Bulls On FIRE

The Bulls continued their winning ways with road victories at Oklahoma City and an overtime win against the Hornets last night. This put the Bulls at 23-22 and a 5-2 mark to complete their road trip. What I got from this trip are two things: the Bulls are confident and the players are starting to know their roles. At the beginning of the season Rose was passive and Salmons tried to be Ben Gordon. Things have changed. Rose (congratulations on the first Bulls all star since Jordan) is the leader and go to guy. Salmons has become a quality scorer of the bench. Luol lets the offense come to him which in some games provides the much needed scoring such as against the Hornets. FInally, Gibson, Hinrich, and Miller are playing competitive every night and Joakim Noah is a beast. That being said, why get desperate and make any trades that are not clear upgrades. The Bulls are competing for a 5th or 6th seed. A playoff visit with a chance to go to the second round would not be a waste of a year. In addition, the free agent bonanza will not be without most of the stars (only 1 or 2 will be traded for this year). So, in a year when the Bulls really don't have a chance to win it all, I am in favor of seeing what this current team can accomplish. I understand that in order to get a big time name trading Salmons and Hinrich may be inevitable (for purposes of expiring contracts), but I warn against mediocre trades such as trading them to Portland in a package for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. More teams with injured big man are interested in Miller, but his $12 million expiring contract is crucial to the Bull's plans to increase cap-space this off-season. To me, unless a great offer came for Bosh or Amare, the Bulls should not settle for run of the mill Portland bench players. I think their recent play has shown that. With 22 days before the deadline, lets be patient.

Sweep Season With Spurs, Trade for Devin Brown

The Bulls traded Aaron Gray for Devin Brown, giving the Bulls a little more flexibility on the perimeter. With only two perimeter shooters (Salmons and Hinrich), Brown could be useful for some much-needed guard play off the bench. He can hit the three and play anywhere from 0 to 25 minutes a game. Moreover, you don't lose much (polite term) with Gray.

The Bulls continued their impressive road trip with a victory in San Antonio. Rose played hero again, Noah had a key put back, and Deng blocked Ginobli on a would-be tying drive to seal the victory.

This got me thinking about Vinny Del Negro. With all the trade rumors, Del Negro has quietly lead this team to an 11-5 mark in their last 16 games. Is Vinny growing up? I am starting to have more confidence in him. Both with regards to trades and coaching, I believe the Bulls do not need to reshape their team for next year; they simply need to add pieces to the equation. Trading Hinrich for cap room, firing Del Negro, and signing two premier free agents may work, but something feels unnatural about it. Do we want to be the Yankees of basketball? I think with one free agent, this current team could be a contender.

Thoughts?

Miller Rox

Joakim Noah out with a foot injury, no problem. Brad Miller steps up to help lead the Bulls to another big road victory in Houston. Miller scored 25 points and grabbed a game-clinching one-handed rebound off a missed Carl Landry free throw. The Bulls are now 2-2 on this road trip with 2 surprise victories and 2 semi-surprising losses. With four games remaining on the trip, the Bulls hope to turn this road trip into a momentum shifter before the All Star Break.

Rose again hit a runner to seal the victory. He is legitimately an all star.

Poll:

Should Rose be an all star reserve?

Young Team Means Patience for Impatient Fans

The Bulls followed up two disappointing road losses to the D-league Warriors and Clippers with a 115-104 victory over Phoenix.
This leaves many fans scratching their heads. The Bulls have beaten the Spurs, Cavs, Magic, Hawks, Celtics, and now the Suns. Yet, often games against teams like the Warriors (who had an 8 man roster including 2 no-name D-leaguers) seem like an epic struggle. The only answer I can offer is that this is a young team and you have to remind yourself Rose is only in his second year. Either way, you have to like the way Rose is visibly taking over games and Noah's edge on the glass. This young team has inifinite potential. Lets see what happens the rest of this road trip.

(19-22)

Rose Plays Hero

The Bulls won their fourth consecutive game with a thrilling 121-119 double overtime win over the Washington Wizards. The real story was Derrick Rose's 37 points and game winning runner in the second extra period (this coming after his would be game winner rattled in and out in the closing moments of regulation). Two key points from this game:

1. The Bulls now have more flexibility going forward with regards to trades/free agent signings. The argument has been for a while whether the team should go after a scoring big man, or a dominant scorer such as Wade. The Bulls have needed a scoring big man since they traded Elton Brand to the Clippers for Tyson Chandler. Yet, the sexy appeal of players like Wade, Lebron, and Joe Johnson have stirred other conversations. To me, Rose's recent emergence as a leader and prime time scorer from the guard position makes it easier to realize the need for scoring in the post. Imagine this lineup:

PG- Rose
SG- Salmons
SF- Deng
PF- Bosh
C- Noah

This lineup would have great balance. Moreover, Bosh wouldn't take over the team, he would serve a role like everyone else. If the Bulls get a player like Wade, he would take over the team for better or for worse. What would Rose do in the fourth quarter with Wade doing virtually everything? Yeah, Wade has a ring, but without Shaq his teams tend to stand around in a complacent manner and watch Wade. To me, Bosh fits into the puzzle but does not take it over.

2. Where is the Bulls defense? Letting Randy Foye torch you isn't exactly the defense the Bulls have been bragging about since the beginning of the season. The lack-luster effort may get lost in the victory, but that kind of effort won't work on this upcoming Western Conference road trip.

End with a poll: Wade or Bosh?

Bulls drub Pistons, Beat Celtics on Road

The Bulls stand at 17-20 after an impressive walloping of the Detroit Pistons 120-87. They followed up that effort with a 96-83 victory on the road in Boston in what may have been their most impressive victory of the season. Both wins were team efforts but Luol Deng stood out with 25 points against Detroit and 27 points on 8 of 13 shooting against Boston. This leads to some conversation amidst a period when Vinny Del Negro's job was questioned and numerous trade rumors regarding the likes of Chris Bosh of Toronto and Butler and Jamison of Washington. Despite all these rumors, the Bulls are playing well having won 7 of 10. They are finally healthy and not dealing with press releases calling for the imminent firing of their head coach. With the Wizards, Warriors, and Clippers serving as the next three games on their schedule, the Bulls have an opportunity to be back at .500 before the All Star Break. Continuing their recent effort, with Rose, Noah, and even Deng playing for a potential all star selection, and others like Hinrich, Thomas, and Miller playing to prove their worth before the trade deadline may propel the Bulls who stand at the 8th seed but are only 2 games back of the fifth seeded Heat. Yet, the Bulls are still 19th in the NBA in terms of record, so lets not get too carried away, we'll discuss soon.

Back For More

After about a 5-6 month hiatus I am back in full swing with my sports blog. A few notes:

1. I had an internship this past summer that took a lot of energy out of me. This caused me to become lazy and explains why my last post is the Cubs being in first place... lets just say that given how the season ended there was no need for any further posts

2. I'm done reporting for the Cubs and Bears, quick recap: Cubs don't make playoffs, trade Bradley for Silva, sign Marlon Byrd to a 3 year $15 million deal to play center field, Cutler throws 27 pics, bears go 7-9, Lovie Smith is retained.

3. I never wrote about the Black Hawks or White Sox, but hey the Black Haws are pretty good!

4. This will now be exclusively a Chicago Bulls blog- that is where my heart is, this focus will allow me to stay devoted

Bulls Season so far:

- Start hot with victories over San Antontio and Cleveland: hey, maybe the Rose/Deng/Salmons trio will work

- Tyrus Thomas injured

- Noah emerges as a double doubly guy with multiple ferocious rebounding games

- Kirk Hinrich injured- thumb

- Bulls blown out multiple games in a row, starting to look ugly with a thinned out bench, Salmons struggling immensely and Rose still not 100% from preseason ankle problems

- Hinrich back, Gibson playing well, but Bulls can't buy a break, Salmons benched

- Vinny Del Negro's jobs questioned, Chris Broussard of ESPN reports eventual firing

- Rose starts playing like an all star, Salmons starts hitting, Thomas comes back to give lift, 4 game win steak to go from 10-17 to 14-17 and maybe save their coaches job

- Thomas seems like he's not trying, 3 game losing streak (14-20)

- T-Wolves come to town (15-20)

Bosh rumors: Bosh has said that the Bulls are his top choice in this upcoming free agent explosion off-season. The Raptors would rather trade him to get something for him, the Bulls may be willing to make a trade in order to compete this year thinking he will re-sign. The Heat and Knicks are also interested to try to improve their Lebron/Wade sweepstakes, and the Rockets also have some interest and probably the best young talent to attract Toronto.

Bulls rumors: Noah and Miller + draft pick, or Hinrich and Thomas + draft pick

Noah: So valuable, playing like an all star and perfect complement to a scoring big man

Miller: Contract that would be nice to get rid of, but veteran

Hinrich: Valuable shooter and bench player; however, how much longer can a run of the mill three point shooter be valued so highly

Thomas: Sparks of greatness with rebounding and athletic shot-blocking, but often seems apathetic

My thoughts: Noah is a piece the Bulls simply can't lose. If we trade him and Miller this is our lineup:

PG- Rose

SG- Hinrich

Sf- Deng

PF- Gibson

C- Bosh

Bench: Salmons & Thomas

If we trade Thomas and Hinrich:

PG- Rose

SG- Salmons

SF- Deng

PF- Bosh

C- Noah

Bench: Miller, Gibson

To me the second option is much better. What we lose from Tyrus doesn't hurt so bad given Gibson's great rookie start and James Johnson's potential. With Salmons starting to shoot better, losing Hinrich means less. A team led by Rose and Bosh, with Salmons and Deng as two scoring options, defense and rebounding from Gibson and Noah, along with veteran play from Miller would be pretty formidable. What do you think?

Final thought: Let Vinny finish the season. Vinny came in with momentum and although this season has been frustrating how can you blame the coach for: Thomas' injury, Hinrich's injury, Salmons brick parade, losing Ben Gordon, and Rose's slow start. In a weak East with no real chance of competing with CLE/BOS/ORL/ATL, lets see how the Bulls finish with or without Bosh. Their playing for next year, but if we can get Bosh now we can do some damage now and start gelling for a championship push in the next few years.