Don't count out Bulls' Thomas over Aldridge decision just yet

Portland won again two days after escaping Chicago with a double-overtime win. That makes the Blazers 16-1 in their last 17 games with 2006 draft picks Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge the two leading scorers.

Even though the statistics are lopsided right now, I still think it's possible the Bulls made the right move by taking Tyrus Thomas instead of Aldridge in that draft.

For one thing, it's easy to imagine Thomas turning Saturday's line of 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks against the Kings into a regular occurrence. And I also don't think Aldridge would be doing as well with the Bulls.

Aldridge scored most of his 14 points against the Bulls on jump shots. He gets good looks with the Blazers because he can play off Roy and should be a nice complement to Greg Oden in the future.

The Bulls don't have a creator of Roy's caliber, but have a glaring need for Thomas' athleticism on the front line.

So the decision to pass on Aldridge may still pay off for the Bulls. Passing on Roy could be a different story, because they then could have used Roy or Ben Gordon in a trade for a big man.

Right now, the Bulls' most glaring needs are better 3-point shooting (they rank 28th in the league) and more reliable scorers. Teams that have beaten the Bulls in recent days -- Portland, Orlando, San Antonio -- have had waves of contributors, while the Bulls usually have to count on a few players to carry the load.