The Bulls solidified their first winning record on a road trip of 5 or more games since 1998 beating a New Orleans Hornets team that had to play without Chris Paul for the first full game this season. They are now 4-2 with one game remaining on the road trip against Dallas on Saturday night.
The Bulls dominated the entire game against New Orleans after losing a tough game to the Houston Rockets 107-100 the night before. The Hornets were also without big man and former Bull, Tyson Chandler.
The absence of two of their best players showed as the Bulls did pretty much anything they wanted to on offense all game. D Rose had a team high 21, but more impressive was the team's post play with Joakim Noah putting up 16 points and and Tyrus Thomas putting up 15 and 10 rebounds. Obviously Tyson Chandler not being in the lineup helped, but seeing two post players putting up numbers like that is very nice to see.
The Bulls ran the transition offense with precision all game, and had numerous ally-oops. It actually looks like they are learning to play and gel with one another. About five games ago, it looked like their season was over and they were never going to figure out how to play like a team.
Since watching this road trip, I have seen great improvements in the flow of their offense and even more surprisingly on the defensive end. I thought going into the road trip if they couldn't come out with a winning record, they may as well throw away the season. Thankfully they have done just that and are only 1 game out of the final playoff spot in the conference.
Any fan that has watched the team play the past 6 games should feel confident that the team's play is only going to get better. They have also been playing well without one of their best players, Drew Gooden. Hopefully when he comes back from his groin injury, he will only help continue with helping them progress.
If the team can beat Dallas on Saturday night, I feel like they will start solidifying themselves as a dangerous team. Their record may not show it right now, but they are one of the hottest teams in the league and seem to be putting it all together at the perfect time of the season. The Bulls defeated Dallas the only time they played them this season on Nov. 13th by a score of 98-91 at the United Center.
Photo: (AP Photo/Brian Lawdermilk)
I have always thought the Bulls had talent. I couldn't figure out why they couldn't win. They are a better team than the 7 and 8 seeds, but they have to keep winning, I think they'll get in.
ReplyDeleteThey will get in. And if the recent headlines on ESPN are true, the Suns are looking to get rid of Amare Stoudemire, which would be a great match with D-Rose...Sources say that the deal may send Tyrus, Thabo, Cedric Simmons and Drew Gooden to the Suns for Amare, a 26-year-old big man that would dominate. I think this is a no brainer for the Bulls! They have missed out on many opportunities to acquire a big man throughout the last few years (Bosh, Brand, Gasol, etc...), and Vinny Del Negro worked in the Suns front office with Steve Kerr (Suns GM), so maybe Vinny can seal-the-deal.
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