PHILADELPHIA – Joakim Noah still winces at the mere thought of it. Sitting in the same locker room where the new and according to the experts much improved Chicago Bulls had just finished holding off the still winless but feisty Philadelphia 76ers 118-115, the painful memories of May, 2012, came flooding back. Those Bulls were top seed in the East then, with Doug Collins’ No. 8 seeded Sixers expected to be a speed bump on their way to a Conference Finals matchup
Chicago Bulls big man Pau Gasol has helped the team get off to a quick start, going 4-1 in their first five games. The Spaniard was the key free agent signing the team made over the summer to help solidify an already solid frontcourt with Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. Gasol had a busy summer. He signed with the Bulls after leaving behind Kobe Bryant in LA, and was also a member of Spain’s National Team that played in the FIBA
Thanks, Mamba. West coast games start at this old man’s bedtime. While I slept, Kobe Bryant scored 55.75 fantasy points, Markieff Morris added 45.5 and Isaiah Thomas 45.75 to boost my total to 299.5, a personal best for this young season. The lineup I recommended in yesterday’s Spin paid off in six contests: $73.50 in cash and a free $27 ticket to the huge event tonight! [Read more…]
Jimmy Butler returned on Saturday after missing two weeks with a sprained left thumb. A bit of a surprise return at that, which was just what the Bulls needed after Derrick Rose was out after spraining his ankle in the second quarter of their Friday tilt against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Taj Gibson also missed the game with a sprained ankle suffered in the same game, leaving the Bulls a bit thin. Nearly every starter notched more than 30 minutes. Jimmy Butler,
Pau Gasol has everything the Chicago Bulls were missing in the past. Clearly Chicago needs a healthy Derrick Rose to compete for a championship, but Gasol looked every bit of the team’s missing part in Wednesday night’s 104-80 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Gasol scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 29 minutes in the win and added a lot to the team that they lacked last year, according to Bulls players and head coach Tom Thibodeau. “He’s
Every year, one of the more entertaining conversations around the NBA surrounds the race for the Sixth Man Award. While it’s never about the most shimmering and glamorous of superstars, the talk always turns to the most precious of commodities – a guy who can come off the bench and consistently inject life into his team. The award has gone to characters such as J.R Smith and Anthony Mason, stars such as James Harden and Kevin McHale, and champions such as Toni
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
Training camps begin in a little over a week, the start of the regular season is 40 days away, and what awaits us this season is going to be special — a renaissance in Cleveland, Kobe’s return in L.A., a chance for the Spurs to chase that elusive repeat championship. But let’s be realistic here for a second. There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, and there is a very slim chance at best that anyone other than the Cleveland Cavaliers