Bulls finish preseason with strong showing

By Bud L. Ellis

The Chicago Bulls must be ready to tip off the regular season, because they’ve run through their preseason schedule in sparkling fashion.

Tyrus Thomas scored 19 points Friday night, Joakim Noah pulled down 16 rebounds and the Bulls capped a 6-2 preseason ledger with a 93-70 victory over Washington.

Trailing 18-15 after one quarter, the Bulls turned it on during the middle quarters. Chicago fought back to lead 41-39 at halftime, then seized control in the third quarter, outscoring the Wizards 27-12.

Brad Miller came off the bench to score 18 points. John Salmons added 14, and Noah and Taj Gibson each scored 13. Chicago blanketed the Wizards with tough defense, holding the visitors to 37 percent shooting from the floor.

Thomas finished 7-for-9 from the free-throw line, highlighting a 22-for-25 night from the line for the Bulls.

Chicago opens the regular season at home Thursday against San Antonio.

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Friday, October 23, 2009 at 10:17 pm by bud

Tags: Brad Miller, Chicago Bulls, Joakim Noah, John Salmons, National Basketball Association, San Antonio Spurs, Taj Gibson, Tyrus Thomas, Washington Wizards

Gray out 6-8 weeks

Chicago Bulls center Aaron Gray is expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a leg injury.

The Bulls said Gray had been complaining about a lower leg injury and that the pain had gotten worse in recent days.

Upon further evaluation, doctors figured out that Gray had a stress fracture in his fibula, which was confirmed by an MRI.

Gray is one of the few quality big men the Bulls have on their roster, so they will miss the depth that he provides off of the bench.

Still, he shouldn’t miss but the first month of the season at most.

Friday, October 2, 2009 at 6:12 pm by steve