The Bulls outrebounded the Hornets 51-34 last night as they looked like they wanted the game more and they got it. Tyrus Thomas led the way for the Bulls in his first game back from injury with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 32 minutes off the bench. Joakim Noah was also incredible last night with 17 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocked shots. Kirk Hinrich pitched in with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in his first start of the year for the Bulls last night. The Bulls are now 11-17 on the year.

The Bulls have decided to bench John Salmons replacing him in the starting line-up with Kirk Hinrich. Salmons is proving that last season was a fluke. He has played in 27 games (all starts) this season for the Bulls and he is averaging 36.7 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Salmons is only shooting 38% from the floor but that is better than Hinrich’s 36.2%. Hinrich has played in 21 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. The one area this could help the Bulls out offensively is because Hinrich is a much better passer than Salmons which will likely help get more players involved in the offense.

The Bulls were outscored 53-31 in the first half before putting up a fight that fell a little short last night. Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Luol Deng also had a good game with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists last night. Joakim Noah only shot 4 of 13 from the floor but he still finished up with 10 points, 21 rebounds and 1 assist. The Bulls are now 10-17 on the season.

Luol Deng is back to his old self this season and that is excellent news for the Bulls. He has played in 26 games (all starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 38.8 minutes, 18.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Bulls really need Deng to stay healthy as he and Derrick Rose are the main men offensively and they are the only consistent threats on offense for them night in and night out.

Kirk Hinrich is better than he has shown so far this year and the Bulls need him to pick it up. He has played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Hinrich is shooting bricks from everywhere on the basketball court which isn’t like him. He is only hitting 36.5% from the floor, 31.6% from three point range and 69.7% from the free throw line. It’s too bad that Hinrich is playing this bad or he might have bumped John Salmons from the starting line-up as he has also been brutal for the Bulls this year.