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Bulls rout Wizards to close preseason
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Gilbert Arenas tries to grab a loose ball in front of Bulls guard Lindsey Hunter.
The title could have been, Bulls 93, Wizards 70.
It would have done both teams justice and we could all get to enduring a week off until regular season play begins on Thursday when the San Antonio Spurs come to town.
With Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo all sitting out this game, the Bulls (6-2) rolled out a starting lineup consisting of Lindsey Hunter, John Salmons, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah against a Wizards (4-4) team only missing Antawn Jamison, who will be out atleast 3 weeks as he's rehabbing from a right shoulder injury suffered in a game against Cleveland last week.
The Bulls started the first quarter missing 16 of their first 18 shots, but the Wizards didn't capitalize as the score stood 18-15 after the opening period.
It was pretty much as competitive as the Wizards would be, as they were outscored the last three quarters 78-52.
It got so bad, that at one point at the end of the third, fans were paying more attention to the antics of Benny the Bull than the action on the floor.
"You know what happens when you miss shots?" Wizards coach Flip Saunders asked. "That sucks the energy out of you. At one time, we were shooting 9 percent in the third quarter. When you're shooting that bad, you're always back in transition."
It was clear after such abysmal shooting, the Wizards just wanted the game to end and to get prepared to start their season opener Tuesday at Dallas.
The Bulls were led by Thomas (19 pts, 6 rebs), Brad Miller (18 pts, 6 rebs, 7asts) Noah (13 pts, 16 rebs) and Salmons (14 pts.)
The lone brightspots for the Wiz being Andray Blatche's 14 pts and 8 rebs and Randy Foye's 11, including a nasty one-handed jam over Taj Gibson that truly was his welcome to the NBA moment.
For the Bulls, it gives them a high note going into the season and the fact that they've played well throughout preseason without Rose for much of it, has to give everyone an extra boost of confidence.
"We are deeper, more versatile," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We have continuity that needs to be built. That will come when we get our whole group together."
That group should include Rose, as he practiced with the team on Thursday and might be ready to go, despite Del Negro having concerns about his readiness to start the season.
The attitude in both locker rooms was one of relief and anxiousness to start the season.
With preseason now finally in the rear-view, game number one comes against an opponent that will be on a mission from tip-off.
When asked about the teams readiness for the season opener without the roster a full health, Del Negro replied; "Hopefully, it works out. We have a tough opening schedule so I'm just trying to get some good practice as a unit together so we can move to the next phase and that's the regular season games."
Wizards vs. Bulls
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