[13-9] Bulls ~ Rose's buzzer over Manu ices the Spurs & more

[joemmel]

weird. i've Skype installed and it's automatically turning player stats from your boxscores into phone #s lol:

Skype Weirdness

I guess i can call Biedrins now and tell him he needs to shoot less?

anyway, Noah was a BEAST v. Dallas! good stuff so far man keep it goin'

haha wierd thing
how to take a pic like that?

[dare]

Very nice presentation, might steal some of that if it's okay About the rookies so this is not the John Wall class?

[Oskar]

Very nice presentation, might steal some of that if it's okay About the rookies so this is not the John Wall class?

Nah, it's not the John Wall one, it's one with generated rookies. :p

[Fresh8]

Good lil franchise you've got going on here.

[Oskar]

Good lil franchise you've got going on here.

Thanks Mr. Dynasty Man!

[Oskar]

GAME STORY / PICTURES / BOXSCORE

(121) Bulls @ Nets (98)

Bulls stellar first half performance enough for a blowout win over the Nets homecourt.


Bulls rookie Hubert Lefevre staring down at Harris, Williams and Lopez after a reverse slam.



November 7th, 2010 (NEW JERSEY) - Thanks to the Chicago Bulls terrific first half, in which they scored 78 points (38 in the first, 40 in the second), the Bulls had basically already won the game by halftime. Leading by 36 points at halftime, the Bulls started the second half with a bench lineup and everyone who was dressed up for the game saw the floor. Only James Johnson managed to stay scoreless in only 3 minutes of action, but he did not attempt a shot, either.

A lot of the Bulls first half success came thanks to the balanced offensive game of theirs, in the first half the Bulls shot nearly 70 percent from the field, abour 55 from behind the three point line. The top scorers for the Bulls were Rose with 22, Boozer and Levefre both had 19 on the game. Derrick Rose also dished out 7 assists. The best filled statline came from Ronnie Brewer, who only missed a single mid-range jumper. Brewer finished with 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Luol Deng and Kyle Korver were the other two to score in double digits, the two were 6-7 combined from downtown, with Korver having the only miss. Kyle Korver was the third player to end the game with 7 assists along with Rose and Brewer.

The Nets were mainly led by Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, as expected. Devin Harris chipped in with 26 points, but had a disappointing night shooting wise, as he shot only 10 out of 30. Brook Lopez had a solid game shooting the ball and defensively, too. He finished the game with 25 points and 14 rebounds on 9-16 shooting, 7-7 from the foul line. He did a good job defending Joakim Noah, who finished the game with an unusual 9 point, 8 rebound game.

"I'm pretty satisfied with how the team played today, especially in the first half. Our defense was really good, which is something that I would like to see happen more." said the Chicago Bulls head coach, Tom Thibodeau after the game. "Offensively we were just getting good looks at the basket, fortunately we made them on a high percentage, too. Being up by a lot, it was great to give the bench players some more playing time than usual, makes it easier for us to see who can perform at a higher stage and play with confidence."


Deng taking a wide-open three pointer with Terrence Williams slacking on D.


Brook Lopez taking it hard to the basket and getting fouled in the process.


Rose clutching the ball behind his head before slamming it down with authority.

[kibaxx7]

A lot of players in double figures Great win man.

[Oskar]

A lot of players in double figures Great win man.

Yeah, I've got quite a few good scorers coming off the bench, especially Korver and Lefevre, Watson is pretty solid, too. And in the starting five, basically everyone gets 10 every night. Thanks!

[Oskar]

Bulls 4-1 on the road so far, only loss in Atlanta.


Boozer posting up against Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins in Boston.



@
113 : Chicago @ New Jersey : 93

Bulls take the road win over New Jersey, Deng drops 25.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Deng: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 10-19 FG, 2-4 3PT
Boozer: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10-18 FG
Korver: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 7-11 FG, 5-6 3PT

Murphy: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3-8 3PT
Harris: 14 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals



@
138 : Chicago @ Boston : 126 (OT)

Boozer and Rose shine in an overtime victory over the Celtics.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Boozer: 36 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 17-25 FG
Rose: 41 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 14-22 FG, 13-16 FT
Korver: 23 points, 2 steals, 8-12 FG, 4-6 3PT

West: 29 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 9-13 FG, 8-10 FT
Perkins: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 9-16 FG
Pierce: 21 points, 3 assists, 3-8 3PT, 4-5 FT



@
95 : Chicago @ Toronto : 79

Bulls get a solid win over the Raptors despite a bad fourth quarter.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Rose: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-6 FT
Deng: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 8-16 FG, 5-7 FT
Noah: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 5-6 FT

Claver: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-17 FG
Jack: 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 5-6 FT



@
90 : Chicago @ Atlanta : 110

Bulls have a bad night offensively, Hawks get an easy win.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Rose: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-16 FG
Noah: 14 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Rose: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-4 3PT
Deng: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 6-7 FT

Pachulia: 19 points, 13 rebounds, 7-13 FG, 5-7 FT
Johnson: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 7-19 FG
Webb(R): 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 7-11 FG

(( Sorry for the boxscores not being there, there's something wrong with the site I use for uploading the boxscores, and I couldn't find one that would do the job as well as that one. Stole the idea from Martti (props) and I think it did the job well enough, in future though, I'll try to keep going with the boxscores, unless the site stays messed up like it is now. ))

[Martti.]

Fileden has worked great for me, not a single problem with it.

Great to see Korver with two games with 20+ points.

[Oskar]

Fileden has worked great for me, not a single problem with it.

Great to see Korver with two games with 20+ points.

It has? That's really weird, it started to give me some errors whatever I was doing, from uploading to trying to register a new account, just incase.

Korver's been huge off the bench, if I can get him an open look it's pretty much a certain one, and if it's in, he's bound to hit a couple straight. That's really good, with Levefre, the other three point threat, he's sort of like JR Smith. Pull up a ridicilous shot and it's in, hehe.

[Oskar]

Rubio sidelined with a bone spur in his foot.


November 8th, 2010 - The Minnesota Timberwolves rookie, yet starting point guard, Ricky Rubio, will have to deal with his first injury in his NBA season. Fortunately for Rubio and the Timberwolves, the injury is not as serious as it could've been and Rubio will only have to sit approximately two weeks. During the time, Johnny Flynn will take the starting position. So far, Rubio has been compared to Rondo, mainly thanks to his good defense and playmaking, but lack of ability to score. The Spaniard is averaging 12 points, 5½ assists and 2 steals per game so far. Read more...

By ESPN

Horford breaks wrist in practice, out for 10 weeks.


November 10th, 2010 - During the Hawks last practice, Al Horford landed on his wrist hard after tripping in the paint. The coaching staff said that the injury did not look too bad at the first glance, but after five minutes the wrist was swollen up and started hurting the Hawks' big man more and more. The team trainers told that Horford will have to sit out for around 9 weeks and then wait a few more before being a hundred percent. Read more...

By Thomas Santora, Yahoo! Sports

Arenas goes for the first 50 of the season, breaks toe at the end of the game.


November 12th, 2010 - The Boston Celtics hosted Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards on 12th November and probably expected a bit more out of the night. The Celtics put Delonte West on Arenas, and although West is known for his gritty defense, Arenas went on to score exactly 50 points. Arenas was 21-28 from the field, including 7-10 from downtown and only attempted two free throws, missing one of them. Arenas also had 6 assists in the game. With 2.46 to go, Celtics' Glen Davis fell on Arenas' left foot as Arenas was going in for a layup. Arenas asked for a substitution and did not return to the floor. Later the day it was announced that Arenas broke his toe in the process and will sit out for two weeks. After being plagued with injuries for years now, Arenas finally seemed to have returned to his best shape in a long time as he averages a league best 29.6 points per game, also 5 assists, 3 boards and 2 steals to go with it. Read more...

By Thomas Santora, Yahoo! Sports

The Celtics plagued with injuries.


November 14th, 2010 - Recently, the Celtics have seen someone from their team get injuried for three straight games. On the ninth, Von Wafer, a backup guard, injured his knee really bad. A day later the team said that Wafer would be out for up to 10 weeks with a hyper-extended knee. The next game when the Celtics hosted Gilbert Arenas and his Wizards, Kendrick Perkins sprained his finger which will sideline him for about 3 weeks. In the same game, Arenas chipped in with exactly 50 points and a broken toe to put him out for 2 weeks. On the 14th, Ray Allen asked for a sub thanks to a sore toe. He won't be out for longer than a week, though, and the injury should not affect his game. Read more...

By Raymond Sung, Yahoo! Sports

Houston lose another key player for long term in Battier.


November 14th, 2010 - Just two weeks ago in the opening game for the Rockets against Atlanta, the Rockets lost their starting two guard, Kevin Martin thanks to a rather serious injury (hyper-extended knee). Now the Rockets will have to play without another key member of the starting five as Shane Battier went down bad, causing him to stay out til' about the same time as Martin, which means Battier will have to be sidelined for around 7 to 8 weeks. The two that replace Martin and Battier in the starting lineup are Courtney Lee and Chase Budinger. Read more...

By Raymond Sung, Yahoo! Sports

Howard out for three weeks with an ankle injury.


November 15th, 2010 - In the last game of Orlando when the Magic faced the until' then undefeated Miami Heat, Dwight Howard sprained his ankle in the end of third quarter. By the time Howard went out and didn't return to the floor, Orlando was already ahead by 21 points and despite a fourth quarter rally led by LeBron James, Orlando managed to pack away with a lead. Howard will be out with the injury for around 3 weeks at most. Read more...

By Adam Dundell, Yahoo! Sports

LeBron to sit out a few games with a bone spur in foot.


November 17th, 2010 - After landing on his heel after a rebound against the Bobcats, LeBron limped off the court, having hurt his right foot. Later that night, LeBron James said on twitter that he has a bone spur in his right foot which will cause him to sit Miami's next game against Chicago and possibly a few more games. So far, people have said that LeBron is the Heat's clear leader thanks to his defense, as the former Cavalier is averaging 8 rebounds, 2,36 blocks and the same amount of steals. Others say that Chris Bosh is Miami's leader as he scores the most with nearly 24 points a game, but most deny that due to his lack of effort on the defensive end.Read more...

By Adam Dundell, Yahoo! Sports

[Oskar]

Bulls rookie Lefevre taking shots at LeBron, Miami.


November 18th, 2010 - As the Miami Heat is getting ready to host the Chicago Bulls, the Bulls first year guard out of Bradley, Hubert Lefevre, is taking shots at LeBron James, who will sit out the game against Chicago. After the Bulls arrival to South Beach, Lefevre was asked about how does it feel to play against the Miami's "Big Three" and the company, to which the Bulls rookie fired back, "You've got to be kidding me... One of these goes down with a faked injury, come on! Either that fella's stupid enough to underrate our team, which I doubt, it's probably more like him being sure that there's no chance anyway, hence an off night to get some rest for the next game would be more useful. They overrated. Over, rated. I mean, that's that." Lefevre is currently averaging 7 points and nearly 2 assists and rebounds in only 12 minutes per game, hence over 20 points in 36 minutes. Read more...

By ESPN

Bosh responds to Lefevres comments.


November 18th, 2010 - Later on the same day that the Chicago Bulls rookie, Hubert Lefevre took shots at LeBron, Miami's Chris Bosh was the first to comment on it and respond. "I don't know why this Lefevre guy is giving all the attention to LeBron," said after Miami's shootaround the evening before the game against Chicago. "I'm sort of surprised about why he didn't say a word about my game, I'm the leading scorer afterall. LeBron has been good, though, pretty good. Wade too, yeah.." Bosh had looked slightly confused about it the whole time and when asked if he had anything else to say: "I mean, you know, in the end, we all get to be on TV." Read more...

Via Yahoo! Sports

The Suns looking to trade Dragic?


November 18th, 2010 - There are rumours spreading around that the Phoenix Suns are looking around for possible trade scenarios centered around their backup point guard, Goran Dragic. Dragic has recently shown the ability to come in and play good in short spurts and has definitely shown enough to give the NBA General Managers something to be interested about. This season, Dragic is averaging just over 7 points and nearly 3 assists in 13 minutes per game. Another plus is the lack of turnovers, as he averages just about 0.25 turnovers. Read more...

Via Newsday.com

The Sixers supposedly satisfied with Iverson's year.


November 18th, 2010 - There's been a word around that the city of Philadelphia and the 76ers organization is proud of how Allen Iverson has returned to form. In 12 games so far, Iverson is averaging nearly 19 points, over 5 rebounds and 6 assists, to go with over two steals per game. Iverson is getting more playing time than he has for a basically a decade now as he's top 5 in minutes player, averaging over 40 a game. Many people say they're far from happy with AI's defensive effort due to him still reaching out for steals and gambling too much. Even more people put Iverson down thanks to his extremely poor efficiency, as he's shooting just 36% from the field and under 20 percent from three. Even today, Iverson continues to get to the foul line a lot and so far he's top 10 in free throw attempts, sixth in free throws made. Read more...

By Adam Dundell, Yahoo! Sports

[Oskar]

3.42 AM in a hotel in Miami where the Bulls were staying, just a day before the long awaited game against the Miami Heat.
Tom Thibodeau’s phone suddenly starts ringing on the dresser next to the enormous bed. Tom opened his eyes, rubbing them slightly and then reached out for the phone, noticing an unknown number, for him, that is.
„God damnit, who’s calling me at night, oh well...“ he said, coughing twice to clear his voice, then picked up.

„Yo, coach, what’s up, you!?“ a familiar voice asked loudly, sounding rather excited with loud club music playing in the background.
„What is this!? That’s you, Ronnie?“ he asked, getting up nervously.
„Word up, yo! We clubbing here with CJ, ya gotta’ come check this pla-„ said Brewer before Tom interrupted him.
„You two get back to the hotel, into your fucking bed if you two want to see any playing time what so ever tomorrow, this week, this month, ever! Am I clear!?“ he asked, breathing in and out loudly as he basically shouted into the mobile phone.
„Dayum Thibs, what’s up with you? Chill! We’ll be goin’, chief!“ he responded, sounding a bit worried, hanging up the phone right after.
„You drunk, Ron? – Hey, Ron!? Hanging up on me now too, just wonderful..“ said Tom to himself, putting his Blackberry flip phone back on the dresser afterwards.

He sat back down on the side of the bed, placing his elbows on his knees and palming his head in silence, then sighed in disgrace, suddenly pushing his hands off from the knees, falling back on the bed. He stared at the ceilings of the room for a bit, then stood back up and went to the bathroom. He looked at the mirror briefly, once again rubbing his eyes a couple times, then bended down to the sink, placing his hands side by side to fold a bowl of some sort, filling it with ice cold water quickly to throw it all in his face. He then looked back up at the mirror briefly, suddenly bursting out. „God damnit, Ronnie! CJ.. Fuck!“



10 AM, 10 hours left til’ the game.
Most of the Bulls had already woken up and were down in the lunch room for the breakfast. Head coach Tom Thibodeau was the first one there and stared at the entrace to the room with a furious look on his face as he was eating his baked eggs. Boozer, Hubert, Kurt Thomas, Bogans and JJ were the first ones to come in as a little five-headed gang. The five greeted Thibs and JJ also approached him before grabbing the dishes, „Hey coach, we all-in tonight, no kidding!“ Coach Thibs raised his eyes from the group table to look up at JJ, forcing a smile on his face, then nodding a couple times. He then pushes himself back with the chair, raising slowly despite the unfinished breakfast. He coughed loudly to get the attention from the five and also Derrick, Jo and the rookie big man, Andy Hicks, who came a few moments after. Thibs cast a greeting nod towards the three entering, then told with a rather strict tone, „Tell everybody that we’ve got a team meeting in my room at 2.“ He then walked out of the door with everybody looking after to him with confused faces.



2 PM, meeting in the coaches room.
As the clock ticked closer to two, the entire team, including Ronnie Brewer and CJ Watson, walked into Tom’s room which was located on the 8th floor of a 10 floor building, the two top floors reserved for the Bulls players. Tom’s hotel room was a high-class suite, hence the living room in which the meeting took place, was really big. Two of the assistant coaches were also in the room for the meeting, Ron Adams and Andry Greer. Everybody came in, laughing and joking before entering the room, but turning rather serious as they got in, most of the players greeting the coaches respectfully. Tom told everybody to take a seat somewhere as there were plenty of places to sit, a big couch, the comfortable sitting bags, stools and more. On one of the big couches sat Jo, CJ, Omer and the „And He Hicks!“, the second round rookie. CJ Watson sat between Joakim and Omer and looked a bit shy the way he had been quiet all day long, compared to usual, plus the way he kept staring at his own feet with a worried look on his face, that created a some sort of weird atmosphere around him. Joakim even once tapped on CJ’s shoulder to ask what’s up with him, but CJ shrugged it off. As everybody had sat down, coach Thibs stood up from his little stool and went slightly closer to his team, sneezing once.

„Alright, first of all, thanks everyone for showing up, sign of respect.. I won’t hesitate and I’ll get straight to point,“ he said, shifting his gaze between the players. „I hope I was clear in the first day of training camp when I said that in order for us to win with the team that we currently have, every single player has to mentally focused, ready and willing to sacrifice every single bit of energy he has in the game, EVERY player!“
He looked around and remained silent for about 10 seconds, causing the players to look around from one face to another in confusion, trying to realize the message the coach was trying to get across.
„Now, I’m not going to speak with names, neither will I put you all together, I know some of you are working extremely hard and are actually using the night for resting, BUT... When I get a phonecall at about 4 AM, I get worried about it being some sort of family matter or similar, because I don’t expect anybody to call me at that time. I pick up and a player from my team, a player that I’m expecting to be sleeping, getting rest a floor or two above me, he calls me from a Miami night club, drunk along with another player.“
Once again everyone in the room started looking around curiously, yet some of the players, especially Joakim and Boozer, looked extremely mad, while Derrick leaned his head back on his light green sitting back, sighing as he looked up with a little worried look on his face.
„The two players will not get to play today and I’m expecting them to apologize in front of me and the rest of the players. This type of behaviour is not tolerated in this team, especially considering the goals that we’ve set for the season.. Club all you want, but not before a game against a contending team, not then.. Apologize whenever you feel like you’re ready to. That’s it for the meeting..“



Game against Miami starts, around 8 PM.
The Bulls were gathered up in the hallway with a circle around Joakim, everybody jumping up and down softly, clapping their hands, fist pumping and what not. CJ and Ronnie were a few steps away, from both faces a long night could’ve been read, which explained the silent and tired mood of both of them. The ones who had felt like it was necessary had already said their piece on the case to the two. Now was no time to think about the little thing and the players had to be more motivated than ever before this season, as everybody knew that winning in South Beach would open up some eyes...

With time winding down in the fourth quarter and only 2 minutes left on the clock, Rose held the ball at the top of the key, staring at Dwyane Wade in the eyes briefly, then again following Kyle Korver as he ran from one side of the court to the other past screens from Deng and Noah.
„Rose to Korver, Korver gets it off, YES! Korver hits the fourth straight three, make it a 5 point game, 109-114, Miami on top. And Eric Spoelstra calls time!“ said Chuck Swirsky who had gotten out of his seat after Korver made his fourth straight three pointer to cut the lead to just 5.
„What a performance by the Bulls, especially Korver, already has a career high with 36 points, 18 points in the fourth quarter! And Marv, the Bulls, right now, are executing their offense just beautifully, the screens, the pass, the shot, wonderful execution.“ responded Neil Funk, shaking his head slightly thanks to the rather unbelieveble 16-2 run made by the Bulls, with Korver scoring 12 of these.

„There’s no reason to panic now, it’s a five point game and we’ve still got two minutes to go. We’re going isolation on Derrick now, attack the basket, don’t hesitate for the jumper, attack Wade, he doesn’t want to foul you now as they’ve got 5 fouls already. Joakim, Booz, Deng, crash the boards HARD! If Derrick’s won’t go, we need that board, get the rebound!“ said Tom as he squatted down in the middle of the team.
„Alright, huddle up, victory on three,“ said Joakim, quickly starting to count as everybody reached their hands out in the middle of the huddle. „One... two... three!“
„Victory!!!“ everybody shouted together, even louder than the crowd was at the moment, although the crowd had been extremely passionate all game long, which has not been the case in the previous years before LeBron and Bosh.



About 4 PM the day after the Miami game, the team is on the plane to Charlotte.
Tom was looking at the video of the Miami game in the back of the plane, suddenly his phone began ringing.
„Hey, it’s Rick Sund, Atlanta Hawks’ General Manager.“ Sund said over the phone.
„Oh, hello there.“
„I’ll get straight to the point, you as a coach, are you interested in Iguodala?“ he asked.
Thibs raised both of his eyebrows, as he started stuttering with the few first words of the response, sounding somewhat surprised, yet interested...

[kibaxx7]

Loving the story man. Iggy would be a nice addition, I guess you're dealing Deng?

[Oskar]

Loving the story man. Iggy would be a nice addition, I guess you're dealing Deng?

We'll see, but I've got some plans here and there about shakeing up the roster just a little bit so that I'd like it more and it'd be more enjoyable for me to play and all. :p Thanks.

[Martti.]

I'm guessing Watson and Brewer were in the deal.

[Oskar]

GAME STORY / PICTURES / BOXSCORE

(119) Bulls @ Nets (116)

Lefevre hits a buzzer beating three to win the game!


Lefevre taking the wild game-winner despite great defense by Rafer Alston.



November 21st, 2010 (MIAMI) - One of the games talked about the most so far this season, with the exception of maybe a few last year playoffs rematch. The Heat and the Bulls, two teams that both made multiple moves this summer for a better team and the possibility to contend for the NBA title.

By the end of the fourth quarter, a few of the Bulls fans had already given up on the thought of climbing back in to the game as the Bulls were behind by nearly ten points, although not much, Miami had the momentum going their way, Dwyane Wade hitting all the shots and Rafer Alston replacing the day-to-day job that LeBron does.

In the fourth quarter, things started to get better and better for the Bulls. Kyle Korver was the main reason for that as he scored a total of 19 points in the fourth quarter, most importantly the 12 straight points he scored by hitting 4 three pointers back-to-back. Despite him missing two of the next three point attempts and stay scoreless in the last two minutes, the Chicago Bulls rookie, Hubert Lefevre caught fire. Lefevre had taken shots at LeBron James and the Miami Heat a few days earlier when the team arrived at Miami and had to do something to back up his words as the Bulls were down by 5 with 2 minutes on the clock.

Lefevre went on to score all the rest of the points in the game, as he scored 8 points to give the Bulls a 3 point victory. At first he rained a three over Dwyane Wade. The next possession, he flushed down a two handed dunk on the fast break. As the game was tied at that point with about 30 seconds to go, Chris Bosh turned the ball over as he stepped out of bounds at the baseline. The Bulls were looking to get a game winning shot for Derrick Rose, but thanks to a double-team from Wade and James Jones, Rose passed the ball to Lefevre who fired up the shot without hesitating, staring down at Rafer Alston as the shot went through the rim at the buzzer.

Kyle Korver was the highest scorer in the game as he chipped in with a career-high, 36 points on 14-18 shooting, 7-10 from downtown. Korver also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Lefevre, the other hero of the game for the Bulls was second in scoring for them, dropping 21 points, which is also a career-high for him. Rose and Boozer were both rather quiet all game long as Rose scored 16 points and dished out a season-high 12 assists and Carlos Boozer scored just 8 points, but had 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the game.

For Miami, the two key performers were Dwyane Wade and Rafer Alston as their two scoring leaders in James and Bosh, were not visible. LeBron James sat out with an injury and Bosh was hassled by Joakim Noah's stellar defense all game long. Wade finished with 35 points and 4 assists on 14-25 shooting, while Alston had 30 points and 8 assists on 13-28 shooting. The other three to finish in double-digits for the Heat were Mike Miller, Chris Bosh and James Jones with 14 points each.

"We had a really poor third quarter, our defense was bad as was offensive execution," said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. "We allowed way too much penetration and on the other end, settled for jumpers and didn't get them to go. Miami made a great run when we put Derrick on the bench, the reverse layup by Wade to put them up by ten was just spectacular. The fourth quarter was really good for us, though. Korver is a terrific shooter and he's playing better than ever this season, definitely a threat for the current starting wingsmen because right now Kyle and Hub (Hubert Lefevre) are the two biggest long range threats, having one of them start would be a good thing for us, especially to start off the game."

When the reporters talked to Lefevre right after the game when he was walking off the court to the hallway, Lefevre seemed to be extremely excited and confident about himself and the long season. "We've got it, yeah! You see, I told LeBron he better play, dude still underrate us, what a mutt!" he said, shaking his head along with laughter as he walked off towards the dressing rooms.

"Right now they might've been able to get a win against us, but down the stretch when everybody's healthy, hopefully..." said Dwyane Wade, smirking a bit. "Yeah, we're not worried, one loss is not an end of the world, we'll still have a high seed and we'll be lucky if the Bulls will be our opponents. I love my Chicago, but the attitude these guys showed..."

KEY PERFORMERS:
Korver: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists (14-18 FG, 7-10 3PT)
Lefevre: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists (7-15 FG, 5-11 3PT)
Rose: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists (7-12 FG)
Deng: 17 points, 3 rebounds (7-9 FG, 1-2 3PT)
Boozer: 8 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists (4-14 FG)

Wade: 35 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists (14-25 FG, 2-2 3PT, 5-6 FT)
Alston: 30 points, 8 assists (13-28 FG, 1-8 3PT, 3-3 FT)
Bosh: 14 points, 9 rebounds (5-8 FG, 4-4 FT)


Korver attempting a three pointer. He had 7 made threes in the game, a season-high.


The Bulls bench cheering after one of Korver's many threes.


Bosh drawing a foul from Boozer down low.


The two Chicago native guards watching Bosh shoot free throws.


Lefevre starting the 8-0 run with a three over Wade.

(( Once again, the file uploading site has let me down. I guess I'm going to have to go with this type of way to show statistics from now on, the site gives me some "Fatal error." Either way, I hope you're liking how this ship is rolling right now, can't wait for the playoffs and everything. ))

[Oskar]

I'm guessing Watson and Brewer were in the deal.

You'll find out in a liiiiittle bit.

[Oskar]

Bulls announce two trades on the same day with Hawks and Knicks.


November 23rd, 2010 - Earlier today, the Chicago Bulls announced two trades, one with the Atlanta Hawks and the other with the New York Knicks. The Atlanta trade will send Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and C.J. Watson to Atlanta in exchange for a Chicago native Andre Iguodala and the sophmore guard Jeff Teague. Teague was a college teammate of James Johnson in Wake Forest two years ago. The trade with the New York Knicks will send Ronnie Brewer and rookie big man Andy Hicks to New York for a sharpshooting Danilo Gallinari and also Ronny Turiaf. Both Iguodala and Gallinari who the trades were centered around, played positions that the teams were loaded at. In Atlanta, Andre Iguodala had to accept a bench role under Joe Johnson and come off the bench alongside Joe Crawford, and there are rumours that Iguodala himself asked for a trade. In NY, Gallinari had to play behind Wilson Chandler and even Kelenna Azabuike.



Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and C.J. Watson to Atlanta


Andre Iguodala, Jeff Teague to Chicago

So far this season, Iguodala only played about 11 minutes per game, in which he averaged 5 points, nearly 2 rebounds and a steal, hence about 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals per 36. That is compareable to the 15 points and 5 rebounds that Luol Deng averaged in about 29 minutes. The sophmore point guard, Jeff Teague, also played 11 minutes on average in Atlanta. He averaged 3 points, 1½ rebounds and 1½ assists in his time on the floor.

"I'm extremely happy to get a chance to play in Chicago," said Iguodala when he heard of the news after his last practice with the Hawks. "I was born in Chicago and the I always, always have loved to play in the United Center.. Oh wow, I just can't describe my feelings right now, it's like a dream come true to me, honestly. And got to mention, that I'll fit in the Bulls team a lot better than I did in Atlanta. I was definitely not used properly there and everyone knows it. My hometown will welcome me back there though, hopefully so."

"Having a player like Iguodala join our team, that's huge." the Chicago Bulls head coach, Tom Thibodeau said. "Andre can play both ends of the court, he has wonderful athleticism, he's a threat to attack the rim all the time which means the defense needs to respect him, and his jumper is coming along nicer year by year, too. He'll be a good fit to this team and provide some great defensive presence, especially. Although it's sad to lose a player like Deng, after long discussion we felt it'd be good for him in Atlanta while Iguodala would fit better in Chicago."



Ronnie Brewer, Andy Hicks to New York


Danilo Gallinari, Ronny Turiaf to Chicago

Danilo Gallinari, who many Knicks fans thought was going to be a centerpiece to their team one day, recieved even less playing time than Iguodala and Jeff Teague did in Atlanta. In only three minutes of action, Gallinari averaged a single point and a rebound. Ronny Turiaf, on the other hand, averaged a total of 24 minutes per game backing up Anthony Randolph and Amar'e Stoudemire. In his time on the floor, Turiaf collected 7 points and nearly 6 rebounds per game.

The Bulls coach Thibodeau seemed to be extremely excited when asked about the new additions of Turiaf and Gallinari, "It's a similar case as with Iguodala. Neither Andre or Danilo were given enough chances to shine on the floor, but in our teams they will be terrific fits, both of them. Losing Taj to Atlanta is sad for many of the players, but we're expecting that Ronny will be able to replace him just nicely. We're extremely glad to welcome all the four new players to our team."

By ESPN

[kibaxx7]

GREAT trades. I really like the team now.

[Oskar]

GREAT trades. I really like the team now.

Thanks, I should've probably made these trades in the offseason, but well, doesn't change too much. Thanks for following!

[Oskar]

GAME STORY / PICTURES / BOXSCORE

(100) Bulls @ Bobcats (91)

Bulls escape with a win from Charlotte, despite the new additions not playing.


B-Scal showing off some emotion after hitting his first and only shot attempt of the season.



November 23rd, 2010 (CHARLOTTE) - As the blockbuster moves made by the Bulls a few hours before the game happened so little before the game, the new additions for Chicago in Iguodala, Teague, Gallinari and Turiaf did not play. The former Chicago Bulls, Deng, Brewer, Watson, Gibson and Hicks did not play in the game either, obviously.

The game started off with the Bobcats' third year guard, DJ Augustin carrying his team to a 30-17 lead in the first quarter, which he finished with 13 points and 3 assists. The other three quarters were extremely poor for the home team and the Bulls outscored the Bobcats in the rest of the game by 21 points. Augustin finished the game with a game-best 26 points, but shot the ball extremely bad, 9-26 from the field and 0-4 from behind the arch. He was 8-9 from the free throw line and had 7 assists, though. Other performers from Charlotte were Stephen Jackson with 17, Boris Diaw with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals, including 6-6 from field and 1-1 from the three point land. Their rookie, Manfred Delgado, chipped in with 14 points off the bench.

For the Bulls, again the offense was extremely balanced, as the entire starting lineup finished with double-digits in scoring. Derrick Rose ended the game with 21 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds. Korver, who started for the first time in the season, scored 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Noah, Boozer and Lefevre finished with 12, 13 and 14 points, respectively. Carlos Boozer also had 13 rebounds as he was the only Bull with over ten rebounds, as Noah clawed down 9. Keith Bogans also recieved unusually much playing time, in which he played pretty solid, but couldn't hit a shot to save his life. Bogans chipped in with 7 points and 8 rebounds, but on a terrible, 2-12 shooting, including 4 misses from downtown.

"We played a lot better defense from second quarter and on," said Carlos Boozer immediately after the game. "Better defense also led to many fast-break points and also made us think more on offense as we started to hit easy shots that didn't go down in the first twelve minutes of the game. The game got kind a close late in the game, but Derrick scored with the reverse layup in the last minute and fortunately hit the clutch free throws too. I'm going to say, that Derrick will be the best point guard in the league, by the end of the year, atleast.. No kidding whatsoever."

KEY PERFORMERS:
B-SCAL: 4 points, 2 rebounds (1-1 3PT, 1-1 FT) !!!
Rose: 21 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds (8-19 FG, 5-5 FT)
Korver: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists (7-12 FG, 5-5 FT)
Boozer: 13 points, 13 rebounds (6-8 FG)
Lefevre: 14 points, 3 assists (5-11 FG)
Noah: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists (5-12 FG)

Augustin: 26 points, 7 assists (8-9 FT)
Jackson: 17 points, 3 rebounds (8-16 FG)
Diaw: 16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals (6-6 FG)
Delgado: 14 points, 3 rebounds (6-17 FG)


Boozer slamming it down on the fast break.


Boris Diaw drawing a charge from Rose.


Lefevre throwing up a circus shot after drawing the foul from Stephen Jackson.


Stephen Jackson throwing down a one-handed slam.


Omer Asik flushes down the dunk with authority.

[Oskar]

GAME STORY / PICTURES / BOXSCORE

(94) Bulls @ Wizards (98)

Injury bugged Wizards still manage to win Bulls.


Wizards rookie Castillo throwing up a prayer after getting fouled.

November 25th, 2010 (WASHINGTON) - As the Wizards started their season off extremely well with one of the best records in the league and their captain, Gilbert Arenas carrying them with over 29 points a game, they still seem to be going on at a great pace despite Arenas, Yi, Young and a few more being troubled with injuries.

The Wizards got off to an early lead behind Kirk Hinrich's great performance against his former team, but the early run was quickly stopped as the Bulls got themselves back into the game come second and third quarter. The fourth quarter started off with the Bulls on top, but the lead quickly slipped away as the Wizards ended up winning the game 98 to 94.

The Bulls highest scoring player was Carlos Boozer with 18 points on 9-20 shooting. Boozer also managed to grab 12 rebounds. Next up came the new Chicago Bull, Andre Iguodala and also Joakim Noah, with 14 points each. Iguodala also dished out 5 assists and showed his defensive abilities with a total of 6 steals. The big minus for him were the 5 turnovers. Noah was also good defensively with 2 steals and 2 blocks, also 9 rebounds. Kyle Korver, who was given the starting place thanks to his great play off the bench, finished the game with only 12 points on 4-13 shooting, including 3-8 from behind the arch. Derrick Rose finished with a shy game with 11 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds.

The Wizards were carried all game long by Kirk Hinrich, who ended the game with a game-high 22 points on 9-14 shooting. He also had 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Rookies Bryan Castillo, Colby Adams and a veteran guard Sebastian Telfair were the other three Wizards scoring in double-digits. They finished with 17, 15 and 19 points, respectively. Wizards only healthy big men, Javale McGee and Andray Blatche, both struggled offensively as they combined for 3-15 shooting, but both of them did an adequate job on the defensive end.

"You can't play that way," Tom Thibodeau claimed after the game. "We were not aggressive enough, far from it. Derrick was way too passive and the 11 shot attempts prove that, we need him to create a lot more for us to be a threat. Nobody attacked the paint and the free throw numbers should show that, I think they beat us out on free throws by about 10 points. I can't ask for too much right now, though, as Andre, Danilo, Ronny and Jeff are not gelled into the system fully yet. We're going to be a lot better once this team will get to play more with eachother."

KEY PERFORMERS:
Boozer: 18 points, 12 rebounds (9-20 FG)
Iguodala: 14 points, 5 assists, 6 steals (5-12 FG, 5 TO)
Noah: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals (7-10 FG)
Rose: 11 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds (6 personal fouls)
Gallinari: 8 points (3-7 FG)
Teague: 1 point, 7 assists
Turiaf: 9 points, 3 rebounds (3-3 FG, 3-3 FT)

Hinrich: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds (9-14 FG)
Telfair: 19 points, 4 assists (7-12 FG)
Castillo: 17 points, 5 rebounds (7-12 FG, 1-1 3PT)
Adams: 15 points (5-15 FG, 4-5 FT, 5 TO)
McGee: 6 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists (3-11 FG)


Jason Smith putting up a shot after a mismatch on Jeff Teague.


Lefevre throws down a huge slam over Javale McGee.


Jeff Teague attacks the paint against Sebastian Telfair.


Iguodala bringing down a thunderous dunk on the fast break.

(( Looks like I'm recapping too quickly for the followers, haha. The pace will slower down to those of you who are following, school starts again so I can't carry on at the same rapid pace anyway. ))

[Oskar]

Bulls end the month with losses in Houston and San Antonio, disappointed.

@
103 : Chicago @ Houston : 117

Courtney Lee and the Rockets stun the Bulls with a fourth quarter defeat, get the win.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Korver: 25 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks (9-14 FG, 5-9 3PT)
Rose: 24 points, 7 assists (9-18 FG, 6 personal fouls)
Iguodala: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists (9-23 FG)
Boozer: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists (5-13 FG)
Noah: 10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists (3-4 FG, 4-4 FT, 6 personal fouls)
Teague: 7 points, 2 assists (3-6 FG, 1-2 3PT)

Lee: 37 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists (9-17 FG, 3-5 3PT, 16-17 FT)
Scola: 16 points, 20 rebounds, 2 blocks (6-9 FG, 4-4 FT)
Yao: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists (7-10 FG, 7-8 FT)
Brooks: 12 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds (5-20 FG, 0-5 3PT)
Budinger: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals (5-15 FG, 5-5 FT)



@
92 : Chicago @ San Antonio : 122

The Spurs, led by Tim Duncan, blow out the Bulls by 30 points.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

KEY PERFORMERS:
Boozer: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists (5-12 FG, 5 TO)
Rose: 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals (6-14 FG)
Korver: 15 points, 3 assists (5-10 FG, 3-6 3PT)
Iguodala: 11 points, 3 rebounds (3-16 FG, 0-5 3PT, 5-5 FT)
Teague: 13 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-3 FT)

Duncan: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists (10-18 FG, 1-1 3PT)
Ginobili: 21 points, 5 assists (8-16 FG, 3-7 3PT)
Jefferson: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists (8-12 FG)
Blair: 17 points, 5 rebounds (8-10 FG)
Parker: 12 points, 6 assists, 3 steals (4-9 FG, 3-4 FT)

(( Montly recap should come sooner rather than later. Slightly disappointed about the 3 game losing streak at the end of the month, but 9-6 is not too bad. ))