Trailblazers Slam Dunk Bulls 109-95 @ United Center
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 | Chicago Bulls, NBA, Sports
Another day, another loss for the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have now lost 7 of their last 10 games and stand at 16-22 – a season-high 6 games under .500. After taking a 28-21 1st quarter lead, nothing went right for the Bulls the rest of the way. The Bulls allowed Travis Outlaw to score a career-high 33 points off the bench. Greg Oden dominated inside with 17 points and 13 rebounds. And although the Bulls were able to keep Brandon Roy in-check with only 11 points, Roy did grab 8 rebounds and Steve Blake was able to score 16 points while dishing out 10 assists.
As usual, the Bulls did get a solid performance from Drew Gooden – 22 points and 9 rebounds. Ben Gordon chipped in 17 points, while Derrick Rose scored 13 points and dished out 10 assists. The Bulls did get back 2 regulars of the recent past – Loul Deng (14 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes) and Kirk Hinrich (4 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes). Both have missed significant playng time during the 2008-9 NBA season.
Now that the Bulls have all of their players back healthy, it will be interesting to see how 1st year coach Vinny Del Negro keeps everyone happy. Because the Bulls have a slim chance at making the playoffs, the rest of the season will be dedicated to show-casing talent to determine who will get traded and who will stay on the roster. Del Negro and GM John Paxson have their work cut out for them over the next few years. With super-star Derrick Rose blossoming on the pro level, the Bulls organization needs to find a way to surround him with quality talent to take the next step towards legitimate playoff contention. Will Paxson be able to work some magic? We’ll have to wait and see…
