The Bulls outrebounded the Bucks 49-37 last night and they held them to 38.2% shooting from the floor which were the big reasons for the win.  Luol Deng (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Derrick Rose (17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) led the way for the Bulls in this game.  Carlos Boozer (13 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal) and Kyle Korver (11 points and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes) also pitched in for the Bulls last night.  The Bulls are now 40-17 on the year.

25-year old power forward Taj Gibson busted onto the scene for the Bulls last season.  He played in 82 games (70 starts) as a rookie for the Bulls last season and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 9.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  This season he just hasn’t looked like the same player.  He has played in 54 games (18 starts) for the Bulls this year and he is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  Gibson is blocked at power forward by Carlos Boozer and that isn’t going to change any time soon unless he gets hurt.  With that in mind, the Bulls need him to make the most of his minutes on the floor.

The Bulls outrebounded the Heat 53-39 last night and that was the big reason for the nice win.  Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls in this game with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists last night.  Luol Deng filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Carlos Boozer pitched i with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.  The Bulls are now 39-17 on the season.

The Bulls didn’t play any D as the Raptors shot 58.1% from the floor and that did them in.  Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls in this game with 32 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists and 1 steal.  Carlos Boozer (24 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) and Luol Deng (19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) also had very solid games last night.  Ronnie Brewer (11 points in 20 minutes) and Joakim Noah (7 points, 16 rebounds and 1 assist in 25 minutes) also pitched in for the Bulls last night.  The Bulls are now 38-17 on the year.

The Bulls have dealt 24-year old small forward James Johnson to the Toronto Raptors for the Miami Heat’s first round pick in 2011.  Johnson played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He played in 78 games (11 starts) in his two years with the Bulls and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  This was a good deal for the Bulls who quickly got frustrated with Johnson.

The Chicago Bulls cruised into the All-Star Break with a 38-16 record which has them comfortably in first place in the Central Division, 14 games ahead of the Pacers.  The Bulls are sitting #3 in the Eastern Conference just 2 games behind the Celtics & Heat.  The Bulls have been doing this without starting center Joakim Noah who is due back this week.  I think the Bulls are going to make a serious run at the Celtics & Heat for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  When Joakim Noah went down to injury the Bulls needed someone to step up at center.  38-year old Kurt Thomas answered the call for the Bulls and he has been very solid for them since Noah got injured.  Thomas has played in 35 games (29 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 24.3 minutes, 4.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 52.5% shooting from the floor.  Thomas might even be more effective off the bench due to limited minutes.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  26-year old point guard C.J. Watson was signed to be Derrick Rose’s caddy.  Watson has played so poorly so far this year that the Bulls have really rode Rose hard minutes wise.  Watson has played in 54 games (1 start) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists per game.  Watson is only shooting 36.1% from the floor but somehow 40.6% from three point range which isn’t that bad.  Maybe Watson will step up so the Bulls can give Derrick Rose some time off to rest once in a while.

The Bulls shot 53.8% from the floor and they outrebounded the Spurs 41-29 which were the big reasons for the huge home win last night.  Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 42 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Luol Deng had another solid game with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots last night.  Carlos Boozer pitched in with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal last night.  The Bulls are now 38-16 on the season.

The Bulls shot 50% from the floor last night and that helped them roll to another nice home win.  Luol Deng (24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Derrick Rose (18 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Bulls last night.  Carlos Boozer also had a solid game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal last night.  Kyle Korver (15 points) and Taj Gibson (11 points) also pitched in for the Bulls last night.  The Bulls are now 37-16 on the season.

The Chicago Bulls shot 51.5% from the floor last night and they outrebounded the  Hornets 47-26 on there way to a nice road win.  The Bulls outscored the Hornets 25-14 in the 4th quarter to finally put them away on Saturday Night.  Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls in this game with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.  Carlos Boozer (17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Luol Deng (14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Bulls last night.  Keith Bogans pitched in with 11 points last night.  The Bulls are now 36-16 on the year.

26-year old point guard C.J. Watson just has not played too well this year.  He has played in 51 games (1 start) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists per game on 36.1% shooting from the floor.  Watson is not doing any better this month either.  He has played in 4 games so far this month in which he is averaging 10.5 minutes, 3.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  The Bulls wish that Watson was playing a little better so that they can give Derrick Rose more of a break going forward, but they just can’t trust him quite yet.