The Chicago Bulls are coming off a scrappy win on the road againt the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Forward Luol Deng contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, with point guard Derrick Rose chipping in 14 and 11 assists. Center Joakim Noah even stood his ground againt future hall of fame center Shaquille O'Neal.
Tonight, the Bulls will be home at the United Center to take on Gerald Wallace and the Charlotte Bobcats. Wallace is leading the league in rebounding at 14.8 per contest, though he has just two assists total for the year.
Chicago Bulls vs Charlotte Bobcats 7:00 PM, WGN
Chicago will be without forward Tyrus Thomas. This time for 4-6 weeks, as Thomas suffered a fractured radius on his left forearm during a weight training session Friday morning at practice. Rookie forward Taj Gibson will start in the place of Thomas for the time being. This could eventually mean minutes for the Bulls' other rookie forward, James Johnson, selected 16th in the June draft.
The Bulls and Bobcats both come into tonights game with sub-30% shooting from behind the arc. Charlotte scores just 84.4 points a game but have an established defense much like the Bulls have had this season. The two teams have a lot of similarities, with the Bulls having the ace of spade in point guard Derrick Rose, who during the last two games has scored over 10 points in the final quarter. Rose, hintered early on in the year by a sore ankle, is according to Bulls Head Coach Vinny Del Negro improving game by game.
Over the course of the summer, Charlotte agreed to trade forward/center Emeka Okafor, the franchise's very first draft pick, to New Orleans for center Tyson Chandler. Head Coach Larry Brown admitted the trade was made due to financial aspects, and have according to reports, already bumped heads with Chandler. The nine-year veteran is struggling from the field and gives up a lot of weight to opponents defensively. This should give Bulls center Joakim Noah an opportunity to have a big impact, given his larger frame and superior energy.
Bulls guard/forward John Salmons will face defensive specialist Raja Bell, which doesn't project to be the opportunity to raise his .296% shooting from the field. Salmons has struggled initially with his move to shooting guard, and has seen his efficiency descend dramatically. The Bulls are hoping to see Salmons shake off his struggles and be a factor sooner rather than later. Over the first five games, the Bulls are scoring 87.6 points, which is a far cry from the 102.2 they knocked down last season.
The Bulls and Bobcats both come into tonights game with sub-30% shooting from behind the arc. Charlotte scores just 84.4 points a game but have an established defense much like the Bulls have had this season. The two teams have a lot of similarities, with the Bulls having the ace of spade in point guard Derrick Rose, who during the last two games has scored over 10 points in the final quarter. Rose, hintered early on in the year by a sore ankle, is according to Bulls Head Coach Vinny Del Negro improving game by game.
Over the course of the summer, Charlotte agreed to trade forward/center Emeka Okafor, the franchise's very first draft pick, to New Orleans for center Tyson Chandler. Head Coach Larry Brown admitted the trade was made due to financial aspects, and have according to reports, already bumped heads with Chandler. The nine-year veteran is struggling from the field and gives up a lot of weight to opponents defensively. This should give Bulls center Joakim Noah an opportunity to have a big impact, given his larger frame and superior energy.
Bulls guard/forward John Salmons will face defensive specialist Raja Bell, which doesn't project to be the opportunity to raise his .296% shooting from the field. Salmons has struggled initially with his move to shooting guard, and has seen his efficiency descend dramatically. The Bulls are hoping to see Salmons shake off his struggles and be a factor sooner rather than later. Over the first five games, the Bulls are scoring 87.6 points, which is a far cry from the 102.2 they knocked down last season.
33 Comments
Hoover said:
This should be fun. Noah should dominate Chandler, he's really been struggling without the aid of one Chris Paul. I remember when he was playing good for NO all the love that suddenly poured out for him. I had to keep telling people it's not Chandler it's just that Paul is that good.
Wallace is really averaging 14+ rebounds, weird?
(Why is Weird spelled the way it is? English what a bunch of nonsense.)
bulls6 said:
I am more scared about this one than any of the others - Bulls are at home against a very weak opponent.
These are the kind they MUST win.
I just hope they dont blow it.
Doug Thonus said:
Bulls usually do well against bad teams when at home, but we'll see.
Larry Brown has the Bobcats playing pretty well so far, and he's going to have them defending hard and playing soundly.
They just had a big win last night though, so hopefully they'll have a bit of a let down + fatigue coming into this one.
RPK said:
Hopefully the Bulls go out and prove that their record is legit and blowout the Cats'.
What most likely will happen is that we get another hard fought game which comes down to the last second.
BullsAllDay.com
PJ Brown said:
This is the type of game the Bulls always lose. Hopefully, catching Charlotte on a back to back will be the difference.
MrHappy said:
It's all about playing with a "sense of purpose." Do they want to be an elite team or a mediocre team? Beating the teams they are supposed to beat and taking care of business at home is mandatory, if they plan on moving up in playoff seeding.
PJ Brown said:
Getting out-hustled early.
PJ Brown said:
Ah, Tyson with 2 fouls early. Just like old times.
PJ Brown said:
Good news is James Johnson played five minutes. Bad news is that is only stats were one TO and one PF.
Doug Thonus said:
When he had the turnover, he stared at the Bulls bench waiting to get yanked too. HOpefully he gets a couple more opportunities, but he's got to play like he's not looking over his shoulder.
Doug Thonus said:
Missed all of the first quarter, but so far it looks like we're giving them wide open corner threes over and over. That's not going to work well against many teams.
Doug Thonus said:
Bulls passing looks really rough right now. They're passing the ball to spots where there are no players and Salmons has jumped to pass and not found a target twice as well.
Doug Thonus said:
Bulls also really overjamming the paint and giving up wide open 3s because of it. Salmons ran in from the perimeter to try to double team on a play he had no hope of getting to only to have his man shoot a 3 on him because he left.
Doug Thonus said:
If the Bulls lose this game, they'll be really upset at their sloppiness. Charlotte should be even more upset at theirs.
It's a game that it seems like no one wants to win the way they're throwing the ball away.
Dpauley23 said:
Vinny finally realizing Miller Noah combo works
Doug Thonus said:
He had to find it now. There just weren't enough possible combinations to avoid it.
PJ Brown said:
Shades of the Milwaukee game. Bulls turning it on down the stretch.
Doug Thonus said:
Derrick Rose is really having a poor night. Lots of really sloppy passing. His ankle may be an issue, but he's just making really poor decisions at times.
Doug Thonus said:
Still feels like a game they should win as long as they don't rush too much. Charlotte doesn't take good shots.
Dpauley23 said:
This is defense I like to see. Bobcats only have 34 points in 2nd half with minute to go.
Dpauley23 said:
2 horrible calls there. Should of been offensive on Bell
Doug Thonus said:
Luol chokes on the FTs and the Bulls fail to box out on a FT miss, and all of a sudden, this game is far closer than Neil and Stacy have figured it out.
Doug Thonus said:
Wow, one of the worst calls ever, as they call a foul on John Salmons who appeared to basically get a forearm to the face and otherwise do nothing.
Doug Thonus said:
I don't get that foul on Rose either. The Bobcats sure got a couple favorable whistles there in the past two plays.
Doug Thonus said:
One thing that's tough for the Bulls now is that there are few guys you can put out there that you trust to hit the free throws.
Luol can struggle from the line.
Derrick can struggle from the line.
Obviously Joakim can struggle from the line.
Ideally, you'd want to get the ball to Hinrich most likely, but he's split/missed a lot of clutch free throws in his time.
I'd consider putting Pargo in there as well.
Doug Thonus said:
Bulls do a nice job getting it in to Salmons. Miller was also open which would ahve been interesting as it might force Tyson into fouling.
Salmons misses the 1st.
Dpauley23 said:
I probably go with Miller
Doug Thonus said:
Larry Brown pulled a Del Negro, he's out of time outs after this one, so the Bobcats have to get a three. If they get a two and foul, they'll have to run the ball up the court and waste a lot of time.
Dpauley23 said:
I probably go with Miller
Doug Thonus said:
Wow, Boris Diaw just grabs Salmons to strip the ball then Gerald Wallace just tackled John Salmons chasing the loose ball and neither got called for the foul.
Dpauley23 said:
I like how Wallace can shove Salmons to ground and not get called for foul
PJ Brown said:
Winning ugly seems to be the theme this year. Still 4-2 is coming out of the gate has been a pleasant surprise and the defense has been impressive overall.
Gotta love Noah. Some bonehead cut him in my fantasy league, a week or two after turning down my trade offers for him. I was hoping Noah would stay under the radar so I could claim him off waivers. 21/16 tonight. So much for that.
Dpauley23 said:
Nice week and 4-2 record is good way to start. Big if you can go 6-3 into Circus trip
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