These guys have won 7 in a row and are 8-1...Spurs flying under the radar as usual.

This would be a giant win for our Bullies if they get it!

On a B2B night, this is a tough game. Especially since DR1 had to carry so much of the load last night.

Maybe Deng and Gibson can turnaround their games after last night's performances and that'll carry us.

Tonight is going to be really tough being a back to back as you mentioned and it doesn't help that the Spurs are well rested at home. Oh and....the Spurs are really good if people didn't already know.

The key tonight is going to be rebounding. I feel whoever out rebounds the other should win the game. I may be complimenting the Bulls a little too much here, but I believe it is fair to say these teams are fairly similar in their approach on both ends. The Bullies may not go inside as much as the Spurs with Duncan, but other than that they're similar.

If I may say- the biggest change I've noticed with the Bulls this year from the last two years is defensively on the baseline. If you've wanted the baseline against the Bulls the past two years...you were going to get there. It wasn't uncommon at all for someone to dribble under the hoop to the other side of the court. This year....you'll see 2 or 3 guys just blitz the sideline to protect it. That's coaching IMO.

You have to be pleased with that 1st quarter...Pop went to his bench early like he usually does and the Bulls took advantage.

We HAVE to keep Blair/Duncan off the boards- I'm not sure what their 2nd chance points were but they had a few 2nd chance buckets early on.

Taj needs to put those jumpers in his pocket...you'd think he'd be a little bashful after going 1-9 last night, but I guess not. We've gotta get him an easy bucket to get his confidence back before he continues to shoot those 16 footers.

I like Lou over RJ six times a week and twice on Sundays...Lou continues to look fantastic.

What a run by the bench again tonight! Asik defended Duncan solo and shut him down without much trouble....Brewer flying around again! Lets hear it for CJ..he's been getting tore a part on other boards, which is very unfair. He did a great job running that second unit.

I didn't care for how the Bullies finished the 2nd quarter, but you knew the Spurs would make a run of some kind. I'll take a 10 point lead at the half in this place.

The Bulls have to rebound even better in this 2nd half. The Spurs have 9 offensive rebounds to our 6...it's close, but if the Bulls win this category in the 2nd half, they'll win the game. Blair, Duncan and McDyess fight for the ball every time it comes off the rim- Jo can't do it alone- we'll need Lou to continue to help keep the glass clean.

what is taj doin?

we are about to get blown out

You can't get dominated any worse than that for a quarter.

You have to tip your cap to the Spurs in how they locked us down and did everything they could to make someone other than Rose beat us...although, Rose still got a few.

Not to take away from the Spurs, but the Bulls don't have their legs as expected. They were 5-21 from the field at one point and it was easy to see as they were short on just about every jumper. A Carlos Boozer to throw the ball into would have REALLY helped that quarter.

Hopefully Thibs gives it to the bench to start the 4th and see if they can get us back in this game.

Agreed.

This took a turn for the worst... incredibly embarrassing 3rd quarter.

Granted...the refs always suck the Spurs ass...but regardless you can't come out and have a 3rd quarter like that. Inexcusable. And for the love of God Deng...could you please hit a clutch shot once in a while. I'm still of the mindset that the Nuggets will pull the trigger on a deal during midseason and Deng will be included. They can't just let Mellow walk...which he will.

btw...is there a team you can't stand more to watch than San Antonio?

I was proud of the Bulls effort in the 4th. The Spurs got frickin' hot and there wasn't much the Bullies could do.

Rose was brilliant and Noah gave everything he had again. Great game from Ronnie...he's about to earn even more playing time in my opinion. I have no idea why Thibs stuck with Scalabrine as much as he did in the 4th- I'm not sure if he was trying to send Taj a message or what. It's not like Bonner was in the game in the 4th to where Scal could maybe match up with him.

Lou went 6-16, but that was as bad of a 6-16 as you'll see...he missed a lot of WIDE open jumpers where Rose handed them to him on a silver platter. I'll give Lou a pass however as I think he's been stellar on defense and has made good choices on offense the past week and a half.

We got out rebounded despite Noah doing everything he could in the 2nd half on the boards...he can't rebound alone if we expect to beat a team like that.

Right now...I'm not so sure Thibs is interested in losing Deng at really any cost. Lou is our 2nd best defender and has helped cover up Rose from time to time on the perimeter. At the start of the season, I was all for an outgoing of Lou/Taj/JJ picks for an incoming of Melo (whether it involve a 3rd team or whatever) but I'm not sure anymore. This team is fine offensively and will be even better when Boozer joins the mix. This unit has a great chance at being special on the defensive end...subtract Taj/Lou from the equation and add Melo...I'm not so sure anymore.

I guess we'll have to wait and see how well Boozer adjusts to his new club. My guess judging from Taj's opportunities- I think he'll be a dominant 20/10 making the Bulls a 50 win caliber club. I'd hate to mess with that for a guy like Melo who has been on a great team and hasn't won very much.

Someone else needs to start a thread for Friday's game as my hot hand ran out.

That's the key. But as for Lu..plays solid D...and logs solid minutes. But it's hard to rely on him as a consistant scorer (which this team sorely lacks).

Rose has been consistent and Boozer will be a great dump down guy. They'll have enough offense once he's back.

However- it is very appealing if you could buy Rose a few more feet of room to operate, which Melo could do. Lou has been better than expected outside of 16 feet, but teams will still make him beat them from out there. Teams wouldn't leave Melo alone from 18-20 feet...giving Rose that much room to operate is a scary thought. But for now, I'll lean towards keeping Lou, Taj and the draft picks. (Taj won't always play as terrible as he did tonight)

Lu has been better...but inconsistant. He'll hit a tough runner than miss a wider open J...drives me nuts. As for the draft picks...I really don't see us picking in a great spot and where this team is I'd be willing to part with a few years of picks to solidify this team right now IMO. Like you said...a lot will hinge on how they mesh with Boozer when he gets back...and it'll probably take a bit to start to mesh once he does. This is a good team...not deep...but pretty solid.

And to be honest...I HATED the Taj draft pick (after seeing him a lot in Pac 10 play...didn't think he'd do much). Can happily say I was completely wrong...he's been very solid as well. I'd still like to see more sets to were Korver gets open looks. He's by far the best shooter on the team.

That was definitely a game the Bulls should have won. You can't give up a 15 point lead like that and lose the game. Totally inexcusable. Then Thibodeau F's us over by leaving Scalabrine in the game which hurts us on both sides of the ball, especially defensively.. Brewer should have been in at that time. Just a mental collapse all around from everyone on this team not named Rose. This was a game where you could say Boozer probably gets us this win. This game and the OKC game were the two I'd say Boozer's presence would have been huge. There is nobody we can throw it down to down low and draw a foul or hit a shot. Taj, for whatever reason, isn't posting up anymore after his nice stretch of games and his jump shot is suffering. We need the Booz man ASAP. I'm hoping by the Lakers game but it's probably not going to be until Dec 1 against Orlando.

Eh- it's hard to say they should have won because they were up 18 in the 2nd quarter with 7 minutes to go in the quarter. There was just too much game left and too good of a team to put away that easy.

This was a classic B2B game in where the Bulls transition D got lost and most of their outside jumpers were coming up short in the 3rd quarter. I hate to make an excuse for the Bulls or take away from the Spurs, but that was at least a small part of what did the Bulls in tonight.

I believe Thibs just kind of left Scal in so he would match up with Bonner or at least pay attention to him. Thibs played Deng at the 4 in the 3rd to keep on Bonner, but Deng lost track of him. I know it's funny to talk about Bonner being keyed in on defensively, but he killed the Bulls in the 3rd spreading the floor and knocking down shots and making a nice pass leading to another three. That's the only reason I can think of Scal being in the game like that in the 4th...to either guard Bonner in case he came back in or just to make a point to the other players that Thibs will play someone who will cover his assignment...I can't think of another reason.