BullsEye Blog

After a couple months of work, WGN has finally upgraded all of our blogs! Woo hoo!

Thanks for watching WGN and GO BULLS!

Posted by Diane Yamazaki at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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At the start of the year, most people thought the Bulls would be a 40 or 41 win team. By January, it looked like the Bulls might struggle to get 30 !!

But the trade for Brad Miller, John Salmons and Tim Thomas made for a fantastic turn-around in the fortunes of this team. So now they will get to 40 wins and probably more and they're in the play-offs.

The Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season and that's the best you can ask of any team...play your best as you head into the post-season.

Posted by WGN Sports at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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The best thing about the Bulls push to make the play-offs is that they have played their way into the 8th spot, instead of getting where they are because of poor play by the other teams.
The teams chasing the Bulls have a more difficult schedule the rest of the way in terms of who they are playing and their home vs road schedule.

The Bulls still have to go out and win their games, because you never know when a team behind you is going to get hot. There is not much separation between the Bulls and the 2 or 3 teams that are trying to get into the 8th spot.
And who knows, if the Bulls get on a roll and Detroit or Philadelphia slip, they could move up to 7th or 6th.
The Bulls also have to play hard the rest of the way because Charlotte holds the tie-breaker against the Bulls and you don't want to go into the final game of the season needing to win to beat a team out who holds a tie-breaker over you.

Even though the Bulls have a favorable number of home games vs road, the Bulls have to win a couple of these games on the road because they could lose a couple at home and in that case, they will have to make them up on the road.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Celtics got off to one of the best starts in league history this year at 25-2, which included a 19-game winning streak. There was talk that they might eclipse the Bulls' record of 72-10, set in the 4th championship season. To reach that stratosphere, you have to remain injury-free, which the Celtics have not done, with Kevin Garnett out the last 11 games. So now that the record is by the books, Boston can focus on the play-offs and possibly catching Cleveland for the best record in the conference.

This Boston team would like to put themselves into history with some of the great Celtics teams of the past, the Bulls, the Lakers, the Pistons, even the San Antonio Spurs, but to do that they will have to win another title or two. If not, they'll be remembered as a great one-year team but not much beyond that.

Posted by WGN Sports at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When you talk about the best players in the NBA, the talk seems to center around LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, but if you ask me, Dwyane Wade should be in that discussion. He is clearly in the same class as the other two.

Wade can score when needed, he's an assist guy, a team defender and he can play in any system - up-tempo or half-court.

He's already won one title...then Miami traded Shaquille O'Neal and is rebuilding the team around Wade. Dwyane was hurt much of last year while the team suffered thru a bad season and never did Wade complain or say he wanted out when things got bad.

Now Miami is on the way up again and you can see they are putting the pieces around him.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are some road games that just transcend all the others. Our last visit to Washington DC was one of those experiences.
Of course, our visit to the White House was set against the backdrop of just having heard about the untimely death of Norm Van Lier, so we all had that and our sincere wishes for Norm's family on our minds.
But that being said, visiting the White House and meeting President Barack Obama was something none of us will ever forget.

President Obama couldn't have been more delightful and was very personable. He is truly a Chicago sports fan and I could tell he got just as much out of meeting the Bulls as the Bulls players did in meeting him.
When he saw Stacey King, John Paxson and Bill Wennington, President Obama said "Those are the Bulls that I know."

I had a chance to speak briefly with President Obama and I thanked him for making the video tribute to Johnny Kerr. I told the President how much it meant to Johnny and how touched he was that the President did that for him.
Later that night, we heard about Johnny Kerr's passing...so I was glad that I was able to convey Johnny's message to the President earlier in the day.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last Tuesday, was a very special night at the United Center. The Bulls honored their long-time friend, Johnny "Red" Kerr. I was proud to have been a part of it and I thought the Bulls did a great job of putting on a ceremony worthy of Johnny's service to the Bulls. It was an honor well-deserved and long overdue.

Johnny told me it was the highlight of his career. He loves the Bulls and is thrilled there will be a bust of him on display at the United Center.

Of course, seeing President Obama, Commissioner Stern, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and all the rest of his friends, family and fans come out to share the moment with him meant the world to Johnny and his family as well.

The Hall of Fame award was another highlight for him and I hope one day he will receive his proper enshrinement in the Hall as a player...which he certainly deserves.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lately, there has been some talk that Kirk Hinrich may be returning to the Bulls' line-up sooner than originally expected. I spoke with Kirk before the game against the Thunder and Kirk said that his thumb feels fine shooting from 15', but any farther than that it still bothers him some. Kirk is worried about returning too soon and re-injuring it, but Kirk is a tough guy and has worked hard to get his injury rehabbed and that's why there is talk about his early return.

It would be great for the Bulls to get him back, but it also creates that backlog in the backcourt that plagued Vinny Del Negro coming out of training camp. Kirk gives the Bulls another guard to play alongside Derrick Rose and Kirk can also spell Rose and play next to Ben Gordon and Larry Hughes. Kirk is a good defender and he gives Vinny more options in the backcourt.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last game, I talked about opportunities that have presented themselves to the Bulls' bench players because of injuries to starters.
Tonight, I want to talk about Thabo Sefolosha specifically. He had a chance to start at the beginning of the season. Now, with Kirk Hinrich still out and Luol Deng out for awhile, Thabo will get some extra time on the court.
He needs to play with confidence and be mentally ready when these playing opportunities present themselves. He is skilled enough, has good size and is a better offensive player than most people think.

Posted by WGN Sports at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Injuries obviously hurt any team, but the Bulls have had a number of them lately and they are starting to take a toll. Kirk Hinrich has been out since November, Tyrus Thomas has missed a couple of games and Drew Gooden will be out of action for another week or so.
But, if there is a positive in this rash of injuries, it is that it gives Vinny Del Negro a chance to get some guys into the rotation who might not be there if the team were healthy.
The backlog in the backcourt has been eased with Hinrich out and it gives some of the 2nd or 3rd line players a chance to show what they can do.

But on the other side, the injuries to Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden have hampered Vinny Del Negro's frontcourt. The Bulls need size to rebound and defend. The Bulls stole a victory from Utah with a small lineup, but in the long run, you need size to be successful in the NBA.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Derrick Rose is currently 8th in the Eastern Conference All-Star voting and gives the Bulls their best chance to place a player on the All-Star team since the championship years.

There are only 1 or 2 guards in the East who are having the kind of season that Derrick is having and one might be Devin Harris of the Nets and he's not in the top 8.
I have no problem with fans voting for NBA veterans like Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade, but when you look at the list, there are some guys who are not having the impact on their teams that Derrick is having for the Bulls.

So, I'd like to see Bulls fans get out and vote for Derrick Rose and get him some votes and see if Rose can move up in the standings.

Posted by WGN Sports at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One thing I noticed on this West Coast road trip is how the Bulls are starting to understand what they have to do to play with Derrick Rose. Andres Nocioni got it right away, but now the other scorers, Ben Gordon and Larry Hughes are catching on...and Drew Gooden, too. Gooden has been better and is more consistent.

There was never any reluctance or resistance to letting Derrick run the team on the part of the veterans, but like any veteran player, the Bulls wanted to know not only that Derrick Rose knew how to run a team, but that he was truly able to do it.

After this last road trip, they all know Derrick can run the team and have confidence in him.

Posted by WGN Sports at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I think it is vitally important for Derrick Rose to play against the top superstars in the league as he hones his skills in this, his rookie year. Earlier, Derrick saw LeBron James - twice already - and on Tuesday, he got his first look at Kobe Bryant. Rose will have these opportunities all season, especially now that Allen Iverson has been traded to the Bulls' own division.

Rose has a great basketball mind. Derrick studies these players when he is in the game and he watches them from the bench. Watching the top players in the league will make Derrick's learning curve short...well, it was already short because he has such a great basketball mind.

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If a game can be considered important in November, this is one that fits the bill. That's because teams rarely play 5 consecutive games at home and this is the last of such a string for the Bulls. They have split the first 4...getting this game against the Pacers would put the Bulls over .500 on this homestand and would put them at .500 for the season.

Additionally, the veterans on this team have experienced some dreadful early West Coast road trips, so any sort of confidence-builder as they head out west will be very welcome.

Hopefully, the Bulls can get a couple of wins early on the trip and take some pressure off themselves for the rest of the trip.

Posted by WGN Sports at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every game that Derrick Rose plays against a superstar is a learning experience. He's the kind of player who takes something away from all the great players he sees, whether they play his position or not. What he has in common will all great players - like LeBron, Kobe or Chris Paul - is that he "brings it" every night. He's not in their stratosphere yet, but that's where he aspires to be.
The Bulls want his development to come game by game...by playing and learning...not by what players he is playing against.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're all excited to have Opening Night on WGN-TV. It's a coming out party for Derrick Rose. To me it looks like the team will need to learn to adjust to playing with Derrick, not vice versa. He has the potential to make everyone on the court better.

It's too early so say Vinny Del Negro has a set "coaching style". One thing I've seen, though, is that Vinny is a very good communicator, regardless of whether he has a postive or negative message to get across with his players.

Neil

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)