Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Eastern Conference center Joakim Noah (13) and forward Luol Deng (9) of the Chicago Bulls are introduced during practice for the 2013 NBA all star game at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls are back in action as they take on the New Orleans Hornets tonight.

The Bulls, fuelled up and ready to go after a much needed all-star weekend break, are trying to begin a new game winning streak. Their last game prior to the break was against the Boston Celtics and it was a game we should all forget.

With the final two months of the season now underway, the Bulls hope Derrick Rose will come back. However while that is unlikely, they will see the return of Kirk Hinrich as he was out with an elbow injury.

The first time both teams played against each other this season was last year on Nov. 3, when the Hornets defeated the Bulls 89-82 at the United Center however tonight, the Bulls will try to even the score and move up the eastern conference in hopes of obtaining that much desired number one seed.

In their first meeting, number one overall 2012 draft pick, Anthony Davis, was inactive as he suffered a concussion. However, tonight the Chicago native will play against the Bulls for the first time in his young career.

Without Rose, the Bulls managed to obtain a 30 wins, 22 losses record exceeded most expectations. The reason for their record has to be attributed to their superior defence. The Bulls managed to hold most of their opponents to just shooting 43.3% from the field, the third best in the league. Nonetheless, the Bulls have just won, 1-of-4 in their past five games. The Bulls also need to try and not play carelessly, as turnovers were a major factor in both games against the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics. With both games combined, the Bulls had a devastating 44 turnovers. Going to today’s game, the Bulls have won eight of nine match ups in the series against the Hornets.

The Hornets come into this game trying to extend their three-game winning streak to four. In their last game against the Portland TrailBlazers, they won by a record 99-63 at the New Orleans’ Arena. During that game, Davis had a hot performance as he scored a double-double, 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 2 blocks.

Probable starters for the Bulls:

1. Guard – Kirk Hinrich
2. Guard – Richard Hamilton
3. Forward – Luol Deng
4. Forward – Carlos Boozer
5. Center – Joakim Noah

Probable starters for the Hornets:

1. Guard – Greivis Vasquez
2. Guard – Eric Gordon
3. Forward – Al-Faroqu Aminu
4. Forward – Anthony Davis
5. Center – Robin Lopez

Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans

Time: 7:00 p.m. CST/ 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN – National, Comcast Sportsnet-Chicago, Fox Sports – New Orleans

Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: ESPN 1000, WWL-FM 105.3

Injury Report/Inactives:

Chicag0 - Marco Belinelli (right ankle) and Joakim Noah (right foot) Kirk Hinrich (right elbow) are day-to-day however likely to play. (Editor’s note: Tom Thibodeau has announced Hinrich will start tonight.)

New Orleans – Eric Gordon (sprained right hand) is listed as day-to-day however likely to play as well.

Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

We just ended the 2012 presidential election, however it is time to vote again folks. Yes it’s that time of year to start sending in your 2013 NBA All-Star ballots. Voting has come super early this year, after all we are only eight games into the regular season. Four of our very own Chicago Bulls have the oppurtunity to be a starter for team east! Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng.

You can also vote for Taj Gibson as a reserve.

Then there is also that slap across the face to all Bulls fans; Derrick Rose is not on the ballot, for the first time since his rookie season we will not be seeing DRose light up the all-star court. Which of course is fine he is beasting it up in his rehab and taking his time making sure his knee is in tip top shape for the playoffs, not for a pick up game in Houston.

It’s great to see our guys getting some All-star recognition, however with the way the bulls have started the season, do we really have five All-stars?

Aside from Luol and Joakim, who have put the team on their backs and have done a tremendous job leading the team. We have Carlos Boozer who seems to only play like an All-star only when it’s fitting for him or to just get the media off his back for a day. Kirk Hinrich seems worthy of his nomination, when he sat out against Boston monday night it deeply hurt us his defense is on point and he is doing an excellent job as our point guard.

Taj Gibson is our leader on the bench and he is improving exceptionally well, I think he definitely deserves to be a reserve, I’d hope that the nomination would fill him up with motivation, knowing that he’s an all star and he would be on his way to be a potential starter next year.

We have until January 14th to vote for our Bulls, and we find out just how many of them will make the cut on a live one hour special held on TNT January 17th. Who knows maybe all of these nominations will jazz up the guys and they will truly play like the All-Stars they know they can be. It’s humbling to the Bulls that they’re getting some much needed attention without Derrick Rose.

We all know our guys have all the potential in the world to be the number 1 team in the leauge. With everybody watching now and fans paying close attention to how they’re playing and to see who gets what vote lets see if the Bulls turn it up a few notches and play like the Allstars they are destined to be.

But at the very least make sure you all vote for the Bulls, because who wants a Miami Heat dominated roster?