Bulls-Jazz Tonight

The Bulls will square off with the Jazz tonight at the United Center in their fourth preseason game.  Chicago is yet to win a game this preseason, though these games are more of an opportunity for coaches to assess how certain backcourt combinations work together, how their frontcourt rotation will shape up, etc.   Head coach Vinny Del Negro might want to give rookie Derrick Rose 30-plus minutes in this contest if he feels that he has an idea of what the rotation will look like.  Rose would benefit from any extra playing time he can get before the regular season begins.

At this point, this blogger would expect the opening night starting lineup to include Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Drew Gooden.  Beyond that, it still remains to be seen.  The starting shooting guard spot could go to either Ben Gordon or Larry Hughes.  Hughes is a good defender, though he does take a lot of chances, and has good size for the position.  But his penchant for bad shots could earn him a spot on the bench.  Now, Gordon also has the tendency to heave up some questionable jumpers, but he makes a lot of them.  As far as the center position in concerned, we could see Joakim Noah or Aaron Gray starting, but we could also see the team go small, sticking Gooden in the middle and Tyrus Thomas at the four spot.

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Gordon Could be on the Block This Season

Just because Ben Gordon is still wearing a Bulls uniform doesn’t mean he’ll be wearing one all season.  Gordon showed up on ESPN.com writer Chad Ford’s list of ten players who may be traded this season.  “It’s likely he’ll want a change of scenery, and the Bulls sound willing to give it to him (though they can’t trade him until Jan. 1),” Ford writes about Gordon.  “If they do, they’ll have to get his consent to any trade, but as long as he’s sent to a team with cap room and playing time, I doubt he’d object.”

With a crowded backcourt, the Bulls would be wise to get something in return for Gordon, who is all but assured to leave via unrestricted free agency next summer.  Gordon is a valuable player due to his knack for scoring and coming up big in big moments, but he’s completely overvaluing himself monetarily.  He wants franchise player money, and it’s highly unlikely that a team would be willing to give that to him unless he somehow shores up his deficiencies this season, one of which, height, cannot be altered (at least not that this blogger knows of).  The Bulls don’t really have a prototypical shooting guard at this point unless Thabo Sefolosha emerges with an improved jump shot.

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Bulls Fall to Wolves

The Bulls fell to 0-3 in the preseason with their 96-86 loss to Minnesota last night.  Chicago got off to a hot start, building a 30-13 lead after one quarter of play, but the tables turned in the second period in which they were outscored 33-15.  Derrick Rose came off the bench, dropping nine points and dishing out seven assists, a solid performance by the rookie.  Forward Drew Gooden stood out in this contest for the Bulls, hitting 9 of his 13 field goal attempts, good for 20 points.  Gooden also added eight boards and three dimes.  Center Aaron Gray, who had looked good through two preseason games, received just 10 minutes of playing time and the only statistics he racked up were a missed shot, a turnover and three fouls.

The Bulls’ big men seem to be teasing fans with flashes of solid play inside.  The ability to score on the block is going to be paramount in determining the Bulls’ success this season.  Gooden is one of the more experienced big men on the roster, and has shown himself to be a capable rebounder in years past.  The Bulls would love, however, if a guy like Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah took some major strides this season.

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Vocal Luol

Bulls forward Luol Deng has spent his first four seasons in the NBA as a quiet, nice guy who gets the job done.  His game time demeanor may be different this season.  “Really, I want to be emotional out there, more vocal,” he said in an article in the Daily Herald. “I think when I play with emotion, I play a lot better than when I have things hanging over my head.  So that’s the biggest thing I’ve got to do.”  Being more vocal usually means taking on more of a leadership role, something the Bulls organization would surely encourage after it gave Deng a $71 million contract this summer.

Head coach Vinny Del Negro has had nothing but good things to say about the fifth-year forward.  “He’s been great,” Del Negro said.  “He’s a great kid.  He had a busy summer playing and I think he was a little fatigued the first few days of camp.  He’s starting to get his legs under him, like everybody.  He’s a big focal point of what we’re doing.  He has that midrange game that we want to take advantage of.”  Deng posted career-high averages of 18 points and seven rebounds two seasons ago after having a bit of a slump season last year.

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Gray Area

The Bulls have more than ample talent on the outside, but it’s up front where things remain unclear.  With no real low-post presence on the offensive end, the Bulls are trying to figure out where they can find dependable scoring and rebounding on the block.  In what was perhaps an attempt to find stability down low, head coach Vinny Del Negro tried something new in the Bulls’ second preseason game.  Del Negro gave the start at center to second-year man Aaron Gray on Friday night.  Gray fared well, scoring 13 points on five of eight shooting in 28 minutes.  The Pitt product added 11 rebounds, five of them on the offensive end, in the team’s loss to the Pacers.

Gray, a second round pick in the 2007 NBA draft, is a true center that possesses a solid offensive repertoire.  He’s not going to set the league on fire, but he could provide the club with the some consistent interior scoring, something the team has lacked since they dealt Eddy Curry to the Knicks a few years back.  A frontcourt of Drew Gooden and Gray could be the Bulls’ best bet at finding stability, as Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah have both been wildly inconsistent during their short tenures in the pros.

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Bulls Fall in Preseason Opener

The Bulls fell to the Mavericks in their preseason opener last night 110-102.  Number one overall pick Derrick Rose got the start, but got off to a slow start in the game.  The Memphis product missed his first four attempts from the field, but hit four of his next five to finish with 10 points in the contest.  He added five assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play, but also turned the ball over six times.  Luol Deng, Aaron Gray and Darius Washington tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 apiece.  Gray looked good, also pulling down nine rebounds in 25 minutes of work.  Drew Gooden got the start on his way to an efficient 11 points and seven boards.  Tyrus Thomas showed that he is still limited offensively, netting just six points in the contest.

Considering the circumstances, this was a pretty good outing for Rose.  The turnovers are to be expected from a rookie point guard in his first action against true NBA competition.  Luol Deng looked sharp and is poised for a bounce back season.  Bulls fans have to like what they saw from Aaron Gray, who could emerge as the team’s starting center at some point this season.  If he and Gooden can provide solid interior play, this team will be much better off this year.

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Bulls Open Preseason Tonight

The Bulls open up their preseason schedule against the Dallas Mavericks tonight at the United Center.  This will be the first chance Bulls fans to get a glimpse of rookie phenom Derrick Rose in action against real NBA competition.  Rose will probably come off the bench and see most of his action against the second team.  There will probably be a point, though, when he is on the floor at the same time as Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd, to whom Rose has been often compared.  Rose has the size, athleticism and playmaking ability that Kidd had when he came into the league, but Rose has better scoring ability and his jump shot has a higher ceiling.

This blogger is also interested to see how new head coach Vinny Del Negro conducts himself on the sidelines.  My guess is he’s a calm and collected guy who is more about teaching than screaming at players for making mistakes, which should come as a relief to the guys who endured Scott Skiles and his dictatorship.  Luol Deng is sure to look great as he’s poised for a bounce back season now that his future with the team is secured.

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Fantasy Look

The Bulls have several players that should be on fantasy players’ radar this season.  ESPN.com’s Josh Whitling notes guard Kirk Hinrich as a sleeper in 2008-09.  Pretty much all of Hinrich’s numbers suffered last season and he could be in line for a bounce back year.  “Chris Duhon forced him to play out of position last season, and the Bulls’ starting lineup was a carousel.  Still, Hinrich still managed to average 6 assists, 1 3-pointer and 1.2 steals per game even though he played fewer minutes.  With the loss of Duhon and fragility of Larry Hughes, the Bulls will need a veteran leader in the backcourt.  Plus, Hinrich has never played fewer than 75 games.  Capitalize upon people’s low expectations and draft Hinrich.  His numbers should be much closer to those of two seasons ago,” Whitling writes.

Luol Deng will give fantasy owners points and rebounds, and should bounce back in the field goal percentage department as well.  Ben Gordon, as always, will provide points and three pointers, but owners will have to deal with his inconsistency and poor field goals percentage.  Whitling also notes that Syracuse product Demetrius Nichols could be a fantasy super-sleeper for those in need of three pointers.

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Gooden Making Good?

Bulls forward Drew Gooden promised to expand his game during the off-season and, according to him, he has done very well in making good on that promise. “”It turned out excellent,” Gooden said of his offseason training in an article from Chicago’s Daily Herald. “I actually kind of surprised myself. I was capable of doing things I never really worked on in the off-season. I wanted to expand my game this summer and I think I did that. I worked on my outside shot more than anything.” Gooden is the only veteran in a frontcourt that features young guns such as Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray.

Gooden was pretty much looked upon to rebound during his stint with the Cavaliers, but he’ll be asked to do much more than that this season for the Bulls. Gooden, who came to the Bulls in last season’s three-team deal, was a top five draft pick in 2002 after he dominated the college ranks. But Gooden’s collegiate success has not translated to the pros, at least not on the same level. If Gooden can provide the Bulls with a much needed presence on the low block and some scoring in the paint, it should take some pressure off the guards in what has been a jump shot-oriented club for the past few seasons.

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Five’s A Crowd

Now that Ben Gordon is on board, at least for this season, the Bulls appear to have five guards that will all be competing for playing time in the team’s backcourt.  Aside from Gordon, the team has Larry Hughes, Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefolosha and rookie Derrick Rose.  It’s going to be difficult for new head coach Vinny Del Negro to find enough time to make all of these guys happy.  “Minutes will be scarce,” Del Negro said in an article in the Chicago Tribune.  “We’ll have competitive practices. The guys who compete and play the best will play.  It’s going to be difficult for some guys.  They might not play as many minutes as they have in the past or think they should.  I’d rather have it like that than not have enough.”

The team has said that they plan to give number one overall pick Derrick Rose plenty of time on the floor as he’s the future of the franchise and the need to develop him is vital to the club’s long-term success.  Gordon, Hughes and Hinrich are all going to expect major minutes, while Sefolosha is still pretty young and has never had a prominent role on an NBA team.  Gordon and Hughes are the most likely guys to make waves over a lack of playing time and this situation should present some difficulties for Del Negro.

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