Game 61: Blazers @ Bulls

Blazers Analysis Bulls
PG
Derrick Rose has been tremendous in his sophomore season for the Bulls. He began the season a little slow, but in the last three months, he's been amazing. Averaging around 21 pts, 6 asts, and 4 rbs, he has a lot to do with where the Bulls are at in the standings.
Andre Miller has also been stellar lately. He's fitting in and putting up great numbers. His game against Toronto on Wednesday was complete and very neccessary. I'm giving the edge to Rose because of location, but Andre may have some tricks up his sleeve.
PG
SG
With Roy back in the line-up and playing at a high level once again, the Blazers get even stronger. He's had some adjustment struggles, but tonight will be a good opportunity for him to flex his All-Star muscle.
Kirk Hinrich is a great defender and a nice compliment to Derrick Rose, but offensively he's not the same guy he once was. I think he gives Roy trouble at times, but overall, Brandon wins.
SG
SF
One overlooked aspect of the last two road wins has to be the impact of Nic Batum, or lack there of. He's disappeared in two straight starts, but it hasn't really mattered. Batum needs to show up tonight in Chicago.
Nic will have the very difficult task of defending Luol Deng. Deng has been scoring the ball with regularity, reaching 20 ppg in February and being a tough assignment. I like Deng here, but I'm hoping for one of our small forwards to step up.
SF
PF
LaMarcus pulled a Houdini on Wednesday against the Raptors, logging 39 minutes and only scoring 9 points with 2 rebounds. Those kinds of nights happen and I have a feeling he'll bounce back in Chicago.
His task will be guarding the super athletic Taj Gibson. Taj has been solid for Chicago and has shown flashes of brilliant play at times. He'll be a nuisance for LA, but I still think Aldridge is a big time contributor tonight.
PF
C
With Joakim Noah trying to return from plantar fasciitis and Marcus Camby's status still up in the air, the center positions in tonight's game could pit two NBA veterans against each other in Brad Miller and Juwan Howard.
Unless Noah plays 25 minutes and gets a double double, I'm liking our Blazer centers. Hopefully Camby is good to go, but against Chicago tonight, Portland will win this game and go 3-0 on the road trip.
C
Blazers	Analysis	Bulls
PG	Derrick Rose has been tremendous in his sophomore season for the Bulls. He began the season a little slow, but in the last three months, he's been amazing. Averaging around 21 pts, 6 asts, and 4 rbs, he has a lot to do with where the Bulls are at in the standings. Andre Miller has also been stellar lately. He's fitting in and putting up great numbers. His game against Toronto on Wednesday was complete and very neccessary. I'm giving the edge to Rose because of location, but Andre may have some tricks up his sleeve.	PG
SG	With Roy back in the line-up and playing at a high level once again, the Blazers get even stronger. He's had some adjustment struggles, but tonight will be a good opportunity for him to flex his All-Star muscle. Kirk Hinrich is a great defender and a nice compliment to Derrick Rose, but offensively he's not the same guy he once was. I think he gives Roy trouble at times, but overall, Brandon wins.	SG
SF	One overlooked aspect of the last two road wins has to be the impact of Nic Batum, or lack there of. He's disappeared in two straight starts, but it hasn't really mattered. Batum needs to show up tonight in Chicago. Nic will have the very difficult task of defending Luol Deng. Deng has been scoring the ball with regularity, reaching 20 ppg in February and being a tough assignment. I like Deng here, but I'm hoping for one of our small forwards to step up.	SF
PF	LaMarcus pulled a Houdini on Wednesday against the Raptors, logging 39 minutes and only scoring 9 points with 2 rebounds. Those kinds of nights happen and I have a feeling he'll bounce back in Chicago. His task will be guarding the super athletic Taj Gibson. Taj has been solid for Chicago and has shown flashes of brilliant play at times. He'll be a nuisance for LA, but I still think Aldridge is a big time contributor tonight.	PF
C	With Joakim Noah trying to return from plantar fasciitis and Marcus Camby's status still up in the air, the center positions in tonight's game could pit two NBA veterans against each other in Brad Miller and Juwan Howard. Unless Noah plays 25 minutes and gets a double double, I'm liking our Blazer centers. Hopefully Camby is good to go, but against Chicago tonight, Portland will win this game and go 3-0 on the road trip.	C