K.C. Johnson

PHILADELPHIA -- On Dec. 18, 2009 in Atlanta, Carlos Boozer exited a blowout loss to the Hawks along with his four fellow Jazz starters with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter and never returned.

The next night in Charlotte, Boozer dropped 22 points and 11 rebounds in a road victory over the Bobcats.

On Nov. 11, 2009 in Boston, Boozer and Mehmet Okur were singled out and benched for an eight-minute stretch of the third quarter and for more than five minutes in the fourth during a loss to the Celtics. Boozer responded by averaging 23.7 points and 14 rebounds in his next three games, two of them Jazz victories.

CHICAGO -- Carlos Boozer has been asked so many questions about chemistry and injuries, he could double as a science major or medical student.

Boozer remains a basketball player and turned in his second straight strong offensive outing Monday night in his fourth game as a Bull, finishing with a seemingly effortless 29 points in 36 minutes.

"I'm just playing," Boozer said. "This is regular stuff for me. I'm getting better every day. I'm playing off D-Rose. He's our guy. Teams are double- and triple-teaming him, so I'm just moving to open areas.

LOS ANGELES -- For a coach who took two Bulls teams to the playoffs, Vinny Del Negro experienced an inordinate amount of adversity.

In that regard, Del Negro looks right at home with the Clippers and their league-worst 2-13 record.

CHICAGO -- Carlos Boozer smiled slyly Friday at the Berto Center when asked about former Jazz teammate Kyle Korver.

CHICAGO -- The Bulls have hired independent lawyers to investigate a physical altercation between executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and coach Vinny Del Negro, sources confirmed.