It is confirmed that Derrick Rose has torn his ACL and is out for the remainder of the season. This is very tough for NBA fans to hear after just getting Derrick Rose back from being out for over 26 games with injuries to his ankles, back, toe, and now knee. The Chicago Bulls will have to find a way to push through the bad news and keep their heads up. In the regular season, the Bulls played well without Derrick Rose in the line-up. But, the playoffs are an entirely different story. Can the Bulls get back to the Eastern Conference Finals without their superstar? There is much doubt to any team getting far without their captain and leader. Unfortunately, the rest of the Bulls will have to make due. During their quest to get to the Finals, someone else will have to step up. Luol Deng is the co-captain along side Derrick and Joakim Noah is the passionate center that fuels this team. They will have to band together stronger than ever to not let the negative morale get them down. Go Bulls. See Red.
The Chicago Bulls are 1-0 in the 1st round of the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls beat the 76ers, 103-91. Rip Hamilton got the Bulls off to a quick start, finishing the game with 19 points and 4 assists. Joakim Noah had another double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls were offensively strong and were able to remain in the lead despite little runs by the 76ers. The Bulls shot 51.3%, overall, against Philly. Kyle Korver had 11 points and 4 rebounds off the bench, shooting 5-8 from the field. The game got a bit chippy in the 3rd quarter when Carlos Boozer got tied up with Evan Turner. Evan Turner was booed nearly the whole game for comments about rather wanting to face the Bulls instead of the Miami Heat. The skirmishing resulted in techs on Rose and Hamilton.
Like Rip, Luol Deng gave the Bulls a boost, shooting 8-14 from the field. Deng finished the game with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Derrick Rose struggled, offensively, in the beginning only making 1 of his 1st 7 shots. But, in the 2nd half, Rose looked more like himself. Rose was nearing a triple-double with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists until he was injured with just over a minute and a half to go in the 4th quarter.
From the replays, Rose was driving into the lane wildly as he usually does, but awkwardly injured his knee changing directions. Trainers had to assist Rose back to the locker room. He noticeably put a little pressure on his knee while walking. Right now, the team and fans can only hope that Rose doesn’t have an ACL injury. He is currently on his way to the hospital for a MRI. It’s still too early to determine if Rose will be out for a couple games. Game 2 will be on Tuesday at 8pm ET on TNT.
Chicago gets their 50th win of the season. The Cavaliers did not put up much of a fight against the Chicago Bulls who rested Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Kyle Korver. The final score was 107-75.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ZVvIqAxug
The Chicago Bulls will start their post season on Saturday at 1pm ET (noon) on TNT against the Philadelphia 76ers. The first two games will be in Chicago with game 2 scheduled for Tuesday at 7pm CT. Game 3 (7pm CT on ESPN) and Game 4 (noon CT on ABC) is scheduled for Friday and Sunday. The Bulls clinched home court advantage in the playoffs.
The Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose ranked at the top of the list in merchandise sales for the 2011-’12 NBA season. Derrick Rose has the highest selling jersey this season. Jeremy Lin, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony fall behind Rose in that order. The Bulls haven’t been listed at #1 for merchandise sales since 2001. To purchase more Chicago Bulls apparel, click here. Go Bulls!
Kyle Korver had 20 points (8 for 13FG) and 2 assists while leading the Chicago Bulls (49-16) in the defeat over the Indiana Pacers, 92-87. Joakim Noah had his 23rd double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Noah leads the team with number of season double-doubles. The Chicago Bulls shot 46.9% from the field, overall. One great sign for the Bulls in this game against the Indiana Pacers is that they were perfect from the line. The Bulls shot 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. Derrick Rose, who’s still finding his rhythm, had another struggling night, offensively. But, he is moving well and becoming more of a facilitator for the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls don’t know who they’ll face in the 1st round of the playoffs yet. On Thursday night, they’ll know if it is the New York Knicks or the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls still have some things in their half court game to correct before the playoffs begin on Saturday. Also, their main concern is getting Rose in shape for the post season. But, one thing that is quite interesting is that the 76ers and Knicks both prefer to play the Bulls instead of the Miami Heat in the 1st round. But, the Bulls have had the upper hand in both season series. The Bulls are 3-1 against the Knicks and 2-1 against the 76ers. Tomorrow night, the Knicks will play the Charlotte Bobcats. If they win, then they’ll have the 7th seed and 76ers remain at the 8th spot.
Chicago has one last game on Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. If they win tomorrow at home, they’ll finish the regular season with their 50th win. The Bulls currently have the best record in the league and if the Spurs lose to the Suns tonight, the Bulls will have home court advantage in the playoffs.
The Miami Heat who are currently on the heels of the Bulls in the Eastern Conference were defeated at home against the Washington Wizards tonight. This gives the Chicago Bulls slightly more breathing room. The Bulls defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 93-83, and are now 2 1/2 games up in the East. Now, all the Chicago Bulls have to do is win one more game to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Derrick Rose returned tonight against the Mavericks. Rose did not rush his shots and let the game come to him. Despite being out for 20+ games, the Mavericks were still concerned about him being on the floor, drawing all their attention to him. This allowed Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah to free up space for a high percentage shot. Derrick finished the game with just 11 points and 8 assists. He shot 5 for 9 from the field. Hopefully, he’s healthy enough to finish out the regular season against the feisty Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers next week.
Richard “Rip” Hamilton was very productive tonight. Rip has also just returned from a shoulder injury. He has missed 30+ games this season, but now he’s showing that his legs are fresh and ready for the post season. Rip is known for being very active running off of screens and sprinting back and forth on the baseline. When he’s executing that well, it makes defending him very difficult. Tonight, Rip had 19 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 28 minutes of playing time. Coach Tom Thibodeau is gradually giving Hamilton more minutes. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 22 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds. Luol struggled early on, but found his rhythm late in the 2nd half.
Carlos Boozer had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. But, Joakim Noah had the most efficient night. Noah finished the game with 8 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists. Almost a triple-double for the passionate center. Joakim was able to control the boards and hustle aggressively, giving his teammates more chances to score against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls, overall, shot 45.2% from the field. They were also 66.7% from the free throw line. Joakim Noah was the only Bulls player to go to the line multiple times. A great sign for the Bulls is that they had 29 assists and only 10 turnovers. There was much better ball movement between the players and sure, crisp passes executed. Also, the Bulls had 32 points in the paint and 15 fastbreak points.
Chicago’s next game is on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers, which means they have a little time to practice and heal from nagging injuries. The Bulls record, overall, is 48-16.
It’s obvious that the Charlotte Bobcats are no reflection of how great their owner, Michael Jordan, was as a player. This season the Bobcats are stuck at only 7 wins with an 18 game losing streak. How bad were the Bobcats last night? Well, in the fourth quarter, alone, the Chicago Bulls outscored the Bobcats 23-9. The final score is even more laughable. The Chicago Bulls finished the game with 100 points and held the Bobcats to only 68 points. Overall, the Bulls shot 48.2% from the field with 29 assists. Taj Gibson and Omer Asik were monsters on the boards, combining with 27 of the Bulls 57 rebounds. With Luol Deng and Derrick Rose out, Rip Hamilton took control as the veteran leader for the Bulls. Hamilton finished the game with 22 points and 6 assists in 24 minutes of playing time.
The Bulls’ bench players played a heavy role in last night’s win. The bench outscored the Bobcats’ bench, 42-9. John Lucas led the bench with 12 points and 3 assists. Joakim Noah finished the game with 12 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes. Overall, the Bulls had great effort from the starters and bench players. Something they should have had against the Washington Wizards during Monday’s game. They only had 9 turnovers in the game, but there is another growing concern. The Bulls shot 57.9% from the charity stripe. The playoffs will be here before we know it and that percentage is not acceptable. Playoff games are obviously more intense and every team will be ready to bring their “A” game. Therefore, plenty of games will come down to the wire. Free throw shots must be made. The lack of free throws made did not necessarily hurt the Bulls while playing against the Bobcats, but will certainly effect them against better teams. They don’t have much time to correct these flaws, especially since the compressed schedule is unfriendly to coaches and teams.
No definite word on when Luol Deng and Derrick Rose will return. The Bulls need them tonight against the Miami Heat. They beat the Heat without Rose, but can they beat the Heat without Deng too?! The game will air on TNT at 8pm ET.
It’s called The Rose Revolution. Derrick Rose is on the cover of GQ’s May 2012 issue. Since his MVP award during the 2010-2011 season, the accolades and super stardom has risen for Rose. Check out the issue on newsstands now!
Check out the behind the scenes of the photoshoot here.
The Washington Wizards get a rare win against the Chicago Bulls, 87-84. Derrick Rose (right foot/ankle) and Luol Deng (ribs) both sat out with injuries. Rip Hamilton led the Bulls with 22 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. But, Kevin Seraphin, led the Wizards to the victory with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. The Chicago Bulls are now 24-7 at home. On Wednesday, the Bulls will take on the Charlotte Bobcats at 7pm ET on WCIU (local).
On Thursday, a clutch 3 by CJ Watson sent the game against the Miami Heat into overtime. Yesterday, a clutch 3 by Derrick Rose did the same exact thing. An overtime against the Heat is somewhat expected. But, not against the (22-38) Detroit Pistons. The win against the Pistons should have happened during regulation. With all due respect to the Detroit Pistons, no one was expecting this win to be that difficult. Why was it difficult? The Bulls had 19 turnovers in which the Pistons scored 26 points off of.
Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah led the Bulls past the Pistons in this overtime victory. Rose is looking more like himself and finding his rhythm, offensively. Unlike the game against Miami, Derrick slashed more into the lane with positive results and hit several of his jumpers. Rose also hit the 3 to send the game into overtime. He finished the game with 24 points and 9 assists in 41 minutes of playing time. Joakim had one of the best games of this season. The Bulls have to credit Noah for getting 2nd chance points. He kept the game close with the hustle plays in the paint. Noah finished the game with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
In Rip Hamilton’s return to Detroit, he only played 21 minutes as a starter. The minutes for the shooting guard position was split between him and Kyle Korver. Korver had 13 points and 2 assists in 27 minutes. Carlos Boozer had a solid game and hit a baseline jumper to keep the Bulls close, also. Boozer is known for having mental errors resulting into turnovers, but he has become slightly more reliable. Boozer had 15 points and 9 rebounds in which he shot over 50% from the field.
The Bulls shot 42.9%, overall, in their 100-94 win over the Pistons. They must do their best in regaining their energy because they have a game against the Washington Wizards at home today at 8pm ET. The game will air on Comcast Sports Chicago (local).
There are only nine days and 77 games remaining in the 2012-13 regular season. And in one conference, we have a pretty clear picture of how teams will match up in the first round of the playoffs. […]
