Happy Saturday!
Oh, and Happy Wedding Day to Eli! If anyone has a moment today, maybe throw him a congrats on Twitter on the big day. As he mentioned in yesterday’s Bullets, he’ll be taking the next little bit off to get married and then galavant through Italy on his honeymoon. That means you’re all stuck with me on Bulls coverage through the rest of the preseason!
As far as Friday’s in the preseason go, yesterday had a decently large amount of news so let’s recap what might have been easy to miss on what was a gorgeous fall afternoon in the greatest city in the world.
Bulls Bullets
- It was essentially locked in already, but yesterday the Bulls made it official that Derrick Rose’s night to be honored at the United Center will be January 4th, 2025 when the New York Knicks come to town. Of course, the Bulls might have wanted to make it earlier, but it seems like honoring Rose when Tom Thibodeau was in town was the top priority, and I’m glad they did it that way. Thibs and Rose clearly meant a lot to each other, and their careers will always be linked. If only Thibs would have just taken Derrick out up double digits late in that playoff game….nope. No. I’m not doing this, I’m not letting my brain go there.
- K.C. Johnson also mentioned that the Bulls were not only honoring Derrick, but they were considering retiring his jersey number as well. It doesn’t sound like any decision has been made there yet. But, if K.C. Johnson is reporting it that means there are some legs to the idea. Also, if the team is letting it be known that they’re discussing the idea of retiring #1, I think that means they’re going to be doing it. I’m not sure that info gets out if they don’t think they’ll end up doing it. If they didn’t plan on retiring the number, I don’t think they’d let everyone know that the possibility was on the table. That’s just a guess on my part, but given that report, my money would be on Derrick’s number heading up to the rafters.
- Now to the current team, it won’t be tonight but Lonzo Ball’s return to the floor is just about here. He said yesterday on his podcast that the plan was for him to play 2-3 preseason games. It sounds like he’ll be getting in for two of the final three preseason matchups which are at Milwaukee and then home against Minnesota and Cleveland. If I had to guess, I would say we see him in Milwaukee on Monday and then at home against Cleveland on Friday. Taking the Wednesday game off makes sense. Play him on Monday, give him three days off to rest and evaluate where he’s at, and then wrap up the preseason on Friday.
- Honestly, I’m still kind of amazed he’s ready for the start of the regular season. I know he’s been out forever, but still, he’s gone through so much with that knee it really felt like we might never see him play in the NBA again. Hopefully, he’s able to go out this season and be an effective player. I doubt he’ll ever be back to the full-strength version of himself that helped position Chicago with the best record in the Eastern Conference, but he doesn’t have to be that to extend his NBA career beyond this season. Also, it would be nice for the Bulls to be able to flip him and his expiring contract for any sort of asset at the trade deadline.
- Stacey King has given Matas Buzelis a nickname, and I’m here for it. On his Gimmie The Hot Sauce podcast with Mark Schanowski (a great listen, by the way) Stacey dubbed Matas with “Praying Mantis” as his nickname. The reasoning behind it was solid too. Maybe twist it up a little and call him the Praying Matas? Maybe that’s a stretch. But yeah, Stacey can come up with just about any nickname for any Bull that he wants and I’ll be on board.
- It’s just the preseason and it’s early, but…
- Paul George had himself one heck of a preseason debut in Philly. I’m sure the fans totally won’t turn on him the first time he has a bad game against the Knicks or the Celtics!
- The Blackhawks lost in overtime last night, but they looked better!
- Tom Ricketts isn’t thrilled about this season’s results, so will they make a big move or two?
- One more sleep until the Bears kick off in London!
- Speaking of the Bears, join us early next month for a free watch party when they visit the Arizona Cardinals!