24-year old center Omer Asik only lasted two minuted last night.  The reason was because he was diagnosed with a fractured left fibula today which ends his rookie season officially.  Asik played in 82 games (0 starts) during the regular season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.8 rebounds  and 0.4 assists per game.  He also played 15 games (0 starts) in the playoffs in which he averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.0 point, 2.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Bulls will turn to 38-year old Kurt Thomas to replace Asik as the backup center the rest of the year.  Thomas played in 52 games (37 starts) for the Bulls during the regular season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has only played in 6 games (0 starts) during the playoffs and he is averaging 9.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  I have a feeling that Thomas is going to step up for the Bulls, just like he did when Joakim Noah was injured earlier this year.

Starting power forward Carlos Boozer has been nowhere to be found against the Hawks as Al Horford has been pushing him around in this series.  Boozer has played in all 3 games (all starts) against the Hawks in the second round of the playoffs and he is averaging 9.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  He is also only shooting 13 of 29 shots (44.8%) and 2 for 2 from the free throw line (100%) against the Hawks.  Boozer has been really soft in this series as evidenced by his 2 free throw attempts in the first three games of this series.  The Bulls need Boozer to pick up his game.  He hasn’t played well at all in the playoffs this year.  He has played in 8 games (all starts) overall this year in the playoffs and he is averaging 30.1 minutes, 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game on a pathetic 39% shooting from the floor!

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.

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.

The Bulls have sent 23-year old small forward James Johnson to the Iowa Energy of the D-League.  Johnson played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Bulls last season in which he averaged 10.2 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 77 games (11 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.4 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  The Bulls hope that James Johnson will find himself in the D-League because he’s still young enough to turn things around.

One can argue that the Bulls are doing so well right now that they shouldn’t make any changes in the starting lineup.  I beg to differ.  30-year old Keith Bogans is the starting shooting guard for the Bulls and he is literally bringing nothing to the table.  He has played in 45 games (all starts) so far this year for the Bulls and he is averaging 17.6 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He is only shooting 36.7% from the floor, 32% from three point range and 59% from the free throw line so far this year.  I think the Bulls should move Ronnie Brewer into the starting lineup for a couple of reasons.  First, he’s a better shooter than Bogans as he is hitting 48.7% of his shots from the floor.  Brewer was the fifth option on offense in Utah when he played there so he makes the most of the shots he does get.  He would be an offfensive improvement over Bogans.  Brewer is also an excellent defensive player which would be another upgrade for the Bulls.  Brewer has played in 45 games (1 start) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 23.5 minutes, 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  The time is right for the Bulls to insert Brewer into the starting lineup.

The Bulls need more out of 24-year old center Omer Asik with Joakim Noah out of action.  Asik has played in 38 games (0 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 11.7 minutes, 2.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Asik has the size the Bulls need as he is 7’0″, 255 pounds so it would really help if he would step up.  It’s speaking volumes right now that Asik can’t beat out Kurt Thomas for some P.T. in the pivot.

The thought was that 25-year old power forward Taj Gibson would play big minutes to help replace the injured Joakim Noah.  In his first six games in January, Gibson is averaging 20.2 minutes, 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  Gibson has now played in 34 games (15 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  If the Bulls need to make a deal at the trade deadline, expect Gibson’s name to come up as a lot of teams like him.

With Joakim Noah out of action for 8-10 weeks, the Bulls are going to need 25-year old Taj Gibson and 24-year old rookie Omer Asik to step up.  Gibson has played in 23 games (14 starts) for the Bulls this year and he is averaging 25.5 minutes, 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Gibson will likely start most of the games at center until Noah is ready to return to action.  Omer Asik has played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 11.4 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Gibson & Asik are both capable players so the Bulls should be o.k. until Noah is ready to return to action.

26-year old point guard C.J. Watson was awesome in a spot start in the place of Derrick Rose on 11/26.  He played 44 minutes in that game and he scored 33 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and he stole the ball twice.  In the five games since Watson’s lone start of the season, he is averaging 11.2 minutes, 3.0 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  Watson only has shot 5 of 19 (26.3%) from the floor in those last five contests.  Watson has now played in 19 games (1 start) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 14.4 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  He is only shooting 37.7% from the floor and 27.3% from three point range so far this year.  Watson is a better player than he has shown so far this year and the Bulls need him to step up so they can give Derrick Rose a rest more often going forward.