Derrick Rose is busy becoming one of the superstars in the NBA; his 30 points in a losing cause last night in Los Angeles against the Lakers got the normally laid-back California crowd to notice. He's now third in the league in scoring, averaging 25.3 points per game, and eighth in assists at 8.4 per game.
Ranking only two spots ahead of Rose at 8.9 assists per game is veteran Suns guard Steve Nash, who missed two games recently with a groin injury, but returned Monday night to score 24 with nine assists in a Suns win over the Rockets in Houston.
The Bulls have won their last two games in Phoenix and hope to make it three in a row -- something they haven't done in more than two decades -- with a victory tonight in the US Airways Arena. The Bulls may be able to take advantage of a porous Phoenix defense; the Suns are giving up 109.5 points per game, second-worst in the NBA. The Bulls have split the first four games on their seven-game circus trip.
Tonight's game starts at 8 p.m. CST and will be televised on CSN Chicago.