Bulls could use a victory against Augustin, Bobcats
When December began, it was tough not to notice how the Bulls' schedule fell into two succinct categories.
First came eight games against teams that were at or below .500, followed by a very difficult stretch of eight games.
Well, the Bulls haven't exactly been rolling through the easy stretch. They are 3-3 since Dec. 1, with two opportunities remaining. They'll play at Charlotte (7-17) Tuesday night, then host the Los Angeles Clippers (6-17) on Wednesday.
The Bulls (11-12) better win while they have the chance. Because the ensuing eight games feature road dates at Boston, Detroit, Miami, Atlanta and Cleveland. Even the two home games (Utah and Orlando) won't be easy.
"It's very important," Bulls forward Drew Gooden said of these next two contests. "Those are the games we feel we're capable of winning. We want to win them all, but when you start not focusing against the teams at the bottom of the barrel and kind of let those games slip away, those are the games that will hurt you come playoff time."
Charlotte made a significant trade last week, sending leading scorer Jason Richardson to Phoenix in exchange for forward Boris Diaw and shooting guard Raja Bell. In their first game with the two new players, the Bobcats were terrible at the start against the Pistons, then cut a 29-point deficit down to 1 before finally losing at home.
Charlotte's new top scorer, forward Gerald Wallace, could miss tonight's game due to the death of his father.
The Bobcats may be getting used to a new roster, but this game should feature an interesting battle of rookie point guards. Derrick Rose (18.2 ppg, 6.3 apg) has more than lived up to his billing as the No. 1 draft pick, but Charlotte's D.J. Augustin, an unexpected choice with the No. 9 pick, isn't far behind at 13.3 points and 4.5 assists.
Those two players squared off last spring when Memphis played Texas for a spot in the Final Four. Before that game, Rose and Augustin revealed that they had been roommates and counselors at an Adidas basketball camp in New Orleans the previous summer.
They didn't become fast friends or anything, especially since Rose lived up to his billing as a reluctant talker, but Rose admitted he was outplayed by Augustin during a pickup game. The experience taught the incoming college freshman that he still needed plenty of work on his game.
When they faced off for real several months later, Rose's Memphis squad rolled to an 85-67 victory at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Rose had 21 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, compared to 16 points on 4-of-18 shooting for Augustin.
Asked about Augustin following Monday's practice, Rose wasn't very expansive.
"He's a good, smart guard," he said. "Runs the team. Athletic for his size. He's a good player."
One reason the Bobcats probably found Richardson expendable was because they've played well with a backcourt of Augustin and Raymond Felton (12.9 ppg, 6.1 apg).