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…

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 showed signs of life on Wednesday night when they hosted the Atlanta Hawks for game two of the second round.

Tonight was also the night NBA Commissioner David Stern and Derrick Rose presented the MVP trophy to the United Center.

In game one, the Bulls let the Hawks shoot 51% on the floor. Tonight, the Hawks shot 34% on the floor and 23% from downtown. The Bulls shot 39% on the floor in their first win of the series, 86-73.

Our MVP put up 25 points on a not-so-great shooting night (he went 10-for-27 on the floor) while turning the ball over eight times. Rose is a fighter; he had turned his left ankle again in the final seconds of game one and still entered the gym like any other day.

It could also be because Kirk Hinrich fill-in Jeff Teague played about 40 minutes of ‘Keep up with Rose,’ while scoring 21 points (seven-for-14 on the floor). Teague has held Rose to 21-54 shots on the floor in the series so far. Teague only played nine minutes total in the previous series.

“Shots I normally hit, they weren’t falling tonight. But the way they are playing me, I’m going to keep shooting.” – Rose on his shooting this series

Rose isn’t the only one playing hurt. Carlos Boozer’s game has suffered because of a turf toe injury but still managed to grab 11 boards and score eight points, he only had one turnover tonight.

However, the fans at the UC turned some boos toward Boozy’s way.

Teammate Joakim Noah remembers being in that same situation not too long ago and stuck up for his friend.

“Sometimes our home crowd, it’s a tough place to play, we have a lot of love for our crowd, but through tough times, we got to stick together.” – Noah

Noah scored 19 points (six-for-eight shooting), grabbed 14 rebounds (seven offensive), three steals and a block. Luol Deng scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

While the Bench Mob didn’t produce a lot of offense (14 points), they made a difference on the court, off the stat sheet. They played gritty defense and hustled for loose balls. Kyle Korver went zero-for-four behind the arc until he hit a key three-pointer at the 24-second buzzer to give the Bulls a 70-60 lead with 9:12 remaining (his only shot of the night).

One other thing that has made a big difference is the start the Bulls had this evening. They came out strong on offense, taking an early first quarter lead 25-19, including a 9-4 run giving them the 13-11 lead.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bulls shot 39% and forced the Hawks 0-3 from behind the arc.

The tempo of the game is really important, and by starting the game strong on offense, and playing aggressive on defense, the Bulls will find their comfort spot again. The Bulls as a team have stepped up on the boards alone: Noah 14, Boozer 11, Deng 12, Rose 6, Taj Gibson 5. By halftime, the Bulls out-rebounded the Hawks 29-19 and at the end of the game, 58-39.

Another factor was the defense. They definitely tamed Jamal Crawford, who scored 22 points in game one; he finished with 11 points (two-for-10 on the floor). Joe Johnson scored 16 points and Josh Smith was forced into early foul trouble, he went four-for-14 on the floor for 13 points and six rebounds. Al Horford grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out six assists.

Bulls Extras: The series is now tied at 1-1…The Bulls will head out to Atlanta for games three (Sunday) and four (Tuesday).

The Chicago Bulls started off the round two series against the Atlanta Hawks on the wrong foot Monday night after dropping a 103-95 decision.

The Bulls started off slow yet again. Derrick Rose started off 0-7 in the first quarter (two-for-10), he went nine-for-17 in the second half.

After the Bulls trailed by 11 in the first quarter, they came back and outscored the Hawks 32-23 in the second quarter ending the first half trailing by one, 51-50.

The Bulls continued their run and took their first lead of the game, the Hawks answered back with Joe Johnson scoring 11 points in the third and a pair of free throws from Zaza Pachulia giving the Hawks the slim lead and leeway the rest of the game.

The Bulls slow start was due to poor shot selection mainly. They need to be more patient on the offense and get going in the paint. The Bulls only made 13-16 free throws; Rose went 2-7 from the charity stripe.

Rose finished the night with 24 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three turnovers. Luol Deng scored 21 points and six assists. Carlos Boozer started, regardless of a toe turf injury, and chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards. The Bulls only shot 45% on the floor and 44% from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, the Hawks were without Kirk Hinrich, but shot 51% on the floor and 54% behind the arc and out-rebounded the Bulls 38-37.

Joe Johnson led all scorers with 34 points, including a five-of-five from the 3-point line. Jeff Teague, in place of Hinrich, scored 10 points and dished out five assists. Jamal Crawford came off the bench with 22 points. Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds. The Hawks bench outscored the Bulls Bench Mob 37-22.

The Bulls will have another shot at the United Center on Wednesday night.

Bulls Extras: It was announced during halftime that an ESPN source stated Derrick Rose to be the NBA MVP (officially)…Rose came off limping after he turned his left ankle (again), stepping on Crawford’s foot in the final seconds…Hawks went on a 12-5 run to regain the lead in the third…Bulls shot only 29% in the first quarter.

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*

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.

The turnovers and below-average shooting was bound to catch up with the Chicago Bulls in the first round playoff vs. the Indiana Pacers. On Saturday afternoon, it did as the Bulls dropped Game 4 to the Pacers 89-84.

Derrick Rose scored seven of his 15 points in the first quarter before turning his left ankle on a driving layup with 1:14 remaining. He would return, but went 3-16 on the floor. He also tallied 10 assists, four steals and three turnovers.

The Bulls rallied back in the fourth quarter. The Bulls trailed by 16 points, 82-66, with 5:05 left in regulation. However, the Bulls went on a 10-0 run, including a steal-turned-into-dunk by Rose, bringing it within three, 84-81 with 38.9 seconds left. Joakim Noah converted a three-point play; the Bulls were within one with 15 seconds, giving them a chance to win with plenty of time on the clock.

The Bulls called a timeout; probably drawing up a play with Kyle Korver involved, tying the game up. Luol Deng couldn’t find Korver open, so went with the option of Carlos Boozer for the baseline three and the tie. But it rimmed out.

The Bulls shot 37.8% on the floor and went 3-20 behind the arc. The Pacers shot 39.2% on the floor and went 5-16 behind the arc.

Noah led the way for the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Despite having four turnovers, Boozer scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Korver scored nine points, seven in the fourth off the bench and Deng chipped in 16 points.

Danny Granger had 24 points and 10 rebounds, including four free throws in the final seconds to secure the Pacers’ first win in this series. Roy Hibbert scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Pacers bench outscored the Bulls bench 30-17.

The Bulls will have some time off until Game 5, more than enough time to recuperate and re-evaluate the series. The Bulls need to step up on the offense, especially with turnover issue. The Bench Mob has been almost non-existent; this series the Bulls Bench has been out-scored 128-84.

Bulls Extras: Game 5 will be Tuesday night at the United Center…The Bulls lead the series 3-1…Indiana out-scored the Bulls in the second quarter 26-14…Derrick Rose is scheduled for an MRI, but is expected to play.

I couldn’t help but think to myself during today’s 89-84 loss that maybe a loss wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing for the Bulls in this series. In all three games prior to this one the Pacers led for the majority of the game, only to lose it late to late game heroics by Kyle Korver, Luol Deng, and Derrick Rose. At some point Chicago needs to realize that they cannot expect to win every game late, especially in the playoffs.

Had the Pacers been able to close out any of the three games prior to today, or all three for that matter this series could’ve been 3-0 the other way coming into today and the Pacers would have been looking for the sweep instead of the other way around. To the credit of the Bulls, they haven’t given up in the face of a deficit and fought back to win games 1-3 so they have a cushion to fall back on.

But this is the playoffs and playing bad for 3.5 quarters and good for the last 6-8 minutes won’t cut it against the good teams teams they will face the further they progress. If only they could come out in the first half and play like they finish the games, neither game to this point would have been close. Maybe they just wanted the series to go back to the United Center so they could close it out at home, in front of their fans? Okay maybe that one’s not necessarily true, because Conseco Fieldhouse today probably had as many Bulls fans as there will be at the UC on Tuesday.

At any rate, there will be a game 5. And hopefully this will serve as a reminder that this is the playoffs and you can’t take any team lightly. The #8 seed will be just as tough an out as the #2 seed. Rose will get a day to rest that sore ankle, Thibodeau will get a day to motivate, and Boozer will get a day to figure out how to not get in foul trouble. I fully expect to the Bulls to take care of business Tuesday night and close this series out while the Magic and Hawks beat up on each other in that series. On to round 2, hopefully.

“If you fall down, get up and go even harder…” should be the motto of All-Star and MVP candidate Derrick Rose, at least in the series vs. the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Playoffs.

Rose only shot 4-18 on the floor; however, he hit 13-15 free throws for 23 points, four steals and five turnovers. Rose knows that if the jumper isn’t there, drive to the line like the Ferrari he is known to be. And he also has teammates that can put up a solid game, Deng scoring 14 of his 21 points in the first half.

                “So what? I missed shots, my teammates were hitting them.” -Rose

In this series, the Chicago Bulls have taken a 3-0 lead with Thursday’s 88-84 win, but none of that has come easy. In these three games, Rose has taken hard hits driving the lane, some involving elbows and body slams, and some involving no fouls being called, but Rose has made the Pacers pay, going 44-49 from the free throw line alone.

This series has shown most intensity in the fourth quarter, because even though the Bulls have trailed or lost the lead at one point, they have managed to comeback to win it all. At the start of the fourth, the Bulls trailed 70-65 with 9:29 remaining, until Noah split a pair of free throws, and Korver sparking a 10-0 run, hitting a jumper to bring the Bulls back within two. Rose then hit four from the charity stripe. Boozer stole a bad pass from Darren Collison, which led Rose to find Korver for a three-pointer over Collison for the 75-70 lead with 7:04 remaining.

Korver contributed 12 points off the bench, 10 of them came in the fourth quarter. Noah went three-for-six on the floor with 11 points, 10 rebound and four blocks. Boozer grabbed 11 rebounds and Deng had six rebounds and six assists in 45 minutes with his 21. Keith Bogans went three-for-four from behind the arc for nine points.

Darren Collison returned to the Pacers lineup after leaving midway through Game 2 with a sprained left ankle and scored nine points in 34 minutes and turned the ball over four times. Danny Granger led the way for the Pacers with 21 points, but missed a potential game-winning three with 2.9 seconds. Tyler Hansbrough was held to 10 points and five rebounds. Dahntay Jones scored 11 points off the bench.

This is the first game that the Bulls managed a higher shooting percentage both on the floor and from downtown. The shot 38.9% to Indiana’s 37.9% on the floor and went an even 45% (9-20) from the three. Indiana only went one-for-ten behind the arc at 10%. The Bulls shared the ball and made the extra pass, dishing out 20 assists.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls captured their first ever playoffs win at Conseco Fieldhouse and will try to go for the sweep on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm…