WHY!?!? WHY MUST THE TRADE RUMORS CONTINUE!! THE OLYMPICS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A BREAK!! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!! Says Dwight Howard in this photo. (Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

He’s baaack. If you were counting on Dwight Howard waiting until after the Olympics to try and dominate the news cycle then you obviously don’t know Dwight Howard. As mostly all basketball eyes trained on London and Team USA’s run for a gold medal, back state-side, Dwight Howard is trying to find a new team.

In case you forgot.

It’s a tune we’ve heard sung before: sources are reporting that the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in trade talks for Dwight Howard but they need more teams involved to get a deal done. Before the Olympics that team was the Cleveland Cavaliers but once everyone realized Andrew Bynum isn’t crazy and would never sign long term with the Cav’s, that deal died.

So what’s the solution when a three team trade breaks down? Well it’s quite simple: find a fourth team.

According to Yahoo!Sports, that’s exactly what the Magic and Lakers have done. Sources are reporting that Orlando and Los Angeles have scrapped Cleveland from their blockbuster and swapped in two new teams: the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers. The four teams have been talking for the past few days the league source says and although there’s been talks, no deal is imminent.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the talks indeed have substance and a trade is likely to be proposed soon.

And don’t be totally surprised if Dwight Howard and company facilitate a trade on the day of the gold medal game. Because Dwight Howard totally isn’t the type of guy that would want to hog that kind of global attention.

The Bulls bounced back with an 89-81 win over the Orlando Magic to pull within a half game of Miami in the East

ORLANDO — If anyone had any doubts about the Chicago Bulls, those questions were answered Friday night in Orlando. The Bulls powered back from am early deficit to beat the Magic in Orlando 89-81. The big men were out in force for both teams. Dwight Howard was the main man for Orlando, but his efforts were countered by Omer Asik, Joakim Noah, Kyle Korver and Derrick Rose.

That’s four against one in case your counting.

With the win, Chicago surpassed their win total from the previous season which was 41. Chicago now sits at 42-18 and are geared up for a run at Miami and Boston in the standings.

Rose finished as the top performer for Chicago scoring 24 huge points and had two crucial steals. The Bulls bench also deserves a lot of credit as it continues to prove itself as one of the best benches in the NBA. Chicago’s bench outscored that of Orlando’s 32-13.

That statistic proved to be a major difference in the game’s outcome.

The Bulls got back on track after their embarrassing meltdown against the Hawks on Wednesday and showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference. They also got some much needed breathing room from the surging Orlando Magic.

A Win Is A Win

It wasn’t pretty but a win is a win. Chicago battled back from falling behind out of the gate to the Magic. In the first quarter Chicago’s scoring was non-existent. It was the Derrick Rose and Luol Deng show as they were the only Bulls that could make any buckets with consistency. The Bulls managed to get some distance between them and the Magic heading into halftime, but as the Magic did the previous night against the Heat, they stormed back with an undying vengeance to pull themselves back within striking distance of Chicago.

Right when Chicago would pull away with a lead, Orlando would slap them back into check with a fierce comeback usually initiated by a vicious Dwight Howard dunk. Howard had over 5 dunks in the game and dominated the Bulls defense in the paint, but more on that later. The Magic were hot off their classic comeback win against the Heat, and like the previous night they made it intensely nerve-racking in the final quarter.

But unlike the previous night, the Magic were held off by Chicago.

Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver all contributed in big ways to lift the Bulls over the hump and hold the lead over Orlando. Omer Asik continued to be a presence off the bench achieving career highs in minutes and rebounds. Despite the intensity of the Magic and how they kept the game close, Chicago did not trail once in the second half.

This game was really the first true match-up between the Bulls and Magic. The first two match-ups inside the United Center in Chicago were split between the two teams. Friday’s game was the first time both teams were at full strength after having played a number of games together. Everyone had their groove on what was brought to the court, on both sides, was playoff caliber basketball.

I Howl, You Howl, We All Howl For Fouls

The subplot to Friday’s night game formulated itself very quickly, and that subplot was the immense amount of fouls committed by both teams. Within minutes of the second half’s start, Joakim Noah found himself in trouble. Soon after that the Bulls found (more…)