Fun at the Palace

Eager to shake off Monday's disappointment against the Nets, the Bulls came into tonight's game against the Detroit Pistons to rediscover what has gotten them where they are.  Strong play from Joakim Noah, major scoring off the bench and a well-rounded starting lineup have done the trick recently.  All those were the case tonight in a 105-94 win.

Although Noah reinjured his thumb which has caused him problems in the past, he recorded his sixth career triple-double and third in the last month:  10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.  This came on a day in which Bill Simmons declared Noah as his pick for finishing as high as fourth in the MVP voting.  Noah obviously won't win the award this year, but there's no way the Bulls would be where they are now without him.  Everything that should have gone wrong didn't, and Noah is at the epicenter of that.

D.J. Augustin came off the bench to lead the Bulls with 26 points, knocking down all 10 free-throw attempts, and also had six assists.  It was just a typical night in a bounce-back season for him.  Taj Gibson has been garnering consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year Award and showed it tonight by scoring 22 points.  As long as he continues this level up, he'll continue to prove why he's such a valuable commodity and a piece of the Bulls' future.

Including Noah, four of the five starters scored in double figures.  The best out of the remaining group was Jimmy Butler, who accumulated a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds in 46 minutes.  He also led all players with three steals, further adding to his everyman role.  Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich each scored 10.  The starting lineup is great with Noah and Butler, but anytime Boozer and Hinrich can act as key players to the cause, good things are bound to happen.  What's more, they both know their time in Chicago isn't likely to last beyond this season, so they have to be admired for continuing to give an all-effort.

While the Bulls didn't run away with this game and even appeared on the cusp of letting Detroit take control, they kept their cool and remembered they truly are the better team both on paper and on the court.  It's not always easy in a long regular season, but the result the oddsmakers' pick is usually correct.  With tonight's matchup, the Bulls were the favorite and they delivered.  It may not be so easy Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are just half a game better than the Bulls.  Still, this group will be up to the challenge and they'll play hard to prove it.