Bulls Drop 7th Straight In 108-95 Loss To Miami

The Bulls were without their top three scorers with Rose (wrist), Deng (knee) and Noah (foot) all out with injuries against the Miami Heat. While Chicago did manage to keep the game somewhat competitive, it's not surprising that the Heat emerged victorious in 108-95 victory dropping the Bulls to 31-34, losers of seven in a row.

Chicago will have a couple of days off before their next game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday but something tells me that will not be enough time to heal the team's walking wounded. To add insult on top of injury, Kirk Heinrich was assessed a one-game suspension for making contact with a referee while questioning a call late in the game against Miami.

With potentially four players out against Memphis, the Bulls may be in danger of dropping their 8th straight game and falling even further from the playoff radar as they already trail the Bobcats by two full games with only only 17 games remaining in the season. Head coach Vinny Del Negro has stated that the team needs to keep fighting and try to find ways to win games. However, it doesn't appear that their roster is built to win many games when key players are out with injuries. Even if the Bulls do manage to get all of their players back before the end of the season, it may too late for them to make a playoff push.

James Tillman III

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Bulls' Downward Spiral Continues With Latest 111-82 Loss

The Bulls kind of limped into the all-star break with a record of 25-26. They turned things around though winning four consecutive games and six of seven overall to reach a season high 4 games over the .500 mark at 31-27. At the time, the Bulls seemed poised to overtake the Raptors for the fifth spot in the East but a lot has changed over the last couple of weeks.

The Bulls have lost six consecutive games including last night's game (if you can call it that), to the Orlando Magic. The game was pretty much over after the first half as the Magic enjoyed a 65-33 lead. With Loul Deng and Joakim Noah out of the lineup, the Bulls have suffered to say the least. If things weren't bad enough, Derrick Rose had to leave the game after being fouled by Dwight Howard due to a sprained wrist. There is no timetable for how long he may be out or if he will need to miss any time at all.

With the loss the Bulls are now 1.5 games out of the last spot in the East and the schedule doesn't get any easier with Heat and Mavericks coming up. The Bulls were a decent team when everyone was healthy but they can not afford to have a bunch of players injured and still be able to compete with the elite teams in the league. Their record now stands at 31-33 and I thought for sure that they would improve on the 41-41 mark from a season ago. Now they have to win 10 of their remaining 18 games just to tie that mark. I hate to say this as a fan but there is a good chance they may not make the playoffs and there is not much to look forward to if they do. If they were unable to beat a short-handed Boston Celtic team in the post-season last year, it's impossible to see them beating Cleveland or Orlando in a first round series, especially if they are not a full strength which seems inevitable for the time being. The countdown for next year will soon begin unless the Bulls are able to turn things around in a hurry.

James Tillman

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Bulls Lose 4th In A Row to Mavs 122-116

Not too long ago, things were looking up for the Chicago Bulls. They had come out of the all-star break winning four straight and six of seven overall with a season high four games over the .500 mark (31-27). However, injuries and inconsistent play on the defensive end, have the Bulls right back at the .500 mark following their latest 122-116 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

It seems that every time the Bulls were in striking distance in this game, the Mavericks had an answer. The Bulls closed within 54-51 with less than three minutes left in the second quarter but the Mavericks went on a 12-4 run to take a 66-55 lead into halftime. In the forth quarter, the Bulls had again picked up momentum as they closed within 98-94 after Dallas lead 94-80. Chicago seemed poise to finally overtake the Mavericks but Dallas had other plans. Dirk Nowitzki would score on the next possession and Caron Butler would follow with a three pointer stretching the lead to 103-94.

It's hard to tell from the final score but the Bulls outscored the Mavericks 36-28 in the final period but they couldn't seem to get a stop if their lives depended on it. The Mavericks shot 57% from the field and and almost 41% from three-point lead. No matter how good of a team you are, you won't win many games when allowing an opponent to shoot at such a high percentage. Clearly, not having Noah in the lineup puts the Bulls at a disadvantage with on the defensive end and also on the glass. Joakim Noah will be out for the next few weeks, so the Bulls will somehow have to find a way to fill that void while he's out.

With the loss, the Bulls fell into 8th place in the Conference standings and only have a half game lead over the ninth place Charlotte Bobcats. Head coach Vinny Del Negro has stated that the team needs more bench production but I think that it has to be an all around effort on both ends of the floor. This game proves that no matter how many points your team scores, you will lose the game if you are not able to get key stops down the stretch. With exactly 20 games left, the Bulls are going to need to win a number of games if they hope to avoid facing the either of the top two teams in the first round.

James Tillman

Noah's Injury Latest Blow To Bulls Playoff Push

The good news is that the Chicago Bulls are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and trail the fifth place Toronto Raptors by only half a game despite being just 31-29. The unfortunate news is that Joakim Noah will have to miss at least the next three weeks due to plantar fasciitis which is a big void to say the least. Before his injury, Noah was averaging a double-double and was second in the league in rebounding averaging almost twelve per game. It’s really sad that he is forced to sit out after making so many strides from the player he was a year ago. Joakim Noah always played with energy for the most part but the he seemed to struggle on both ends of the floor throughout most of last season. With Brad Miller’s production also declining due to an ailing knee and logging heavy minutes, the Bulls will need to somehow find a way to fill the hole in their once promising frontcourt. The Bulls were only allowing opponents to shoot forty-three percent against them, needless to say that number will jump a bit.

If Noah’s injury wasn’t bad enough, both Loul Deng (swollen left knee), and Derrick Rose (sore right knee) are suffering from injuries as well. At one point, it appeared as if the Bulls were in good position to overtake the Raptors for the fifth seed heading down the stretch but now it seems that it will be a battle just for the team to get healthy and fill the void left with Noah’s absence. Hopefully Noah will return in time to help the Bulls make it to the post-season but what is to say that he will be at full strength three weeks from now. Head coach Vinny Del Negro states that the team just has to play with the healthy players it has and not allow the team to get down. While his attitude is a positive one, I think the injuries will more than likely prevent the Bulls from being at full strength heading into the playoffs for the second year in a row. The result will more than likely be another early exit from the post-season.