NBA Preseason

[tornado]

Not much else to talk about but the Bulls won last night in their preseason opener against the Grizzlies.
The starters didn't play a lot as expected so we got to see the bench guys.....

I saw a little bit of the game and the Bulls looked good but lack a PG of course..
Hinrich did admirably and had 7 assists but is a bit of a liability on defense and scored only 5 pts and missed all his 3-pt attempts...

BUT I was impressed by Taj Gibson - a bit bulkier, stronger and very energetic....
Taj finished his 26 minutes with 7 pts, 8 rebs, 3 blocks, 2 steals

And newcomer Nazr Mohammed had 12 pts, 13 rebs off the bench.
overall - the Bulls shot poorly (36% overall and only 14% from 3pt)



The Mavs got humbled by FC Barcelona in an international scrimmage...99-85..
Dirk didn't play but the Mavs got outhustled and outrebounded big time.



Anthony Davis - the #1 Draft Pick got his first NBA experience...
New Orleans beat pitiful Charlotte as Davis started and played 30 minutes - a bit high for an early exhibition game..
he was 9-18, 22pts, 9 rebs
Only 9200 showed up in New Orleans - amazingly bad - when compared to over 21K for the Bulls and 16K in Spain to see the Mavs/Barcelona game

[Da Coach]

The Grizzlies played against the Bulls' 2011 draft pick Nikola Mirotic, who plays for Real Madrid. Some of the Grizzlies players and coach Lionel Hollins gave him good reviews-

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-1010-bits-bulls-grizzlies-chicago--20121010,0,3110715.story

[BUfan14]

Hinrich did admirably and had 7 assists but is a bit of a liability on defense and scored only 5 pts and missed all his 3-pt attempts...

I did not watch yesterday, but Hinrich is generally considered a very good defensive guard, even making an All Defensive second team at one point. He might not be the quickest guard or as good as he once was, but his defense was one of the reasons people thought he fit so well with Thibodeau.

[tornado]

possibly but he's older and he's vertically challenged...

[tornado]

Just a few NBA exhibition notes..

Blake Ahearn played 10 scoreless minutes for Pacers - went 0-2

Jeremy Lin's debut for Houston is less than impressive - 20 min, 1-3, 3 pts

Kyle Korver & Anthony Tolliver both played for the Hawks - 2-8/9 pts, AT 1-2/4 pts

and Damian Lillard had yet another impressive performance - leading the Blazers to a big 93-75 win over the Lakers.
Lillard went 6-11, 14 pts, 7 asst in just 23 minutes.
Kobe didn't play due to shoulder injury, Dwight Howard out with back surgery,
and Meyers Leonard had a nice outing - played 23 min, went 4-4, 10 pts, 5 rebs