Chicago Bulls Blog – Page 69 – NBA Blog

Chicago NBC sports anchor Daryl Hawks found dead in Atlanta

A tragedy in the Chicago sports media world has developed.

WGN News reports:

A sportscaster for NBC 5 Chicago was found dead in a hotel room this morning in Atlanta.

Daryl Hawks was covering the NBA playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, in Atlanta.

NBC Chicago reports:

“We are all stunned right now. Daryl was a great member of our sports team, and was so excited about covering the Bulls during this playoff run,” said Frank Whittaker, Station Manager and Vice President of News.

Hawks was 38 years old. He was a three-time Emmy Winner and former Marine.

We’re sorry for Daryl’s friends, family as well as his station and co-workers.

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

2010-11 All-NBA Teams named

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player, and LeBron James of the Miami Heat, winner of the two previous MVP awards, highlight the 2010-11 All-NBA First Team. James was the lone unanimous choice, receiving all 119 first-place votes. Joining James and Rose on the First Team are Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Earning his first All-NBA team selection, Rose led the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 mark. He averaged team highs of 25.0 points and 7.7 assists to go along with 4.1 rebounds, becoming only the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Rose was the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in scoring (seventh) and assists (10th).

James, who earns First Team honors for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall, was second in the NBA in scoring (26.7 ppg), and averaged team highs in assists (7.0 apg) and steals (1.57 spg) to go along with 7.5 rpg. James became the first player in history to surpass the 2,000-point, 500-rebound, 500-assist and 100-steal marks in four consecutive seasons.

Howard, an All-NBA First Team selection for the fourth consecutive season, earned the 2010-11 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, becoming the first player to win the award three straight seasons. He led the league with 66 double-doubles, while ranking second in rebounds (14.1 rpg) and fourth in blocks (2.38 bpg). Howard also averaged a career-high 22.9 points.

Bryant, an All-NBA First Team selection for the sixth straight season and ninth time in his career, finished fifth in the league in scoring (25.3 ppg), while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Among active players, Bryant is tied with the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan for most First Team selections.

Durant earns his second All-NBA First Team selection. Durant led the league in scoring (27.7 ppg) for the second consecutive year, to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Durant scored at least 40 in a league-high five games this season.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of guards Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, forwards Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, and center Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks.

The All-NBA Third Team includes the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili and the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul at guard, the Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph at forward, and the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Below are the results of the voting for the 2010-11 All-NBA Teams, with First Team votes in parentheses:

2010-11 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward LeBron James, Miami (119) 595
Forward Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (69) 492
Center Dwight Howard, Orlando (118) 593
Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (98) 551
Guard Derrick Rose, Chicago (118) 593

2010-11 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers (2) 259
Forward Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (47) 437
Center Amar’e Stoudemire, New York (2) 258
Guard Dwyane Wade, Miami (24) 392
Guard Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City 184

2010-11 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland 135
Forward Zach Randolph, Memphis 67
Center Al Horford, Atlanta 62
Guard Manu Ginobili, San Antonio 106
Guard Chris Paul, New Orleans 157

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first team votes in parentheses): Rajon Rondo, Boston, 68; Paul Pierce, Boston, 55; Carmelo Anthony, Denver-New York, 53; Kevin Love, Minnesota, 48; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 43; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers, 36; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 27; Kevin Garnett, Boston, 22; Deron Williams, Utah-New Jersey 19; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 17; Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee, 13; Monta Ellis, Golden State, 11; Nene, Denver, 11; Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers, 9; Kevin Martin, Houston, 7; Tyson Chandler, Dallas, 7; Joakim Noah, Chicago, 5; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 3; Al Jefferson, Utah, 3; Kendrick Perkins, Boston-Oklahoma City, 3; Andrea Bargnani, Toronto, 2; Chris Bosh, Miami, 2; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia, 1; Emeka Okafor, New Orleans, 1; Eric Gordon, L.A. Clippers, 1; Gerald Wallace, Charlotte-Portland, 1; Jason Kidd, Dallas, 1; Luis Scola, Houston, 1; Luol Deng, Chicago, 1; Ray Allen, Boston, 1.

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

Rose leads Bulls past Hawks 95-83 in Game 5

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 33 points, Taj Gibson scored all of his 11 in the fourth quarter, and the Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 in Game 5 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead.

Luol Deng added 23 points and Chicago let out a big sigh of relief…

Rose showed why he is the league’s youngest MVP, hitting 11 of 24 shots and finishing with nine assists. It was a big improvement over Game 4 when he needed 32 shots to score 34 points, and he was particularly effective down the stretch, attacking the rim.

“He made unbelievable plays. He exploded off the pick and roll,” Atlanta’s Josh Smith said.

Jeff Teague was big again for the Hawks in place of the injured Kirk Hinrich, scoring 21 for the third time in this series, but Atlanta came up short in the end.

Smith contributed 16 points. Joe Johnson scored 15, Zaza Pachulia finished with 13 points and Al Horford added 12 points and 10 rebounds. But Jamal Crawford scored just two points on 1-of-9 shooting…

Things got particularly tense after a two-handed dunk by Smith cut Chicago’s lead to 61-60 with just over 4 minutes left in the period. He hung on the rim and Carlos Boozer gave him a forearm to the face, leading to a retaliatory shove from Smith and technical fouls for both players.

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

Smith, Teague lead Hawks past Bulls 100-88 in Game 4

The AP reports:

Josh Smith is frequently criticized by Atlanta fans for his inconsistent play. He heard nothing but cheers Sunday night, coming up with a huge game that helped the Hawks even the Eastern Conference semifinal against top-seeded Chicago at two games apiece.

Largely ignoring the long jumpers that aren’t his forte, Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal in Atlanta’s 100-88 win over the Bulls…

Jeff Teague also played a big role in stopping the skid.

Filling in for injured Kirk Hinrich, the second-year guard again directed the team with the poise of a veteran instead of someone who played infrequently during the regular season and hardly at all in the first round of the playoffs. He scored 12 points and doled out four assists, putting the capper on a late 10-0 run that broke open a game that had been tight and intense all the way…

The actual MVP scored 34 points. But Derrick Rose needed 32 shots to do it, and he wasn’t nearly as effective as he was in scoring a career-best 44 points in Game 3, leading the Bulls to a 99-82 rout that restored Chicago’s home-court advantage…

Seven-footer Jason Collins started at center between Al Horford and Smith, putting Marvin Williams in a reserve role. Collins had a couple of early dunks, but he wound up playing less than 12 minutes…

Carlos Boozer had 18 points for Chicago, and Luol Deng added 13. Korver had an especially rough night, going 1 for 8 from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

Hawks vow to get more physical with Derrick Rose

Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune reports:

Hawks coach Larry Drew promised Saturday to make some adjustments in terms of defending Derrick Rose after the MVP scored a career-high 44 points in Friday’s 99-82 Game 4 win.

Part of those adjustments no doubt will include more physical play against Rose.

Drew checked out the stat sheet during halftime and saw only one foul from his starters, assessed to point guard Jeff Teague.

In other words, Rose won’t go untouched come Sunday night.

“Without a doubt,” Drew said when asked if his team needed to be more physical with Rose. “From a physical standpoint, absolutely.”

Rose scores career-high 44, Bulls rout Hawks 99-82 in Game 3

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose sliced up Atlanta for a career-high 44 points as the top-seeded Chicago Bulls seized control of the Eastern Conference semifinals with their best performance of the postseason, romping to a 99-82 victory over the Hawks in Game 3 Friday night…

Rose was dominant from the opening tip, slashing into the lane for a basket that prompted Atlanta to call a timeout before the game was a minute old. He finished off the Hawks midway through the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers, hopping down the court, serenaded by chants of “MVP! MVP!” from a hefty contingent of Bulls fans…

While everyone will point to Rose’s performance, the Chicago bench played a key role in a decisive second-quarter spurt. And everyone chipped in rebounding, leading the Bulls to a 47-34 edge that included 18 offensive boards. Joakim Noah led the way with 15 rebounds, plus five blocks…

Most noticeably, Al Horford had another miserable game. With Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford getting doubled every time they touch the ball, the Hawks need more from their All-Star center. He had just 10 points and is shooting less than 40 percent in the series…

Jeff Teague, who wouldn’t have been playing much if not for an injury to Kirk Hinrich, kept up his strong play from the first two games. He scored 11 of Atlanta’s first 17 points but couldn’t keep the Hawks in it all by himself…

Joe Johnson was held to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Crawford managed only seven. It was those two who dominated Game 1. They’d better get it going again, or Atlanta’s season will be done in a few days.

Joakim Noah wants Bulls fans to stop booing Carlos Boozer

Chicago Bulls fans are ecstatic about how their regular season went and they love league MVP Derrick Rose, but once in a while things don’t go as planned, especially in some too-close playoff games. And during those brief times that they get grumpy, the result has been some boos in the direction of Bulls forward Carlos Boozer.

Joakim Noah loves Bulls fans, of course, but he’d love them even more if they’d make sure to spread love towards every single player on the roster, Boozer included. Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reports:

Through it all, center Joakim Noah noticed something wasn’t quite right and didn’t skip over it. He addressed the issue during a postgame interview that was broadcast across the United Center.

Noah asked fans to “support every one of us,” and it was obvious what he meant. The fans are getting restless with power forward Carlos Boozer.

There was a murmur in the first quarter when Taj Gibson simply walked to the scorer’s table to check in for Boozer and audible cheers when the team’s primary free-agent acquisition of last summer left the floor.

In Noah’s mind, that’s simply not acceptable. In the hallway after the game, he was passionate about the topic.

“I love our fans. We have the best fans in the NBA, no question about it,” Noah said. “But I understand our fans are very demanding and that can be very good and in some aspects that can be bad, as well.

“Carlos is in a situation where he’s hurt and he’s giving us everything he can. I’ve been in the position where I’ve been booed before in the United Center and I know to get to where we want to get to, we need Carlos. We should be supporting him. I don’t understand that.”

I think it’s no big deal. It’s not like Boozer is getting showered with boos. But some fans definitely want more out of him.

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

Rose, Noah lead Bulls over Hawks in Game 2

The AP reports:

Newly crowned MVP Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Joakim Noah added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 86-73 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night to tie the series…

The night started with Commissioner David Stern presenting Rose the MVP trophy, and the superstar point guard showed just why he became the youngest player to win the award—at least in the first half, when he scored 16 points.

He went cold after that and wound up hitting just 10 of 27 shots, going 1 of 8 on 3-pointers. He did convert 4 of 6 free throws after failing to get to the line in the opener…

Noah helped pick up the slack. So did Luol Deng, who scored all but two of his 14 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds in the game.

Carlos Boozer, bothered by a turf toe injury on his right foot, had eight points and 11 boards, and the Bulls let out a small sigh of relief after salvaging a split at home…

Atlanta’s Jeff Teague had another good game filling in for the injured Kirk Hinrich with 21 points, but Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford struggled after coming up big in the opener.

Johnson saw his scoring dip from 34 points to 16. Crawford finished with just 11 after scoring 22 in Game 1, and the Hawks simply couldn’t sustain any momentum.

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

Derrick Rose wins 2010-11 NBA MVP

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, the NBA announced today. Rose, who does not turn 23 until Oct. 4, becomes the league’s youngest MVP, a distinction previously held by Wes Unseld, who earned the honor in 1968-69 as a 23-year-old.

Rose totaled 1,182 points including 113 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA MVP fan vote. For the second consecutive season, the NBA gave fans the opportunity to submit their votes by ranking their top five choices through a dedicated Web page on NBA.com. The fan vote counted as one vote and was compiled with the 120 media votes to determine the winner. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

Rounding out the top five in voting are Orlando’s Dwight Howard (643 points, three first place), Miami’s LeBron James (522, four first-place votes), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (428, one first-place vote) and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (190).

Rose, who became the first player since Steve Nash in 2005 to win the MVP award after not receiving any votes in the previous year’s balloting, led the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 mark. The third-year player averaged team highs of 25.0 points and 7.7 assists to go along with 4.1 rebounds. He became the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds, joining Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. The All-Star guard made or assisted on at least half of the Bulls’ field goals in 26 games, the highest such total for any NBA player this season.

Rose, who recorded 23 double-doubles and scored at least 30 points on 23 occasions after doing so eight times combined in his first two seasons, was the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in scoring (seventh) and assists (10th). Only once in team history had a Bulls player finished in the top 10 in scoring and assists (Michael Jordan, 1988-89). Rose tallied 2,026 points, 623 assists and 330 rebounds, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to post 2,000 points, 600 assists and 300 rebounds in a single season as he joined Robertson, John Havlicek, Jordan and James.

The NBA MVP trophy is named in honor of the late Maurice Podoloff, the first commissioner of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.

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

Joe Johnson scores 34, Hawks beat Bulls 103-95 in Game 1

The AP reports:

Joe Johnson scored 34 points and Atlanta beat top-seeded Chicago 103-95 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

As if the loss itself wasn’t bad enough, the Bulls got a scare when Derrick Rose came up limping after he turned his left ankle at the end of the game. Their MVP—yes, MVP—stepped on Jamal Crawford’s foot as he dribbled out the final seconds and was helped off by teammates and a trainer…

The Hawks went on a 15-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to turn a 69-65 deficit into an 80-71 lead with 10:27 remaining.

Johnson scored eight points during that stretch, and the Hawks hung on.

Johnson was brilliant, hitting 12 of 18 shots and all five 3-point attempts. Crawford scored 22 points, and Jeff Teague added 10 while starting at the point for the injured Kirk Hinrich and wound up getting the game ball from coach Larry Drew…

Rose twisted the same ankle in the opening round against Indiana, but even before he limped off the court, this certainly wasn’t his best night.

He scored 24 points, but he was just 11 of 27 from the field and did not attempt a free throw.

Luol Deng scored 21 points for Chicago while Carlos Boozer added 14 points and eight rebounds despite a turf toe injury on his right foot. But it was a rough night overall for the Bulls—particularly on defense.

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