The Bulls laid another egg last night in Salt Lake City as the Jazz shot an amazing 60.8% from the floor last night against them. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls last night with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Derrick Rose pitched in with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists last night. Rookie forward James Johnson had probably his best game of the year last night with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assists in 18 minutes on the court. The Bulls are now 6-8 on the year.

Was John Salmons’ play with the Bulls a mirage last season? The Bulls better hope not or they will have a hard time scoring points. Salmons has played in 13 games (all starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 13.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game despite only shooting 36.1% from the floor and 30.6% from three point range. Salmons has been getting a lot of his shots blocked so far this season so maybe he should start shooting more jumpers.

Chicago Bulls’ talented point guard Derrick Rose has had a lot of high expectations this year after winning the Rookie of the Year award last season.  Rose got off to a slow start shooting the ball this season, mostly due to an ankle injury in the preseason.  Although he didn’t miss any games, Rose was not full strength and was not getting as many minutes.  In Rose’s first six games this season, he averaged only 30 minutes per game and scored 12.3 points and only shot 42% from the field.  In the last 2 weeks Rose has been steadily getting back into his old form and has been getting more minutes and playing much better.  In his past 7 games he is playing 37 minutes per game and has averaged 17.4 points while shooting 48% from the field.   One thing Rose has been pretty consistent all season with is dishing out assists, averaging 5.3 a game.  That number would be higher if John Salmons was not shooting 36% from the field and 30% from three. Rose has had a couple of high turnover games, so he needs to be a little less careless with the ball.  I do expect Rose to continue to get better as the season progresses though, and if John Salmons starts to come around the Bulls will be a dangerous team in the East come playoff time.

The Chicago Bulls (6-7) defense did not show up Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers (11-5) and they were blown out.  The Blazers had five different players score in double figures, and the Bulls were down 15 at halftime.  The Bulls fought back in the 3rd quarter and made it 10-point game going into the 4th.  They were then outscored 32-18 in the final quarter to make it a blow out.  They let the offensive-challenged Greg Oden drop a career-high 24 points and the Blazers shot 58% from the field.  The Bulls can’t let a guy like Oden score so easily and efficiently, as the big man went 7-8 from the field.  They also gave up 47 points to the Blazers’ bench.  Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.  John Salmons started off hot for the Bulls, scoring 12 in the first quarter, but he would only have 10 more points the rest of the way.  Derrick Rose also added in 14 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.

The Nuggets ran the Bulls right out of the building last night as they blasted them 63-41 in the second half of the game. Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Luol Deng also had a good game with 22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Joakim Noah pitched in with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists last night. The Nuggets are now 6-6 on the season.

The Bulls were outrebounded 51-44 last night in L.A. and it was a big reason for the loss. Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 20 points and 6 assists. John Salmons pitched in with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists last night. Brad Miller was solid off the bench with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes. Joakim Noah stuffed the stat sheet once again last night with 12 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. The Bulls are now 6-5 on the year.

Chicago Bulls captain Kirk Hinrich has been a solid sixth man for the Bulls, defending and dishing out assists, but his shooting has been terrible.  Coming into this season the Bulls hoped that Hinrich could take on more of a scoring role and help fill the void left by Ben Gordon.  Hinrich’s shot has been off though, shooting only 35% from the field and 26% from three point land.  He is shooting poorly from the free throw line too, hitting only 16-23 from the charity stripe this year for a career low 70%.  Now Hinrich is doing a good job in almost all other categories, he just needs to start knocking down some shots.  So far this season Hinrich is averaing 9.2 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in about 30 minutes per game.

The Chicago Bulls (6-4) got a big game from their bench and beat the Sacramento Kings (5-5) convincingly.  The Bulls had a good all-around game, playing well at both ends of the court.  They held a Kings team that is averaging close to 105 points to just 87.  John Salmons led the way with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.  Derrick Rose added 10 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Joakim Noah had 15 points and 14 rebounds, numbers that Bulls fans are getting used to seeing from the improving Noah.  The Bulls went 7-12 from three point land, with Salmons going 3-5 and Jannero Pargo going 2-2 from beyond the arc.  Pargo and Brad Miller had great games off the bench for the Bulls and gave the Bulls 23 points combined.  Donte Greene led the way for the Kings, giving them 24 points and 5 rebounds.  This was a good way to start the Bulls 6-game circus road trip but they need to stay focused as they face off against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night.

The Bulls just played a solid game last night to prevail at home over the Sixers. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls last night with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kirk Hinrich had another good game off the bench for the Bulls last night with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists in 30 minutes. Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, John Salmons and Brad Miller scored 14 points apiece last night for the Bulls. The Bulls are now 5-4 on the year.

24-year old Taj Gibson and 22-year old James Johnson are making the Bulls smile so far this season. Gibson has played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Bulls so far this season and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Gibson is also shooting well from the floor hitting 51.8% of his shots this season but he is having problems from the free throw line hitting 53.3%. Gibson will continue to start while Tyrus Thomas is out of action and the Bulls hope that he continues to play well. James Johnson has not gotten much of a chance to this point in the season to show what he can do yet. Johnson has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 6.0 minutes, 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds so far.