Bulls Blow It....KG Possibly Out For The Playoffs!

By Sean Mackey

Last night's game was terrible. Chicago fell to the Toronto Raptors 109-98 I don't know who to hate more, the Bulls for not playing hard from the get go or Mike Brown for cowardly benching his starters out in Cleveland.

All I kept thinking about was that playoff changing, last game of the season 2 years ago against the New Jersey Nets where the Bulls fell and ruined their chances of advancing. Instead of a preferred playoff match up against the Orlando Magic, the Bulls now face the defending champion Boston Celtics in the first round.

The only bright speck of light for the Bulls today is the news coming out of Boston . Kevin Garnett was yanked out of practice early this morning by coach Doc Rivers after watching the big guy run down the court a few times. It is now presumed that he will probably miss the entire 2009 NBA playoffs. There has been a lot of speculation from insiders that this injury has been a lot more serious than the Celtics organization has lead on in the recent weeks. There's talk that KG is going to need surgery to repair his knee in the offseason.

If John Salmons can turn it on again, Boston has a reason to be scared.

Game 1 is Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Bulls Beat Heat, Just Like Old Times 106-87

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls continued their winning ways in front of a nationally televised audience blowing out the Miami Heat 106-87.

John Salmons was once again the deciding factor, he had 27 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Of course the dudes on Blog-a-Bull had to once again demean the win by saying he can't play defense and can't rebound. The man's a shooting guard, he's there to score the ball. We have Thomas, Noah and Miller for defense.

Tyrus Thomas had yet another double double, ending with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Love that man. Noah also played a solid game as well with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Derrick Rose was listed as a game time decision. He ended up coming off the bench which was a smart move by VDN since Hinrich is a better D-Wade defender. Derrick led the run in the 3rd quarter to help put away the Heat for good, he ended the game with a respectable 9 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

Ben Gordon scored a quiet 18 points adding 4 rebounds along the way.

Not a bad game at all. I love VDN's current 7 man rotation. These guys are playing good and looking good. The team's passing has become pretty decent and they're learning to close out games.

With this win and the Pistons loss to the Lakers, Chicago pulled into the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the Central Division. The Bulls have a well deserved night off this evening but play two matinee games this weekend. They play Saturday afternoon against the dream crushing, nothing to lose Indiana Pacers and a nationally televised WGN Superstation appearance against the Toronto Raptors.

Hopefully the Bulls can continue their stellar play and possibly even move up in the rankings a little more. They've got a lot of people talking and anything is starting to seem possible.

The question on everyone's mind is, if Deng returns, does he start? I'm gonna agree with Reggie Miller and say no. This is working out way too well to try something different.

Bulls Beat Depleted Pistons Team 99-91

By Sean Mackey

Last night, the Bulls somehow pulled out a win against the current Eastern Conference 7th seed, the Detroit Pistons 99-91. This was done all without their star point guard Derrick Rose.

Kirk Hinrich started in Rose's place and lead the way with 24 points, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Not too shabby on paper but the other players looked completely lost half the game without Rose running the show.

Tyrus Thomas had an impressive 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Play by play color commentator, Reggie Miller joked the whole game that Thomas could get 10 blocks if he wanted to considering how ridiculously athletic he is. I agree, but some nights, the looks just aren't there.

Joakim Noah was excellent and very productive with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He got a few 3 points plays in the mix as well. He's starting to finish with a little more muscle than he did last season which is great. He needs to get his ass to the weight room this summer though.

John Salmons once again played decent. He didn't shoot well but still managed to get 16 points and 5 rebounds. He's just a lot more consistant than Deng is. I hope to God we can get rid of him and his outlandish contract somehow this summer.

The Bulls play another nationally televised game tomorrow night on TNT against the Miami Heat. Derrick Rose will probably be out again so I hope somehow the Bulls can pull out a win this time. They lost their first two meetings of the year, they need this one.

Bulls Win 3rd in a Row, Hold Onto 8th Seed in the East!

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls followed up their spectacular St. Patrick's Day upset against the Celtics with yet another win on the road against the OKC Thunder last night.

All I have to say is John Salmons.

This guy has been fantastic night in and night out since he was traded here a few weeks back. Luol Deng's future as a Bull could actually be in jeopardy because of how good this dude is playing. I have no idea who would want to take on his ridiculous contract but we might be able to dump him this summer along with Kirk Hinrich someplace.

The Bulls are currently holding on to the 8th and final playoff spot in the east. This would have the Bulls playing the hungry Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

I'd actually rather have them play Cleveland than any other of the elite teams in the east. I fear the Magic and Celtics would both tear the Bulls up in 4 or 5 games. I think they actually have a chance to win a few games against Cleveland so hopefully we don't move up in the rankings.

Saturday evening, the Bulls take on the Lakers at home in a nationally televised WGN Superstation appearance. They have two nights off in between which for some reason is never a good thing for Chicago. I hope they can pull off another shocker just to say they beat the Lakers, Magic, Cavs & Celtics this season.

Bulls Blowout Magic 120-102

By Sean Mackey

First of all, sorry for the lack of updates regarding the last two Bulls games. Both Alex and I were out celebrating his 21st birthday and didn't get to watch the fantastic win against the Nugget last Friday. We did however get to watch the Bulls lose a ridiculous nationally televised game to a depleted Indiana Pacers team who were without Danny Grainger and Mike Dunleavy.

Last night, again I didn't get to watch the game, but the Bulls beat the hell out of the Orlando Magic 120-102 who are currently holding the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon had great games and the bench looked really good with Miller, Tim Thomas (who had 17 points) & Salmons all playing well. Miller had a rare breakaway slam also which brought some laughs to his teammates regarding his landing of of the dunk.

Once again, VDN stuck with his Kirk Hinrich lead 4th quarter, somehow this time theyprevailed. Vinny's been taking a lot of flack from columnists, bloggers, beat writers and the whole NBA in general for taking Rose out in favor of Hinrich for the 4th quarter of the game. No one really knows why he's even doing it at this point but whatever, I'm gonna let it slide until it really hurts us.

The Bulls play again tonight, this time at New Jersey. Last time they met, the Bulls had a 100-87 win back in December. The Bulls have not won consecutive road games against the Nets since 1998. New Jersey is coming off their big win against Philly on Monday night where Devin Harris hit a controversial half court shot at the buzzer. Chicago needs to win this game since the Nets are just a half game behind them fighting for that final 8th playoff seed.

Sefolosha Traded, Pax Not Resigning, Bulls vs. Nuggets TONIGHT!

By Sean Mackey

One last trade went through at the wire yesterday afternoon. The Bulls decided to part ways with Thabo Sefolosha, trading him to the OKC Thunder for a 2009 or 2010 draft pick. The draft pick will be the least valuable of their draft picks from the Spurs, Suns or Nuggets.

I think this gives them another trade piece or an excellent pick to perhaps draft another bench guy with some energy like Tyler Hansbrough this June (if the pick is for this year's draft). Thabo was going to have zero playing time after aquiring John Salmons and his botched pass attempt that cost the Bulls the game last week against Miami which was still fresh in everyone's mind.

The Bulls were declared big winners of the 2009 trade deadline this year by most NBA analysts regardless if they took on a bunch of crap. Chicago is obviously looking ahead to 2010 which they should, especially with rumors circling around that Chris Bosh would like to play on the Bulls. Jerome James will likely retire and insurance will pay his salary saving the Bulls millions. Roberson will most likely be waived and Tim Thomas will actually see playing time in taking Noc's place.

Pax also reiterated that he is NOT resigning, which is great. Although you can tell this job has aged him terribly, especially over the last 3 years, I'm glad he's staying. I doubt he'll be with the team 2 years from now but he needs to at least finish what he's started.

The Bulls play the Nuggets tonight in Chicago. They lost their first meeting on Nov 23rd but hope to continue their winning ways. They'll be without all of the new guys including Miller, Salmons and Tim Thomas until Sunday's matinee against the Indiana Pacers.

Bulls Ship Out Hughes (Crap) to the Knicks For Tim Thomas (Crap), Anthony Roberson (Crap) & Jerome James (Crap)!

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls succeeded in their final trade deadline task of dumping Larry Hughes. Larry Legend (as Alex and I like to call him) was traded to the NY Knicks for former Bulls dumpee Tim Thomas along with PG Anthony Roberson and injured center Jerome James.

This move should free up a little bit of cap space for the offseason. I'm sort of glad to see they kept Captain Kirk on the team for the rest of the year. I'm pretty sure he'll be traded though as soon as July comes around.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to Tim Thomas since he was only played 3 games before a buyout happened last time he was with Chicago. VDN has stated that he liked Tim while he with him in Phoenix, but I'm sure Tim isn't going to want to listen to a rookie coach who was once the director of player personnel. The consensus with Jerome James is that he's done and insurance will probably pay his salary and Anthony Roberson will most likely keep the bench all nice and warm with Lindsey Hunter.

Unfortunately, no other major last minute deals were made around the NBA either so the Larry Hughes trade was the deal of the day. We'll see how this all comes together on Sunday when most of the new Bulls squad will be intact to take on the Indiana Pacers.