. You go through ups and downs, whatever. But the tough, tough, moments that are coming, the playoffs what have you, that chemistry, sometimes can carry you over the hump.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Game Recap: Bulls 96, Hornets 87 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

4-for-12

2-for-10

1-for-8

1-for-8

Those are the shooting stats for the Bulls’ starters against the Hornets on Saturday.

For those of you who enjoy simple math, that’s 14-for-53 combined, a conversion rate of 26.4 percent.

That starting unit was also 0-for-5 from three-point range (Luol Deng was 0-for-3 and Kirk Hinrich was 0-for-2).

There was some brick-laying off the bench, too, with Nate Robinson going 6-for-16 and Marco Belinelli finished 4-for-10 after a strong start.

As a team, the Bulls shot 33 percent from the field (29-for-88) and 3-for-17 on threes (17.6).

They committed only 12 turnovers, so they had that going for them, which is nice.

Still, the Hornets put on a pretty good defensive performance, especially considering they were playing on the road on the second night of back-to-back games. And they did it without both Eric Gordon and number one overall draft pick Anthony Davis, who was sitting out due to the NBA’s concussion rules.

New Orleans’ defense was aggressive and persistent. The Hornets players didn’t do anything flashy — although Robin Lopez finished with 4 blocked shots and Austin Rivers had 3 steals — but they were consistently physical and they contested everything. And, at times, the Bulls looked intimidated.

Said New Orleans coach Monty Williams: “We don’t get a lot of credit or notoriety for being a physical team, but that’s something we’ve prided ourselves on since I’ve been here, was to play a physical style of basketball, legally. I don’t think we out-worked them, I just think the ball came our way a few times and it was just a major battle in that paint. Anytime you play against Chicago, a team that (Tom Thibodeau) is gonna coach, you know you’re gonna play a team that is gonna hit you right in the mouth.”

On Saturday, it was Thibodeau’s team that got hit in the mouth. Repeatedly.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising. It’s a small sample size — only three games — but the Hornets currently rank eighth in Defensive Rating. They are limiting teams to 98.6 points per 100 possessions. They also rank fifth in Opponents Effective Field Goal Percentage (44.1). So far, they have held the Spurs (99), Jazz (86) and Bulls (82) below 100 points. Not bad considering that, in the early going, the Jazz are averaging 107.4 points per 100 possessions and the Spurs are scoring 105.8 points per 100 possessions.

So the Bulls got a taste of their own medicine: a team working hard and overachieving on defense.

How else do you explain a team with a starting lineup of Ryan Anderson, Greivis Vasquez, Austin Rivers, Robin Lopez and Al-Farouq Aminu coming into the United Center and solidly outplaying a starting unit of Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich and Rip Hamilton?

Look, a lot is being made of Derrick Rose’s continuing absence, but the Bulls should be better than this Hornets team with or without Rose. Especially at home.

But on Saturday night, they were not.

According to Hoopdata, they went only 15-for-27 at the rim (55.6 percent). That’s not a great conversion rate around the basket. The Hornets were extremely physical in the paint, and the Bulls did not respond well to that. They became tentative, and coach Tom Thibodeau noted “a lot of flipping instead of attacking” when his players opted to drive.

The Bulls also chucked up a long of long two-pointers from 16-to-23 feet — 22 of them to be exact — but connected on only five of them for a conversion rate of 22.9 percent. And I already mentioned their dismal 3-for-17 shooting night from downtown, which made the Bulls 8-for-39 from long range.

Said Joakim Noah: “Tough day at the office. We got our asses kicked. They outplayed us. They were way more on edge than us. It’s unfortunate because it was a good opportunity to go 3-0.”

Look, some nights the shots aren’t going to go down, I get that. But this was far worse than it should have been.

Thibs, for his part, didn’t think his team’s misdirected shooting was the issue: “I thought the start of the game set the tone for the game. We were back on our heels. They got an early lead. Their big guys hurt us. The thing about shooting, that doesn’t bother me. If you are taking your shot and you are missing your shot, you can live with that. The thing about the game was our approach to defensive transition. When you are not shooting well, you cannot allow that to sap your energy. You have to get back and set your defense.”

The Bulls did give up 17 fast break points. But, then again, they also scored 21 points in transition. So that part of the game was pretty much a wash.

Look, with all due respect to the NBA’s former Coach of the Year, teams don’t often win shooting 33 percent from the field and 17 from three-point range. Winning under those circumstances would take an even greater defensive performance (which the Bulls did not have) or an overpowering advantage on the boards (only the Bulls were outrebounded 44-41).

Without Rose, the Bulls’ offense relies on timing, precision, and execution. Nobody — with the occasional exception of Robinson — can really create their own shot.

When a pesky (and very physical) defense digs in and refuses to surrender good looks…Chicago’s offense stalls. Big time.

And it’s likely this problem will occur at times throughout the season. At least until Rose gets back.

The post Chicago’s offensive meltdown appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The Bulls are now seven games into their season-long nine-game road trip. They’re 5-2 on the trip so far and have three straight crushing victories over bad teams.

That may not sound all that impressive — and I know I’ve expressed concern over the Bulls padding their record against lesser opponents — but beating bad teams is meaningful.

First off, it’s easier than you think to fall into a trap. Just ask the Clippers, who lost to the Kyrie Irving-less Cavaliers last night despite strong performances from Blake Griffin (25 points and 15 boards) and Chris Paul (16 points and 12 assists).

Secondly, as Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference pointed out last year, the second-best predictor of playoff success is racking up blowout wins against weak teams. In fact, these “stomps” are a better predictor of potential postseason success than “guts,” which are close wins over good teams. (The best predictor is blowout wins over good teams.)

Now consider: This Bulls squad has played more road games (18) and more games overall (28) than any team in the league but still leads the NBA in wins (22) despite injuries to key players (Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Rip Hamilton)…

…and they still have the focus, in the late stages of a very long road trip, to hold the Hornets to 67 points on 37 percent shooting while dishing out 29 assists on 39 made baskets and outscoring New Orleans 58-40 in the paint?

And despite a light workload for Rose (22 minutes, 6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds)?

This team is locked in, folks.

Said Carlos Boozer: “We’re staying humble, staying hungry and we just did a good job of setting the tone defensively. We did a good job contesting shots, did a good job making them take tough shots, and at the same time I thought we did a good job executing our offense to make the lead grow.”

Added Rose: “We’re on a mission and we can’t take any steps back. It takes us playing with a lot of energy in the beginning and getting a comfortable enough lead that if we’re out of the game, the bench can come in and do what they have to do. … We’re learning. The last couple of games we’ve been jumping on people and that’s the right way to be.”

The Bulls aren’t just whistling dixie, either. They aren’t paying lip service. They are about desire, focus, and intensity. Every game. Every night.

On a related subject, the Bulls limited their turnovers to 12 while forcing 19 and scoring 29 points off the Hornets’ miscues.

Said New Orleans coach Monty Williams: “I believe that that’s the way you play if you want to win a championship. Everybody on that team knows their role. They have an identity and they live it out every night. I thought we had a tough time with their pressure.”

Added Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau: “We try not to change our approach from game to game. Practice, every practice the same. The challenge is to study, prepare, and when the ball goes up, know your opponent well. And know what you’re going to try and get accomplished. I think if you build that habit, then you continually work on it and do the right things every day, the results will take care of themselves.”

Thibs is right. The results really have been taking care of themselves.

And here’s a shocker for you. Chicago — not surprisingly — currently ranks a close third in Defensive Efficiency (94.6) behind Boston (94.5) and Philadelphia (93.8).  But after finishing 12th in Offensive Efficiency last season, the Bulls (106.0) now rank second behind the Heat (106.2).

Even cooler, the Bulls are third (behind Boston and Philly) in Assist Ratio (the percentage of a team’s possessions that ends in an assist). That’s why watching this team play can be a thing of beauty. The ball is always moving. The players are always looking for — and hitting! — open teammates.

It’s good stuff. Very good stuff.

And with the team seemingly getting better every games…

…the best might be yet to come.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Game Recap: Bulls 90, Hornets 67 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

No Trevor Ariza.

A struggling team that had lost 10 of its last 15 games and was playing the second night of back-to-back road games at the tail end of a five-game road trip without its All-World point guard.

Meanwhile, the Bulls were finally home after their own five-game road trip in which they went 4-1 and were coming off an emotional and hard-fought win in Miami the night before.

If there was an online NBA Dictionary, and the term “Trap Game” was in it, last night’s blech-fest against the Hornets would be an embedded video included in that entry.

Well, okay, not really. After all, the Bulls evaded the trap Indiana Jones-style. Only instead of finding the Lost Ark or the Holy Grail, they earned their 44th win of the year. It was also their ninth straight win at home, which is the team’s longest streak since a 10-game run during the 1997-98 season.

You know. Jordan’s last year.

The Bulls didn’t play well on offense — shooting 38.3 percent from the field and missing 16 of their 20 three-point attempts — but they played hard. As usual, Derrick Rose led the way with a game-high 24 points. He also had almost as many assists (9) as the Hornets (10). Carlos Boozer (19 points, 8-for-14, 9 rebounds) had his best game in a while and Joakim Noah ripped down a game-high 13 rebounds.

And, as has been the case all season long, when they can’t make shots, they adapt by forcing their opponent to miss even more shots. To wit: The Hornets shot 36.3 percent as a team and didn’t score a single point over the final three minutes and 18 seconds.

Did the Bulls let down a little? Of course they did.

Said Joakim Noah: “When you play in a game like we did [Sunday] against Miami, it’s normal, it’s human nature, to have a letdown. But I think we realized that. We really stayed focused, and even in the last 3:15 of the game, that’s what Coach was emphasizing. Just staying focused on the moment, understanding what we needed to do to win this game.”

Added Luol Deng: “It’s good to look back at the game and see that we didn’t shoot that well and we’re still able to win the game. That says a lot about our defense. It was a tough road trip; not making any excuses, but playing a team like Orlando in a TV game, and then playing early in Miami, it was a tough game. But we’ve got guys in this locker room that know how to win. Even when we’re struggling we just find ways to win.”

If this Bulls team has shown any weaknesses this season, it’s not bringing everything to the table against lesser teams. And if they end up missing out on the first or second seed in the Eastern Conference, they may end up regretting their collection of losses against teams they should have beaten (Bobcats, Clippers, Nets, Sixers, Raptors, Warriors).

On the flip side, it’s also important to win gut check games. This was one of them. And the Bulls were able to turn on their defense at the end and pull it out.

And, in case you missed it, the Bulls now rank second (to the Lakers) in both Marc Stein’s Power Rankings and John Hollinger’s Power Rankings. What’s more, as TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott tweeted, Hollinger’s Playoff Odds currently give the Bulls the best chance of winning this year’s NBA title.

The Bulls have been fighting for respect all season. They didn’t get it by having an MVP candidate or surviving injuries to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. They’ve gotten it — they’ve finally gotten it — by winning. It’s all about the winning.

But it’s not enough. Not for Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

Said Deng: “Until we win it all, even when we win it all, I don’t know if Coach is going to say where we’re at [is good]. That’s the best thing about Coach, really. I think that [attitude] has helped us a lot. It’s helped Derrick a lot, even playing great every night, and still coming in and playing hard, and all of us in the locker room. Coach is really always pushing us and that’s something that’s going to be with us for a long time.”

Hopefully through June. This year. And next year. And the year after that.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Trap Evaded: Bulls 85, Hornets 77 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Stats from Basketball-Reference.com.

New Orleans Injury Report:
Chris Paul: concussion (out for Monday’s game)
Trevor Ariza: strained groin (missed Sunday’s game)
David West: sprained left ankle (played Sunday’s game)

Overview:
New Orleans and Chicago are both playing on the second night of back-to-back games in which they won the first game. But a W is about the only similarity between the Bulls’ and Hornets’ last games. The Bulls beat one of the best teams in the East and, thankfully, had no injuries. New Orleans finished off a game against the Cavs without their superstar point guard; outscoring Cleveland by 16 points following that traumatic 3rd quarter event. Chris Paul’s scary injury happened when his head hit Ramon Sessions’ shoulder. Although he had to be taken off on a stretcher; he was able to travel with the team to Chicago after being diagnosed with a concussion. Also, in Paul’s 26 minutes of play he was still able to record a double-double (13 points and 11 assists) and record 5 more assists than opposing PG Baron Davis.

So, sadly, it will not be round two of the marquee point guard match up we all had hoped for, but Jarett Jack is a solid backup. He averages 8.3 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game (13.54 PER). Jack scored 10 points in 13 minutes of play in the Bulls-Hornets game in February. And Bulls fans probably remember that Rose got the best of Paul, and the win, in their first matchup. Rose had 23 points to go with six assists and four rebounds, while Paul had 15 points, six assists and three steals.

The Hornets might struggle to score with their facilitator missing, at the very least, this game. Add to that the fact that, according to Stats LLC, Chicago allowed opponents to score only 80.4 points-per game on their 5 game road trip, and it looks like the Hornets may be in for a long night offensively.

The Hornets are second in the league in defensive rebound percentage, but the Bulls go at the boards harder than most. The Magic are number one in that category, and the Bulls Windex-ed that glass. Chicago out-rebounded the Magic 50-30 overall and had 17 offensive rebounds to Orlando’s 25 defensive boards.

The Hornets also allow opponent’s the fewest offensive rebounds per game at 9.4. The Bulls only had 6 O-boards in the first game between the two teams; 4 of them by Omer Asik…but Noah was out. Chicago only allowed New Orleans to grab 2 offensive boards, but the Hornet’s starting center, Emeka Okafor, was out too. In game 1, Chicago won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, 47-26, and Kurt Thomas and Asik pulled down 11 each.
Chicago averages 11.8 offensive rebounds per game, eighth best in the league.

Without Okafor the Hornets struggled. New Orleans is just 6-10 since the start of February. Okafor was out for 10 of those games. But the Hornets are still in sixth place in the Western Conference playoff race. They were really helped by their 11-1 start to the season, but since that start they are playing under .500 ball (26-27).

Streaks!
The Bulls have won 8 in a row at home; their last loss coming to the Bobcats in January. And, according to Stats LLC, the Bulls have won six straight against the Hornets.

Back-up centers…the old versus the new:
Aaron Gray played 61 games in his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. Right now Omer Asik has played 61 games in his rookie season. Gray averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10 minutes per game. Asik has averaged 2.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12 minutes per game. Most fans would probably take Asik because he has the ability to move laterally. And Omer looks like Linguine from Ratatouille, which is awesome.

About the Author:
Braedan Ritter was born and raised in Pennsylvania but was swayed by gifts from his aunt to follow the Chicago sports teams. It didn’t hurt that the Bulls had a guy named Michael Jordan playing for them, and the Sixers had…Derrick Coleman. Braedan has stuck with Chicago through thick and thin, and really thin (see: Chicago Cubs). And speaking of Coleman, Braedan is currently a student at Syracuse University.

The post Hornets-Bulls Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

A total team effort.

That’s what last night’s win in New Orleans was.

The Bulls struggled in the first half and trailed by as many as 12 points. But, by the end of the game, they could boast some pretty sweet accomplishments.

The Hornets are one of the best defensive teams in the league, but the Bulls shot 51.5 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from downtown (6-for-13) and 95.5 percent from the free throw line (21-for-22). Chicago finished with an Offensive Rating of 112.6. Pretty impressive considering New Orleans ranks 6th in Defensive Rating (102.9).

Derrick Rose (23 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) got the better of Chris Paul (15 points, 3-for-10, 6 assists), and I’m seriously considering sending Nicolas Batum a thank you card. Carlos Boozer (17 points, 7-for-12, 8 rebounds) stood up to David West (17 points, 6-for-11), holding his PF counterpart to only 2 rebounds. Luol Deng chipped in 14 points, Keith Bogans exploded (for him) for 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting, and Kurt Thomas pulled down 11 boards.

The bench also came through, contributing 30 points and 20 rebounds while providing plenty of energy and a variety of key plays.

As a team, the Bulls outscored the Hornets 36-20 in the paint and outrebounded them 47-26. Chicago also limited New Orleans to only 2 offensive rebounds, which tied the franchise’s all-time low.

Then, of course, there was the defense.

It’s been working for the Bulls all season. Well, almost all season. The defense looked pretty broken when the Bulls lost in Golden State and Portland — games two and three of this five-game road trip — but was resurrected in Utah and against last night in New Orleans.

Sure, the Bulls couldn’t figure out what to do with Marcus Thornton (24 points on 9-for-15 shooting), and the Hornets scored 53 points in the first half. However, Chicago held the home team to 35 second half points while scoring 55 points themselves.

Finally, the Bulls dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hornets 25-14. And lest you think that was an aberration, check out this tidbit from ESPN Stats and Information:

The Bulls win tonight was typical in that they used a dominant fourth quarter to finish off the Hornets, outscoring them 25-14 in the final period. On the season, the Bulls have outscored their opponents by 129 points in the fourth quarter, tied with the Jazz for the best mark in the NBA. In fact, the Bulls and Jazz are the only two teams to have outscored opponents by 100 points in the fourth quarter.

Not bad, eh?

(It did help, of course, that the Hornets bricked 13 foul shots.)

The Bulls finished their five-game trip with a 3-2 record. Those losses to the Warriors and Trail Blazers felt bad, but they seemed to serve as a wake-up call, and the team certainly played better against the Jazz and Hornets.

And, as I suggested above, Rose seemed to play much more inspired defense after Batum called him out. As ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell pointed out, Rose (with a little help from his friends) held fellow All-Stars Deron Williams and Paul to 8-for-23 shooting over the last two games.

Not that Derrick is getting a big head about it.

Said Rose: “I’m not even paying attention to what [Batum] said. I know that withour defense and the way we’ve been playing, I’m not worried about that. With our defense, we over-help with everything so if one guy is out of place our whole defense is out of place. And we’ve just been getting on right page right now, getting on the right rhythm, where a guy is driving we’re stepping in front taking charges trying to go for the block. And in the Portland game and the other game that we lost [against Golden State] we weren’t doing that.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Game 52 Recap: Bulls 97, Hornets 88 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

According to Adrian Wajnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Everyone understood Chicago executives are now determined to move Thomas, and a clear price has been established for suitors: Expiring contracts and a future first-round draft pick, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Bulls are also exploring ways to package Thomas with guard Kirk Hinrich to free themselves of his contract.”

Wajnarowski continued: “Bulls management is telling teams they expect to take the bidding right to the Feb. 18 deadline. The Bulls want to avoid the possibility of Thomas accepting a $6.2 million qualifying offer on the eve of this summer’s free agency, which would deliver a major dent to their salary-cap space. Thomas, 23, will be a restricted free agent this summer.”

Chicago’s end-game is clear: Add a superstar — Dwyane Wade? Chris Bosh? Amar’e Stoudemire? — and another star or semi-star next summer. Oh, and a blue-chip draftee wouldn’t hurt, either. And players who aren’t part of that solution are part of the problem. Even if they don’t scream at the coach. (Sorry, Kirk. That’s just the way it is. It doesn’t mean we don’t love you. Or at least like you. Or at the very worst tolerate you.)

Here are some possible trade buddies who may be in the running for Chicago’s enigmatic big man:

Boston Celtics:
That grunting and panting you hear is Danny Ainge trying desperately to hold the Celtics championship window open a little longer. Plus, if Ainge wants to get anything out of Ray Allen’s expiring contract, this is the time to do it. We could see Thomas and Hinrich included in a deal with Boston.

Charlotte Bobcats:
Apparently, the Bobcats have offered Acie Law, Flip Murray and their 2010 first-round pick for Thomas. The Law / Murray combo represents over $4 million in expiring contracts, plus it would keep Thomas from accepting that $6.2 million qualifying offer. That’s $10 million in cap savings and a draft pick. Don’t we owe it to Michael Jordan to take his team’s money?

Denver Nuggets:
The Nuggets want a big man to bolster their playoff odds against the Lakers and their monster frontcourt. However, their roster situation doesn’t look very promising, trade-wise.

New Orleans Hornets:
They’re weak up front, and, as an added bonus, they’ve already traded with the Bulls once this season. That said, the Hornets are looking to cut costs, not take them on. And New Orleans is on the books for over $73 million next season.

New York Knicks:
The Knicks are trying to shift as many pieces as they can to lure LeBron James to New York this summer. But beware: They’re been looking to shed salary as much as anything else. Still, Al Harrington’s expiring contract might be an enticing offer…

Portland Trail Blazers:
The “Frail Blazers” lost both Greg Oden and Joel “The Vanilla Godzilla” Przybilla for the season. Those are their first and second string centers, by the way. Portland has been getting it done with Juwan Howard’s decaying corpse…but how long can that last? Also, teams have been scoring a lot of points in the paint against the Blazers. Thomas would provide depth up front and some interior defense.

It appears Portland “offered either Steve Blake or Travis Outlaw — both of whom have expiring contracts — and two future second-round draft picks for Thomas. The Bulls reportedly declined the deal, though, because they want more value in return.”

Sacramento Kings:
The Kings want size. They need it, really. And here’s an argument for Tyrus heading to Sacramento. Unprotected first round draft pick, anyone?

San Antonio Spurs:
The Spurs may be the only team that might be grunting and panting at their championship window more than the Celtics are at theirs. And no offense to Antonio McDyess, Matt Bonner and Theo Ratliff, but San Antonio needs some youth and athleticism in the frountcourt. At this point, McDyess and Ratliff are this closeto being legally declared “mummy” by leading mummy-ologists.

The post Everybody loves Tyrus (except, you know, the Bulls) appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

All-Star versus All-Star.

Most people who follow the Bulls are familiar with their annual circus road trip from hell, which happens in mid to late-November when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus moves into the United Center for two weeks. Less well-known is the “other road trip” that occurs each season in late-January to early-February, shortly before the All-Star break.

Historically speaking, the Bulls haven’t fared too well on the “other road trip.” Heading into this season, Chicago’s post-Jordan record on this annual journey was 18-42. And, believe it or not, the only winning record the Bulls had on this trip (before this season) was last season’s 4-3 mark.

As for five wins in a row, you’d have to go back to the 1996-97 campaign, when the Bulls went 69-13. Of course, that five-game streak included victories over sadsack teams like the Vancouver Grizzlies (who finished 14-68), Sacramento Kings (34-48) and Golden State Warriors (30-52). In all honesty, this five-gamer was more impressive since it included wins over five plus-.500 teams. But I’ll go one further: No team other than your 2009-10 Chicago Bulls has defeated five straight teams with winning records on the same trip since the NBA began in 1946. No, not even the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team that won a league record 72 games…and had the G.O.A.T on the roster.

The Bulls no longer have the  G.O.A.T., but they do have an All-Star, and he played pretty well. Derrick Rose finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. His shooting was a little off (7-for-19), but he made two huge plays in overtime. The first was drawing a foul on David West and knocking down both freebies to put the Bulls up 106-104 with 2:13 left. The second was when he drove baseline, pulled in the entire Hornets team and then kicked the ball out to Brad Miller for a jumper that put the Bulls up 108-104. Of course, Rose lost the ball (which was stolen by Peja Stojakovic) with eight seconds left, which gave New Orleans a chance to tie or win the game before the buzzer…but, fortunately, that didn’t happen.

And as you can see from the play-by-play, the game ended with a steal by Rose.

With all due respect to Chicago’s newest All-Star, nobody on the Bulls played bigger than Luol Deng last night. Deng scored a team-high 26 points (10-for-21) to go along with 7 boards. His biggest two points, and his biggest rebound, came at the end of regulation. With Chicago down 102-100, Rose drove to the cup and got his shot swatted by West. Fortunately, Deng was there for the offensive board and putback with 0.2 seconds left to force the OT.

The right place at the right time. On the road.

Said Deng: “When you’re winning, everything is positive. We’re going into games expecting to win. A game like that, if we had lost four in a row, we might have lost it. But the mentality right now is we can win every game.”

Is this the same team that fell to 10-17 after losing to the Knicks back on December 22?

Nope. Not even close. And now the Bulls are above .500 (23-22) for the first time since they were 6-5 way back in November.

Mind you, it wasn’t all violins and roses. The Bulls went up 88-73 on two free throws by Deng with two minutes left in the third quarter and then…nearly collapsed. Chicago scored only four points over the next 11-plus minutes and the Hornets came all the way back to take a 97-92 lead after a three-point play by West. But the Bulls scrapped, thanks to some key plays by Rose (two free throws), Joakim Noah (an offensive rebound and putback), Miller (a nine-footer and two foul shots), and, of course, Deng’s game-saving putback.

And sure, it helped that Chris Paul injured his left leg near the end of regulation, which seriously hurt the Hornets in overtime. I mean, do you really think Darren Collison would end up with the ball in his hands at the end of a tight game under normal circumstances? Of course not. But that still doesn’t take away from Chicago’s gutsy performance at the end of a long Western Conference road swing.

Said coach Vinny Del Negro: “We showed some toughness and just found a way to get us to overtime. We weren’t as sharp tonight as we have been, but at the end we attacked.”

They sure did.

Other stuff:
Noah racked up another impressive double-double with 13 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. … Chicago’s defense held New Orleans to 39 percent shooting (39-99), but the Hornets almost made up for it by going 12-for-22 from downtown. … The Bulls outscored the Hornets 60-32 in the paint. … Chicago went 20-for-35 at the rim (57 percent) but only 5-for-20 from 16-23 feet (25 percent). … Tyrus Thomas had 11 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes. … As Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald pointed out: “Center Brad Miller averaged 13.4 points during the five-game win streak and hit 7 of 15 shots from 3-point range. Remember in December when Miller scored 4 points total in a five-game stretch?”

Former Bull factor:
Aaron Gray doesn’t think the Bulls gave him a chance. Said Gray: “Over there [with the Bulls], there was just no opportunity no matter what. They showed me that in the Houston game.” Gray said he’s optimistic about his chances with the Hornets, but he earned a DNP-CD last night.

TrueHoop Network:
Ryan Schwan of Hornets247: “That last play of regulation was crushing.  The Hornets have run that play a dozen times, but tonight three things went wrong.  First, West overthrew Paul by too much, forcing him to sprint into the crowd to catch it, Marcus Thornton went towards the basket behind the guy covering him rather than giving Paul a place to throw it to, and then there was the cameraman.  Frigging Cameraman. Paul goes down, his knee hurt, and he was unable to do anything in overtime, despite gamely hobbling around at the end.  Now he’s questionable for tomorrow night in Memphis.  Horrible ending.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Best road trip ever: Bulls 108, Hornets 106 (OT) appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Okay, I’m kidding. Kind of. But Chicago is now 4-2 with Tyrus in the lineup, as opposed to 7-15 without him. Some of the difference can be attributed to the added depth. For all his faults, Thomas has the potential to explode for 20 points, 10 rebounds and several game-changing defensive plays on any given night. Of course, he’s never done that consistently for any significant length of time…but he can do it. Clearly it’s better to have a player like that available for active duty than watching games from the bench in street clothes.

And it’s a lot better when said player returns from forearm surgery to drop a team-high 21 points to go along with 9 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks and some serious energy off the bench.

Of course, Tyrus being Tyrus, his performance always kind of makes me wonder. On the surface, his stats were terrific, but his plus minus score of zero tells me that the Bulls merely played the Hornets even when he was in the game. So while it’s tempting to bestow “Player of the Game” honors on Thomas, I can’t help but wonder whether this win wasn’t more the product of guys like Derrick Rose (14 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, +21), Joakim Noah (17 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks, +18) and Luol Deng (12 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, +17). They have been the Bulls “Medium-sized Three” this season, and Chicago played its best ball last night when they were on the floor.

That’s not to demean Ty’s effort (which was considerable), nor his results (which were fantastic all things considered).  He missed 22 games only to return and play great in an important win. The Bulls really needed that lift off the bench. They sure didn’t get it from Brad Miller (5 minutes, 2 points, zero rebounds, 1 assist, -4), John Salmons (2 points, 1-for-5, 1 assist, -7), Jannero Pargo (2 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, -2) or James Johnson (6 points, 1 rebound, -11). In many ways, Thomas didn’t just anchor Chicago’s bench. He was the bench. And he almost matched the point/rebound total of New Orleans’ reserves (24/12) all by himself.

While we’re talking about Tyrus, le’s talk about his shot selection. Ty finished 10-for-17 for an exemplary 58 percent shooting night. Per usual, he killed inside (5-for-7 on layups, 3-for-3 on dunks) but stunk it up from the outside (2-for-8 on jumpers). Thomas almost always does his best work close to the basket, and for the most part, that’s where he needs to remain. I understand that the threat of his jumper can open things up for drives…but he really doesn’t need to take eight jump shots. Ever.

Pain-free in the Paint:
Ty’s work inside helped Chicago outrebound New Orleans 51-34 (including 10-3 on the offensive glass) and outscore them by an astounding 54-16 in the paint. The Bulls are usually in the red in both categories. Being +17 on the boards and +38 in the painted rectangle will usually lead to victory.

D-Fense:
Unless something changes, this Bulls squad is not going to score a lot of points. Therefore, if they’re going to make something happen, it’s going to be with defense. Their D was spotty (at best) for much of the first half, mostly because Devin Brown went berserk on them. Brown scored all 22 of his points while going 6-for-6 from downtown in the first 24 minutes, during which Chicago trailed by as many as 11.

Once the Bulls clamped down on defense — which included some tough pressure on Chris Paul — they ripped off a crazy 42-13 run that spanned the second and third quarters. That run included holding the Hornets to only 9 third-quarter points. It’s amazing what putting hands in faces will do for a team.

(Of course, it’s also clear that New Orleans is 2-12 on the road for a reason…)

D-Rose versus CP3:
Let’s be honest: Derrick Rose has had a disappointing season so far.  However, he has been picking it up lately. Rose has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games, including a regular season career-high 32 in a recent home win over the Atlanta Hawks. So far this month, Derrick has averaged 19.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He’s also had 6 or more assists in nine of the 13 games the Bulls have played in December. The numbers aren’t great, but they’re a definite improvement.

Likewise, Rose wasn’t great last night — he went 2-for-5 on layups and (gulp) 5-for-14 on jumpers. However, with a little help from his friends (see below), he held his own against Paul (15 points, 7 assists, 3 steals), and the Bulls played much better when he was running the show. Rose also had a couple great plays. During the third quarter, the ball was almost stolen from him, but he ripped it back and converted a tough floating jumper. Then, in the fourth, Rose nearly lost the ball again before regaining possession and finding Kirk Hinrich for an open three-pointer (go here and fast forward to the 1:45 mark).

Great players can play great without having great stats. That’s kind of what D-Rose did last night.

TrueHoop Network:
Ryan Schwan of Hornets247: “Give credit to the Bulls. In the third, they stuck Hinrich on Paul, and as soon as Paul crossed the three point line, sent a big man out to meet him. Their bigs were aggressive, but also recovered quickly when he passed to the Hornets big, almost always getting back into position to contest attempts by West or Songaila. A solid, determined defensive effort.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Welcome back, Ty: Bulls 96, Hornets 85 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

This was a typical weekend in the life of the 2008-09 Chicago Bulls: A frustrating road loss to an opponent they probably should have beaten followed by an overpowering home win over an opponent they probably shouldn’t have. Chances are scientists will discover the Higgs boson and uncover the secrets of interstellar travel before anyone manages to figure out this Bulls team. Believe it or not, though, I was semi-proud of the way they performed in Philly on Friday night. Sixer legends Dr. J, Moses Malone and Bobby Jones were on hand to watch their former team close out the Spectrum. Playing against a juiced up team under those conditions isn’t easy.

But despite a career-high 31 points from Thaddeus Young, Chicago held tough, overcoming a 13-point deficit and tying the game at 101 on a Ben Gordon three-pointer with 36 seconds left. Unfortunately, as has so often been the case this season, the Bulls couldn’t finish. Brad Miller hacked Andre Iguodala, who hit one out of two at the line, and then Derrick Rose got a layup attempt stuffed by Samuel Dalembert, which led to an easy fast break layup for Young. That put the Bulls down three (104-101) with 16 seconds left, and I probably don’t need to tell you that their final play was a three by Gordon (from 29 feet out) that…didn’t go in. Game over.

On Saturday night, the Bulls didn’t need to worry about executing down the stretch. They used an 18-0 run in the second quarter along with a 17-0 eruption across the third and fourth quarters to coast to a comfy-cozy 97-79 home win over the New Orleans Hornets. Chicago hit 10 threes and got 51 combined points from Gordon (11-for-17) and John Salmons (9-for-15).

So…the Bulls are a playoff team at the United Center and a lottery team pretty much everywhere else. Okay then. That may work out in Chicago’s favor — in terms of qualifying for the postseason — since nine of their last 14 games are at home. Of course, two of those contests are against the Celtics (on Tuesday) and Lakers (next Saturday), so that could nullify any advantage they might have had. But as it is, they’re still in a “virtual tie” with the Bucks (although they trail by 0.001 of a percentage point) for the last playoff spot in the East, a game up on the Nets, a game-and-a-half up on the Knicks and Bobcats, and two-and-a-half games up on the Pacers. Stay tuned.

Fun fact: Derrick Rose has now won his head-to-head debuts against Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Devon Harris, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash this season.

At Philly Extras: Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart.

Versus New Orleans Extras: Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Weekend recap: One up, one down appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.