bullied' them all (chicago bulls)

[CKR13]

Guard Derrick Rose was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

Rose averaged 21.3 points per game while shooting .431 overall this past week. Rose also tallied 27 assists this week as the Bulls goes 3-0 for the week.

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Derrick Rose scores 33 points had 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals as the Bulls edge the Houston Rockets 95-92.

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The Chicago Bulls winning a close game against the Dallas Mavericks 88-83.

Point guard Derrick Rose scores a team high 22 points, adding 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Power forward Taj Gibson had 17 points and 18 rebounds.

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Injured power forward Carlos Boozer confirmed that he will start practicing with the team next week, during the Chicago Bulls' 7 game road trip.

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Chicago Bulls 123 Phoenix Suns 115

Point guard Derrick Rose scores a game high 35 points, added 12 rebounds and 7 assists for the Bulls which at one point of the game, were trailing the Suns by as much as 23 points.

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The Chicago Bulls losing to the Denver Nuggets 98-97. Point guard Derrick Rose did not play due to a stiff neck. CJ Watson starting as point guard, scored a team high 33 points.

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Power Forward Carlos Boozer confirmed that he will make his season debut as a Chicago Bulls in Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.

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Former NBA player Charles Barkley predicted that the Chicago Bulls will win the Eastern Conference come 2011 NBA Playoffs. Barkley, in an interview with ESPN said the following statements:

“I think the Chicago Bulls are going to win the East. I love what they're doing in Chicago.”

"The best eastern conference team that I've seen this year, I think the Chicago Bulls are going to win the East. I love what they're doing in Chicago."

"I think the Magic have the deepest team in the East, the Celtics have the oldest team and the Heat are going to struggle, but they'll get it together. I think the Orlando Magic are going to have the best record, but the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference is the Chicago Bulls. Especially once they get Carlos Boozer back."

[CKR13]

While Derrick Rose has expressed concern on how he will adjust and jive with the returning Carlos Boozer in terms of on-court cohesion pertaining to their tandem game; Boozer told the press and Rose:

"I just told him, 'You gotta do what you do' 'You're the point guard. You're the quarterback. No matter who's out there with you, we play off you. If you have a lane, if you have the ability to score, go do it.

"There hasn't been a team in the league that's stopped him. I just told him to stay aggressive. I think he knows that. It's tough when you're integrating a new player like myself back in the lineup. Everybody was kind of waiting to see what happened. But that's over. Now we move forward as a group."

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From the building hype of the so-called Rose-Boozer tandem-game insinuated last summer when the Bulls have signed Boozer, I must admit that I am curious and eager on how the two will fair playing together. Be it a pick-and-roll or a drive-and-dish play or perhaps a bigger role for these two on the Bulls' system where a healthy Boozer can no doubt contribute.

[durden_tyler]

While Derrick Rose has expressed concern on how he will adjust and jive with the returning Carlos Boozer in terms of on-court cohesion pertaining to their tandem game; Boozer told the press and Rose:



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From the building hype of the so-called Rose-Boozer tandem-game insinuated last summer when the Bulls have signed Boozer, I must admit that I am curious and eager on how the two will fair playing together. Be it a pick-and-roll or a drive-and-dish play or perhaps a bigger role for these two on the Bulls' system where a healthy Boozer can no doubt contribute.

The Bulls' run without Boozer has been impressive to say the least. With him back in the fold, chemistry and rotations have to be reworked again. And it showed in their last outing vs. the Magic at home.

Can Booze adjust and slowly let the game to him ? Or should he be aggressive in being the number two guy (on offense obviously)? Thing is, with his return, it's going to be lesser shots for the (more) effective Deng and even, Rose plus Noah. Even Gibson's role would be diminished. So i am not really sure if Booze's comeback would give instant results.

[CKR13]

Can Booze adjust and slowly let the game to him ? Or should he be aggressive in being the number two guy (on offense obviously)? Thing is, with his return, it's going to be lesser shots for the (more) effective Deng and even, Rose plus Noah. Even Gibson's role would be diminished. So i am not really sure if Booze's comeback would give instant results.

I must agree. I cannot long for instant results as Head Coach Tim Thibodeau also mirrored the same situation where he plans and hopes to gradually integrate Boozer into the Bulls' system and perhaps develop a potent two man game with Rose.

[CKR13]

Chicago Bulls winning in overtime against the Houston Rockets 119-116. Derrick Rose lead the Bulls with 30 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds. Rose also had 5 steals and 1 block.

Carlos Boozer playing his best game so far, had a season high 25 points and 9 rebounds.

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The Chicago Bulls winning against the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-90. Lead by Carlos Boozer with 29 points of which are a team high and a season high. Boozer also had 12 rebounds. Luol Deng had 19 points and point guard Derrick Rose had 11 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Rose also had 2 steals and a block.

[CKR13]

Carlos Boozer is playing to potential as expected when the Bulls signed him this past season. Boozer had provided the offense in the post on the Bulls victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-90. Boozer scored 29 points and added 12 rebounds on the game where Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose had their stretches of struggle.

Boozer provides them a legitimate option in the paint not seen since the day of Elton Brand. I am most interested to see this team play to their potential somewhere within this season.

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Chicago Bulls 88 Cleveland Cavaliers 83

Derrick Rsose had 29 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds while Joakim Noah had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

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Chicago Bulls 88 Los Angeles Lakers 84

Point guard Derrick Rose scored a game high 29 points, adding 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Carlos Boozer had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim Noah had 9 points and 9 rebounds while Luol Deng scored 14 points.

[dxjayrock2008]

The Chicago Bulls gored the Minnesota Timberwolves, 113-82. D-Rose leads the Bulls with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists.

[CKR13]

The Chicago Bulls winning their sixth straight game by beating the Indiana Pacers 92-73. Carlos Boozer scoring 22 points and hauling down a season best 18 rebounds. Derrick Rose had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 12 assists.

[CKR13]

Point guard Derrick Rose is listed day to day despite having multiple injuries like a sprained right wrist, a bruised right elbow and a sore right hip.

[dxjayrock2008]

Carlos Boozer (center) and the Bulls are starting to buy into the Tom Thibodeau (left) philosophy.
Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Boozer fitting in fine in Chicago after early-season break


Posted Dec 14 2010 12:44PM
CHICAGO -- When the school bell rang for 2010, Carlos Boozer was tardy.
When roll was called at the start of this 2010-11 season on the most eagerly anticipated and highly coveted collection of NBA free agents, Boozer didn't answer "Here" or "Present" or even "Yo!"
While Amar'e Stoudemire was planting a flag in New York to transform the Knicks into the surprise of the early season and LeBron James and Chris Bosh were taking grief with Dwyane Wade and learning some hard lessons in Miami, the Chicago Bulls' $80 million acquisition was either back in the trainers room or making like a cheerleader in street clothes.
Just a few days into his five-year term with the Bulls, Boozer tripped over a gym bag in his new Chicago home. He broke his right hand, an injury that required surgery and eight weeks of recovery and rehab. Never mind how it fit into a pattern of past Boozer sidelinings -- this one meant the Bulls and their fans would have to wait ... and wait ... for a prized addition who had come at a hefty price.
And wait they did, through all of October and November. Through a 9-6 start and the grueling annual "circus trip" that, if nothing else, provides a good chance for teammates to bond on the road. Through 15 regular-season games, while Derrick Rose solidified the offense around his own electric style, center Joakim Noah handled the grunt work inside and Boozer replacement Taj Gibson reminded people why he was so valuable a year ago as a rookie power forward.






Chicago got by, and got along, well enough that the primary question about Boozer -- when will he be back? -- gave way to a secondary one: How might Boozer's return disrupt things?
Well, two weeks in, Boozer is disrupting things rather nicely for the Bulls.
The 6-foot-9, 266-pound "new guy" came back to start December against two stiff Eastern Conference rivals, Orlando and Boston. The Bulls dropped both, with "the new guy" averaging 8.5 points on 6-of-15 shooting with four rebounds in 43 minutes. There were the predictable issues of stamina and rhythm, the learning curve that he and the rest of the team had expected and the tricky challenge of making the Bulls better ASAP without messing up what already was working.
Asked if he was sensitive to any ripples his return might have caused, Boozer bristled Monday morning. "That seems like a decade ago to me," he said. "That's a lot of games ago. I wasn't skeptical at all. I wasn't worried at all. I knew everything would work out."
Turns out, he was right. Chicago has won six in a row from Boozer's third appearance this season through his ninth. He has scored 20 points or more three times and grabbed at least 10 rebounds three times, and the ninth-year pro had his best night yet Monday in the Bulls' 92-73 victory over Indiana. Boozer scored 22 points with 18 rebounds and four assists and lightened the offensive load for Rose (17 points, 12 assists).
Past performance is no guarantee of future results, they tell us in the investing world. But when Boozer came back from a three-month layoff with Utah in 2008-09, the Jazz had nary a hiccup, winning seven straight.
"I'm just trying to play off my teammates, really," Boozer said. "I think I do a good job of playing off D-Rose, because he attracts so much attention. I try to find open areas off of him, and when I get the ball, be aggressive.
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"The other thing is, I'm learning how to play with Jo [Noah], too. A lot of times his man will come up, so I thought I'd give him a couple passes early to get him going. He got a couple of dunks. For the most part, it's playing off my teammates, being aggressive out there and rebounding. "
Boozer still ices his right hand after games in what looks like a lobster's claw of Ace bandages. But it's more precaution than concern. "My body feels great. I'm getting massages," he said. "I'm fresh. I'm coming into a little groove here."
No one doubted that would happen offensively. That is Boozer's calling card -- he arrived as the best low-post scoring threat in Chicago since Artis Gilmore and, maybe, Elton Brand. He gives new coach Tom Thibodeau the ability to truly play inside-out; opposing defenses no longer can just gang up on Rose and otherwise sag inside, daring Chicago's not-always-reliable outside shooters to hurt them.
Less clear was how well Boozer and his reputation as a casual defender would mesh with Thibodeau's preachings at that end of the court. In Boston, as Doc Rivers' chief assistant and defensive guru, Thibodeau had five Celtics moving on one string, connected, committed. The power forward in that system, Kevin Garnett, was its anchor, its swagger, its heart. Boozer isn't Garnett defensively -- isn't even close -- but Thibodeau said he has found ways to make ths power forward work for him, too.
"His strengths are different," the Bulls coach said. "What he is, what he's proven, this guy has averaged double-figure rebounds for a long time. And his career playoff rebounding number is 13, which is very significant. So he's a great rebounder. He's an excellent team defender. He's got great feet. He's got strength. As he learns the system -- he's a very bright guy -- I think he'll get better and better."
Noah admitted that he wondered how Boozer would fit in, and how long he would need to do so. "You add a player who really hadn't played in the system, integrating him into what we were doing ... he was thrown into the action," Noah said. "I mean, he was there, but not really. The game goes at a different pace out there compared to just watching in practice. I think he's understanding the schemes a lot better. And I think we're shrinking the floor a lot better as a team. In pick-and-rolls, I think our help side is coming a little more than we used to. We've still got a ways to go, but that's a very good thing."
Bulls guard Ronnie Brewer played with Boozer in Utah and sees the defensive focus of Jazz coach Jerry Sloan squared or even cubed now.
"Carlos is not known for his defense," Brewer said. "But if you have a guy like Booz buy into the defense, he's active. He's really talkative -- he's loud -- and our defense, that's really what you need. That's what helps the guards out, because he'll let us know what defense we're in. That's what KG does, really talking and letting everybody know the sets.
"It makes Booz's job a lot easier, too, because we've got a guy like Joakim who blocks shots and rebounds as well as he does. Booz is starting to be active, and we're going to help him. Guys like Luol [Deng], myself, Keith [Bogans] -- even D-Rose is playing better defense. So even if you look at people's histories and they might not be defensive players, they're buying into the system and making us a good defensive team."
The victory Monday over Indiana was a good case study. Boozer started in a rush, with eight points and seven rebounds in the first seven minutes. He split his time on offense between the post, pick-and-roll calls and face-up opportunities. He and Gibson played together at times, with Boozer sliding over to bang with taller but leaner Pacers center Roy Hibbert.
Defensively, Boozer neglected to block out Solomon Jones a couple of times and in two rapid, red-faced moments, let Josh McRoberts come free for tip-slams. But Chicago pulled away late, Rose didn't break himself in two on a scary topple over Brandron Rush in the final two minutes and Boozer got a little closer to 100 percent. Over their last five games, the Bulls are giving up an average of 82.4 points on 38.5 percent shooting.
"To be where we are -- we're trying to get better and trying to get our chemistry right on both sides of the ball," Boozer said. "It's an exciting time to be a Chicago Bull, because we're improving while we're winning."
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA for 25 years. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.
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