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Bulls will get a taste of Mayo’s scoring

One potential regret for the Bulls last summer was not acquiring shooting guard O.J. Mayo, who will visit the United Center with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Mayo was due to be a restricted free agent, but became unrestricted when Memphis didn’t make a qualifying offer. With money tight around the league, he ended up signing a two-year deal with Dallas for a reported $4 million this season.

The Bulls faced luxury tax issues this summer, but that’s a good price for the No. 3 pick of the 2008 draft, after Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley.

Mayo is off to a great start with the Mavericks, averaging 21.5 points and shooting 49 percent from the field. He received praise from Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday.

“Tremendous. I always felt he played very effectively in whatever minutes he has gotten,” Thibodeau said. “When he’s started, he’s played extremely well. When he came off the bench, I thought he played extremely well. Few guys can do that, but he’s one that can.

“I always thought he put a lot of pressure on your defense and he’s a basketball player. He knows how to make plays. He’s not afraid; he has courage. He can do a lot of things out there.”

Rose’s doc concludes:Adidas released the sixth episode of Derrick Rose#146;s web documentary. This was billed as the final installment, even though Rose is thought to be a few months from returning to the court.Rose does plenty of talking in this episode, which also shows the views from his upper-floor condo in the Trump building.#147;I#146;m good, man. I#146;m at peace with myself,#148; Rose said in the video. #147;Every week I#146;m moving on to something new. My core has gotten a lot stronger. Now I#146;m combining my lower body with my upper body and I#146;m doing it six times a week. All that stuff is definitely helping me build my body.#148;Rose also included a line that might allude to the team#146;s slow start, at least compared to last season.#147;I#146;ve got a lot of confidence with the team that we have,#148; he said. #147;They (his teammates) see me lifting all the time, shooting, just trying to do extra just to show them that just because I#146;m not on the court with them, that I#146;m still working my butt off so that I can get back on the court as quick as possible.#147;Me having the confidence comes with me knowing that I put everything, I mean everything, that I had into me coming back.#148;Dallas wary of Bulls#146; bounce:Dallas played in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, but at least one Mavs player was well aware that they will be the first opponent for the Bulls after blowing a 27-point lead against Milwaukee.#147;I know how (Tom) Thibodeau is,#146;#146; Dallas guard O.J. Mayo said in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. #147;So I#146;m pretty sure he wore their tail ends out today in practice. And they#146;re going to be all-in tomorrow, so we#146;ve got to come ready to play.#148;

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