Derrick Rose’s aggressive play has helped the Chicago Bulls to their best
start since their most recent championship season. He might not have much
trouble keeping that energy going in the next game.

The reigning league MVP should receive an enthusiastic reception as the
Bulls take on the Memphis Grizzlies in their home opener Sunday night.

Rose got off to an uneven start to this lockout-shortened campaign as he
scored 22 points in a thrilling win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas
Day, then struggled during a loss at Golden State the next evening with 13
points on 4-of-17 shooting.

The point guard bounced back to hit 53.6 percent of his shots in the final
two games of a season-opening road trip and had his best performance of the
season while spoiling the new-look Los Angeles Clippers’ home opener Friday.

Rose had 29 points, 16 assists – one shy of tying his career high – and
eight rebounds during a 114-101 victory. The effort help the Bulls finish off
their trip with back-to-back victories and improve to 3-1 for the first time
since 1997-98.

“The last two games he’s been very, very aggressive and our team has played
with a lot of force offensively,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Rose will try to continue those efforts while helping his team win a fourth
consecutive home opener and post a third straight victory over the Grizzlies
(1-2), which would mark the longest streak in the series since the Bulls claimed
the first seven meetings. Chicago swept Memphis last season for the first time
since 2004-05.

“We have a lot of confidence, but we still need to go out there and play
hard. It’s not going to be easy game. They’re a hard-working team,” Rose said.

Rose recorded his only career triple-double during a 96-84 win in Memphis on
Jan. 17, and scored a team-best 24 points during a 99-96 win at the United
Center on March 25.

Luol Deng was also instrumental in those victories, averaging 25.5 points on
61.3 percent shooting. He enters this contest scoring 18.5 points per game, just
off his career best-average of 18.8 from 2006-07.

Deng and the Bulls will face a Grizzlies team coming off its first win of
the season, a 113-93 rout of Houston on Friday. Zach Randolph led the way with
23 points on 11-of-14 shooting but impressed coach Lionel Hollins just as much
with his defense.

“That’s what I’m trying to focus on, just better D, helping my guys out and
being in the right position,” Randolph said. “Defense wins games. I know I can
score with the best of them, and rebound with the best of them. (Working) on
defense there’s going to be a trickle-down effect.”

Marc Gasol added 20 points for Memphis, which had averaged 88.5 points over
its first two games. The Grizzlies had six players in double figures, including
Chicago native Jeremy Pargo. The rookie, brother of former Bulls guard Jannero
Pargo, had 14 points while starting in place of Mike Conley, who is dealing with
a sprained ankle.

Memphis might need Pargo’s help to end its losing streak to Chicago. The
Grizzlies averaged 90.0 points over the two matchups in 2010-11, their
second-lowest mark against any opponent last season ahead of only the 86.0 per
game against Orlando.

The Chicago Bulls were looking to close out their four game road trip on a high note when they faced the Los Angeles Clippers on December 30^th. Of course most of the talk coming into this game was the point guard match-up between Derrick Rose and Chris Paul. As always, Rose was more concerned with winning the game rather than focusing on the individual stats.

During the first few minutes of the game, it appeared that it was going to be a repeat of the Bulls’ loss to the Golden State Warriors from a few nights ago as the Clippers jumped on the Bulls early. However, Chicago would eventually settle down and for the second straight game, they used a huge run in the fourth quarter to close out an opponent. As a result, the Bulls wrapped up their west-coast trip with a 114-101 over the Clippers. Here is a quick look at my marquee players from this game. .

Derrick Rose had another good game with 29 points, 16 assists and 8 rebounds. While the stat line is impressive, what was equally impressive was all of his shots came within the flow of the offense. Rose was also efficient from the field (8-of-14) and connected on 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. When Rose gets to the line that many times, the Bulls are a difficult team to beat.

Joakim Noah, who had the unenviable task of guarding Blake Griffin, played well scoring 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. Griffin did have a double-double (34 points, 13 rebounds), but Noah and the Bulls did a decent job of limiting Griffin to jumpers down the stretch after giving up several dunks and lay-ups early on. The Bulls will definitely need more games like this from Noah if they are going to be successful not only during the regular season, but come playoff time as well.

I can’t conclude this piece without giving credit to Luol Deng (19 points, 8 rebounds). Deng has been the Bulls’ most consistent player so far this season. He led the team in minutes played last year and will probably do so this year as well. With his ability to score and rebound, along with holding his own on both ends of the floor, it’s strange that he doesn’t receive more credit for his contributions to the team.

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been a Bulls’ fan since the 1987-1988 season. James is currently a fan blogger on Yahoo Sports and sports contributor for SportsRantz magazine. For interesting discussions about the NBA, NFL and MLB, follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

Sources:

WGN Channel 9

“Rose turns L.A. into Sob City”, Neil Hayes, Chicago Sun-Times

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Finally – a game Chicago Bulls fans can be pleased with, even if coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t.

Led by a spectacular effort from reigning MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls on Friday knocked off Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-101, to close out what this die-hard fan is calling a wildly successful four-game West Coast road trip to open the season.

As expected, the Clippers provided some great highlight reel material with impressive dunks by Griffin – what a move to open the game! – and DeAndre Jordan, but Rose stole the show, and in a pretty big way. He finished with 29 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds, and generally did exactly what a point guard is supposed to do – get everyone involved and make them better.

And involved they were. All five Bulls starters finished in double figures, and all five had at least five rebounds and one assist. Luol Deng turned in his usual 19-point, 8-rebound performance, Joakim Noah had 19 and eight, and Rip Hamilton, looking smoother every game, chipped in with 16 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.

It was the second straight game the Bulls showed across the board improvement after looking rough and ragged in an opening season win over the Los Angeles Lakers and an ugly loss to the Golden State Warriors. Ball movement was crisp and clean (29 assists on 39 buckets), turnovers (12) were down, the Bulls dominated the boards (45-31), and the D, while allowing the Clippers to shoot .51 percent from the field, made another baby-step forward.

The successful road trip should help soothe fans who were growing anxious after the team’s subpar showings to open the season, and it puts the Bulls in a great position to turn a sluggish start into something more.

Last season, the Bulls lost three of their first four road games, then five of their first nine, en route to compiling a 9-8 overall mark. And then boom!, things really took off, the team won 14 of its next 16 games and never looked back. In other words, it took the team about 17 games to find its rhythm, and they played roughly .500 ball while doing so.

This season, the Bulls have already won three of their first four road games, and the upcoming schedule is not overly intimidating (although they do play seven of the first nine on the road). The way I see it, the Bulls could be, say, 12-5 or even 13-4 through its first 17 games. How huge would that be in a 66-game season?

Sure, there are plenty areas that still need improved – just ask Thibs, there always will be – but this fan will take a .750 winning percentage on any road trip, let alone a West Coast road trip to open the season.

Notes: Rose made Paul’s 15 points, 14 assists and four steals seem somewhat pedestrian….. Noah said Rose’s showing was “one of the best performances I’ve ever been a part of.”….. Speaking of Jo, it was good to see him hitting the offensive boards (5), getting put backs and drawing fouls (10 of 11 from the line)….. The Bench Mob had 21 points and 10 rebounds to just 11 points and five rebounds from their counterparts….. Ronnie Brewer is now 7-for-7 from the field with three threes the past two games….. Rose and Deng both played 42 minutes; don’t know how sustainability that is this early in such a compressed season….. Someone should tell Griffin that chest pounding after a dunk – when your team is down by 13 – just isn’t cool.

Sources: Chicago Bulls at LA Clippers box score, ESPN; Bulls pull away in 4th to beat Clippers 114-101, Associated Press/Yahoo! Sports; Bulls finish 3-1 trip with 114-101 win, Chicago Tribune.

YCN featured sports contributor Steve Merritt is – for better or worse – a lifelong Chicago Bulls, Bears and Cubs fan. He’s followed the Bulls since 1969, when he tuned in after bedtime on a cheap dime store radio tucked under his pillow.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

LOS ANGELES (AP)

With Derrick Rose attacking, the court opened up for the rest of the Chicago Bulls. They hit their shots and Rose did just about everything else to help his team wrap up a successful season-opening West Coast trip.

Rose had 29 points and 16 assists, and the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 Friday night.

”I just wanted to win. That was the biggest thing,” he said. ”It was a lot of hype because this was their first home game.”

Luol Deng and Joakim Noah added 19 points apiece and Richard Hamilton had 16 for the Bulls against their former coach, Vinny Del Negro.

”Derrick is just a handful and we all know that,” said Del Negro, who coached Rose his first two seasons in Chicago. ”I didn’t think we ganged up on him enough. He got too many free throws, but he also hit some tough shots in the fourth quarter, stepping behind the line and hitting some 3s. And when he does that, it puts a lot more pressure on you.”

Blake Griffin had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who kept it close most of the way coming off a 25-point loss at San Antonio. Caron Butler added 16 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists in his matchup against Rose, the NBA’s MVP last season.

”We were up to the challenge, and we were capable (of winning),” Griffin said. ”But we’ve got 63 more, so we’ll be all right. We’re going to win games, but we’ve got to get better defensively. I’ve got to do a better job with my shot selection and knock down those jumpers.”

The Clippers, who outshot the Bulls and outscored them in the paint, got within three early in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by rookie Trey Thompkins.

Then the Bulls took over.

Ronnie Brewer hit a 3-pointer and made two free throws before Rose made two free throws, then Deng hit a 3-pointer from in front of the Clippers’ bench to give Chicago a 97-84 lead.

”It makes me feel good knowing that I have shooters,” Rose said. ”Everybody was hitting the shots they were supposed to hit. That is the difference this year. We’re way better (offensively).”

Griffin singlehandedly fueled the Clippers’ offense with eight straight points that included a ferocious dunk in which he walked away with his fists clenched and his teeth gritted. Still, it left his team trailing by eight points with less than five minutes to play.

The Bulls effectively used 3-pointers to keep the Clippers at bay in the fourth, when they hit four, including two by Rose.

”They were getting to the rim, kicking out, doing a good job of finding guys for corner 3s, and they had guys spotting up on the perimeter,” Griffin said. ”So we’ve got to do a better job of helping and getting out and contesting those 3s. I can live with contested 3s, but not wide-open ones.”

The Bulls finished their trip with a 3-1 mark, losing at Golden State. Rose was disgusted with his effort in the eight-point loss on Monday.

”The last two games he’s been very, very aggressive and our team has played with a lot of force offensively,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”Derrick showed a good resolve.”

Chicago moved out to a seven-point lead in the third quarter, when the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit down for more than eight minutes. He finished with 10 points.

”I guess I can’t play that aggressive,” he said.

Mo Williams and Butler hit consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-6 run that helped the Clippers tie the game at 77. But the Bulls answered with six straight points while the Clippers missed their final five shots to lead 83-77 going into the fourth. Deng had 10 points in the quarter.

The Bulls closed on a 10-2 run, including four straight by Noah, to lead 57-52 at halftime. The first two quarters were mostly back and forth, with the Clippers leading by eight in the first 12 minutes.

Griffin and Paul took to the court before tipoff to thank the fans for their support, with Griffin saying, ”We’re going to try to make this a season you won’t forget.”

Los Angeles opened with a bang, making its first six shots, with Paul feeding Griffin for a two-handed dunk on the Clippers’ first basket. Jordan had the crowd roaring with his one-handed dunk off a ball tossed toward the basket by Butler.

Notes: The Clippers fell to 5-8 in home openers at Staples Center. … Rose heard chants of ”MVP” when he was at the free throw line. ”It’s great, especially when you’re on the road,” he said. … Paul has yet to beat Rose in five career games. His previous four losses came when Paul played for New Orleans. … Clippers PA announcer David Courtney introduced Williams as Chauncey Billups during pregame intros. Billups was the first player introduced and he sat out with a sore right groin. … Boxer Floyd Mayweather attended the game.

This wasn’t quite what the Clippers had in mind, not after all the excitement and hope they had generated because of the players they had acquired and retained.

This wasn’t quite the way the Clippers had hoped to start the 2011-12 season, not after finding a way to win their regular-season opener against Golden State.

But the Clippers have lost two straight games, both to teams considered members of the NBA elite, the latest in front of their own fans who saw them lose their home opener, 114-101 to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at Staples Center.

While the media waited in the press area for Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro, he could be heard raising his voice at his players.

“I was yelling,” Del Negro said. “It was the truth.”

His team still isn’t playing good defense, something he mentioned to the media.

Two nights after a 115-90 loss at San Antonio in which the Spurs shot 56%, the Clippers allowed the Bulls to make 50% of their shots and gave up 114 points.

Del Negro also addressed his team’s rebounding problems, after the Bulls beat them on the boards, 45-31. The Clippers have been outrebounded in all three regular-season games and both exhibition games.

“Our defense and our rebounding [are] obviously an issue,” Del Negro said. “We’re giving up too many points right now.

“We have a lot to work on, especially on the defensive end. It’s more just becoming a team and it’s more becoming just the trust factor.”

Derrick Rose showed why he was the NBA’s most valuable player from last season, penetrating seemingly at will, drawing fouls and hitting key shots in the fourth quarter.

Rose, who finished with 29 points and 16 assists and was 10 for 11 from the free-throw line, made a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 15-point lead, then another after the Clippers had closed to within 10.

Rose capped his night by finding Joakim Noah for a basket and a 110-95 Bulls lead, leading some fans to chant “M-V-P.”

“We changed up our coverage on him,” Del Negro said. “But he’s seen them all right now. Derrick is just a handful, and we all know that.”

Blake Griffin had 34 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists for the Clippers. But when DeAndre Jordan picked up his fourth foul with 8:34 left in the third quarter, it put them in a bad spot. Brian Cook replaced him but he also had four fouls through three quarters.

At the start of the fourth quarter, when it was time to give Griffin a rest, rookie Trey Thompkins was forced into action again.

After Cook got his fifth foul, Jordan came back into the game, only to pick up his fifth foul going over the back of a Bulls player.

That forced the Clippers to go small, with the 6-10 Thompkins and 6-7 Ryan Gomes.

The night began with the Clippers being introduced, each of them coming out one of the tunnels.