2 for 1: Raptors go Jurassic on the Bulls; Pacers, ironically, can't keep up with the running Bulls

Friday night, the Chicago Bulls took on the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors had just completed part of their preseason play in Europe and were now back in the U.S. to place Chicago. With star Chris Bosh sitting out, the Raptors had to find another way to tear away at the Chicago Bulls. So Toronto turned to 2nd-year player Andrea Bargnani. This 7 ft. shooting wonder scored a game high 21 points for the Toronto Raptors.

Chicago lacked the scoring abilities of Ben Gordon after rumors of him playing didn't fall through. Chicago also lost the defensive play of Ben Wallace. Chicago was led by the big man scoring rookie Aaron Gray who dropped 14 points. Andres Nocioni contributed with 12 points. The Bulls' record is now at 2-2 in preseason play.

The Toronto Raptors was one of the surprise teams of last season. Coach Sam Mitchell was awarded the NBA's Coach of the Year Award last year for his contribution to the much improved play of the Toronto Raptors. With last year's additions of Andrea Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto was able to establish a big man shooting touch from the perimeter. Look for Toronto to be even more improved this year with the acquisition of sharp shooter Jason Kapono.

Video Recap of the Game

Due to difficulty with NBA.com, games stats could not be provided.

The next night, the Bulls bounced back with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. With both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon sitting out, Chicago had to figure out some sort of offense. So Chicago found a passing a game from guards Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefolosha, and Chris Duhon. These three combined for 18 of the teams 29 assists. Thabo made his first home appearance for the Bulls.

The Bulls decided to go with a different starting line-up for this game. Hinrich remained the starting point guard, and Ben Wallace remained the starting center. Sefalosha, Nocioni, and Gray all found their way into the starting rotation. Nocioni finished with a team high 20 points. Tyrus Thomas added 15 points from off the bench, and Hinrich and Gray contributed 10 points respectively. Noah came off the bench to have a near double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls improved to 3-2 in preseason play.

You can't blame the Pacers' poor play for everything since they were missing their two main big men, Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy. Indiana's Shawne Williams finished with a game high 22 points, while Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger finished with 18 points and 17 points respectively. The Pacers fall to 4-2 in preseason action.

The Bulls play the Mavericks at Dallas on Tuesday night in hope of improving their overall preseason record to 4-2.

Box Score of the Game
Video Recap of the Game

The Pride of Argentina...No, not Manu Ginobli

I'm talking about the guy on the left. That man is Bulls forward Andres Nocioni. Argentina has produced a number of other talented players that are in the NBA, such as Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors), Walter Herrmann (Charlotte Bobcats), Luis Scola (Houston Rockets), and Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs). Manu Ginobli and Andres Nocioni are the two knock-around guys of Argentina. Playing physical is a very big part of both of their games. Both have a similar style of play. Manu would win the 'driving the lane' battle, but Andres would win the 'shooting' battle. But being a Bulls fan, I have come to love Andres Nocioni. I love him so much that I am writing a blog entry solely on him.

Nocioni was picked up by the Chicago Bulls at the start of the 2004-2005 season, which was right after Argentina won the gold in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. No one knew how good he would be in the NBA, but he began playing as if he was a veteran. He even began to make a name for himself among the NBA. Everyone refers to this Nocioni as someone you hate to play against, but someone who'd you love to have on your team. There's no doubt that this guy is a human charge machine. If there was an NBA Best Actor Award, it would easily go to Andres Nocioni. This guy gets laid out more than Rex Grossman, but he does it willingly. Rex Grossman just sucks.

But anyways...I realized that most teams have at least two primary defensive stoppers: one to protect the lane and one to frustrate the opposing team. San Antonio has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen, Phoenix has Amare Stoudamire and Raja Bell, and the Pacers have...oh wait, nevermind. Chicago's down low enforcer is obviously Ben Wallace. Andres Nocioni fits the description of the second defensive stopper. Even though he is not in the starting line-up, Nocioni is one of the guys on the bench that comes into the game to charge up the defense, and even the offense. At only 6'7", he was the team's 3rd leading rebounding. He averaged 5.7 boards while coming off the bench. Offensively, he averaged 14.1 points while shooting a .467 field goal percentage and a .383 3-point percentage.

In the 2006 playoffs, Nocioni was a firecracker averaging 22.3 points in 38.3 minutes. Unfortunately, the Bulls only lasted 6 games. In the 2007 playoffs, Nocioni averaged only 8.8 points in 19.7 minutes. I know that was a significant drop, but at least the Bulls made it to the second round. I believe his limited playing time was due to his right foot injury. During the 2006-2007 regular season, he only played in 53 games due to plantar fasciitis. His injury still remains, which is why he skipped out on the 2007 FIBA World Championships. After receiving a new 38 million dollar 5-year deal, Nocioni is glad to be returning to Chicago. If Chicago would not have signed Nocioni, he would likely be on the Memphis Grizzlies. Nocioni, Chicago, and John Paxson's wallet is hoping that Nocioni will make a healthy recovery just in time for the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. In my opinion, Nocioni possesses as Kukoc-esque way of playing basketball. He may not have the same moves as Kukoc, but he is an international sensation that has already made a mark on the city of Chicago. Nocioni will continue to shoot well, grad rebounds, draw charges, and piss off opposing players. We can only hope that the hard-nosed Nocioni will continue his game IMPROVEMENT (AHH! It's the secret word!) and will have to do a better job of protecting his family jewels because they will be taking another beating this year.