Thursday NBA: San Antonio Spurs (1-0) at Chicago Bulls (0-0)
The Chicago Bulls are one of just two teams who haven’t played so far in the 2009-10 NBA season (the Bucks are the other), but Chicago gets to tip off the season tonight with a big challenge: the San Antonio Spurs, who are 4-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
But there is one piece of good news in this one for Chicago. The first is that reigning Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose will take the court for the first time since injuring the posterior tibialis tendon in his right ankle Oct. 2 in Indiana. However, he probably won’t play more than 20-25 minutes.
“I can’t wait,” Rose said. “I’m about 80 percent. Hopefully by the end of the month, I should be back to my regular self. My explosiveness isn’t all the way there.”
Rose led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and finished second among first-year players with a 16.8 scoring average last season. He was then dominating at times in the playoff loss to Boston. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Rose’s minutes would be determined by how his ankle and defensive prowess against Spurs star guard Tony Parker are faring.
Speaking of Parker, he had 17 points and six assists in Wednesday’s 113-96 win over the Hornets but had to leave after a hard fall in the third quarter. He should be fine to play tonight.
Because the Spurs had such a comfortable lead last night, Michael Finley was the only Spurs starter to play in the fourth quarter, mostly because he had logged only 16 minutes through the first three periods.
Sitting the starters was a luxury in a game that preceded a late-night flight to Chicago for tonight’s game.
San Antonio seeks its first 2-0 start since the 2005-06 season.
Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair continued his impressive preseason performance in his first real game last night, putting up 14 points and 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes. Six Spurs scored in double figures against the Hornets, and Tim Duncan was not one of them. Duncan finished with 9 points and 12 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Chicago has dropped four straight to the Spurs and 18 of the last 21 meetings.
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