It wasn’t that long ago when Golden State Warriors fans booed team owner Joe Lacob at Oracle Arena — at a Chris Mullin jersey retirement ceremony, no less. Lacob had failed to deliver on some bold promises at that point, and – coupled with the trade of local favorite Monta Ellis – he made for a convenient target at the time.’ A lot has changed in the Bay Area in the three years since, as anyone at Game 5 of the
OAKLAND, Calif — It’s not often that the Most Valuable Player and the MVP runner-up meet in the playoffs — 21 times before this season, to be exact. Even less are the number of times the matchup exceeded the hype. In that case, you may want to stay tuned to the Western Conference finals, because James Harden and Stephen Curry have something special going on right now. The monster showdown continued in Game 2 on Thursday night, and it was brilliant, fabulous,
For the first time in years, the Chicago Bulls entered the offseason with salary cap flexibility and great expectations in the free agent market. But they finished second in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, whiffed on Kevin Love and settled for veteran Pau Gasol as a consolation prize. However, if this team has the look of the same old Bulls, that may not be all bad. Derrick Rose returns from what amounts to a two-year layoff, and if the former MVP can
CHICAGO – After the hated Miami Heat bounced his team from the playoffs earlier this week, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was nowhere to be found at the team’s practice facility. Once again, he left coach Tom Thibodeau and a few of his battered, beaten teammates to answer questions about his decision to sit out the entire 2012-13 season. Then again, some things are best left unsaid. For Team Try Hard, it was a season of sprained body parts and unfulfilled promise, one
CHICAGO — Just when I had forgotten how much the Detroit Pistons were disliked back in their Bad Boys days, the Miami Heat awoke the echoes again. Or more accurately, the Chicago Bulls and their fans did it for them. Every time the name LeBron James was announced, the rowdies can’t hold their boos. Every time he touched the ball, it was more of the same. There were enough hard pushes and shoves, well-placed elbows and venomous talk to reach at least
CHICAGO — The Heat and the Bulls met in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday night, but the real story wasn’t about who was in uniform. It was again about who was in civvies. The undermanned, overmatched Bulls were without Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, and when center Nazr Mohammed was ejected in the first half, team radio analyst Bill Wennington was next in line, presumably. No matter. [Read more…]
Nearly a year after Derrick Rose went down on a mindless drive to the basket late in a lopsided playoff victory, the question no longer is when the superstar guard of the Chicago Bulls will return, but whether he should bother at all. [Read more…]
Of the half-dozen division races, none is closer than in the Central, where the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls have been tighter than lockjaw for weeks now. The Central Division chase may be the most intriguing as well. I can’t recall the last time two teams have been this close in style, substance, record and proximity at the same time. [Read more…]