'On the road again... Just can't wait to get on the road again' - Ahem, sorry 'bout that. The Bulls are off after one game at the United Center, where they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers. Chicago struggled with their offense all night long, and was abused by Clippers center Chris Kaman who played, despite rumours of the contrary.
Tonight, it's Philadelphia on the menu. Allen Iverson and Andre Iguodala will match up against Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich, which could prove to be an interesting battle. Rose is considerably bigger and stronger than Iverson, and could attempt to take him into the post if the opportunity presents itself.
Forward Luol Deng got off to a great start last night, as he knocked down 16 points in the first quarter. It was a painful affair afterwards, as he scored just two points for the rest of the game and finished 6-of-14 from the floor.
Newly-acquired shooting guard Devin Brown saw his first action as a Bull, and scored five points in just under 13 minutes of play. Brown, who has a quick release on his jumper, might prove to be a strong card on the Bulls' hands later in the season.
Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose both must look to get more high-percentage shots than they did against the Clippers, as they combined for just ten field goals on 29 attempts. Rose settled for questionable shots throughout the game and looked uneasy in the offense for the first time in a while.
Rookie Taj Gibson had four blocks last night, and added six points and six rebounds. Gibson is one of the more steady rookies in the NBA this season, and has been seen his free throw percentage increase significally in January, where he knocked down 81.3% of his attempts.
John Salmons found success coming from the bench a few weeks ago, but will have to look for a resurgence as he finished with an embarrasing two points last night in 25 minutes.
Filed under: Game Threads
Tags: Andre Iguodala, chicago bulls, derrick rose, Luol Deng, Philadelphia 76ers, Taj Gibson
Iverson is out for this game.
Chicago is the front-runner for Tracy McGrady? At least, according to SK or Hoopsworld.
LIVE CHAT FROM THIS MORNING:
Marcus in Lulea, Sweden:
Hello from Sweden! My favorite player has always been T-Mac. Where do you think he will end up?
Steve Kyler:
I still think Chicago is the front runner... the question is will they take what Chicago would give up for him... Brad Miller, John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas...
The Rockets were holding out for Joakim Noah which is not gonna happen.. I think Houston waits until the 12th hour and takes the best offer on the table.
Also keep in mind if Chicago gets McGrady, they would play him not just use him as an ending contract which works for both sides - if Tracy can return to anything close to his old self, Chicago might re-sign him too.
I'll just go ahead and ask. Why are you trusting a source that seems to think the Bulls might have longterm interest in McGrady?
Hey Morten, after games Doug used to do a little post game recap so maybe since he left you in charge you can do that if you have time. As for the game tonight I hope Brown gets some more time, he looked good. I feel Rose tonight will come out with a mission because he has struggled in the past twp games. I hope trade rumors have not started to get to this team.
I had a feeling Rose was going to struggle after getting the AllStar nod. Same thing sorta happened after the ROY award. Was hoping it wasnt the case, but was. Dunno why that happens but so far thats his track record.
Hoping he comes out and kills tonight. Last night his shot looked terribly flat. A far cry from how pretty he had it going the last 4 games on the road.
Confusing to me how you go from perfect arch to a flat turd in a game or two. Night and day difference though which was easily seen as he front clanked em all night.
If the bulls actually used TMac as anything other than basically an expiring contract who plays this year....If they resigned him I would actually cry, crawl in a hole and die.
I hope the Bulls can break their 3 game losing streak to BAD TEAMS, who are under .500.
Do they have the HEART or MOTIVATION to do that? We shall see.
Just like last year it seems we cant escape playing down to bad teams. Wanted to pull my hair out down the stretch as they were vying for a playoff spot.
Go beat the Cavs then lose to the Twolves etc. Exercise in patience. I was actually expecting that last night just bc of last year (though crossing my fingers they'd break the cycle)
So Millers contract is like 12 mil, Salmons is like 6 mil (BUT we need to get rid of him because he could opt to stay) and Tyrus is about 4 mil i think. So that adds up too 22 mil...for Tmacs 23 mil...So we gain 1 million dollars by doing that trade? The only way we do that trade is if Hinrich is involved in my opinion.
this just in...chris bosh is coaching the sophmores this year..and rose has alreayd said he doesnt wanna play in that game..but rather play in the skills challenge.. -_- he better go and just hang with bosh on the bench...
If you did that you would not be able to get any of the big free agents next year and you'd be locked into a contract for a player you can't really optimize seeing as he's really a SF and you already have Deng. Do you really want two long term deals with two players who can't really be Robins? No.
With Noah and Gibson limping, Bulls are too small. Kaman and Camby killed us yesterday. Today it's Brand and Dalembert. We need a trade for a big. Someone that can draw fouls on opposing bigs.
How many BAD LOSSES to teams under .500 will John Paxson tolerate?
VDN sucks as preparation and motivation.
I'm not saying he isn't a good player, but he isn't, nor will he ever be, a star. He's also not going to get any better, yet he's in the early part of a big five year deal. You don't touch him if you're the Bulls. There's a reason why Cleveland is hesitant to trade for him, and it's because they don't want to be stuck with his deal if Lebron leaves.
wow what a disaster that OT was. Bulls need to shop John or Kirk for an expiring big.
Amare is sitting right there for the taking...but the Bulls are idiots and they arnt doing anything about it.
Amare is sitting right there for the taking...but the Bulls are idiots and they arnt doing anything about it.