Timberwolves 83, Bulls 67
A night after beating the Timberwolves in Chicago, the Bulls were handed an ugly loss to the same team in Minnesota. Chicago was playing without Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, like they have been for over a week, and thus could not muster much in the way of offense. Not that the Timberwolves played much better, though they did, to their credit, walk away from the whole affair with another W to add to a collection that’s growing at a pretty good clip. Thabo Sefolosha and Kirk Hinrich lead the way in the points column for the Bulls, each scoring 14. Al Jefferson had 26 and Ryan Gomes had 25 for Minnesota.
The Bulls would have really liked to have swept the T-wolves in their mini series, because playing well against bad teams is one of the basic ways of knowing that this team is on the way back up. I guess these last two games prove how important home court advantage can be in the NBA. It also proves what a difference one night can make.
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Bulls Easily Beat Timberwolves
The Chicago Bulls ran away from the Minnesota Timberwolves in their game at the Untied Center last night. Chicago won 96-85 over the team with the league’s worst record. Kirk Hinrich scored 27 points to lead the effort for the Bulls, who played the game with only ten available players, due to the large amount of injuries the team is dealing with currently. Luol Deng is healing an ankle with tendonitis, Ben Gordon has a sprained wrist, Chris Duhon has a bruised left knee, and Joe Smith was at home with the flu.
When you look at the Bulls in these situations, you have to wonder why they aren’t doing as well as they should. The Bulls were up against a wall, with several of their best players out, but they managed to handle the game easily. Albeit, they were playing the team with the NBA’s worst record, but all the same, it seems that the Bulls play at their best when people expect the worst out of them, and play at their worst when people expect the best of them. The Bulls can work on reversing that formula in their upcoming games.
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Will Gordon Play Vs. Minnesota?
All eyes will be on Ben Gordon as he comes out of the locker room on Tuesday night for the Bulls-Timberwolves game. Will he be dressed for the game, or will he be in street clothes? Will he warm up and shoot around, or will he dribble a bit and then take a seat on the bench, realizing that his wrist has not healed in time for the game? The Bulls are certain that they will be without Luol Deng, who is going to probably take another week off to heal from tendinitis, but Gordon is listed as day-to-day at this point. The Bulls could really use him. Even though the Timberwolves have the league’s worst schedule, they have won three of their last four, and played the Celtics very tough.
The Bulls Blog is going to do something rare. It’s going to make a prediction. We see the Bulls winning this one, another low-scoring affair, by a score of 90-87. Gordon won’t play, but Nocioni will start stroking the threes to keep the Bulls in striking distance the whole game. Then right at the end, Hinrich wins a free throw shooting contest to seal the deal for the Bulls. How does that sound, Bulls fans?
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Bulls Slip Again in Power Rankings
If you didn’t already have a reason to hate Mondays, then this Monday’s version of the ESPN NBA Power Rankings will due for now. The Bulls, as you will see, have fallen again, this time the No. 24 spot in the rankings this week. Ranker Marc Stein notes that the team has an 8-9 record post-Skiles, and two other big reasons (Gordon and Deng are sitting on the bench right now) to remark that the Bulls are not one of the NBA’s elite. Last week the Bulls had risen to No. 21, and if they did well, us here at the Bulls Blog were getting used to the idea of having them ranked in the teens.
But don’t let it get you too downhearted. The Bulls still have a lot of time to get back into the top half of the Power Ranknigs, and they can start by beating up on a lowly Minnesota team tomorrow night. Although the Bulls will not have Deng, and probably not Gordon either, they should still beat the Timberwolves, who Stein has ranked at the 21 spot (they were previously No. 29).
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Minus Deng, Gordon, Bulls to Play Charlotte Bobcats Tonight
The Chicago Bulls are set to play the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at the United Center. The Bulls might be without two of their most capable scorers, though. Luol Deng is not expected to be back to action for another few weeks to deal with tendinitis, and Ben Gordon missed the Bulls’ last game, against the Indiana Pacers, because of a sprained wrist. Neither of them are expected to play, barring something miraculous.
Even still, the Bulls are given the edge by the Accuscore Projection graphic in tonight’s contest. The Bobcats have some flair and can play well on any given night, but this year they aren’t quite living up to the high expectations they had when the season began. Charlotte is 16-26 overall and only 2-13 when playing on the road. The Bulls ought to win this one despite being without their two best scorers. Let’s see who steps up tonight. Hinrich? Nocioni? Smith? Noah? We’ll see tonight, won’t we?
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Hinrich Explodes for 38 in Bulls’ Win over Pacers
The Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers last night at the United Center 108-95. The Bulls were able to capitalize on the best scoring night of Kirk Hinrich’s career, a 38-point, hot-shooting spree that was just unstoppable at certain points in the game. The Bulls were playing without two of their very best players and top scorers, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. Deng will be out for a few weeks to deal with Achilles tendinitis, and Gordon is out with a sprained wrist.
Kirk knew he had to come up big-time in order for the Bulls to have a chance, and he sure did. Hinrich has been getting dogged almost all season for underperforming, so it was great to see this guy step up and take over the offense for the Bulls when they needed him most. Let’s hope that Hinrich continues this kind of play, because without Deng for a while and Gordon in the immediate future, the Bulls are going to be lacking some clear offensive weapons on the wings. But that we can worry about later. Tonight, let’s just celebrate the Bulls’ unexpected win.
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Indiana up Next for Bulls
The Bulls will host the Indiana Pacers tonight at the United Center, so you ought to get your tickets while there’s still time. Chicago is struggling to catch the Pacers, who currently are two games ahead of them in the Central Division standings. Milwaukee has recently fallen to the last spot in the Central.
Tonight’s game is important for many reasons. It would cut the Pacers’ lead over the Bulls in half. It would signal a real turnaround for each team. Indiana started out the season hot, but they’ve cooled off quickly and are now well below .500. It would also improve the Bulls’ mediocre home record. Right now the Bulls are 8-11 at home and 8-13 away, meaning that their home court advantage is not helping them win more games. By all accounts this is a game that the Bulls should win, and need to win if they are seriously going to right the ship and make things interesting down the stretch.
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Grizzlies Beat Bulls in Memphis
The Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Bulls last night, beating visiting Chicago 104-90. The Bulls must have thought that they got Martin Luther King Day off like state employees when they came out in the first half flatter than a Ron Paul tax plan. The Bulls were never able to close in permanently on the Grizz in the second half, and wound up losing their 24th game of the season. Rudy Gay and Mike Miller of Memphis led their team’s scorers with 24 points each. Ben Gordon contributed 25 off the bench to lead the Bulls in the points column.
The Bulls went lanky from the get-go. Coach Boylan decided to start sophomore Thabo Sefolosha, a 6-7 guard who might play better defense than Noah or Gordon on the talented Memphis backcourt and wing players. It ended up not working out very well, of course, however you have to like that Boylan is trying something new and potentially helpful. Noah might have lost his starting job both for ineffectiveness and that famous behavior problem that surfaced last week. We’ll have to keep track of the different lineups that Boylan tinkers with in the next few weeks.
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Bulls Move Up in Power Rankings
ESPN has its famous weekly Power Rankings out today. You’ll notice that the Bulls moved slightly up from their previous position at No. 23 to their current status at No. 21. We’re still waiting for the Bulls to join the teens, but at least they’re moving in the right direction. Reasons for the move upwards? Since the last rankings the Bulls won two out of four games, one against Detroit and one against Miami. Marc Stein, the guy who writes these rankings, decided that the suspension of Noah was a worthy reason to lift the Bulls up. You’ll have to read exactly why.
But enough with analyzing some pointless power rankings at ESPN. The Bulls and all fans of the Bulls have bigger things to worry about, mainly the Memphis Grizzlies. Tonight the Bulls will be on the road taking on one of the weaker teams in the NBA. Memphis was actually ranked 27th in the latest Power Rankings. Because of that, we should expect the Bulls to get a win tonight, which will hopefully help them move closer to a ranking in the top half of the league.
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Funny Bulls News Just in Time for Friday!
The Chicago Bulls are set to play the Golden State Warriors tonight. You can get a good game preview at ESPN so that you know what you’re getting into when you get tickets to the game. Golden State is actually favored to win the game according to the Accuscore projection. The Warriors are not a bad team at all, so even though the Bulls are at home they will certainly have their hands full. Kirk Hinrich will have to be on his best game to keep with Baron Davis, the heart of the Warriors’ offense. It should be a great game, so make sure to either be there to see it live, or get to a sports bar after work to watch it on TV.
As promised in the title of this blog, we have some slightly funny news to report. Apparently JamesOn Curry, a Bulls rookie whose name is good enough for a story in itself, was arrested in Idaho for public urination. The incident could turn not-so-funny if he gets a penalty from the league. For now Curry is part of a D-League team which is playing in Idaho.
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