The Bulls are going full-throttle to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the Eastern Conference, and today, they learned that Derrick Rose -- who said before training camp started that he thought he could be league MVP -- was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for last week.
Rose averaged 27.3 points, which was tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, 6.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game for the week. In Saturday’s win over the Heat, Rose scored 34 points and had eight assists. He missed only one free throw, going 28-for-29 (.966) from the line for the week. And he's off to a good start to do it again this week, with his triple-double yesterday afternoon against the Grizzlies in Memphis.
They'll have to win another game, it appears, without Carlos Boozer, who is still nursing the ankle he sprained Saturday night in the Miami game. With a heavy schedule this week, it might not be a bad idea to sit Boozer again against what is admittedly a not-so-great opponent. Charlotte is 15-24 and 4-14 on the road. The Bulls are 18-3 at home and going for their longest home winning streak since... you guessed it, the Michael Jordan era. Winning tonight would give the Bulls nine straight home wins, the longest at the UC since 10 straight from Feb. 28-April 7, 1998.
The game begins at 7 p.m. CST and will be televised on CSN Chicago.