The Chicago Bulls are looking pretty good again, and the news and rumors are almost always ramping up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Gibson Not Sure of Return
Taj Gibson could return at any point but there’s no specific game set as of yet.
Gibson missed his fourth straight game against the Nets due to a sprained left ankle. The Brooklyn native last played Nov. 21 at Portland.
“He felt pretty good [Saturday],” Thibodeau told ESPN before Sunday’s game.
“There’s no timetable, but we'll see where he is [Monday], but he’s feeling a lot better.”
Gibson has had trouble with the left ankle over the past year, and wants to be cautious this time. He did rejoin his teammates on Thursday after getting checked out in Chicago by team physician Dr. Brian Cole.
“It just feels good to be around the guys. I’m just happy to be back working. Everybody sees me working. They know me. Everybody’s like, ‘Yo, Taj, just take your time. Just keep working at it. We got you until then. We need you at the right time. We don’t want you to rush back.’ They know with all the injuries I’ve had I’ve mostly just played through pain, trying to rush back,” Gibson said.
“And you know it’s serious when your teammates are telling you to calm down. It’s a bigger picture, and it’s real important to see how my guys have my back.”
The Pippen Ain’t Easy blog notes that the rest of the bench is stepping up in Gibson’s absence, although Gibson’s worth is notable in that in wins when he’s playing he averaged 30.9 minutes per game, but in losses he averages only 26.4 minutes.
“Gibson is one of the most crucial players when it comes to depth for the Bulls, and this team can’t afford to have another one of their big men to go down. He has proven that with his efficiency,” it said. “We should see even more bench players rise to the occasion this season, and it would not surprise me if Chicago has the league’s best role players as we enter the playoffs.”
Rose Confident, Earns Praise from Coach
Meanwhile, Thibodeau was pleased that Derrick Rose was able to finish out his last two games. He played 27 minutes in the win at Boston on Friday. Against the Nets, the Chicago point guard played 25 minutes and was replaced with team up 22 points with 3:17 left in the game.
“To me it’s moving in the right direction,” Thibodeau said. “When he strings some games together, he practices well and he practices hard, he’s going to play well. It’s really that simple and it’s time to go.”
“We got to work on conditioning, we got to work on toughness, we got to work on discipline. We got to take care of those things. You can’t shortcut that,” he added.
Rose said he believes he has the right motivations and still thinks he can be a star despite heavy criticism recently.
“When it comes to basketball, I listen to myself,” Rose told ESPN.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself and my talent. I know where I’m going to be in a couple of weeks. I know where I’m going to be at the end. It’s just that y'all are going to be surprised to see me there. It’s just going to take time.”
5 PGs Bulls Could Sign
The Bulls have been dealing with a number of injuries, and the primary hit has been in the backcourt. Rose has been injured a lot but so has his backup Kirk Hinrich, leaving Aaron Brooks as the only healthy point guard some nights.
The Bulls have been linked to a number of possibly free agents.
Bleacher Report has named five the team could sign for further insurance.
Mike James is a possibility, having been used by the Bulls for two of the last three seasons.
Sebastian Telfair is available, having just been cut by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Toney Douglas is currently a free available, as is former Bull John Lucas III and former college standout Peyton Silva.
Bulls Among a Number of Contenders
NBA reporter Sam Smith says Chicago is among a dozen or so teams that could concievably win the title this season.
“Is it a Big Four if you include Joakim Noah? Jimmy Butler’s emergence has given them an unexpected offensive addition,” Smith wrote.
“It still depends on Rose being there, but there should be fewer demands on him this season.”
Only three other teams in the Eastern Conference are considered legitimate contenders here--the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Washington Wizards.
Over in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs lead the six teams that have a shot.
The Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Oklahoma City Thunder are the others.
“That’s a dozen teams, any one of which could win the title, especially the way the Western teams have to knock out one another,” Smith said.
“Atlanta or Miami probably could win a playoff round, though it seems unlikely they could get all the way to the Finals. Maybe the same for Denver in the West.”
Bulls Top Nets
Jimmy Butler is proving that he is indispensable to the Chicago Bulls.
Butler had 26 points and Pau Gasol added 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 102-84 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Entering his fourth season in the NBA after the Bulls made him the last — and 30th — player chosen in the first round of the 2011 draft, Butler had previously totaled 20 or more points only nine times in 191 games. The 25-year-old has already eclipsed that mark this year, notching his 11th 20-plus point game.
Wearing his favorite football jersey on a Sunday — an orange Denver Broncos Demaryius Thomas jersey — Butler downplayed his success after averaging 13.1 points last season.
“I think my teammates just find me in great positions to score the ball,” Butler said. “I think I strive at just doing whatever it takes to help my team win. Scoring, guarding, facilitating, whatever it might be. I’m just a winner. I don’t care about stats.”
Rookie Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 13 points and Jarrett Jack added 12.
Derrick Rose had 14 points and reserve Nikola Mirotic chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for theBulls, who capped a seven-game, 14-day road trip with their second straight win and finished 4-3 overall. Chicago’s United Center had been reserved for the annual circus show, forcing the Bulls on the road.
“We ended on a good note. I think that was our best game throughout the entire trip,” Rose said. “Coming here and ending like this, we have nothing but great vibes from it. We did a lot of positive things out there. We came together as a team defensively.”
The Bulls, who improved to 9-3 on the road this season, led 47-42 at beginning of the third quarter. After Brooklyn’s Kevin Garnett hit a five-foot bank jumper that made it 48-46, Gasol ignited a 17-4 run by scoring six of his eight points during the spurt to make it 56-46 with 8:13 left in the quarter.
A turnover by Deron Williams led to Rose connecting with Butler for an alley-oop that made it 58-48. After Williams’ basket, Butler hit a turnaround jumper that extended the lead. Rose followed that with a 3-pointer and Gasol capped the run by beating the Nets players’ for a loose ball and making a layup, extending the lead, 65-50 with 5:11 left.
During that run for the Bulls, their defense forced three turnovers and made the Nets miss three shots. Overall, Chicago limited Brooklyn to 9-of-25 shooting from the field, including 0 of 7 beyond the arc.
“We were just getting some easy baskets, getting up and down in transition. But more than anything we were just getting stops on the defensive end, creating a few turnovers and rebounding the basketball,” Butler said.
The Nets’ latest loss was their seventh in the last nine games. Brooklyn has yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. Three of their next four games are against teams with records above .500.
“Consciously, I don’t think we’re thinking of that,” Garnett said. “I think we respect every team. We try to get ready for every team.”
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago outrebounded the Nets 50-34. Mirotic, Gasol and Joakim Noah combined for 36, 30 of them on the defensive side.
Nets: Garnett tied Jason Kidd for sixth place in NBA history with 1,391 games played.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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