Dreaded Circus Trip Starts Tonight With Sacramento

By Sean Mackey

The Chicago Bulls start their annual west coast road trip tonight as the circus takes over the United Center. The Bulls have a combined record of 9-24 record over the past five seasons on this particular road trip. Chicago will face off against Sacramento, followed by a nationally televised game against the defending champions, the LA Lakers, then Denver, Portland, Utah & Milwaukee.

This year, it appears that 3 of these games are fairly winable. A 3-3 record would be more than acceptable. The win against the Sixers the other night was another unconvincing ugly win. The offense is terrible but the defense is winning the games....barely. John Salmons isn't scoring well and Rose is slowly starting to drive to the basket. If both of those guys were more efficicent the team would be winning by more than 5 points every night.

We need a scorer and a post up guy soon.

Miller's Miracle Shot Doesn't Count, Bulls Lose 90-89

By Sean Mackey

The Nuggets won, then the Bulls won, then the Nugget won again Tuesday night 90-89. Confusing? Yes. The Bulls initially lost the game 90-89 then the refs put 0.3 back on the clock. With 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock, Brad Miller threw up a prayer that went in near the 3 point line. The score then changed to 91-90, the crowd went crazy, the Bulls went crazy, VDN was smiling, it was great. Then after about 5 whole minutes of the refs reviewing the shot, they decided that the ball didn't leave Miller's fingertips before the buzzer went off. Nuggets win 90-89. The refs said it was just too close to call giving the Nuggets the benefit of the doubt.

The general reaction was that the shot was good. When you change the score, have a home crowd going crazy and it's too close to call, you should leave the call be. Had I been there, I would have been throwing my coke cup onto hardwood. Hell, I was on the floor pounding my fist into the rug watching the game on my laptop via a very poor, pixelated p2p site (once again, thanks Bulls and Nuggets fans for making the Bulls/Nuggets your fan night game so it would be blacked out to us paying LP Broadband customers).

Regardless, it was a great game, the Bulls offense sucks but their defense is ridiculously good this season. Deng held Carmelo to just 20 points and scored 21 points himself. Derrick Rose heated up in the 4th quarter and finished with 22 points and 5 assists. Noah had another monster game with 12 points, 21 rebounds and 2 blocks. Why his name was left off the all-star ballot has left many Bulls fans puzzled and outraged. Feel free to write his name in as I did, it couldn't hurt.

The Bulls play the Raptors tonight, a team they were 1-3 against last season. Maybe the Bulls will be mad enough to win.

Bulls Squeak by Cavs 86-85

By Sean Mackey

Savor this moment and say hello to your Central Division leading Chicago Bulls! The guys in the red jerseys were able to win another ridiculously close game Thursday night when they beat the Cleveland LeBrons 86-85. Luol Deng posted a solid 15 points and 7 rebounds and Derrick Rose had a solid double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.

It was another low scoring affair, but I was happy to see the win. LeBron James was denied a call in the last second claiming he was fouled going up for a layup. The refs amazingly didn't give him his usual star call and the Bulls won by just 1 point.

The Bulls defense has been fantastic and while a lot of columnists and bloggers will be quick to discredit Vinny Del Negro, I believe he actually is coaching the team now and the players are buying into his system. While their brand of basketball is a little on the boring side, they're winning and keeping opposing teams scoring WAY down. The Bulls still are lacking a scorer and a player to score in the post but until then, maybe their scrappy ways will get them the 49 wins it got a very similar 2006 squad. Derrick Rose is obviously going to have to take over much like he did late in last nights game if they want any chance of making it to the playoffs and passed the 1st round. It would also be nice to show that this group can get 50 wins without having a star player, making it an attractive option for a high profile free agent next season. Wade or Bosh would make this team a high profile contender.

Although, it's a little off topic, I've came to the conclusion that LeBron James is playing on a terrible team right now. The addition of Shaq has done nothing but help sell a few more Adidas jerseys. There is no rhyme or reason to their offense, just give the ball to LeBron and let him create. If this continues, Mike Brown's job is going to be in serious jeopardy come the holidays. LeBron and Shaq looked completely uninterested the entire game and so did the rest of their sad cast of jackass's. LeBron has taken this team as far as he can, they need to get him a Scottie Pippen or I could seriously see him leaving for New Jersey or Miami.

Bulls play the Bobcats tommorrow night on WGN America, hopefully they can continue their winning ways. Go Bulls!

Bulls vs. Bucks....TONIGHT!

By Sean Mackey

Sorry for the lack of updates, the last two losses took a lot of the wind out of my sails. Fridays masacre in Boston was almost unwatchable and Sunday's game against the Heat was a complete bust. I would really like to see Derrick Rose become the superstar the whole NBA is making him out to be very soon but he's obviously still hurting. Deng, Noah and Miller have played solid throughout the first 3 games. The Bulls are setting up perfect wide open shots for John Salmons, the only problem is that he's not Ben Gordon and can't knock down the open looks on a consistant basis.

Oh well, we're 1-2 and tonight the Bulls play a depleted Bucks team at home without their leading scorer, Michael Redd. Brandon Jennings has looked fantastic so I'm not looking this as a no brainer win......although it should be.

2009-10 Chicago Bulls Season Starts Tonight! Season Predictions!

By Sean Mackey

Finally, after a 4 month hiatus, the Bulls are back! Tonight Chicago will open up the season at home and in front of a nationally televised audience against the new look San Antonio Spurs.

Derrick Rose will be starting after playing only one preseason game way back on Oct 2nd. Tony Parker was injured late in the 3rd quarter and never returned during last nights 17 point victory over the New Orleans Hornets last night. He is however expected to start tonight.

Tonights game is going to be tough after watching how San Antonio played last night. They have a very deep bench now that includes Antonio McDyess and rookie sleeper Dejuan Blair. Blair had 14 points and 11 rebounds last night coming off the bench. Thomas and Gibson are going to have to out hustle him if they want the ball or 2nd chance opportunities.

Anyways, I'm SUPER excited for this tonight's game and tomorrow's rematch with the Celtics. Tonight's game will be on TNT and tomorrow's on ESPN. Here are my predictons for the 2009-10 season.

Final Standings for the East:
1. Orlando Magic
2. Boston Celtics
3. Cleveland Cavs
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Chicago Bulls.
6. Washington Wizards
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Miami Heat
----------------------
9. Philly 76ers
10. Detroit Pistons
11. New York Knicks
12. New Jersey Nets
13. Milwaukee Bucks
14. Charlotte Bobcats
15. Indiana Pacers

Final Standings for the West
1. LA Lakers
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Portland Trailblazers
5. Utah Jazz
6. New Orleans Hornets
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Minnesota Timberwolves
-----------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Golden State Warriors
11. Memphis Grizzlies
12. OKC Thunder
13. LA Clippers
14. Houston Rockets
15. Sacramento Kings

Finals Prediction: Lakers over Magic (4-2)

MVP: Lebron James
Defensive Player of the Year: Lebron James
Coach of the Year: Stan Van Gundy
Sixth Man of the Year: DeJuan Blair
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
Most Improved Player of the Year: Brook Lopez

Bulls Fall To Magic 101-98, Free Money is Upset

By Sean Mackey

The Chicago Bulls preseason record fell to 5-2 with a loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night. The Bulls were without Derrick Rose (Achilles injury) and Lindsay Hunter (flu-like symptoms).

During the first quarter, Chicago was matching Orlando shot for shot. Noah got 2 fouls early on and was taken out and thankfully, so was Dwight Howard. With Rashard Lewis out, Michael Pietrus played a lot of unnecessary time at the 3 spot and was taking some horrible shots. This alone kept the Bulls into the game throughout the entire 1st half. At one point the Bulls were up by 9. Chicago stayed in the game until the final seconds when Vince Carter made two free throws to put the game away.

I was only able to watch the first half on one of those poor quality peer to peer sites that wouldn't enlarge to full screen until I passed out at half time. The Bulls defense was fantastic and I couldn't have been happier to see them stay in a game with the defending Eastern Conference Champions. Noah and Miller did their best against the NBA's best center but there's not much you can do with a guy who's that quick. Miller even took Dwight Howard off the dribble showing how deceiving his quickness is when he decides to use it.

The story of the night was how Taj Gibson started over Tyrus Thomas after putting up that monster double-double against Minnesota the other night. After the game, Thomas voiced his disgust to the press about not starting. "I don't think it should even be questionable from what I contributed to this team last season and what I did throughout camp, but like I said, he (Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro)is the guy that makes the decisions. Whatever decision he makes I still I have to go out and play,".

In Tyrus' defense, he is the starting PF for the Bulls and can only be consistant if he's starting and given the minutes. He was noticeably sour after coming off the bench and what VDN has against him is beyond me. Then again, in VDN's defense, it's only the preseason and he needs to see what his best option is at the PF spot to help win more games and keep his job.

Overall, the Bulls put in a great effort against one of the best teams in the league and almost won without their star player. The Bulls have one last preseason game left against the Washington Wizards on Friday before the nationally televised season opener against the San Antonio Spurs next week. Derrick Rose is unfortunately questionable for both games.

Preseason Win Over Indiana , Rose, Salmons & Thomas Out for Today's Game and NBA 2K10!

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls were able to pull out a win in their first preseason contest against the Indiana Pacers, 104-95. Rookie Taj Gibson led the way with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Derrick Rose had a solid game with 17 points and 3 assists and Luol Deng returned to the starting lineup with 15 points, going 9-9 at the free throw line. Salmons also chipped in a decent 15 points, going 6-8 on shooting.

Alex and I were in attendance for the first preseason game and I came to the conclusion that I feel really bad for Indiana fans. Literally, 1/3 of the arena was full and they have even less to be excited about than we do. I understand they're in a rebuilding stage but they need some lotto luck to get John Wall or something so they can start going in the right direction. Danny Granger is fantastic but he's really the only scorer they have. Then again, the Bulls don't really have a designated scorer either but I at least think we're going somewhat in the right direction. Taj Gibson looked decent. He's a hustler and seems like he really puts in an effort on every play. James Johnson looked lost and he couldn't get decent look the entire game.

Anyways, today the Bulls are playing the Utah Jazz, a team they were 4-0 against last season. The game is part of the NBA Europe Live Tour and they'll be playing in Luol Deng's hometown, London. The Bulls will be without John Salmons, Derrick Rose and Tyrus Thomas . Salmons is with his wife welcoming their second child, Rose is out with a sore right Achilles and ankle and Thomas is out with right hip contusion. Who in the hell VDN will start is completely up in the air, here's my projected starters of the game:

PG: Kirk Hinrich

SG: Derrick Byars

SF: Luol Deng

PF: Taj Gibson

C: Joakim Noah

PG: Deron Williams

SG: Ronnie Brewer

SF: Paul Millsap

PF: Carlos Boozer

C: Mehmet Okur

I'll be posting a web feed of the game via our Twitter account if one becomes available through Justin TV later today.

Also, in other news, NBA 2K10 comes out today! This is the 11th installment in the NBA 2K series. My Xbox 360 unfortunately crapped out with the "Red Ring of Death" about a week ago so it won't be until next week that I'm able to play it....sad face. This year's game boasts the inclusion of the D-League and the NBA Draft Combine (purchased separately through Xbox Live or the Playstation Network). If they could just include All-Star Weekend (3 point contest, dunk contest, skills challenge) like NBA Live does and actually change where the all-star game is every year in Association mode, the game would be perfect. I can't stand how you can go 7 seasons into association mode and still play the all-star game in the same location with the same coaches (even though the coaches have retired in the game). Talk about a continuity error. Regardless, you should pick up the game! It's hands down the best one out on the market and the one Alex and I would endorse....if we endorsed things. NBA Live hasn't been great since 2003 and this year's version is even more arcade-like than in year's past. They do however have a great NBA All-Star Weekend feature though.