The Chicago Bulls host the Detroit Pistons tonight at the Madhouse of Madison.

The Bulls last played in Atlanta on Saturday, in which they lost 109-94, breaking their six-game win streak.

In the loss, the Bulls defense was almost non-existent. The Hawks’ 109 points were the most allowed by the Bulls this season.

At one point, the Bulls allowed the Hawks to shoot 68 percent on the floor and 90 percent behind the arc; they finished 57 percent on the floor and 75 percent behind the arc.

Derrick Rose went three-for-10 on the floor for eight points. The starters looked fatigued; they were not moving the ball on offense, which led to pointless one-on-one games leading to turnovers. The Hawks, as a team, did a good job of containing Rose and the Bulls defensively.

“I give them credit. They played the way they’re supposed to. Our defense let them score easy baskets in transition.” – Derrick Rose on the Hawks’ play

Positives: John Lucas III tied his career high, scoring 16 points off the bench in under 20 minutes of play. Kyle Korver also brought a spark off the bench with 13 points, going three-for-five behind the arc. The bench mob lived up to their name and scored a total of 62 points.

The Bulls will look to bounce back tonight against the Detroit Bad Boys. The Bulls won the last contest in Detroit January 4 99-83.

Former Piston and current Bull, Richard Rip Hamilton is questionable tonight with a sore groin.

My Keys for Tonight:

1.       Defense. This is the team to start experimenting with different defenses. The Pistons are not doing well this season, and the Bulls are shorthanded, but against the Hawks, found out what kind of players we have in John Lucas III and Jimmy Butler.

2.       Intensity. Where was it in Atlanta? Like former Bull and analyst Norm Van Lier used to say, “I need 48 minutes of intensity!” The Bulls need to bring the energy at home and take care of the ball.

3.       Communication. Better yet, they need to move the ball. The Bulls play better in transition and when moving. They have the speed and chemistry to move the floor. The Bulls did not communicate on defense or offense. There were times when certain players weren’t aware on what was going on, leading to commit to a double team, leaving the paint wide open for easy buckets. The Hawks scored 54 points in the paint.

The Chicago Bulls are on a four-game win streak and are visiting former-Bull Ben Gordon and the Detroit Pistons tonight.

Injury Update: A sore groin could sideline former-Piston Richard “Rip” Hamilton. This could be his third consecutive game missed. Rip is currently a game-time decision. CJ Watson might be out for the rest of this week with a left-elbow injury. No exact date on his return, once the swelling goes down, the Bulls will release more info. Until then, Watson is day-to-day.

Familiar Face: Former Bull Ben Gordon is currently averaging 18 points per game and the Pistons are 2-3 this season.

Recap: Last night, the Bulls put a mighty performance in the fourth quarter to steal a 76-74 win versus the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center.

The Bulls came out sluggish and settled for jumpers. They scored 42 points in the first three quarters combined and trailed by as much as 19 points.

However, a few defensive plays by Omer Asik and Derrick Rose assisting/scoring on 21 of the 34 points scored in the fourth quarter erased that 19-point deficit and gave the Bulls their fifth victory of the season.

The Final Run Down:Trailing 73-72 with 16.3 seconds left, the Bulls were left to foul Jeff Teague, who missed both free throws at the line. Asik came up with the board and Coach Thibodeau called a 20-second timeout.

Rose up top, drove in the layup to take a slim 74-73 lead with 9.9 seconds to go. Rose scored 17 of his 30 points in the final quarter. On defense, Luol Deng was called for a questionable foul. Al Horford initiated contact as Deng was running around a screen. Horford made one-of-two at the line, tying the game at 74 apiece with 7.7 seconds left.

Coach Thibs made a call to put Joakim Noah back in the game; Noah was 0-4 on the floor and was in foul trouble. Deng in bounded the ball to Noah on top, who immediately finds Deng cutting to the basket for the game winning layup.

Deng finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, Asik grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots and Carlos Boozer chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.

Final Thoughts:

The Bulls may be short-handed in the point guard section, leaving Rose with too many minutes and no time to rest. They can’t win every game the same way they did against Atlanta. They need to play a full 48-minutes of intensity and they can’t keep settling for those jump shots, if you are shooting 15-54, you better penetrate that lane and drive your little heart out. There are other ways to score. They are going to have to show more patience.

The big men have to come out and play. The refs do not seem to like Chicago very much, I see those same questionable calls too. Joakim Noah should be a role model for all players because nothing went his way last night but he kept his head in the game, cheered his teammates on and was a part of the game winning play.

Monday night, we watched a different Chicago Bulls team perform. A team, I hope, we don’t see again anytime soon. The Bulls are now 1-1 on the regular season.

On Christmas day in Los Angeles, the Bulls showed up as a competitive group that came back in the final three minutes after trailing by eight points. Not only did they have a game winning floater by the MVP himself (Derrick Rose), but we witnessed Coach Thibodeau’s defensive-minded team is just that: defensive-minded still.

Game two, what would be back-to-back nights for Chicago, in Golden State is a completely different game with two completely different teams. The Bulls had trouble keeping up with the Warriors, giving up 20 turnovers and 20 points on the fastbreak. Chicago also settled for too many outside shots, going 8-for-24 behind the arc. They were outscored in the pain 42-32. Regardless of five Bulls in double-figures, Luol Deng had 22 points and 10 rebounds; Derrick Rose chipped in 13 points and eight assists, the Warriors starting backcourt, Monte Ellis and Stephen Curry, combined for 47 points and 17 assists.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulls turned the game around, erasing a 19-point deficit, bringing them within five. It wasn’t enough and the lack of intensity was the probable cause for their first loss of the season.

Tonight, the Bulls will visit the Sacramento Kings.

First things first, they need to provide a defensive edge. In the previous two games, they allowed their opponent shoot over 47 percent on the floor. Containing Kings’ guard Marcus Thorton should be one of the top assignments tonight, possibly for newly acquired guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton. In his last three games against the Bulls, Thorton has shot just under 59 percent on the floor.

The Bulls need to find a way to drive the ball to the rim and not settle for the jump shot a majority of the time. The lack of energy on offense has forced the Bulls into 34 total turnovers in a two-game span.

The addition of Hamilton to the roster and the excelling performance of Deng (almost every game) should take some pressure off of Rose, which is the goal Chicago was trying to reach over the summer. Rose has been stopped in the paint these past two games due to double teams but Rose must overcome that and find a way around the defenders. Rose has been 13-for-30 on the floor. In LA, he went 4-for-6 behind the arc and the next day at Golden State he went a cold 1-for-8.

From a fan’s perspective, I believe he can and will excel and the team is still trying to mold together, it’s just a matter of time. Stay tuned and see what happens tonight in Sacramento!

After recent struggles for one particular Chicago team (cough, cough: Chicago Bears), this city has been looking forward to one thing since before the lockout: Christmas Day.

Why?

The Chicago Bulls would open their season in Los Angeles against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The marquee matchup that included two top players in this league, one, a five-time NBA Champion, the other, the 2011 MVP. Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose.

Sunday afternoon, the Bulls fought an eight-point deficit with just under two minutes remaining, coming out on top with an 88-87 victory at the Staples Center.

Bryant hit a fadaway turnaround jumper with just under a minute left for a six-point lead. That was the last shot for the Lake Show, the Bulls followed up a three-point play from Deng and a pair at the line to bring them within one.

Rose led the Bulls with 22 points and the shot to win it all. Down by one, the Bulls double-teamed Bryant, resulting in a bad pass to Pau Gasol, in which Luol Deng immediately picked up to find Rose on the other end. Rose then spit two defenders and put up a floater over Gasol for the game winner with 4.8 seconds left in regulation.

In the final seconds, Bryant tried to take matters into his own hands and drive in for a layup; however, Deng was right there to have the block of the game, giving the Bulls their first win of the season.

Deng finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Carlos Boozer chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. Noah (nine rebounds, three steals) and Rip Hamilton (debut) each scored six points.

Despite a torn ligament in his right wrist, Bryant showed up to play and didn’t let any injury slow him down. He led all scorers with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He also committed eight turnovers.

The Lakers were forced into 17 turnovers. They missed their final four free throws crucial to the outcome of the game (a pair by Gasol and Josh McRoberts).

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Lakers had outscored the Bulls 27-12 (continuing from the third quarter) and the Bulls, who started the game shooting 59 percent on the floor, were down to 18%.

Steve Blake, a spark off the Lakers bench, contributed 12 of their 29 points, including a three-pointer at the top of the key, giving LA a 85-77 lead with 2:11 remaining.

The Bulls finished the night shooting 40 percent on the floor and 47 percent behind the arc (7-for-15) while the Lakers shot 47 percent on the floor and 25 percent from the three (4-for-16).

Bulls Extras: The Bulls will be sticking around the California area the next three games, including Golden State on Monday night, Sacramento on Thursday and the Clippers on Friday…Are the Bulls the team to beat in the East? Send your comments over!

Sunday night was not a pretty sight for the Chicago Bulls during Game Three’s 96-85 loss in Miami. They were physically and emotionally drained.

The last time the Bulls lost consecutive games was during February 5-7.

This wasn’t just any loss. Chicago fans witnessed the quicksand that the Bulls were trapped in.

Despite Miami’s 7-0 run with 3:56 remaining in the third, the Bulls continued to fight back and keep it within three at the end of the quarter thanks to back-to-back three pointers by Luol Deng. Deng scored six of his 14 points in the third to go along with his eight rebounds.

However, the Bulls failed to continue their run in the fourth quarter, in which the Heat out-scored the Bulls 28-20. Six Heat points were scored off four Bulls turnovers in the fourth. Chris Bosh scored eight straight for the Heat, extending their lead, 78-72. Bosh led with 34 points, on a 13-for-18 shooting, and five rebounds.

LeBron James posted 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Dwyane Wade chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, the Heat held the Bulls big three (Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng) under 50% shooting. The Bulls did hold Miami’s James and Wade to a 12-of-30 shooting on the floor.

Even though the Bulls out-rebounded the Heat 41-32 and attempted 10 more field goals, they were missing their perimeter shots and layups. Chicago only shot 42% on the floor and 42% from behind the arc.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 26 points and 17 rebounds, Joakim Noah wasn’t a factor in points, but he dished out six assists (leading the team) and grabbed five boards.

Derrick Rose had 20 points, five assists and five rebounds. Rose went eight-for-19 on the floor but missed his perimeter shots as well and calls weren’t going his way (like usual) either.

My X-Factor (for Game 3), Kyle Korver, went one-for-two (a three ball), but Miami’s defense blocked him out and wouldn’t allow him an open shot. Taj Gibson scored 11 points in 12 minutes. Nine of his points came in the fourth quarter.

Game 4 will be in Miami Tuesday Night. Miami now leads the series 2-1.

Bulls Extras: Speaking of EMOTIONAL issues, in the first quarter, Joakim Noah approached the bench after picking up his second foul with over four minutes into the game and the camera caught JoNo direct a profane word toward a fan in the stands, it was thought to be an anti-gay slur and Noah apologized immediately for his actions…

On Wednesday night, LeBron James and the Miami Heat proved to the Chicago Bulls that what happened in the regular season will not happen in the Eastern Conference Finals. No sweep this time around. They will take the 85-75 victory and the tied series (1-1) and move on to Game 3 in Miami this Sunday.

After being held to 15 points on a five-for-15 shooting, James led the way with 29 points (12-21 FG), 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals (along with five turnovers) in 45 minutes of play.

After the Bulls erased an 11-point Heat lead in the third and tied the game at 73 with 7:16 remaining in regulation, James scored nine of the last 12 (Heat) points while the Bulls went cold on a one-for-11 shooting.

Derrick Rose was held to 21 points (two points in the fourth quarter) on a seven-for-23 shooting. Rose was shut out inside leaving him to fend for jumpers that just weren’t falling in.

“I missed a lot of shots. It was just one of those nights.” – Rose on his 7-for-23 shooting on the floor

I will not doubt Rose when he has the ball, everyone has a bad shooting night, it’s better to take the shot and miss than to not take it at all.

As a team, the Bull had an overall bad shooting night, something that has been an issue most of the playoff series. They shot only 34% on the floor, and missed valuable free throws (16-26; 62%). They also relied too much on the three ball, making three-of-20.

Taj Gibson led the Bench Mob with eight points (all in the fourth) and three blocks. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer were both quiet and combined for 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Luol Deng posted 13 points (four in the first quarter) and five rebounds.

Even though the Bulls took better care of the ball, turning the ball over 10 times to Miami’s 15, they were out-rebounded 45-41 and Miami shot 47% on the floor (hitting 50% at one point).

It also didn’t help when the Bulls came out at the start of the game cold, shooting zero-for-nine on the field.

Udonis Haslem returned for the Heat and chipped in 13 points and five rebounds off the bench. Dwyane Wade went eight-for-16 for 24 points and nine rebounds. After coming off a 30-point performance in Game 1, Chris Bosh scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Game two’s performance by the Bulls was the opposite of game one’s. They lacked intensity on both ends of the court and no one led the offense, especially on the bench. Kyle Korver provided another hesitant shooting performance, going one-for-seven in 17 minutes.

“We played a low-energy offense, a low-energy defense and the result was not good.” – Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau

Bulls Extras/Preview of Sunday’s Game: The Bulls will look to bounce back in Miami for game three on Sunday night…After each of their three previous playoff losses, the Bulls have won the following game by double-digits…The Bulls haven’t lost consecutive games since February 5-7…Kyle Korver, please don’t forget to pack the HOTSAUCE! <- He will be my X-Factor for Game Three…

The Chicago Bulls started their playoff series against the Miami Heat the same way they left it in the regular season: With a win. The Bulls defense and electrifying playmaking put them ahead in the series 1-0 with a 103-82 win at the United Center Sunday night.

The Bulls out-rebounded the Heat 45-33, including a 19-6 advantage on the offensive boards.

On back-to-back plays in the second quarter, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer each crashed the offensive boards and got buckets out of both possessions, giving Chicago a 44-42 lead with 2:07 remaining in the half. Chicago and Miami were tied at 48 at halftime.

10:48 left in the second, Taj Gibson blocked Mario Chalmers’ shot to Luol Deng, CJ Watson ran the fast break, and fed Gibson trailing who put Dwayne Wade on a poster. He had another insane dunk off an offensive board with :38 left in regulation to give the Bulls their 103-80 lead.

“Did you see the dunks that (Gibson) had? That inspired us. I wish I was 22 (years old) again. I felt that, when he did it, we all did it, you know?” – Boozer on Gibson’s performance

Noah put up nine points, 14 rebounds (eight offensive), four assists, two blocks and two steals. Boozer had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Once the third quarter began, the Bulls exploded. With 7:08 remaining, Rose and Bogans hit back-to-back three pointers, sparking a 10-0 run and a 67-58 lead in 3:25. The Bulls out-scored the Heat 24-15 in the third quarter, forcing them into four turnovers and two blocked shots.

Rose finished with 28 points and six assists.

Chicago continued stampeding over the Heats in the fourth. Four minutes into the quarter, CJ Watson rebounded his own miss and drained a three from the left wing, extending their lead to 17, 83-66.

Deng was focused with defending LeBron James but also scored 21 points and grabbed seven boards and had four steals.

James and Wade combined for 33 points, 12-for-32 shooting, and eight turnovers. Chris Bosh led with 30 points and nine rebounds. Miami totaled 16 turnovers, while the Bulls did a better job of taking care of the ball, only turning it over 10 times.

Bulls Bench Mob also kept a good momentum against the Heat starters. They also out-scored their bench 23-15. Gibson led with nine points, seven rebounds (three offensive) and two blocks. Brewer put up eight points and three rebounds and Watson dished out seven assists.

The Bulls shot 43% on the floor compared to the Heat’s 47%, however, the Bulls hit 10-of-21 three pointers (48%), while the Heat only hit three-of-eight (38%).

Bulls Extras: The Bulls will host the Heat for game two of this series Wednesday night…Bulls shot more field goals (due to crashing the boards), 38-for-87 against the Heat’s 32-for-68…

The Chicago Bulls haven’t been to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1998, A.K.A. the Jordan Era. On Thursday night in Atlanta the Bulls started strong and finished with a 93-73 win and four-to-two series close.

Carlos Boozer stepped up big in this game. He posted 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes. Since he’s been struggling with foul trouble and turnovers, he only turned the ball over once and collected two fouls. If he can keep up this play in the Miami series, the Bulls should have no issue concerning the offense or if Derrick Rose will be enough.

Speaking of our MVP, Rose had a quiet shooting night, but consistent. He’s averaged 29.8 points per game in the playoffs and scored only 19 points (eight-for-14 on the floor) and dished out 12 assists.

The Bulls went five-for-six within the first three and half minutes of the game, leading 11-4. Boozer scored seven of those 11 points. 

The Bulls made the extra pass, on almost every field goal made. Out of 41 baskets, the Bulls assisted each other on 34 of them. Talk about sharing the ball and team work!

In the first two minutes of the third quarter, Joakim Noah blocked and rebounded a Joe Johnson jump shot and Keith Bogans found Rose on the other end for the two-handed slam, making it a 52-37 Bulls lead.

Noah finished with 11 points (five-for-seven shooting), six rebounds and three blocks. Luol Deng had 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals, yes, steals.

After Boozer missed a jumper, Omer Asik came away with the offensive board which led to a play where Bogans drove in, back passed to Boozer inside the paint, who found Asik wide open for the dunk and one with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, extending the Bulls lead to 17, 68-51.

Asik, playing 20 early minutes, scored five points respectively, grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots as well. Taj Gibson also came off the bench, he scored 10 points in 13 minutes. Kyle Korver, who had a not-so-hot (sauce) shooting night in game five, chipped in seven points (three-for-seven on the floor; one-for-three behind the arc) for the Bench Mob.

Atlanta had a scare in the second quarter when Jeff Teague, starting in place of injured point guard Kirk Hinrich, took a hard fall and headed into the locker room. He returned with taped wrists (sprain) and continued to play. He was not a big factor as he scored four points (two-for-six) and had two assists in 22 minutes.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 19 points and Josh Smith had 18 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Bulls next challenge will be Sunday night vs. the Miami Heat; Chicago has home-court advantage. The Heat beat the Boston Celtics in five games and the Bulls are considered the underdogs. Chicago has swept Miami in the regular season, 3-0.

“It’s going to be a great matchup; we’re fine with being considered the underdog.” – Rose on Miami Heat series coming up

Bulls Extras: Chicago’s defense held Atlanta to a 37% shooting on the floor…The three-ball wasn’t an option for any team tonight, the Hawks went one-for-11 (nine percent) and the Bulls went three-for-13 (23%). The Bulls shot 53% on the floor…

After the Chicago Bulls’ defense suffered in Game Four, but came back more fresh than ever in Game Five at the United Center on Tuesday night. It also helped to have someone other than Derrick Rose ignite the offense for the Bulls. All the pieces fell into place when the Bulls came out with the 95-83 win and 3-2 series lead.

Rose led all scorers with 33 points (11-for-24 on the floor) and nine assists. Injured forward Carlos Boozer kept it consistent with 11 points and 12 rebounds (one foul in 30 minutes).  Luol Deng chipped in 23 points. Deng scored 15 of his 23 in the first half, seven of which came within the first three minutes of the game, giving the Bulls a 7-2 lead.

Atlanta came back after trailing by 15 at one point. Josh Smith gave the Hawks their first lead of the game in the final two minutes of the third quarter with a jumper making it 64-63. However, Rose, Deng and Taj Gibson sparked a 9-0 run and immediately took back control of the game. Gibson scored all 11 of his points in that quarter (five-for-five), and even though he only had two rebounds and three assists, he made a difference on defense.

                “Taj, he doesn’t know how good he is right now.” – Rose on Taj Gibson

Coach Thibodeau stuck with Deng, Gibson, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, and Rose through most of the fourth quarter. They outscored the Hawks 26-15 in the fourth and held them to just 29% on the floor.

Asik played 20 minutes and grabbed four rebounds. He also made his presence on defense known. At the 8:46 mark in the fourth, he and Brewer double-teamed Al Horford and forced him to turn the ball over, which led to Rose driving the other end for a layup and the 78-70 lead.

Keith Bogans also scored 11 points, eight of his came in the first as well.

Jeff Teague scored 21 points and dished out seven assists for the Hawks. The Hawks went one-for-12 from behind the arc and shot 47.9% on the floor. Jamal Crawford was held to two points on a one-of-nine shooting.

Zaza Pachulia led the team in scoring in most of the first half. He finished with 13 points.

Smith scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Horford scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Joe Johnson chipped in 15 points.

Bulls Extras: Joakim Noah played 27 minutes but scored zero points…Kyle Korver, who struggled this series, 9-30 on the floor (7-18 behind the arc), played four minutes and didn’t attempt any shots…Bulls General Manager Gar Forman was named co-recipient of 2010-11 NBA Executive of the Year award…Game six will be Thursday night at 7pm in Atlanta…

The Chicago Bulls dropped Game Four in Atlanta 100-88 Sunday night to even up the series at two apiece.  A few things factored into 12-point loss: defense, could be the main one.

The defense wasn’t as tight and that led to the Hawks shooting 13-24 in the first quarter.

The Bulls allowed the Hawks to shoot 49.4% on the floor, while five players went into double figures. The Bulls have also been out-rebounding the Hawks 10-plus, but managed to out-rebound Atlanta 37-36 Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Bulls weren’t so hot on offense; they actually maintained a lead shooting 39% but finished the night at 41%. The Bulls were three-for-16 from downtown (18.8%) while the Bench Mob was outscored again 17-15, including a 0-5 performance behind the arc from sharp-shooter Kyle Korver.

Derrick Rose led the way with 34 points, on a 12-for-32 shooting, and 10 assists, but turned the ball over three times (all in the fourth quarter). Carlos Boozer, who is nursing two torn ligaments in his big toe, posted 18 point and six rebounds.

Another key stat for the Bulls was the “Cleanup Crew” (which I dubbed for the big men on the Bulls, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, with cameo appearances by Boozer, Luol Deng and Omer Asik, who grab the offensive boards and normally convert them into valuable points). Noah finished with 11 rebounds (four offensive) and six points, Gibson had no rebounds in 13 minutes and nine points and four blocks. Omer Asik earned some early playing time and had eight rebounds (three offensive), two blocks and three points.

Deng chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The final two and a half minutes of the game played a big part in the loss as well. Atlanta led 90-84, Rose put up a three as Jamal Crawford clearly made body contact, the ref, however, called jump ball. Crawford made no contact with the ball once-so-ever. The call stood, the Hawks (Jeff Teague) gained possession and Josh Smith found Al Horford for the wide open dunk inside extending the Hawk’s lead to eight with 1:26 remaining. If Rose were to make three free throws instead, the momentum could’ve gone the other way. However, the Bulls’ defense suffered tonight, especially inside the paint, where the Hawks out-scored the Bulls 56-40.

Bennett Salvatore admitted his mistake on the whistle after he reviewed the play after the game:

“I blew my whistle and didn’t mean to. I didn’t think it was a foul. Having watched the replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake. I was wrong.”

Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 24 points (nine-for-14 FG, three-for-five 3PT) and five assists. Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in 44 minutes. Horford chipped in 20 points and five rebounds and Crawford came off the bench with 12 points.

Teague had 12 points on the night, going six-for-12, has been shooting 52% in this series after just playing nine minutes total in the first round against Orlando.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls will return home to the United Center for Game Five at 7pm…