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 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 came prepared in their 99-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena Friday night. MVP Derrick Rose scored a career-high 44 points to helps the Bulls take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference. That included 16-27 on the floor and four-for-seven from downtown. He dished out seven assists and grabbed five boards.

With 3:20 remaining in the first quarter, Rose crossed over Jeff Teague and drove past every defender to finish strong at the basket, giving the Bulls a 26-18 lead. Rose scored 17 of his 44 points in that first quarter.

“Derrick was in attack mode, obviously. He was attacking from the start. When he’s attacking, and not dancing with the ball, he’s impossible to stop. He caught it on the run and kept going…he wasn’t playing around or letting them catch up.” – Bulls’ Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on Rose’s game tempo

Joakim Noah added 15 rebounds (eight offensive) and five blocks and Taj Gibson came off the bench with 13 points, 11 rebounds (seven offensive) and two blocks.

The Bench Mob really stepped up in game three by out-scoring the Hawks bench 34-14 (21-6 in the first half). CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Gibson, Kyle Korver and Omer Asik worked to go on a 13-6 run in the second quarter, stretching the Bulls lead 42-29 with 6:58 remaining in the half. Korver added 11 points off the bench, and had a better shooting night then he did in game two, three-for-four from behind the arc.

The Bulls dominating the glass played a big part in tonight’s win, they out-rebounded the Hawks 47-34, including 18-9 offensively.

Teague, starting in place of injured teammate Kirk Hinrich, clocked in 41 minutes and scored 21 points, 8-13. Josh Smith scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Jamal Crawford was almost non-existent, scoring seven points in 28 minutes.

Chicago shot 46.8% on the floor and 50% from downtown (10-20), while holding Atlanta to 47.1% on the floor and 16.7% behind the arc (one-for-six). Both teams turned the ball over 12 times.

If the Bulls keep hustling, playing aggressive on defense, while being patient on shot selection and just be athletic going to the rim in future games, they will be unstoppaBULL.

Bulls Extras: Game four will be in Atlanta on Sunday night at 7pm…The Bulls played 48 minutes of intensity, they led this whole game from start to finish…

The Chicago Bulls have beaten the Indian Pacers to close out round one of the NBA Playoffs and they can thank Pacers head coach Frank Vogel for his comments Tuesday morning.

Even though the Bulls led the series at 3-1, they weren’t playing their best basketball and could’ve easily been down 3-1 in the series.

Game 5 presented us the Bulls team we witnessed in the regular season; an intense, hard-nosed, defensive-minded, united team.

Vogel stated:

                “We feel like if we win tonight, we’ll win this series.”

Those words awakened the Bulls in Game 5, blowing out the Pacers 116-89. The Bulls won their first series since 2007.

Derrick Rose, who suffered a left ankle sprain in Game 4, went through treatments and sucked it up to start the game. Rose put up 25 points and six assists. Keith Bogans went five-for-seven from downtown, scoring 15 points. The Bulls shot 45% behind the arc (14-31).

The Bulls started this game with a lot of energy and a well-established offense, something they’ve lacked in this series. Within the first 10 seconds after the Bulls won the tip, Luol Deng found Bogans for a three to start a 14-2 run in the first three minutes. Deng finished with 24 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 20 points and six rebounds. Tyler Hansbrough chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls played a lot more physical in Game 5, which resulted in four players in foul trouble early on. Chicago’s hard-nosed play also resulted in a Pacers public display of frustration. Pacers’ forward Josh McRoberts and Bulls center Joakim Noah were getting physical inside the paint. This included McRoberts showing his frustration by elbowing and shoving Noah, collecting two type two flagrant fouls which got him tossed out of the game.

After trailing 82-65, the Pacers showed their frustration

The Bulls defense forced the Pacers to 21 turnovers, while they only had 14 and held them to 39% shooting on the floor.

In attendance tonight were Joakim Noah’s grandfather and sister, his game was definitely loud due to family presence. He scored 14 points, grabbed eight boards, dished out three assists and blocked four shots.

The Bulls Bench Mob, almost non-existent in the series, out-scored the Pacers bench 36-30. Korver scored 13 points, CJ Watson dished out seven assists, six in the fourth quarter. Taj Gibson added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Carlos Boozer continued struggling in this series, talling two points and five rebounds. He was benched with 6:17 remaining in the third and did not return. Boozer mentioned that he felt his right big toe pop early in the second quarter. No results returned on his condition yet.

Bulls Extras: Whoever wins the series between the Orlando Magic-Atlanta Hawks will face the Chicago Bulls in the second round…The Bulls out-scored the Pacers in the third quarter 30-19…Dish alert: Bulls posted 27 assists on the night while Indiana only had 14.

It was almost a case of déjà vu, with some differences, as the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers, 96-90, taking a 2-0 series lead in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

For instances, the Bulls didn’t wait until the 1:27 mark of the fourth quarter to have their first lead, and Carlos Boozer had a much more solid game.

The Bulls aren’t exceeding our expectations either. They have been turning the ball over more frequent, 37 in the series so far. Coach Thibs can’t be too happy about that:

“They are defending well, and we are holding onto the ball. It is usually a result of too much one-one-one (play), risky passes. Those are two major reasons for turnovers. We have to clean it up.” – Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau

Speaking of on-one-one games, the Bulls haven’t been making those extra passes, dishing out only 33 assists in these two games to Indiana’s 43.

The Bulls big men, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, did make up for that on the boards, they out-rebounded the Pacers 57-33, including 20 offensive boards (six from Noah, five from Boozer). Boozer added 17 points to his 16 rebounds.

After going 0-9 from downtown, Derrick Rose went two-for-five, scoring 36 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out six assists, but he was forced into six turnovers. He also went 12-13 from the free throw line.

The dagger of the game came from a clutch three by sharp-shooter, Kyle Korver. Noah drove into the lane and kicked it out to Korver on the corner wing giving the Bulls a 90-85 lead with 1:04 remaining in regulation. Korver finished with five of the Bench Mob’s 22 points. Noah finished with 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and four turnovers.

Luol Deng chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. CJ Watson led the Bench Mob with seven points (three-for-six shooting).

The Bulls managed to go 27-34 from the charity stripe, hitting the final 16 in a row.

The Pacers kept up with the Bulls for two games but couldn’t manage a win.

Danny Granger led the way for the Pacers with 19 points. Meanwhile, Tyler Hansbrough (coming off a 22 point performance) was held to just six points. A.J. Price chipped in 13 points off the bench. T.J. Ford did tie the game at 67 when he banked a half court shot at the buzzer at the end of the third and a jump shot to take a two-point lead at the start of the fourth, 69-67.

Once the see-saw game faded, Rose’s three-point play gave the Bulls a lead and a run with 5:16 remaining and went on for the win.

The Bulls will be visiting Indiana for games three and four Thursday and Saturday.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls only shot 39% on the floor, Indiana shot 42%…Rose scored 13 of his 36 points in the first half…Kurt Thomas scored four points (three-for-six on the floor) in 10 minutes…Jeff Foster scored nine points for the Pacers off the bench, their bench out-scored the Bulls Bench Mob 43-22.

For the first time since 1957, the NBA scheduled every team to play the final game of the season on the same night. For the Chicago Bulls, a win along with a San Antonio Spurs loss would give the Bulls the number one record in the NBA. Something the Bulls haven’t accomplished since the Jordan Era.

The Phoenix Suns hosted the San Antonio Spurs and ended their season with a 106-103 win, giving the Bulls the overall best record, which means they will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Bulls hosted the New Jersey Nets at the United Center Wednesday night and went for the ninth straight win 97-92, finishing with a 62-20 record. The same record the Bulls had in 1997-1998, coincidence?

The Bulls shot 46% on the floor in the first half, and took a 50-43 lead. In the third quarter, the Bulls went 2-7, while the Nets went on an 11-0 run. Coach Thibodeau, infuriated, called a timeout. With 3:48 remaining in the quarter, the Bulls went on their own 11-0 run, starting with Luol Deng grabbing an offensive board and Kurt Thomas tipping in a layup. Then soon-to-be MVP, Derrick Rose scored six straight points, putting the Bulls back within two, 68-66. Rose finished with 15 points. Taj Gibson saved an offensive rebound to Deng who then dished to Kyle Korver for a baseline three pointer tying it up at 68 apiece.

The Bench Mob displayed an incredible performance; outscoring New Jersey’s bench 50-26, 20 of those 50 points came in the first half. Korver led the Mob and the team with 19 points, shooting 7-13 on the floor and two-for-seven from downtown. Rasual Butler wasn’t one to disappoint either; he chipped in 10 points for the Mob, four-for-five on the floor and two-for-three behind the arc. Meanwhile, Ronnie Brewer was inactive with a right thumb sprain from the previous night in New York,

Jordan Farmar led the way with 21 points and 12 assists and Brook Lopez scored 19 points, but was blocked six times, four by Joakim Noah.

Noah played tonight after an injury scare with his right ankle (that was already sprained) and posted a double-double, 10 points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive) and four blocks before banging knees against Lopez and sitting out with 5:29 remaining in the third. Gibson tallied nine points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Bulls moved the ball well, limited turnovers and out-rebounded the Nets 45-35 as they contained the league’s best post-All-Star Game record of 24-4.

Bulls Extras: The season is over, and the new season will begin: The Playoffs…

The Bulls schedule for Round One vs. the eight-seeded Indiana Pacers:

Game One: Saturday April 16 in Chicago at Noon

Game Two: Monday April 18 in Chicago at 8:30 pm

Game Three: Thursday April 21 in Indiana, Time TBD

Game Four: Saturday April 23 in Indiana, Time TBD

Game Five: Tuesday April 26, Time & Place TBD

Before yesterday’s game against Memphis Stacey King posted a contest on his twitter account (@Sky21King) to predict how many points the “Bench Mob” would score. Not that they’re reaching Derrick Rose popularity levels, or even Stacey King for that matter, around the Windy City, but the bench of the Bulls has been making quite a name for themselves this season as one of the most productive in the league. Tom Thibodeau has a luxury that not many coaches in the league have, being able to extend leads or even come from behind with his bench in the game. With that being said, lets meet the Bench Mob.

First, there’s the 6′7” Ashton Kutcher look-a-like, sharp shooting Kyle Korver. On Kyle I’m convinced of two things. First, his range is as soon as he steps on the court. Second, he must have one of the top 3 quickest releases in the game. His ability to curl off a screen, catch, and shoot in seemingly all one motion is as good as anyone I’ve watched not named Ray Allen. When the Bulls need a 3 or an offensive spark off the bench, Thibodeau usually calls on #26.

Next, there’s Taj Gibson, who’s probably the favorite member of the Mob of my partner in crime here at Bulls Extra, Stephanie. He’s one of those players that every team needs. He doesn’t get many headlines (doesn’t really want them), you won’t see him in highlight reels, but he makes all the little plays. At various points this season when Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah have been injured, it’s been Gibson who’s stepped in and filled the void up front, admirably might I add. His hard-nosed defense and uncanny ability to, at 6′9”, block shots (96 in 69 games) has helped the Bulls to the #2 scoring defense in the league, only giving up 91.2 points per.

A tough wing defender with the ability to play passing lanes pretty much sums up Ronnie Brewer. He generally draws the assignment of the opposing team’s top scorer when he’s on the floor and, more often than not, does a good shutting him down. He leads the team in steals this season with 95, a number that almost seems low when you see how active his hands are when guarding his man. Back in the ‘08-’09 season with the Jazz he averaged 13.7 ppg playing 30+ minutes a night so his offensive ability is there when needed as well. And for all of the highlight reel plays that Derrick Rose has provided us this season, it might be Ronnie Brewer who provided THE Bulls highlight of the year so far.

Being the backup to Derrick Rose doesn’t always yield alot of minutes since he’s on the court so often, but C.J. Watson, or C.J. Wattttttttttson as most Bulls fans know him as courtesy of Stacey King, makes the most of his minutes on the floor. A very good floor general and distributor of the ball, the offensive flow rarely tapers off when he’s on the floor. Whether he’s penetrating to dish to a wide open Korver in the corner, or finding Taj Gibson on the block, Watson generally stakes his claim to the paint, and trying to keep him out is easier said than done.

The two-headed low post monster of Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas provides hustle, rebounding (Asik), and a baseline-to-wing jumper that Kurt Thomas probably perfected on Dr. James Naismith’s peach basket. Asik’s work on the glass, particularly the offense boards, isn’t the prettiest thing to watch, but it’s definitely effective. What he makes up for in refined skills at this early stage of his career he makes up for in sheer determination and hustle. During the ‘94-’95 season at TCU Thomas lead the NCAA in scoring and rebounding playing in the Southwest Conference, a conference that dissolved in 1996. Just to give you an idea how long he’s been playing. Earlier this season when Chicago was dealing with injuries to both Noah and Boozer Thomas stepped in and looked almost like he did 10 years ago. In January he had games of 13 and 18 rebounds in a 8-game stretch and came back earlier this month and had games of 13 and 15 boards in a 3-game span. Not bad for a 38 year old huh?

How far the Bulls go in this year’s playoffs clearly rest on the shoulders of Derrick Rose, closely followed by Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah. But don’t discount how important the Bench Mob will be the Bulls success either. Whether they’re in due to foul trouble, picking up the slack for an injured teammate, or just to give the starters a breather, any member of the bench that Thibodeau pionts to is more than capable in filling in. That’s quite a luxury to have when you look at several teams who maybe go 2-3 deep on the bench and the Bulls can easily go 6 deep or more when you add Rasual Butler to the mix. It’s almost time for the tonight’s game against the Bucks, so we’ll get to see which member has the biggest impact on tonight’s game.

On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls won their 14^th straight at the United Center when they hosted and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 99-96. Bulls MVP candidate Derrick Rose showed why he was just that, even on a not-so-great shooting night.

In the final 15 seconds of the game, Rose was fouled as he drove past everyone down the left side for a layup with his left, giving the Bulls a 98-93 lead with 10.8 left. O.J. Mayo answered back with a trey on the left wing and 4.3 seconds left, but Memphis just couldn’t hold on.  Rose went 6-22; 0-5 behind the arc, for 24 points.

Six Memphis players were in double figures including Zach Randolph, who led the way with 16 points on 6-11 shooting. Former Boston Celtic Tony Allen (also a Chicagoan), who wore out his welcome in Chicago, managed a technical for getting chatty with the Bulls bench out of frustration, chipped in 13 points.

Luol Deng was consistent on the night as he went 8-14; 3-4 behind the arc for 23 points and 6 rebounds. After a Grizzlies 14-2 run, the Bulls responded with a 12-1 run including Deng’s 3 pointer from the top key putting the Bulls in front 47-46 with 50 seconds left in the half, but a play later on a Kyle Korver miss with 7 seconds remaining, Rose came up with an offensive board and nailed a fadaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 49-46 lead at halftime.

Rose found Korver on the left wing for a three with 3:47 remaining in the game for a 93-91 lead, Korver finished with 5 points on the night.

The Bulls Bench Mob (Ronnie Brewer, Taj Gibson, Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver) combined for 29 points (20 in the first half; Thomas went scoreless for the night). Those 20 first half points are what kept the Bulls in rotation.

Even though the Bulls outrebounded (45-32) and outscored the Grizzlies in the paint (46-44) the Bulls only shot 41.5% on the floor, while Memphis shot 49.3%

Bulls Extras: Bulls G-F Rasual Butler was active, but did not play (coach’s decision)… John Lucas III, Jannero Pargo and Brain Scalabrine were inactive…The Bulls will play in Milwaukee Saturday night…