Joakim was right. After game 6, he confidently said that the Bulls would win game 7 on the road. The 2nd half of the series has been pretty tough for Chicago. Luol Deng, Nate Robinson, and Taj Gibson began suffering from flu-like symptoms before game 6. Gibson and Robinson were able to play, but Deng had to be hospitalized to have a spinal tap to see if he had meningitis. He also could not travel with the team for game 7 due to complications from the procedure. The Bulls had to land in New Jersey because of mechanical problems on their plane and when they finally got to New York, they were stuck in heavy traffic and could not cross the bridge due to a “potential jumper”. Luckily, no one jumped. The Bulls simply had bad luck.

Joakim Noah is a true leader and fought hard for the Chicago Bulls. He led the team with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. Marco Belinelli also had a great game scoring 24 points 6 rebounds. Boozer finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Throughout the game, Chicago shot 48.8% from the field. Chicago had two quarters where they scored 30 points. By halftime, the Bulls led the Nets 61-44. The Bulls came out with the urgency and passion to win and treated this game like a true game 7. But, oddly, the Nets treated this game like a mere game 1. They didn’t start to play with some urgency until the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Bulls were simply hungrier for the win. The Brooklyn Nets are talented and a deep team. Therefore, they should have beaten up the banged up Bulls. But, the Bulls fought with their heart.

The Chicago Bulls will battle the Miami Heat. The game airs on Monday at 7.

Well, it has finally happened.

In a cover story for Sports Illustrated’s May 6, 2013 issue, NBA free agent and veteran Jason Collins, has revealed to the world that he is a gay man. Collins begins his personal essay by saying, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

The essay is thoughtful, poignant and well-written. Collins, a graduate of Stanford University, writes about growing up in a Christian home, struggling with his identity and talks about how he was living a lie, going as far as getting engaged to a woman, because he thought that’s what he should do.

So far, he has gotten messages of support from fellow players, fans and athletes in other sports. And though there have been messages of ignorance left in the comments section of the SI article and on Twitter, Collins says he’s ready for them.

As far as the reaction of fans, I don’t mind if they heckle me. I’ve been booed before. There have been times when I’ve wanted to boo myself. But a lot of ill feelings can be cured by winning.

This is an important day in sports history. Even though Collins, at the moment, is a free agent and not signed, he is an active player in a major sport and he has come out. Hopefully, others will follow his lead and one day, gay professional athletes won’t be a rarity, they will be commonplace.

The Chicago Bulls certainly bounced back from their embarrassing loss in Game 1. They were also the first team to get a win while on the road in the first round. The Brooklyn Nets could not handle the Bulls’ lockdown defense and lost, 82-90, at home.

Joakim Noah was the big story of game 2 on Monday night. He struggled heavily in game 1, struggling with the severe pain in his foot from the tear and plantar fasciitis. For game 2, his minutes were supposed to be limited to 20 minutes, but he played an extra 5 minutes that were much needed. Noah wasn’t the highest scorer on the Bulls last night, but what he did on the court definitely attributed to their win. He made great plays when the Bulls needed it the most. He was diving for loose balls, saving the ball from going out of bounds, and making big rebounds to give his teammates a second chance to score. Despite the pain he was in, Noah still fought through it like a warrior to help the Bulls get an important win on the road. Noah finished the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Luol Deng also bounced back to lead the Bulls to victory. In game 1, his game was off and he simply could not score efficiently.  For game 2, Deng was more aggressive on the floor and attacking to score. He finished the game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in 42 minutes of playing time. Boozer also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

A big key factor for the Bulls was points in the paint that they allowed. In game 1, they allowed the Nets to score 56 points in the paint. In game 2, they only allowed 30 points, while the Bulls scored 42 points in the paint. Chicago must keep the paint heavily guarded to avoid easy, high percentage shots near the basket throughout this series. It’s obvious that defense is very important in their form of execution on the floor and it kept Deron Williams shooting on 1-9 from the field, also thanks to Kirk Hinrich.

The Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls will get a chance to regroup before game 3, which will be on Thursday at 8:30pm ET at the United Center. Game 3 will air on NBA TV.

The Chicago Bulls start off the 2012-2013 NBA Playoffs down 0-1. Prior to the game, Coach Tom Thibodeau stated that it’s unlikely that Derrick Rose will play in the post season. He seems physically ready to go, but now he’s struggling with the mental part of the game. After an injury like an ACL tear, the mental progression is just as important as the physical. Surely, fans would’ve appreciated it more, if the Bulls organization would have confirmed that Rose wasn’t going to play several months ago. The longer they waited, the more fans became frustrated and anxious.

Joakim Noah started the game and literally gave all he could. Noah is still struggling with the plantar fasciitis in his foot. He also stated in an interview that he also has a tear in his foot and let it linger without taking the best advice to sit out more games. As of right now, it looks like Noah won’t be much of a factor in this series. Chicago only scored 14 points in the first quarter and by halftime, the Nets led the Bulls 60-35. They simply could not score at all. Luol Deng has been in a slump and shot on 3/11 from the field, finishing with 6 points and 2 rebounds. Only Jimmy Butler and Carlos Boozer, as starters, scored in double figures. Carlos Boozer seemed to be the only one who wasn’t struggling to find a rhythm. He finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Nate Robinson had 17 points off the bench in 20 minutes of playing time. Marco Belinelli finished with 13 points.

Brook Lopez was allowed to do whatever he wanted in the paint without the Bulls stopping him. The Bulls knew that one of their assignments was to not allow Lopez or Reggie Evans to be effective in the painted area. The Brooklyn Nets scored 56 of their 106 points down low, near the basket.

With injuries piling up from left to right, everything that could go wrong definitely did. On Monday night, the Bulls will attempt to even the series out. The game will air at 8pm ET on TNT.

The Chicago Bulls have lost 4 of their last 5 games. The one game that they won was against the New York Knicks in overtime. Obviously, it’s known that the Bulls  haven’t been playing at full strength due to various injuries. But, the Bulls were missing Richard Hamilton on Sunday because of a suspension from elbowing Demar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors. In the 93-105 loss to the Miami Heat, Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 16 points and 2o rebounds. Luol Deng finished with 19 points, while Jimmy Butler had 13 points and 5 rebounds.

The Bulls couldn’t stop Lebron James from scoring 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists or Wade’s 22 points and 2 blocks. Chicago also allowed the Heat to score 44 points in the paint, while they only scored 24 points in the paint. Chicago struggled from the field shooting just 35.4% from the field. Miami shot just over 51% from the field. Chris Andersen had a big game from off Miami’s bench with 15 points and 7 rebounds. With Joakim Noah out, Andersen was able to score at will in the paint.

The Chicago Bulls will likely remain at the sixth spot in the East and face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. They will face the Orlando Magic tonight at 7pm ET and the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at 8pm ET.

Ask the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls don’t respect streaks that aren’t started by them. Carmelo Anthony and New York Knicks should have known that at the United Center, your streak will be snapped. The Knicks were looking for their 14th straight win, but the Bulls had another plan in mind. Yes, it took a period of overtime, but the Bulls got the 118-111 victory for the Knicks. The Chicago Bulls swept the New York Knicks (4-0) in the regular season.

Carlos Boozer and Jimmy Butler, as starters, both finished with double-doubles. Boozer scored 13 points and 15 rebounds in 47 minutes of playing time. Butler finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds in 50 minutes of playing time. All the Bulls starters contributed well with 4 of them scoring in the double figures. The starters also rebounded well even though they allowed Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to rebound easily in the double figures. Anthony had 19 rebounds, 6 were offensive. Nate Robinson was the (little) big guy that put the Bulls on his back even though he was coming off the bench. Robinson had 35 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He shot 10/18 (55%) from the field and 5/11 (45%) from the 3-point line. Richard Hamilton had a better shooting night with 14 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Carmelo did score 36 points, along with his 19 rebounds. But, he did struggle from the field, shooting 13/34 (38%). Lately, he has been on a hot shooting streak, but he struggled against the Luol Deng and the Bulls defense. Even though, the Bulls are still missing key players in their roster, they can still put up a fight when they want to.

The Chicago Bulls cannot celebrate for long since they have a game today at 7pm ET against the Toronto Raptors.

Nate Robinson talks about Bulls win over Knicks (below)

No Derrick Rose (duh). No Joakim Noah. No Luol Deng. No Taj Gibson. So Jimmy Butler tried to save the day with an incredible stat line, but unfortunately failed to do so. It was too bad the Chicago Bulls could not get a win against the lowly Toronto Raptors. Jimmy Butler had 28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 48 minutes of playing time. But, what was so amazing was his field goal percentage. Butler shot 83% (10/12 fg) from the field, making all three of his 3-pointers and only missing one of his six free throw attempts. Stats like that should be celebrated with a victory, but the Bulls failed to have a decent third quarter. Only two other players were in double figures. Boozer had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. But, he struggled mightily from the field, making only 7 of 20 shot attempts. Nate Robinson was very similar to Boozer with 22 points, but only making 7 of 22 shot attempts.

Terrible referee calling mixed with awful shooting was the result for the 98-101 loss. Joakim Noah’s plantar fasciitis is getting worse and rumors are swirling that he will be shut down until the playoffs. Analysts and columnists are praising Derrick Rose’s progression, but still no word on his possible, yet uncertain return. Taj Gibson is expected to return soon from his MCL sprain. Also, Luol Deng should also make an appearance soon on the court after his bruised hip heals. Richard Hamilton returned last night and only played about 14 minutes, contributing just 4 points and an assist.

On Thursday, the Bulls will face the streaking New York Knicks at the United Center. The game will air at 8pm ET.

The Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets, 92-90, on the road in the Barclays Center. This is the third of four times in a series that the Bulls were able get a victory over the Nets. Once again, the Chicago Bulls were shorthanded and struggling on offense. The Bulls were not able to score in the first quarter at all. Over 6:10 passed and the Chicago Bulls were only able to score 4 points, while Brook Lopez was able to get whatever type of shot he wanted. The Brooklyn Nets were on a roll in the first period. The first quarter ended with the Nets up by 13 with a score of 26-13. After that, the Bulls were able to out score the Nets in the last three quarters.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls to the victory. Boozer finished with 29 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists in 45 minutes. Luol Deng had 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Jimmy Butler scored 16 points and 10 rebounds as starters. The Bulls, shockingly with Taj and Joakim, out-rebounded the Nets, 46-30. This win was major for the Bulls who went into it as the clear underdogs due to all of their nagging injuries. But, the Bulls have no time to relish in their win over the Nets. Tonight, the Bulls will face the Orlando Magic at the United Center. Even though, the Magic have a losing record, the Bulls cannot take them for granted and fall asleep during this game. The Bulls are known to play down to their competition. They must come out with enough energy and attack the basket from the start.

The game will air at 8pm ET.

Besides the inconsistency and not being able to close out games, more bad news is on the horizon. Taj Gibson sprained his knee once again. The same knee that suffered a sprained MCL. Also, there’s no word on when Joakim Noah, Marco Belinelli, and Rip Hamilton will return to action. Some are suggesting that Coach Tom Thibodeau should rest, at least, Noah and Gibson for the playoffs. The Chicago Bulls are in the 6th spot in the East. Hopefully, they can maintain that spot until the post season. The Bulls have been 5-5 in their last 10 games, but it feels much worse than that. With so many key players out, the Bulls are having an incredibly difficult time attempting to score. They are truly beat down. It definitely showed during their game against the Washington Wizards. Down the stretch, the team struggled to make their free throws. Key free throws that could possibly cement a win. Carlos Boozer lead the Bulls in the 86-90 loss, with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler both had 13 points a piece. Deng also grabbed 8 rebounds. Nazr Mohammed played 36 minutes, scoring 12 points and 12 rebounds. Nate Robinson scored 17 points and 3 assists coming off the bench. Chicago only had 7 turnovers, but only shot 39.3% from the field. This week the Bulls will face the Brooklyn Nets (Thursday) and Orlando Magic (Friday).

Kirk Hinrich being ejected from Wizards game.

Last scheduled regular season games:

April 7: @ Detroit Pistons

April 9: vs Toronto Raptors

April 11: vs New York Knicks

April 12: @ Toronto Raptors

April 14: @ Miami Heat

April 15: @ Orlando Magic

April 17: vs Washington Wizards

The Chicago Bulls, with all their injuries, were clearly overlooked as to who was going to put a stop to the Miami Heat’s win streak. Several NBA analysts assumed the best team in the West, the San Antonio Spurs, would do the trick. But, the Chicago Bulls were on a mission to end that streak and remind the NBA that if they wanted to, they could beat anyone in the league. This game was like a heavy weight fight, in which, the underdog surprises everyone and earns the victory.

No Joakim Noah. No Marco Belinelli. No Richard Hamilton. And no DERRICK ROSE!

Somehow the Bulls pulled it off to what seemed to be the impossible, as the Miami Heat literally rolled over teams for 27 times. It was obviously impressive, but all great things do come to an end. The Bulls got off to a great start with a 11-2 lead in the first 3 minutes of the first quarter. For the most part, Chicago played good, solid defense. Kirk Hinrich played like a true tough guy. Hinrich even had the guts to stand in front of LeBron James as he was running full speed in a fastbreak. No one else is brave enough to do that. Hinrich also wrapped up James with a bear hug to prevent him from scoring easily. Naturally, Lebron and company complained, but it did work. The theme last night was: Don’t allow easy baskets. Clearly.

The Chicago Bulls had great ball movement. As a team, the Bulls had 27 assists. They also out-rebounded the Miami Heat, 43 to 31. With the absence of Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng both had great nights stepping up, offensively. Carlos Boozer, in 39 minutes, 21 points and 17 rebounds. Deng was 4/8 (50%) from the 3 point line. He finished the game with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 44 minutes. Jimmy Butler was 6/10 (60%) with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Taj Gibson and Nate Robinson were big off the bench. Robinson finished with 14 points and 3 assists. Gibson contributed 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. It may not seem much, but he was certainly there when the Bulls needed a bucket or a critical rebound.

Chicago got under Miami’s skin. Of course, the Heat complained all night to the refs about the Bulls being too rough. Blah. Blah. Blah. Lebron James got a…FLAGRANT FOUL. Taj gave him a good hard foul and James retaliated against…Boozer. This game told more about the Bulls than the Heat. It showed that the Bulls are very well capable of beating anyone despite having a boat load of injuries. The Bulls are tough and they buy into what Coach Tom Thibodeau is teaching them. Sure, some don’t always agree with Thibodeau’s coaching methods, but he can get the job done.

After having a lackluster third quarter, the Bulls fought hard in the fourth to win 101-97. Chicago will get a little rest and face the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at 2pm ET.

Check out the highlights below: