Chicago Bulls (5-5) at Houston Rockets (4-7)

For the first time in three millenniums (give or take), the Bulls are at risk of being under .500 over ten games in to the season. Last Sunday’s loss against the Portland Trailblazers marked the fourth game in a row that Chicago allowed over 100 points on the defensive end.

If the Bulls want to get back on track, they need to revamp their once league-best defense, despite the fact that their former back-up anchor Omer Asik will be playing for the opposing team this evening. Omer Asik, rather the Turkish Hammer, signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Rockets this summer. In eleven games so far he is averaging 10 points and 12.3 rebounds.

In addition to stealing the lynchpin of the Bulls bench mob, the Houston Rockets signed Jeremy Lin and most importantly, James Harden who is currently fourth in the league in scoring, albeit his not-so-great efficiency. While the new-and-improved Rockets may be more new than improved, they aren’t going to go down without a fight on their home floor. Unfortunately, it looks like the annual circus trip might once again turn into the circus trip from hell.

One positive fans should expect from the Bulls however, is a much more energized bench mob. With a two day break to mull over two back to back losses and some tough love from Tom Thibodeau and unofficial bench mob captain, Taj Gibson, the entire team should be ready to give it their all.

While there may not be any specifically interesting match-ups to watch, an emotion bro-hug that lingers on for a little too long for it to mean nothing may be exchanged by Taj Gibson and Omer Asik, or the one that got away, as Thibbs likes to call him.

Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX

Time: 7:00pm CST/8:00pm EST

TV: CSN-Chicago

Nat’l TV: Comcast Sportsnet

Live Stream: NBA League Pass

Radio: ESPN 1000

Line: EVEN

Injury Report/Inactives: CHICAGO — PG Derrick Rose (OUT)

HOUSTON — SG James Harden (PROBABLE), C Cole Aldrich (PROBABLE), SF Carlos Delfino (PROBABLE)

Last Game: Bulls lost to the Trailblazers 102 – 94, Rockets lost to Jazz 102 – 91

Last Meeting: April 2, 2012– Rockets 99, Bulls 93

Prediction:  Bulls 89, Rockets 96

The Bulls aggresivley pursued O.J. Mayo, but stopped dead when Omer Asik and Taj Gibsonwere mentioned

CHICAGO — The Bulls failed to pull the trigger on any deal at the trade deadline on Thursday, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. In fact it was the exact opposite of that; GM Gus Forman was actively and aggressively perusing Memphis Grizzlies O.J. Mayo. Forman even put out a formal offer for to Memphis: Ronnie Brewer and draft picks for the guard.

Memphis was uninterested in parting with Mayo at that price. They wanted Omer Asik or Taj Gibson and that was too much, Forman thought, to give up.

“I obviously get asked about those players quite a bit,” Forman said. “We’re very high on both of them. We think not only for what they can do for our team today, but I think there is so much potential for growth with both of those players. Taj is in his second year in the league, and obviously Omer is a rookie. If you look back historically at teams that have had great success in this league, size matters. It’s a big deal. You’ve got to have size on the front line and thus to us, those two guys are very, very valuable.”

But just despite the fact the Bulls failed to acquire anything other than a first round pick from Toronto, Forman says it wasn’t a loss at all. He is completely content with the team that has been crafted. “We’ve gone from where we were kind of stuck in mediocrity to what we feel is a good, young team. At this point that’s what we’re doing; we’re building a team. We’re not just trying to acquire talent. We’re trying to get the right pieces that fit the players that we have. When you have Derrick Rose, it kind of gives you direction.”

Deal or No Deal with Houston

Another man the Bulls were hot and bothered for was Houston Rocket’s guard Courtney Lee. It actually looked like that was the most likely deal for the Bulls. Mayo was a nice thought but his $4 million-plus contract seemed a little stiff for Chicago to take on. Lee was much cheaper and it looked as though Houston was in need of back-court space, which appeared to make Lee expendable. After all Houston is trying to make room for Terrance Williams in the future. But Houston, as did everyone else, wanted either Taj Gibson or Omer Asik and the Bulls were very adamant that they were sticking to their guns and not trading either of them.

It turns out Houston was in need of clearing some space as they chose to unload Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks rather than Courtney Lee. The Bulls missed out on a chance to add another sure-fire shooting threat to add to Rose’s dominating presence on the court. This was a popular topic of conversation last night against the Heat as every time the reserves were on the court, there was a sense of unease and that the pendulum had swung the way Miami. That was a problem that needed to be solved at the deadline. Sure (more…)