Bobcats-Bulls Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Jan 20 2012 11:32PM

Coach Tom Thibodeau is not about to rush injured star Derrick Rose back on the court.

Based on the way the Bulls have played without him the last two games, it might not matter if the reigning MVP is on the floor or not.

While Rose faces the possibility of missing his fourth straight game, the Bulls try for a third straight victory to remain undefeated at home Saturday night against the lowly Charlotte Bobcats.

Rose's sprained big toe is doing better, but Thibodeau will not say exactly when his star guard will return.

"Each day he's moving in the right direction," Thibodeau said, "and when he's ready to go, he'll go. He doesn't feel he's ready to go yet."

Though Rose leads the team averaging 20.8 points and 8.7 assists per game, the NBA-leading Bulls (14-3) have played well without him this week.

After falling 102-86 at Memphis on Monday in its first game without Rose, Chicago looked dominant during a 118-97 win over Phoenix the next night and in a 114-75 road rout of Cleveland on Friday.

"Here's the thing about our team," Thibodeau said. "We have more than enough to win with. If he's hurt and he's injured, he doesn't play. If he can tolerate the pain and feels good enough then he'll play. That's the way it is. This is the NBA."

Carlos Boozer has stepped up in Rose's absence, scoring a season-high 31 points against the Suns then adding 19 with 14 rebounds at Cleveland.

C.J. Watson, Rose's replacement, has averaged 18.3 points on 17-of-30 shooting in the last three games after missing nine with an elbow injury.

Luol Deng had 21 on Friday to lead the Bulls, who had five players score in double figures, held the Cavaliers to 30.3 percent shooting and recorded a franchise-high 16 blocks.

"Deepest team I've ever played on, 100 percent," Boozer said. "Most teams go to their bench and hold their own. We go to our bench and they can open the lead."

Deng had 24 points in a 106-94 home win over Charlotte on Feb. 15.

Looking to start 7-0 at the United Center for the first time since 1996-97, Chicago has held opponents to 71.8 points on 36.7 percent shooting at home this season.

The Bulls have won two in a row and six of the last nine overall against Charlotte (3-12), which has averaged 92.5 points while going 3-10 all-time at the United Center.

The Bobcats have averaged 83.5 points on 40.5 percent shooting during their current four-game road skid overall.

Charlotte was competitive but still lost 96-89 at Orlando on Tuesday to drop to 1-6 on the road. Gerald Henderson scored 22 points and rookie Bismack Biyombo added season highs with 11 and 10 boards for the Bobcats, who led by three at the half and got within a basket late in the fourth quarter before losing for the eighth time in nine contests.

"We are playing better," Henderson said. "I think it is at the end of games that we have to lock down and execute. I think we will be better off with experience and kind of have to learn to win."

Henderson is averaging 21.7 points on 22-of-38 shooting in the last three games. He's made 14 of 24 shots while totaling 42 points in the last two versus Chicago.

Boozer leads injury-depleted Bulls past Bobcats

Posted Jan 22 2012 2:03AM

CHICAGO (AP) Injuries. Brutal scheduling. Heavy travel. Nothing seems to faze the Chicago Bulls.

Carlos Boozer scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the injury-depleted Bulls to a 95-89 win over the struggling Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.

Luol Deng added 22 points and eight rebounds as the Bulls won their seventh straight at home and improved to an NBA-best 15-3 despite the absence of two starters and two key reserves.

"We'd like to be healthy, but we do a good job of stepping up when we have guys out," Boozer said. "We have a lot of guys that can play on this team. I think we're the deepest team in the league."

Richard Hamilton added a season-high 20 points for Chicago and is fitting in well during his first season with the Bulls.

"When guys are hurt, they cheer for guys that are out on the floor," Hamilton said. "In the NBA, that's hard to find."

The Bulls played their fourth straight game without reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose (sprained left big toe). They also were missing starting center Joakim Noah, a late scratch because of a left ankle sprain.

Reserves Taj Gibson (left ankle sprain) and John Lucas III (left groin strain) also sat out, but the Bulls had plenty of firepower left on the roster.

"We have the right guys," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "No matter who is out, we have enough to win with. These guys play for each other and they play to win."

The talk of the locker room after the game was the play veteran guard Mike James, who took Lucas' place as the backup point guard and had nine points and a team-high 10 assists, his most since Dec. 27, 2008.

James was signed by the Bulls on Jan. 11 to add depth to the bench. Chicago is his 10th team in 10 NBA seasons and he thinks he sees something special in his latest squad.

"When you play with a team that really wants to make the extra pass for the next player and there is not a lot of selfishness on the team, you just have to blend in," James said. "You can't be the lone wolf and think it's all about you."

James worked well with Boozer, as Thibodeau called a number of pick-and-rolls for the veteran duo. Boozer is averaging 24 points over his last three games.

"Carlos has been playing at a very high level now for a number of games," Thibodeau said. "He's in rhythm, he's walking into his shots, he's got great balance."

Omer Asik made his first career start in place of Noah and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

C.J. Watson started for Rose at point guard and had 11 points and nine assists. Watson is averaging 16.5 points and six assists in his last four games after missing nine games because of an elbow injury.

Gerald Henderson Jr. led Charlotte with 22 points, but the Bobcats lost their fifth consecutive road game. They have dropped nine of 10 overall.

With the Bobcats coming off three days' rest and facing a shortened Chicago rotation, Charlotte coach Paul Silas expected better.

"Not having all of their players here, I thought we had a legitimate shot tonight," Silas said. "But it just didn't turn out that way."

Byron Mullens added 17 points for the Bobcats.

Charlotte started undersized point guards D.J. Augustin and Kemba Walker together in the backcourt for the fourth straight game, but the quick lineup struggled against Chicago's defense, which leads the league in fewest points allowed per game.

Walker scored just four points, Augustin had three and neither player was on the floor down the stretch.

"Somehow we didn't have the right attitude tonight and it puzzled me," Silas said. "We had three days off. I thought we'd really come out with a lot of energy and intensity tonight and we just didn't have it. I don't know what it was."

The bright spot for Charlotte was Henderson, who is averaging 21.8 points on 32-of-55 shooting in his last four games since moving from shooting guard to small forward.

"We didn't play all that bad," Henderson said. "We couldn't get into that lead close enough to where we could compete at the end of the game."

Deng led a late second-quarter charge and his putback dunk off a missed 3 by Kyle Korver capped an 11-2 Bulls run to end the first half. Chicago led 50-43 at the break.

"That's the value of Lu," Thibodeau said. "He really is the glue to our team. There is nothing that he doesn't do well."

The Bulls pushed their lead to 11 in the third quarter as Boozer scored 15 points and Hamilton added 10, which offset the 13-point period from Henderson. That set up a drama-free finish for a team that James expects to play deep into the postseason.

"You can just feel the vibe and the love because everyone wants to win," James said. "It's not just about individual stats. That's a championship locker room, that's a championship team."

NOTES: The Bulls have won 33 of their last 35 home games. . The Bulls are 7-0 at the United Center for the first time since 1996-97. . Bobcats forward D.J. White left with a bruised left knee during the second quarter and did not return.

Notebook: Bulls 95, Bobcats 89

By Kent McDill, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 21, 2012 11:21PM

THE FACTS: With three of their top seven players (Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson) out due to injury, the Chicago Bulls still managed to record an easy home win against the Charlotte Bobcats. Carlos Boozer had 23 points, Luol Deng had 22 and Rip Hamilton had 20 as the Bulls recorded a 95-89 decision. Omer Asik started for Noah and had 15 rebounds. The Bulls led by as much as 19 in the fourth quarter before allowing the Bobcats back within single digits. Gerald Henderson had 22 points and a team-high nine rebounds but the Bobcats lost for the ninth time in the last 10 games.

QUOTABLE: "We are disappointed that we are going through some injuries but we are confident in the guys who are stepping in."
-- Deng

QUOTABLE II: "Without all those players, I really thought we had a shot at them tonight."
-- Charlotte coach Paul Silas, referring to the Bulls

THE STAT: The Bulls, the No. 1 rebounding team in the league, lost the rebounding battle, 44-37, to the Bobcats, the No. 16 team in the league. But the Bulls had more offensive rebounds than the Bobcats, 10-9.

THE STAT II: The Bulls are 7-0 at home this season, one of only two unbeaten home teams in 2012 (the Indiana Pacers are the other).

TURNING POINT: The difference was in single digits early in the fourth quarter before D-League retread Mike James led the Bulls on a 10-0 run. James had seven of his nine points in that stretch.

THE MOMENT: The Bulls announced Noah as the starting center, but Asik ran out from the huddle onto the floor at that time. The decision for Noah to stay out of the game due to a sprained ankle was really not made until game time.

INJURY UPDATE: Rose remains day-to-day with his sprained big toe. Gibson said after the game he was day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. John Lucas III said after the game he will play Monday after missing the game with a sore groin. Noah said he was not certain what his availability would be for Monday. Deng had his left wrist wrapped after suffering a slight sprain on a rebound in the game but said he would be able to play Monday.

HOT: Hamilton is 20-for-36 (55.5 percent) from the field in three games since coming back from a lengthy break because of a groin injury.

NOT: In his last three games at the United Center, Kyle Korver of the Bulls is 1-for-10 from the field. He did hit five of eight shots at Cleveland on Friday.

ROOKIE WATCH: Charlotte starting guard Kemba Walker out of Connecticut was 1-for-5 from the field for four points. Reserve forward Bismack Biyombo from the Congo was 2-for-3 for four points. Bulls forward Jimmy Butler, a rookie from nearby Marquette, did not play due to coach's decision, even though the Bulls were down to 10 healthy players.

GOOD MOVE: When Rose and C.J. Watson were out with injuries last week, the Bulls pulled James off a NBA D-League roster. James, playing with his 10th NBA team in 10 seasons, backed up backup point guard Watson and scored nine points with a game-high 10 assists, coming close to a double-double.

NOTABLE: The Bulls' next game against New Jersey on Monday will be their sixth straight home game against teams with losing records. Their next winning opponent will come in Wednesday when the Indiana Pacers visit.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, Monday vs. New Jersey, Wednesday vs. Indiana, Friday vs. Milwaukee. For the Bobcats, Sunday @ New Jersey, Tuesday vs. New York, Wednesday @ Washington.

• Bobcats: Maggette, Williams
• Bulls: Gibson

• Bobcats: --
• Bulls: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #33 Zach Zarba, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 21861
• Duration: 2:03