Oct 21, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers power forward Lavoy Allen (50) holds the ball against Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett (5) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

NBA making some changes

Teams are going smaller in their rosters in the last couple of years and it is so hard to find out who to vote for the center position as an All-Star. It is pretty clear that the NBA does not have plenty of All-Star caliber centers but the NBA does have superstar players as power forwards and playing center position on their team. For example, Tim Duncan is a power forward for the San Antonio Spurs but he has been playing center for the last 5 years. It reduces the chances of him to be selected as an All-Star between too many power and small forwards. I think it is not a big issue for Tim Duncan( he already has 13 All-Star appearances) but for most of the players it is going to be a barrier for selection. More examples can be given for the situation like Kevin Garnett in Boston and Chris Bosh in Miami.

The NBA decided to combine forwards and centers and let supporters select three frontcourt players for the upcoming All-Star ballot. It will be better for the forwards because they will have one more spot to be selected but it may also cause problems in the future. We may have All-Star teams without a center for upcoming years. It can be discussed in the topic of change in basketball. In today`s basketball, it is more important to keep control of the ball. Rather than having a player with just defending abilities, more versatile players are more preferred. In the past Dikembe Mutombo was named as one of the big centers in the NBA but if he was a rookie this year, he probably would not get an extension and play for European teams for the rest of his career.

Oct 23, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer (5) shoots the ball over Oklahoma City Thunder center Hasheem Thabeet (34) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago defeats Oklahoma City 94-89. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder 89 – 94 Chicago Bulls

Yesterday`s most notable game was in the United Center, Chicago Ill. The Thunder played in the NBA Finals last year and they pretty much have the same roster this year. Only a few rookie additions have been added to their team. The Bulls were expected to be in the NBA Finals too but the injury of Derrick Rose ended those dreams immediately.

Chicago Bulls

This season is going to be tough for the Bulls fans. Omer Asik signed with the Houston Rockets and Derrick Rose is still out for most of the regular season. The Bulls management signed plenty of veteran players to recover from the Rose injury. Nate Robinson, Nazr Mohammed, Kirk Hinrich, Radmonovic were the notable signings for this summer. Mohammed can replace Omer Asik with his experience in the NBA and can help Noah and Boozer in the paint. His scoring potential is better than Omer Asik’s but his defense is not on the same level as Asik’s. Nate Robinson is going to have key role on the team this year. As we saw in yesterday`s game he brought up the energy for the Bulls. He played 30 minutes and scored 8 points. He also added 4 assists as well. Without Rose, Boozer should take on more responsibility in the offense. He had a very good game yesterday while matched up with Ibaka. He scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds. Wing man Luol Deng had 21 points in 37 minutes. Trade rumors are around his name and he is the only valuable asset on the Bulls roster besides Rose.

Bulls game plan?

It is pretty clear that the Bulls cannot play the same game style without Rose. They need to play fast and smooth and shoot the ball as much as they can. Yesterday`s game they fast breaked a lot and it worked for them.

Oct 23, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) shoots the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago defeats Oklahoma City 94-89. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder

There is nothing much to say about the Thunder team from yesterday`s game. They played pretty decent with their rotation players. One notable thing for them has been the improvement of Serge Ibaka. Ibaka looked like a real All-Star player rather than one known only for his defense. He showed that he is able to score. He had 24 points in the game. He made 1 three pointer in the game too. He is working on developing a 3-point shot and it seems to be working.

Game Key Point

No Westbrook and Durant, no win for OKC.