Bulls (18-28) at Seattle SuperSonics (12-35) Game Thread

UPDATE: Bulls win, 118-108. Maybe it's a combination of not watching them for a while, mixed with the fact that no competitive football will be played for a very long time, but this was a pretty enjoyable game. Aaron Gray got some offense going in the post, finishing with 14 points total. Joe Smith led all scorers with 25. Ben Wallace had a deceptively good game, as he put up 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. He also had tons of tip-outs to keep offensive possessions alive. Not to shabby. Again, this is the Sonics, so I suppose not too much should be made of it. But still, always good to see a win, and as Matt from Blog a Bull pointed out, with the Warriors, Blazers, and Jazz coming up, this very well could be the last win of the road trip.

Seems like only a little while ago that the Bulls and Sonics were playing for the NBA title -- has it really been 12 years? But 1996's title came and gone, and February of '08 gives us a Sonics-Bulls match-up where both teams combine for 30 wins. Again, this is February.

While the Sonics have excuses ranging from relocation to rebuilding, the Bulls have no real explanation at all. Underachieving across the board has sent this franchise -- picked by some to represent the Eastern conference in the NBA finals -- spiraling downward. At ten games under .500 with over half the season played, the Bulls have a lot of scrapping to do if they want to make the playoffs. The most miraculous part? That goal is still attainable.

This will be the first Bulls game I've watched in some time, and I can't say I'm excited.

Injury Report
CHICAGO
Ben Gordon SG - Day-to-Day
Luol Deng SF - OUT
Joe Smith PF - Day-to-Day

SEATTLE
Wally Szczerbiak SF - Day-to-Day
Chris Wilcox PF - Day-to-Day

Last Time Out
CHICAGO - Loss @ Sacramento (105-101)...2 Game Losing Streak
SEATTLE - Win vs. New York (86-85)...3 Game Winning Streak

Wager?
Bulls are 1 point favorites.

Playoff "Push"
Bulls are currently 9th in the East (1.5 games out of the 8-seed)