Boozer Snaps Out Of Funk As Bulls Cruise Past Timberwolves

After an incredibly disappointing performance against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, you knew the Bulls would find a way to bounce back against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Despite carrying one of the league’s top big men in Kevin Love, he wasn’t enough to come close to helping Minny out in this one, with the Bulls rolling past the Timberwolves, by a 108-81 count.

Even playing without Joakim Noah, who missed Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury, the Bulls easily dispatched of the T’Wolves, buoyed by a couple of double-doubles from their star power players.

While Derrick Rose wasn’t particularly impressive from the field overall (5-14), he did shoot four of nine from beyond the arc and drained all nine of his free throws. The MVP candidate finished with 23 points and 10 dimes.

Most of Rose’s production came in the first quarter, with 13 of his 23 coming in the game’s opening frame. Though he only took eight shots in the remaining three quarters, the Bulls wouldn’t need much more from him against a sorry Minnesota squad.

The biggest positive of the night was the play of Carlos Boozer, who spent most of his time with a combination of Kurt Thomas and Omer Asik alongside him, rather than Noah.

The absence of Noah certainly seemed to help Boozer’s confidence, oddly enough. The veteran was more aggressive down low, snatching 14 boards to go along with the 24 points he scored.

While Noah isn’t expected to be out long, it’s certainly intriguing that Boozer played so well, and so aggressive, in his absence, it has to be a good sign for Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls, who were having trouble fitting Boozer into the offense of late. Even when Noah returns, Thibs is surely hoping for that aggressiveness to stay with Boozer.

The Bulls have another favorable tilt coming their way on Friday, when they visit the rival Detroit Pistons at the Palace.

Are The Chicago Bulls Being Disrespected?

Professional sports bring out the best in fans and analysts: passion, pride, and a Pandora’s box of overused and clichéd words and phrases. Words like adversity and disrespect echo throughout the sporting landscape constantly. However, in the case of the Chicago Bulls, one of those overused phrases might just fit the bill.

Monday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers notwithstanding, the Bulls might just be among the more disrespected teams out there among contenders.

Despite holding the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, boasting the league’s leading MVP candidate in Derrick Rose, as well as a pair of top notch big men, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, the Bulls have failed to garner much attention as a serious title contender.

Analysts have been quick to point out the Lakers and Spurs as their reasoning for counting out the Bulls. Even in the East, noted Miami Heat sympathizer Chris Broussard has said they are still a year away from being a real threat to hoist a championship trophy, saying he’d take both the Heat and Celtics in a seven-game series.

Others have been quick to point out that the Bulls rank in the bottom half of the league in team points per game, just one notch above the Boston Celtics, who are 21st in the league.

In doing so, many have completely discounted the real strength of this team: their defense. The Bulls are second in the league in opposing points per, trailing only, you guessed it, the Celtics. But while the Bulls are giving up about a half a point more per game than Boston, their point differential in each game is also more impressive than Boston, winning by an average of 7.39 points.

The Bulls also dominate on the glass, coming in at No. 2 in the league in rebounds per game, which trails only Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite the fact that they are in the second spot in rebounds, the Bulls are also holding their opponent to the lowest rebound totals in the league, per game.

It’s that defense that makes the Bulls a completely legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, and quite possibly, the NBA.

The formula for beating the Miami Heat is a relatively simple one. Solid point guard play and winning the battles down low. Considering the Bulls boast, arguably, the league’s best point guard in Derrick Rose, that first part is a cinch. The second part requires both Noah and Boozer to be strong down low, against the Heat combination of Chris Bosh and Erick Dampier.

With Bosh one of the softest big men in the league, the Bulls have a formidable advantage down low, in addition to the point. The only concern becomes their ability to stop Dwayne Wade and LeBron James in a seven-game series. Given that the Bulls swept the Heat in their trio of meetings this year, I like those odds.

The team that promises to give the Bulls the most grief out of the Eastern Conference is the Boston Celtics. The two sides met a few years ago in an epic first round matchup in the playoffs, with the No. 8 seeded Bulls nearly upsetting the Celtics and their “Big Three”.

But that was a different Bulls team, with an unproven Rose and a still-raw Noah, along with guys like Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich. This team is much deeper than that team from ’08-’09, and promises to give the Celtics a run for their money.

It’s no secret that the Celtics are favored by many to take the East, and rightfully so. They’ve been there before, and they have the depth to keep up with anyone in the league. However, that depth is also aging quickly. Shaquille O’Neal, who Boston is relying heavy on at center, has struggled with his health of late. Who knows if Kevin Garnett could hold up against both Boozer and Noah if he was the main man in the middle in the postseason.

Rajon Rondo has struggled at the point guard spot as well. But we saw these same struggles from the C’s last year, right before they made another appearance in the NBA finals. While the Bulls could handle the Heat in a seven-game series, a series against Boston would be an epic one, and could go either way, depending on the health of Boston.

While Broussard might be right, and the Bulls might be a year away, it’s hard to ignore what the Bulls have done to this point in the season.

With their capabilities on the defensive side of the ball, the Bulls certainly enlist the talent and skill to hang around with anyone in the league. Whether they can win a seven-game series against the likes of Boston remains to be seen. But there’s no question that this team has earned the right to be where they are, and are going to make some serious noise come playoff time.

 

Bulls Rally Falls Short In Disappointing Loss To Philadelphia 76ers

Monday’s tilt with the Philadelphia 76ers had the makings of a repeat performance for the Chicago Bulls. Down early on, quite similar to the way they were against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, the Bulls made a run in the second half, but the Sixers were able to stave them off in Chicago’s 97-85 loss at the United Center.

Philly jumped on the Bulls early, holding a 27-13 lead after the opening frame. Spencer Hawes led the Sixers through the first quarter with his eight points, while Philly’s squad as a whole beat the Bulls on the boards throughout the period.

The second quarter saw the Bulls draw a bit closer, but were still outrebounded by Philly, 11-10. Scoring came from all over for Chicago in the second, with eight of the Bulls’ 10 players notching points in the quarter.

Despite the fact that the Sixers had led by as much as 23 in this one, the Bulls were able to narrow that gap all the way down to four with an impressive third quarter.

Down 16 at half, the Bulls went on a 27-16 run for the quarter, bringing Philly’s edge down to 69-65 after three. While their bigs struggled to make plays throughout, committing too many turnovers and struggling to grab rebounds, Derrick Rose kept the Bulls in it, with 17 points and five assists through three.

But even Rose wasn’t able to save the Bulls in the fourth.

Despite their MVP candidate going for 14 of the Bulls’ 21 fourth quarter points, the fact that Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer combined for just four boards in the fourth would lead to their downfall. Though the Bulls were within six points with just under three minutes to go, the Sixers slowly increased their lead, eventually holding off Chicago for the victory.

This one has already been chalked up as one of the Bulls’ more disappointing losses of the season. It snaps Chicago’s 14-game home win streak, but doesn’t hurt them too badly in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East, with Boston also losing.

With a frustrated locker room up and down the ranks, expect a different Bulls squad when they head north to visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

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Late Surge Leads Bulls To Win Over Milwaukee Bucks

Saturday presented the Bulls with a contest that could have easily been one for the loss column. But then Derrick Rose came out and showed why he is the league’s leading MVP candidate.

The Chicago point guard dropped 30 points on the rival Milwaukee Bucks, to go along with his career high 17 assists. Even with Rose lighting it up, this was a close one throughout, with the Bulls visiting a Bucks team playing very well of late.

With former Bull John Salmons and the Bucks offense matching the Bulls shot for shot, Milwaukee jumped out to a lead for the majority of this one.

Even with the Bucks lead getting stretched into the double digits in the third quarter, the Bulls narrowed the gap to just five before the third was over, thanks to 4-of-4 shooting from Carlos Boozer in the quarter.

As they have so much this season, the Bulls jumped on an opportunity for a strong fourth quarter, outscoring their opponent 26-13 in the quarter, behind 10 from Rose.

With the game tied at 87 with less than two to go, the MVP took control, along with the Bulls’ defense. Milwaukee would not find a basket in those last two minutes, with Derrick Rose dropping three consecutive shots to stretch the lead to 93-87. The final blow came on a fast break assist from Rose, who dished it to Ronnie Brewer for the layup.

The play of Brewer is also another positive to draw from Chicago’s narrow win on Saturday night. Of the Bulls’ offseason acquisitions, Brewer hasn’t exactly been the most effective, but looked strong on Saturday, shooting 5-8 from the field, for 10 points.

The win extends Chicago’s lead in the Eastern Conference race for the No. 1 seed to 2.5 games, with a chance for that lead to be extended to three if, by some miracle, the Minnesota Timberwolves can manage a win against the Celtics on Sunday night.

Chicago will have an off day on Sunday before returning to the United Center to host the surprising Philadelphia 76ers.

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