Written by Dave Pustilnik
| 26 February 2010
Bulls vs. Blazers. Anyone remember that game for Sega Genesis back in the day? Pippen had the off the backboard signature dunk, am I right? Loved that game. Anyway, the Bulls host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at the UC. They finally face a team with a winning record, something they haven't done since the All-Star break. The last game against a tough opponent that I can remember off the top of my head is the game against the Orlando Magic right before the All-Star break. Well tonight definitely will not be a cake-walk.
The Blazers are a very athletic team, aside from maybe Andre Miller. And they have become much more dangerous defensively with the addition of Marcus Camby. I'm thoroughly sick of Camby, and thought we'd seen the last of him last time we played the Clippers. But nooooooo. Now we have to worry about this guy getting his hands on every freakin' ball that makes its way into the paint. I fear him more than any other defender in the NBA because he strips at least 10 balls a game. This is especially a problem for the Bulls because the Bulls are weak on the inside and have a tendency to put the ball on the ground, right where Camby can just take it away from them with his long reach and quick hands. Plus, every time the Bulls played the Clippers, it seemed like Derrick Rose was in fear of driving the lane due to Camby's presence and shot-blocking ability. He's 35, but the man is still a defensive force.
On top of that, they have Brandon Roy and LeMarcus Aldridge. What Camby provides defensively, Aldridge provides offensively. He's a silky smooth shooter and skilled player in the post. He's a little soft and not too strong, but very fundamentally sound. I think Gibson versus Aldridge is going to be the matchup to watch because both players have strong fundamentals. Although Aldridge will win the offensive battle due to his length, no doubt...Gibson will manage to win the battle on the glass. Gibson just has a nose for the ball. Aldridge is a good rebounder in his own right, averaging 8.3 a game, but the way Gibson has been rebounding lately...I give him the edge.
Brandon Roy could be a problem. Typically, the Bulls have a lot of trouble shutting down players like Roy. Although they've done a nice job on players like Danny Grainger, Roy is on another level in my opinion. There is no question that the Bullies will be focusing nearly all their attention on not allowing Brandon Roy to beat them, thus, I expect a guy like Martell Webster to have a pretty big game...kind of in the same vein as Brandon Rush the other night.
I look forward to Derrick Rose crossing over Andre Miller as many times as possible tonight. For reference, see
here. THERE'S A SNIPER IN THE BUILDING. I think Derrick will run Miller out of the building tonight, assuming Camby doesn't get in the way too much.
People are making a big issue out of Luol Deng's knee. I really don't understand why. All he did was bump knees with Josh Howard early in the game against the Wizards, and it swelled up a little bit. He still finished that game, and he's still playing tonight. The media needs to take it easy. I really expect the knee not to be an issue. And Joakim Noah is expected to play again tonight...don't know if that's good or bad. I expect him to be a non-factor due to him being hampered by his foot, so it's probably bad. And unfortunately, that's going to create some problems for the Bulls on the front-line with the combo of Camby and Aldridge.
Prediction: Bulls lose 110-104. The Blazers front line will be too talented for the Bulls to overcome without a healthy Joakim Noah. Plus Luol Deng simply won't be able to keep up with Roy's production...their talent levels just aren't on the same plain. While Derrick will do everything in his power to keep the Bulls in it...I don't think it'll be enough. Oh yeah, and I'm sure there will be some sort of tribute to mark the 1 year anniversary of the death of two Bulls legends, Johnny "Red" Kerr and "Stormin" Norman Van Lier, so keep an eye out for that.
