Nuggets @ Bulls. Keys to a Bulls victory.

[ChiTownCliff]

Well, to a small extent tonights game is important for the Bulls. The Bulls have three more home games before the dreaded circus trip and with a record of 2-3 things could get ugly. They need to win at least 2 of the next 3 if not all three before heading out west. So let us look at what the Bulls need to do to get a win tonight at home against the Nuggets.

1. Get the ball to Noah in the post on offense. The Nuggets are being forced to play small ball without Nene, Anderson, and Martin. That means that Noah will likely see either Sheldon Williams or Harrington on him and Noah should have his way if that is the case. Noah might not be a top shelf scorer in the paint but with a shorter and weaker player Noah should be able to get his hook shot off. I like Noah to have another insane game tonight. Perhaps 22 points, 16 rebounds, and 2-3 blocks. NoaH is also fast enough on the open floor to keep up with whatever small-ball group is on the floor for the Nuggets.

2. Get help defense on Carmelo Anthony. It is very likely that Melo will be at the power forward spot were he could cause some major issues for Taj Gibson. Gibson is already a player that is quick to get fouls and he will likely have 2 fouls within the first 6 minutes of the game if the Bulls cannot rotate and help out. Force Melo to pass. Make somebody else score.

3. Run plays for Luol Deng. Deng could have a big night. He may have to guard Melo so he might also get into foul trouble but on offense I am not sure who they will throw at him. It could be Forbes and that would equate into Deng putting on a show. It really comes down to if Nene is going to be in the game or not, but from what I have seen and read it looks like the Nuggets will be going with a small-ball game and with Deng's height and length he might very well put up some big scoring numbers if his shot is on.

4. Rose needs to be aggressive. Billups has given Rose problems in the past and Billups is a pretty good defender, but I tink he might have a issue with Rose's quickness and we could see another double team on Rose whenever he has the ball in his hands. Rose needs to be aggressive and split those doubles and make the Nuggets pay. Rose is pretty good at taking the shots that are given to him and making the right pass when he has no shot. Rose is simply going to have to put pressure on the Nuggets and make good choices with the ball.

5. Limit C.J. Watson's playing time. Thsi guy is killing us. As soon as Rose sits and this guy comes in we become a horrid team. he dribbles way to much and never takes open shots. The guy is a joke. We could be ahead by 5 and then be down by 8 within 4-5 minutes with this guy in the game. This is a two fold problem. One, Rose is simply out and we clearly suffer because of this, and two, Watson sucks and cannot run an offense to save his life. I would rather see Bogans run the offense. Rose is going to start to have to play near 40 minutes a night if the Bulls want to stay around .500 until Boozer steps in. We also have to start looking for another back p PG, because we will never contend for anything with this guy out there. We should have spent the extra 500,000 per and signs Luke Ridnour. Oh well.

Prediction. I think the Bulls can win this game and will. they have size and talent out there and the Nuggets are dealing with injuries. The one thing that I could he happening and it will drive me crazy is if the Nuggets start nailing threes like the Knicks did last week. The Nuggets have some good shooters and Bulls have not really been playing great defense this season so far. The Bulls need to use their size and length and pester the Nuggets and try to control the tempo.

Bulls 109 Nuggets 102. Rose scores 25 with 8 assists. Noah scores 22 with 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. Deng scores 19.

 

[X]

good read.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

My score prediction is the same as your's (minus 9 points for the Bulls).

 

[ChiTownCliff]

My score prediction is the same as your's (minus 9 points for the Bulls).

So have a Bulls 100 Nuggets 102 loss?

Sad. This is one of those games I question watching as it could make me go insane. That Knicks game and the Celtics game had me so pissed off. I am not sure I could handle another close call.

 

[WindyCity7]

Bulls defense does what it takes in victory

CHICAGO -- Tom Thibodeau knew that if his Bulls ever started playing defense they would start stringing together the type of victories that have eluded them over the past few games.

After fading down the stretch against both the Knicks and Celtics last week, Thibodeau stressed to his team that if they were going to live up to what everyone expected of them, they had to start digging deep on defense to shut down opponents in the end.

In Monday night’s 94-92 win over the Denver Nuggets at the United Center, he got his wish.

Thibodeau's bunch shut down Carmelo Anthony and company in the final nine minutes, limiting them to just 15 points, to lock up a much-needed victory.


Joakim Noah helped the Bulls pull out a win over the Nuggets, scoring 13 points and pulling down 19 rebounds."I liked our defense," Thibodeau said. "I thought it was good ... they have a lot of offensive weapons on that team and they are capable of scoring a lot of points. I thought we made them work."

That was the biggest difference for the Bulls; Instead of turning the ball over and squandering opportunites late in the game, Joakim Noah and his teammates made Denver work for each one of its points in the final few minutes.

"I feel like we executed better down the stretch," Noah said. "Especially defensively. We played some tough defense. We got some turnovers. There's still a lot of things we got to clean up, but we're happy we got a win."

Noah was one of the first to admit that the Bulls had to become mentally tougher in the final moments of games and it was clear they got the message on Monday night. The Bulls forced the Nuggets into five turnovers in the fourth quarter, playing with a hunger they haven't always shown early in the year.

"We just had too many turnovers to win on the road," Denver head coach George Karl said. "Our ball handlers can't make mistakes like that. Chicago played with passion to win the game."

As usual, nobody played with more passion than Noah.

He grabbed 19 rebounds and served as the anchor for the improved defensive unit.

"I can't say no more," Rose said of Noah's performance. "If anyone's going to ride with me on this team, I know he's going to bring it every night. I know it might take me a little time to warm up, but he's starting from the beginning, getting us a lot of energy, and he's a big piece to this team."

There was no question his teammates fed off the energy Noah provided and took Thibodeau's lessons to heart.

"Coach tells us he wants us to be active," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "Get our hands on anything we can get our hands on; blocked shots, steals, diving on the ball. Those are the things we did tonight. Guys put forth a great effort."

If the Bulls play with the same kind of effort this week, they shouldn't have any problem rolling past Golden State and Washington at home as they get set for the Circus Trip.

[+] EnlargeGary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points on Sunday, but the Bulls contained the Nuggets star in the fourth quarter.Rose and Noah praise Melo: Carmelo Anthony spent Monday morning praising Rose and the Bulls. Rose and Noah returned the favor after Anthony, whose name has been linked to the Bulls in trade rumors, dropped 32 points and took over the game at times.

"Who wouldn't want to play with Carmelo?" Rose said. "He's one of the best scorers in the league. There's no way to stop him, but I'm good with my teammates that I have now. We're building confidence with each other, trust with each other, and the decision really is not up to me. It's up to the front office, that's all I have to say about that."

After all the trade speculation that Noah and Anthony have dealt with in the past few months, it's clear that the Bulls center has a lot of respect for the Denver forward.

"I always had a lot of respect for Carmelo as a player," Noah said. "I feel like he's somebody who's obviously very talented, but also somebody who works really hard on his game in the offseason. People don't really talk about how hard he works. I always liked his demeanor as a player. I feel like he's very poised out there. To me, he's the best offensive player in the NBA."

 

[WindyCity7]

@CBoozTheBull Dream It... Believe It... Do It.... Repeat 3 Times... Now Let's Go!!!! about 4 hours ago

he better have his ass in the gym while hes tweeting these inspirational quotes & shit