The Bulls outrebounded the Cavs 56-48 last night and they held them to 39.3% shooting from the floor which explains the nice home win. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Ben Gordon also had a solid game as he finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Joakim Noah was tough inside as he finished with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 2 assists. The Bulls are now 25-36 on the season.

The Chicago Bulls have acquired Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons from the Cavaliers. The Bulls traded Adrian Griffin to the Seattle Supersonics and Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to the Cavs as well as a 2009 2nd round draft pick. Larry Hughes played in 40 games (32 starts) this season for the Cavs and he averaged 30.3 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Hughes was having a rough time shooting the basketball as he only hit 37.7% of his shots from the floor this season. Hughes has now played in 590 games (448 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 31.9 minutes, 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Drew Gooden was having a solid season for the Cavs this year. Gooden has played in 51 games (all starts) this season and he has averaged 30.7 minutes, 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Gooden has now played in 441 games (354 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Shannon Brown was the Cavs first round pick last season but he hasn’t played well yet in his career. Brown has played in 15 games (4 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.5 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Brown has now played in 38 games (9 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 11.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game. He has only shot 37.3% from the floor and 64.9% from the free throw line in his career. Cedric Simmons has played in only 7 games (0 starts) for the Cavs this season and he has averaged 12.0 minutes, 0.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He has now played in 50 games (4 starts) in his career and he has averaged 12.0 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

Ben Wallace was having a bad season for the Bulls. He played in 50 games (all starts) this season and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 5.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game. This season he was only shooting 37.3% from the floor and 42.4% from the free throw line and that’s pathetic. Joe Smith played pretty well this season for the Bulls. He played in 50 games (35 starts) and he averaged 22.9 minutes, 11.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 866 games (611 starts) in his NBA career and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Adrian Griffin played in 22 games (2 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 10.1 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

This should wind up a good one for the Bulls if Hughes and Gooden produce and it’s likely that they will.

The Bulls will be without starting small forward Luol Deng for the next 1-3 weeks with a lingering Achilles injury. Deng has played in 33 games (32 starts) this season for the Bulls and he is averaging 34.7 minutes, 17.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Deng will be replaced in the starting lineup by Andres Nocioni who is having a solid season. Nocioni has played in 43 games (15 starts) this season and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 14.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Tyrus Thomas will also likely see a bump in his playing time. Thomas has played in 38 games (11 starts) this season and he is averaging 16.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Thomas needs to shoot better as he is only hitting 38.9% of his shots from the floor and 68.7% of his shots from the free throw line this year.

The Bulls shot 50% from the floor last night but they just couldn’t keep up with the Warriors. Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 29 points and 3 assists off of the bench. Andres Nocioni was also outstanding off of the bench with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Luol Deng had the best game of any of the Bulls starters with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. The Bulls fell to 15-23 on the season with this loss.

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The bench starts with Andres Nocioni who can handle either forward spot and he does it with verve. Nocioni plays a very aggressive style that often gets him to the free throw line but he also fouls hard and gets on the nerves of the opposition. He played in 53 games (31 starts) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 14.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Veteran Joe Smith will also get a lot of playing time as he takes over the veteran role that P.J. Brown filled last season. Smith played in 65 games (11 starts) last season for the 76ers & Nuggets and he averaged 23.1 minutes, 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Rookies Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray will likely get limited playing time as rookies but Noah has the ability to bust into the rotation at some point. He will provide energy and rebounding when he gets his chance on the court. Chris Duhon will be the #3 guard on the Bulls. He’s more of a point guard but he’s not too shy to put the ball up when he enters the game. He played in 78 games (30 starts) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 24.4 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. 2nd year guard Thabo Sefolosha will likely earn more playing time this season as the backup shooting guard. He played in 71 games (4 starts) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Adrian Griffin will be sitting near the end of the bench for the Bulls but he is a veteran who will help if called upon to play. He played in 54 games (1 start) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 10.8 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.