By Sean Mackey
Happy Halloween everyone! Tonight, the Bulls take on the 2008 NBA Champs, the dreaded Boston Celtics. Words can't describe how much Alex and I hate these dudes. We both still believe their whole assembling was a diversion for fans to forget about the Tim Donaghy scandal. I hate seeing players going into their twilight, switch teams just to get a ring, it's so tacky. I'm still glad Karl Malone never got his ring after his cheap, desperate attempt a few years ago with the Lakers.
Anyways, fresh off the heels of their 13 point victory against the Bucks, the Bulls travel to Boston to try to upset the world champion Celtics who are also 1-0. This game of course will be broadcasted nationally on ESPN at 8:00 p.m. EST. This also will probably be most NBA fans first look at our new guy, Derrick Rose. Keep in mind, Jordan's first visit to the garden resulted in a 27 point performance about 25 years ago. Not that we're going to use that as a measuring stick for Mr. Rose but it would definitely send a message to these guys that their window is closing and his is just opening.
Yeah, they're probably going to get blown out of the water but just two years ago today, pretty much the same team, destroyed an NBA champion on their home floor by 42 points. I just wanna see them fight back tonight, just to show them they're not just gonna lay down. Anything can happen.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Bulls vs. Celtics live on ESPN Tonight at 8pm EST.!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 7:49 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Game #1: Bulls Win Their First Regular Season Game 108-95! Plus, Ways to Watch Games on Your Computer For Free and For a Subscription Price!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 5:33 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Bulls Season Starts TONIGHT with a Rose/Sefolosha Backcourt! Sam Smith Writing Exclusively for the Bulls and More!
By Sean Mackey
Tonight is what we've all been waiting for. The first regular season game for the Bulls takes place this evening in Chicago where they'll take on the Milwaukee Bucks, a team led by the two guys who failed us so terribly last year.
There is a lot of controversy brewing on Bulls blogs and fansites this morning since yesterday evening it was announced that Sefolosha would be starting at the 2 spot instead of Kirk Hinrich. Sef performed medicore the whole preseason but scored 18 points, pulled down 7 boards and dished out 10 assists in last Thursday's win against the Bucks. However, this is also mediocre when you take in the fact that he played 49 minutes and shot 5-14.
I don't think anyone needs to fret about this. I have a feeling that VDN will be shaking up the starting lineup quite frequently this season and since this is the first game, it's getting blown completely out of proportion. Sef is a great defender and a big guard. He's going to be the best guy we have to defend against Michael Redd. Lets face it, we should be thankful it's him and not Larry Hughes (who would be starting tonight if he wasn't hurt). I'm willing to take a chance with any lineup that will help them win games. It shouldn't matter who's starting. There's so much ridiculously good talent on the team that it's hard to spread out minutes among them.
At least Derrick Rose is for sure starting tonight rather than coming off the bench. He's the leader of this squad and he's going to have to bring these guys together before another season goes by and implodes. These guys are too talented to be dismanteled this early. I'm glad Pax is sticking with his gut on this one and keeping the guys, but seriously, Hughes has to go.
The game will be streamed tonight FOR SURE since it's the only other game being played tonight other than the 2 that are being broadcasted nationally. I'm sure there will be more than one source so we'll try to post the best quality link on the blog this evening.
Also, another thing that's going to make some Bulls fans happy, Sam Smith is back! After some short stints with Hoops Hype and The Sporting News following his departure from the Tribune, Sam will be writing exclusively for Bulls.com. The team will continue to give him the independence he had at the Tribune, there will be no editing or watering down, just Sam doing what he does best. I'll be adding his column to my links for easy access.
8 hours left until the NBA season starts, I can't wait.
Posted by Sean Mackey at 5:44 AM 0 comments
Friday, October 24, 2008
Preseason Finale TONIGHT Against Skiles/Boylan's Bucks Plus Zach Randolph Trade Rumors!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 7:48 AM 0 comments
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bulls Run Over the Wolves, Lose Larry
By Sean Mackey
The Bulls won their 2nd consecutive preseason game last night against the Minnesota Timberwolves 85-75. The Bulls were up 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. They played without Tyrus Thomas (sore ankle) and Ben Gordon (sore toe).Derrick Rose had another great outing with 17 points and 6 assists. Nocioni chipped in 12 points, Gray had 10 rebounds and Larry Legend had 21 points and 3 steals.
Speaking of the Legend, he went down with a dislocated shoulder in the 3rd quarter. This is great news because VDN won't have to think of a way to distribute time between the onslaught of guards the next few games. On top of this, Ben Gordon should be returning tomorrow night when they take on the Bucks in their last preseason appearance.
I couldn't find a link for the game to post yesterday so I apologize to anyone who came to the blog looking for one. I watched highlights and D-Rose was dismantling defenders and driving the ball inside with a lot of success. I can already see some chemistry building with this team. If Tyrus and Noah can start connecting for some lob passes, this team will be one of the most exciting in the league to watch.
I'll be posting a link tomorrow for the game against the Bucks. Have a great day.
Posted by Sean Mackey at 6:27 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rose Scores 30, Bulls Beat the Mavs!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 6:36 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bulls Season Preview
Posted by Sean Mackey at 8:00 AM 0 comments
Monday, October 20, 2008
Bulls Win One, Lose One to the Jazz
By Sean Mackey
The Bulls finally pulled out their first win of the preseason on Friday night with the help of Ben Gordon who had 23 points off the bench. I watched part of the game online, I turned it off though because every time the Bulls pulled ahead, the Jazz came right back. They won by only 3 points but a win is a win.
Saturday night marked the first nationally televised game of the season. The Bulls once again played the Jazz only to lose by 8. Ben Gordon sat this game out (probably just to make a point that the team needs his scoring). Deron Williams got a nasty injury in the first quarter and had to be wheeled off the court. This gave the Bulls an advantage but Carlos Boozer proved to be unstoppable in the paint. The Bulls interior defense is almost nonexistant. The one thing I did notice more than anything was Tyrus Thomas. If he plays as hard as he did on Saturday, the guy's gonna win most improved player. I believe he had 15 points and 14 rebounds. He crashed the boards, drove the ball, made free throws, he looked outstanding. I hope VDN continues to give him decent minutes so he can perform. He's by far the most exciting player on the team so it should be fun to watch the man this season.
A week from tomorrow the season opener takes place against Scott Skiles and the Bucks. This is a game they NEED to win so they can gain some confidence to win the first few games before the dreadful circus trip.
Posted by Sean Mackey at 5:55 AM 0 comments
Friday, October 17, 2008
Jazz, Jazz, Jazz....
By Sean Mackey
UPDATE: Link for Bulls/Jazz game tonight (Friday Oct 17th at 7:30 p.m.). The link can be found on this forum, you'll need either TV Ants and/or Octoshape ( http://www.octoshape.com).
http://www.myp2pforum.eu/nba-basketball/29137-basketball-today-october-17th.html
The Bulls will be taking on the Utah Jazz both Friday and Saturday evening this weekend. I'm hoping they can some how win at least ONE preseason game. They lost again to the Wolves earlier this week. I didn't blog about it because I angry they lost another stupid game they should have won. There was a short web stream of it on Justin TV for a few minutes but the streamer quickly switched to the Knicks game. Seriously, who cares about the Knicks?
Anyways, tonight they play the Jazz at Assembly Hall in Illinois to mark a homecoming of Deron Williams, tomorrow they play at the United Center. Also, tomorrow's game is the first nationally broadcasted Bulls game! I'm very excited that I get to watch them play on my 58' inch HDTV rather than a pixalated web stream on my 17 inch computer monitor. Yay for me. Have a great weekend.
Posted by Sean Mackey at 11:35 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Bulls Fall to Pacers in Ft. Wayne
By Sean Mackey
The Bulls ended up losing their 2nd straight preseason game, this time against the underwelming Indiana Pacers in a small arena out in Ft. Wayne. Derrick Rose looked okay again, drove a few times, made one three pointer in the 4th quarter. Free Money led the Bulls in scoring with 15 points, he also had 10 rebounds. The Bulls were without Gooden, Gordon & Noah. The Pacers were without Dunleavy and Murphy, and we still lost to them. Needless to say, it was so boring, I turned it off and played 2K9 where I also lost to the Pacers.
Sorry to anyone who tried the non-working Sopcast link posted on the blog. I eventually found a crappy transmission from FSN Indiana to watch the game on. The quality was terrible, the commentary was all about the Pacers and at one point Mike Dunleavy was in the broadcasting booth and the camera was more focused on him than the game. So, trust me, you weren't missing anything.
Tonights game is against K-Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves who are 2-1 in the preseason. The Bulls will once again be without BG but Noah will make his first appearance in Horace Grant style, sportin' some goggles. There are no listings for a stream yet. The game will be broadcasted on CSN Chicago so I'm sure a link will turn up by this evening which will be posted shortly before gametime if we can find one.
Posted by Sean Mackey at 7:50 AM 0 comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
Oct 10th, Preseason Game #2: Bulls vs. Pacers STREAM LINK!
Hey everyone, if you're interested in watching the Bulls Pacers game this evening, you need to go to www.myp2p.eu and download "Sopcast". After you install it, click on the link we have below at the time of the game (7pm) and you "should" be able to watch the game. If a more reliable stream comes up or multiple listings, I'll post those too. Have a good night and enjoy!
Bulls vs. Pacers
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/48608
Posted by Sean Mackey at 1:20 PM 0 comments
Bulls Lose By Only 8 Points to the Mavs in Preseason Debut!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 5:16 AM 0 comments
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Preseason Game #1 preview, P2P Viewings and NBA 2K9!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 6:04 AM 0 comments
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Gordon Finally Signs $6.4 Million Qualifying Offer
Posted by Sean Mackey at 6:02 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
2008-2009 Hollinger Team Forecast (ESPN)
By Sean Mackey
John Hollinger of ESPN posted his season previews for the Eastern Conference yesterday afternoon. He's got the Bulls coming in tied for 9th place with the Miami Heat. That's a fair assumption being that no analyst can seriously predict where Chicago will pan out this year. A lot of the other predictions are complete head scratchers though such as Charlotte and Indiana possibly sneaking into the playoffs. I don't see either of them getting into the playoffs before the Wizards. I also think the 76er's are ranked too high in all seriousness. Yeah, they got Brand, but will he stay healthy? Here's how the rest of the east shakes out.
1. Boston Celtics
2. Detroit Pistons
3. Philly 76er's
4. Orlando Magic
5. Toronto Raptors/Cleveland Cavaliers
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Charlotte Bobcats
9. Chicago Bulls/Miami Heat
11. Washington Wizards
12. Milwaukee Bucks
13. Atlanta Hawks
14. New York Knicks
15. New Jersey Nets
Here's the overall outlook that was posted by Hollinger for the
Bulls:
Chicago still has as much young talent as any team this side of Portland, and its potential for cap space in 2009 and again in 2010 (when Hughes comes off the books) makes its future a lot brighter than its present. But we're dealing with 2008-09 here, and it could be another rocky year in the Windy City. While winning the lottery helps, NBA point guards typically need at least a year before their play really zooms upward, so Rose may have his struggles -- especially since he played only one year of college ball and needed half of that season to get his bearings. It's a similar situation up front, where Thomas and Noah are undoubtedly talented but still learning how to be pros, and giving up both pounds and experience to their opponents every night. It doesn't help that two of Chicago's best players play the same position, meaning they have to either go small to get Deng and Nocioni on the court at the same time or, more logically, trade Nocioni for a true frontcourt player. Either way, it seems more likely that they miss the playoffs than make it. There are a great many wild cards here -- how well Rose plays, how well the young bigs adjust to their increased roles and how Del Negro handles his first coaching assignment -- but ultimately too many of those have to turn in Chicago's favor to consider it likely that the Bulls will return to the postseason.
Prediction: 39-43, 4th in Central Division, T-9th in Eastern
Conference
Throw us a comment, let us know what you think of these rankings!
Posted by Sean Mackey at 7:04 AM 0 comments