After a lackluster performance against Golden State, the Chicago Bulls pulled it together and beat the Sacramento Kings 108-98 on Thursday, Dec. 29.

The team showed a lot of depth; Rip Hamilton appeared more comfortable and they looked like they’re finding their groove in this very new season.

The Bulls got on the board with a jump shot by Carlos Boozer and the team took a 19-5 lead by the 5:36 mark. The Kings tightened the game but the Bulls maintained the lead. The first quarter ended with a Bulls 30-24 advantage.

Chicago would lead for the entire game.

In the second quarter, the Bulls got into foul trouble but stayed ahead. The bench mob entered and advanced the team’s lead to 15 points at 7:29. The Bulls entered halftime ahead, 60-53.

After halftime adjustments, Sacramento returned in the third quarter and made it a two-point game at 9:35. They had success at the foul line and kept on the Bulls. Rose stepped out but the team held onto its lead.

Entering the final quarter 85-75, the Bulls stayed consistent even as Rose again briefly left at the 7:46 mark due to foul problems. Joakim Noah soon followed with his own foul issues.

The Bulls had a 10-point lead and kept it that way thanks to good defensive play.

Once again the bench mob excelled with solid play by C.J. Watson. Pinch hitting for Rose because of fouls, Watson played for 16 minutes and added eight points, nine assists and five rebounds.

The Bulls shot 54 percent, helping them with the win. Grabbing an early lead and keeping it was also important to the game. They were 6 for 12 in three-pointers and had 18 turnovers.

Scoring…Rose led in scoring with 19 points and eight assists. It was a team effort with Boozer contributing 16 points and 15 rebounds. Hamilton had a good game, adding 16 points.

Ronnie Brewer and Luol Deng each scored 12 points.

Next up for the Bulls is their final game of a four-game road series. They play the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, Dec. 30.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago resident, it’s great to see the Bulls playing well again.

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By Steve von Horn

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 29, 2011 – Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and the Chicago Bulls are looking to avoid a losing streak when they take on Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. The Bulls got down early on the road against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, and never quite recovered. Derrick Rose had a particularly difficult night during the 99-91 loss, finishing with just 13 points on 4-17 shooting. Although the team stressed the importance of defensive discipline and intensity after the game, the heartbeat of the offense is Rose. If the reigning league MVP doesn’t look right, the Bulls are quite beatable. Here is what the crew at Blog a Bull has to say:

It’s not news that when Rose isn’t playing at MVP-type levels, the Bulls aren’t that great of a team. But what’s more worrisome is when Rose is subpar and the rest don’t even look to be above average. And it starts with what should be the Bulls #2 option, Carlos Boozer. Boozer not only had an anemic 6 points in his 26 minutes, but he was consistently abused by his contemporary (in position and salary) David Lee. Boozer was also partly responsible for no less than three turnovers where Rip Hamilton failed to connect on an entry pass. Noah fared slightly better and Taj Gibson was part of a desperation comeback unit in the 4th quarter, but the entire Bulls frontcourt looked not only slow themselves, but fairly weak: often not being able to finish or getting the ball stripped before they even had a chance to.

The good news for the team is that they are set to take on a Kings team that has developed a well-deserved reputation for poor defensive efforts. After pulling off a surprising 100-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakes in their season opener, the Kings put up a stinker against the Portland Trail Blazers and lost 79-101. Even so, Sacramento is loaded with offensive talent. Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette and DeMarcus Cousins should present a great test for the Bulls defense. Cousins should be a particularly interesting player to watch on Thursday night, because he might finally be putting his immense talent to good use. Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty explains:

The biggest offensive knock on Cousins last season — even bigger than the turnovers, of which there were way too many — was that he took way too many long jumpers. He’s a decent shooter and can get off a jumper against anyone, but his physical make-up and agility are best suited in the pivot. A key development point for Cousins would be to shift his shot structure to rely less on the perimeter and mid-range and more on the post…Through two games, 19 of Cousins’ 32 shooting possessions have come at the rim or on free throws. That’s up at 59 percent … much, much better. He’s missed a lot of makeable layups and struggled at the line so far, but that should normalize so long as he doesn’t force wild shots under the backboard against good defenders

Joakim Noah will likely matchup against DMC on defense, so be sure to keep an eye on how well Noah or Omer Asik can limit interior looks for Cousins. As for Fredette, Evans and Thornton, their talents are a double-edged sword. Known as offensive-minded guards, it may be the case that anything they do in terms of scoring will be matched or outdone by counterpart Derrick Rose. Expect a fast-paced game with plenty of scoring.

Game day/time: Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, 9:00 p.m. CT

Location: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA

TV: CSN-Chicago

For updates on the matchup, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit Blog a Bull and Sactown Royalty. And for more news and notes from around the NBA, head over to SB Nation’s NBA news hub.

Read More: Carlos Boozer (F – CHI), David Lee (F – GSW), Joakim Noah (C – CHI), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Omer Asik (C – CHI), Tyreke Evans (G – SAC), Taj Gibson (F – CHI), Marcus Thornton (G – SAC), DeMarcus Cousins (C – SAC), Jimmer Fredette (G – SAC), Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings

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On Sunday, Dec. 25 the Chicago Bulls opened the season against the Los Angeles Lakers with an 88-87 victory.

The game came down to the final seconds with Derrick Rose once again showing why he was the league’s MVP last season and someone who deserved his recent contract extension.

With the Bulls trailing by 11 points, they rallied within the last four minutes for the win.

In the first quarter, the Lakers jumped on the board first and initially kept it tight. After seeing an eight-point lead, they surrendered it and the Bulls ended the quarter leading 22-20.

For the second quarter, the Bench Mob kicked things off before the starters slowly returned. The teams continued to exchange leads but the Bulls moved ahead to enter halftime with a 56-49 advantage.

They maintained their lead through the third quarter until the 5:18 mark when the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant tied it at 63. The lead went back and forth with Los Angeles closing the quarter with a 69-68 lead.

During the fourth quarter, the Lakers extended their lead to11. With less than four minutes remaining, the Bulls really lacked energy but started to claw their way back with defense and shots. Rose kicked off the comeback with a basket, followed by Luol Deng’s dunk. He also got hot on the free throw line.

With 20 seconds remaining, it was a one-point game. Deng stole the ball from Bryant and Rose hit the game-winning shot with four seconds left. Bryant quickly launched one last shot but again, Deng came through and blocked it.

It was game over for this Christmas miracle.

Scoring…Rose led the team in scoring on Sunday with 22 points and five assists followed by game MVP Deng with 21 points and seven rebounds. Carlos Boozer added 15 points.

New Bulls teammate Rip Hamilton is finding his way within the team’s chemistry. On Sunday, he scored six points in his first start.

At times he looked frustrated, but he should be a great and much-needed addition.

Next up for the Bulls is a Monday, Dec. 26 game against Golden State.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago local, it’s good to have the Bulls back.

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LOS ANGELES — 

Derrick Rose scored 22 points and hit a short go-ahead jumper with 4.8 seconds to play, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes for an 88-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luol Deng scored 21 points and blocked Kobe Bryant’s short shot right before the buzzer as the Bulls hung on for a thrilling finish to both clubs’ first Christmas meeting.

Bryant scored 28 points and committed eight turnovers while playing with a torn wrist ligament for the Lakers, who nearly shook off their tumultuous preseason for a surprising win.

Instead, Los Angeles was outscored, 17-5, in the final 3:36.

Deng scored nine points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, including a three-point play and two free throws in the final 45 seconds as Chicago snapped a five-game road losing streak against the Lakers.

Carlos Boozer had 15 points for the Bulls, who have designs on a championship run after leading the NBA with 62 regular-season victories last season.

Chicago struggled mightily against Brown’s new defensive schemes for the Lakers in the second half, managing just 25 percent shooting (12 for 48) — but Rose and Deng bailed out the Bulls.

By Tom Ziller

– NBA Editor

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Dec 25, 2011 – The Chicago Bulls finished the 2010-11 season with the best record in the league — an incredible 62-20 mark. But that didn’t much matter in the playoffs: the unheralded Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks each pushed Chicago fairly hard, and the Miami Heat walloped them in the East finals. The Bulls know they can dominate the regular season, but now they have to aim for success in the second season.

The L.A. Lakers typically know all about success in the second season; the Lakers have been strong on the regular schedule during the team’s recent run of success, but L.A.’s veterans seem to crank it up another notch in the postseason. That didn’t happen in 2011: Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets shaved two games off of the Lakers in the first round, and Dallas Mavericks beat them down in Round 2.

Chicago Bulls at L.A. Lakers
Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on ABC
Blog-a-Bull | Silver Screen And Roll

That’s how these teams enter the 2011-12 season: ready for revenge. Unfortunately, the Lakers come in wounded. Kobe Bryant has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right (shooting) wrist, and given that Kobe refuses to let things heal properly, he’ll likely be dealing with it all season long. Further, the roster has been injured: Lamar Odom requested a trade after the Lakers had the audacity to consider trading him for Chris Paul. So Odom went to the Mavericks for nothing but a future second-round pick, which means that your new back-up power forward in L.A. is either Josh McRoberts or Troy Murphy, not the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

Andrew Bynum is suspended for the first four games of the season, including the Bulls’ opener. Chicago ought to be playing with a full deck, as free agent pick-up Rip Hamilton will replace the waived Keith Bogans as the team’s starting two-guard. The Bulls didn’t have Carlos Boozer to start the 2010-11 season; imagine how much better they could be with a injury-free roster.

The game tips off at about 5 p.m. ET on Sunday on ABC. We’ll have full coverage at SBNation.com.

Read More: nba christmas, Kobe Bryant (G – LAL), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers, Dec 25, 2011 5:00 PM EST

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DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP)—Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were stocking the
trophy case the last time the Chicago Bulls were this good.

Derrick Rose wants to add to the collection.

The league’s youngest MVP has his sights set on the biggest prize of all as
the Bulls get set to open the season Sunday on the road against the Lakers.

Chicago came close last year but ultimately fell short, losing to Miami in
the Eastern Conference finals after winning 62 games during the regular season.

“Our goal is to win a championship, and I think that we have a decent shot
with the guys that we have coming back,” Rose said. “I have a lot of belief in
my teammates, and I know that they have a lot of belief in me and a lot of
confidence in me as a player. That’s all we need.”

The Bulls boast the reigning MVP in Rose and Coach of the Year in Thibodeau.
They won more games than any other team during the regular season after
back-to-back .500 records and first-round playoff exits under Vinny Del Negro.
Even so, it all seemed like an incomplete thought, a sentence without the proper
punctuation.

They were looking for that championship exclamation point—and they still
are. That five-game loss to Miami lingers.

“Last year was definitely an unbelievable experience, a lot of highs and
lows,” Joakim Noah said. “Being able to play in those big games against Miami
was great, but it was definitely hard to lose the way that we did. It took me
awhile to get over it. I watched the games a lot in the summer. It was very
disappointing, but at the same time, it definitely makes you hungry.”

The Bulls have plenty going for them, and they might be better equipped to
withstand the condensed, lockout-induced sprint of a schedule with Rose leading
one of the deepest rosters.

They addressed their need at shooting guard by signing Richard Hamilton,
giving them another scoring option and the height they were seeking to match up
with Miami’s big wing players. One concern: At age 33, the 6-foot-7 Hamilton is
coming off a difficult season with Detroit. But he also helped lead the Pistons
to a championship during his nine-year run with them.

Beyond that, improvement from within will determine just how far the Bulls
go, and to that end, Rose wasn’t resting on his accomplishments last season.

He spent the summer honing his inside game after expanding his shooting
range in the past.

“He actually did some of that last year,” Thibodeau said. “It wasn’t real
noticeable because it wasn’t a primary option, but he got to it. … I think he
has an idea now of what he’s trying to get to and how he can get to it.”

But it’s not just on Rose to continue that steady rapid rise from Rookie of
the Year to All-Star to MVP in his third season. Carlos Boozer and Noah staying
healthy will go a long way toward determining the Bulls’ success, too.

Boozer sat out the first month of last season because of a broken right hand
after agreeing to a five-year, $75 million contract. Soon after he returned,
Noah was out for 30 games with a torn ligament in his right thumb.

When they were on the court together, Chicago won in a big way. The Bulls
were 24-5 when they had both their top big men.

Boozer was also limited by a turf toe injury in the postseason, and he went
from averaging 17.5 points while shooting 51 percent in the regular season to
12.6 on 43.3-percent shooting in the playoffs. Fair or not, fans let him hear
it, but he went to work in the offseason.

He showed up to training camp about 20 pounds lighter, and the Bulls are
noticing the results.

“He’s moving very well,” Noah said. “He’s a very hungry player right
now.”

He’s not the only one. Last season only whetted Chicago’s appetite.

“I felt like we had the team—we still do—to win the whole thing,” Luol
Deng said. “But going into this year, we’ve got to focus on us—what we’ve
learned from it and how we can get better. We can’t just focus on one team.
There are a lot of good teams in the East, but we’ve just got to focus on where
we’ve got to get better and what we’ve got to do this year.”

CHICAGO (WSCR) When the dust settled on the free agent frenzy last summer, the Chicago Bulls were left with several key role players and one player who was supposed to be a difference maker: Carlos Boozer.

But not only was Boozer ineffective, he was also battling injures throughout the season and often looked like he was out of shape.

“I think, when you saw a Bulls team as cohesive and as, you know, extra effort as this team was, I think Carlos’ struggles stood out,” K.C. Johnson, of the Chicago Tribune, said on the Danny Mac Show. “Because I think a lot of them were based on effort, at times, especially at the defensive end. And I think that that’s something that really needs to be addressed moving forward, because he’s signed to a big contract that I think is going to be very difficult to move under any circumstances, much less one where you’re looking at, you know, possibly having a new collective bargaining agreement that’s going to make things more difficult to do that.

LISTEN: K.C. Johnson On The Mully And Hanley Show

For the rest of this interview and other 670 The Score interviews click here.

“So, you gotta get more out of him. And I think this is a big offseason for Carlos. I think he needs to get in better condition. I think he needs to, obviously try to avoid injuries, some of those are out of his control.”

In the Eastern Conference finals, Boozer was often on the bench during some of most critical moments, including the entire fourth quarter in Game 5.

More on the conference finals teams, with the last team eliminated from the Playoffs before the Finals.

Chicago Bulls:

-  The Bulls will try to convince themselves that they are happy with their season, one where they won 62 games and got to the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  Then they will look at their roster and realize that they are stuck with Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng – good players but not special players – and worry that they may never beat a healthy Heat team.  And they should worry.

-  Carlos Boozer is Larry Hughes.  He signed a huge contract that made sense at the time, but when push came to shove he wasn’t the player the Bulls needed him to be.  And while I will never write off any player at his lowest point, it seems unlikely that Boozer will be able to grow and become that guy.  

-  Then again, people said that about Pau Gasol after his first Finals with the Lakers, and he proceeded to go out and win them two more after that.

-  I don’t blame Boozer entirely.  Want to know how many times the Bulls got a shot for Boozer out of the pick and roll during the Miami series?  15 over five games.  In those sets, Boozer made 4 shots, missed 8 shots, and got fouled 3 times.  You’ll take 7 successful plays out of 15, but the Bulls just didn’t run the pick and roll with Rose and Boozer nearly enough in my opinion.  The guy has that 15-footer in his repertoire, but the Bulls never used it.  Rose didn’t trust Boozer, Thibodeau didn’t trust Boozer, and he repaid them with poor performances.

-  As good as Derrick Rose is – and he is tremendous – I still don’t believe that he sees the court all that well.  Rose averaged 6.6 assists per game in the Heat series, but he took 24 shots per game, managing to shoot only 35%.  He has a scorer’s mentality, very much like a LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, but I’m not sure that can work for a guy who is supposed to be the point guard.  He certainly isn’t a danger in the pick and roll, and that seems to be a huge weakness for a point guard.

-  That shot Rose hit over LeBron to give the Bulls their final basket of the game, though, that was an impossible shot.  Rose made a lot of impossible shots in the series, many more than LeBron or anyone else.

-  The Bulls looked worn down throughout the series, and obviously didn’t play well in the fourth quarters of games 2 through 5.  I think the Bulls spent so much energy during the regular season, playing fantastic defense and pushing themselves to those 62 wins, that they didn’t have a lot left in the tank for this series.  You can’t blame them for going for the best record, but it’s fair to question the pace they played at throughout the regular season and the energy they exerted in games of marginal import.

-  People are going to say that the Bulls need to improve their shooting guard spot next season, and they may.  But you can’t just plug in a scorer and hope for success.  The ideal shooting guard next to Derrick Rose needs to be tall enough to not be a defensive liability, able to hit open threes, and occasionally able to create off the dribble.  He cannot be a guy who needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective.

If I’m the Bulls, I call the Pistons about Rip Hamilton.  Yes, he’s old and very overpaid.  He’s also big, solid defensively, he makes open shots, he knows how to win in the Playoffs, and you can get him for practically nothing – like Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, and the 30th pick.  The nice part about a Hamilton trade, though, is that you can help resolve your shooting guard issue without using up your mid-level trade exception, giving you a chance to throw some money at another player at least the equal of either Korver or Brewer.  Maybe you talk Thaddeus Young into coming to play with you, or Glen Davis or Troy Murphy as a backup big.

-  Final thought about the Bulls.  Winning is really, really hard.