The Chicago Bulls are the last undefeated team in the NBA in the preseason with a 7-0 record and on Friday night, Derrick Rose and company will put that on the line for their final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets and that game will be at the United Center in a game that will start at 8:00 PM and will be streaming online on NBA.com and the league pass website.
The team comes into the game after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and they will take on a Nuggets team that has won two of six games and the team comes into the game with a new coach in Brian Shaw. The Bulls will be one of the top teams in the East this season and with rose coming back, the team should be very good and he looks explosive already this preseason. The Chicago Bulls are coming into the season with NBA title expectations after getting Rose back from his serious knee injury and after the way he has looked in the preseason, the team has good reason, but there are also other concerns, including injuries to Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich.
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According to ESPN.com, both Noah and Hinrich are dealing with injuries and will miss the rest of the preseason and there also is a chance that they could miss the start of the regular season as well. The report says that Noah is dealing with a groin injury, while Hinrich sustained a concussion in the preseason game on Friday. Both Noah and Hinrich were scratched from the preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and Noah said that he is working on getting back to full strength, but that there is a chance he could miss the game on Tuesday that opens the season at the Miami Heat. The two returned to practice in a limited capacity, but they likely will be out to start the season.
Coach Tom Thibodeau spoke to reporters about the status of Noah and mentioned that his conditioning is not quite where it needs to be yet and Noah said that he will be patient to make sure the injury does not get any more severe than it already is. Hinrich missed significant time in the playoffs last season and he has been out since getting hit in the head in the game against the Indiana Pacers and one reason he could be out is due to the concussion protocols. The team is coming off of a win over the Bucks and heading into the Thunder game the Bulls were undefeated through six games and after the OKC matchup they will play against the Nuggets.
Rose has looked very good so far in the playoffs after returning from his knee surgery and Rose himself said that he feels better than before the injury and that he can get up even higher now when he elevates to the rim. Rose has been helped by the addition of Mike Dunleavy and if he can stay healthy through the season, the Bulls have a real chance to make some noise in the East. The team will be going up against the Heat of course, while the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks will all be vying for position.
The Bulls are coming into the season after defeating the Brooklyn Nets in the first round last year in seven games and after taking down the Heat in Game 1 of the next round, they lost the next four games and they are thrilled to have Rose back. The team ranked 29th in scoring last season without him and getting Rose back will only make the offense run smoother. The team was one of the best defensive squads in the game and they also ranked in the top 10 in both rebounds and assists per game.