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Bulls lose close one to Magic
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AP/Charles Rex Arbogast
While making my way from the tunnel of the United Center, to the floor during last nights preseason game against the Magic (6-0), I noticed Jameer Nelson and Jason Williams joking around before making their way to the floor to shoot around. I made my way behind them and as we got closer to the floor all three of us were surprised to see Bulls (5-2) center Jerome James “running” wind sprints.
Let’s just say things were said and we moved on.
The first 43 minutes were basic preseason intensity. Although both teams made runs, they both kept it close.
It was great to see the Bulls respond to the intensity picking up within the last five minutes, when Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, re-inserted his starting lineup back into the ball game. The Bulls could have pulled it out if it wasn’t for some crucial breakdowns.
Final Score 101-98
The Bulls were led by John Salmons (19 points), who was very aggressive in trying to get himself going after missing the previous game due to the birth of his child. Kirk Hinrich (18 points) hit several big shots down the stretch, including a three pointer in front of the out-stretched hand of Dwight Howard (18 points. 10 rebounds).
I made my way to the Magic locker room as the players were watching the end of the San Diego/Denver Monday Night Football game, joking around and enjoying a nice spread of food.
I asked Howard does he feel the intensity of these games picking up as we’re getting close to the start of the regular season?
“It has to. We have two more games before the season starts, It’s no more time for fun and games. It’s time for everybody to get going.”
Being one of the top teams in the East, and Eastern Conference champions, last season, the Magic are not even considered favorites to come out of the east this season and some have them as the fourth or fifth best team in the league. It’s mainly due to their defensive intensity, which you could say is not one of their strengths and after the game Howard spoke on that;
“I’m not happy with our defensive effort, it wasn’t there. We made a lot of good plays towards the end of the game, but for forty-eight minutes we didn’t bring the effort that we need to be a championship caliber team. That’s what we’re working for and that’s what we got to get better at.”
Even though this was the Bulls second loss in preseason, rookies James Johnson and Taj Gibson look like their going to give fans and the organization a lot to be happy about. I asked Luol Deng (10 pts, 7 rebs) his take on both;
“They been great. I think they’re going to help us out a lot during the season. I think they make us a deeper team. They’ve been working hard and I’m proud of them and they really fit into the team, great.”
GAME NOTES
Derrick Rose also did some light sprinting before the game. He said he’s “eighty percent,” ready to go, but word is he could miss the season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.
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