Chuck's Check In

Chuck Swirsky

FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Bulls 102 Wizards 82. ( Bulls 28-33, 18-13 at home).

LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: DeRozan: 29 pts. Wizards: 18 pts.LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Vucevic: 13. Wizards: Gafford: 11.LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: DeRozan: 6. Wizards: Beal: 8.

CCI STAT OF THE GAME: The Bulls committed just two turnovers in the second half.

CCI RECAP: In a grind it out game, the Bulls won the second time in as many games as the post All Star break has brought a sense of urgency to Billy Donovan's team.

The Bulls have held the Nets and Wizards in consecutive e games under 90 points. The last time that occurred was April -2017.

Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 56 points shooting a combined 22-33 from the field, 66%.

Coby White buried three fourth quarter long distance jumpers and finished with 17 points off the bench. The Bulls outscored the Wizards 28-15 in the fourth quarter.

Nikola Vucevic recorded his 12th double-double game in his last 13, his 39th of the season, ranking him third in the NBA behind Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic.

Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 57 points.

CCI STAT OF THE GAME: The Bulls committed just turnovers in the second half.

Portland 131, Houston 114. Damian Lillard scored71 points, draining 13 three pointers

Cleveland 118, Toronto 93. Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points for the Cavaliers.

Los Angeles Lakers 111, Dallas 108. The Mavs blew a 27 point lead. Anthony Davis scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Lakers have won four of five.

Sacramento 124, Oklahoma City 115. De'Aaron Fox poured in 33 points as the Kings won their third straight.

Golden State 109, Minnesota 104. Klay Thompson scored 32 points for the Warriors. The T-Wolves have lost three straight.

Denver 134, Los Angeles Clippers 124. Nikola Jokic registered his 23rd triple-double game on the season with 40 points-17 rebounds and 10 assists.

Milwaukee 104, Phoenix 101. Jrue Holiday scored 33 points for the Bucks who played without Giannis Antetokounmpo . Milwaukee has won 14 straight.

Atlanta 129, Brooklyn 127. Trae Young scored 34 points and dished out eight assists.

Thanks for following CCI. Reach out:&nbsp;cswirsky@bulls.com. Twitter: @ctsbulls. Instagram: swirsk_bulls. Facebook: Chuck Swirsky All Bulls. 365. 24-7.&nbsp;Always a pleasure.

chuck-checks-in-02-27-23

Chuck Checks In - 02.27.23

Bulls.com

Thank you for the fantastic feedback on last week's CCI's Question of the Week: What has been your favorite Bulls memory while attending a game at the United Center? Responses below.

This week's CCI Question: We all love Chicago's "MVB" Benny the Bull, what is your favorite Benny moment? We will post your remarks in next week's column.

I'm at my desk working on CCI with many thoughts racing through my mind... I'm excited following the Bulls 20-21 journey, but patience is the key as the Bulls front office will have plenty of time to navigate their future. I have the utmost faith in the Bulls new management team based on their influence and decision making in previous stops. There is no doubt Bulls players are preparing for next season. The Bulls haven't played a game since the second week of March and I can't wait for the day it all comes together at the Advocate Center.

As I've been telling everyone for a long, long time, Denver's Jamal Murray is a flat out baller. He plays with heart and passion. His 50 point game on Sunday forced a seventh game between the Nuggets and Jazz. Murray and Donovan Mitchell are getting after it. I love it!

An impressive game one win for Boston over the Raps but remember, it's just one game. The Raps lost the first two games of the EC Finals a year ago and prevailed over Milwaukee.

The Lakers advanced behind their two superstars as they shredded an injury depleted Portland ball club. A significant bright spot for Portland was the play of Carmelo Anthony who proved to doubters that he can still be an effective rotation player in the NBA. It was a good fit for Melo and the Blazers.

The Clippers advanced to the second round closing out the Mavs who played without Kristaps Porzingis. The future is bright for the Mavs and a lot of their future success hinges on the health of Porzingis. Luka Doncic is THE face of the franchise. Period. But if the Mavs are to make inroads on claiming the Western Conference they must have a 75-82 game player in Porzingis. They simply need him on the floor to establish any continuity.

Nate McMillian who did a solid job directing the Pacers, will take a season off before deciding his next move. McMillan previously coached Seattle and Portland.

RIP Cliff Robinson. "Uncle Cliffy" played nearly twenty years in the NBA. He was an All Star and recipient of the Sixth Man Award. The Blazers honored Robinson by wearing headbands Saturday. Robinson wasn't the first NBA player to wear one but he certainly made a fashion statement by donning it during his career. Every time I see that NBA Entertainment clip of Michael Jordan's shrug after nailing yet another three ball against the Blazers in the ‘92 Finals, I see Robinson, side by side, mesmerized like the rest of us.

RIP: Lute Olson and John Thompson. These two bigger than life Hall of Fame college basketball coaches left an indelible mark on the lives of young men and the sport itself. I first met Olson when he had just taken over the Iowa program in the late 70s. His vision for Hawkeyes' basketball was filled with excitement. He did a tremendous job before leaving to take over a downtrodden Arizona program, ultimately winning an NCAA title in 1997. Meanwhile, Thompson was THE face of Georgetown basketball. His competitive fire guided the infancy of the upstart Big East Conference to national prominence as his Hoyas program not only won an NCAA crown led by Patrick Ewing, but in the process, made teams pay along the way with physical, tough, hard-nosed play. The last time I saw Coach Thompson came during the 2019-20 season. The Bulls and other NBA teams held game day shoot around on the Georgetown campus. Thompson entered the athletic facility named in his honor and we exchanged greetings for a moment. As announcer for DePaul University in the 80s and 90s, I saw first hand the battles between Thompson and Ray and Joey Meyer. Fans in Chicago and D.C. were treated to some spectacular games during that era.

CCI Mailbag: Last week's CCI Question of the Week: What has been your favorite Bulls memory while attending a game at the United Center? Bulls fans responded:

My favorite memory came in the second game against Detroit during the first championship run. Late in the game as the Bulls were pulling away, the crowd was in a frenzy. Everyone in the standing room only section were stomping and hitting whatever they could in unison to the beat on the sound system and guys picked up several garbage cans and were banging them against the walls. Been to many concerts in my life but nothing compared to the noise in the stadium that night. Never forget it. -Greg

Hi Chuck. My favorite Bull's memory goes back to their very first year of existence. I attended a game and management was attempting to build a fan base. They had a promotion that if you guessed the high scorer of the game, you would get free tickets to a future game. Well, the usher gave me a whole handful of entry tickets and I filled out one for every member of the team. Obviously, I received two tickets and on attending the future game, I only got one ticket, but guessed right and again received two free tickets. I have been a Bulls fan for life and I have always remembered the three games I saw for the price of one. -Ron Hooker, Three Rivers, MI

I definitely got to go the 2020 NBA All-Star Game!! So many fabulous Bulls games and memories I could post here but wow was this weekend including the Skills Contest a dream come-true! GO BULLS! -Coach T.

I was there when Scottie Pippen was ejected for throwing the chair, Jud Beuchler (U of A!) came in and almost saved the day, but David Robinson (I think) would not be denied. -Darren

Zach LaVine making the game winning layup with the foul shot to win against the Clippers this year. -Sal

I've been at some great games. D-Rose buzzer beater against the Cavs, Joakim Noah's steal against the Celtics, Nate Rob's huge 4th quarter and also Jimmy Butler's 50 point game. So many more. I will say the game Klay Thompson broke the 3 point record I was there for and that was insane too. -Jason

Taking my future wife (Knicks fan) to the UC for Jalen Rose's 1st game as a Bull. He had 36 in a 113-109 win. One of us left happy. -Mr 68

Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls.

Our CCI Question: We all love Chicago's "MVB" Benny the Bull, what is your favorite Benny moment? We will post your remarks in next week's column.

Always a pleasure. All In. All Bulls. 365. 24-7.

chucks-check-in-8-31-20

Chuck's Check In - 8.31.20

CCI received tons of feedback from our Bulls social media outlets on the question I posted last week in my column, "What do you remember most about your first in person Bulls game?" Responses below, but first, let's get you caught up on what's going on the Association.

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Our CCI question of the week, and please put some thought in to this one based on the entire history of the Bulls dating back to 1966, "Who is the THIRD best player in Bulls franchise history behind MJ and Scottie?" E-mail me at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls. I read every post. You will receive a personal return response, and I'll share a few in next week's CCI. Thank you.

Miami's Jimmy Butler plans to return to action today as the Heat play TJ Warren and the Pacers in what could be a preview of a playoff matchup. The two players exchanged some not so warm greetings when the teams last met prior to the Covid interruption. Late word from the Pacers camp, Warren is listed as questionable with a foot issue. Warren is having a tremendous run in Orlando. Phoenix gave up on him and Indiana is more than happy he's in a Pacers uniform. Life in the bubble is starting to take shape in terms of intensity. By now, I'm sure the players are agitated and frustrated living in a cloistered existence but the truth of the matter is, the bubble is working and the NBA is doing a fantastic job making sure players and staff members are doing their best to protect themselves from the coronavirus. The players are receiving excellent medical supervision, they don't miss meals and there is plenty of down time to rest and enjoy activities provided by the NBA.

Trash talk also flared up in Saturday's Blazers-Clippers game featuring Portland's Damian Lillard and the Clippers' Paul George and Patrick Beverley. The Clippers received some good news as Montrez Harrell announced he has rejoined the team in Orlando. Harrell is a candidate for the NBA Sixth Man Award.

Draymond Green and his Warriors teammates aren't participating in Orlando but that didn't prevent Green from making news. Green is serving as an analyst on TNT and in the process violated the NBA anti-tamperiring rule regarding statements Green made pertaining to Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. It will cost Green 50-thousand dollars. Will TNT pay the fine? Asking for a friend... The Suns have put it together in Orlando and are playing outstanding hoops. Going forward, the Suns can build on these "extra" games as they prepare for the 20-21 campaign.

Do the injury riddled Grizzlies have enough left in the tank to qualify for a "play in" game? Memphis has a tough road ahead as they hope to be a participant in an 8-9 Western Conference game on Saturday.

Should Portland advance, can they shock the Lakers in the opening round? Damian Lillard dropped 51 points Sunday in the Blazers 124-121 win over the 76ers. Joel Embiid sustained a left ankle injury in the first half and did not return. The Pelicans and Kings are officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Kings will miss the post season for the 14th consecutive season, one shot of the NBA record held by the Buffalo Braves/San Diego/ LA Clippers.

The question is not "if" but "when" will Luka Doncic capture an MVP award? His performance in the Mavs 136-132 OT win over Milwaukee was one for the ages as he lit up the Bucks with a 36-14-19 game.

Ben Simmons will undergo left knee surgery and is out indefinitely. Obviously, this is a major blow for the 76ers who cannot fall lower than sixth in the East. Simmons was averaging 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds per game. His 35 minutes per game leads Philly in that department.

The Rockets won their fourth game in Orlando as Austin Rivers scored a career high 41 points in a win over the Kings.

Thoughts and prayers to Hall of Fame player Paul Westphal who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Westphal starred at USC and became a multiple All Star player. He later coached the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993, losing to the Bulls.

"My first game was Scottie Pippen's rookie year at Chicago Stadium. I remember how dark it was during introductions and I vividly remember an alley-oop from Jordan to Pippen. The Fan-O-Meter went haywire for that dunk. I also got a team set of cards that turned me into a knowledgeable young fan!" -Brian P.

"2-7-78 Dad got tix to see Dr J &amp; 76ers. 76ers were late cuz of snowstorm. Game started hour late. When 76ers came out for pregame layups the crowd went into a frenzy. Dr. J did not disappoint. But Bulls won..I was 12, no cable tv. Dr. J was on cover of sporting news that same week! " -Pete

"Bulls v Bucks. My biggest takeaway was Tom Boerwinkle playing as a high post center. And Kareem setting up down low. 10 year old me was struck by the difference in styles." -Dave

"I travelled from France for Bulls vs Knicks, April 11th, 2013. No Rose, Noah, Gibson or Mohammed, Boozer started at center. At some point Thibs had this line-up on the floor: Butler, Belinelli, Hinrich, Hamilton, Robinson! Nate scored 35pts and Bulls won in OT!" -France

"My brother &amp; I got to stand on the court &amp; have the Jesse White tumblers jump over us at halftime. We got to high five a bunch of the players too! I was 6 or 7 &amp; I remember high fiving Bill Cartwright in particular since he was so tall! Great memories &amp; thanks to those players." -Jay

"Michael scored 52 of the Bulls 103 points. They lost by 18 to the Suns." -Steve

"Friend's dad brought couple of us middle schoolers down to watch Bulls v Spurs in '89. Sat in the roll out bleacher seats in the Stadium. Was amazing to see (David) Robinson and Jordan dunking when sitting eye level with the rim." -KP

Many thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts about their passion and love of Bulls ball.

chucks-check-in-8-10-20

Chuck's Check In - 8.10.20

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