The Bulls Take Home a Big Win Against the Sonics at the United Center

They’ve finally done it – that’s right, the Bulls won another game! Chicago players and fans were all smiles last night after the Bulls win against the Seattle Sonics at the United Center. Not only did they win, the Bulls won big with a final score of 123-96. Ben Gordon was Chicago’s lead scorer with 27 points for the night. All twelve active players also scored and the Bulls shot a percentage of 53.7 overall. Joe Smith, who added a season-high of 19 points, praised the Bulls effort, saying, “This is something we really needed.” Kirk Hinrich also did his part to add to the team’s success, scoring 15 points and taking home eight assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers. The Bulls starters played extremely well, hitting 100 points with 10 minutes and 5 seconds left to play, which allowed Skiles to let them get some much deserved rest.

What really seemed to make the game for the Bulls was their aggressive start. They started the game ready to play hard – ready to win – and this attitude led to an extremely successful night for Chicago. The Bulls finished with 21 fast-break points and continuously pushed the ball upcourt. They were playing assertive basketball, which is exactly what fans have been waiting to see from them all season. The Bulls recorded season-highs for points, points in a half (67 in the first), field goals (51) and assists (35) and also took home their first blowout with over 20 points all season. Overall, it was a great game for Chicago – and you can bet that Coach Scott Skiles agreed. “We got loosened up early, and shot the ball well. It was clear, offensively, we were going to have a good night. It was just a matter of could we get them under control. Eventually we did for a little while and we were able to pull away,” said Skiles. Now that’s what we like to see!

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The Bulls Roster Stands at 15 After Waiving Gardner and Picking Up Nichols

The Bulls announced a few new moves last Friday, including the waiver of guard Thomas Gardner and their decision to pick up forward Demetris Nichols. Thomas Gardner, the 6’5”, 225 lb. guard, is an undrafted rookie out of the University of Missouri. He signed with Chicago prior to the Bulls training camp on October 1st and appeared in four games with the Windy City team this season. In his short time with the Bulls Gardner averaged 5.3 points per game, 9 for 23 in field goals and 1.0 rebounds per game in 11.3 minutes per game. Overall Gardner shot .391 from the field and .250 from behind the arc.

Demetris Nichols is making his way to Chicago after spending time with both the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. According to press notes, Nichols was “originally selected by Portland in the second round (53rd selection) of the NBA Draft 2007. He enjoyed a four-year collegiate career at Syracuse where he averaged 10.9 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game and 1.1 assists per game.” In his time bouncing from team to team this year Nichols managed to score two points and grab one rebound in 14 minutes that was spread out over three games. He joined the Bulls on Saturday when they took another disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics. After the waiver of Gardner and pick up of Nichols, the Bulls have a roster of 15 players.

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The Chicago Bulls Continue to Struggle as they Take Another Loss to the Celtics

The Bulls took another loss on Saturday, when they were beaten by the Celtics 92-81. The Windy City team had a home-court advantage at the United Center, but even playing at home couldn’t help them pull past the Boston Celtics. The Bulls and Celtics played in front of a sellout crowd of 22,778 people and did more than enough to disappoint the thousands of fans who came out to see them play. The Bulls offense was the part of their game that really suffered and several quotes from Bulls players confirmed this. “We missed a lot of easy shots,” said Chris Duhon. “We just didn’t shoot well,” said Luol Deng. “Offensively, we don’t look good at all,” was Kirk Hinrich’s comment on the game. “I just missed shots,” said Ben Gordon.

The Bulls were not at all optimistic about their performance, and neither was head coach Scott Skiles. “You can lose sleep over it but it’s pretty simple. We have to make shots. You have to step up and make them. In the games we have struggled to make shots, a common denominator has been our ball handling and our passing. We are making it tough on our shooters.” The Bulls actually did pretty well on defense, as they managed to guard the Celtics’ Big Three, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, quite well. The Bulls have been hot and cold all season – winning a game and then retorting back with another loss. Hinrich summed it up quite well when he said, “I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve obviously got a long way to go.” A long way they do.

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The NBA All-Star Balloting Program is Ready for Basketball Fans

The official 2008 NBA All-Star ballot was unveiled last month during a special tip-off event in New Orleans, the Official Host City of NBA All-Star 2008. The NBA All-Star Game will be held at New Orleans Arena on Sunday, February 17, 2008 and you can bet that basketball fans are already getting giddy just thinking about it. Leading up to the NBA All-Star Game is the NBA All-Star Balloting program, which allows basketball fans all over the world to vote daily for their favorite players to be starters for the game. There are 120 players total listed on the ballot – 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences. The ballot includes 24 guards, 24 forwards and 12 centers from each conference.

So, how exactly does the balloting work? Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center form each conference and votes are tallied to see who the starting players will be in February. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media experts who regularly cover the NBA. This year’s panel included Ric Bucher of ESPN the Magazine, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, David DuPree of USA Today, Ernie Johnson of TNT, Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated, Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express News and Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. T-Mobile is the presenting partner of the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting program, and in support of the NBA’s on-going effort to help rebuild New Orleans, the company will donate $1 for every ballot cast in T-Mobile-owned retail locations or on t-zones to the New Orleans Recovery School District. NBA fans can find out more information about how to cast a vote at www.nba.com. Bulls fans will definitely want to take advantage of the opportunity to give their players a shot at starting in the game. This year’s Chicago nominees are Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni and Ben Wallace.

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Bulls Guard Chris Duhon Receives the NBA Community Assist Award for November

Chris Duhon’s community and philanthropic efforts have just earned him the NBA Community Assist Award for the month of November. The NBA has honored the Chicago Bulls guard in lieu of his ongoing efforts to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Last month Duhon announced that he was making a personal donation of $100,000 towards “Operation 21,” his venture to construct 21 new basketball courts throughout New Orleans and his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana. Recreation programs in the areas affected by the hurricane are limited and the Chicago basketball star felt the need to provide kids with places to play throughout these regions. Duhon also started the Stand Tall Foundation, which has raised more than $450,000 for the victims of Katrina and aided in the reconstruction of Slidell.

“We believe in New Orleans and we’re committed to do what we can. It feels good to help local families continue to recover and rebuild after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina,” said Duhon of his efforts. In November (the month for which he was honored) Duhon teamed up with the international hunger relief organization, “Feed the Children,” to provide 400 families in Slidell with boxes of food and personal care items. He also played in a charity game of “HORSE” that raised money for the Mark Goodman Memorial Fund, a fund created in memory of one of Duhon’s friends to pay for the college education of his two children. Duhon is an all-around do-gooder and the Bulls should be proud to have him on their team.

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The Bulls Take on the Charlotte Bobcats in Hopes of Another Win

The Chicago Bulls are set to take on the Charlotte Bobcats for the second time in five days today and windy city fans are hoping that the Bulls will take home another win against the team. The Bulls beat the Bobcats 111-95 on Saturday, playing like a team headed for the playoffs. They posted season highs in points and field-goal percentages, but followed this successful game with a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. The Bulls and the Bobcats are both near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. With a practically embarrassing start to the season the Bulls are looking to shed their disappointing losses and make way for more wins as they try to beat the Bobcats for the second time tonight.

Pre-season speculations saw Chicago moving towards the playoffs, but instead they have gone down the completely opposite path, landing as the team with the second-worst record in the Eastern conference. It’s not that they don’t have the talent, because they do. The Bulls have a number of talented rookies and veterans this year, but there is a kind of gel, or flow that just isn’t there. “As tough as this has been, you have to stay with it and be mentally tough as a team. I have confidence that things will turn around. Life isn’t as good as it normally would be when we are winning,” said guard Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls have won four of their last five games against het Bobcats, but lost 100-85 on their last road game in Charlotte. Hopefully they’ll pull out another win tonight in order to pave the way for many more this season.

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The Bulls Inconsistent Offense Costs them Another Game

The Bulls added another loss to their disappointing record last night when the Dallas Mavericks beat them 103-98. Once again Bulls fans saw the team that couldn’t shoot straight and seemed to lack an overall motivation. The Bulls shot 28.8 percent in the first half and Luol Deng missed his first nine shots, Ben Gordon missed 12 of 16 and Kirk Hinrich missed five of six. A few missed shots is an understatement. After his floundering first half, Hinrich was benched to start the second half and Head Coach Scott Skiles said he has to find more playing time for Andres Nocioni, who came off the bench to score a game-high 30 points.

“There isn’t a whole lot we haven’t thought about or discussed. We’ve discussed pretty much everything; all combinations of lineups and off the bench people. We’ll look at the tape and discuss it again and see where we are,” said Skiles. By watching them you would get the impression that the Bulls didn’t prepare for their game against Dallas, but Skiles says they did just that. It seems that it’s an overall lack of unity and confidence that has the Bulls down this season. Once they get going – that is missing shots and blowing offenses – they seem to be on a roll. And that can’t happen against a team like Dallas who can easily shoot 50 percent. Come on Bulls, show us what you’re made of.

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Chris Duhon Donates Money to Rebuild Basketball Courts in Louisiana

The Chicago Bulls are known for their plethora of philanthropic contributions, and thanks to guard Chris Duhon there is a new one to add to the long list. Duhon has been a big name in the relief efforts for Louisiana residents who were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. His latest move is a personal donation of $100,000 to construct basketball courts in New Orleans and his hometown of Sidell, Louisiana. Through his Stand Tall Foundation Duhon launched “Operation 21,” a project dedicated to refurbishing 21 outdoor basketball courts in the two cities – five of which will be in Sidell and the other 16 in New Orleans.

Duhon grew up playing basketball in Sidell and participating in recreational programs for basketball, football, track and baseball in East New Orleans. He established the hurricane relief fund in 2005 and his efforts have since raised $450,000 for the victims of Katrina and aided in the reconstruction of his hometown. Of his contribution to getting Louisiana back on track, Duhon says, “As families are returning to their homes after Hurricane Katrina, recreation programs are starting up again, but outside activities are limited because of the conditions of the courts in the communities. We believe in New Orleans and we’re committed to do what we can.”

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