Bulls Convincingly Beat the Celtics!

By Sean Mackey

I know, I know. Garnett and Wallace were out, but a win's a win, and that's 3 in a row. The Bulls beat the Celtics 96-83 last night and it was nice to see the Bulls defensively manhandle the Celtics for 4 whole quarters. Luol Deng played great and shelled out 25 points on 8-13 shooting and went 9-10 from the free throw line. Derrick Rose was huge in the 4th quarter and after sitting most of the first half while in foul trouble, he added 17 points and 8 rebounds. The bad side of a win like this shows just how much of an effort is needed to beat a team even when their defensive anchor is out. However, the Celtics are still a much better team than the Bulls being that they have 3 legitimate all-stars on the floor even when Garnett and Wallace are out. Not to mention, Kendrick Perkins is one of the most solid center's in the NBA at this point and Noah matched him the entire evening with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Speaking of Noah, I'm starting to seriously believe he's the 2nd best center in the east at this point. He's hand's down the fastest center in the NBA, he chases rebounds like crazy, he blocks shots like a maniac and he really is the heart of the Chicago Bulls. The problem that's going to loom during these next few trade happy months is that every team is going to want Joakim Noah included in any trade and the Bulls aren't going to budge. The idea is to find a post player who compliments Noah's defensive abilities but if the Bulls were to trade for a player like Bosh or Stoudemire, the other team isn't just going to want Hinrich, Salmons and Thomas, they're going to want Joakim. While he's a crowd favorite and a team favorite, if the opportunity to finally grab a post up legit big man comes up, the Bulls are going to have to decide whether giving up Joakim is worth it. My instinct says the Bulls aren't going to trade Noah for anything. He's 2nd most important piece of this core group.

Taj Gibson is also coming into his own and leads all rookies in double-doubles. The whole picking him over D. Blair is starting to look pretty good about now. Taj however, is not a starting NBA power forward. He's a bench guy, but a damn good one. If Chicago can lure Bosh, Stoudemire or Boozer, they can use his energy off the bench. At his current rate, he'll be one of the best if not the best of all back up PF's in the NBA throughout the few years.

Interestingly enough, the Bulls are 1 win better than they were at this time last season when they had Ben Gordon. Chicago has won 7 of the last 10 games and Vinny's job appears to be safe at this point. After a quick stop at home tonight for a game against the Washington Wizards, the Bulls head west for a 7 game road trip. If they can come out winning 3-4 of those games, they'll be in good shape.

Bulls vs. Wizards @ 8 p.m. tonight on CSN & NBALP.