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The Bulls let one get away on Saturday in their battle to improve their playoff position. The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the United Center and escaped with an overtime victory,
After a slow start, first-round draft pick Tyrus Thomas has been coming on strong. He talked with Wayne Larrivee on Saturday about playing time and life in the NBA.
If the Bulls aren't the best defensive team in the East, they are in the team picture. Cleveland has comparable numbers in terms of PPG allowed, but when you look at all the categories...oppt FG percent, steals, blocks, etc., the Bulls are the best defensive team in the East right now.
And that has translated into a great record against their Eastern Conference opponents. And yet, no one is talking about the Bulls as a team that is going to threaten either the Pistons or the Heat (if Wade comes back)as one of the favorites to reach and/or win the Eastern Conference Finals.
Well, why not the Bulls?? They have a great record in the conference; 11-3 in the Central division - no one is better than that. They play tremendously well at home, especially against Eastern Conference competition.
If you look at potential play-off match-ups...against New Jersey the Bulls have blown big leads and lost, but NJ is a flawed team. Toronto does not have much play-off experience and Washington is intriguing, but doesn't play much defense.
I think defense wins at this time of year and that's why the Bulls have to be considered a strong team in the East.
I see in 4 of the last 5 wins by the Bulls, they have won by 1 or 2 points. They beat Philadelphia by 1, Denver by 1, Detroit by 2 and Indiana by 2 points.
The Bulls are starting to win close games now. Earlier in the year, they'd be in close games but weren't able to close them out.
I guess the end result is not how you play, but how you finish and they've been able to do that. It's gonna be very important for them if they're going to climb a notch or two to pass Cleveland.
I like the way the Bulls are playing right now and they're winning the games they should win...and more importantly, the games they NEED to win !!
* The Bulls have won two of their three meetings with the Pacers this season.
* Chicago has a 9-3 record against divisional foes this season(.750), tied for the best record by any Eastern Conference team against their division (Raptors, 9-3 vs. Atlantic).
* The Bulls’ last-second 109-108 win over Denver Thursday made them 2-5 this season in games decided by a single point.
* Kirk Hinrich is shooting 48.9% (69-for-141) from behind the arc in road games this season, versus just 31.4% (43-for-137) in home games.
I think the other coaches find it surprising when we get a lot of points in the paint, unless we get lay-ups. All of a sudden, you got Ben Wallace getting 19 points down there and Tyrus Thomas getting 23. It makes the other coaches say, "Hey, we can't just spend all our time definding guys out of the wing. We gotta get back in and help patrol that painted area."
I think Coach Skiles is reluctant to start Tyrus Thomas because of what he provides off the bench. It's not just a matter of the production, the 23 points and 9 rebounds - he could get that as a starter or as a guy off the bench. But, off the bench, what he brings is a lot of energy. When he comes on the floor, there seems to be a spark there. That's what you're looking for off your bench. You need somebody who provides a spark as well as production. Tyrus, of late, has provided both.
That tremendous dunk he had against New Orleans on March 2nd, really opened everybody's eyes around the country; they were showing it everywhere.
Tyrus is a player who is still learning the ropes. Look at the numbers, good points, good rebounds of late; turnovers are high at times, which leads me to believe he's still learning his way out there.
The Bulls have 17 games remaining in the regular season and are hoping to jell at the right time. A repeat of last year's blazing finish would be a welcome sight. The push is on to improve their playoff seeding, a subject that was addressed at Monday's practice by Scott Skiles and Kirk Hinrich.
The Bulls bounced back with key wins against the Hornets and at Milwaukee on Sunday. Now they hit the road for a tough, Florida back-to-back trip at Miami and Orlando. Scott Skiles and Luol Deng talked about the need to keep the win streak going.
Fresh off an invigorating win in Milwaukee on Sunday, Ben Gordon and Chris Duhon took time after practice to look at the standings in the Eastern Division, as well as focus on this week's trip to Florida to face the Heat.
We always hear about the West Coast road trips in November and late January/early February, but not much has been made of road trips out east. The Bulls play six of their next seven games on the road, starting today in Milwaukee with a chance to make a run up the Eastern Conference standings. After today's game, they go to Miami (without Dwyane Wade), Orlando (fading, but still capable as they beat the Bulls last week in Chicago), Boston (they've been awful), then Boston at home followed Philadelphia and Memphis (two teams that the Bulls should be able to take care of business with.)
I know Milwaukee is playing better recently, but the Bulls see themselves as a team moving up in the Eastern Conference play-off race and in order to do that, you must win a road game over a team like Milwaukee or Orlando or Boston and Philadelphia and Memphis, if you are going to get up and get a home court advantage for a first round play-off series.
Former Bulls forward Tyson Chandler made his first appearance at the United Center tonight since being traded to the Hornets in the off-season. Tyson told Dan Roan he's looking forward to the game and wanted to make it clear that he has nothing but good memories of his time in Chicago.
Look at Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry and the numbers they are posting this year and they say, "Shouldn't the Bulls have kept those guys one more year?"
I'm a big believer that most players....Michael Jordan could have played in any system...but most players have to find the right coach, the right system, the right situation for themselves. And often, it's not in their first stop in the league.
There was a lot of pressure on Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in Chicago, both coming out of high school. They matured a little later than most players, but they have found a situation in their 2nd place of employment where they are able to excel at what they do.
Would they be posting their current numbers with the Bulls? Maybe not. In a lot of cases a player has to move from one situation to another to find themselves, to find their game and their place in the game. And look no further than the Detroit Pistons - Chauncey Billups bounced around, Richard Hamilton has been with a couple of teams, and so on down the line.
Thabo Sefolosha and Tyrus Thomas had a nice game last Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors. You'd like to think it's a breakout. They've been getting limited minutes - both of them - and both creating a lot of mistakes during the games. That game against Golden State, they got a lot of time and they didn't make those mistakes. Thabo was stealing the ball and Tyrus was grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. They looked like they've stepped up toward a veteran capacity. And that's what Scott Skiles wants from these guys.
With Andres Nocioni out, it creates room up front for Tyrus Thomas to get some playing time.
In the backcourt, Chris Duhon has played well along with Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon and it's tough to get Sefolosha some minutes. But when the Bulls are up big, it's nice to give those three a break because it's a long season.