Bulls Top Spurs 92-85 in season opener

Luol Deng scored 17 points and added nine rebounds, Derrick Rose registered 13 points, Tyrus Thomas had 13 points, and the Chicago Bulls defeated the San Antonio Spurs 92-85 in their season opener on Thursday. Rose also contributed seven rebounds and seven assists for Chicago. Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich played well coming off the bench and recorded 14 points. Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan scored a game-high of 28 points and 16 rebounds for his team. The only other Spur player who had double figures was Manu Ginobili, he finished with 12 points. San Antonio (1-1), won their match-up against New Orleans in their season opener on Wednesday. The Bulls (1-0) went on a seven point scoring run in the third, which Noah closed with two free throws for a 58-52 lead. “The Bulls went on another seven-point binge later in the quarter that propelled the Bulls to a double digit lead. Hinrich scored a basket with just over two minutes left to make it 72-58.” In the fourth quarter, Duncan swooshed a free throw and Rose hit a jumper to give the Bulls a game-high 14 point lead at 79-65. The Bulls will be in Boston on Friday to take on the Celtics, who eliminated Chicago from the playoffs in seven games just six months ago.

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Will the Chicago Bulls be a better playoff team this season?

It has been almost six months since the Chicago Bulls lost to the Boston Celtics in a playoff series that went to game 7.  Since that May 2 game, the Bulls have lost Ben Gorden to free agency, and drafted forwards James Johnson and Jaj Gibson. Chicago believes that both players will improve on the promise displayed in that series against the Celtics last season. The Bulls will be able to show off what they have on Thursday night, when they take on the San Antonio Spurs at the United Center. On Friday, the Bulls will travel to Boston to do battle with a healthy Kevin Garnett this time. If the Bulls want to be a better playoff team this season, they must play better defense. Even though it’s only preseason, the Bulls led the league in allowing just 40.3 percent shooting. Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro told the press “We’re better defensively. The trust factor takes time to build. The communication and rotations have gotten sharper. Now it’s a matter of putting that in games that matter and trusting your teammates. Guys are putting in the effort. Usually, when you do that, good things happen.” If Chicago can improve their defense this season they might be able to go deeper in the postseason.

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How many games can the Bulls win this season?

Many Chicago Bulls fans are wondering if their team can improve on their 41-41 record from a year ago. It’s going to take a while to get a good read on this Bulls team because of point guard Derrick Rose’s ankle injury. The guard admitted that it’s unlikely he will play major minutes in the first few games of the regular season. The absence of Rose during the preseason gave other players on the team a chance to step up their game, especially Tyrus Thomas. “My outlook for the Bulls’ season? Similar to a year ago: a record around .500 and an early out in the playoffs. The Eastern Conference isn’t loaded but still features formidable hurdles.” A healthy Kevin Garnett registered 13 points and 10 rebounds, Rasheed Wallace added 12 points, and Paul Pierce had 23 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the Cleveland Cavaliers in their season opener on Tuesday. Also noteworthy was the Wizards 102-91 victory at Dallas. Gilbert Arenas had 29 points for the Wizards. So the Bulls will likely face tough eastern opponents like the two teams mentioned above. “Put me down for a 42-40 final Bulls record, with an improving Rose and Thomas offsetting the departure of Ben Gordon.”

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Rose participates in Practice for second striaght Day

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose practiced for the second day in a row, but he still did not feel like his old self. He admitted that his ankle injury is still bothering him. Rose joked with the press after practice. The guard said, “I told you, I’m like an old man out there. I have to wait 20, 30 minutes into practice where I’m really loosened up. I have to stretch a lot.” All joking aside, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro knows he has to keep a close eye on Rose’s ankle over the next few weeks. The coach stated that “His ankle was a little sore until he got it loose this morning, but then once he got it loose, he was fine. I think that will be a continual process for a while. He’s out of condition a little bit — the way we want to play and how we want him to play, get after the ball defensively. He’s rusty, so these next two days hopefully he can build like he did today and get better.” Although Rose continues to get better each day, his action will probably be limited when the Bulls kick off the regular season Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.

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All Bulls Active Players Participate In Practice

For the first time in three weeks, all the active players for the Chicago Bulls were healthy enough to participate in practise on Sunday. Derrick Rose (ankle), Kirk Hinrich (elbow), and Jannero Pargo (back), who sat out Friday’s final preseason game, were back on the hardwood, practicing for their team. Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro stated that “Everyone practiced. Let’s see how they feel in the morning, but we had a full group today which was great to get that.” The coach was delighted to have his players back, especially Rose. The point guard practiced without restrictions and reported no pain afterward. Rose told the press “Right now I’m feeling good. Just have to get back in condition.” Although Rose practiced with the Bulls on Sunday, he admitted that he was not close to being 100 percent. He stated “That’s far away still. Out there, it’s still kind of stiff. I told Lindsey [Hunter] I know how they feel when they have to stretch now. Usually I’ll just go out there and run, but now I really gotta take stretching into consideration.” The 21-year-old Rose was not certain if the team will clear him to play in the regular-season opener on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.

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What’s Sexy Now Chicago?

Although Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is nursing his injured right ankle back to health, the big man was permitted to play one 1-on-1 on Thursday against a 5-foot-8 fashion model who weighed less than 100 pounds. Actually, Rose and model Marisa Miller took to the Berto Center court to hype up an online poll being conducted on the web for a new Victoria’s secret store on Michigan Avenue. As part of the “What’s Sexy Now Chicago?” campaign, the public is being asked to vote on Chicago’s sexiest athlete. Rose is up against Bear linebacker Brian Urlacher and Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane in that category. Miller told the press “I met Derrick (on Wednesday night), and he has these long eyelashes and gorgeous eyes. He’s sexy. The nominations are tough, but I think Derrick will win.” Rose missed three weeks of practises and exhibition games, but returned to the hardwood on Thursday just in time to take some ribbing on being a part of the sexiest-athlete vote. Rose said, “I got a little from my teammates, and my brothers were laughing and talking about my brother above me should have been the sexiest man of the year. So I’ve been getting jokes everywhere, but I guess they like me here.”

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Bulls’ Rose Expects To Play In Regular-Season Opener

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose resumed practice this past Wednesday and expects to play in the regular-season opener on October 29. When reporters asked Rose if he’ll face the San Antonio Spurs, the guard responded by saying “I’ll be playing, no doubt in my mind, I want to play. The trainers have been saying I’m looking good, running better every day. It’s a little sore, but I’ll be fine.” Rose has not played since October 2 against the Indiana Pacers due to an inflamed tendon in his right ankle. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro told the press that Rose “Worked out yesterday a little bit and was a little sore, and today he worked out and felt better. So that’s a good sign. So we’ll see how sore he is tomorrow and try to get him another workout and just try to build it up and be smart about it.” Although Rose believes he can play in a preseason game on Friday, Vinny said he doesn’t expect that to happen. It’s uncertain how much Rose would be able to play against the Spurs even if he gets a couple of practices next week. The guard added that it’s the only time in basketball he’s been injured.

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Derrick Rose’s Injury Report

Last year’s reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose may have to miss the Chicago Bulls season opener next Thursday against the Spurs due to a inflamed tendon behind his right ankle. Rose told the press that if it was up to him, he would have been already on the court. Bulls second year coach Vinny Del Negro said he wants Rose to take his time getting back to the court. The coach continued to say “But it’s also an unusual injury and it’s a different injury, and I just want to make sure it’s healed up and we’re doing everything and the doctors tell me and the trainers tell me and then we talk to Derrick.” Vinny has been very cautious with Rose’s injury. He doesn’t want to bring the big man back to the hardwood and jeopardize re-injury. Rose has been anxiously waiting his fate to hit the floor again. He stated that “It’s been kind of crazy. I’m kinda mad, but when you’re sitting out you see a lot of things like the plays, defensive plays, offensive plays, you see a lot of things not playing, but it’s killing me not to be out there.”

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Magic 101, Bulls 98

Although Chicago forward Tyrus Thomas had 22 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Minnesota on Friday, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro did not start the big man in yesterday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic. In 25 minutes against the Magic, Thomas was able to finish with 10 points and three rebounds. Ryan Anderson’s 3-pointer in the final minute and Dwight Howard’s 18 points gave the Magic a 101-98 victory over the Bulls. Trailing 92-91, Anderson gave the Magic (6-0) the lead with a 3-pointer with only 40 seconds left of the game. After Brad Miller missed a jumper for the Bulls, Howard went to the charity stripe and swooshed two free throws to extend the lead 96-92 with 21.2 seconds remaining. Kirk Hinrich hit a jumper with 18.4 seconds left of the game to bring the Bulls within two. The back-and-forth scoring continued when Orlando’s Jameer Nelson buried both of his free throws. Then Hinrich nailed a 3 over Howard to make it 98-97 with 8.5 second left of the game. Vince Carter secured the win for the Magic after he registered two free throws with 7.2 seconds left on the clock. After the game, Howard told the press “It’s just preseason. We can’t be ‘We went undefeated in preseason.’ Your record in the preseason play is meaningless.”

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Guard Derrick Rose Might Return For The Preseason Finale

Point guard Derrick Rose, who had been out of the lineup since he injured his right ankle on October 2, is getting close to returning but continued to sit Sunday as the Bulls participated in an open practice for season-ticket holders at the United Center. The guard stated that “I thought I was going to go, but I’m still waiting. I ran. It’s getting better every day. I’m happy I’m seeing some progress. Hopefully, I’ll be playing in a couple days.” Since Rose did not practice with the squad on Sunday, he will most likely not play tonight, when the Bulls host the Orlando Magic. The Bulls would like Rose to practice in a few games before playing in a game. Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said, ”We have shootaround [this morning], he worked out a bit [Sunday]. Most likely he’s out [tonight]. It’s the ol’ day-to-day thing.” If Rose can return to practice Tuesday, He’ll have three days of practice before Chicago takes on the Washington Wizards at the United Center in the preseason finale on Friday. Vinny told the press he wore a wireless microphone during practice so fans couldn’t hear him bark out instructions.

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