Hours after the lastest installment of the John Paxson saga, the Bulls went back to business on the hardwood. Playing two big men down the Bulls hoped to rebound from a disappointing loss going into the All Star Break.
The Bucks entered the game as the 8 seed in the East but missing 3 key players, Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Luke Ridnour. With Scott Skiles at the helm, this is no excuse to not bring the intensity. The Bucks did just that attacking the basket every chance they had leading to foul trouble for the already depleated frontcourt.
The Bulls needed a spark from somewhere and got it from the two men most impacted by the days prior trade, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng. Luol started the game by taking the Bulls first five shots and ended the first quarter in double figures. Watching Deng go to the basket reminds us why he received a hefty contract prior to this season. Deng finished the game with 21 points on 9 of 17 from the field.
With an uncertain future, Hinrich left everything he had on that court. Captain Kirk scored a career high 31 points on 8-14 from the field dropping 5 treys. More importantly his defense absolutely shut down the likes of Ramon Sessions and Charlie Bell who combined to go 8-25 from the field. While rumors lurk over Kirk's head, this reporter believes his backcourt defense is irreplaceable. Kirk had 4 steals, all leading to Bulls conversions.
Ben Gordon and Derek Rose each added 18 points, but it took Gordon 15 shots to get there, many of these wild off balance shots that we are accustomed to seeing from the undersized guard. Aaron Gray quietly pulled in 7 rebounds off the bench filling in nicely for Noc and Gooden's minutes. Gray will likely see a large drop in tick with the entrace of Brad Miller on Friday when the Bulls take on the streaking Denver Nuggets. The defense of Kirk Hinrich will be intrical to stopping Chauncey Billups and the fast paced Nugget offense. Let's hope the former franchise point guard is still checking in with 4 minutes to go in the first quarter.
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