All Bull - Chicago Bulls

Nearly two weeks into the NBA season, things are shaping up pretty much as expected – with one exception.

I’m not sure anyone thought the Phoenix Suns would be off to such a fast start. The Suns improved to 6-1 by beating Washington on Sunday afternoon and during their current road trip have knocked off Boston and Miami.

This is basically the same roster that failed to reach the playoffs last season except for Channing Frye taking the place of Shaquille O’Neal. What a trade that turned out to be, since Frye, who never saw the court in Portland, is averaging 13.5 points and leading a crew of lights-out 3-point shooters by making 16 of 33.

Tyrus Thomas breaking his left arm during a weightlifting session was certainly strange, but there has been no indication it was anything more than what the Bulls have reported.

Thomas was indeed doing a pull up on Friday when the radius in his left arm snapped in a freak accident. The break was about halfway between the wrist and elbow. He had a plate inserted during Saturday’s surgery and the procedure went well.

Since Thomas is right-handed, he’s expected to begin rehabilitation in a few days and the Bulls are optimistic that he’ll be back on the court ready to play in four weeks, which would be on or around Dec. 5. He is planning to travel with the team during the West Coast trip that starts on Nov. 17.

Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas suffered another mishap Friday afternoon. Working out in the weight room at the Berto Center, he fractured the radius in his left forearm and is expected to be sidelined 4 to 6 weeks.

X-rays confirmed the injury and he will undergo surgery Saturday at Rush University Medical Center. The surgery will be performed by team physicians Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. John Fernandez, and assisted by Dr. Mark Cohen.

In Thomas' absence, rookie Taj Gibson figures to become the full-time starter at power forward. He started the past two games while Thomas was suffering from the flu.

Thomas missed Tuesday's win over Milwaukee. On Thursday, he felt better and caught a commercial flight to Cleveland, then scored 6 points in 12 minutes during the Bulls' win over the Cavs.

Without a doubt, Thursday’s 86-85 win at Cleveland belongs to the defense.

Such a concept is hard to believe, considering the Bulls allowed 102.5 points last season, the team’s highest total since 1990 when NBA teams simply scored more points.

They had a good plan against the Cavs. Luol Deng, with some help, did a nice job of keeping LeBron James from driving to the basket too often. Joakim Noah and Brad Miller guarded Shaquille O’Neal without giving up too many kick-out 3-pointers. O’Neal didn’t shoot a single free throw, which could be good or bad.

Another nice development was Cavs guard Mo Williams hitting just 4 of 13 shots while Derrick Rose guarded him most of the night.

While LeBron James addressed reporters before Thursday’s game against the Bulls, Shaquille O’Neal walked past and whispered, “Five million if you do it right now.”

LeBron laughed and said, “No way.”

Shaq shot back with, “Ten million, final offer.”

Whatever they were talking about, James did not accept the challenge.

On Friday, the Cavaliers will make their one and only visit to Madison Square Garden this season to play the Knicks. Naturally, much of the pregame discussion was about the chances of James jumping to New York as a free agent next summer.

I figured it was a good chance to ask, “What about the Bulls?”

Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas caught a commercial flight to Cleveland this morning and plans to play in tonight's game against the Cavaliers. He missed Tuesday's win over Milwaukee and the following practice because of flu-like symptoms.

This news might help put to rest questions about Thomas' state of mind. No doubt he was disappointed by not playing in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to Miami. Considering how that game turned out, he probably should have.

On Monday, the deadline passed for players from the 2006 draft class to sign contract extensions. Thomas didn't sign one, but there were no expecations in his camp of getting an extension this year. He's planning to wait with the idea that his value will rise this season.

The only real news from Wednesday’s Bulls practice was Tyrus Thomas missing again with flu-like symptoms. He stopped by the Berto Center early in the morning, went back to the doctor and did not fly with the team to Cleveland.

Coach Vinny Del Negro said there was a slight chance Thomas could fly on his own and face the Cavaliers on Thursday, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Otherwise, the main topics of discussion were Luol Deng’s 24-point, 20-rebound performance against the Bucks on Tuesday and Del Negro’s desire for the Bulls to play at a faster pace.

Boy, it’s tough to tell what to make of the Bulls’ massive comeback and narrow escape 83-81 victory over Milwaukee at the United Center on Tuesday.

From about the five-minute mark of the third quarter to almost blowing it in the final 1:20, the Bulls outscored the Bucks 44-19. They moved the ball well, made plenty of outside shots and used their defense to create fast-break opportunities – everything we expected to see when the season began.

Before Jannero Pargo got the comeback started by hitting a 3-pointer at the 5:19 mark of the third quarter, however, the Bulls were shooting 26 percent from the field in this game. They were also a robust 7 for 47 (14.9 percent) from 3-point range on the season.

Tyrus Thomas is out sick and won’t play tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, which means rookie Taj Gibson will get his first official NBA start.

Thomas showed up at the Berto Center this morning for shootaround, saw trainer Fred Tedeschi and was sent home. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Thomas saw a doctor in the afternoon.

“He’s not feeling very well right now,” Del Negro said.

Thomas sat out the fourth quarter against Miami, which probably made the timing of his illness seem suspicious. Asked if he had any complaints about Thomas’ play in the first three games of the season, Del Negro dodged the issue.

“I’m unhappy with our play as a team,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about guys individually like that. Everyone needs to pick it up a little bit.

The end-of-game lineup against Miami didn't produce a win, so it's easy to second guess. Coach Vinny Del Negro used a smaller group featuring Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. Brad Miller replaced Noah for a few offensive possessions late in the game.

There was plenty of logic in that lineup. Hinrich is the Bulls' best option to defend Dwyane Wade, while Deng and Salmons were both shooting the ball well.