Gibson a top 5 rookie
In the 2009 draft the Bulls had two picks. They grabbed Wake Forrest’s James Johnson with the 16th pick and then selected USC’s Taj Gibson with the 27 overall pick.
I don’t know what has happened to James Johnson but Gibson is becoming a star in Chicago. Gibson was the steal of the draft. The Bulls took the 5th best player in the draft with their second pick.
He is averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds a game. He has started 50 of the 62 games he has played for the Bulls. Gibson is leading all rookies in rebounds and blocks. He also has more double-doubles than any other player in his draft class.
Atlanta takes advantage of beat up Bulls
The Atlanta Hawks licked their lips with hunger for an easy kill as they took the court against the wounded Chicago. The predators pounced on their prey for a 24 point victory, 116-92.
The Bulls played without Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. The starting roster included both of the Bull’s rookies, Taj Gibson and James Johnson. Gibson has started and played well in 48 out of 60 games this season while this contest was Johnson first start of his 48 games. Johnson had nine points, two blocks and two rebounds in 24 minutes.
Bulls could use a big man/ Big Z needs a job
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, “Big Z”, is officially a free agent. The Washington Wizards, who picked him up in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers shortly before the deadline, bought out his $11.5 million contract and then released him.
Big Z can not go back to the Cavaliers for 30 days but could be picked up by any team immediately with a prorated share of the veteran’s minimum. He is still valuable and could help teams make the playoffs or into later rounds.
He is a solid veteran big man. The Cavaliers were his team before Lebron James dropped in the team’s lap. Besides having knee problems in his first couple of seasons, his numbers are very consistent. He was only a few rebounds away from averaging a double-double for a season multiple times in his 10 years on the team. A couple years ago, he was the only respectable center in the eastern conference.
Bulls beat Pacers, Need the momentum
The Chicago Bulls earned a very important victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Luol Deng scored 31 points and 9 rebounds. Taj Gibson had another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The win against a bottom of the league team isn’t the real important part, it’s the momentum. The Bulls have a tough schedule ahead of them. If they do not show up with their A game, playoff hopes may dwindle.
Nine out of their next ten games are against playoff teams or on the bubble teams. The only exception is another contest against the lowly Pacers. The Bulls could show they can beat good teams or they could fall down the Eastern Conference ladder during their next ten games which include, two games against Dallas and Memphis and games against Cleveland, Atlanta, Orlando, Portland, Miami and Utah.
The Bulls are currently in 6th place. Milwaukee and Miami are only a game and a half behind while the Charlotte Bobcats are outside looking in behind two and a half games.
With their win against Indiana , the Bulls are 5-1 in their last six games. They will need the momentum to get through this rough part of their schedule. Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Deng continue to play well. Gibson is looking like a great draft steal for the Bulls. He will need to step up because it looks like Joakim Noah will be hammpered with his foot injury for the rest of the season. The Bulls have a strong nucleaus to to be a top team in the NBA. They now need to prove they can hang with the big boys.
Bulls go into Washington looking for 5th straight win
The Bulls have been doing big things lately. They traded large contracts and an angry player away for expiring contracts, a solid role player in Hakim Warrick and all four pick ups are good locker room guys.
The Bulls had won two straight before the trades and have done the same after. The four wins were against bad teams: Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and back to back games with the New York Knicks. The Bulls have to win these games to prove they are playoff worthy. Once they get the playoff spot locked up, they must prove they will be a hard out for any of the elite teams.
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