Surviving Without a Star: The Chicago Bulls

[StraightBaylien]

Bulls shut down Kings behind 22 from Boozer

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls displayed why they were the number one defensive team last season in their dominant 95-75 victory over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night. Head coach Tom Thibideau's gameplan seemingly worked wonders as his Bulls held the Kings to only 32% shooting from the field and 20% shooting from three-point range. The Bulls caused 19 costly turnovers in lue of the Kings.

Amnesty talk was spreading rapidly through the Chicago area, namely referring to 11-year veteran Carlos Boozer in the off season. This came as a shock since the Bulls knew that Derrick Rose would not be available until, at the soonest, January and need all the fire power they can get. What makes this talk doubly shocking: Carlos Boozer scored 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting with 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Boozer to media: "Amnesty that!"

Not a lot can be said in a positive light when talking about the Kings in their matchup against the top ranked Bulls. I guess one could say at least the Kings bounced back somewhat from their horrid 11 point first quarter, but that's not saying much. DeMarcus Cousins finished with a double-double scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for Sacramento.

The Kings will play the Timberwolves on Friday, Nov. 2 in Minnesota.
The Bulls will play the Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 2 in Cleveland.

TECHNICAL FOULS: Joakim Noah (1), DeMarcus Cousins (1)

EJECTIONS: None

Sacramento Kings at Chicago Bulls
Oct 31, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Sacramento (0-1)	11	27	21	16	75
Chicago (1-0)	21	30	21	23	95

Sacramento Kings
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Isaiah Thomas	31	4-9	1-3	2-2	1	4	2	-	4	11
Tyreke Evans	32	4-12	0-2	4-4	6	3	1	0	0	12
John Salmons	34	3-15	1-4	3-4	6	1	0	0	2	10
Jason Thompson	31	2-7	0-0	2-2	8	1	1	0	3	6
DeMarcus Cousins	34	7-16	0-1	3-4	11	2	1	2	3	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Marcus Thornton	16	3-12	1-4	2-2	3	0	2	0	0	9
Jimmer Fredette	10	1-3	0-1	2-2	1	0	0	0	2	4
Patrick Patterson	14	1-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	1	0	2	2
Chuck Hayes	12	1-3	0-0	0-0	6	0	0	0	2	2
Toney Douglas	10	0-2	0-0	2-2	0	3	1	0	0	2
Cole Aldrich	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
James Johnson	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		26/81 (32%)	3/15 (20%)	20/22 (90%)	44	14	9	2	19	75

Chicago Bulls
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kirk Hinrich	28	4-8	2-4	0-0	2	5	1	0	2	10
Jimmy Butler	36	6-12	1-3	2-2	7	3	2	2	4	15
Luol Deng	33	7-22	1-6	6-6	9	4	2	0	0	21
Carlos Boozer	28	9-13	0-0	4-5	6	1	4	0	2	22
Joakim Noah	30	3-10	0-0	0-0	12	1	1	1	0	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nate Robinson	19	2-10	1-4	2-2	1	6	1	0	1	7
Taj Gibson	11	3-3	0-0	0-0	4	1	1	1	1	6
Marco Belinelli	14	1-6	1-5	0-0	1	1	0	0	1	3
Nazr Mohammed	9	0-0	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	1	0	0
Malcolm Thomas	7	1-1	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Richard Hamilton	6	1-3	1-3	0-0	2	2	0	0	0	3
Daequan Cook	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marquis Teague (R)	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Rodney Carney	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Derrick Rose	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		37/88 (42%)	7/25 (28%)	14/15 (93%)	48	25	12	5	12	95

[StraightBaylien]

Bulls-Cavs Live on ESPN
7:30 PM, November 2, 2012
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

November 2, 2012 -– The Chicago Bulls (1-0) hit the road for the first time this season as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1) who are looking for their first victory of the year after dropping their home opener against the Washington Wizards.

Key Matchup -- Joakim Noah / Anderson Varejao
"We have a battle on our hands tonight at the five spot. Two of the premier hustle and effort guys out there, expect things to get ugly, quick." - ESPN's Alex Roval

Attendance -- 20,562

Officials -- Joey Crawford, Zach Zarba, Monty McCutchen

Matchup Preview *|* November 2, 2012
	@
Chicago Bulls (1-0, 0-0 Away)		Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1, 0-1 Home)
Stats Comparison 96.3 (18th) Points Per Game 93.0 (25th) 88.2 (1st) PPG Allowed 100.2 (26th) .452 (12th) Field Goal % .422 (29th) .375 (5th) 3-Point % .346 (15th) .722 (27th) Free Throw % .716 (28th) 46.7 (1st) Rebounds 42.3 (14th) 5.9 (3rd) Blocks 4.0 (29th) 6.9 (24th) Steals 7.1 (22nd) 14.0 (6th) Turnovers 15.4 (26th) Projected Starters Kirk Hinrich Point Guard Kyrie Irving Jimmy Butler Shooting Guard Dion Waiters Luol Deng Small Forward Alonzo Gee Carlos Boozer Power Forward Tristan Thompson Joakim Noah Center Anderson Varejao Inactive Report Rodney Carney INACTIVE - Coach's decision Josh Selby INACTIVE - Coach's decision Daequan Cook INACTIVE - Coach's decision Kevin Jones INACTIVE - Coach's decision Derrick Rose INACTIVE - Torn ACL Omri Casspi INACTIVE - Coach's decision Game Notes All team stats and rankings are from the 2011-12 NBA season.

[StraightBaylien]

Bulls steam-roll Cavs as Robinson, Deng and Noah combine for 69 points

CLEVELAND -- Behind 26 points from Nate Robinson off the bench, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-84 Friday night. The twenty-four point win marks both the second win and the second blowout of the season for the Bulls.

In addition to Robinson, Luol Deng scored 23 points and Joakim Noah scored 20 while grabbing 16 rebounds (7 offensive). The defense for Chicago was once again phenomenal as the Bulls held Cleveland to a mediocre-at-best 36% from the field. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points but struggled from the field shooting-wise while rookie Dion Waiters exploded in his second career game with 21 points on 3-for-6 shooting from three-point land and 3 assists.

"They force you into shooting the shots they want you to take, not the ones that you want [...] they close out well and they rotate prestinely [...] they dare you to make contested jumpers or drive the lane where they have very capable defenders as well [...] one of the best defensive teams I've ever seen."

-Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott

Up next:
For the Bulls, vs. Hornets, Saturday Nov. 3, 2012 at United Center in Chicago.
For the Cavaliers, @ Bucks, Saturday Nov. 3, 2012 at Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers
Nov 2, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Chicago (2-0)	27	30	20	30	107
Cleveland (0-2)	17	28	15	24	84

Chicago Bulls
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kirk Hinrich	26	1-6	1-3	2-2	4	4	3	0	1	5
Jimmy Butler	30	2-7	2-4	0-0	6	3	0	1	2	6
Luol Deng	39	10-17	1-4	2-2	4	1	1	0	0	23
Carlos Boozer	28	4-11	0-0	1-2	8	1	0	0	1	8
Joakim Noah	28	8-11	0-0	4-5	16	3	0	2	1	20
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nate Robinson	24	10-20	5-11	1-1	2	5	0	0	4	26
Taj Gibson	18	1-4	0-1	2-2	5	3	2	0	0	4
Marco Belinelli	13	3-6	0-2	2-2	0	4	0	0	0	8
Nazr Mohammed	13	1-4	0-0	0-0	7	2	0	0	1	2
Malcolm Thomas	3	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
Richard Hamilton	3	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Marquis Teague (R)	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Rodney Carney	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Daequan Cook	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Derrick Rose - Torn ACL	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		42/88 (47%)	9/25 (36%)	14/14 (100%)	53	27	6	3	10	107

Cleveland Cavaliers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kyrie Irving	38	4-10	0-0	10-10	1	6	3	1	3	20
Dion Waiters	27	8-19	3-6	2-2	4	3	0	0	2	21
Alonzo Gee	31	0-6	0-5	0-0	2	1	0	0	1	0
Tristan Thompson	31	3-4	0-0	1-2	9	0	0	2	1	7
Anderson Varejao	30	4-10	0-0	2-4	9	1	1	2	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Marreese Speights	17	5-12	0-0	0-0	6	2	0	0	0	10
Tyler Zeller	11	1-4	0-0	3-4	4	0	0	0	0	5
Wayne Ellington	10	1-4	1-1	2-2	4	0	0	0	1	5
Shaun Livingston	13	1-7	0-0	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	2
Daniel Gibson	8	4-5	0-0	4-4	2	1	2	0	1	12
Luke Walton	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0
C.J. Miles	5	0-3	0-2	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Jones	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Omri Casspi	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Josh Selby	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		31/84 (36%)	4/14 (28%)	18/22 (81%)	43	13	7	5	11	84

[StraightBaylien]

Deng has near quadruple-double as Bulls beat Hornets

CHICAGO -- Bulls forward Luol Deng showed off his skills in nearly every dimension as he racked up the follow stat line in the Bulls' win over the Hornets: 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 blocks, 4 steals with only one lone turnover.

Eric Gordon challenged the defense of Chicago all night by driving the lane and drawing contact, scoring 9 points off of his 10 free throw attempts. Gordon finished the game with 26 points on 7-for-14 shooting (3-for-3 3PT) Anthony Davis was rendered virtually useless by Joakim Noah and Nazr Mohammed as the rookie scored 8 points and grabbed only 3 rebounds with 3 turnovers.

Even with Deng's amazing performance, Noah lead the Bulls with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Taj Gibson scored 15 points and grabbed 8 boards, and Carlos Boozer racked up 12 & 6. For the Hornets, Ryan Anderson went 6-of-12 from the field on the night with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Robin Lopez achieved the only double-double from the Hornets with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Lopez also had 2 blocks.

New Orleans Hornets (1-2) at Chicago Bulls (3-0)
Jan 1, 1 2 3 4 Final New Orleans 18 25 20 19 82 Chicago 25 26 20 25 96 Top Performers New Orleans Hornets Eric Gordon - 26 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL Ryan Anderson - 17 PTS, 6 REB, 6-12 FG Chicago Bulls Joakim Noah - 20 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK Luol Deng - 16 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST, 7 BLK, 4 STL	Team Stats Comparison NOR CHI FG Made-Att 29/64 (45%) 38/75 (50%) 3PT Made-Att 5/14 (35%) 4/12 (33%) FT Made-Att 19/26 (73%) 16/18 (88%) Rebounds 35 42 Assists 14 22 Turnovers 19 13 Steals 7 7 Blocks 5 9

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Bulls move to 4-0 with overtime win against Magic

Orlando Magic (2-1) at Chicago Bulls (4-0)
Jan 1, 1 2 3 4 OT Final Orlando 24 22 27 33 15 121 Chicago 29 20 33 24 16 122 Top Performers Orlando Magic Jameer Nelson - 21 PTS, 10 AST, 6 TO, 5-11 FG Nikola Vucevic - 19 PTS, 16 REB, 2 BLK, 8-17 FG Chicago Bulls Luol Deng - 28 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK Kirk Hinrich - 26 PTS, 5 AST, 8-10 FG, 3-5 3PT, 7-8 FT	Team Stats Comparison ORL CHI FG Made-Att 40/92 (43%) 38/90 (42%) 3PT Made-Att 12/24 (50%) 7/17 (41%) FT Made-Att 29/35 (82%) 39/46 (84%) Rebounds 54 57 Assists 23 22 Turnovers 14 14 Steals 5 7 Blocks 11 3

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Bulls set to host Thunder
7:00 PM, November 8, 2012
United Center, Chicago, Illinois

November 8, 2012 -- The Chicago Bulls are perfect on the season at 4-0 and while the Oklahoma City Thunder are not perfect, their 3-1 record is nothing to sneeze at in the tough Western Conference and are the defending Western Conference champions. Both teams look to go up 1-0 on season series in Chicago tonight.

Key Matchup -- Jimmy Butler defending Russell Westbrook

Attendance -- 21,737

Officials -- Sean Corbin, Eli Roe, Derrick Stafford

Matchup Preview *|* November 8, 2012
	@
Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1, 1-0 Away)		Chicago Bulls (4-0, 3-0 Home)
Stats Comparison 106.5 (2nd) Points Per Game 105.0 (5th) 100.5 (17th) PPG Allowed 90.5 (5th) .510 (1st) Field Goal % .455 (13th) .397 (9th) 3-Point % .342 (19th) .850 (1st) Free Throw % .817 (4th) 41.5 (26th) Rebounds 50.0 (2nd) 7.2 (6th) Blocks 4.0 (28th) 6.5 (17th) Steals 8.0 (6th) 11.0 (3rd) Turnovers 13.0 (15th) Projected Starters Russell Westbrook Point Guard Kirk Hinrich Thabo Sefolosha Shooting Guard Jimmy Butler Kevin Durant Small Forward Luol Deng Serge Ibaka Power Forward Carlos Boozer Kendrick Perkins Center Joakim Noah Injury Report Daniel Orton INACTIVE - Coach's decision Rodney Carney INACTIVE - Coach's decision Perry Jones III (R) INACTIVE - Coach's decision Daequan Cook INACTIVE - Coach's decision Jeremy Lamb (R) INACTIVE - Coach's decision Derrick Rose INACTIVE - Torn ACL Game Notes All team stats and rankings are from the 2012-13 NBA season (4 games played)

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Bulls suffer their first loss against Thunder

CHICAGO -- Behind a huge performance from star forward Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Chicago Bulls 113-107 Friday night. Durant notched 31 points, 9 rebounds and a steal in the Thunder's victory. Russell Westbrook was selective with his shot attempts tonight as the Bulls threw Jimmy Butler at him defensively. Westbrook scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting but accrued 10 assists and 7 rebounds on the night. Kevin Martin had 22 points off the bench.

Struggling defensively, the Bulls were forced into the Thunder's Run & Gun style of play and frankly, their offense isn't designed for it. Despite the loss, Luol Deng had another masterful performance with 22 points on 10-20 shooting with 12 rebounds and 3 steals. Kirk Hinrich and Jimmy Butler went for 20 points and 4 rebounds each, and Hinrich dished out 4 assists in the process.

The Thunder outrebounded the Bulls 56-44 (17-9 offensive) This stat is alarming when you have one of the worst rebounding teams (Thunder) dominating one of the best rebounding teams (Bulls) Joakim Noah was limited to only 3 rebounds as he struggled with fouls all game along and Carlos Boozer only played 17 minutes in the game (15 in the first half) due to a poor defenisve performance. Boozer was replaced by Nazr Mohammed; 5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, one block.

The benching of Boozer was a surprising one to see, but one cannot argue with the results as the Thunder's 65% shooting from the field dropped down to 45% after the switch was made.

"It wasn't a knock on Booz [...] it was a matchup change. The staff, myself, we saw how things were going and we needed to make a change, take out offense for defense. Statistically it worked, but it wasn't our night [...] we were playing their style of ball. We won four straight games by making other teams eat up clock, making them shoot contested shots. The shots we allowed tonight were too high of quality and quantity."

-Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau

113 107

Oklahoma City Thunder (4-1) at Chicago Bulls (4-1)
Nov 8, 2012 1 2 3 4 Final Oklahoma City 19 35 33 26 113 Chicago 29 27 22 29 107 Top Performers Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant - 31 PTS, 9 REB, 1 STL, 11-27 FG Kevin Martin - 22 PTS, 1 STL, 9-18 FG, 3-6 3PT Chicago Bulls Luol Deng - 22 PTS, 12 REB, 3 STL, 10-20 FG Kirk Hinrich - 20 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 7-12 FG	Team Stats Comparison OKC CHI FG Made-Att 41-91 (45%) 4289 (47%) 3PT Made-Att 5-18 (27%) 6-27 (22%) FT Made-Att 26-33 (78%) 17-23 (73%) Rebounds 56 44 Assists 23 22 Turnovers 12 11 Steals 9 11 Blocks 0 3

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Thibodeau names Mohammed starter vs. Timberwolves

CHICAGO -- Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has announced that center Nazr Mohammed will start on Saturday against the Timberwolves. Mohammed will directly take Carlos Boozer's spot in the lineup at power forward. On the year, Mohammed averages 2.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, .750% FT in just 11.6 minutes per game. Thibodeau said that Mohammed will receive roughly 18-20 minutes with Boozer coming off the bench at about 22 minutes. Saturday will mark Mohammed's first start of the season.