The early stages of Chicago’s Game 5 on Tuesday night had all the makings of what Game 3 was for the Bulls. They jumped out to an early lead and looked to be running away with it, but the persistent Hawks would stay in it until the late-going in this one, with the Bulls eventually grabbing the 95-83 win.

The Bulls started off hot, leading by 11 points after the first quarter. Rather than Derrick Rose taking the early shots, which he did, it was Luol Deng who had the hot hand, scoring the first seven points for the Bulls in this one. As the Bulls pulled away early, Keith Bogans scored eight consecutive points to help the Bulls jump out to their early lead.

But the Hawks would not be denied. Aided by another sound performance from the youngster Jeff Teague, as well as some solid play early from Josh Smith, the Hawks crept back into this one in the second and early third quarters. Towards the end of the third, they would eventually hold their first lead over the Bulls.

It wasn’t as if the Bulls were playing poorly, either. The Bulls shot almost 49 percent from the field and were sound defensively, but the Hawks were also solid in their shooting, finishing with about a 48 percent. Even with the Atlanta rally, though, the Bulls held a one-point lead after three.

After blowing a double digit lead that they held early, many were certainly weary of the Bulls heading into the game’s final frame. Searching for energy, the Bulls got it from the usual source, as well as one that was a bit more unexpected for some.

The Bulls outscored the Hawks 26-15 for the quarter, with Rose accounting for 11 of those points. Coming up with another 11 of them was Taj Gibson, who did  not score in the previous three quarters. He provided a nice spark off the bench, which was absolutely necessary on a night in which Joakim Noah and Kyle Korver combined for zero points.

Atlanta didn’t do themselves any favors on Tuesday either. Despite a solid night from Josh Smith, and another sound performance from Teague, the  Hawks’ major scoring threats, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, fell silent once again. The two combined for 17 points, and 15 of those came courtesy of Johnson.

Even though it wasn’t the prettiest win for the Bulls, this shouldn’t come as anything new to fans. This isn’t a team that’s going to blow many teams out, even if they were able to decimate Atlanta in the regular season. Expect another gritty performance when the Bulls try and close out the series in Atlanta on Thursday night.

Flickr Photo via Keith Allison

The Chicago Bulls were flat out awful on Monday night. They were sluggish and couldn’t hit the shots they needed as they fell 103-95 to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1.

Derrick Rose struggled early, but did play better later on. However, he sprained his ankle and his status for Game 2 isn’t completely certain. Carlos Boozer continued his audition for the next film version of The Invisible Man. And Joakim Noah went back to his early postseason form after a few great games against the Indiana Pacers.

But there was actually one Bull who did impress on Monday, despite the disappointment the Bulls carried with them after the loss: Luol Deng.

Deng, for the most part, has been the Bulls’ real secondary scoring option this season behind Derrick Rose. He averaged a touch over 17 points and just under six boards per for the top-seeded Bulls.

This postseason he hasn’t been as electric, but he’s still been solid nonetheless. If anything, Monday’s game showed that he needs to play a bigger part in the offense than he has been thus far in the playoffs.

Against Atlanta in Game 1, Deng shot 8-of-12 from the field. He found the looks and had the hot hand, finishing with 21 points in the loss.

Yet, Deng didn’t get the ball nearly as much as he should have. Taking just 12 shots on the night when he’s one of the only guys actually making shots is really inexcusable, and for that the finger points at Derrick Rose.

He may be the Bulls’ best scoring option, but Rose should not be taking 27 shots, especially when he was struggling the way he did on Monday. He made just two of his 10 first half shots, which should have been an early indication that he should have been sharing the wealth in the latter parts of the game.

If Deng gets the ball more in Game 2 on Wednesday, the positives should stretch beyond just his scoring touch.

Joe Johnson killed the Bulls on Monday. He shot 12-18 and dropped 34 points on the night, including a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc. Much of that goes back to the lack of touches for Deng, who found himself in a matchup with Johnson for a good portion of the night. More offensive production from Deng means more work for Johnson which could mean less trouble for the Bulls on defense.

With Derrick Rose not likely going to be at 100-percent heading into Wednesday, it’s important for him to get Deng the ball early and often. As long as he does that, things should be much easier for a Bulls team that only lost by eight, despite how poorly they actually played.

Flickr Photo via Keith Allison

While C.J. Watson is busy spitting unofficial news of Derrick Rose winning the MVP award, one of the NBA’s awards for the 2010-11 season was officially announced on Sunday afternoon.

It was announced that Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year for the National Basketball Association.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, though there were certainly other candidates worthy of the honor. That list included George Karl, who took a Carmelo-less Nuggets team to a top five seed in the Western Conference.

Nonetheless, it’s certainly incredible what Thibs has managed to do with this Bulls squad in just one season. After missing out on big name free agents like LeBron James and Chicago-native Dwayne Wade, the Bulls had to settle for the likes of Carlos Boozer and several role players to fill the void in their overhauled roster.

What they got out of it was the NBA’s best, and deepest, squad this season, finishing the season with a 62-20 mark and going undefeated against the powerhouse Miami Heat during the regular season.

After the Bulls parted ways with Vinny Del Negro, they joined the list of teams in search of Thibodeau’s services as head coach. Having been an assistant coach for several years in the league, Thibs was considered the best man for many coaching jobs, but he may not have been a more perfect fit for anyone but the Bulls.

He came to a young, defensive squad, with a defensive, never-satisfied mentality. And it has paid off for a Bulls team that hasn’t had a truly successful season since Michael Jordan left in 1998. One of the league’s best teams defensively last season, Thibodeau took them to a whole other level and even 62 wins and a first round victory later, the team isn’t satisfied.

Perhaps no one has been affected by the presence of Thibodeau more than the MVP candidate Derrick Rose. Already an impressive future ahead of him coming into the season, Rose elevated his game to outstanding heights in just one season, leading a team that was without Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah for a good chunk of the season and staying out in front of the MVP race in the process.

But it’s that never-satisfied mentality that Thibs brings that has made this team so successful this season. All through the regular season, and after ousting the Indiana Pacers in five games in the first round, we hear how there is still work to be done and that the team hasn’t actually achieved anything yet.

In the City of Broad Shoulders, that’s music to our ears.

Chicago Tribune Photo (Chris Sweda)

It took up until Game 5, but the Bulls finally got the complete game that had been expected of them as the NBA’s No. 1 overall seed in this year’s postseason. They got off to a better start than they had in either of the prior four tilts, limiting turnovers and the playing time of Carlos Boozer in Tuesday’s 116-89 win, which eliminated Indiana from the playoffs.

Chicago started off hot on Tuesday, stretching their early lead to double digits, leading 36-25 after the opening frame. Despite concerns about his ankle injury sustained in Game 4, Derrick Rose started out hot and played the whole first quarter, hitting on five of his eight shots in the first.

Rose would go on to play just over 20 minutes in the first half, dropping 13 points. His minutes and points trailed only Luol Deng, whose 15 points led the team in the first half. The Pacers were able to narrow the gap a bit, to just nine points, by the end of the first half, but that wouldn’t matter for too long.

After a run by Indiana in the third quarter that pulled them to within just a few points, the Bulls went on a 23-8 run in the third quarter that would prove to be the real difference, as Indy was never able to recover from it. Rose finished the quarter with 12 points, and was backed from a surprising nine from Keith Bogans for the frame.

The fourth quarter was all about managing to keep the lead for the rest of the game, with Deng and Joakim Noah serving as the only starters to see more than 90 seconds on the floor in the fourth. The 24 points from the Bulls bench in the fourth matched Indy’s total for the quarter, and would help in propelling the Bulls to the Game 5 victory.

The biggest differences in Game 5 from the struggles in the previous games against Indy were the turnovers, as well as success hitting the three-ball. After turning the ball over 20-plus times in multiple contests in this series, the Bulls turned the ball over just 14 times on Tuesday night. Much of that goes back to the limited minutes of Boozer, who sat due to struggles and a foot injury. This opened the door for big minutes from Taj Gibson, who scored 10 points, in addition to his seven boards.

Chicago would also launch over 30 three-pointers in this one, shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc. Bogans led the way for the Bulls, dropping 15 points, all via the long ball. Rose and Deng also combined for six additional shots made from deep in the effort.

For the Bulls, it’s not time to sit and wait, while they wait and see who their second round opponent could be. More importantly, it’s the short layoff will give Rose ample time to heal that ankle. Though it appeared just fine and didn’t seem to effect his speed too much, you can never be sure with a nagging injury like an ankle sprain, meaning the time off will be good for the MVP candidate.

Chicago Tribune Photo (Chris Sweda)

In some ways, a No. 8 seed can be the hardest one to beat come playoff time. Just look at the Chicago Blackhawks on the NHL side of Chicago and what they’re doing to the Vancouver Canucks in these past couple games.

But while the Chicago Bulls aren’t having a level of trouble like that with these Indiana Pacers, it’s clear that Indy isn’t going to go away in this series until Chicago’s win total reaches four. They proved it again in another tight one on Thursday night.

Thursday’s tilt had a little different flavor, though, as the Pacers were finally able to put the breaks on Derrick Rose. Sort of.

The MVP candidate ‘only’ mustered up 23 points for the Bulls, who ended up winning 88-84 to take a 3-0 series lead, but he earned every single one of them.

Rose took a beating from an already physical Pacers team, who was in his face all night with trap defense and double teams, meaning that the Thursday would be all about the defense for the Bulls, since their offensive contributions were few and far between.

Aside from Rose, the only player to show up on the offensive side of things was Luol Deng, who came out of the gate firing. While the former Duke forward did fizzle a bit as the game went on scoring-wise, he did lead the team in minutes, with 45, while dropping 21 for the game. His best stuff came in the first half, with 14 points, seven in each quarter.

The Bulls still had to overcome their obstacles in this one, aside from the stingy defense against Rose, which included the turnovers that have plagued them, as well as the Carlos Boozer that has hurt them early in this series. Boozer reverted back to his Game 1 performance, shooting just 2-10 on the night, finishing with four points and 11 boards.

Even on a night where he didn’t play particularly well, it was Rose that was there to close the door for the Bulls at the end. Rose scored 14 points in the second half, eight of them coming in the fourth quarter, including a clutch layup to run the score up to 86-84 in favor of the Bulls.

The concerns are sure to grow with the Bulls having more troubles with this pesky Pacer squad, but this isn’t a Bulls team that is going to blow anyone out, for the most part. They’re going to be involved of plenty of grind-it-out type of contests. And while there is plenty of room for improvement, the simple fact is that good teams find a way to win the close ones.

The Bulls have done that so far and it’s going to take another defensive effort to put Indy down for good when the two meet for Game 4 in Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

Chicago Tribune Photo

There’s really only one word you could use to describe Derrick Rose‘s performance in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon: unbelievable. Or is that unbelieva-Bull?

Actually, to this point, the greatness of Rose should come as a surprise to virtually no one. He’s done it all season. You know when it comes down to it, he’s going to be the one on this Bulls squad to step up, and step up he did in Chicago’s 104-99 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

By all accounts, the Bulls did not turn in their best performance in their playoff opener. They actually turned in one of their poorest performances of the entire season.

Chicago found themselves outplayed by Indy in the majority of this one, with the Pacers coming out as the more physical team and carrying more energy, mostly due to the presence of Tyler Hansbrough.

For many, it’s the first time really hearing Hansbrough’s name since he was a standout at the University of North Carolina just a couple years ago, but had the Pacers managed the win on Saturday, it would have been Hansbrough that got them there.

Always the scrappy player in college, Hansbrough brought that energy to life, scoring key baskets for Indiana down the stretch, and really taking Carlos Boozer, who played his college ball at Duke, to school throughout Game 1. It was a rough go all day for Boozer, who had one of his worst games since signing with the Bulls last summer. C-Booz managed just 12 points and six boards in the playoff opener.

Boozer wasn’t the only one quiet for the opener, however. Joakim Noah shot just 5-12 from the field, while the typically potent bench unit scored just 12 points, if you take out the 13 that Kyle Korver dropped, including a key three pointer to give the Bulls a 102-99 lead.

However, Noah did make up for his struggle shooting with his dominance on the boards and of Josh McRoberts. Noah snatched 11 boards on the day, while also blocking three shots. Two of those were blocks of McRoberts in the game’s final seconds, coming on back-to-back shots.

But with the bulk of his squad coming out flat to open up the series with Indy, it was Derrick Rose as the glue that kept the team together, and eventually put them over the top.

Rose dropped 39, even after going 0-for-9 from beyond the arc. Of the 39 he scored for the game, 21 came in the second half and 19 came off of free throws. But the most impressive moment for Rose was a sequence early on in the first quarter. After swatting away a Darren Collison layup attempt, Rose made a brilliant spin move at the other end and got the layup to go, cementing yet another play for Rose in Sportscenter’s Top 10.

Danny Granger, who acknowledged the chances of Indiana having success if they could stop Rose, likened the MVP candidate to a “stalker ex-girlfriend”, in that every time they were hoping Rose was done for the day, he kept coming back at them.

As ugly of a win as it may have been, the Bulls now hold the 1-0 edge in the series against the Pacers. Tom Thibodeau and crew are certainly aware of the fact that the Bulls won’t be able to breeze through this series without at least a little resistant from the eight-seeded Pacers.

With the day off on Sunday, expect the Bulls to come out hard after this scare in Game 1, as they host the Pacers in Game 2 of the series at the United Center, on Monday.

Flickr Photo via Keith Allison

Luol Deng had to listen to it during the entire offseason.

A heavy percentage of Bulls fans could be heard collectively trying to convince the Chicago brass to deal Deng, among others, in a possible deal to acquire former Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony. At points during the offseason, Deng looked to be headed to any of Denver, Philadelphia, or any other wealth of cities that a three-way deal could send him to.

From there, Chicago knows how the story went. The Bulls stood pat and Carmelo got his wish, ending up in the Big Apple, with the New York Knicks.

But the Bulls are better off without Anthony, as a simple look at the standings might indicate. Though many were concerned about the lack of scoring from the two guard, their defensive skill has more than compensated for the fact that Keith Bogans is still starting for this team.

The biggest knock on Deng head into the season was his health, or lack of. A seventh overall pick in 2007, Deng seemed to have trouble staying healthy on a regular basis, though from 2005-2007 Deng did play in 160 games for the Bulls.

This season has seen a turnaround in Deng’s health, as he has appeared in all 70 of the Bulls contests in the 2010-11 season, already reaching his total from last season.

And while his numbers may look awfully similar to the figures from the ’09-’10 campaign, Deng has been exponentially more effective for Chicago this year. The only stat that has gone on the decline for Deng has been his boards, and one look at the frontcourt of Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer explain that one rather easily.

On the defensive side, Deng has stood out, just as this whole team has under the watch of new head coach Tom Thibodeau. The former Duke Blue Devil a steal and almost a block per, while still nabbing six rebounds, even with the addition of Boozer down low.

He’s also discovered something of a three point shot. While it was never really absent, Deng has been hoisting up the triples more than ever in his career, leaping from just over one attempt a game last season to over four this year. While his 34 percent from beyond the arc is nothing to write home about, Deng has shown he’s capable of heating up from long range, as we saw on Tuesday in Atlanta.

Even if his individual stats don’t make it clear as to the impact Deng has had on the court for the Bulls this season, one stat certainly does. The Bulls +/- with Deng and Derrick Rose on the court, no matter the combination of the other three, are an, absurd, plus-421 on the season.

In his motivation from being almost labeled a ‘bust’, and the additions to the Bulls’ frontcourt, Luol Deng has taken the leap from expendable role player, to key piece on a squad fighting for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

While he might not have the accolades to say so at the end of the year, Deng is still an important part of a potential title for this Bulls team, and as the Bulls hit the homestretch and the postseason, the nation best take note.

Before Chicago lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 100-99, the Bulls were on the longest winning streak of the season and impressing the basketball world because of the high level of play since the team was back to full strength.

There is only one reason why the Bulls may have a tough time achieving the same type of streak, they’re no longer healthy.

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As most of you know, Joakim Noah had surgery on Thursday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. According to Fred Tedeschi, Bulls athletic trainer. the surgery went well and Noah will be back on the court in 8-to-10 weeks.

The good thing is he’ll be back shortly before or after the NBA All-Star break to help Chicago solidify a top seed heading into the playoffs. Of course the bad part is, the Bulls have to play without their defensive anchor for at least 27 games, if he can come back in eight weeks. If he can’t return for 10 weeks, he’ll miss 33 games.

Optimistically the Bulls do have Carlos Boozer, who has stepped into the second scoring option in great stride averaging 18 points a game while grabbing eight rebounds. Since his return December 2, he has played in 10 games and has showings of 22 points or more in five of those games while finishing in double-digits in eight of his appearances.

Taj Gibson stepping in to fill the gap in center is bitter sweet because he is a reliable player on offense and will get 10 rebounds a game, but defensively he will be over sized against some divisional match ups including the Indiana Pacer’s Roy Hibbert, Cleveland Cavalier Anderson Varejao or Milwaukee Buck Andrew Bogut.

Unfortunately, Gibson might not suite up for Tuesday’s game against the 76ers because of the concussion he sustained on Saturday. Without him, the Bulls front line becomes extremely thin and is a red light to think the Bulls can win right away.

With this said, Boozer is going to have to watch his back at all times and Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and James Johnson have to be efficient help defenders.

Omer Asik isn’t ready to start, but his game is developing enough to come off the bench and be a factor more than he has been. During the season he is averaging three points, three rebounds and a block a game while only playing 11 minutes. Noah is gone, so the seven footer has to step up and show the Bulls they were smart when they kept his draft rights for two years before he played an NBA game.

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While the Bulls are struggling to stay healthy and have to re-write the rotation, the 76ers have won four of their last five games including a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic Saturday.

Chicago has proved countless times it can rise above the odds while Philadelphia has proven they should never be trusted for a win. We’ll find out Tuesday, which prophecy will come true.

Figuring out which team will win a basketball game is tough, but so are other sports.

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The Bulls hung in the game against the Lakers and at times looked as if they could pull out a win as Rose continually drove to the hoop and Noah set up shop in the low post. Rose’s acrobatic layups looked highlight reel material even if they didn’t go in.

But in the end, the game came down to the Laker’s bench hitting daggers while the Bulls bench threw sporks.

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Shannon Brown was a hitman in the first half scoring 18 points off of 4-of-5 shooting from the three-point line. He finished the game tied with Lamar Odom for the top scoring Laker with 21 points.

Matt Barnes added 10 points and Steve Blake had six points, with both of them hitting three-point baskets in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a 12 point lead, which was their biggest lead of the game.

While Brown, Barnes and Blake where helping the Lakers, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson and Omer Asik did nothing offensively for the Bulls. Brewer led the bench with six points.

In the three shooting guard system coach Tom Thibodeau is attempting to run with the Bulls, Brewer, Korver and starter Keith Bogans collectively went 3-of-15 from the field scoring six, two and three points. This could have been another reason why the Bulls didn’t win, they’re weak at the two guard, but it’s been this way since the season started.

Besides the Lakers bench destroying the Bulls, Chicago helped the Lakers jump out to an early lead by turning the ball over 10 times by mid-second quarter. The Lakers are a great transition team, especially if they get the ball gift wrapped as the Bulls were doing. Although, they finished with 13, only one more than the Lakers, the early errors allowed L.A. to jump ahead and force Chicago to play catch up the entire game.

As mentioned above, Rose, Noah, Gibson and Luol Deng, not mentioned above had solid games. Rose scored 30 points for the third time in four games and had eight assists. Noah and Gibson had double-double with 19 points-13 rebound and 16 points-13 rebounds. Gibson was listed as day-to-day with a foot issue, but no one could tell during Tuesday’s game. Deng had 13 points, with 12 of them in the first half, which was a spark the Bulls needed against Brown’s constant offense.

Pau Gasol had a bad game for the Lakers with 12 points off 3-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe; he also had 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant had 20 points and five assists.

This win is the seventh consecutive game the Lakers have defeated the Bulls dating back to the 2005-06 season.

Chicago is 2-2 during their annual mid-November west coast road trip with three games left to play against the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings, while the Lakers have won five consecutive games.

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D-Rose tore up the Rockets any way he wanted including scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter off drives to the baskets he finished with fancy layups and mid-range jumpers.

Is there any doubt in any ones mind that Derrick Rose is the best point guard in the NBA?

This might be a bold statement, but come on, what else does he have to do to prove it to you…pull a Rajon Rando score ten points and have 15 assists? Why… Rose is fifth in the league in scoring and leading all point guards with 25 points per game while assisting 9.2 times a game for seventh in the league.

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I’m not going to pick on Rando, because I’ve already done that, but could Rando put up the numbers he does as a Boston Celtic with the Chicago Bulls. Instead of having a historical  NBA shooter such as Ray Allen he would have Luol Deng, who is improving but not anywhere near Allen. Instead of a ruthless scoring threat such as Paul Pierce, he would have Keith Bogans, who will never be the top scorer of a Chicago Bulls game.

Chris Paul is dishing 10 assists a game but only putting up 17 points. The Hornets are only 8-1 but it’s more of a team effort with him guiding instead of sparking the effort such as Rose does on a nightly.

Utah Jazz’s Deron Williams is the closest to Rose averaging 22 points and 10 assists a game as Utah having a similar record to the Bulls (6-3) but the Jazz (7-4) started the season dropping their first two games by 22 and 16 points. If the amount of points the Bulls lost the three games by are added together, it equals only 25.

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Rose is putting up better numbers, is the spark for his team to come back from a 21 point deficit to win games and keeps his team competitive. He is the only point guard doing all three of these and playing solid defense on a consistent basis.

I thought this before, but the game against the Rockets confirm my allegation: Rose is the best point guard in the NBA.