Even with injuries piling up, the Chicago Bulls have managed to find ways to win. After their blowout loss to Memphis (without Derrick Rose), the Bulls have won three straight games.

Rose said of his left big toe sprain that it won’t get any better this season but he’ll play tonight when the Bulls (15-3) host the New Jersey Nets (5-12).

Not-So-Good News: Power forward and Bench Mobster Taj Gibson is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain with no timetable for his return. Bulls forward Luol Deng, who played and started all 18 games this season is out with a left wrist. Injury report lists him as day-to-day, but certain media is reporting otherwise. He is averaging 15.9 ppg and 7.5 rpg in 38.3 mpg.

“I just got hit on it, but it will be fine.” – Luol Deng on current injury

“It’s just real sore. It’s real painful; I just have to take it slow. I’m just lucky nothing was broken and nothing was torn. That’s the bright side.” – Taj Gibson on current injury

Good News: Joakim Noah (left ankle; game-time decision) and John Lucas III (left groin strain; day-to-day) are both likely to play tonight.

My Thoughts: No worries Bulls Fam, we have a Bench Mob we are known for! Whether it’s newcomer Mike James (who? Mike James!), Brian “White Mamba” Scalabrine, CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Omer Asik, the Bulls have players they can trust to go out there and play their hearts out. Why else would they still be the number one team in the league? They have the depth. They have a solid team that will pick each other up when a few pieces are missing. They each have a role they are filling and most importantly, they have a coach who won’t let something like injuries bring the team down.

“Our second unit plays a lot, so if there’s an injury, the next guy steps up and we go from there. We got 14 guys on the roster that can all play.” – Coach Tom Thibodeau on the current injury situation

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!

Coach of the Year

Its official, Chicago Bulls fans! The NBA has announced this afternoon that Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has been named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2010-2011 season.

Coach Thibs will the fourth Bulls coach to receive this honor. He is also the seventh first-year coach in the NBA to be named Coach of the Year.

“I think it’s more than a team award. When you win the way we’ve won this season, and hopefully we still have some more winning to do, individuals end up being recognized. But I think it’s a lot more about the team, the players, the organization and the entire coaching staff. You don’t achieve by yourself in this game.” – Coach Tom Thibodeau

The Chicago Bulls went from 41 wins last season (under Vinny Del Negro) to a 62-win season this year.

Thibs has led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA with a 62-20 record, which also tied the NBA record for most wins by a first-year head coach. The Bulls also went 24-4 after the All-Star break.

Coach Thibodeau is all about defense, and this season the Bulls led the NBA in most defensive categories such as:

Opponent field goal percentage: 43% (First)

Opponent three-point field goal percentage: 32.6% (First)

Opponent rebounds per game: 38.4 (First)

Opponent points per game: 91.3 (Second)

Opponent assists per game: 19 (Second)

Rebounds per game: 44.2 (Second)

Blocks per game: 5.71 (Fifth)

Coach Thibs will be joining Johnny “Red” Kerr (1967), Dick Motta (1971) and Phil Jackson (1996) in Bulls history.

Second-Round Preview

The Bulls will tip of round two at the United Center vs. the Atlanta Hawks Monday night. Former Bull Kirk Hinrich will likely miss out on the series due to significant strain to his right hamstring suffered in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ series-clinching victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday.

The Bulls might be without Carlos Boozer, who’s suffering from a turf toe injury. Boozer hadn’t comment on the issue; however, teammate Joakim Noah is sure that Boozy will show up Monday night:

                “He’ll be ready.” – Noah on Boozer probable return Monday

With Hinrich out for the Hawks, Jeff Teague will be filling in the role of guarding All-Star (soon-to-be MVP) Derrick Rose.

Containing Rose won’t be easy, even if he’s not at 100 percent. Game 5 of the first round against Indiana should’ve taught them that.

Give the Hawks credit though: They were swept in the first round playoffs last year, and came back this year with upset over Orlando, taking the series 4-2.

Rose did average 25.3 points and had a total of 10 turnovers over three games against the Hawks during the regular season; however, the 83-80 loss to the Hawks on March 2^nd left Rose with just 12 points on a 5-of-21 shooting and six turnovers (mostly due to Hinrich’s defense on Rose).

Rose expects this series to be a challenge, seeing the Hawks as athletic and balanced.

If the Bulls can manage to play like they did in game five of the first round vs. Indiana, the Bulls can come out the victor. They need the Bench Mob to show up in this round, and if Carlos Boozer does return, we need his best minus the foul trouble. The Bulls have to get him going on that pick-and-roll.

Be prepared for a great series Bulls fans! Round two is under way. *Ding, Ding*

According to ESPN, Bulls small forward Luol Deng is likely to be out until the playoffs.

He may also sit some time in the playoffs, and he hasn’t played since Febuary 28th. 

Deng has been continuing his strong play throughout the season, averaging just under 15 points along with six rebounds.

“I increased the workout a little bit and had a great deal of pain,” Deng said Tuesday. “I’m just going to try to be off everything for a little bit and try it again.”

If he is out any time in the playoffs, the Bulls will likely be unable to do much against the defending champion Celtics, who will likely finish second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavs, who are also in the Bulls division.

The Bulls recently overtook the Detroit Pistons for the seventh spot, avoiding the inevitable sweep that would have occured if we had played the Cavs.

However, if Deng is unable to play, the same fate against the Celtics.

-Joe Willett