Ready for Some NBA?

Well, the Bulls just finished off the Pacers to go 2-0 in the ultra-shortened pre-season setup by David Stern...the games start for real on Christmas and the Bulls are on the docket of highlighted games on the NBA's opening day. So the question is, are they ready? I know I am...

Ya, BIG fan of Rip so far...Boozer looked WAY, WAY better tonight than he did on Fri so that's a HUGE key too. Rip is certainly going to help a LOT in my opinion...he just seems to make his teammates better and isn't that what this team is all about...TEAM? But to me, Boozer is still the biggest key to the Bulls taking this all important next step. As well as he played tonight, I still would have liked to see Boozer more on the block instead of taking that fadeaway J...much easier for the J to be "off" while scoring from the block would be more consistent...his J was definitely falling tonight and he went to the hole several times in finishing 11-for-17 from the field significantly helping the Bulls shoot over 50% tonight.

After Korver looked pretty good on Fri, he couldn't buy a bucket tonight (0-3)...he's still a threat so the D has to account for him so even when he's not hitting, he's still at least partially doing his job.

Deng was...well...Deng with 15 points and 7 boards with ZERO turnovers...I'm sure Danny "The Chucker" Granger isn't going to miss Luol's D draped all over him as he shot 4-for-11 after going 5-for-17 on Fri night.

Joakim wasn't a dual threat tonight but he certainly had a very positive effect on the game tonight with his 5 blocks...unfortunately his blocks also matched his point total...he had 8 boards (all defensive) and 3 assists too...I'd just like to see him be a little more aggressive on offense...hitting that tornado jumper every once in a while would be helpful too.

Derrick was in a whole different situation tonight...was it just the presence of Rip on the floor with him or was it something else? He took just 9 shots to account for a pretty efficient 12 points with 9 assists in just 28 minutes on the floor...and maybe even more key...only ONE turnover! Was that "something else" possibly the rumor of him signing an ENORMOUS contract extension...said to be 5 years for $95 million starting next year...that means 6 more seasons with his hometown team...our Bulls! That's pretty exciting news, wouldn't you say? He's obviously a VERY humble guy...especially considering he's the youngest NBA MVP ever. He'll be fine...not at all worried about Derrick.

Boy Derrick and Rip missing back-to-back layups that would have seemingly put the Pacers on the ropes...instead both missed and the Pacers went on like a 6-0 run keeping them in the game in the 3rd quarter...when the opponent is on the ropes, you MUST put them away...I'll chalk it up to getting to know each other still, but they need to finish. Also not happy with Hansbrough dominating that way either although he was much quieter in the second half.

One of my concerns is with Thibs and the way he works the bench...why didn't we see more than a few seconds of Jimmy Butler tonight when he looked awfully good on Fri against this same Pacers team? Heck, even the White Mamba played as much as Butler. Omer had a nice game with 4 points including a nice dunk in traffic and 6 boards (2 offensive) in just 11 minutes...again, I'd like to see the bench get more time...how about some time with he and Joakim on the floor at the same time? Especially with Boozer and Taj in foul trouble like they were tonight.

Still...I'll take the W and 2-0 against a tough, up and coming Pacers squad.

Games start for real on Christmas...Ho Ho Ho GO BULLS!

So where are they now?

Well, if you're like me and you LOVE the Bulls, you're probably feeling pretty good right about now. Of course, that can all change after this ruthless 7-game circus trip that includes 3 back-to-backs and a stretch of 4 games in 5 days all in different cities.

As my son just pointed out, our Bulls are leading the league in blocks, #4 in rebounds without Boozer (actually that Wizards game was the first time they were out-rebounded), #2 in rebound %, #6 in ppg, #4 in field goal %, and #8 in opponent turnovers. Other than that lousy game with the Knicks, they've played pretty well as they're only other losses came on the road against a pretty good OKC team and in OT in Boston. And they were totally in both of those games to the very end and actually could have won that Boston game had the refs blown the whistle on Rondo's reach-in to finish the 4th.

Rose vs. Wall - part 1b...I say 1b because they did face off once in the pre-season too. Well, call it 2-0 in favor of our Derrick Rose. While Wall showed off his athleticism, he just isn't quite the basketball player that Derrick is yet. He's flashy and gets on SportsCenter, but doesn't seem to have the hoops IQ Rose has right now. He seems to have a nice head on his shoulders like Derrick (other than dance thing Wall did on opening night in Washington).

Anyway, we've got Boozer coming back in a few weeks (hopefully) and then about 6 weeks for the team to get acclimated with each other before taking on The Three Am-EGOS. That's the Bulls biggest free agent signing since...ummm...EVER! And he hasn't played yet and the Bulls are 5-3 atop the Central Division. If they can just survive this circus trip with a 3-4 record, they'd still be above .500 when they come back. And if they can just remain at or near .500 until Boozer gets back, that would be KEY.

Don't get me wrong...Taj has been FANTASTIC in Boozer's place, but think about how much stronger the bench will be when Taj is added. If we don't see Kurt Thomas ever again, I'll be happy with that. Actually, maybe he can be out there in Orlando to help protect Rose from Dwight Howard who inflicted some damage on our PG not once, but twice last season. I'd prefer that didn't happen next time around with Orlando. With the surprising emergence of Omer Asik, Thibs will have LOTS of options on that front line depending on match-ups with Noah, Asik, Boozer, Deng, and Taj. Both Taj & Boozer can play some C for a more athletic front court; Deng can move to the 4 when Thibs wants to keep some extra scoring while running a 3 guard lineup. And we've already seen a bit of Noah and Asik on the floor at the same time with a twin towers setup.

As I told my son, I'm remaining "cautiously optimistic"...that's all I can do right at the moment as I've had my heart torn out of my chest by Chicago teams my whole life.

GO BULLS!