Chicago Bulls Last Game vs. Raptors; Plus Paxson on Next Year

The Bulls are set to play the Toronto Raptors tonight in Chicago at the Untied Center. The Raptors would normally be expected to win the game, but there are reasons that they might be slacking off, and reasons that the Bulls might have more of a desire to win. The Raptors are already assured of a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, so they are merely looking to coast, keep healthy and keep out of trouble. The Bulls, on the other hand, are assured of no playoff spot. However, they still would like to end the season at home with a win for their fans, and players and coaches who might feel doubtful about their jobs this summer will probably want to end the season with something good to look back upon.

In other news, there’s a nice, interesting article about Bulls GM John Paxson and his outlook for the offseason and for the Bulls’ chances next season. If you are already looking forward to getting some Chicago Bulls tickets for games in 2009, check out this article at the Chicago Sun-Times.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Bulls Score 151 in Win over Bucks

The Chicago Bulls picked a weird time to have such an offensive flurry, but hey, we’ll take it. Luol Deng led the Bulls in scoring with 32 points as the team beat the Milwaukee Bucks 151-135 last night in Milwaukee. There was absolutely no defense at all, and several players commented that it looked like it was an All-Star game, as everyone felt the need to shoot and slash and dunk… and nobody was getting in their way. Lucky enough for Bulls fans, the Bulls were able to hit more of their shots than the Bucks (67.0%, in fact).

Of note: The Bulls were just five points away from their record point total for a game, and just four points away from their record point total for a regulation game. Chris Duhon was probably the best Bulls fantasy basketball player out there last night, as he finished with 22 points, 15 assists and 3 rebounds. Ramon Sessions of the Bucks set a franchise record with 24 assists in the game.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Gooden Out for Good, Bulls Lose to Magic

The Magic beat the Bulls this past Sunday 104-84. The win is the Magic’s 50th of the season, and gives them just a little bit more momentum coming into the final few games of the season. It is important for teams to have a good couple of games before the playoffs. It increases confidence, gets the fans pumped, and improves your record so that you get a better seed in the postseason. For the Bulls, the game could only mean a better lottery pick, possibly. However, that was not enough to overcome Hedo Turkoglu’s monster game. He was all over the place, posting 24 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block.

In other news… Drew Gooden is out for the remainder of the season. He has had abdominal problems, has missed over a half dozen games, and the coaches feel that he should just start recuperating early. Of the decision to bench Gooden, coach Boylan said,

“He played well. He needs to be more consistent, but I thought he had some good games. I thought he played with good energy, gave us something down low, which we needed. I’m looking forward to having him around next season.”

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Cleveland Awaits Bulls Tonight

The Chicago Bulls will play the Cleveland Cavaliers at home tonight at the United Center. Cleveland is assured of a spot in the playoffs, but for the Bulls, this game will not mean they are any bit closer to the playoffs, as they were mathematically eliminated from making the postseason a few games ago. However, you can be sure that Jim Boylan, the Bulls’ coach, is not about to start putting in the rookies and bench warmers just to give them some playing time.

No Sir. In fact, if you read this article from the Chicago Tribune, you’ll see that the Bulls are prepared to play tough all the way to the end. The article is written a couple of days ago, but it should hold true. You can get your Chicago Bulls tickets with confidence, fans. You will get to see Kirk, Luol, Larry, Ben and Joakim out there for most of the minutes. We here at the Bulls Blog like the dedication to top-rate entertainment. So, regardless of the fact that the postseason is impossible for the Bulls, the game should be hard-fought anyways.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Orlando: a lot, Chicago: a little

The Bulls were beaten by a score of a lot t a little last night. Well, actually the score was 115-83, and you can see the Box Score of the game at Basketball-reference.com. I chose this page because it was devoid of any commentary. They just give you the numbers here, and unlike some of the Box Scores you would get out of a newspaper or from ESPN or CBS Sports or something, this one actually contains less information. For example, there is no breakdown of who was ejected or who received flagrant fouls, or who the refs were. Perhaps for a game like this one, the less we know, the better.

Just from this stats page, however, you can glean a lot of information about what went wrong for the Bulls. For instance: Joakim Noah must have been lit up on the defensive end. He only played about 16 minutes and ended the night with only 2 points. On the other hand, Dwight Howard went off. He Scored 30 points on 12 of 15 shooting, plus he grabbed 14 boards. Kirk Hinrich led the way for the Bulls with 19 points. Let’s remember to cheer on the Bulls in this last stretch of the season. No need to take down the intensity.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Heat too Hot For Bulls

The Chicago Bulls lost to the Miami Heat last night in Miami 95-88. The Heat snapped a seven game losing streak over the back of the Bulls, who are now officially eliminated from the Eastern Conference Playoff race. The Bulls were unable to put the clamps on Kasib Powell, who scored a career-high 18 points for Miami. The Bulls will play the Orlando Magic tonight, but because of the situation with the playoff spot it is uncertain how they will fare. The Magic are trying to get a better spot in the playoffs, and need to do well down the stretch to carry momentum into the playoffs.

On to some rumors. Apparently former Bulls coach Scott Skiles has been mentioned as one of the candidates to fill Isiah Thomas’ job, once the season is over. The new owner of the Knicks, Donnie Walsh, is rumored to be looking around for Thomas’ replacement. Because there are only a few experienced coaches who are currently unemployed, Skiles’ name has come up.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Bulls to Play Heat Tonight

American Airlines Arena will host the Bulls-Heat game tonight, but instead of being a preview for the first round of the NBA playoffs- as it had been for the last two seasons, this game will have little meaning for the Heat, and only the slightest significance to the Bulls. The Heat, if they lose, could secure themselves the worst record in the NBA this season.

While the view from Chicago isn’t quite as grim (the Bulls are nowhere near the worst in the league, though their season has been disappointing) they still might not be able to get to the playoffs this year. If they lose tonight, Chicago is mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. Even supposing that they win, the Bulls could still be eliminated if Atlanta wins their game versus the Pacers.

This one is going to be about pride. Bulls and Bulls fans: don’t pack it in, don’t give up and settle for less than what you deserve. Play out the rest of the season with fire and intensity. Give yourself a couple of good games at the end for which you can be proud, so you can think back on them during the offseason. Then, come back next season with a vengeance.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Wizards Defeat Bulls

If you skipped out of work early on Friday so that you cold catch the next flight to Vegas, we’re jealous of you, but you’re in for a rude Monday awakening. The Bulls lost to the Washington Wizards on Friday evening, so they fell one step further in their race to make the last spot in the Eastern Conference’s playoffs. The Wizards are not that great of a team (they’re 40-37 now, plus they were missing Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, both out with injuries) so this was one of those games that the Bulls really had to win. Plus, it was at home in the Untied Center.

Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood came through for the Wiz. Haywood scored a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Butler finished the game with 18 points. Ben Gordon came off the bench to lead the way for the Bulls with 18, but they weren’t enough to overcome a sub-par shooting night for the Bulls. And where was Noah? Seven points and 2 (count them, two) rebounds in 34 minutes (the most playing time of anybody on the Bulls on Friday). We’re going to need to get Noah involved more, especially on the glass if we’re going to get some momentum going before the end of the season.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Benny the Bull on Jerry Springer!

It’s Friday, and as such, we’re going to give you something to send you off into the weekend in the right mindset. Everybody who has been to a Chicago Bulls game likes the mascot, Benny the Bull, right? Of course! He’s hilarious, and known for his bullish ways. He even almost got into a fight with Kevin Garnett the other night when the Bulls played the Celtics. Apparently KG didn’t like getting some t-shirts shot at him, so the Celtics bench had to restrain KG from going after the mascot.

Well, here’s a “real” fight between Benny and … well, we don’t want to spoil it for you. We will say, however, that the fight happens on one of the most famous shows for fights, one that is based out of the Chicago area- Jerry Springer! It’s pretty good, so if you are a Bulls fan looking for something to cheer you up before you head out of work today, check it out at YouTube.com.

Watch the Bulls this weekend, and we’ll check back with you here on Monday. Have a great weekend, and make sure to get your Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.

Bulls to Play Cleveland Tonight

The Bulls just got done tangling with the best team in the East, and now they have to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that has already clinched a playoff birth in the Eastern Conference, and is currently 4th in the Eastern standings. The Cavs are 42-33, while the Bulls are 29-45. The Cavs enter the game with a two game winning streak, but the Bulls, as you probably are painfully aware, lost their last game to the Celtics.

Of key importance tonight will be stopping LeBron James, who is, of course, the most important part of the Cavs offense. LeBron is averaging over 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game, which does not compare to any of the current Bulls players. Who will get the assignment on LeBron? Well, Nocioni, Deng, Hughes and Sefolosha will all probably get a chance to guard King James, but stopping him is usually not an option. You have to make sure that he does not take over. Just slow James down, and the rest of the Cavs will not be able to beat the Bulls.

To get Chicago Bulls tickets, go to StubHub.com.

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