Blogs.Bulls.com

The Bulls would love to bag a win before the All Star break as the Heat make their first visit to the United Center The two teams met in late December as Mario Chalmers got the best of Derrick Rose at the point. Number two pick Michael Beasley played very well in fourth quarter as the Heat prevailed. A win Thursday night would give the Bulls momentum going in to the second half of the season as they take on the Bucks in Milwaukee next Wednesday.

Audio preview:

A few observations…

Got to love what Tyrus Thomas is doing. He’s taken the team lead in double-doubles with eleven. He’s playing with a ton of confidence and enthusiasm.

Joakim Noah’s energy and ability to crash the boards has been a key factor in the Bulls winning five of their last eight games.

Derrick Rose is taking high percentage shots and is running efficient half court sets. In transtion it’s tough to stop him.

Kirk Hinrich’s defense should not go unnoticed.

Will the Heat deal Shawn Marion before the trade deadline(Feb. 19)?

Will Pat Riley take a risk and acquire Jermaine O’Neal?

Catching a ton of NBA ball… Bobcats beat the Wiz. Is Caron Butler on the block?

D.J. Augustin is having a terrific rookie year for Charlotte. They can afford to trade Raymond Felton.

Catching Spurs-Raps- Roko Ukic who replaced the injured Jose Calderon in the starting lineup had a terrific game. Big win for the Raps who played without Calderon and Bosh.

Mo Williams went off celebrating his All Star status with 44 against the Suns as the Cavs ripped Phoenix by 17.

Denver 36-19 after beating Orlando. The Nuggets are playing better than I thought. Enter Billups-Exit Iverson. More touches for Melo. No Camby… impressive.

Ray Allen injured his thumb in Boston’s win over the Hornets so David Stern may have to dial up another star for the Eastern Conference squad for the All-Star game.

Deron Williams with a nasty 31 point 11 assist game as the Jazz beat the Lakers.

Houston topped the KIngs-whatever.

Greg Oden 16-10 3 blocks… Portland over OKC.

No Bogut. No Ridnour. No Redd. Milwaukee scored 122 points in an NBA game. Sorry, forgot they were playing the Pacers. Ramon Sessions with 15 points and 17 assists.

The Knicks are scoring tons of points but they’re giving up a zillion. A wild shootout last night in LA as the Clippers won in OT.

The 76ers have done a nice job the first half of the season 27-24 at the break following a win over the Grizz.

Detroit is falling apart. Solid road win for the Hawks.

How good was Ty Lawson last night. Love NC-Duke games. Tarheels rule. Let’s get real here. You score 100 points on Duke… that’s something special. You do it on the road? Wow. Four straight wins for Carolina at Cameron. That deserves a Bill Wennington “HELLO!”

Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the family of Larry Gross who served as Sports Editor of the Chicago Defender who recently passed away.

Always a pleasure. cswirsky@bulls.com