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The most surprising part of the Chicago Bulls’ 104-81 victory Thursday against visiting San Antonio was the number of minutes played by the starters. If you didn’t know better, you’d think Gregg Popovich of the Spurs was coaching both teams.
For hockey enthusiasts (and others), here is Miss Canada Chanel Beckenlehner in the Miss Universe contest.
* Jimmy Butler (17 points) didn’t lead the Bulls in minutes played; he had 28. Taj Gibson (15 points) had 37 minutes played and Tony Snell (12 points) had 34 to lead the Bulls — and each was starting in place of an injured teammate (Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy).
* Leading the Bulls in scoring was Derrick Rose with 22 in 27 minutes. He sat almost the entire fourth quarter and says he is feeling fine. Proof of that will come Friday at Dallas. For a team with a 28-16 record, the Bulls have shown the ability (or is it disability) of being consistently inconsistent).
* You want consistent? Try Pau Gasol who has been a double-double machine for the Bulls. He had 12 points and 17 rebounds against the Spurs after being voted in as an Eastern Conference starter for the NBA all-star game. “It’s overwhelming. It’s a huge honor. It’s just beyond our selves, individuals, so it’s a very exciting moment,” Pau said. “Unforgettable, memorable, historical, you name it. You can use as many words and adjectives as you want. So right now we’re very thrilled, we’re overwhelmed, and we’re happy and thankful to everyone that supports us, the fans that have voted for us. Our teams, our organizations — so it’s just a beautiful moment to live and go through as an NBA player.”
* Speaking of Gasol, he will be playing against a familiar face. Namely, Marc Gasol, his brother who plays for Memphis and was voted in to start for the Western Conference. “Knowing that I will be facing my brother Pau for the opening tip, it will be a true accomplishment for our family and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my career,” Narc said in a statement from the Grizzlies. Something says brotherly love may take a back seat at the game.
Video below of Miss Canada Chanel Blekenlehner.
* Speaking of Popovich, he had this to say regarding Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau whose job some have said recently could be in jeopardy because the players aren’t listening to him: “[The media] asked me that question before the game about, ‘[The Bulls] aren’t listening to Thibs and Thibs has lost them and that kind of bullshit. You got your answer. As I told you before the game, that’s baloney, nothing could be further from the truth. And hopefully whoever asked that question can figure that out instead of making stuff up like that.”
* More Popovich (from pregame media gathering): “He’s not gonna lose any team. I think you guys just have to have stories. So somebody loses a few games, there’s got to be a reason. I guess that’s the one that was picked. Sometimes players listen to me. Timmy [Duncan] stopped listening to me a long time ago. I don’t even coach him. You guys think I’m kidding. He just plays. I talk to him once in a while, but sometimes some guys don’t want to hear it. But as far as the team and being lost and that kind of thing, that’s not what’s happening here.”
* Rose on Thibodeau and the team’s recent struggles: “This don’t have anything to do with Thibs at all. The way that we’ve been playing don’t have anything to do with Thibs. He’s preparing us right. He’s doing everything and did everything possible to prepare us as a coach. It’s up to the players to give that effort.”
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