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Archive for November, 2009
November 28, 2009 at 9:41 am · Filed under Blogs
It’s been a quiet week at Birmingham Bullets HQ and time for reflection on where we are and where we’re heading. So at the behest of GB Basketball I thought I’d write a little piece about where we are and where we’re heading as a club. Neil and I have an ambition to bring the name of the Birmingham Bullets back to the forefront of basketball in the UK.
We have a 5 year plan that involves developing players to reach the highest levels they can in the sport. We’ve always maintained that we’ll never impinge on the clubs around us and always look at ways at working with others clubs and coaches. It seems that we’ve been looking at the sport in the West Midlands through densely coated sunglasses while in a dark room. We’ve also made it clear that we only want to use local players first and foremost.
Despite writing and calling all the clubs in the West Midlands, not one club wants to work with us or find out what we’re doing. Instead, coaches make wild allegations about the club and myself. So let me put the record straight. We’re only about development. Yes, winning is important but how can a coach be happy winning a game or league with players that are fundamentally very poor. Surely, its better to develop a player who’s fundamentally sound and then release him into the basketball world where he can have the opportunity to play at a high standard and maybe, just maybe, get the chance to be a professional in the game. We’re not about sending kids to the USA. Why do we need to send players across the pond when we can do the same things here. I live by the maxim ‘Never do on the court what can be done elsewhere’ and so the Bullets did a number of pre-season fitness sessions in a swimming pool. That meant that we had quality 3 hour sessions on court.
We are NOT the Birmingham Bullets of the 80′s, 90′s or 00′s. We are the Birmingham Bullets of tomorrow, a team without politics or dramas. Ask us a question and you’ll get an answer that’s the truth, if you don’t like the answer you should ask the question. We have no interest in building an empire in the West Midlands and taking control of basketball in the area. There are a number of teams like City of Birmingham, Birmingham A’s etc that are doing it already so why add to the list. If we can feed any team in the UK with a player that’s fundamentally sound then we’ve reached our aims. At no time have we said we want to go into the BBL. It’s not an ambition for us to compete against 5 Americans. We’re going to have a team in the UK and one in Europe in 2010/11 and both teams will be about development. Once a player is making the grade on court we can see where his future lies and help him get there. Our results have been bad so where’s the development? We’ve got players that have been through some of the best coaches in the West Midlands. These players have no idea on the fundamentals of the game, so who’s at fault?
My personal aims are:
To do my Level 3 Coaching course
To get my son to St John’s University
Luke Grant on a BBL team,
To have Emanuel Bradshaw playing in the BBL before he’s 21
Get Rhodri Owen out of the Wales U16′s and in the England U18′s
Help Josh Simmonds go to the US on scholarship, so put him through his paces,
Josh Crutchley wants a job in Europe, so help him get there,
Have Sam Shephard score a 3 pointer every game
Improve Kieron Jones’ interpersonal skills and help him find the scholarhip he wants
Have Paul Bessant back playing National League
Have Martin Fisher start 4 games this season
Get Rob Hurst out of Wales U16′s and into England U18′s
To help Geraint Roberts realise his dream of being a PT and study at Loughborough
Have Matt Damrell start a Div 4 NBL game
Get Sean Atkinson back playing the game he loves.
That’s all I want to do and then I WILL retire from coaching.
Coach W
November 28, 2009 at 7:46 am · Filed under EBL
By Dave Ryan
The National Cup reaches its quarter-final stage on Sunday, with six Division One sides and the top two in Division Two looking for a place in the final four.
The all-Division One games see Derby Trailblazers host Sheffield Arrows and Bristol Academy Flyers travel to Reading Rockets, while Leopards at home against Brixton Topcats and Manchester Magic visit Durham Wildcats.
If I were a gambling man – or rather if anyone offered odds – I’d say if either of the Division One sides were to fall it will be Leopards. Carl Latham-Henry, who’s led our scoring in all but one of the games he’s played this season (the game where the ref did a nice job of taking him out of the game with four offensive fouls and a technical) is doubtful with a back injury suffered against Derby last week.
Leopards’ coach Jon Burnell (pictured) is expecting a tough game: “They’re clearly a good side and I imagine they’ll get promoted. We played them in a couple of training games last season and they are a tough team to play against.
“I know Andy [Powlesland] well and his team are well-coached and able to cope with different situation. One of the reasons they’re a good team is because they have a lot of players who also play for South Bank Uni. There’s a genuine link there and they have lots of time to get things right.
“They have experience in Cherry [Mundy-Castle] and reading the scouting report we have, they’re strong inside and they’re always good at the guard spots. They’ll be in our faces and very athletic, but we’ve shown in the last couple of home games that when we play well, we can beat anyone, we just have to make sure we maintain that level.”
Brixton coach Andy Powlesland is looking forward to Sunday’s game at Brentwood: “Our opponents are well known to us and I have no doubt will provide a stern test of our ability on the big stage if we are to win through to the semi-final. The key men to identify in my opinion are both veteran points guards; for us it’s Paul Mundy-Castle and it’s essential if we are to do well that he is firing on all cylinders; he brings us leadership, defensive intensity and a very real scoring threat.
“For the Leopards it’s former Brixton legend Ronnie Baker, who appears to have lost none of his court savvy and control over the game and from what people tell me, he still pushes the fast break pretty well. I see from statistics Carl Latham-Henry is usually amongst the scorers and will provide us with a tough defensive assignmen, and from the roster that Leopards have shown some size which will be a good test for Brixton’s big men, Laurie Lewis and Tom Adorian.
“I think this draw provides us with a real chance to test ourselves against top quality opposition. I think the game will be a close and competitive occasion that will be decided on defensive match ups and who shoots the ball better on the day.”
Jeff Jones isn’t taking anything for granted as Manchester travel to Durham: “Sunday will be another tough test for us; they have had a great run of results and have the win against Leeds in the bank.
“They will be approaching the game as their cup final and we have to do the same we have a pretty good record in the cup over the years, and we want to keep that going. If we concentrate and execute to our capabilities I like our chances to progress, but that could be a big IF.”
The Wildcats go into the game with a perfect 11-0 record this season, and are currently top of Division Two in their debut season at that level. Meanwhile, Magic are also unbeaten this season, with Saturday’s 69-68 victory at title rivals Derby Trailblazers being their tenth straight victory.
When Derby and Arrows meet at Noel Baker school it will be a case of de ja vu, as it will be fourth game of the season between the pair and the second of the weekend as they are due to play each other in a league game at the EIS on Saturday.
Trailblazers comfortably won both meeting s in the National Trophy, but coach Clarence Wiggins isn’t taking anything for granted ahead of the game: “We’ve played them twice already, so we know a lot about them and like this weekend; we’re going to be focussing on Saturday’s league game before we even think about Sunday’s cup tie. I’m expecting Sheffield to be better than when we played them before, but hopefully we’ll be a lot better defensively than we were last weekend. “
Probably the hardest game to call is at Reading, with Flyers having already beaten them 71-70 in a league game this season. Rockets assistant coach Matt Johnson believes that loss will be considerable motivation with a semi-final place up for grabs.
He said, “Not that the players need any motivation for this game, but suffering that one point loss in Bristol is a thorn in our side and something we definitely want to put right this time around, especially as a national semi-final place is up for grabs.”
November 27, 2009 at 6:37 am · Filed under Uncategorized
By Matt Clear
Top performer: Justin Robinson
It wasn’t a consistently stellar week for Robinson, but he gets the top spot for an outstanding performance in Rider’s win over Florida A&M.
Robinson notched 23 points on 8-13 shooting against the Rattlers, to go with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. With their star Ryan Thompson out of sorts, the Broncs needed someone had to step up and Robinson’s team-leading contribution was probably the biggest reason for the win.
“Justin was great all day”, said Rider coach Tommy Dempsey after the game.
Rider faced big-time opposition in their other two games this against this week. Rather inevitably they struggled, losing by 33 points to Virginia and 29 to No. 4 Kentucky. Robinson was 2-6 against UVA, including 1-4 from downtown, for five points. Against Kentucky he scored eight points, but turned the ball over four times.
How the other Brits fared:
• Eric Boateng had a disappointing couple of games after his strong showing last week. The senior centre scored four points and pulled down four rebounds in a loss to No. 7 Duke, his former team, and turned the ball over nine times (including four travelling calls). Against San Francisco he played just 13 minutes, contributing two points and two rebounds, although coach Herb Sendek praised Boateng’s hustle on an early first-half play, which he said set the tone for the win.
• Davidson lost all three games this week – though the Wildcats can’t be too ashamed when the losses come against major and high-major opponents. Ben Allison scored eight points on 4-8 shooting against La Salle, but scored just two points in each of the other two games. He also got into foul trouble against both Penn State and La Salle. On the bright side, Allison has started all four games for the Cats this season.
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning got off to a quick start against San Jose State, scoring the Huskies’ first two field goals on consecutive possessions. But the junior forward was quiet for the rest of the game, missing his other three shot attempts, and contributing two assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
• Jamie Vanderbeken hit a three-pointer and added five rebounds in ISU’s win over Mississippi Valley. The Cyclones followed that up by thrashing Tennessee State, though Vanderbeken managed just 15 minutes, scoring four points. Let’s hope his minutes pick up as he continues his recovery from injury.
• Mike Williams is yet to score for Duquesne, going 0-2 in13 minutes against Binghamton. He did grab two rebounds, however.
November 26, 2009 at 11:20 am · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
By Dave Ryan
It’s been a miserable week for the three Brits in the NBA, with just one win in a total of nine games.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu is at least seeing some court-time now he’s back at Toronto Raptors, and chalked up the only win for the British trio.
That came in a 120-113 victory against Miami Heat in his second game back with the Canadians. The Londoner finished with two points and a rebound in seven minutes of action.
That win came following a 130-112 loss at Denver that has already been covered on this site.
Pops played a season-high minutes in Wednesday’s game at Charlotte Bobcats, but he couldn’t prevent the Raptors going down 116-81. He finished with six boards to go with his two points and a steal.
Toronto – who are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 7-9 record – face a tough trip to Boston on Friday before hosting in-form Phoenix Suns two days later.
Meanwhile, Luol Deng has seen his team suffer three straight losses. His most recent outing saw him lead the Bulls’ scoring with 25 points in a 122-98 loss at Portland, adding four assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action.
After the game Deng defended the team’s big-men after the game, and said that the team had to share the responsibility: ”To be fair, I thought our bigs played hard. It’s tough for them” he told NBA.com.
“Our bigs are playing hard and they keep coming down and dumping it in and we’re not doing the same thing at the other end.’
”We didn’t do a good job moving the ball. We have to realize that and share the ball better. We have to realize the reason Coach is going small is to take advantage and penetrate and kick, and we have to do that.”
Prior to that, Deng had also played 37 minutes in Chicago’s 112-93 loss at Denver and their 108-93 defeat at Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 22 points, three rebounds and four blocks at Denver, but a poor shooting night at Lakers saw him score only six points off three from 11 attempts from the field – though he did at least pull down six boards.
Chicago are now seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 6-7 record, and the Bulls visit Utah on Thursday before travelling to Milwaukee on Monday.
It’s been a similar tale for Ben Gordon as Pistons have lost their last three games. Gordon led the Detroit scoring with 25 points in 47 minutes in the 100-97 loss at Utah Jazz, adding five boards, three assists and two steals.
The had less joy in the other two games, finishing with ten in the 117-91 loss at Phoenix and nine in the 98-88 defeat at Cleveland, and he limped out of their latest game after 18 minutes with a sprained ankle.
Detroit now have back-to-back home games against LA Clippers on Friday and Atlanta on Sunday, as they look to move up from 11th in the East with five wins from ten games. How bigger part Gordon plays in those games remains to be seen, though his injury-hit team certainly can’t afford to be without him.
November 25, 2009 at 4:03 am · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
Part two
“January and February are tough months and that’s when you really begin your play-off run. I still believe we are a play-off team and people can shoot me down for that but I truly believe we are and we’re going to do our utmost to get to that position.”
“Eighth spot would be good for us as I don’t care where we go on the road but we’re a long way to go and I say that to the guys and even over emphasise that. We are a long way to go but then again we’re not as we’re a third of the way through the season.”
“I don’t know what its going to take for the eighth spot and I’m not concerned about the top of the league where I have been in the past. Right now I’m focused on getting that eight spot and a good run in the Trophy.”
“I keep giving the guys the boost they need and they are desperate at the moment and really are down. But we are professionals and we have to play through this. I’ve got some talented players and people realise that and we just need a bit of the rub of the green.”
“Tonight we weren’t great at the free-throw line and we’ve been leading the league in that category although we’re probably bottom of the league in everything else. We’ve been shooting about 72% and tonight we were about 50% missing about 8 which could have kept us closer and get The Eagles on the back foot.”
“But hats off to Fab he’s got a great unit and I’ve got nothing bad to say about the organisation. There was a good crowd in tonight and they are the star and the light of the league and the ones everybody tries to aspire to and we’ve tried to do it over the years.”
“If that was a top v bottom clash tonight there was not that much difference and I don’t feel sorry for myself and I don’t feel sorry for my players and I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for us. We’ve got to man up and be professional and we’ll certainly try to address that.”
Brave, passionate words from a very honest man and one that clearly cares about his sport, his club and the predicament they are currently in. It would be a brave man to bet against Gary turning things around and I for one have never been brave!!!
Jeff “Pointy” King – Sunday 22nd November.
Picture courtesy of Raiders’ website
November 23, 2009 at 1:54 pm · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Michael Lenzley
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI (Italy Serie A)
Angelico managaed to keep up with the leaders this weekend with a hard fought road victory against NGC Cantu, 96-83. Kieran, as the last few weeks has been under performing. Unfortunately it got worse this game as he didn’t managed to register a single point! He did manage to grab 3 boards, 1 steal, & 1 assist in the 9 minutes he was on court, but surely he is going to be mightly disappointed in his performance. The win, however leaves Angelico 3rd in the table, so it is not all doom & gloom for Kieran.
Robert Archibald – Malaga (Spain ACB)
It was the battle of the Brits on Sunday as Malaga made the trip to Estudiantes. The game went the wire with Malaga getting the win witht the tightest of margins, 72-71. Robert started the game, played 25 minutes, and contributed 9 points, 7 boards, & 2 steals. The much needed win, only the third of the season moved Malaga up to 12th in the table & just 1-2 games behind 8th placed Gran Canaria.
Andrew Betts – Aris (Greece)
Aris finally got their season going this weekend, although they had to work mighty hard against a stubborn Ilysiakos side. Aris finally shrugged them off & recorded a 65-57 win away from home. Betts had a relatively quiet game, however looking at the score line it was a very tight defensive struggle. Betts finished on 7 points & 2 boards in 22 minutes of action. Small numbers yes, but it helped Aris to a vital win and sees them climb off the bottom to move to 12th in the table with a 1-3 record.
Flinder Boyd – Unattached
Still no news on Flinder signing for Eagles, and I for one am beginning to worry it might have fell through. It still begs the question why GB’s best point guard for the last 2 years has struggled to find a team?
Daniel Clarke – Estudiantes (Spain ACB)
Another week to forget for the big youngster. Not only did his team agonisingly miss out on a big win, but Clarke had another miserable night on the court. He was on court for 1 minute only, and grabbed just a steal. The coach obviously think he is not ready to make an impact, but surely give him more than 1 minute of action to prove himself! The defeat leaves Estudiantes a place behind Malaga in 13th with 3-6 record.
Joel Freeland – Malaga (Spain ACB)
A quiet weekend for Joel, even if the game he played in was far from it. Getting the vital win was probably more important than persona glory this week as Joel helped pour in 6 points , 3 rebounds & block shot in 14 minutes of game time. Possibly still feeling the affects of his hand injury, so to put those stats in that time is not a bad effort at all.
Nick George – Fastweb (Italy Lega 2)
A heavy defeat this weekend for Nick’s team as they were humbled by Banco Sard 87-63. In vain Nick managed 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocked shots. However he possibly could’ve contributed more if he wasn’t fouled out. Does look like he is fighting hard & contributing accross the stat sheet, but he would’ve sacrificed some of that for the win. This defeat leaves Fastweb 9th with a disappointing 3-5 record.
Jarrett Hart – Kervanos (Cyprus)
A weekend off this week for Jarrett. Look out next week to see how he, and his team get on. Currently they are 3rd in the table with a 3-1 record.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk (Czech Republic)
There seems to be no stopping Nymburk! This weekend they destroyed BK Decin 102-57!! Lenzley had a steady productive game helping out with 10 points and for rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. Did what to this week with minimal fuss & probably minimal effort. Then again winning breeds confidence, and Lenzley is definately a confidence player. Prior to that game Nymburk played against Ostrava last wednesday night. Winning again this time by an unbelieveable 68 points!! Lenzley played well scoring 12 points, missing just 1 shot, and 4 assists. Needless to say Nymburk are cruising away at the top of the league with a perfect 15-0 record.
Nate Reinking – Mons (Belgium)
Mons recorded a much need win on Saturday against Antwerp. The game finished 80-75 with Nate hitting 6 points off just 6 shots. Mons were buyoed by the retun of point guard Travis conlan & this showed as they came out the victors. The crucial win leaves Mons 7th with a 3-5 record, but they are only a couple of games behind 3rd placed Pepinster.
Andrew Sullivan – Apollon (Cyprus)
Apollon remaind in sight of the leaders this weekend by squeezing past Achilleas 78-74. Once again i apologise on the lack of stats. Once rectified we will post back dated stats of both Sullivan & Hart.
November 23, 2009 at 10:20 am · Filed under EBL
Part one
By Jeff King
I recorded an interview with Plymouth Raiders Head Coach Gary Stronach minutes after last Friday’s loss to the Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena. Gary, as ever, was straight talking and honest and had plenty of things to say and consider.
The words are quite poignant and probably have an even deeper meaning after his side lost yet another close one at Guildford on Sunday afternoon by 90 – 87 taking their record to 1 – 9 for the season and rock-bottom of the BBL, a position I doubt anyone would have predicted before the season started.
I asked Gary to comment on the night’s loss to The Eagles, sum up his season so far and then give me a general view of the BBL this season. I switched my voice recorder on and away he went. Four minutes and 25 seconds later he was done and so was I. Here are the results in his words.
“Obviously tonight we are bitterly disappointed. We ran with The Eagles for three quarters but we had a poor third quarter which made the difference in the game. In the other quarters we were up by four and down by four and all square in the other.”
“I said at the beginning of the season that everything’s going to come through Newcastle. Other teams are doing well, don’t get me wrong but this is the team that everyone should hold their beacon to.”
“I’m disappointed with our start to the season. I knew in the summer that it was going to be tough season for us but we got ourselves in to that position and there’s no-one else to blame. Injuries haven’t helped, James Noel and now Flato has a desperate injury, horrific for that guy.”
“I know we are 1 – 8 now but I still believe we’ll turn it around. We are getting our snipers and having digs at us which is understandable as they praise you when you are at the top and shoot you down when you are at the bottom. But at the end of the day we’re going to turn it around and it’s going to come down to a lot from me and a lot from the guys.”
“I’ll make decisions on the next few days about that. We’ve just got to get a couple of wins under our belts and we’re a bit down on ourselves at the moment. The third quarter is our nemesis at the moment and I don’t know why that is. I try to be quick at the half-time talk and give the guys 5 or 6 minutes warm-up and get mentally prepared.”
“Tonight we did that again and then Bridgey comes out and nails a three-ball from the corner and that gets them on a run which we couldn’t contain and they just ran away with it.”
“I’m bitterly disappointed with the season so far. Obviously I don’t want to be rock-bottom of the league and to be honest I don’t think we deserve to be bottom but we have lost eight games to put us there and I’m doing my utmost to change that round and I think we will.”
“We’ve just got to get some breaks, guys not getting injured, guys coming back quicker than they are and I think that’ll help us. We need to get those wins before Christmas as I don’t want to be cut adrift. Maybe having guys back and others stepping up for after Christmas would help us.”
Picture courtsey of Raiders’ website.
November 18, 2009 at 11:41 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
A great first week for most of the British contingent, with wins and career highs aplenty.
Top performer: Eric Boateng
Never mind improving over a season – Eric Boateng managed to improve immensely within the first week alone.
Boateng started out with a solid nine points and nine rebounds in ASU’s rout of Western Illinois. The Londoner started at centre for the Sun Devils, but played only 17 minutes as Herb Sendek gave ASU’s reserves a run in the second half. Boateng shot 50% from the floor, and added three assists, two blocks and a steal to complete an impressive line.
That was followed up with a career-high 14 points on 5-7 shooting against Texas State. Again he filled up the stat sheet, with nine boards, two dimes and three steals in 30 minutes.
Arizona Republic writer Doug Haller saw room for improvement, however, writing in his post-game analysis: “Boateng still seems to be taking too much time in the post. When the senior center catches the ball, his first instinct is to look for an open teammate. At one point in the second half, Boateng didn’t realize that Texas State’s Cameron Johnson had gambled on the entry pass and was out of position. Had Boateng turned, he would’ve had a clear path to the basket. Instead, he waited too long and Johnson recovered.”
Haller had a different take after Boateng put up 21 and 12 against Texas Christian: “Those tuning in saw a different player from last season. At times, Boateng was ASU’s only scoring option. The senior center was aggressive – seven of his 12 boards came on offense – and he was patient, allowing plays to unfold.”
The Sun Devils will play Boateng’s old team, Duke, next Wednesday. Let’s hope the big man can show Coach K what he’s missing.
How the other Brits fared:
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning had his best performance yet in a Husky uniform, recording 23 points on 11-14 shooting against Belmont, to go with five blocks. Yet while he added eight points and seven rebounds against Portland State, he was quiet against Wright State, contributing just three points and three boards in 28 minutes. No wonder MBA’s watchword for the season is “consistency”.
• Rider scored a shock victory over No. 18 Mississippi State, and Justin Robinson was right at the centre of things. The 6-2 guard made seven of nine free throw attempts and both his three-pointers en route to 15 points. He added four boards and four assists, and did not turn the ball over. Robinson’s stellar three-point shooting continued as he was 4-5 in Monday’s win over Lehigh, finishing with 14 points and four assists.
• Ben Allison had a career-high 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Davidson in their 73-62 loss to No. 10 Butler. Allison, who started for the Wildcats, was 4-9 from the field and hit all five of his foul shots in 23 minutes of play.
• Jamie Vanderbeken’s injury appears to be on the mend, as he increased his minutes from four to 14 to 23 over ISU’s three games this week. The senior went scoreless against Idaho State, before going 3-3 from downtown for 11 points and five rebounds against Chicago State, and concluded the week with six points and six boards against Drake.
• Andrew Lawrence recorded three points and an assist as College of Charleston were upset by Coastal Carolina in their opener. The Cougars bounced back with a win over Winthrop, Lawrence registering three points and three assists. The 6-1 guard played 15 minutes in each game – hopefully a sign that he’s cemented a place in the rotation.
• Mike Williams made his debut for Duquesne, playing four minutes. He missed his only field goal attempt.
November 18, 2009 at 4:28 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Pops Mensah-Bonsu’s exile from the NBA only lasted a few days as he returned to Toronto Raptors.
The English forward was released by Houston Rockets on Friday, but after Spanish giants Real Madrid had shown an interest in him, he opted to return to Canada.
The Londoner played for the Raptors last season, but couldn’t agree a deal with them for the 2009/10 campaign. He averaged 5.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 13.8 minutes in 19 games with Toronto,
His return to the Raptors line-up couldn’t spark a win as they went down 130-112 at Denver, but Pops did manage to equal his last season’s average with Toronto of five points. He also pulled down four rebounds, collected a steal and dished out an assist in six and half minutes of action.
Raptors will look to snap a two-game losing streak on Thursday when they host Miami, with Orlando due in town on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of basketballgb.com
November 17, 2009 at 5:41 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
I appear to have had a third of my potential material taken away from me !
Hopefully Pops will get himself sorted out and remain in the NBA. Until Gordon actually turns out in a GB kit, I think it’s important to have more than just Luol Deng playing in the highest profile league in the world.
It’s been a quiet few days for Deng, with only one game for the Bulls since their defeat against Toronto, but at least it was a victory as they snapped a two-game losing streak with a 94-88 home win against Philadelphia 76rs.
Deng and Kirk Hinrich each scored 19 points as the Bulls sealed the victory with a strong second half performance. Deng narrowly missed out on a double-double in 43:31 minutes of action, finishing with nine boards as well as collecting two steals and as many assists to go with a single block.
Bulls now start a 13-day, six-game road trip as the circus comes to Chicago. They visit Sacramento on Tuesday, Lakers on Thursday and Denver on Saturday.
Deng currently leads his team with 17.6 points per game as Bulls lay eighth in the Eastern Conference with five wins from nine games.
Meanwhile, it’s been a mixed week for Gordon and his Detroit Pistons team. He scored a game-high 29 points in 42 minutes – blistering the Wizards from long range on five-from-eight shooting from behind the three-point line as Washington were defeated 86-83 on Saturday.
However, the following night he shot a dismal one from 16 on the way to five points in 41 minutes as Pistons went down 95-90 at home against Dallas Mavericks.
Gordon, who was battling a cold, admitted it was a disappointing night: “They didn’t feel good and they didn’t look good, either,” Gordon said of his jumpers. “You’ll have games like that every once in awhile. I’ve just got to bounce back.”
Jason Kidd made contact with Gordon on his last try but there was no bailout whistle.
“I think he was trying to foul to send me to the free throw line before I got up,” Gordon told NBA.com. “He kind of caught me on the way up, so I thought we were going to get some free throws.”
Pistons are also on the road this week, visiting Lakers on Tuesday before moving on to Portland the following day and Utah on Saturday. They are currently tenth in Eastern Conference with a 5-5 record.
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