I spent a good five minutes talking with John Salmons before tonight's game about his slow start.  I tried getting him to poinpoint where exactly things were going wrong for a starting shooting guard who was shooting only 29.6% from the field through his first five games.

A friend and fellow Bulls guy called me before the game and asked what was up, and I told him about this discussion with Salmons.  In the fourth quarter he texted me and said, "You should interview John Salmons before every game."

The reason being, of course, that Salmons scored 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting tonight, leading all scorers and helping the Bulls charge to their third straight win.

It was also a huge night for Joakim Noah, who posted 21 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks in a game played in front of his father.  When I bumped into the elder Noah towards the end of the fourth quarter, I told him that his son was playing a hell of game.  He beamed the kind of proud smile only a father could exhibit.  Who wouldn't be proud on a night like this?

Derrick Rose struggled, turning the ball over 7 times, and once again he settled for jumpshots instead of taking the ball to the rim and getting to the line (he attempted only two free throws), but luckily the rest of the team was able to pick up the slack in a close game and a solid win.

The Charlotte Bobcats are now 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road--not a trend coach Larry Brown seemed particularly happy about.  But this is a much better Bobcats team than last year.  They just have to get used to each other and learn that three-point shots aren't the only way to score points.

Gerald Wallace had a very good point tonight that I think is worth sharing.  I asked him why his team has struggled so much on the road (0-2, averaging 69 points per game) and done so well at home (3-0, including last night's impressive win over the Atlanta Hawks).  He answered that he didn't think the road losses were much of a problem.  After all, this is a team with tons of new players and those two losses came to two very good teams in the Celtics and Cavs.  Take those two games away and this team looks pretty solid.

Literally everybody I talked to in that Charlotte locker room believes that the Bobcats have a legit shot at making the playoffs this spring.  D.J. Augustin, Raja Bell, Ray Felton, and Flip Murray all said the exact same thing.  This team is confident, folks.  And maybe rightfully so.

On the Bulls side I was blessed to have lenghty discussions with both Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.  Lu let me know that his hot start really doesn't have a whole lot to do with anything.  He doesn't know what he's doing differently, but I can tell you that he got a ton of rest this summer, beefed up on muscle, cut down on body fat, and has one more year of experience under his belt.  He's so much better than everyone realizes, and this could finally be the year that he proves it.

One last thing worth mentioning--Tyrus Thomas had surgery on his broken wrist today and it was successful.  One source told me he's feeling pretty bummed out, especially considering he was so sick earlier in the week, but that he'll be fine.  Looks like everything is on track and we'll see him again in 4-6 weeks.  Vinny Del Negro hinted that James Johnson could finally see some extended minutes in Thomas's absence.

More after the game!

Both the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Bobcats have won two games in a row, but it's hard to tell which team has more momentum heading into tonight's contest at the United Center.  Chicago, after all, is coming off a very public controversial road win against LeBron James and the Cavs, but got news yesterday that starting power forward Tyrus Thomas could miss up to six weeks with a broken wrist.  On the other hand, Charlotte now has Raja Bell and Flip Murray back from injuries, but has been absolutely dreadful on the road their first two games.  At the same time, there were rumors from ESPN.com's Marc Stein yesterday that the Bobcats could be interested in disgruntled Golden State Warrior Stephen Jackson.

My job, of course, is to sort through all of this for you guys tonight and give you the latest on Tyrus, S-Jax, and whatever other news is brewing in the Windy City.  And, as always, if you've got any questions you'd like me to pursue during pre-game media, just drop a line in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

Tip-off is at 7:10pm CST, and the game will be broadcast on WGN.  First post should be up sometime between 6:30 and 7:00.  See you guys back here later tonight!