Bulls Muscle Up Warriors, Who Won't Come Out and Plaaaaaay

With the Bulls on the outside looking in, and the Warriors teetering on the edge of the playoff bubble, it was Chicago who came out on top in a game marked by physical play, unexpected contributors, Monta Ellis' acrobatic moves, and Baron Davis' explosiveness and off-the-chain beard.

Bulls point guard Chris Duhon poured in a career high 34 points, and provided steady scoring for an undermanned Bulls team without three of their (debatably) four best players (Heinrich, Gordon, Deng all sat with injuries). Andres Biedrins managed to grab 18 boards (about a week after his ridonkulous 26 rebound world-beater performance against the Knicks), but in the pivotal 4th quarter the Bulls used a big lineup with Tyrus Thomas at small forward, Joakim Noah at power forward, and Ben Wallace at center, and were able to pound the ball inside against the Warriors smaller speedy lineup, scoring on 9 of 10 consecutive possesions at one point.

Tyrus Thomas dropped 13 of his 15 points in the decisive 4th quarter, showing drop-step and post up skills around the basket, and bringing energy on the defensive end. He should have been starting this whole season, as the more time he gets, the more effective he is, and the better team defense the Bulls seem to play. In the two games this season where he got 35+ minutes, he dropped 21 and 12 (plus 2 steals and 3 blocks) on the Sixers, and then dropped 19 and 14 (plus 2 steals and 2 blocks) on the vaunted Pistons front line in a close win against archrival Detroit. I know every Bulls fans is up in arms about Paxson's decisions, but if the damn coaching staff would develop these players and get some solid rotations going (aka more Sefalosha, Thomas, and Noah; the 'energy' guys), this season could turn around in a hurry. The Bulls are tied for 8th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-29.

One final note is that this was the return of Chris Webber to the Bay, and he is way out of playing shape, and sucked just as much as last year. As a professional athlete, I know you're paid to entertain and play some kind of sport, but don't you think exercising and staying in peak physical condition comes with the territory? I mean doing bicep curls with Twinkies and Ho-Ho's isn't going to get you to the championship.