After 0-2 start to trip, tougher teams await Bulls
Maybe if conditions are perfect, the Bulls might have a chance to win a road game out West.
The seven-game ice show road trip is off to a bad start, with disappointing losses to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and Golden State on Monday. Those opponents had the worst records of the seven teams the Bulls will face on this trip.
Kirk Hinrich missed the first game of the trip and John Salmons didn't play Wednesday, both because of the flu. It's possible the Bulls could be back to full strength Friday night against Phoenix, although Hinrich seemed fatigued on Wednesday, hitting just 3 of 14 shots.
The Bulls (18-22) opened a 9-point lead early in the second quarter on Wednesday. But a group of Clippers reserves turned the game around with a 25-11 run and Los Angeles led the entire second half. The Bulls trimmed a 14-point deficit to 4 in the fourth quarter, but that's where the rally stopped and the Clippers held on for a 104-97 win.
"I think we waited too late, in terms of our energy," Bulls center Joakim Noah said after the game. "We just got to play with a little more edge to us. We haven't been doing it the last couple of games."
What's odd is the Clippers' depth seemed to wear down the Bulls, while three players scored more than 80 percent of the Warriors' points.
"We are going to have to play harder," said Derrick Rose, who had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists against the Clippers. "The shots that we usually hit were not falling. We need to try to get the lead and keep it."
Since beating Sacramento in the first game of the November trip, the Bulls have lost six straight on the road against the Western Conference, giving up more than 100 points in every game.
Battle on boards: Wednesday's loss to the Clippers featured quite a rebounding battle between Bulls center Joakim Noah and Clippers veteran Marcus Camby.
Noah finished with 15 boards and 14 points, while Camby pulled in 25 rebounds. That total was 2 short of his career-high, which coincidentally came against the Bulls last season at the United Center.
"Sometimes you feel like the ball's a magnet," Camby after the game.
On the list of NBA rebound leaders, Noah (12.4 per game) ranks second behind Orlando's Dwight Howard. Camby (12.0) is either third or fourth, depending on whether the injury-shortened total of Minnesota's Kevin Love (12.3) counts.
Salmons second in poll: Bulls guard John Salmons finished second in the "most underrated" category in a Sports Illustrated survey of NBA players.
Atlanta's Joe Johnson finished first with 9 percent of the vote, followed by Salmons with 6 percent. The rest of the top five were the Lakers' Lamar Odom, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace and New York's David Lee.
There wasn't a strong consensus for most underrated player, unlike the "biggest trash talker" category where Boston's Kevin Garnett won in a landslide with 62 percent of the vote.
Bulls center Joakim Noah was credited with 0.7 percent of the trash talk vote, which probably means he got just one mention.
"I promise I don't try," Noah said. "It just happens. It's not about trying to get in any rankings, I promise you that."
Other Lopez steps up: During a recent 0-4 road trip, Phoenix tried to improve its defense by changing two spots in its starting lineup. Center Robin Lopez and shooting guard Leandro Barbosa were in, while Channing Frye and Jason Richardson were out.
Lopez has been on a tear lately, averaging 16 points and shooting 71 percent from the field (27 for 38) in the last four games. He got to start against his twin brother Brook for the first time in the pros when the Suns beat New Jersey on Wednesday.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bulls game day</p>
<p class="News">Bulls vs. Phoenix Suns at U.S. Airways Center, 9:30 p.m. Friday</p>
<p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet, ESPN</p>
<p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WMVP 1000-AM</p>
<p class="News"><b>Update:</b> The Suns were 14-3 on Nov. 30, but have gone 11-15 since. Phoenix ranks first in the league in scoring (109.9 points) and field-goal percentage (.489), along with 29th in points allowed (107.3). PF Amare Stoudemire leads the Suns in scoring at 21.0 points, while PG Steve Nash ranks a close second in the league to Chris Paul with 11.2 assists per game. C Robin Lopez and SG Leandro Barbosa joined the starting lineup two games ago. The Bulls swept the Suns last season, sprinting to a 122-111 win in Phoenix. But that was against a slower Suns squad with Shaquille O'Neal at center.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Next:</b> Saturday vs. Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center, 7:30 p.m.</p>