January 2011 Archives

The month of January has been very favorable to the Bulls.    Eleven home games and five on the road.   The Bulls are 9-1 at home in January, going into tonight's game against the Pacers.  February will be quite a different story when the Bulls play nine games on the road and only three at home.

The Bulls just have to continue to play and prepare the way they have been.   I think they understand how to win on the road.    I think the big keys to winning on the road, or at least keeping themselves in position to win is to avoid bad starts to games and/or bad starts when coming out in the third quarter.   They can't let bad teams sneak up on them and they will get through the next month in good shape and ready to make a good run in March to get a high seed in the play-offs come April.

* Chicago won its first game against the Bucks this season, 90-77. The Bulls have won nine of their last 10 home games against Milwaukee.

* Milwaukee has won two of its last three games after winning just two of its previous 10 contests. The Bucks are shooting an NBA-worst 42.2 percent from the field this season.

* The Bulls have won two in a row and 10 of their last 11 home games. At 20-4, Chicago owns the third-best home record in the league this season

* Derrick Rose is averaging 30.3 points in his last six home games, however, he has failed to reach 20 points in each of his last three home games against the Bucks.

* Corey Maggette has scored at least 20 points in two straight and four of his last five road games. Seven of Maggette's nine 20-point performances this season have come away from home.

* The Bucks, who own the lowest scoring offense in the NBA this season (91.2 ppg), have hit the century mark in two of their last three games.

* The Bulls have a modest three-game winning streak versus the Cavaliers.

* Chicago is 24-1 when holding foes to 93 points or less. The Bulls gave up just 77 points in Thursday's win over Dallas.

* Derrick Rose had 26 points in Thursday's win over Dallas. No other Bull was in double figures. Rose has had 20 points in nine of his last 10 contests.

* Luol Deng had a season-high 12 rebounds in Thursday's win over Dallas. The Bulls have won six of their last seven games when Deng has double-digit boards.

* Memphis has won its last five home games against the Bulls, and three straight games in the series overall.

* The Grizzlies are allowing 90.6 points in their wins this season, versus 106.3 per game in losses. That's tied for the largest such differential in the NBA (-15.7 ppg; also Hornets).

* Chicago is 4-1 over its last five games, holding its opponents to an average of 87.8 points. The Bulls are now 27-13, their best 40-game start since being 28-12 in 1997-98 (their last championship season).

* Derrick Rose scored 34 points against the Heat Saturday, his 10^th 30-point game of the season. Rose had eight 30-point games all of last season (and none as a rookie in 2008-09).

* Zach Randolph has four 20-point/20-rebound games this season, more than any player except Kevin Love (six). Randolph is averaging a career-best 13.1 rebounds per game.

* Memphis is 8-3 this season when Mike Conley attempts fewer than 10 shots in a game, versus 11-18 when he shoots 10 or more times.

Hello to all of my "peeps" out there. Today I want to make a push for all of you to vote for D. Rose to go to the all-star game. The easiest way to vote for Derrick is by texting "ROSE" to 69622 (mynba). All that Derrick has done this season is to  average 24.3 points and 8.0 assists. He has proven that he is one of the elite point guards in the league and desrves to be recognized as one of the best. Tonight the Bulls face the Miami Heat. LeBron James is doubtful with an ankle sprain as the struggling Heat face the Bulls. Miami has lost the last 2 games after winning 20 of the prior 21 games. Tune in tonight at 6:30pm ct on WGN America for all of the action.

-SK

* The Bulls have four of the last five games in this series, though the Pacers beat them, 100-90, the last time the teams met in Indianapolis last February 27.

* Chicago has lost three straight on the road and four of the last five.

* Indiana has won two straight after dropping six of its previous seven contests.

* Danny Granger did not play in the last game of this series on December 13, but in his last five games against the Bulls, Granger has averaged 28.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals.

* Starting on December 31, Darren Collison has averaged 17.2 points and 6.5 assists while making 45.5 percent of his three-pointers and 20 of 21 free throws (.952).

* Carlos Boozer has averaged 25.8 points and 12.0 boards over his last four games, making 68.2 percent of his shots from the floor in the process.

Good afternoon to all of my "peeps" out there in blog land. Tonight we find ourselves in the slushy city of Charlotte, North Carolina. The ice is melting, after their freak snowstorm over the past few days. Tonight the Bulls face the Bobcats at 6pm/ct on WGN in Chicago. The Bulls defense has been outstanding the last two games, both wins. In the last two Chicago victories the opponents have been held to an average of 80.5 points and shooting just 38% from the field. Derrick Rose has been as good as any guard in the league this season. His star is beginning to shine to the rest of the nation. All of us in Chicago already new what he could do. Carlos Boozer is really starting to show why the Bulls went out and signed him. Over his last  3 games all that Carlos has done is average over 25 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 69% from the floor. Tune in tonight to see Bobcats Owner Michael Jordan watch his old team take on his new one.

-SK

* Charlotte has won three games in a row for the first time this season. The last time the Bobcats won four straight games was their six-game winning streak from March 5-14, 2010.

* After starting the season with four straight losses at home, the Bobcats are 10-5 in their last 15 games at home.

* The Bulls have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams; all five games have been decided by eight points or less. However, the Bobcats have won three of their last four games at home against the Bulls.

* The Bulls are 16-4 in their last 20 games. They have held their opponents to an average of 88.7 points a game and allowed just four opponents to score 100 or more in that 20-game span.

* Since Paul Silas became head coach, point guard D.J. Augustin is averaging 19.6 points (48.7% from the three-point line) and 6.4 assists a game.

* Only six players scored for the Bulls in their last game, with Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose combining for 56 points of the Bulls' 95 points. Boozer and Rose have combined for at least 56 points in each of the Bulls' last three games.

* Chicago has won each of the last nine meetings between these teams, including both matchups between the clubs this season. Detroit last beat the Bulls back on December 23, 2008.

* The Pistons have lost four straight and 12 of their last 13 road games. Detroit is allowing 106.3 points over his last three games overall, after holding four of its previous five foes to 95 points or less.

* The Bulls have outscored their opponents 100.3 to 82.5 during their current six-game home winning streak. Chicago will be looking to win seven consecutive games at home for the first time since March 24-April 11, 2009.

* Derrick Rose is averaging 31.5 points over his last two games. Rose scored a career-high tying 39 points in his last home game against the Pistons. 

* Tayshaun Prince has scored 20+ points in two of his last three games after hitting the 20-point mark just once in his previous 12 contests.

* The Bulls are averaging the third-most rebounds in the NBA this season (44.2), while the Pistons are averaging the fewest (38.6).

Tonight's game against the Celtics is absolutely a big game for the Bulls, even though it's only January.  The Bulls and Celtics have faced each other twice already...now the Bulls get a shot at the defending Eastern Conference champs on their home floor.   This is a chance to measure how you stand up against an elite team and how much you have improved since the start of the season.

The so-called Dog Days of the NBA season are approaching...it's key for the Bulls to play hard through the stretch of games before and after the All-Star break, get healthy and be ready to make a strong run down the stretch and position themselves for the play-offs.

                                                                                       -Neil Funk

I just want to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and messages during the difficult Holiday for me and my Family. I will be back on the air tonight on WGN as the Bulls host the Celtics.

SK

* Chicago has won three in a row and five of its last six games with Philly.

* The Bulls lost, 96-94, to the Nets on Wednesday to snap a five-game win streak, but Chicago has still won 14 of its last 17, beginning on December 4.

* The 76ers have won eight of their last 10 home games.

* Over his last six games Jrue Holiday has averaged 21.2 points and 7.8 assists while making 56.0 percent of his shots from the floor (51-for-91).

* In his last three games against the club that took him first overall in 1999, Elton Brand has scored a total of 15 points and is just 5-for-21 (.238) from the field.

* Luol Deng has scored 21.4 points per game over his last five contests, while making 50.6 percent of his field-goal attempts (41-for-81); in his first 29 games, he averaged 17.4 points and made 44.6 percent of his shots from the floor.

* The Nets have won 15 of their last 16 home games against the Bulls. Chicago did beat New Jersey earlier this season at the United Center, 90-81.

* Chicago has outscored its opponent in points in the paint in 11 of its last 12 games.

* The Nets are averaging just 88.2 points per game during their current five-game losing skid. They are 1-21 when held to 93 or fewer points in a game this season, as opposed to 8-4 if they score 94 or more.

* After shooting just 26.7 percent from behind the three-point arc in 2009-10, Derrick Rose has improved to 39.4 percent so far this season. He has made 54 three-pointers this season, which is more than in his first two seasons combined (32).

* Taj Gibson had 16 points and 14 rebounds in Chicago's win over Toronto on Tuesday. The second-year frontcourt player had just 17 points and 23 boards in his previous six contests.

* Sasha Vujacic tied his career high when he had 22 points in Saturday's loss to the Timberwolves. He has also made at least one three-pointer in seven straight games.

* The Bulls won the first meeting between these teams this season, 110-93. However, the Raptors have won three straight and five of their last six trips to Chicago.

* Chicago has won each of its last four games, while holding its opponents to just 85.3 points in those contests. The Bulls are an NBA-leading 17-1 on the season against teams currently below .500.

* Toronto has lost 11 of its last 14 games, including five of its last six contests. The Raptors have just four wins in 16 road games this season.
* Carlos Boozer is averaging 24.8 points and 12.0 rebounds over his last 10 games, scoring at least 20 points in nine of those contests.

* After scoring a career-high 37 points against Houston on Friday, DeMar DeRozan then scored 27 against the Celtics on Sunday.

* Derrick Rose has been held below 10 points in two of his last three games against Toronto and is averaging just 13.7 points in three career home games against them.

* The Cavaliers and Bulls have alternated two-game win streaks over their last six contests, with the Bulls taking the last couple of matchups.

* Cleveland has lost its last four games giving up 101.6 points per game in the process while averaging just 91.6 points per game.

* Daniel Gibson is shooting just 36.8 percent since becoming a starter, this compared to his 43.5 percent shooting off the bench. Gibson has made over 50 percent of his three point attempts as a starter (24-for-47).

* Cleveland owns a 2-12 record against teams currently .500 or better, the fifth worst record in the league.