Bulls At Spurs Previews

[duncan228]

Chicago (7-8) at San Antonio (7-6) Preview (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2008112624&prov=ap)
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Wed Nov 26, 2008
TV: Away: Comcast-Chicago Home: FSN-Southwest
By Mike Lipka

In his return to the court, Manu Ginobili helped the San Antonio Spurs to a win, and Tony Parker plans on pitching in soon.

When Vinny Del Negro returns to San Antonio, he’s hoping to produce the opposite result for the Spurs.

Del Negro will make his first appearance as a head coach in the city where he spent the prime of his playing career when his Chicago Bulls continue their seven-game road trip on Wednesday night.

Ginobili made his first appearance following offseason ankle surgery on Monday night, and after missing 12 games, he scored 12 points in less than 12 minutes in the Spurs’ 94-81 win at Memphis.

“I felt pretty good about it,” Ginobili said. “I didn’t rush it a lot. I took my time, found the open seam, made a couple of shots. I wasn’t thinking about a great game on my first one, so I’m happy with what I did.”

The Spurs’ leading scorer with 19.5 points per game last season, Ginobili is still working his way back into game shape, but he should help a San Antonio team that has been offensively challenged, averaging 92.8 points this season.

“It’s a tremendous boost,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “He played well. I think psychologically more than anything, having him on the floor and seeing him move around is going to be great for the team. I know it’s great for me personally because it is good to start seeing our team getting back to full strength.”

Parker has missed eight games, also with an ankle injury, but San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said he could return in less than two weeks.

The Spurs (7-6) have managed to stay afloat without their stars, winning six of eight games without Parker. They’ve tightened their defense over that span, holding opponents to an average of 84.3 points. The Grizzlies shot just 39.0 percent from the field on Monday.

Chicago (7-8) will hope to do better, having topped 100 points in three straight games while shooting over 50 percent in two of them.

The Bulls have also allowed 100 or more points in each of the first five games of their trip, but they’ve won two of their last three, including a 101-100 victory Monday against a Utah team that had been unbeaten at home this season after going 37-4 in Salt Lake City in 2007-08.

Rookie Derrick Rose had 25 points and nine assists for the Bulls, and though his attempt at a game-winning shot clanged off the rim, it bounced to Larry Hughes, who hit a buzzer-beater for the victory.

“Derrick was penetrating, making plays for himself and finding people, so I just wanted to get the ball in his hands,” Del Negro said. “He’s only going to get better as the season goes along.”

Del Negro played six seasons in San Antonio from 1992-98 and was Duncan’s teammate during the No. 1 overall pick’s rookie season in 1997-98. He averaged a career-high 14.5 points in 1995-96, when he started all 82 games.

Now a rookie coach, Del Negro started for the Spurs against the Bulls on March 14, 1998, when Chicago earned a 96-86 road win behind 30 points from Michael Jordan.

But since then, the Bulls are 3-16 against the Spurs, including 1-8 in San Antonio. Chicago averaged 79.5 points against San Antonio while losing both meetings last season.

Notes:

Bulls:

F Luol Deng returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore left groin. He came off the bench and played 14 minutes, scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting. ... The Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak at EnergySolutions Arena. ... The Bulls have now allowed 100 or more points in five straight games.

Spurs:

The Spurs won for the sixth time in seven games and have now won four of the last five against Memphis. ... The Spurs got past the .500 mark for the first time this season.. ... Duncan averaged 23.1 points on 59 percent shooting in his first eight games at Memphis, but managed just 14 points on 6 of 18 shooting.. ... Roger Mason has started eight straight in place of the injured Parker. Mason shot 50 percent from the field and was perfect from behind the arc going 5-for-5.

Team Stat Leaders

Points

Ben Gordon Chi 20.2
Tony Parker SA 27.4

Rebounds

Drew Gooden Chi 8.5
Tim Duncan SA 10.1

Assists

Derrick Rose Chi 5.7
Tony Parker SA 5.8

Team Stat Comparison:

Bulls

PPG B. Gordon 20.2
RPG D. Gooden 8.5
APG D. Rose 5.7
FT% B. Gordon .893
3PT% L. Hughes .429
BLK T. Thomas 25
STL D. Gooden 17

Spurs

PPG T. Duncan 21.8
RPG T. Duncan 10.1
APG T. Duncan 3.3
FT% T. Parker .889
3PT% R. Mason .529
BLK T. Duncan 22
STL R. Mason 12

Injuries

Chicago

K. Hinrich Thumb
M. Ruffin Ankle

San Antonio

T. Parker Ankle

[tomtom]

Hill on Rose should be an interesting matchup. Bulls are really streaky, they played really good against the lakers but they got blown out like 40 plus points to the blazers?? Not sure what to expect

[completely deck]

Chicago beat Utah because they were without both Williams and Boozer, I think.

[boutons_]

Expect they won't play defense, so all the Spurs have to do is hit their shots at a good percentage, like in the high 40s.

[xtremesteven33]

Very beatable team.....at the level weve been playing lately, i expect a 10+ point margin victory.

[SpursDynasty]

If Hill and Mason keep it up, at what ever point Parker returns we'll be unstoppable. As for the final 69 games of the season, given that we're at full strength for the majority of it...I say about a 57-12 record from here on out...

[Brazil]

Very beatable team.....at the level weve been playing lately, i expect a 10+ point margin victory.

wow ! Rose is very impressive, I would not bet on a easy win.

[angelbelow]

i cant wait for hill vs rose. im very curious to see how hill does defensively.

[Brazil]

It will be a good test!

[duncan228]

Luol Deng slowly works himself back into shape (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-26-bulls-bits-chicagonov26,0,2282646.story)
By Jay Nanda

SAN ANTONIO — The Bulls may have achieved two victories Monday night at Utah.

Not only did they register a thrilling 101-100 triumph over the Jazz on Larry Hughes' jumper at the buzzer to improve to 2-3 on the West Coast portion of their circus trip, but they got forward Luol Deng back in the fold as well.

Deng contributed two points, one rebound, one assist and three turnovers in 15 minutes. Considering he had missed the previous three games with a sore left hamstring, however, he likes the way he's progressing heading into Wednesday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT & T Center.

"The first game back was testing out my hamstring, try to see how it feels," Deng said after Tuesday's practice. "Just try to give the team some minutes. It's definitely difficult [getting timing back]. I haven't been taking shots or working on my game. I totally shut down my hamstring, tried to get it back to full strength. Now I'm trying to get my rhythm back as fast as I can."

Deng's return comes at a good time for the Bulls. The Spurs have won five of their last six but are only 3-4 at home on the season.

"I'm definitely not 100 percent," Deng said. "But I didn't want to be out too many games, or the rhythm would take even longer."

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro isn't taking Deng's conditioning for granted.

"Last night he got winded a little bit," Del Negro said. "You want to be cautious with his hamstring, but he'll get back into the flow of things. [If not Wednesday,] we'll have a couple of good practices before our next game, with the holiday. It's just a matter of getting him out there and into a little bit of a rhythm."

Contending with Ginobili: The Spurs welcomed back guard Manu Ginobili, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, on Monday. Ginobili, who sprained his left ankle Aug. 22 when he and Argentine teammate Andres Nocioni lost to the United States at the Beijing Olympics, had off-season surgery on it. Ginobili scored 12 points and had four rebounds in 11 minutes of action in a 94-81 victory Monday at Memphis.

"I wish Manu took an extra week off," Del Negro said with a straight face. "He's such a talented player, such a great competitor. With Tony Parker and Manu being out, no question it's going to affect anything you do.

"They compete at a high level. They have had their share of injuries like everyone, and we just have to come ready to play and take advantage of whatever we can."

The Spurs have been without Parker, the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, since he sprained his left ankle Nov. 7.

Layups: Del Negro spent half of his 12-year playing career with the Spurs (1992-98). He missed out on San Antonio's first NBA championship in the lockout-shortened 1999 season, a year after the Bulls' sixth championship. Del Negro still holds the Spurs' record of 50 consecutive free throws made. "It's always good to come back to San Antonio and see some old friends," Del Negro said. "You always have a tough challenge against the Spurs, such a great organization and great team for so many years." … While the Bulls have scored 100 or more points in four of their five games on the trip, the Spurs have not allowed 100 points in 10 of 11 games this month. The one blip on San Antonio's radar was a 129-125 double-overtime win Nov. 5 at Minnesota.

[Blackjack]

i cant wait for hill vs rose. im very curious to see how hill does defensively.

Davis and Billups overpowered him at times, so I'm interested in seeing how he fares against another big/physical guard.

The one thing I do know is, Hill isn't going to back down. Should be fun to watch Hill vs. Rose, and Hill vs. Gordon.:corn:

[pawe]

Rose looks like a street brawler and he plays like one too.
Hill doesnt have to score 20 (still wouldnt mind if he does), Id rather see him limit rose's production by making him take tough shots to take away offensive contributions from other players.

[duncan228]

Wednesday: Bull (7-8) at Spurs (7-6) (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Wednesday_Bull_7-8_at_Spurs_7-6.html)
By Jeff McDonald

Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: FSNSW
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350

STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - BULLS

PG - 8 Roger Mason (6-5, 5th yr) - 1 Derrick Rose (6-3, 1st yr)
Another game, another talented rookie vs. Spurs: Rose was top pick in June draft.

SG - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 7 Ben Gordon (6-3, 5th yr)
Gordon has moved to shooting guard with Kirk Hinrich sidelined.

SF - 12 Bruce Bowen (6-7, 13th yr) - 32 Larry Hughes (6-5, 11th yr)
Bowen helped frustrated O.J. Mayo in Spurs' victory in Memphis.

PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 90 Drew Gooden (6-10, 7th yr)
Duncan no longer has to carry offense, a change from first few games.

C - 7 Fabricio Oberto (6-10, 4th yr) - 13 Joakim Noah (6-11, 2nd yr)
Spurs can go small and use Duncan in this slot.

SPURS RESERVES

15 Matt Bonner, F, 6-10, 5th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 7th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
35 Anthony Tolliver, C, 6-8, 1st yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr

BULLS RESERVES

9 Luol Deng, G/F, 6-9, 5th yr
34 Aaron Gray, C, 7-0, 2nd yr
11 Lindsey Hunter, G, 6-2, 16th yr
5 Andres Nocioni, F, 6-7, 5th yr
2 Thabo Sefolosha, G, 6-7, 3rd yr
15 Cedric Simmons, F, 6-9, 3rd yr
24 Tyrus Thomas, F, 6-9, 3rd yr

COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Bulls: Vinny Del Negro

INJURIES

Spurs: Tony Parker (left ankle sprain) is out.

Bulls: Deng (left hamstring strain) is questionable. Gooden (right ankle sprain) and Rose (right hip bruise) are probable. Michael Ruffin (sprained left ankle) and Kirk Hinrich (torn ulnar collateral ligament) are out.

PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS

Spurs: Parker, Blake Ahearn, Ian Mahinmi.

Bulls: Hinrich, Ruffin.

NOTABLE

Del Negro, a Spurs guard from 1992-93 to 1997-98, makes his coaching debut in San Antonio. ... After allowing 105.2 points per game over their first five games, the Spurs are now allowing 92.2, fifth-best in the league.

[TDMVPDPOY]

spurs 16-3? lets keep it that way

[duncan228]

Bulls resume trip at San Antonio (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nba/news/news.aspx?id=4193810)

(Sports Network) - The Chicago Bulls make their next stop on a season-high seven-game road swing Wednesday when they arrive in the Alamo City to take on the San Antonio Spurs.

The Bulls improved to 2-3 on the trek Monday when Larry Hughes scored 16 points, including the game-winning jumper at the buzzer, as Chicago handed Utah its first loss at home this season, 101-100.

Rookie star Derrick Rose chipped in 25 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who have won two of three overall and triumphed for the first time in Utah since November 24, 2004. Drew Gooden gave 18 points and Ben Gordon 15 in the victory.

Chicago will finish the trip in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Meanwhile, San Antonio received a big boost in Memphis Monday when they welcomed Manu Ginobili back to the lineup. Ginobili scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds in his first action of the season, as the Spurs jumped out to a big lead and then staved off Memphis for a 94-81 victory to move above .500 for the first time this season.

The Spurs' leading scorer last season with a 19.5 average, Ginobili missed the preseason and the first 12 games of the season after recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle. The 6-foot-6 Argentine was hurt during his country's semifinal loss to the United States at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

"You appreciate getting 12 points in 11 minutes," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich of Ginobili. "It was a great contribution. He looked as good as he's looked in the past couple practices. I didn't want to play him too much, but I was really pleased that he got his rhythm back so quickly."

George Hill chipped in 20 points and Roger Mason had 18 for the Spurs, who continue to play without All-Star point guard Tony Parker (ankle) but have won two in a row and five of six overall. Tim Duncan ended with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Parker, who has missed eight games, should be back in about two weeks.

The Spurs have dominated the series between the two teams recently, winning 12 of 14 and 16 of the last 19 meetings. Meanwhile, San Antonio has won eight of nine against the Bulls in the Alamo City.

[DROB4EVER]

I can wait to see how Hill matches up with Rose. We should be able to win this game by at least 7-10pts. The Bulls are real poor defenders.

Check out A Grey for Chi tonight, he is a player I would like to see the spurs get. He is slow but 7ft young a solid rebounder and changes some shots....wouldnt be bad as a backup and I dont think he fits the Bulls style of play so they may be willing to deal him for a second rounder.

[duncan228]

A couple of Bulls blogs.

Bulls vs Spurs. The Circus Trip remembers the Alamo. (http://www.iblogbulls.com/2008/11/bulls-vs-spurs-circus-trip-remembers.html)

Before the Bulls embarked on this season's version of the wild wild west tour, I had marked three games on the schedule as winnable, Golden State, Utah and San Antonio, primarily because of injuries to key players. While the Spurs got Manu Ginobilli back on Monday, without Tony Parker running the show, the Spurs are still vulnerable.

The Bulls are coming off a thrilling last second victory in Utah. Larry Hughes grabbed a fortunate rebound, stepped into a shot at the buzzer they had me shouting "No Larry, No...YES!" The Bulls should be feeling very good about themselves with a record of 7-8 and 2-3 on this trip. The other good news on Monday night was the return of Luol Deng from a hamstring injury. Derrick Rose took another game over down the stretch and led the Bulls with 25 points. Ben Gordon sort of broke out of his slump shooting 6-14 from the field. Noah is still out of shape, Drew Gooden is our best big man and Tyrus is hiding in a shell somewhere.

The Spurs have won five of their last six after starting the season 2-5. The team will benefit from the return of last season's leading scorer and all around flopper Manu Ginobilli. Ginibolli scored 12 points in under 12 minutes in his return Monday against the inept Grizzlies. Tony Parker is out for at least another week. Tim Duncan has been shouldering the load in the absence of Parker and Ginobilli and is having one of his best seasons in years. The Spurs have done a great job of adding talent at the end of the draft and from other people's benches, this year is no exception. Roger Mason has played very well early in the season, and George Hill from IUPUI looks like another steal. Coach Popovich has won four rings with this crew, so he knows what he is doing.

Tim Duncan is not my mine concern in this game, he will get his 20 and 10 and play a solid all around game. In fact, I would prefer if he scored 35 or 40, because that means their offense is out of balance. The key tonight will be playing a smart defensive game, the Spurs beat teams with an inside out approach that relies of crisp passes and swinging the ball around the court. The Spurs will attack the basket at times, though their best player off the dribble Parker is out and Manu will be slowed coming off the injury. Offensively, the Bulls have to continue taking good shots, sharing the ball and pushing the tempo. The Spurs an older team who can be run off the floor. While a difficult task, back to back wins on the road would give the Bulls team big boost heading into the long holiday weekend.

On the injury front, Kirk Hinrich and Michael Ruffing are out, everyone should play. The Spurs will be without Tony Parker.

Probable Starters

Spurs

C - Fabricio Oberto
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Bruce Bowen
SG - Michael Finley
PG - Roger Mason

Bulls

C - Joakim Noah
PF - Drew Gooden
SF - Luol Deng (please)
SG - Ben Gordon
PG - Derrick Rose

Know thy enemy by checking out 48 Minutes of Hell. (http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com/)

[duncan228]

Game Preview #16 - Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs (http://www.blogabull.com/2008/11/26/673415/game-preview-16-chicago-bu)

Gametime: 7:30pm
Channel: Comcast SportsNet
Bulls: 7-8 (2-3 on current west coast swing)
Spurs: 7-6 (4-2 @ home)

The Spurs are still missing Tony Parker, while Manu is back from injury. As always with the Bulls, the question is will our frontcourt come to play? If they can limit the Spurs second chance points, I believe the Bulls should be able to get out and run. Look for D. Rose to really push the tempo tonight....depending on Tyrus, Drew and Joakim cleaning the glass.

Before I launch into a rant, I'm actually predicting a Bulls win tonight:

Bulls 111
Spurs 104

Random Thoughts:

Can Tyrus learn fundamentals from Duncan by virtue of Osmosis?

Who will win the battle of South American floppers; Manu or Noc?

Can Bowen stick his foot under Hughes' foot when he shoots a J, and take him out of commission for a few weeks? (errr....just joking)

Seriously...

When discussing the Spurs, the obvious focus is on the Big Fundamental himself, Tim Duncan. Secondary focus is placed on two great complimetary parts, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. This franchise has been arguably the model franchise for the past 10 years. The Bulls...well....they haven't even been an average franchise over the last 10 years. Actually, there's been a few years in which an argument could be made that they didn't field a franchise at all.

The Spurs have a great piece to build around in Tim Duncan. We believe the Bulls have stumbled upon a great piece as well in D.Rose. Now here comes the primary difference between the two franchises as I see it:

Who do you place more faith in to build a team around a star: The team of Pop and R.C. Buford or the Paxson's?

Now granted, the Spurs did stumble across Tim Duncan by virtue of David Robinson getting hurt the previous season, and then tanking the season to increase their chances of landing the #1 pick. Even so, Pop and Buford have done a great job of putting the correct pieces in place to complement Duncan, especially during the 2003, 2005, and 2007 championship runs.

Do you really trust the Paxson's (John, Jim, Lil Marine Ryan or even Grandpa Paxson) to find the right pieces to place around Mr. Rose. Pax has drafted solid players, don't get me wrong: Deng, Gordon, Hinrich, as well as potential solid players in Noah and Thomas....and maybe Sefolosha. Solid, but not spectacular.

Meanwhile, the Spurs have drafted Tony Parker, Manu, Luis Scola and even Leandro Barbosa...with very late first round or second round picks. They even seem to have landed a steal this year with the choice of George Hill out of IUPUI.

Hell, even Crumbs Krause drafted "Scott" Pippen out of Central Arkansas, Ho. Grant, B.J. Armstrong, Toni Kukoc from the other side of the world, Ron Artest, Tyson Chandler and Elton Brand.

Point is...Do you really trust Paxson to put the pieces in place(as Dave Wannstedt would say)?

Bloggin' with the Enemy: Pounding the Rock (http://www.poundingtherock.com/), 48 Minutes of Hell (http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com/)

[mrspurs]

Easy game to predict. If the Spurs hit half of their 3s we win. If the Spurs miss half their 3s it might be a tough game to win. Duncan should have a decent game. Although the Bulls are bigger then some of the last teams Timmy has played against lately. Our homecourt should be and advantage. It will be nice togo .500 at home.