"Carlos Boozer has yet to make his Bulls debut, but he still had an impact on the Bulls' 92-83 loss to the Bucks in Tuesday's exhibition opener at Bradley Center. Coach Tom Thibodeau, making his own debut, said Boozer's hand injury will prompt him to try lineups featuring Joakim Noah at power forward and Omer Asik at center during the preseason. "Size is the big thing," Thibodeau said. "Any time you can have two 7-footers on the floor together, it gives you an opportunity to shut the lane down. I also want to see if Jo can play with Kurt (Thomas)." That the veteran Thomas entered in the third quarter when Asik did in the first should shed some light on how Asik fared in his NBA debut. The 7-foot Turkish center, acquired to mild fanfare in 2008, admitted to nerves beforehand, even while saying he's still not comfortable granting interviews in English. Thirty-eight seconds after entering late in the first quarter, Asik drew an offensive foul for an illegal screen. Otherwise, Asik looked tentative and stiff with flashes of physical play, finishing with two points, four rebounds and three fouls in 17 minutes. "We started him on our system this summer," Thibodeau said. "Now, I want to see if he can do it against NBA-caliber players. I thought he did well internationally. But this game is different. "Each day, he has gotten better and better. He's big. He's physical. He's smart. The preseason will be a chance to measure him. We have a lot of new players we need to get on the same page." Indeed, you couldn't throw a bounce pass without hitting a Bull making his debut." Read more:http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-1006-bulls-chicago--20101005,0,1447354.story Mods, please up, I used this article for Bulls front page news. Thanks.
I really liked Asik's play with the exception of his free throws. It was much better than we could have expected. I just hope Stacey King, Neil Funk and Co. learn how to fucking pronounce his name, because you know, they're the teams HOME ANNOUNCERS and everything. He was constantly looking to help on defense though he really doesn't have a good idea how to pick his spots. The intention is there and the rest will come. He grabbed a couple of good boards and didn't some pushing in the paint. Asik could be a starting caliber center by the end of the season. I really liked the steal Asik got whistled for in the second quarter. It wasn't a foul, but he moved so fast that it was a reaction call. I think it takes time for referees to learn what players are capable of with out committing a foul, and that is part of the reason rookies get so many marginal things called on them. Asik has the type of quickness that is unusual for a player his size. Now those free throws . . . Christ, they have to find a solution for that.
