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Joakim Noah fined $25,000 for pushing a fan
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Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has been fined $25,000 for pushing a fan, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred at halftime of the Bulls’ 106-91 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 6 at Quicken Loans Arena.
D-Rose helps Bulls take Game 1 vs Cavs
Pau Gasol is rocking, Derrick Rose looks like D-Rose again and the Chicago Bulls, playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers (no Kevin Love, no J.R. Smith) took a 1-0 lead in their second round playoff series. Here’s the Bulls.com blog:
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The Bulls Monday didn’t slay the giant, though their 99-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal was complete, efficient and impressive.
Derrick Rose had 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, Pau Gasol added 21 points and 10 rebounds, 13 points in the third quarter when the Cavaliers rallied back from a 16-point deficit, and Jimmy Butler added 20 points and a clinching, driving bank shot with 30.6 seconds left.
The wire-to-wire victory gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead in the series with Game 2 in Cleveland Wednesday.
But it takes four whacks to slay a giant in these things, a giant who has stolen the Bulls championship hopes and dreams the last five years, twice even after losing the first game of a playoff series. Maybe it’s different this time, and perhaps he’s not quite the fearsome giant.
“It’s not a point about looking in the past or talking about the past,” said Rose, who had a late scare with a shoulder “stinger” that apparently proved no problem. “The teammates I have on my team right now, like I said, I’m grateful. I’m so fortunate to be playing with them. I think we can be a dangerous team.
“The way I used to play back in the day is totally different than the way I play now,” added Rose. “I can’t think about the past or even put in my head (losing playoff series after being ahead 1-0). I can only have positive thoughts; just trying to lead my team in a positive way. You can’t think of how many times he beat us in the past; it’s over. We’re in the present now.”
Derrick Rose, back in the NBA playoffs
On Saturday, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose played in his first NBA playoff game in years, stayed healthy, looked pretty good, and enjoyed a win. The former league MVP shot 9-of-16 for 23 points, seven assists and two steals as the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 103-91 to take a 1-0 lead in their first round series.
Leading the Bulls was guard Jimmy Butler, who shot 8-of-14 for 25 points and six assists. Forward Pau Gasol shot just 5-of-17 for 10 points, though he did add 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Center Joakim Noah had six points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
In Milwaukee’s loss, Khris Middleton scored 18 points on 17 shot attempts. The Bucks as a team shot just 39.3% for the game.
In hugely important game for Brooklyn, Nets gets blown out by Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are already headed to the 2015 NBA playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets hoped to join them. But a two-game losing streak now has Brooklyn’s postseason dream turning into a nightmare.
Behind 26 points off the bench from Nikola Mirotic, 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks from Pau Gasol, and 50% team shooting, the Chicago Bulls beat the Nets in Brooklyn 113-86.
The Bulls outscored the Nets 30-15 in the third quarter. And with plenty of Bulls fans in the crowd, the visiting team got plenty of cheers on a number of plays — especially when D-Rose unleashed some quickness, several times leaving D-Will and other Nets defenders flat-footed behind him.
For Chicago, Jimmy Butler shot 7-of-10 for 17 points, Taj Gibson was 5-of-6 for 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Derrick Rose only shot 5-of-13 as he works his way back but still looked good, showing explosiveness at times and finishing with 13 points and seven assists.
The Nets struggled in just about every way possible. Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to lead them in scoring with 17. Jarrett Jack scored 15 in 25 minutes off the bench, but needed 14 shots to do it. Brook Lopez had a quiet night with 13 points, eight rebounds, no assists and one block. Deron Williams shot 3-of-13 for just nine points, seven rebound and five assists. Joe Johnson scored 12. Thaddeus Young shot 3-of-11 for eight points, 11 rebounds.
The Bulls had 26 assists, the Nets 12. And the Bulls hit 12-of-30 three-pointers, the Nets 3-of-12.
It was a mess in Brooklyn.
Nets coach Lionel Hollins: “Stats say it all. They shot better from the three than we did from two, they outscored us 56-36 (in the second half). We had 12 assists, five in the first half, and I told the coaches that if we go out there and can’t get more than five assists in the second half and only have 10, we can’t win. We got two more for 12 assists. We have to give up the ball, we have to make shots, we have to make layups, we have to defend with second and third efforts. It was a disappointing loss, but the way I look at it is that we have one more game left and we have to win it.”
For the Bulls, who played without center Joakim Noah, a bonus in addition to the win was very solid from Derrick Rose, who isn’t anything close to his superstar self of the past, but looks like a player that can help his squad in the postseason, which is the most Chicago can expect from him right now.
“The big thing is obviously getting Derrick Rose back,” said Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“He’s got the power, quickness and speed; it’s very unusual. I don’t know if anyone else is like him in the league,” said Thibodeau about Rose.
The Bulls go on to prepare for the playoffs. The Boston Celtics clinched a playoff spot tonight, so the Nets must hope that the Pacers and Heat — other East squads hoping to reach the postseason — don’t remember how to play basketball for the next 48 hours.
Derrick Rose return date remains unknown
Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting on the eventual return of Bulls guard Derrick Rose. This will shock you, but the date this will happen remains unknown at this time:
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The Chicago Bulls remain optimistic that Derrick Rose will return in the near future as he continues to recover from a meniscectomy, but they are unsure exactly when.
“Only he knows his body and that’s the big thing,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said before Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “So he’s got to continue to work through it and I trust him. When he says, he’s ready.”
After the surgery, performed on Feb. 27, the Bulls announced that Rose would be out four to six weeks. This Friday represents the six-week mark, but Thibodeau remains noncommittal regarding an exact date for Rose’s return.
Bulls finally getting healthier
Derrick Rose remains out, the 44-29 Chicago Bulls, who recently clinched a spot in the 2015 NBA playoffs, are finally getting healthier. Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting:
The Chicago Bulls are getting healthy at seemingly the right time of the season.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t want to hear about that, though.
“I don’t get wrapped up in the talk,” Thibodeau said after practice on Friday. “I want to see performance. I want to see the work go into it. I know how you win. We have to be more concerned with the process of how we’re approaching it and are we putting the work in to give ourselves the best chance possible. Talk is talk. I want to see action.”
Some of the optimism surrounding the Bulls is based on action, especially in the case of Jimmy Butler. He scored 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting Wednesday in his second game back after missing three weeks because of an elbow injury.
Forward Taj Gibson is also slowly getting back into form after missing nearly a month with a left ankle injury.
Derrick Rose expects to return sometime this season
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We’ve been through this before. Nevertheless, we must remain positive-minded. Or not. Whatever you want. Here’s the Chicago Tribune reporting the latest on injured Bulls point guard D-Rose:
Bulls guard Derrick Rose said he expects to be cleared for contact either this week or next and remains confident he’ll return from arthroscopic right knee surgery this season.
“Oh yeah, I’m not worried about that,” Rose said. “I’m feeling good. I’m trying to do all the right things. Put all the positives in the bag and just try to go with it. It’s something that I’ve been doing for a long time. Rehab is definitely a grind. But I’m getting used to it.”
Rose had a small piece of his right meniscus removed on Feb. 27. The Bulls estimated his return to action at four to six weeks. Friday marks four weeks since the surgery.
Joakim Noah frustrated by limit on playing time
Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting on the Bulls, whose health issues this season have been a major problem:
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Joakim Noah remains on a limit of 32 minutes per game, but he hopes that the restriction imposed before the season by the Chicago Bulls’ front office will be lifted before the postseason.
The restriction, which has been in place all season, returned to the forefront after Sunday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder — a game in which Noah barely played down the stretch. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he “ran out of minutes” for Noah.
“It’s frustrating,” Noah said, his first public comments since before Friday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets. “But I think I’m not the only one who’s frustrated sometimes. I think it’s part of the grind. But I’m just trying to stay focused on what’s important: trying to win basketball games. I’m not trying to get caught up in any noise or anything like that. I don’t want to be a distraction. We’ll figure it out internally and do what’s best for the team.”
Forbes says Michael Jordan is now a billionaire
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Here’s the New York Daily News reporting that Michael Jordan is now a billionaire, according to Forbes.
Michael Jordan just had his name added to another impressive list.
The former Bulls star, who has NBA record-career averages for regular-season scoring (30.12) and playoff scoring (33.45), has been included on Forbes magazine’s billionaires list for the first time.
MJ had a net worth of $1 billion, according to the magazine, to land at No. 1,741. Forbes said it calculated each person’s wealth based on stock prices and exchange rates on Feb. 13, 2015.
Jimmy Butler out 3-6 weeks with elbow injury
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The Chicago Bulls announced today that an MRI of Jimmy Butler confirmed a Grade 2/3 ulnar ligament sprain and small bone impaction injury to the left elbow. It is estimated that Butler may be out three to six weeks.
On the year, Butler has appeared in 55 games (all starts) and averaged a team-high 20.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.73 spg (ninth in the NBA) and 0.58 bpg in 38.9 mpg (first in the NBA).
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “After announcing on Friday that Derrick Rose would be lost for at least four weeks with right knee surgery to again repair his meniscus, and then losing Taj Gibson with another left ankle injury in the Friday game, the team found out on Monday that All-Star Jimmy Butler had a confirmed Grade 2/3 ulnar ligament sprain and small bone impaction injury to his left elbow that could keep him sidelined anywhere from three to six weeks.:
More from the Sun-Times: “It’s our reality,’’ coach Tom Thibodeau said, when asked about now being down a former MVP, a Sixth Man of the Year Award finalist, and a first-time All-Star in Butler. “We got more than enough to get it done. Just find a way to win. [Sunday against the Clippers], it’s a tie score with about 61/2 minutes to go and it’s a one-possession game with four minutes to go, we gotta find a way to win. Whoever is out there, just get the job done. Know what your job is and go out there and get it done.’’