The Chicago Bulls

[Matt_1979]

ROSE HITS LAST GASP WINNER TO DEFEAT RAPTORS

Chicago Bulls 81 - 79 Toronto Raptors






Dramatic scenes in Toronto saw Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose hit the game winner with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock. The home team did well to come back from a ten point deficit and took a one point lead with 14 seconds left thanks to a dominant display from Demar DeRozan. However DJ Augustin managed to feed Rose in the dying seconds at the top of the arc and the former MVP beat the first defender and scored the vital points.

However the victory was marred for the Bulls when starting shooting guard Jimmy Butler suffered an ankle injury after logging just 7 minutes in the first quarter, forcing him to miss the remainder of the game. Ben Watson, Kirk Hinrich and D.J. Augustin all saw time at SG but none of them were able to keep DeRozan quiet as he notched up 37 points in a great catch and shoot display.

Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
Nov 15, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Chicago (4-2)	18	22	25	16	N/A	81
Toronto (3-3)	13	24	20	20	N/A	80

Chicago Bulls
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J. Noah	30	6-10	0-0	6-6	9	2	1	2	1	18
T. Snell	30	4-6	2-4	2-2	3	2	0	1	1	4-6
D. Rose	33	5-8	1-4	0-0	3	6	2	1	3	11
C. Boozer	22	3-6	0-0	0-0	5	0	0	0	0	6
J. Butler	7	0-1	0-1	3-4	1	0	0	0	0	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D.J. Augustin	13	5-7	1-2	2-2	0	3	1	0	0	13
T. Gibson	13	4-4	0-0	0-0	3	3	1	1	0	8
K. Hinrich	14	2-9	2-6	0-0	1	1	0	1	3	6
B. Gordon	10	2-9	0-2	0-2	0	1	0	0	1	4
L. Amundson	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	0	0	0
N. Mirotic	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	0
J. Fredette - Did Not Play	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
TEAM TOTALS		31/60 52%	6/19 32%	13/16 81%	30	19	5	6	10	81

Toronto Raptors
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D. Derozan	24	17-30	1-4	2-2	6	1	0	1	1	37
TEAM TOTALS		35/72 49%	4/13 31%	6/6 100%	32	22	6	3	8	80

“It seemed all was going well and to plan until the point Jimmy got hurt and I’m not convinced the Raptors defender was entirely innocent in that challenge. We were scoring well, DeRozan was pretty quiet but then we had to change things around and we struggled, allowing them to get back into the game on numerous occasions but to build up a ten point lead in the final quarter and let them back into it was a disgrace and I heard Tom giving them hell in the locker room afterwards.

Luckily Derrick (Rose) proved what a clutch player he is and why he earns the big bucks because that was far from being an easy shot” - Felix Blake, Bulls GM.

[Matt_1979]

BUTLER OUT FOR A MONTH



Jimmy Butler has been diagnosed with having a severely sprained ankle and could miss as much as a month of game time.

Butler went down in the first period of the win over the Raptors as a result of a collision with Terrence Ross as the two contested a loose ball. No penalty was given although the Bulls’ bench were clearly angered by the incident.
Coupled with the injury to Mike Dunleavy this leaves an available roster of just eleven players but no new signings are expected due to a lack of talent in the current free agency pool.

“Thanks to the versatility of some of our players we have a few different options of how to fill the starting shooting guard slot”, said Gm Felix Blake, “We already have Ben Gordon, Tony Snell can play there, Kirk Hinrich did a good job when he was in against the Raptors……. So we aren’t overly worried and we trust in the players we have”

[Matt_1979]

Phoenix Suns approach Bulls

Reports from behind the scenes at the Chicago Bulls are that the Phoenix Suns have been in contact with the Bulls regarding the availability of point guard Derrick Rose and offered Goran Dragic in return.



The 27 year old Slovenian guard who can play both point guard and shooting guard has three years remaining on his contract with the Suns after signing a 4 year deal worth $30 million in 2012.

The deal was rejected.

"Goran is a player who I personally have a great deal of respect for, both as a player and as a person and when he's on his game he can be one of the best player in the league. He's a player I'd love to see in a Bulls jersey. That said, however, there's probably not a player in the NBA we'd swap Derrick for. He's the face and the heartbeat of this organisation" - Felix Blake, GM.

[Matt_1979]

GAME PREVIEW
Chicago Bulls (10-3) @ Detroit Pistons (12-2)

Matchup Preview *|* November 25, 2013
	@
Chicago Bulls (10-3, Away)		Detroit Pistons (12-2, Home)
Projected Starters Derrick Rose Point Guard Brandon Jennings Kirk Hinrich Shooting Guard Rodney Stuckey Tony Snell Small Forward Josh Smith Carlos Boozer Power Forward Jonas Jerebko Joakim Noah Center Andre Drummond Injury Report M. Dunleavy - Strained Achilles Day-to-Day G. Monroe - Sprained Neck Day-to-Day J. Butler - Severe Ankle Sprain 1-2 Weeks T. Mitchell - Fractured Eye Socket 2-4 Weeks Game Notes With the Bulls on a five game winning streak it's up to the Pistons to put an end to it. Brandon Jennings & Josh Smith are the top point scorers for Detroit with 17.4 & 17.0 PPG respectively. Greg Monroe is listed a probably. The Pistons are playing above expectations and hold a regular season record of 12-2, a game and a half ahead of the 10-3 Bulls who are still without starter Jimmy Butler so Kirk Hinrich will take his place at shooting guard. Mike Dunleavy is also missing due to an achilles injury. Bulls GM, Felix Blake, is likely to be keeping a close eye on the Pistons' Kyle Singler after expressing an interest in the power forward to one of our sources earlier in the week.

Last Six Games:

Vs Pacers L 106-100
Vs Bobcats W 92-108
@ Nuggets W 92-85
@ Trailblazers W 118-81
Vs Clippers W 91-108
@ Jazz W 91-90

[Matt_1979]

BULLS CRUISE TO VICTORY

Chicago Bulls 81 - 68 Detroit Pistons

Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
Nov 25, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Chicago (10-3)	19	24	17	21	n/a	81
Detroit (12-2)	17	19	19	13	n/a	68

Chicago Bulls
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
K. Hinrich	20	6-13	3-5	0-0	0	2	2	0	4	15
J. Noah	23	6-12	0-0	2-2	11	0	2	0	1	14
C. Boozer	19	4-4	0-0	4-4	6	1	1	0	1	12
D. Rose	22	3-6	1-2	1-2	2	2	2	0	2	8
T. Snell	25	0-2	0-0	0-0	1	3	1	1	0	0
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
L. Amundson	10	4-6	0-0	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	8
N. Mirotic	14	4-4	0-0	0-0	7	4	2	0	0	8
J. Fredette	8	3-5	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	7
T. Gibson	15	3-6	0-0	1-2	3	2	0	1	1	7
B. Gordon	15	1-6	0-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	2
D.J. Augustin	14	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	3	0	1	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		34/66 52%	5/12 42%	8/10 80%	32	18	11	3	12	81

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
R. Stuckey	24	11-16	0-3	1-2	3	1	0	2	3	23
TEAM TOTALS		30/59 51%	3/16 19%	5/10 50%	28	14	8	5	16	68

The Chicago Bulls moved to within half a game of the Detroit Pistons at the top of the Eastern Conference with a confident victory.

It looked like the Bulls could be in the a long night when the Pistons raced to a 11-4 lead in the first quarter but that lead was soon depleted and the away team went into half time with a seven point 43-36 lead.

After the break the Pistons twice reduced the to just two points but then went on an awful run and ended up shooting just 33% in the third quarter after averaging 56% for the first half.

As the lead grew the Bulls were able to rest some starters and give the backups some court time. Rookie power forward Nikola Mirotic took advantage and quickly scored eight points and racked up four assists.

It was a night to forget, however, for Chicago's starting small forward Tony Snell who failed to score ANY points despite playing the most minutes on the team. Games like that can get you a place on the bench especially now that Mike Dunleavy is almost fit to return.


We were excellent tonight and in control from mid-way through the first quarter. Kirk (Hinrich)did another good job filling in at the 2 spot and lead the team in scoring. We sent a message to the Pistons tonight and you know they're going to be looking over their shoulders now their lead at the top is only half a game. - Felix Blake, Bulls' GM.

Player of the Game: Joakim Noah

[Matt_1979]

End of November Player Stats & Division Standings

Chicago Bulls Stats - 2013
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
D. Rose (PG)	15	33.8	20.5	3.7	5.6	0.7	0.1	2.5	.429
J. Butler (SG)	7	31.6	17.1	3.9	2.6	1.9	0.0	2.1	.416
C. Boozer (PF)	13	26.6	14.3	7.4	1.4	0.7	0.2	0.8	.547
J. Noah (C)	15	34.9	12.3	12.9	5.5	2.1	1.2	1.5	.468
T. Gibson (PF)	15	20.1	7.0	5.1	0.5	0.5	1.5	1.5	.542
T. Snell (SF)	15	28.8	6.6	4.0	1.5	1.1	0.3	1.5	.398
D. J. Augustin (PG)	15	15.5	6.6	0.9	3.3	0.5	0.1	0.8	.507
N. Mirotic (PF)	15	9.7	6.1	2.7	1.3	0.8	0.1	0.5	.548
B. Gordon (SG)	15	12.0	5.9	1.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.6	.360
K. Hinrich (PG/SG)	15	18.5	5.1	1.7	3.0	0.3	0.5	1.3	.433
J. Fredette (PG/SG)	10	9.1	4.4	0.7	1.1	0.2	0.0	1.1	.394
M. Dunleavy (SG)	5	9.6	3.4	1.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	.429
L. Admunson (C)	15	7.7	1.9	2.8	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3	.467

NBA Standings - Updated: Dec 1, 2013
CENTRAL	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Detroit Pistons	13	3	--	2-1	8-1
Chicago Bulls	12	3	0.5	4-1	8-2
Indiana Pacers	10	6	3.0	3-2	10-3
Milwaukee Bucks	8	8	5.0	1-2	6-7
Cleveland Cavaliers	6	11	7.5	0-4	6-7

[Matt_1979]

I'm off on holiday for a week & won't be posting on here much so wanted to give a quick stats review of the season so far.

Is there anything that stands out to anyone either negative or positive?

I'm particularly looking at Tony Snell and also the PF position battle with Boozer, Gibson and Mirotic so if anyone has any ideas or input please feel free to contribute.

I am also going to stop playing 9 minute quarters when I play and swap to the full 12 instead.

[Matt_1979]

Mavericks Extend Two Contracts

The Dallas Mavericks have agreed new contracts with veterans Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.



Nowitzki, the All-Star forward, penned a one year deal worth $13.69 million whilst Marion's new deal, whilst also just for one year, is belived to be around $3 million.

Both players are in their mid-30's but are vital to the Maverick's push for a Championship.