All Bull - Chicago Bulls

Let’s see, so far during the opening weeks of the season, we’ve obsessed about Dwyane Wade and LeBron James possibly joining the Bulls as a free agent next summer. How about Chris Bosh? The Toronto power forward is off to a spectacular start, averaging 26.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game heading into Friday’s action. After a loss to Utah, Bosh lamented how little attention he gets compared to his Class of ’03 peers such as Wade, James and Carmelo Anthony. “Every day I turn on the TV and they're talking about guys, especially my draft class, '03 draft class, and this and that,” he said in the Toronto Star. “They keep bringing up all these and I never hear my name, unless I'm like second honorable mention or something like that. I got tired of that.

Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni is in uniform, but is not expected to play in tonight’s game against the Bulls because of a hip pointer. Donte Greene started in Nocioni’s place. This is the first of six stops for the Bulls on their annual circus road trip. Several sources claimed a three-way deal rumored Tuesday that would send Nocioni to Boston and Philadelphia center Sam Dalembert to Sacramento, among other players, was not accurate. The Kings have discussed acquiring Dalembert for seldom-used forward Kenny Thomas, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Aaron Gray is in the hospital with cellulitis, a type of skin infection, in his right knee. He’s been sidelined since the first days of training camp because a stress fracture in his left fibula, but was getting close to being able to return to practice. This isn’t expected to be a serious issue. A few antibiotics and he should be fine. Coach Vinny Del Negro suggested Monday that Gray might join the team for the end of the 10-day road trip. The trek began Monday with the Bulls departing for Sacramento. Del Negro said Tyrus Thomas (broken arm) will not make the trip, which is a little surprising, even though he’s not expected to play until early December. Thomas and Jerome James will stay behind for conditioning. NOAH GAINS CIRCUS KNOWLEDGE

Ben Gordon was playing as well as he ever has during his first two weeks with the Pistons, but he blew an engine Sunday against Dallas. Gordon went 1 for 16 from the field for 5 points and added 4 turnovers as Detroit lost to the Mavericks 95-90 at the Palace. His only made shot was a layup. I remember plenty of quiet nights for Gordon during his five seasons with the Bulls, but don’t think he ever came close to a shooting night this bad. Heading into the game, Gordon was averaging 24.3 points per game and shooting a stellar 49 percent from the field. His career-high field-goal percentage is .455, set both last season and in 2006-07.

This is not necessarily Bulls related, but the strangest thing about Saturday’s 94-88 win over Philadelphia is how Sixers coach Eddie Jordan refuses to play Elton Brand in the fourth quarter. Brand went to the bench with 44 seconds left in the third and never returned, making it six times in the last seven games that he’s sat out the entire fourth quarter. The veteran power forward had a decent game against the Bulls, hitting 5 of 11 shots for 11 points and 6 rebounds. Backup Marreese Speights went to the locker room early in the fourth, but still Jordan didn’t send in Brand.

Is LeBron James setting the stage for a jump to the Bulls as a free agent next summer? During a postgame interview with TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager on Thursday, James announced that he’ll give up wearing the No. 23 next season in honor of Michael Jordan. “I think no guy in the NBA should ever wear 23,” James said after a win at Miami. "He can't get the NBA logo, much respect to Jerry West. So I think his number shouldn't be worn by any player in the NBA. “What he did for this game ... he laid down the stepping stones for everybody to come up through the ranks. I'm going to change my number next year because that's how much respect I've got for a guy like that.”

Former Bulls coach Tim Floyd is back in the NBA, as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets. Last seen on the Internet breaking up a fight between several women at a California casino, Floyd will assist Jeff Bower, who moved from general manager to head coach after Byron Scott was fired early Wednesday. Bower was an assistant during Floyd’s one season as Hornets head coach in 2003-04. When he worked in Chicago, Floyd was often the subject of derision. Word leaked of general manager Jerry Krause’s interest in Floyd while Phil Jackson was still winning championships.

The Bulls seemed angry about Tuesday’s replay-aided loss to Denver. The locker room cleared out quickly. Derrick Rose didn’t talk at all, while Brad Miller stopped only for a brief chat in the hallway. A victory Tuesday would have sent the Bulls 3 games over .500 in November for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Instead, they could fall back to 4-4 with a loss in Toronto on Wednesday. Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani are putting together some impressive stats, but the Raptors are giving up 111.4 points per game. On Monday, Toronto found a way to lose 131-124 to the Spurs, who played without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The problem is, neither Bosh nor Bargnani is capable of defending the center position, but one of them usually ends up playing it.

Monday was one of the Bulls’ occasional autograph days. When practice ends, the players line up in a row of chairs in the weight room and sign a litany of objects, from basketballs to jerseys to photos to a giant Bulls logo that will probably be auctioned at a charity event someday. I guess it’s nice to know the Bulls’ autographed items are authentic. After leaving college, I did an internship for a pro team that had a salesperson who would spend his last hour every day faking autographs. With that team, unless you actually saw the player sign something in front of your face, the signature probably wasn’t real. This was 20-plus years ago, so I have no idea if that sort of thing still goes on.

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.