[Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview.  Sign up! -ed.]

Weird to call it # 3, when I don't think there's been a # 1 or # 2 - but preseason game # 3 it is!  Tonight, the made-over Washington Wizards visit the made-over Chicago Bulls, in a fight to the death meaningless preseason game that we will all nonetheless enjoy simply out of our desperation for actual basketball.  Each preseason game that passes means the real stuff is that much closer!  Plus, this is the first home game of the year.

The obvious angle here is that tonight marks Kirk Hinrich's return to Chicago for the first time after being traded.  As a fan of his, obviously I'd love to spend the rest of the preview pointing out what a great training camp Elmer had, and how he's played well in the first two preseason games in spite of playing significant time at small forward.  Apparently, the Bulls are not the only team enchanted with the 3-guard lineup.  Maybe it's something about Kirk that brings it out in people.  Unfortunately for me, the Kirk angle has already been extensively covered by KC, Mike McGraw, John Jackson, Doug Thonus and the obligatory potshots via twitter.

In two games each, the Wiz are 2-0 while the Bulls are 0-2.  Both have played Dallas.  All this would mean something if the games actually counted, or even if both teams were playing a normal lineup for normal minutes in these games.  In spite of the losses, the Bulls' starters have played well - and given that some of the bench depth has been forced into starting due to several injuries that we shall not dwell upon, that's about all you can ask.  Thibs hasn't disappointed as a coach yet, and the players who are expected to carry the load look imminently capable of doing so.  As far as the Wizards go, Yi Jianlian is finally living up to Option27's expectations.  Oh, and there's that John Wall guy.  He's fast, but still a rookie.

Really, when you get right down to it, it's pretty nice to have the team at the stage where preseason is pretty much filler and fine-tuning for the regular season.  Wins are nice, but the only truly important thing tonight is that no one is injured and the team looks good when the key contributors for the season are on the court together.

7:00 P.M. central; WGN for those luck people who won't instead be receiving The New Adventures of Old Christine on WGN America.

Since yfBB can't get something posted tonight and the other thread got so long, here's a very mini-recap.

Bulls played really well for most of the game, and in light of the win let's all just ignore that little stretch of crap around the start of the 4th, OK?  Really great game for the starters, collectively, shooting 52.2% and all in double figure scoring.  Of note, a season high scoring night for Kirk, and double-doubles for both Taj and Joakim.

With Toronto winning earlier, in spite of its best efforts to give the game away (and thanks a lot there, Philly!), this one was big.  One last note - nice to see Tyrus play well and Larry Hughes play like crap.

[Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview -ed.]

I signed up to do this preview before finding out that Lu would miss the game, and possibly Taj as well, due to injury.  Now I kind of wish I hadn't.  With Joakim already out, the Bulls will be considerably understaffed and going against a very good Orlando team.  At least there's college ball?  I'm actually so bummed about the Bulls' situation right now, I felt nothing but bad when I saw my Jayhawks predicted to dominate today just like the Orlando Magic are tonight.

Nothing but NBA after the jump.

It doesn't take an expert to guess that this game in particular could be ugly - but they're predicting it anyway.  Accuscore simulations had Orlando winning 89.1% of the time (64.9% by 10+ points), and by an average score of 100.1 to 85.3.  (Here's a link, but it's insider....)  Orlando is 8th in the league in offensive rating, 5th in defensive, and have won 9 of 11 since the All-Star break.  The Bulls have gone 6 and 6 over that same stretch, but this includes losing their previous 5 games.  And everyone's favorite expert, John Hollinger, has this to add about the Bulls:

Chicago has lost five straight, and its defense is in shambles without Joakim Noah; Tuesday night was the eighth straight game in which the opponent cleared the century mark. In that time, the Bulls have dropped from sixth to 11th in defensive efficiency, which is bad news since they need their D to win. Chicago is only 27th at the offensive end, and that number might plummet further if Luol Deng misses any time with the right calf strain he suffered Tuesday.

Thanks for the optimism, John.  (Link, also insider.)  On the other hand, why should a non-fan be optimistic when the fans aren't?  And just to wrap the whole thing up in a big bow, the game is on TNT (7 pm central) - national humiliation, with commentary by Charles Barkley.

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One of the things that is frequently said about this version of the Bulls - by us, the media, Vinny, and the players themselves - is that this team is pretty decent when everyone shows up and plays hard.  The converse, of course, would be that we can't afford for anyone to have an off night or be out with injury if we want to be competitive.

This makes perfect sense for any team in the abstract, and especially makes sense to anyone who watches the Bulls regularly.  But, being a geek (and wanting to procrastinate some real work), I wanted to see how the record actually stacks up under this assumption.  I've seen other people raise similar questions about the record, so thought this would be worth putting out there for anyone who is interested.

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[Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview (sign up!). -ed.]

Atlanta Hawks (19-6, 7-4 road) at Chicago Bulls (9-15, 7-5 home), 7:00 p.m. Central time, WGN America.

Check out the Hawks point-of-view over at Peachtree Hoops.  I can't even begrudge them their enthusiasm - if ever there was a group of fans that put in their dues, it's Hawks' fans.

The Bulls last faced the Hawks just 10 days ago - traveling to Atlanta to play the second night of a back-to-back and turning in a total stinker of a game to lose by 35.  Just to refresh your memory as to how miserable that game was, the Bulls gave up 50% shooting while hitting only 36.4% of their own shots and lost in very nearly every box score stat.  The Hawks are once again favorites to win, so what hope is there for us Bulls' fans?

The Hawks are the team on the second night of a back-to-back this time, beating Utah at home last night then having to travel to Chicago.  Unfortunately for the Bulls, the Hawks have been ridiculously good in this situation, with a 5-1 record on the second night that includes wins over Denver and Dallas.  Still, it has to be something of a positive that they just played and traveled while the Bulls had a day's rest after a home win.  (For the record, the Bulls are 6-5 when playing on one day's rest.)

Also, the Hawks are on a 6-game winning streak.  Now this sounds like a negative for the Bulls, but think about it - streaks have to end at some point, right?  And sometimes they end because a team on a roll totally overlooks an opponent they assume isn't a threat, right?  And after beating the Bulls by 35 just 10 games ago, by far the Hawks' biggest margin in this 6-game win streak, what team is Atlanta more likely to overlook than us?  (Not that I've studied this scientifically or anything, but it makes me feel better to believe it!)

And finally, all 13 Bulls practiced yesterday (Tyrus in non-contact drills only) for I believe the first time all regular season.  Now unfortunately this doesn't mean that all 13 players are healthy, or even available for the game yet.  But maybe all practicing together will give the ones who play an emotional boost - I mean, we heard all about what great chemistry this group had leading into the season, and as short as the viable bench is the missing elements had to have hurt at least a little.  So, maybe having all those elements back in contact, even if it's only in practice, will improve the on-court effectiveness of the team!  Right?

OK, so in reality it's a huge stretch to find positives about the game tonight.  Atlanta had fairly decent expectations coming into the season, and if anything they've exceeded those with the second-best record in the East right now and the second best scoring margin in the entire NBA.  They have the top-rated offense, and a top-10 defense to go with it.  They're athletic, they're healthier than the Bulls, and they're flat out playing much, much better as a team.  And the Bulls continue to be in the bottom half of the NBA by virtually all measures.  Meanwhile, in spite of a glimpse of hope here and there, John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich continue to struggle with their shooting far into the month of December - we're way past the "shooting slump" category here.  Lately, Brad Miller has joined them, shooting under 40% over the past 5 games and missing all 5 3-pointers attempted. 

The team has collectively looked better over the past couple of games - the harshest critics will point out that the effort still resulted in a 1-1 record with the win being a not-so-impressive victory over the Knicks, but for most of us the difference has been noticeable in that the Bulls were at least watchable.  I didn't have the overwhelming urge to turn the TV off during these past two games, and that alone suggests a huge improvement in . . . something.  The "greater effort/energy" mantra will likely be sorely tested tonight, but no matter what my head is telling me as I write this, I still feel that glimmer of hope stirring.  Maybe this is the game that the effort and focus is there from beginning to end?  Maybe this is the game that the shooting is respectable in every quarter?  Maybe this is the game that takes us all back to the beginning of the season, when we were fresh off victories over the Spurs and Cavs and the season didn't feel like another long march to the lottery?  A lot of things will need to break right for the Bulls to walk away with a victory, but I hear that's why they play the game.

[Thanks to 'wjb1492' for today's game preview -ed.]

Roughly a month ago, the Bulls and Cavs played the first of their 4 season games, with the Bulls somehow sneaking out of Cleveland with a 1 point win.  Tonight they play their second game, also @ Cleveland, and even for a raving optimist this game doesn't seem promising.  Why?  Well, if you really have to ask, you're either a total homer or a basketball idiot.  But read on anyway....

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[Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview -ed.]

Ladies, gentlemen, and other BaB posters, welcome to the first payback game of the young season - the 6 and 5 Bulls (2 and 4 away) at the 8 and 4 Nuggets (4 and 0 home).  Undoubtedly, you all also remember Brad's last second shot that was ruled just a little too last second, leaving the Bulls with a 1-point loss instead of a 1-point victory when the teams first matched up less than 2 weeks ago.  Whether you think the refs got the call right or wrong, to come so close to a win and not get it still hurt.  And I'm not usually one for bulletin board material, but Chauncey Billups' post-game quote forever cemented him as a first-grade ass in my mind. 

Chauncey Billups sat and laughed, figuring the Denver Nuggets would celebrate soon enough. In the meantime, the Chicago Bulls were having their moment.
...
“As soon as I saw the flight of the ball, I knew it was good,” Billups said. “Then, I was sitting and laughing. Not so much about the shot, but looking at their reaction. They were dancing and jumping around like they had just made the Sweet 16. The longer it took, the better I felt. It was a great ending.”

(OK, to be honest, he was already cemented there, but it did remind me that I can't stand him, going all the way back to college.)

Since that game, our Bulls are 2 and 2, with wins over Philly and Sacramento and losses to Toronto and the Lakers.  Since that time, Denver is also 2 and 2 - ironically with absolutely dominant wins over Toronto and the Lakers, but with losses to Milwaukee and the Clippers.  That loss to the Clippers came just last night, so the glass-half-full types will undoubtedly focus on the second night of a back-to-back aspect of this, while the glass-half-empty types are sure the Nuggets will come out focused and full of fire after an embarrassing loss.  I'm not sure which way I lean, to be honest.  This will be Denver's 5th back-to-back, and they're 2-2 in the first four so it's not as if they never win on the second night.  Plus the game's in their building, where they have yet to lose this season.  On the other hand, Melo, Nene, and K-Mart all played big minutes last night trying to avoid that loss, so no matter how focused they come out there's at least a decent possibility they wear down by the end of the game.

Denver is 4th in offensive efficiency compared to Chicago's 27th, but 17th in defensive efficiency compared to Chicago's 5th. The Nuggets are led by Carmelo Anthony, currently averaging over 30 points per game, Nene with almost 9 rebounds a game, and Evil Billups with just under 6 assists per game.  They have been held under 100 points only 4 times this season, but one of those games was the 90-point effort against the Bulls, Denver's second lowest point total of the season in which they collectively shot only 41.7%, 31.3% from 3, well under their season averages.  If the Bulls can have another solid defensive effort tonight, they'll have a good shot at coming away with a win.

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[UPDATE by your friendly BullsBlogger, 11/05/09 2:19 PM CST: Tyrus Thomas is flying commercial and going to meet the Bulls in Cleveland tonight. May or may not play. I give up.

Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview. My initial thoughts on this game is that the Murder Train A Comin'. Then I figured that the Bulls do have a chance to out-hustle and out-run an especially immobile Cavs team. Then I figured that without Tyrus Thomas they don't really have this especially athletic roster conducive to running. Hinrich, Salmons, Taj, Miller, gimpy Rose.... even though Deng is effective in transition he's not a superior athlete. It's basically just Noah at this point. -ed.]

So I really don't want to relive Tuesday's Milwaukee game, from which the Bulls managed to scrape a W in spite of collectively playing like garbage much of the night.  The exception was Luol Deng, who has managed to silence most of his critics with his play so far this regular season.  Suffice it to say that, after getting our hopes up with a nice win over a San Antonio team many have predicted to be a serious contender this year, the Bulls' next three games have fans once again predicting doom and gloom for the season.  A blowout loss, a 4th quarter choke, and a slim two-point victory over a predicted cellar dweller don't exactly inspire confidence, even with the team sitting at .500 for the season.

Through four games, the Bulls offense is ranked 27th in the league, and guys expected to play key roles in the offense are struggling - Tyrus Thomas (47.1%), Derrick Rose (44.2%), James Johnson (41.0%), Kirk Hinrich (41.0%), and John Salmons (33.9%) all have sub-.500 true shooting percantages so far.  John and Kirk have been particularly frightening, as our "3-point threats" are currently shooting 18.2% and 13.3% from 3 respectively. It's no wonder that people are having flashbacks to the miserable 07/08 season!

(I've left out Lindsey Hunter, since he's not  expected to play a key role in anything but honorary titles this season - but for the record, Captain Hunter is shooting 0% and sporting a PER of -20.  True, he's only played 7 minutes and attempted 2 shots, but anytime you can be in the "Top 5" of something deserves mention, right?  Even if the category is Worst PER in the League....)

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[I'm sure it's bad form to enter another blog's contest when one is merely the occasional visitor, and for that consider this an unofficial entry.  Reading all the other entries has brought back some very fond memories of my youth, and I just can't resist sharing mine.]

The summer of 1990 started out badly.  I was home from my first year away at college and chaffing at the return to parental interference with my life.  More significantly, I was having trouble finding a summer job.  Most kids commuted to Portland (I lived in St. Helens) for temp positions, but I was without transportation - and the best offer I had locally was a daytime babysitting job till the end of the school year.  This was actually a decent job, but it wasn't going to pay enough for the next year of college.

And this is how I ended up with the most miserable job of my life, cleaning a local bank at night.  I was a janitor other summers as well, but this job was different.  They turned the air off after hours, and inside the building was generally too warm for an active job like cleaning.  And they complained about everything!  One day my vacuum pattern lines on the carpet weren't straight enough.  Another day they accused me of stealing cans of soda out of the break room - and actually started a log of how many cans were left at the end of each day to be sure I wasn't!  One of the managers used to hide piles of staples around her office as a test of my cleaning thoroughness, and the other manager thought I should sort his single trash can into recyclables and non-recyclables for him.  It was a job I never wanted in the first place, and one I quickly grew to hate with every cell in my body.

The only saving grace to the whole situation was a radio in the main lobby.  1990 was an incredible year to be a Blazers fan.  Over the previous decade the team had been semi-successful - generally going to the playoffs, but losing in the first round most years.  But 1990 was different - the first full season under Adelman, 59 wins, and the team that remains one of my favorites to this day - Clyde, Terry, Jerome, Buck, and Duck.  They played fast, and they played both sides of the floor.  I had really suffered while away at school in Utah - this was pre-easy-internet-access, so I had to follow the team through short newspaper blurbs in the Salt Lake paper.  I still remember watching the games against the Jazz in the boys' dorm lobby and getting heckled mercilessly as the only Blazers fan in the room - but it was worth it to see the men in action.  (They split the season series - I might have actually sold my soul for a sweep...)

But back to the sanity-saving radio in the lobby of the bank.  I started this job around the beginning of the San Antonio series.  And while I carefully vacuumed in ruler-straight lines, and searched high and low for that day's hidden pile of staples, and wished bad things upon the man too lazy to recycle his own junk, and rearranged the sodas in the fridge so it would look like I might have taken some, thus forcing whichever anal employee was so concerned about a can of coke to actually count - during all of this, I would listen to the games.  There is nothing so angst producing as following a game on the radio.  Dependent on another's words to visualize the action, what seemed like interminable breaks between "he shoots" and "he scores."  I had never before understood how addictive it can be to follow sports by sound instead of sight. 

And then there was that incredible series itself.  A loss on my 19th birthday that left me devastated.  A double OT win just a few nights later.  I faked shots with every jumper the radio guys described.  I shouted semi-obscenities in the radio's direction when things went badly.  I jumped and cheered like an idiot for the great plays.  And after the double OT win, I actually took a victory lap or two around the lobby.  (Fortunately, I wasn't working weekends, so I got to watch the Game 7, 3-point OT win in person.  My family is full of wrestlers, and they really didn't get why I was huddled there in a fetal position, chewing on my sweatshirt hem, and periodically uttering unintelligible groans and shrieks.  They think I'm weird....)

And then on to the 6-game series with Phoenix, featuring nail-biting wins at home and agonizing blowouts on the Suns' home court.  I thought I could endure that job as long as the team was still playing.  But a funny thing happened in the middle of the Phoenix series - the bank fired me.  Why?  The rearranged sodas?  The unsorted recyclables?  A missed pile of staples?  No, I was done in by a surveillance camera I didn't realize existed.  It was there, of course, for evidence in case of bank robbery, but my suspicious employers decided to check me out instead.  And while I was officially "let go" for "lacking a certain decorum that they expect in their employees" - The janitor?  Seriously? - the manager (recycle man, not staple lady) did wonder aloud in our last conversation whether I might be a drug user.  He just couldn't understand what else would cause someone to jump up and down at random and run circles around the lobby!

So the '90 Blazers taught me the beauty of sports on the radio, made my roughly 3 weeks of employment at the bank bearable with their thrilling playoff run - and they also got me fired faster than I imagined possible.  I'm not sure which of those things I thank them for more.  ;)

On breaking Allen Iverson's Big East tournament scoring record:

"When Mek got injured, I got to take all this pressure on myself and that's when I started having fun," Gordon said, referring to All-America center Emeka Okafor. "I didn't look back since then."

On being drafted 3rd in the NBA 2004 Draft:

"Other people may be surprised, but I always thought I should go No. 1," Gordon said.

On winning the 6th Man award as a rookie:

"I didn't know what was going to happen or whatever. It's great to come off the bench and still help my team the way I did," Gordon said.

"Once I got around the team and everything like that, I pretty much accepted my role. Especially after the slow start, I was not really thinking about starting, I was thinking about how can I help my team get the first win."

Defending Kirk against Pat Riley's "dirty player" accusations:

"I think [the coach's accusation] was very unnecessary," Gordon said, according to the Sun-Times. "He should be worried about his players. Posey's always in the middle of something. I think that was a cheap shot at Kirk. Kirk was just playing his normal defense. It was a freak accident."

On hitting the big shot:

"I take a lot of pride in it," Gordon said. "It is not really something I say to myself, I'm going to hit every big shot, it sort of happens that way," Gordon said.

On not getting the ball enough:

"Not as many touches as I wanted," Gordon said. "It's pretty easy to play someone who doesn't have the ball."

On contract negotiations as an RFA last offseason:

"I guess it's safe to say I've played my last game in a Bulls uniform," Gordon said.

On signing with Detroit and leaving Chicago:

"To all the true Chicago Bulls fans, it's been great," he added. "I loved playing here; it's one of the greatest sports cities in the world. It was a great time. But it's time for me to move on."

In honor of Ben, add your favorite quotes.  There have been ups and there have been downs, but it was rarely boring with Ben around.

A while back I did a FanPost about great/bad player games and the impact on the Bulls W-L record.  To summarize very briefly, I used average GameScores and standard deviations for each player (significant rotation time guys only) to try to identify the games this season where each of the Bulls performed significantly above or below average.

I meant to follow that up sooner with some more details, but it took me a while to get back to it.  Since it's been pretty dead as far as Bulls news goes (new GM Tom Hanks Gar Forman notwithstanding), now seems like as good a time as any.

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As I assume pretty much everyone knows, this year's NBA draft lottery - that swinging party for losers, and for winners who know how to swindle losers out of the only good thing that comes from losing - will be held roughly 24 hours from now.  Since we have no balls in the bucket, frozen or otherwise, it's not much of an event for Bulls fans.  But what could be more fun than a quick glance back to last year when we were blessed with the pick that would turn into Derrick Rose?  It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Matt had this unusually positive post the morning of The Day:

Here are the Bulls chances Tuesday night:

No. 1: 1.70%
No. 2: 2.00%
No. 3: 2.40%
No. 9: 81.34%
No. 10: 12.18%
No. 11: 0.38%
No. 12: 0.0024%

Get a top two pick, draft Rose or Beasley (in, my opinion, that order), and all of Pax's inactivity and (public) idiocy doesn't matter. (Getting the 3rd would be a good night's work as well, but the next step would be a bit more muddled) The history of many GMs work out this way: the lottery can sure make them seem smart.

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