Thomas, Noah make Bulls unpredictable
After going 3-4 during their recent road swing, the Bulls returned home confident they could take advantage of a more favorable schedule in December. But two games into the month, the Bulls (8-11) have dropped two straight and are looking to regroup again. Perhaps the least surprised person is coach Vinny Del Negro, who has been saying for weeks that the early part of the season will be a roller-coaster ride.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Bulls' energy drain ends in defeat
For much of the game, the Bulls definitely looked like a team playing for the second straight night and the third time in four days. Although they mounted separate rallies late in the third and fourth quarter to pull closer, they just never could muster enough energy to complete the comeback and suffered a 97-90 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Luol Deng got off to a fast start against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. That point total matched his production for all of the Bulls' overtime loss against Philadelphia on Tuesday. Deng's struggles this season — he entered the game averaging 12.5 points on 39.4 percent shooting — were a hot topic before the game. "It's a bunch of things," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We're trying to get him going early in games. Sometimes he's been more aggressive than others. He can be better defensively, get a little more active and get some steals. When he's in the passing lanes and he's using his length and we're getting out running, I think it's a benefit to him. We have to do a better job, and Luol does, too." He made 9 of 14 shots and finished with 21 points. ... Bucks coach Scott Skiles raved about Bulls rookie Derrick Rose when the teams met in the preseason and had more praise Wednesday. "I thought he was good even in the exhibition season, but he's getting better," Skiles said. "Teams have tried to play him in different ways. People have played off of him, and he's made shots for a guy that supposedly was gonna struggle to make shots. He's made an awful lot of shots already, so that's out the window. I think everybody knew he was gonna be able to go to the hole and finish. But he's played with a good amount of composure for a rookie, and he's getting better all the time. He's a tough cover already." ... The Bucks have been hit with a rash of injuries early in the season, and Wednesday was the first time guard Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut have played together in weeks. "It's nice to have them both back in the lineup, that's for sure," Skiles said. ... After wearing the red uniforms for the first 10 road games, the Bulls broke out the black uniforms for the first time Wednesday. ... Milwaukee was another homecoming for Del Negro, who played two seasons with the Bucks from 1998-2000. "My time here was tremendous," he said. "I learned a lot from [coach] George Karl when I was here. The people and the fans, and [owner] [Herb] Kohl was always great to me. A lot of good memories here."
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Bucks' bench shines in win over Bulls
harlie Villanueva came off the bench to score 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and seldom-used Dan Gadzuric had 11 points and 14 rebounds, lifting the Milwaukee Bucks to a 97-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Miller gets his revenge as Sixers down Bulls in OT
Andre Miller was still wearing his winter coat as he sat in the 76ers locker room 90 minutes before tip Tuesday. The Philadelphia 76ers guard wasn't hiding any chip on his shoulder after being victimized twice Sunday by Bulls guard Derrick Rose. The block from behind by Rose and the ankle-breaker, crossover dribble Rose used to deke Miller were SportsCenter staples following the game.
Bulls' Gooden on a roll playing alongside Rose
Drew Gooden is averaging 17.6 points and 8.4 rebounds over his last five games, both higher than his career averages. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said he didn't pencil in any averages for Gooden when training camp began. "I knew what I was thinking in terms of how we were going to play," Del Negro said.
There are some guards in the NBA like, off the top of my head -- Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson, Plaxico Burress (oops, sorry, he's a wideout) -- who are kind of, what shall we call it, self-centered and incorrigible?
