December 2011 Archives

* The Bulls have won five of the last six meetings between these teams, including three straight at Sacramento.
* Chicago has split its first two games this season holding both opponents under 100 points. The Bulls are 59-8 since the beginning of last season when holding opponent under 100 points, the best record in the NBA.

* The Kings are coming off a 101-79 loss in Portland on Tuesday. Sacramento has won just five of its 41 games since last season when scoring fewer than 100 points, the third worst record in the league.

* Marcus Thornton is leading the Kings in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Thornton has at least 20 points in 18 games since joining Sacramento last February; however the Kings are just 9-9 in those contests. 
* Carlos Boozer is averaging 23.4 points per game in his last five trips to Sacramento, connecting on 47 of his 77 attempts in the process.
* Derrick Rose, who led the Bulls in scoring with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting in Chicago's win over the Lakers, managed just 13 points on 4-for-17 from the field in the Bulls loss to Golden State.

* The Bulls and Warriors split their two meetings last season, with each team winning on its home court.

* Chicago ranked second in the NBA in scoring defense (93.0), first in field-goal defense (.430) and first in three-point defense (.326) last season. They are the second team in the last three seasons to rank in the Top 2 in these three defensive categories (2008-09 Cavaliers).

* Golden State rookie head coach Mark Jackson is third on the NBA chart for career assists with 10,334, behind only John Stockton (15,806) and Jason Kidd (11,578).

* Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose averaged 25.2 points and 7.3 assists per game on the road last season. Rose is just the sixth player since 1986-87 to average 25 and 7 on the road in a season (minimum 200 assists or 35 games).

* Joakim Noah has been plagued by injuries the last two seasons, but has still managed to average 10+ points and 10+ rebounds per game in both years. Noah is the sixth Bull to average a points/rebounds double-double in back-to-back seasons, but only Artis Gilmore (1976-77 to 1978-79) has done it in three straight years.

* Stephen Curry is listed as day-to-day but is iffy for the season opener after re-spraining his ankle during the preseason. Curry has averaged 22.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his last three games against Chicago. Curry's backcourt mate, Monta Ellis, meanwhile, has 23 or more points in six straight games versus the Bulls. The Warriors are 4-6 all-time when Curry does not play.

* When the Bulls won in Chicago, 88-84 last December 10, it broke a seven-game series win streak for the Lakers. The Bulls have not beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles since November 20, 2005.

* Since 1954, the Lakers have played 32 Christmas Day games, second-most in the NBA (Knicks - 40), but the Lakers are just 16-16 in those holiday contests. The Bulls have a 9-6 record on Christmas over that time.

* The Bulls enter the 2011-12 season with a seven-game road winning streak, which is the longest active streak of its kind.

* Derrick Rose has averaged 25.0 points in his six career games versus the Lakers; that is fourth among active players (LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade -- minimum 5 games).

* Kobe Bryant enters the season with a 13-game streak of scoring 20+ points, tied with Carmelo Anthony for the longest active streak.

* Over the last three seasons, the Lakers are 123-46 (.728) when Andrew Bynum has played; when he has not been able to answer the bell, they are 56-21 (.727).

Hello to all of my "peeps" out there in the blog world. It is great to be back for the first preseason game tonight at 6pm ct on WGN TV.  Tonight will be great to see the Bulls back on the court. The team looks a lot like it did last season. The additions include newly acquired guard Rip Hamilton and rookie Jimmy Butler. The team's core is intact. Tonight should be interesting to say the least. A shorter training camp and 2 game preseason doesn't give the teams much time to tune up but they all have the same amount of days to get ready for the season to open next Sunday, Christmas day.

Send me your thoughts and questions and I will answer them during the course of the season!

-SK