Bulls center Brad Miller was less than a fingernail away from giving Chicago their fourth straight victory, as he released a 22-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining. The shot went, but after a long review by the referees, the Nuggets walked away with a one-point win.
Tonight, the Bulls look to get back on track as they cross the border to visit the Toronto Raptors, led by forward Chris Bosh. The Olympic gold medalist is currently having the best season of his career, averaging 29.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and getting to the free throw line a league-leading 14.9 times a night.
Center Joakim Noah came up with yet another strong performance against Denver last night. The third-year pro pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 12 points and two blocks. Noah, who was left off this years All-Star voting ballot, is now second in the league in rebounding with a 12.4 average.
Point guard Derrick Rose had his first 20-point game of the season, scoring 22 on 10-of-17 shooting. The majority of his points came off of jumpshots, which is an area Rose has focussed on during the summer. Along with Luol Deng, the two forced Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony into poor shooting nights by playing both tight on the perimeter. Rose will need to continue his newly acquired defensive intensity against Raptors point guard, the Spanish Jose Calderon.
Over the course of the summer, Toronto acquired Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu, Italian guard Marco Belinelli and drafted guard/forward DeMar DeRozan out of USC. DeRozan has started all seven games for Toronto, displaying his leaping ability and defensive impact. Bulls guard John Salmons will match up against DeRozan, hoping to get his shot back, after going three-for-13 at the United Center Tuesday.
Turkoglu, leaving Orlando for a bigger paycheck in the off-season, is a playmaker and can get into the lane as well as shoot off the dribble. So again, the Bulls will rely on a strong defensive performance by Luol Deng, who has been wrecking havoc on some of the best small forwards the NBA has to offer.
Rookie Taj Gibson looks more comfortable in his starting role after his game against Denver. Gibson rotated defensively, adjusted well on larger match-ups and got into the paint for dunks, taking advantage of a Denver defense that hadn't gotten in position. His match-up tonight, Chris Bosh, will be his biggest task as a starter so far.
Filed under: Game Threads
Tags: chicago bulls, chris bosh, derrick rose, Hedo Turkoglu, Joakim Noah, Jose Calderon, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, toronto raptors
would it make more sense to put noah on bosch? taj on bargani?
Our defense will need to show up again other wise this will be a 120-90 loss. Raptors have a team full of guys who can shoot the 3 so we need to defend the perimeter, Brad Miller worries me in a game like this.
JJ needs to show up tonight offense/defense wise. This rookie needs to get some pointers from Taj and all the vets in the team. Wee need him more than ever! GO BULLS!
Why is he not playing? It seems like most of the other 1st Round picks are getting decent playing time.
Bulls have no 3 pt shooting blah blah blah blah we had a guy who shot 50% in the preseason but we cut him blah blah, did you hear that Doug and Mark? Derrick Byars is the key, bring him back. Oh wait you said analysis from newskoolbulls for a second i though you said how about some same old bull crap from Mr.Happy.
I am waiting for Dougs post game article to post what I though about tonight game anyway,
Vinny doesnt trust JJ as you see tonight.
Nice loss by the Bulls.
Another great shooting night by John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich. They were a combined 4 for 21. That will make the Bulls a playoff team.
Mr. Happy, God I am so tired of you.
Should I care?
How about some actual analysis from Newskoolbulls?