Cleveland Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls in 2-0 Hole to Lebron James & Cavaliers
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, NBA, Sports | 1 Comment
The Chicago Bulls find themselves in an 0-2 hole after 2 hard-fought games in Cleveland. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah have stepped up their games in the post-season, but the team does not have enough juice to take out Lebron James and his deep Cleveland Cavaliers squad.
On Monday night, the Cavs used a 10-point edge in the 4th quarter – courtesy of James’ 15-point quarter – to beat the Bulls 112-102. James ended up with 40 points, 8 boards and 8 assists. Derrick Rose scored 23 points and dished out 8 assists, while Joakim Noah scored 25 points and grabbed 13 boards.
In Saturday’s 96-83 loss to the Cavs, Derrick Rose scored 28 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. James scored 24 points for the Cavs, while 2 of his teammates did some serious damage as well. Antwan Jamison scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Mo Williams scored 19 points and dished out 10 assists.
The Bulls are clearly over-matched and have no shot at winning the series. I still think they can pull off the upset on Thursday at home at the United Center in front of the home crowd. But after that, I think it’s the Cavs in 5…
Bulls Ignore Turmoil, Beat Bobcats to Clinch 8th Seed in East
Thursday, April 15th, 2010 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, New York Knicks, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bulls defeated the Bobcats 98-89 in Charlotte on Wednesday night to clinch the 8th seed in the East. The Bulls needed to win in order to qualify for the post-season because the Toronto Raptors crushed the New York Knicks at home to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Derrick Rose led the way again – 27 points and 5 assists. While Joakim Noah turned in another double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Brad Miller also each scored 11 points in the win.
Kudos to the team for ignoring the turmoil between their head coach Vinny Del Negro and the club’s VP of basketball operations John Paxson. At the end of the day, it comes down to winning and that’s just what the team did in a must0win game.
Now the Bulls have the unenviable task of taking on the best team in the NBA – the Cleveland Cavaliers – led by Lebron James. Should be a fun series with a lot of chippy play from a young, scrappy Bulls squad…
Bulls 101-93 Win Over Celtics Overshadowed by Paxson-Del Negro Melee
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 | Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, New York Knicks, Sports | 1 Comment
The Chicago Bulls kept their playoffs hopes alive with a big 101-93 win over the Boston Celtics at the United Center on Tuesday night. But most people weren’t talking about the win after the game – they were talking about the “alleged” rumble between Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson (the former club GM who hired Del Negro to a 3-year deal 2 years ago). Supposedly Paxson and team management have been dismayed with Del Negro’s use of Joakim Noah down the stretch. The team has placed a “minutes-limit” on Noah to avoid further damage to his injured foot. Supposedly Paxson confronted Del Negro after the March 30th game against the Phoenix Suns in which Del Negro played Noah “too many” minutes. Allegedly, Paxson grabbed Del Negro’s tie and tried to provoke him with 2 jabs to the chest. Del Negro did not retaliate at all and assistance coach Bernie Bickerstaff had to step in to pull Paxson away. Del Negro has said that he will not comment on the confrontation and Paxson has not been able to be reached for comment. More craziness as the Bulls continue to fight for a playoff spot
Back to the game — the Bulls didn’t let a deficit heading into the 4th quarter get them down. Instead, the Bulls grabbed “themselves by the horn” as they outscored the Celtics 34-35 in the final period to win easily. Derrick Rose put forth a career night to lead his team to victory – 39 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Joakim Noah turned in another amazing performance – 9 points and 16 rebounds – and he logged the most minutes (46) since returning from his foot injury. Kirk Hinrich knocked in 30 points – a season high for the veteran guard, while Luol Deng chipped in 7 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The win kept the Bulls a full game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. If the Bulls defeat the Bobcats in Charlotte tonight, they’re in. If the Bulls lose, but the Raptors lose to the Knicks at home, then they’re also in. A Bulls loss, coupled with a Raptors win catapults Toronto into the playoffs to face the Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stay tuned Bulls fans — it should be a fun night indeed…
Bulls in Driver’s Seat to Clinch 8th Seed in East
Monday, April 12th, 2010 | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, NBA, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bulls took control of their own destiny with a BIG 104-88 win over the Raptors in Toronto on Sunday. Lucky for them, Raptors star Chris Bosh – who could become a Bull in the off-season – will miss the rest of the season because of fractured bones in his face suffered in a game against the Cavaliers last week. Without Bosh, the Raptors failed to put forth a consistent offensive attack as they failed to top the Bulls in any quarter until the 4th quarter when the game was already out of hand.
Joakim Noah back in the starting lineup led the way for the Bulls with 18 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists. Noah missed a ton of games dealing with a painful and nagging foot injury, so it would have been interesting to see where this Bulls team would have finished had it not been without Noah, Luol Deng and Derrick Rose for a considerable portion down the stretch here. Noah was pumped that they were able t bounce back from the disappointing double-overtime loss against the Nets in New Jersey on Friday night — “I knew it was a really important game, I was really focused. I just wanted to go out there and impose my will as much as I could, just be aggressive offensively and defensively. It was a huge win and I just wanted to make sure that our team played harder than their team.” Rose dished out 26 points and 7 assists in the win. Luol Deng scored 14 points and grabbed 7 boards while Taj Gibson continued his solid play with an 11-point, 6-rebound performance. With their big trio in the lineup – Rose, Noah, Deng – the Bulls always seem to put forth a more consistent effort.
The Bulls host the Celtics on Tuesday night at the United Center and then finish the season against the Bobcats in Charlotte on Wednesday night. The Raptors travel to play the Pistons tonight in Detroit and then end the season at home against the New York Knicks. If the Raptors win both games, then the Bulls must also win both games in order to make the playoffs as the 8th seed (the Raptors hold the tiebreaker over the Bulls because they won the season series 2-1). The Bulls can also clinch a spot in the playoffs if the Raptors lose 1 of their remaining games and the Bulls win 1 of their games, or if the Raptors lose both of their games (even if the Bulls also lose both of their games). You gotta think the Raptors will win at least 1 of their games, so the pressure is on the Bulls to pull off a win over the Celtics at home on Tuesday night. The Celtics are still playing for the 3rd seed in the East (they trail the Atlanta Hawks by 1 game), so they will still be fighting with their all on Tuesday night. The Bobcats are locked into the 7th seed in the East, so the Bulls could benefit if the Bobcats decide to rest some of their players on Wednesday night.
It should be an interesting couple of days. Let’s root for a Raptors loss in Detroit tonight. That might take a little pressure off of this “sometimes-tight and overwhelmed” Bulls squad. Then it will be on to face Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers if the Bulls qualify for post-season play…
Bulls Top Cavs 109-108, Tied for 8th & Final Playoff Spot
Friday, April 9th, 2010 | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, LeBron James, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bulls picked up a HUGE win over the Cavs 109-108 on Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago. It was a hard-fought battle and despite missing key free throws down the stretch that would have iced the game, the Bulls managed to hold to beat the Lebron James-less Cavs.
Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls with 24 points and 10 assists. Joakim Noah started and played 33+ minutes in the win – 17 points and 15 rebounds. How good is it to have the big man in the middle again? Luol Deng chipped in 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kirk Hinrich made 8 of 12 field goal attempts and scored 23 points. It makes you wonder where this team would be if they didn’t have to play without their 3 best players – Deng, Rose and Noah – for such a long stretch in the 2nd half of the season.
Now granted, the Cavs played without Lebron James in an attempt to rest the all-star for the playoffs run. But Mo Williams answered with 35 points and 10 assists, while Antwon Jamison poured in 23 points. This is a totally different team without Lebron, but a win is a win especially when every game counts.
The Bulls pulled even with the Toronto Raptors for the 8th and final playoff spot. The Bulls play the Nets in New Jersey tonight and the Raptors in Toronto on Sunday night. Both games are must win games for the Bulls if they expect to have any chance to qualify for the post-season for the 2nd year in a row. They finish up with the Celtics at home on Tuesday night and the Bobcats on the road in Charlotte on Wednesday night. The Raptors have the Hawks in Atlanta tonight, the Bulls at home, then the Pistons on the road in Detroit on Monday and the Knicks at home on Wednesday. The Friday and Sunday games hold the key — if the Bulls can somehow win both games, they should be able to lock down that 8th seed. Otherwise, we’ll just have to hope we get lucky in the lottery again like we did when we pulled the #1 ball out of the hat to grab Derrick Rose. Keep your fingers crossed…
Lucky #10 – Sort Of – Cavs Hand Bulls 10th Straight Loss
Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, General, NBA, Sports | No Comments
King Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Chicago Bulls their 10th straight loss on Friday night at the United Center. Things have not gone well for the Bulls as of late, playing without their top 3 players – Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah – for a while now. Rose and Noah are day-to-day and could return to the lineup against the 76ers in Philadelphia tonight. But Deng will likely miss at least 2-3 more weeks, which means that his season could be over.
James single-handedly took it to the Bulls in Friday’s loss. He scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 7 assists. He also had 2 steals and 2 blocked shots on the defensive end. With his dominating effort, James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 15,000 point-plateau.
There were 2 bright spots for the Bulls – rookies Taj Gibson (20 points and 13 rebounds) and James Johnson (16 points and 8 rebounds) both turned in solid efforts.
The Bulls trail the Toronto Raptors by 2.5 games for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. Given the fact that there are only 14 games left, it will be hard for the Bulls to overcome the deficit if they continue to play short-handed. If they don’t make the playoffs, the positive of getting a lottery pick doesn’t even help because they agreed to swap picks with the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the John Salmons-Hakim Warrick salary-dumping trade made right before the trading deadline earlier this month. Good job John Paxson and Gar Forman…
Christmas Day NBA Action – Celtics @ Magic & Cavs @ Lakers – Enjoy!
Friday, December 25th, 2009 | Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, General, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Sports | No Comments
Merry Christmas from your friends at Ticket Chest – we hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season and a great 2010!
Enjoy some great NBA action today:
The defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic host the 2008 defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics at 2:30PM Eastern time on Christmas Day. Paul Pierce leads the way for the 21-5 Celtics who have the best record in the Eastern Conference to date. Vince Carter and Dwight Howard lead the way for the Magic who are 21-7 overall and right no the heels of the Celtics.
At 5PM Eastern time, the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers host the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kobe Bryant is averaging over 28 points per game and has had some incredible game-winning shots of late to lead the 22-4 Lakers. Lebron James will be making his last appearance in a Cavs uniform in L.A. (unless the 2 teams meet in the NBA Finals this year) and continues to lead the way for the Cavs by averaging over 28 points per game.
Can’t ask for better NBA game action than this…
Chicago Bulls Off to “Good” Start
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Sports, Utah Jazz | No Comments
I guess it’s all relative, but the Chicago Bulls are clearly off to a good start during the 2009-2010 NBA schedule. It looks like the Bulls might be a part of one of the better divisions in the NBA’s Eastern Conference – the Central Division. 4 out of 5 teams in the division have winning record while the Detroit Pistons bring up the rear at .500. The Cleveland Cavaliers – winners of 7 of their last 8 games – lead the Central Division with a 7-3 record.
The Bulls defied the odds by making the playoffs right at the end of the 2008-9 NBA season – earning the 7th seed in the conference. The Bulls proved it wasn’t a fluke either, taking the Boston Celtics all the way to the brink of elimination with an exciting 7-game series in which the home team won each game.
The Bulls have picked up where they left off this season. With the departure of Ben Gordon in the off-season, but the re-emergence of Luol Deng as a legitimate NBA starter (Deng has been hampered by injuries each of the last 2 seasons), the Bulls haven’t missed a beat. The Bulls are 5-4 with a solid 4-1 home record at the United Center in Chicago. Deng leads the club with a 17.6 scoring average – his 9.2 rebounds average per game is impressive as well. Derrick Rose was hampered by a bum ankle during the pre-season, but is slowly getting back into game shape. Rose averages 13.8 points, 5.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
The biggest surprise for the Bulls has been the consistent play of Joakim Noah – 11.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Talk about a huge step-up from his 6.7 and 7.6 averages from last season. Kirk Hinrich has also impressed with his solid play early in the season – 9.9 points and 4.56 assists per game. And Rookie Taj Gibson has showed some brilliant moments in limited play so far. Gibson is averaging 7.3 points per game and his 4.89 rebounding average is 3rd behind Noah and Deng on the team. 20 of his 44 rebounds have been offensive rebounds so he can clearly spark an offensive outburst during his minutes.
If the Bulls are going to make a push for a 2nd consecutive playoff appearance, they are going to need better play from John Salmons (12.6 points and 4.0 rebounds) and Brad Miller (8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds). To date, neither player has played as well as anticipated heading into the season. The Bulls are also going to have to play better on the road.
The Bulls now embark on the grueling “Circus” road trip to the west coast (as the Circus invades the United Center for 2 weeks). As mentioned above, the Bulls tend to play poorly on the road, so it will be important for the team to win at least 2 of the 6 games on the trip. It won’t be easy because trying to against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers or Utah Jazz on the road is highly unlikely. That leaves games against the Kings in Sacramento and the Bucks in Milwaukee to win. The 2 games after the circus road trip are against the Pistons at home and the Cavaliers on the road, so it doesn’t get any easier with 2 intra-division battles. At 5-4, this will be a telling 8-game stretch for the Bulls – they certainly won’t be over .500 at the end of it, but if they can win at least 3 of the games, an 8-9 record isn’t the worst thing in the world this early in the season. Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and his staff will have their work cut out for them over the next 3 weeks of the NBA schedule.
NBA Playoff Teams All Set – Seeds Still To Be Determined
Sunday, April 12th, 2009 | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, General, Houston Rockets, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, Sports, Utah Jazz | No Comments
We know know all of the 16 teams that have qualified for 2008-9 NBA post-season play. While some seeds have been established, there are still a few slots up for grabs.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers – led by Lebron James - have locked up the #1 seed for the 1st time in franchise history. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are still battling for the #2 seed, but the Celtics have a 2-game edge over the Magic. The Atlanta Hawks have locked up the 4th seed in the East. Miami and Philadelphia have each lost 6 of their last 10 games and are currently sitting in the 5th and 6th spots – they each have 3 games to play. The surging Chicago Bulls – winners of 7 of 10 – and the Detroit Pistons are tied for the 7th and 8th seeds right. That race will likely be decided when the Bulls visit Detroit on Monday night with the winner taking at least the 7th seed.
In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers – led by Kobe Bryant – have locked up the #1 seed for a 2nd consecutive year. The 2nd through 5th seeds are up for grabs among the Denver Nuggets (#2 seed), Houston Rockets (1 game behind Denver), Portland Trailblazers (1.5 games behind Denver) and San Antonio Spurs (1.5 games behind Denver). The 6th through 8th seeds are also up for grabs among the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks (tied for 6th and 7th seeds) and the Utah Jazz (8th seed – 1 game behind Hornets and Mavericks). Looking to avoid a 1st round match-up with the Lakers, the Jazz play the Warriors and Clippers before ending the season against the Lakers – will they be able to bump out either of the Hornets or Mavs? Only time will tell.
The NBA playoffs will soon be here in full effect – get ready for some intense playoffs hoops action…
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