KG to Alter East for Bulls
Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Boston Celtics in a 5-player deal which will likely keep the sports talk radio buzz off of some of the more unpleasant recent sports-related stories—at least for a while. KG will thus be paired with Paul Pierce and newly-acquired Ray Allen in Beantown. The trade dramatically changes the balance of power in the Eastern Conference, where it had long been thought that a team with just one or two big-time stars could easily dominate. We will find that out soon enough. The Celtics now have that star, and possibly two others.
So what does this all mean for the Chicago Bulls? Well, for one, it means that any thought of getting KG to play for Chicago can be scrapped. For a while the prospect of getting KG was legitimate, but recently the trade rumors had subsided a bit. It also means that the Bulls will have to contend with another improved Eastern Conference team, possibly in the playoffs next year. Neither of these things are particularly good for Chicago Bulls fans. Then again, it might just be a lot of hype, and the Bulls have made great improvements down low over the summer as well.
You can now see KG play Ben Wallace in by getting Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com when the Celtics are in town.
Chicago-Area NBA Players Robbed
Eddy Curry and Antoine Walker were both robbed in the past few days by home invaders who stole jewelry and cash, but did not arm anybody. Both Walker (who plays for the Miami Heat) and Curry (New York Knicks) live in the Chicago area. With Curry, the robbers tied him and his wife up while they ransacked the house. Police are currently investigating any possible links between the two robberies, as the two incidents seem to have a great many similarities.
We hate to always have to report on the alleged crimes involving sports stars these days, but this one actually runs contrary to the growing trend. But now you are asking “How does this have to do with the Bulls?” Well, both of the robberies took place near Chicago, and as you might know, some of the Chicago Bulls players are currently residing near the Windy City. Will any Bulls players be next? We all hope that these criminals are caught before any more families are put through this ordeal, or worse, before somebody gets hurt.
So long as the Bulls can take some precautions, there might not be another robbery headline this week, and you can continue to concentrate on getting Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.
Bulls in the NBA Player Rankings
The Bulls were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference last season, but individually, how well to their players match up against the rest of the league? Well, according to CBS Sportsine, the Bulls have two players in the top 25 of the NBA. Luol Deng was ranked by this particular system as the number 13, and Ben Gordon was named the 22nd best player in the league.
Position-wise, Kirk Hinrich was the 8th best guard last season, and Ben Wallace was the tenth best center. Power forward was the worst position by far, with P.J. Brown ranked as the 41st best at his position, and Tyrus Thomas as the number 47th. Of course, it will be fun to see how the player rankings work out next year. They predict the relative strength of a team by adding up the player rankings of their starters and then averaging it out. The Bulls were 6th overall as a team, the second best team in the East after the Pistons. The Bulls look pretty solid all around, and have improved at their weakest position over the off-season.
If you would like to see these players, you can get Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.
Check out the Bulls on YouTube
If you ever feel a distinct lack of goose bumps during the day, you might want to check out a video from the Bulls’ glory days on YouTube, the popular website that allows participants to upload videos for others to watch and comment about. There is no lack of content about the Chicago Bulls, especially from the Michael Jordan era. One of my favorites to watch is the video from a highlight film of the fifth Bulls championship when Steve Kerr hit the game winning shot versus the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. The narrator of the video sets up the scene, which should be very familiar to you, like this: “In the final seconds, with the score tied and the game on the line, this classic series would come down to one dramatic play.”
As you well know, Michael Jordan would get the ball as a decoy before he passed it off to Steve Kerr to hit the game-winning shot. The Bulls celebrate as some dramatic classical music plays. It’s wonderful. You ought to give it a try.
Then once you’re good and pumped up, you can get some Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.
P.J. Brown to Suns or Retirement
Chicago Bulls power forward P.J. Brown might just end up on the Phoenix Suns next year, or he might be sipping margaritas in Cancun. Either way, there is a lot of talk about what will be come of the Bulls’ big man before the start of the season. Phoenix is, apparently, interested in his services if he does not plan on retiring. P.J. Brown is currently 38 years old and has contemplated retirement openly. The Suns look like they are in need of a big man or two before the season starts, because for now it seems like their starting center will be Amaré Stoudemire, with Shawn Marion playing power forward. Their only other proven big man would be Diaw.
Other options for the Suns include Chris Mihm of the Lakers. With the Bulls full of new talent at the power forward position, they probably don’t need another big man anxious for time. P.J. looks like he is going somewhere, but it is only a matter of time before we can tell just where that will be.
At this point, you can still get Chicago Bulls tickets to see P.J. Brown play by visiting StubHub.com.
Ref Scandal and the Bulls
The NBA referee scandal is permeating all of the NBA news these days, as player trade talk has been drowned out by noise about the alleged cheating perpetrated by former referee Tim Donaghy. One recent article about the Donaghy and the Bulls made it into the New York Times the other day. The article alleges that the ref in question aided a Warriors player in avoiding a three-second violation in the waning moments of a February 9th Chicago Bulls-Golden State Warriors game. The call would have helped the Bulls win the game, but instead allowed the game to go into overtime, where the Warriors eventually won.
Some of the potential allegations against the Tim Donaghy seem like they could be very blatant cheating, especially if you have seen the YouTube videos of the Suns-Spurs game three from this year’s playoffs. This incident however doesn’t seem like much of anything. In fact, a ref speaking anonymously pointed out that not calling a foul like a three second violation in a close game is common practice.
Basically, we might be going a bit too far about the whole thing. Or, maybe we’ve just scratched the surface. Either way, one thing is for sure: you can still get your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Ref Scandal Affects Bulls
If you follow pro sports in America, then you no doubt have heard all about the alleged cheating that has gone on within the NBA involving referee Tim Donaghy. This will likely be a huge issue in the NBA for a very long time, and the heat that the NBA is feeling right now is probably going to be just the tip of the iceberg. Every side involved, the league officials, the refs, the players and coaches, the fans, and the team owners, will all want to know exactly how this scandal affects them. So how will it affect the Chicago Bulls?
That question is very hard to answer right now. As a team, the Bulls are probably going to end up relatively unscathed in the court of public opinion, but the NBA will suffer as a whole. As of now there is only a slight interest in the games that Donaghly officiated that involved the Chicago Bulls. One oddity of a game happened last year when the Bulls played the Knicks and Donaghy was one of the refs. There was an odd period in the start of the third quarter that involved multiple fouls called on the Bulls and an ejection of Bulls coach Scott Skiles.
Even supposing Donaghy is convicted of cheating in that game, the Bulls wouldn’t be credited with one more win- they actually ended up winning that one. To see more games that will have a large focus on the NBA refs, you can visit StubHub.com to get Chicago Bulls tickets.
No Nocioni for Argentina
Andres Nocioni, one of the Chicago Bulls’ most prized forwards, will not be participating in the World Basketball Championship for his home team, Argentina. He is currently rehabbing plantar fasciitis in his right foot and has elected to spend the summer strengthening his legs, which have begun to fatigue. John Paxson, the Bulls, GM, was happy with this announcement, as Paxson will be working on getting better for his American team, rather than risking re-injury with his home country. Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha will all be expected to play for their respective home countries, the US, England and Switzerland. Nocioni’s absence from the Argentinean team is one of many that will hurt the country’s chances at repeating their world championship.
In other news, John Paxson has begun to work on the issue of resigning Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, two of the franchise’s biggest stars who are capable of signing five-year contract extensions that should be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Of course, you will be able to see Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni, Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha by getting Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com when they all get back from playing internationally.
Did the Bulls Improve in the Off Season?
Did the Chicago Bulls improve in the off season this year? Well, that question might be a bit premature (considering that the off season is not even close to being over), but a guy at ESPN seems to think that the Bulls were one of the 15 teams in the league that made strides to improve immediately. The article is basically asking if the teams got better for the very next season, and not better in the long haul, thus the placement of both Portland and Seattle in the bottom half of the NBA.
According to John Hollinger, the Bulls have addressed their one issue: power forward/big man depth. Albeit they probably could have done better by getting a player who could score in the paint, the Bulls did improve by landing Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Joe Smith. Hollinger even suggests that this is starting to look like a nice package to combine for a shot at Kevin Garnett in a trade.
So it looks like it is official… at least at ESPN. Chicago Bulls tickets will get a chance to see an improved team. Make sure to go to StubHub.com for those tickets.
Hinrich and Deng to play Internationally
The USA national basketball team is set to meet for a minicamp this weekend in Las Vegas, with the Chicago Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich as one of the players trying out for the point guard position. The other players who were invited to the minicamp include Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Deron Williams and Chris Paul, though Paul has elected not to participate. Team USA will be coached my famous Duke sideline man Mike Krzyzewski, and will most likely include stars like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Luol Deng will get a chance to play for the England national team. As you might know, Deng was born in Sudan but then immigrated to the United Kingdom through Egypt when he was in grade school. He considers Britain to be his home country. There is no word yet on whether Ben Gordon will join Luol Deng as a player on the English national basketball team.
These Bulls will still have to make their respective teams, so tickets to see them play in international competition are, technically, not guaranteed. It is a much safer bet to get Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com to see them play in Chi-Town.