Game Notes For Wednesday vs. Warriors
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After two straight losses, the Bulls try to get back on track on Wednesday when the Golden State Warriors visit the United Center. At Tuesday's practice, the team talked about yet another chance to turn things around and start a new streak.
The Bulls let one get away to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at the Palace in Auburn Hills, losing 95-93. It was a bittersweet homecoming for Ben Wallace, who was hoping to silence the Piston crowd with a Bulls win.
The NBA's trade deadline is Thursday afternoon and all eyes remain on Chicago to see if the Bulls will pull the trigger on any deal - big or small. It was the obvious topic of conversation at practice on Wednesday, where the prevailing opinion appears to be that nothing much is going to happen.
You hear a lot of talk about a trade for Pau Gasol and others around the league. I would like to see a trade, but I wouldn't want to give up who the other teams want us to give up. We've got a nice core of young kids here. You've got Nocioni, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich. They would be, at this stage, untouchable, because they're the future of this team...good young players, core players.
The Bulls need somebody. There was talk of Kevin Garnett, but you'd have to give up the same guys. It doesn't look like anything's gonna be done before the trade deadline. It it is, it'll be something like a band-aid type of move.
Over the years, I've seen Wilt Chamberlain traded, Shaq traded, seen a lot of good ball players move around that you think are untouchable. You gotta have something in return. You can't drain the franchise. They can't give up, for one player, two or three players that are gonna be around for 8, 9 or 10 years.
Getting scoring from the low post...that would be the biggest area where the Bulls could improve and that would open things up on the outside a little bit more.
But in general, they're improving nicely on defense as the season is moving along.
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It's the familiarity of being home that makes the difference. When you're home, the fans are cheering for you. You think when you're playing basketball all the time you're going 100%, but probably on the road, you're only going about 75%, but you think it's maximum.
And at home, something else...the crowd, the band. You walk out during introductions and you start perspiring...by the time you tip off, you're really ready to go.
I think the preparation you have at home for yourself is one of the biggest factors in explaining why you play better at home than on the road.
I think Chris Duhon's a big key to the Bulls off the bench, especially with Ben Gordon in the starting lineup.
The Bulls need more scoring off the bench than what Andres Nocioni can provide. They need someone else to complement that. Duhon's starting to get back some of this confidence. I talked to him after the game and he said, "Boy, I needed that !!" It was good for his confidence.
The Bulls have got to take care of business on the road and that means beating teams like Seattle and tonight, Portland is another of those teams. You take your chances against Utah and hopefully beat Sacramento and Golden State before ending the 7-game trip in Phoenix a week from tomorrow.
I've got a special place in my basketball heart for the city of Seattle. I can remember flying in here for the Final Four back in 1952. That was the year Illinois was playing in it along with St. John's, Kansas and Santa Clara...many, many years ago. It was an awful lot of fun and I've got a lot of great memories here.