Bulls move into tie for first heading into 2007

Chicago beat Cleveland on Saturday night to move into a tie with Detroit for first place in the NBA Central Division. The win was doubly-sweet as the Bulls played without Kirk Hinrich, who aggravated a groin injury in Friday’s win at Toronto.

Luol Deng continued his strong offensive play, scoring a career-high 32 points against the Cavaliers. Chicago went on a 24-point run in the second half to erase a Cleveland lead.

The Bulls are now 19-12 after a 14-3 December. The only negative news is Hinrich’s groin problem, which developed about a week ago. He told reporters that he hoped to play in Tuesday’s game with Phoenix at the United Center.

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Hinrich Sits with a Groin Injury

The Bulls were without one of their core players last night, as PG Kirk Hinrich sat out with a groin injury.  Hinrich is hoping to get back on the floor in the next couple of days, but you never can tell with a groin injury, as lateral movement is obviously important in basketball, and an injured groin makes that extremely painful.  It’s also one of those tricky injuries that can linger for an entire season if a player tries to come back too soon, but the Bulls and Hinrich will be careful not to do too much too soon.

In Hinrich’s absence, the Bulls are going with rookie Thabo Sefolosha, as Coach Scott Skiles wants G Ben Gordon to continue to light up the league in his role as the sixth man.  Gordon strikes fear into every opponent, and for some reason, he’s more effective coming off the bench.

The Bulls should be able to get past this minor injury, as they are a deep team, but you can see for yourself with Bulls tickets from StubHub.com.

Deng Should Keep the Tape on His Wrist

A lot was made of the controversy surrounding James Posey’s flagrant foul on Luol Deng the other night, but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for several reasons.  First, it seemed to inspire the Bulls, who not only went on to beat the Heat and the Raptors, but they also took down the Cavaliers last night in a battle of two teams near the top of the division standings.

Secondly, it seems to have lit a fire under Deng.  He scored 25 points in the win over the Raptors, but topped that performance by pouring in 32 last night.  He’s done this all while sporting a taped right (shooting) wrist as a result of the fall he took from the fould from Posey.  These games represent his highest scoring output in three weeks.

If you want to see Deng and the Bulls continue to move towards the top of the Eastern Conference, pick up some Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.