Bulls need to start knocking down long-range shots

The Bulls' season has come full circle.

In November there was a crying need for someone to knock down an outside shot once in a while. Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons started to heat up at midseason, and long-range accuracy wasn't a problem when the Bulls played well in January and February.

But then Salmons was traded to Milwaukee and Hinrich cooled off. In the last five games, the Bulls are shooting 29.6 percent from 3-point range.

It proved costly Tuesday when the Bulls dropped a crucial home game 79-74 to the Bucks. Milwaukee was missing injured center Andrew Bogut but had the only hot hand on the floor in Salmons, naturally, who scored a game-high 26 points for the visitors.

"You get what you deserve," coach Vinny Del Negro said Wednesday at the Berto Center. "We came out in the first quarter with some good energy and played pretty well. Then we stopped moving the basketball and struggled offensively."

Instead of being tied with Toronto for the final playoff spot with five games remaining, the Bulls (37-40) stayed a game back. However, after Toronto lost to Boston on Wednesday, the Bulls crept to within a half-game of the Raptors. Toronto already has clinched the season series and owns the tiebreaker against the Bulls. The two teams meet Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

Toronto's all-star forward Chris Bosh suffered broken bones in his face after taking an elbow from Cleveland's Antawn Jamison on Tuesday. It's very unlikely Bosh will be able to play against the Bulls on Sunday.

First, though, the Bulls need to find a way to beat Cleveland tonight at the United Center. The Cavs already have clinched the NBA's best record, which might accentuate their tendency to coast on the road, then try to pull off a frantic fourth-quarter comeback.

"Guys are in good spirits," Del Negro said. "They're disappointed, like everybody. I told the guys, 'I believe in them.' We've got good character guys. We've got to understand what's in front of us and don't look ahead. Take care of the problem at hand."

A big issue early this season was how the Bulls would compensate for the loss of top scorer Ben Gordon, who jumped to Detroit as a free agent. Salmons was supposed to fill the role but shot poorly at the start of the season. His accuracy improved after he was replaced by Hinrich in the starting lineup on Dec. 26.

The Bulls haven't missed Gordon very much. They'll finish with a record similar to last year's 41-41, while the Pistons have been awful.

In fact, Detroit and New Jersey are the only teams shooting worse from 3-point range than the Bulls this season. The Bulls rank 28th in the league at 32.8 percent. Their best 3-point shooter is Luol Deng at 37 percent.

Toronto has another tough game in Atlanta on Friday. So this two-team race to face Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs figures to continue until the season ends next Wednesday.

"Whatever it takes. As long as we're in the eighth spot, I'll be pretty happy with that," center Joakim Noah said. "If we don't handle our business the next two games, it probably won't even matter. Every game is critical."

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<p class="factboxheadblack">Bulls game day</p>

<p class="News">Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center, 7 p.m. Thursday</p>

<p class="News"><b>TV: </b>TNT</p>

<p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WMVP 1000-AM</p>

<p class="News"><b>Update:</b> The Cavaliers (61-17) clinched the NBA's best record Sunday when the Lakers lost to the Spurs, so they have nothing at stake. Coach Mike Brown suggested he might rest some players during the final week of the season, but he played everyone but injured Delonte West (back) and Daniel Gibson (foot) in Tuesday's 113-101 win over Toronto. LeBron James (29.7 points) is in a tight race with Kevin Durant (29.9 points) for the league scoring title. The Bulls beat the Cavs in Cleveland way back on Nov. 5 and hung close in a 92-85 loss March 19 at the UC, despite playing without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Next:</b> New Jersey Nets at the Izod Center, 7 p.m. Friday</p>