Chicago Bulls Blog – Page 67 – NBA Blog

Bulls annoying local reporters with lack of workout info

Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Gar Forman have gone
underground.

For the first time in the 43 years I’ve covered the team for Ebony magazine and the Sun-Times, the Bulls are refusing to tell the media about which players they’re bringing in for summer tryouts, refusing to make them available for interviews and refusing to grant interviews themselves.

Or is it just me?

A Bulls spokesman explained: ‘‘Well, we have a new coaching staff now. They want to do things differently. And this is one of the areas they’re making changes.’’

Thus, unless Thibodeau and Forman become media-friendly again in terms of supporting offseason coverage, we might never know which players succeeded in their tryouts until next season.

That is, if there is a next season.

Steve Kerr says LeBron James is Scottie Pippen, not Michael Jordan

ESPN Chicago reports:

Scottie Pippen had it all wrong when he recently compared LeBron James with Michael Jordan, said one former Chicago Bulls teammate.

“The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie,” former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “He’s so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That’s really where LeBron’s preference is.

“Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a ‘sometimes shooter.’ Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn’t. That’s how it is with LeBron. He’s a great talent and a great player but you can see his flaws as a basketball player. He doesn’t have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That’s what Michael did in his sleep so that’s why the comparison is wrong.”

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

NBA heads to 2011 offseason of uncertainty

The AP reports:

“It’s an odd position, when the game is the best it’s ever been, when the ratings are the highest they’ve ever been, when the excitement is the greatest it’s ever (been),” Players Association attorney Jeffrey Kessler said last week. “It’s sort of odd to see the owners say we’re going to destroy this game unless you change this whole system. Players just want to play.”

Nobody can predict when they’ll get that chance again. When the Dallas Mavericks finished off the Miami Heat on Sunday night in Game 6, it sent the NBA into a most uncertain offseason.

Owners and players are nowhere close on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires June 30. Without a new deal, players say they have been told by the owners they will be locked out.

The NBA was reduced to a 50-game season by a work stoppage in 1998-99, and the loss of games is a threat now. Citing leaguewide losses of about $300 million this season, the league hasn’t budged on its desire for significant changes to the financial structure, ranging from reductions in the length of contracts and the amount of guarantees, to an overhaul of the salary cap system that would prevent teams from being able to exceed it, as they can now under certain exceptions.

And Stern said the record TV ratings and all the other positive attention the league has received doesn’t make him any more motivated to get this settled, since he’d want to do it anyway.

“I don’t need any external prod to want to be able to make a deal,” he said…

The sides are scheduled to meet twice this week and say they hope for frequent discussions before the end of the month. Should those fail, the NBA could follow the NFL’s labor situation right into the court system, which both sides say they want to avoid. So although a work stoppage in July wouldn’t seem to have much effect since games aren’t going on, Stern insists “we very much feel the weight of the deadline.”

Former Duke basketball player Thomas Emma dies

ESPN and the AP report:

Police say former Duke basketball player Thomas Emma plunged from the 12th floor of the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan to his death in an apparent suicide.

Police say Emma’s body was found at 11:30 a.m. ET Tuesday on a second-floor landing of the building on Central Park South.

The athletic club had no comment.

Emma, 49, was drafted in the 10th round of the 1983 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, but never played for them.

In 110 career games for the Blue Devils, including 71 starts, Emma scored 784 points (7.1 ppg) and had 245 assists.

Carlos Boozer bought South Beach condo in March

Brian Bandell of the South Florida Business Journal reports:

Carlos Boozer is taking his bags to South Beach – where he has a new condo with a closer view of the Miami Heat team that sent his Chicago Bulls packing from the playoffs.

The NBA power forward paid $2.35 million to BC Tower 8, a company managed by David Phillips, for a 4,135-square-foot unit at the Residences at the Bath Club, at 5959 Collins Ave. Boozer took out a $1.76 million mortgage with Charles Schwab Bank.

The deed was signed March 29, although it wasn’t recorded in county records until May 3.

That means Boozer bought the condo well before the Bulls started their playoff series against the Heat. Boozer took a jab at the Heat going into the series by referencing the “Big Two” – a swipe at Miami forward Chris Bosh.

James, Wade lead wild comeback as Heat eliminate Bulls

The AP reports:

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined to win a championship. Well, now they have their shot.

James scored 28 points, Wade added 21, and they led a furious rally in the final minutes as the Miami Heat eliminated Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 83-80 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

James and Wade were simply spectacular down the stretch, each scoring eight during a game-ending 18-3 run as Miami wiped out a 12-point deficit to win the series.

Now, the Heat are headed back to the NBA finals for the first time since 2006, and in a fitting twist, they’ll be facing the Mavericks. Back then, with Wade leading the way, Miami beat Dallas to capture the championship. This time, it’ll be James and Dirk Nowitzki going for their first rings.

The Heat will host Game 1 on Tuesday night…

Rose led Chicago with 25 points but hit just 9 of 29 shots. He fouled Wade on a key four-point play and missed a tying free throw with 26.7 seconds left.

James had 11 rebounds and six assists. Wade’s late surge helped negate his nine turnovers. Bosh added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Heat pulled out a dramatic win.

Reuters reports:

Miami went on an 18-3 run to the buzzer to stun the Bulls and complete a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals…

“Defense. Staying together,” James told a courtside reporter about how the Heat overcame a 77-65 deficit in the final three minutes. “Just buckled down defensively and executed.”

Bulls center Omer Asik out for remainder of playoffs

Bulls rookie center Omer Asik sustained a fractured left fibula in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Miami on May 22. He was examined by Bulls Head Team Physician, Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush. The diagnosis was confirmed via MRI and CT scan before Game 4. He attempted to play in Game 4, but had recurrent discomfort and a loss of function. Asik’s injury will not require surgery. He is out for the remainder of the playoffs with an expected recovery of six weeks.

Asik (7-0, 255) appeared in 15 playoff games for the Bulls, and posted 1.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg and 0.53 bpg in 9.9 mpg. He also saw action in all 82 games during the regular season, where he averaged 2.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.68 bpg, 12.1 mpg and .553 from the field.

James, Bosh and Wade carry Heat over Bulls 101-93 in Game 4

The Miami Heat now lead the Chicago Bulls 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here’s what went down in Game 4 Monday in Miami:

The AP reports:

LeBron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh added 22 and Dwyane Wade perked up to block as many shots—two—as Chicago made in overtime, as the Heat topped the Bulls 101-93 in a scintillating Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the series…

Derrick Rose scored 23 points for the Bulls, who got 20 apiece from Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Chicago has lost three straight games for the first time this season, and afterward, the league’s reigning MVP pointed the finger of blame at himself.

“It’s not over,” said Rose, who shot 8 of 27 and turned the ball over seven times…

Somehow, it wasn’t a problem. A sleep-deprived Mike Miller—whose wife delivered a baby last week—scored 12 points and made plenty of key defensive plays to help Miami outscore Chicago by a whopping 36 points with him on the floor. Udonis Haslem missed all five of his shots, and he was still a plus-25 in his 33 minutes off the bench…

James was 11 for 26 from the field and 13 for 13—his best playoff showing ever—from the foul line. Bosh was aggressive again, making 10 of his 11 free throws. Miami made its last 24 straight from the stripe, and the defense was again the biggest key of all…

Wade made just 5 of 16 shots from the field, lacking his usual lift at the rim. He made a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the first half for his seventh and eighth points, and didn’t score again until overtime…

Chicago’s lead was 46-44 at halftime, after some wild emotional swings—a 19-4 run by the Bulls, followed by a 29-9 spurt for the Heat, then capped by an 18-7 rebuttal by the Bulls to close the second quarter.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

“This series is an absolute bloodbath,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when the three-hour marathon was over, “and that game tonight was a total grind. It is very challenging for either team to get into any kind of fluid offensive flow. It is about as competitive and physical as it could be.”

With Miller scoring 12 points on a night Wade was limited to 14 on 5-of-16 shooting, the Heat rode the 35 points of James and 22 more from forward Chris Bosh to a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, with the best-of-seven series continuing Thursday at the United Center.

“If you’re a fan of the game,” Wade said, “this is a great basketball game. This is will, and both teams showed that. We made the plays at the end to eventually pull away.”

The Heat closed out the game by converting their final 24 free throws.

“It was about enduring and stay with it mentally and physically,” Spoelstra said.

The Miami Herald reports:

The Heat won despite shooting 40.3 percent in regulation. Miami made five of eight shots in overtime. James led the Heat with 35 points on 11-of-26 shooting. He was also 11 of 11 at the free-throw line and had half the Heat’s 12 assists.

Bosh finished with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooing. He and James both had six rebounds. Wade had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting to go along with five rebounds.

The Heat made its final 24 free throws of the game and was 32 of 38 overall. Chicago was 17 of 22 from the free-throw line.

Defensively, Heat center Joel Anthony had five rebounds and four blocks. Mike Miller had 12 points off the bench for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had nine.

MVP Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 23 points but, closely defended by James, missed his chance to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer had 20 points each.So close for Chicago. As with any game that goes overtime, this easily could have gone the other way.

This is a great series for anyone who enjoys watching great defense. For a good time, watch the help defenders on every possession.

Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.

NBA fines Joakim Noah $50,000 for foul language

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah has been fined $50,000 for using a derogatory and offensive term from the bench during the first quarter of the Bulls’ 96-85 loss to the Miami Heat last night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Recently, Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for saying almost the same thing, though in Bryant’s case it was directed at an NBA referee, while Noah was engaged in heated discussion with a fan sitting near Chicago’s bench.

Fan reaction and discussion of the entire issue is in this forum topic.

Bulls center Omer Asik day-to-day with muscle strain in leg

The Miami Heat lead the Chicago Bulls 2-1 in their Eastern Conference Finals series. And as Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago reports:

Chicago Bulls center Omer Asik is day to day with a muscle strain in his left leg. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of Game 3 Sunday night and did not return. “We’re hopeful,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after his team’s Monday afternoon film session. “I talked to [athletic trainer] Fred [Tedsechi] earlier and he said he’s day to day. He’ll get treatment [Tuesday]. Fred will take him onto the court to see if he’s having any problems and hopefully he’ll be ready to go.”

Asik is averaging 14.3 minutes per game for the Bulls in the Conference Finals. He mostly acts as a big body, taking up space, defending and boxing out.