TT

Bull block record - 

The third-year forward set a franchise record Friday night by blocking at least one shot in his 24th consecutive game. The previous record of 23 had been shared with Ben Wallace(Jan.-March 2007) and Jawann Oldham (March-April 1985).

Thomas set the mark with a second-quarter block of Luc Mbah a Moute's layup attempt. During the streak, Thomas, who had two blocks Friday, has 49 overall.

"I'm just doing my thing," Thomas said.

TT photo gallery - 

Bull get crucial win over Bucks - 

Gordon finished with 34 points, while Hinrich contributed 11 points and four assists in the first half before a bruised right quadriceps sidelined him for all but 4 minutes 46 seconds of a stat-free third quarter.

Derrick Rose added a few wrinkles to Skiles' forehead, getting to the rim early and often in an aggressive outing that featured a career-high-tying 27 points.

And are officially part of the playoff picture in the East - 

Pick a metaphor, any metaphor -- running uphill, fighting a tough current or going against the wind. No matter how you describe it, the Bulls seemingly have been fighting to gain ground since early in the season and finally were able to break through Friday night.

With their 117-102 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center, the Bulls took over eighth place in the Eastern Conference and no longer are looking at the playoff race from the outside.

Random

The Bull beat the Warriors last night.  I will not be impressed/hopeful until we win a game on the road.

For something more interesting, check out the D-League dunk contest.  Absolutely ridiculous.  My favorite: Keith Clark Dunk #3

Lots of links

TrueHoop's investigation into traveling:

Breaking the Rule: The State of Traveling in the NBA

NBA Traveling: "We Really Don't Reference the Rulebook"

NBA Traveling: A Rule That's Unclear to Players

NBA Traveling: Always Been a Tough Rule to Call

NBA Traveling: Rewrite the Rule

I didn't watch the game last night (stupid law school), but "sluggish" and "flat"? That type of description has to reflect poorly on the coach, right?

Apparently Blogabull feels the same way -

My post-deadline hopes of reaching the 6th or 5th seed are over, and even making the playoffs seems far-fetched, if not pointless anyway.

It's not just odd rotations (has to be told to play Rose, then insists he's in charge) that are hurting Del Negro. After the deals they have a fairly stacked roster (certainly compared to the Bucks, Knicks, Nets, etc.), but clearly the Bulls areinconsistent bad because they’re not being coached.

Deng might still be injured? -

Luol Deng is scheduled to undergo a CT scan Wednesday on his right tibia contusion after sources said he received a second opinion from outside the Bullsorganization that hasn't ruled out a stress fracture.

After Deng missed the second half of Saturday's victory over Houston, Bulls officials said X-rays showed a possible season-ending stress fracture.

Despite what Pax says, VDN is apparently making the desisions -

Vinny Del Negro initially declined to shed insight into his portion of the conversation with general manager John Paxson regarding Derrick Rose's fourth-quarter playing time.

"That's between us," Del Negro said. "We talk all the time."

Asked a second time, Del Negro responded.

"I'll make decisions on the team on what I see fit for players and when they should play and when they don't," Del Negro said. "I know my players better than anybody. Derrick is going to be out there in the fourth quarter. Everyone is going to be held accountable defensively.

"If I feel there's an advantage for us to do certain things in the fourth quarter, those are the decisions I have to make as the head coach. And I'll make them."

Bull

Deng will play, and Rose will play in 4th - 

For the second time in three days, general manager John Paxson disclosed that he discussed Derrick Rose's fourth-quarter playing time with Del Negro. Speaking on Comcast SportsNet's "Monsters in the Morning," Paxson said: "He has to be in there to continually learn. And he will be." ... In the same interview, Paxson called his relationship with Del Negro "very good" and said he had talked with the first-year coach more than he did with Bill Cartwright or Scott Skiles. "We knew when we gave Vinny the job that he had never coached before so he was going to make mistakes," Paxson said.

Pax to VDN: Play Rose - 

Bulls general manager John Paxson has made it clear to coach Vinny Del Negro that rookie point guard Derrick Rose should be on the court at the end of games.

''I've talked to Vinny about this,'' Paxson said Saturday during the WMVP-AM (1000) broadcast of the Bulls' 105-102 victory over Houston, in which Rose scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. ''Our future is Derrick. That's no secret. There are times that I feel -- and Vinny knows this -- that he should be on the floor at the end of games.''

Random Bull

A fitting goodbye to two Bull legends -

Before Saturday night's game—the first home contest since Kerr's and Van Lier's passing—the team played a memorial montage on the big screen in the stadium to the respectful silence of 22,000 Bulls fans. When it was all over, a rousing round of applause lifted the spirits of the arena—a fitting send-off for two guys who meant so much to the organization.

"That's what Chicago is," Paxson explains. "They take their sports heroes and love them. These two guys were certainly that."

And Chicago certainly does love them. Always will.

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Deng Out for the Year?

Since the trade that brought in John Salmons, Luol Deng has seen decreasing floor time, but it turns out that might have had more to do with injury than talent. Deng, the team's captain, has been playing through pain the last few weeks but aggravated some pain he'd been having in his shin early in Saturday night's win over the Houston Rockets. Asking for precautionary x-rays, it became clear very quickly that Deng had what appeared to be a stress fracture in his tibia.

In casual conversation, Deng told HOOPSWORLD that he felt generally okay—he wasn't limping painfully or anything—but then admitted that missing the remainder of the season for the break to heal was a possibility. He'll likely have an MRI in the next day or two to solidify the prognosis.

Deng has already missed 13 games this season due to injury, and with the Bulls just a single game back of the Eastern Conference playoff picture this would hurt. However with the stellar play of Salmons, it may be possible to temper the blow. It's not as if Chicago was winning a championship this year, but they should have enough to firepower to sneak into the postseason, even without their $71-million man.

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UPDATE - Luol not missing the rest of the year? -

An MRI exam revealed Luol Deng does not have a stress fracture of his right tibia, which would have sidelined the fifth-year forward for the Bulls' final 22 games and — gulp — possibly beyond.

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Maybe even VDN will notice -

It's amazing what can happen when Bulls rookie Derrick Rose is allowed to stay on the floor for the entire fourth quarter.

Along with a healthy dose of Ben Gordon, Rose turned what appeared to be another loss into a wild 105-102 victory Saturday that had the United Center crowd and Houston's Ron

Rose scored 16 of his team-high 22 points and Gordon added 11 of his 15 in the fourth quarter as the pair accounted for all but one of the Bulls' points in a 23-3 run in the last six minutes.

Great win for the Bull

Comeback win in the 4th -

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- For Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, things turned around quickly in the fourth quarter.

Rose rolled in the go-ahead shot with 32 seconds left as the Chicago Bulls handed the Houston Rockets their first loss since Tracy McGrady went down, 105-102, on Saturday.

Rose had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, who outscored the Rockets, 34-14, in the fourth.

"The fourth quarter he really got it going," Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro said. "He got that little floater of his going and he pulled us out of it. He has been fantastic all year."

"The fourth quarter we didn't score, and we did not stop them," Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "We got very non-aggressive. I think they scored on eight or nine straight possessions, so you have to look at both ends of the floor."

Tyrus Thomas had 19 points and nine rebounds, Joakim Noah added 10 and 15 and Gordon scored 16 points for Chicago, which saw forwards Luol Deng (right leg) and Tim Thomas (left knee) suffer injuries. Deng finished with six points while Thomas scored 19.

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Luol might be out for the season -

Rose scored 16 of his team-high 22 points and Gordon added 11 of his 15 in the fourth quarter as the pair accounted for all but one of the Bulls' points in a 23-3 run in the last six minutes.

''We imposed our will on them,'' Gordon said. ''It was fun. We kind of caught them by surprise and pounced on them.''

The win was tempered by the likely loss of Luol Deng for the rest of the season. Deng left the game in the second quarter with what X-rays showed to be a stress fracture of his right tibia. Deng had been playing the last few weeks with what he thought was a bad bruise.

Two quick thoughts -
(1) Good thing we have Salmons, or Noc would be starting in place of Deng right now.
(2) Hopefully now even VDN will realize that he shouldn't bench D-Rose in the 4th.

Video of 2 great performances

D-Wade was ridiculous last night.



So was D-Rose.