Evan the Sweet baby Bull was born on Feb 26th at 5:03 am. He weighed 6lbs and 7 ounces. I will be at the hospital most the week. I did get a chance to catch the Bulls game last night and if I get a extra second I will post a game review. Not sure how likely that is but there is a chance. So life is good. Bulls are back on top of the NBA again and my first Son was born perfect.... We get Michigan football back on track and life might explode.

I had a good feeling after the Bulls laid an egg in Canada. You knew Coach Tibs and Rose would have this team ready to play. I did end up missing the first quarter but when I came in the Bulls were down 5 in the start of the 2nd. You could tell they really wanted this one. Derrick Rose and company just kept plugging away. They were down 10 points at many times and didn't panic.

The Defense did a 180 from previous night vs the Raptors. Guys like Brewer and Deng did a good job of pushing Lebron and Wade to areas of the court they didn't want to go. I think of the last shot of the 3rd when Brewer forced Wade to the corner for a very tough fade away three. Of course Lebron and Wade got theres. They are just tough to keep down when they are running and gunning. The Bulls shut down the fast break in the second half and that helped swing the game. Force the Heat tp play slow and the % goes up of beating them. There were times when guys like Kyle Korver would lose Wade on a cut to the hoop and Lebron would hit him for a easy lay in. Thats gonna happen when you have two wing players as good as them.

Noah did one of hell of a job on Bosh most the night. Boozer was on him at times and was much improved from his Raptor game efforts. Bosh went 1/18!!!!1 which is like..dear lord. I have never been blown away with Bosh. He seems like a Jermaine O'neal to me. A big who is in love with the 18-20 foot shot when if he wanted to he could go to the block and wreck havoc. Last time the Bulls played the Heat he came off as a lazy pussy when he basically said Asik hustled too hard and that's why he got hurt. This time he just plain sucked. Sorry I really can't stand you.

In the end the Bulls team effort was too much. The bench was out standing. Reggie Miller at one point asked "who is gonna score out here?" The Bulls bench than went on a run lead by Brewer and Asik tough rebounding. Down the stretch Rose made some clutch moves(one time broke Lebrons ankles but missed) and made the smart pass to Deng for the win. Lebron jacked a terrible 3 that Deng defended very well and it missed everything but the back board. The Madhouse on Madison went nuts. DaBulls Win.

Player run down.
*Noah: Played Bosh great, was a huge reason Bosh had one of the worst shooting nights in NBA history. At times he seemed gassed which is normal coming off such a long lay off but his effort gave the Bulls the edge. I don't think they win this game with out him.
*Boozer: Played well. I think he struggles at times with bigger longer post defenders like a Bosh and he went right at him a few times and scored. His defense was a lot better this night than the previous. He was worth every penny last night.
*Deng: Started off slow but chasing Lebron around and playing the minutes he does can lead to some slow starts. Deng only had 20 points 10 Rebs and 5 dimes while putting Lebron into some tough shots... Oh and he hit the game winner. Are Bulls fans finally gonna give Deng credit and stop trying to deal him at any chance they get?
*Bogans: Did he play? Oh yeah he did start but just logged 17 mins and was 0-4. Blah.
*Rose: Had an off night shooting wise but was clutch when it counted. He picked and chose his spots and it seemed to work. He even had the larger Lebron(which shows what kind of insane athlete he is) on him and got to the rim at will. His last fade away jump shot was maybe a bad attempt since he can get to the rim so easy and was living at the line. There were a few times when he just made bad choices with the ball and turned it over but a night when things weren't going perfect for Rose and he still battled through and had an impact.

Brewer: Played great. Had an impact on the defensive end. Made a huge jump shot down the stretch. Was super active. He is a great bench player period.
Korver: Struggled on Defense but that's not surprising when he has to match up with a Wade or Lebron but did hit two 3s. He was 2-7 and could have been better. He missed some wide open 3s.
Taj Gibson: Talk about a up and down night. Taj at one point had some nice moments with a block and 5pts but than had three straight plays he would love to have back. Missed a dunk and than a lay up. On the next Heat fast break he gave Lebron a and one. Taj than just walked to the bench frustrated. I think he still struggles with limited time(only 15 mins) he gets now(from last year).
Omer Asik: Showed everyone why he wasn't traded. I'm glad we didn't pull the trigger. He plays hard and will only get better. He's a great solid back up. 11 Rebs... Oh yeah.
Watson: Didn't do anything to hurt the Bulls or anything to really make an impact but was +5 in PER.
                                                              Bulls               Heat

Points	89	93
FG Made-Attempted	32-79 (.405)	34-82 (.415)
3P Made-Attempted	2-12 (.167)	4-21 (.190)
FT Made-Attempted	23-27 (.852)	21-25 (.840)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	6-39	13-53
Assists	12	17
Turnovers	12	14
Steals	8	7
Blocks	5	3
Fast Break Points	34	18
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	23 (2/0)	27 (0/0)
Largest Lead	11	9

Bull up! Bulls beat the Heat.

Clever girl....

I could only catch the 4th since I had a mens league game at 7:30(damn you team jimmy johns!). What I saw in the forth wasn't pretty. I was pretty surprised that the issue was our defense. Raptors who have won a whooping 16 games shoot a blistering 58% and put up a 118 pts. The Bulls putting up 113 should have been enough. More than enough. I can't even name the Raptors starting line up! ahhhh Vince and T-Mac? I have no freakin clue! Thats how bad this team is. I expected some bumps with Noah back but nothing the Bulls couldn't play through with the Raptors. I was very wrong.

James Johnson had his super bowl and he treated it as such. He had every reason to have his best game and he did. From my 4thQ view I saw a lot of terrible defense. Out of time outs the Bulls were owned by the X and Os the Raps coach came up with. A curl play sticks out in my mind when the Bulls just didn't talk on the curl pick and DeRozan got to the hoop with ease. I didn't get a chance to re watch the play due to watching the game on my computer but at that point in the game with it tied its pretty much laying an egg so to speak.

I don't wanna throw Booz under the bus but he had two terrible defensive plays that cost the Bulls big. Both times not keeping his feet. One on a pump fake that cost them two free throws and Amir Johnson took Boozer to house on a up and under that left Booz shaking his head. He needs to improve on that end of the court and I think he will. Tibs will demand it going forward.

Derrick did play well and did everything he could do dodge a awful lost. In the end the Bulls defense was just too terrible to pull it out. Noah only had 5 points but did grab 16 REBS which shows how no matter how out of shape he maybe he will always bring effort every night. I really think the Bulls can use this to beat the Heat(not saying they will). They wanna get this taste out of their mouth. They wanna prove it to be a off night. This game with the Heat will be tough. It was tough last time out with only Wade and Bosh(who didnt play a lot of the game). I hope this is a good kick in the butt and we come out like gangbusters... whatever that means.

Random Note
-LIVE BLOG DURING HEAT GAME. Goes up at 7:45est. Right here on the main page. 

Bullsosphere is just me going around the other Bulls blogs/sites and linking stuff I find good,bad or interesting. Will do this once or twice a week depending on content thats out there.

Sam Smith talks about the James Johnson trade.

The trade gives the Bulls two 2011 first round picks, theirs and Miami’s, and they still hold the potential 2012 or later first round pick from the Charlotte Bobcats for Tyrus Thomas.

Thus, the Bulls are in better position to potentially make a trade before Thursday’s NBA trading deadline for a shooting guard, though nothing is close and the odds seem to remain against a deal from indications at this point.

I found this part sorta of interesting...

There is no guarantee Prince, on the final year of his contract, will be offered a buyout or even that he will seek one. But should he, the Bulls would be in ideal position to make up to him the money he gives up to get out of his contract. And it might benefit the Pistons during a sale situation to be able to save millions of dollars on the contract, though Prince is just an example. Among the players most rumored for buyouts are, New Jersey’s Troy Murphy, Indiana’s T.J. Ford, the Clippers’ Rasual Butler and Cleveland’s Anthony Parker.

Is Sam just talking out of his ass? I guess I was clueless that Prince could be bought out. If something that magical happened than the Bulls could get Prince for cheap and force him to play the 2 which may not be ideal for the long haul. I thought the word on the street was Prince would not be traded. I haven't heard any talk of a buy out.

By the Horns talks about Derrick Roses "Ho-Hum" approach to the All Star game and I agree.

But we all know the All-Star Game is a glorified exhibition where the only things on the line are bragging rights and reputation. But Rose cares not for these things. He wants to win. And the Bulls are his top priority.

So if he seemed to be going at half-speed during the Skills Competition, or if he was mostly a highly skilled spectator during much of his 30 minutes of action last night, I’m willing to forgive him.

Save it for the second half of the season, Derrick.

Derrick did seem like it wasn't his cup of tea. The All Star thing just isn't him. You won't catch him at the slam dunk contest with hand held camera hamming it up and throwing himself on the ground after Blake Griffen dunks over an elephant.

Blog a Bull goes over the James Johnson trade and what it means for our Shooting Guard hunt.
Bulls Confidential talks about Noah's impact and how it will be on the offensive end. And in non Bulls news DaBullz.com talks about the NBA and NFL doing a better job in providing it's product to viewers. Which I 100% agree with. Being in Michigan, it makes it near impossible to watch all the Bulls games(think how bad it was before we got good). I dont wanna drop $200 for a service that blacks out games on NBA TV,TNT,ESPN ect. I don't get NBA TV.

However, the problem with the NBA’s streaming service is that they choose to blackout NBA TV games. I can’t turn on my TV and watch these games, and I can’t get the channel through my cable provider, as they don’t provide it. So when a Bulls game ends up on NBA TV, I end up watching the game on ATDHE, as it’s my only way to watch the game.

It’s not that I’m trying to steal the NBA’s content, it’s just that I want to watch my team play, and the NBA doesn’t provide me a way to do that, while ATDHE does. I think the fact that I subscribe to NBA League Pass shows that I think that the NBA’s content should be paid for, but if I can’t pay for it, than I’m just going to watch the game for free on one of these sites.

WORD BROTHER


Blast from the past.


Love those "Bulls" Jerseys. Nothing like a Hot Dog mid game. Ask Mark Sanchez.

Lots of Bulls fans have eaten Keith Bogans alive. It really isn't fair to be honest. Is he a starting SG? No not at all. But he does do some pretty good things. He has nice size and plays tough defense. He even hits a corner three or two. Some have wanted to bring Brewer to the starting five but I say he is a vital part of the Bulls bench. He brings a lot of energy and makes plays around the basket when our best player around the basket is on the bench(Rose). He also can't shoot to save his life. At least Keith can spread the floor a bit.

So many people are willing to pull the trigger at any moment for anything. People act as if a 38-16 team is desperate. Trust me the Bulls aren't. They know they need to upgrade the SG spot but the team is rolling as it is. There is just no sure fire answer to who is worth being traded for. Lets take a look at Keith's numbers and than lets look at the list.

Keith Bogans 3.9 PPG. Shots 40% from the field and 37% from behind the arc. He grabs 2 Rebs and a little under 2 AST a night in about 18 mins of time. Nothing blows you away here but is shooting very well.

JR Smith

Many have wanted to go after this head case. He can light up a team one night for 25 and than be invisible the next 3 games with 5 points 1 REB and 2 AST. He is just not worth the risk of messing up the locker room. He also doesn't play much defense and is in love with the three point line. He's what we call a "Chucker". He would be great in NYC. Coach Dan loves those. For our tough and rough Bulls team... Not so much.

State Wise: He is down 4 ppg on his avg(11.2). He is is shooting 34% on 3pt shots when his career is 36%. He gets about 2 AST a night which isn't much but he does grab one steal a night which is a nice. Rebounding is only at 2 REBS a night. Besides scoring and playing more he doesn't do a whole lot better. Maybe grab a steal here and there.

OJ Mayo


Maybe the most popular choice. OJ has hit the skids in Memphis and seems to be wanting out. He again screams "ME!!!" type of player who thinks he is a all star when in the real world he is a under sized SG who struggles on the defensive end. Taj would be the trade bait in most cases and I rather keep our size than get smaller for a guy who may shut down if he feels slighted like he has for the Grizz. This guys character has been put into question and I just dont think its worth the risk of our tight locker room.

State Wise: He is down in ppg due to his lack of minutes. He is avg 12ppg in 28mins of work. Last year he was around 17ppg and 38mins. His FG% is down and so is AST which means he is chucking the ball at the hoop at this point. He REBs are around 2.2 a game and shots the 3 ball at 36%. All his numbers tell me he is unhappy but not worth it IMO. He 6'4(yeah right) and wont make anyone better. Pass I say.

NEWS BREAKS: James Johnson to the Raptors for a first rounder. Mid post this pops up. So now that changes a lot with the Bulls having 3million to use under the cap. I will continue to move forward with this post...

Courtney Lee


I find Lee very interesting. I think he fits well with what the Bulls wanna do. He seems like a solid teammate and plays tough defense. Something Coach Tibs looks for. He has a nice mid range game and his 3pt shot has improved. Since getting to Houston he hasn't gotten as much time as with the Magic and Nets. Once this kid lands on a team that truly needs him he will stay put for a while.

State Wise: Like I said, his mins are down. While in NJ he was around 12ppg but now is down to 7.4ppg and ony getting 18mins a game. His 3 ball has improved as he is shooting it at 42%. He grabs 2 REBS,1 AST and 1 steal a game. When he was getting 33mins a game in NJ all those numbers about doubled.





Rip Hamilton


Ahh Rip what has become of you? A once loved figure on one of the best teams in the league and now you are refusing to play(I know the Pistons look like barf). Does he have anything left? I don't know. Maybe a new team would kick start him. He cant do much for himself. Coming off picks he is great but when he starts dribbling too much he can leave one hell of a mess. Its either a turnover or a bad shot. If he gets bought out he wouldn't be a huge gamble since we could just dump him the next year if he is an issue(assuming they do a one year contract).

Stat Wise: In 35 games this year RIP is putting up 13ppg. About 5ppg down from last year. Age or just pissed off? You decide. Doesn't do a whole lot outside of score. He averages around 2 REBS,AST a game and like 0.5 steals a game(ugh). He is shooting the 3 ball at 40% this year.

So.....
There are a few more guys but not worth talking about since they really are not viable options at this point(trade deadline in T-minus 48 hours). Are any of these guys worth draft picks is the question? I think trading Taj Gibson is out of the question. With Boozer and Noah's health issues you can't be kicking yourself later when something happens and Taj isn't there to fill in because we had to have JR Smith. Unless we can get Courtney Lee for a draft pick and a future pick I do think we should pull the trigger. He is the only one on that list that makes the most sense. He will fit in the best on the court and in the locker room. The others have major questions marks on whether they can fit in or not.

Will Paxson do it? As we know with Paxson he won't make a trade unless he is a 100% sure. He never has. He won't ruin this team with how well they are doing. I give it a 40% chance of a deal being made that brings the Bulls a new Shooting guard and I hope Taj has nothing to do with it(I don't think Pax is that dumb).

James was drafted with the 16th pick which seemed like yesterday. He could never get his footing with the Bulls. He struggled with his weight a bit but he seem to figure that out this year. When in the games he did add some nice energy but did have issues keeping turnovers down. He will always be remembered for being slammed on by Lebron in last years playoffs. The Bulls got a first round draft pick from the Raptors that they got from the Bosh deal when he was sent to Miami. Add this to the Bobcat draft pick from the Thomas trade the Bulls have some nice trade bait picks or can just save them and use them.

Good luck James, may abroad bring you better basketball success.

 

Well my first Bulls post was gonna be about me and than I was gonna hit the all star game stuff but than the Mello news hit and I was like BAH!! So now I don't know what to cover. Just not enough time. I than got hung up on some site code that set me back an hour....

I willl just throw out a few quick thoughts about the whole Mello thing.
-Him and Amare are both Black Holes.
-Which means it won't work
-I predict some squabbling with Mello and Amare in the far future.
-No one likes Amare. He was a terrible team mate in PHX and I am guessing he might be in NYC(who cares right? the whole team is gone).
-The Knicks traded Madison Square Garden for Mello. No serious they did. The Knicks will move out once the Nets move to Brooklyn and than the Knicks will take on that dump in New Jersey. The Nuggets may practice at MSG when they are on the east coast....
-Way to much for Mello, just isn't worth it.
-I smell Isiah Thomas...

For more info about me and this new fresh blog please check out the "about page". Right hand corner people.
I might have a live blog for the Raptors game on Wednesday. We will see what happens.

I hope everyone follows me on Twitter. I do a ton of twitting during Bulls games.

All Star Game Thoughts
-The Dunk contest is now a Show and not a contest... felt fraud.
-Rose couldn't care less about showing off.
-Bosh is a tool
-Bosh cost the East the game(who cares I know).
-Lebron puts on a nice act(in time outs).
-Kobe is still the MANBA!
-Rose didn't put any effort into the Skills contest which sorta sucks but hes won it already.
-Amare jacked what felt liked 7382974298 Shots
-Not many great dunks in the game.
-Rookie game lacked a bit too.
-Blake is anti Lebron. Not to good to do all the fun stuff for fans.
-Pippen Blocking the Beav was fucking awesome



Rap preview coming soon.