@ Game 60, Road Game 30 Sunday, April 15, 2012 – 5:00 PM CT The Palace of Auburn Hills WGN-TV / ESPN 1000 AM BULLS VS. PISTONS ALL-TIME ALL-TIME ................. Bulls trail 116-117 BULLS CURRENT STREAK.... 14 Wins BULLS HOME STREAK........... 12 Wins BULLS ROAD STREAK ..............6 Wins BULLS VS. PISTONS THIS SEASON Jan. 4 @ Detroit – BULLS WON 99-83 Jan. 9 @ Chicago – BULLS WON 92-68 March 30 @ Chicago – BULLS WON 83-71 April 15 @ Detroit – Game Notes Chicago Bulls (45-14) Home 24-6 Road 21-8 Bulls Averages: PPG: 96.8 (Opp: 88.8) RPG: 46.32 (Opp: 39.93) APG: 23.0 (Opp: 19.4) SPG: 7.07 (Opp: 7.44) BPG: 5.97 (Opp: 5.19) TO: 14.05 (Opp: 13.41) FG%: .452 (Opp: .427) FT%: .722 (Opp: .738) 3p%: .380 (Opp: .330) Probable Bulls starters Derrick Rose - PG - Richard Hamilton - SG - Luol Deng - SF - Carlos Boozer - PF - Joakim Noah - C - Bulls Stats Leaders Points:Rose 22.4, Deng 15.7 Rebounds: Noah 9.6, Boozer 8.6 Assists: Rose 7.9, Watson 4.0 Steals: Brewer 1.10, Deng 1.04 Blocks: Noah 1.39, Gibson 1.29 FG%: Boozer .534, Gibson .501 FT%: Lucas .846, Korver .831 3FG%: Korver .443, Watson .409 Injury report None to report. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report. Detroit Pistons (22-37) Home 15-13 Road 7-24 Probable Pistons starters Brandon Knight - PG Rodney Stuckey - SG Tayshaun Prince - SF Jason Maxiell - PF Greg Monroe - C Injury report None to report.
The Pistons are a respectable 5-5 in their last 10, won 3 in a row recently and are above .500 at home, but the Bulls ought to win this one handily. Good game to get Rose and Hamilton re-acclimated. Just play your game, guys.
One of those games where you just have to keep repeating to yourself, "Every win's a good win. Every win's a good win..."
I think I'm going to be overly optimistic through the remainder of the season. I was actually relatively pleased by the game -- outside of Noah and Rose pouting when they were benched in the fourth quarter. Noah had a strong game after a string of poor play, and I think he may be primed to play the best ball of his career in the playoffs. Boozer had a good game and is playing the best ball of his career with the Bulls. Same with Krover, who's hitting everything. Rip Hamilton is rounding into from: his fg% and 3pt% are above where he has historically played, and I think that his shooting may reflect all of the open looks he gets within the Bulls' offense. . . . that leaves Rose. He's still not moving as well as he did before the spate of injuries, but I think his poor play is primarily rooted in rust and not injuries. This team could be peaking at the right time. The Pistons had great performances from Stuckey, Knight, and Charlie V; and decent performances from Gordon and Monroe. The Bulls caught them on a hot streak and still pulled out a victory on the road. I was happy that the Bulls were challenged as they were and got crunch time minutes as a complete unit. The win was a bonus.
