DISContinuum DISCussion

Even though we are without Boozer I am very excited for what this season will bring.  Our offense looks great when we are in transition, I think that our half court sets are suffering from not having Boozer as a point of entry in to the post.  We need to figure a way to work Korver in to our offense and get him more looks coming off screens where I think he is a huge threat.  I'm not sure why we haven't tried starting him at the 2 guard, although his abysmal defense coupled with Rose's defensive struggles against scoring point guards could be the main reason.


I'm also glad to see the Heat appear unlikely to break the Bull's record of 72-10 this year, already having 4 losses. 

I'm also super excited about the future of this team.  This year Rose is averaging 24 and 10 through 7 games.  Ridiculous.

That being said, we are starting with 6 of 8 home games against some cupcakes, then next week starts the barnum and bailey circus road trip which usually goes extremely poorly for the Bulls post-Jordan.  If we can win 2 of 7 I'll be okay with it.

I'm very impatient to see how we'll mesh with Boozer in there.  Right now we can't score when Rose comes off the floor.  Its embarrassing.  If Boozer can fix that then we might be looking at a top 3 seed in the East?

I totally agree with you Phil about the Bulls 72 win mark.  It pissed me off that people were giving the Heat that kind of praise without having played a game.  Miami will still win 55-60 games, but don't compare them to any of the greatest teams in NBA history, much less the greatest.  We've already seen they aren't going anywhere in the playoffs.  They have no size and you don't win without size.  I would compare them to the Warriors in the mid 90's when they had Webber, Mullin, Hardaway, and Sprewell.  A ton of talent is nice, but no size, no defense, and no rebounding = no winning.

if the Lakers won last night, they went to 10-0. That 72-10 of the Bulls might not be very safe??

Interesting to watch us go up against one of the contenders in the west.  We looked good but just got beat by a veteran team.  Taj also had a terrible shooting night, I think he is becoming too comfortable with the mid range jump shot.  We have seen Luol fall in love all too often with that shot, although he has become very good at getting to the basket and drawing fouls.  The rest of this road trip should be pretty tough, let's hope we can win a couple more before we get back to the U.C.

I have not watched much of the Bulls since Jordan retired, that is until this year.  Rose has incredible speed and Noah has incredible want to and energy.  They seem to have the makings of a very good team. The game last night was pretty special. By the end of the game there were only Bulls fans left at the arena. It should be a fun season, especially since the Blackhawks seem to have the post Stanley Cup doldrums.

not to mention the Suns were up 25-6 and 31-11 at one time early in the 1st.  great to see the Bulls stick with the game plan and come back and win that game.

Yes, that was an awesome game last night.  We looked a little tired coming off the Lakers game the night before, but still pulled it out thanks to some clutch shooting by Korver and some terrible execution by the Suns.  Noah picking Nash's pocket twice in the final OT was huge.  Watching Rose play is definitely a treat Tom.  This road triip to start the season usually kills us, but this year we've handled it well.  Can't wait to see how this team looks once Boozer comes back.  LeBron has to be looking at the Bulls and having some thoughts about what could have been if he had chosen Chicago.

Sounds like Boozer may be back tonight, or atleast by the weekend.  He sounds super hungry.  Looking forward to seeing him on the floor.  After a very impressive 4-3 road trip out west without Boozer and Miami looking the way they do, it suddenly doesn't sound too ridiculous to imagine tonight's game being a preview of the East Finals.  Derrick Rose 2nd in the NBA in scoring.  MVP?

Hopefully the schedule for the next 6-8 weeks is as favorable as Kendall Gill says it will be.  NOAH is out 6-10 weeks with ligament damage to his thumb

Yeah this really sucks.  Just when things are going good too.  Taj is going to have to try and fill in for Noah.  Any more injuries to the front line and we'll be in real trouble.  Boozer and Rose better stay healthy.

We definitely can not afford any more injuries, unless they are suffered by Keith Bogans...

I'm surprised Noah decided to/was forced to undergo surgery after apparently still being able to put up a double double in pretty limited minutes.

He certainly has remained productive with the injury, but you can see it bothers him.  They said it would not heal on its own, so I can see why they wanted to do it ASAP. 

10 weeks from now is Feb.23rd.  There will still be 27 games left in the regular season for the team to gel before the playoffs.  22 of the 31 games between then and now are against sub .500 teams.  With a 5 game lead in this sorry division already, we are pretty clearly headed for a top 4 seed in the playoffs and 1st round home court advantage, even without Noah (assuming Boozer and Rose stay healthy which is assuming a lot).  I think they made the right choice in going for the surgery immediately.

really don't know if Taj can be the effective force Noah was night in and night out though.
For sure, Rose and Boozer need to stay healthy.   I think Korvers PT will increase now too. Another  proven scorer, and he is starting to get good looks and not just desperation 3's when a game is out of hand. Keeping my fingers crossed for sure the next 6-8 weeks.

Interesting game last night.  You may try to blame the loss on our plane troubles the night before but I saw an unenthusiastic team that wasn't playing defense.

I was torn on Thib's decision to bench Boozer for the last 14 minutes of the game.  He couldn't guard anyone, especially Humphries but at the same time he can easily get to the foul line which would have helped. 

Just a bad loss all around.  If we want to break in to that upper echelon of teams these are the games that we absolutely can not lose.

Bulls are 17-2 against sub .500 teams this year.  I think you should cut them some slack.  Lost in the final seconds on the road in the 2nd night of a back to back.

and they were down by 9 with like 2:47 to play in the 4th. they came back to tie it with like 14 seconds to play.  that's a great feeling knowing they can come back from 9 on the road, like Dan said a 2nd night of back 2 back games.  they sit as #3 in the East, and 5th best record of all the NBA teams.  so enjoy the great season they are having.

17-3 at home, but just 8-9 on the road.  They beat a very good Celtics team the other night. I can't wait for Noah to get back. Him, DRose and Boozer on the floor together is going to be great to watch. If they are this good now, it's only going to get better.
Brewer and Korvers play off the bench has been  a big +


The team I watch night in and night out, will be playing in a round #2 of the playoffs this year. Barring anymore injuries to the big 3.

I guess we just couldn't find it in us to come back from a double digit deficit last night.  I hate to say it, but at times it's almost painful to watch when the reserves are in.  CJ Watson doesn't look like he is at all comfortable in our offense, and we need to do a better job of getting Korver shots.  He took two big 3s down the stretch last night and nailed them both.

I can't stand the inconsistency in regards to the referees either.  Last night they were absolutely horrible on both ends.  I was so optimistic following last Saturday's big win that Rose was actually getting the calls when he was fouled.  Last night the refs reverted back to the same mentality with him.  Even when he draws a considerable amount of body contact he doesn't get the foul.  They need to realize he is just that good at preventing his shots from being blocked and pay attention to the body.

 

Agreed, Rose definitely isn't getting the calls that a Kobe or LeBron get on a nightly basis.  Some of it is definitely his style.  He's going to have to get a little theatrical to start getting to the line as much as he deserves.  Derrick Rose is the most entertaining player in the NBA after Blake Griffin.

Frustrating loss for sure last night, but not time to start worrying.  At 13 losses we are still among the elite and are 7-3 in our last 10.  A win in Indy on Friday will get us back on track.  After that its at home for Miami then off to Memphis.  Then its a 6 game homestand where we can really get back on a roll.

I went to see the Bulls/Nets on New Year's eve.  Very fun time, hoping this ends up with a conference finals appearance this year (I think we can take Boston and Orlando, not sure about Miami).

Game of the year yesterday!  Rose and Wade both making sick play after sick play late in the 4th.  Then Kyle Korver throwing in the dagger to seal it.  Obviously they didn't have LeBron, but the team they put on the court absolutely threw their best punch at the Bulls last night, but Rose always had the answer.  Very promising.  Look forward to seeing these 2 teams faceoff at full strength with LeBron and Noah back in action.

That 4th quarter was sick last night.  Thank God Korver made that shot!

Loved some of the comments at the bottom of this article on Bosh.
http://nba-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/27082110 (http://nba-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/27082110)

Evaluating the Miami experiment at the 1/2 way mark this season.  Miami has 12 losses (1 less than the Bulls) and is in 2nd place in the East behind Boston.  Look at what has happened to the production of the Big Three since joining Miami:

Bosh  2009:  24 ppg  11 reb  52%FG
Bosh  2010:  19 ppg  8 reb   50%FG

LeBron 2009:  30 ppg 7 reb 9 assists  50%FG
LeBron 2010:  25 ppg 7 reb 7 assists  48%FG

Wade 2009:  27 ppg  5 reb  7 assists  48%FG
Wade 2010:  25 ppg  7 reb  4 assists  49%FG

Miami dumped Beasley to clear up cap space for Bosh.  Beasley has 21 ppg this season.  They need to trade Bosh if they ever want to even dream about reaching the elite status of the 90's Bulls that people were comparing them to back in July.  Otherwise, LeBron could have done better just staying in Cleveland.

Just for the fun of comparison, look at Derrick Rose's stats:

2008:  17 ppg  4 reb  6 assists 48%FG
2009:  21 ppg  4 reb  6 assists 49%FG
2010:  25 ppg  5 reb  8 assists 45%FG (%FG dropped this year because he's gone from shooting 0.8  3pt attempts per game to 4.3  3pt attempts per game this season, but he's making 38% of them this year which is an astonishing improvement).

His production compares favorably to LeBron's and the Bulls are right there with the Heat.  Rose has had to do it while missing Boozer for a month and Noah for a month.  Bottom line, LeBron really F'd up choosing Wade as his running mate over Derrick Rose (6 years younger than Wade) last summer.  Derrick Rose is the MVP of this league and has more than one MVP award in his future.

D Rose just keeps on churning, despite some minor injuries and stomach ulcers.  He's in incredible shape, but I'm slightly concerned about him wearing down by playoff time.  He did play on Team USA over the summer, so he's been going non-stop for quite some time now.  We've got 5 days off for the All Star break, I hope he spends most of it resting.

Bulls now have the 2nd best record in the East, and are just 3 back in the loss column for 1st place.  I'm not sure if there is a legitimate argument that can be made for anybody other than Rose for MVP.  The battle for the 2 seed is important as it decides home court advantage in a Bulls/Heat 2nd round matchup if things stay the way they are with Boston at the top and Orlando trailing back in 4th.

Coming up we have a 5 game road trip, @LAC  @GS  @POR  @UTA  @NO

3 out of 5 would be great.

After the win last night, I think winning 2 of the next 4 should be easy.  Sam Smith has a great column up on the Bull's website (http://blogs.bulls.com/2011/02/bulls-ready-for-five-game-western-trip/) with a little break down for each game.  Interestingly Rose has never won in the Rose Garden, getting beat pretty badly both times they played there.  Portland is in disarray right now and hopefully we can win that one.

I keep thinking we are going to hit a rough patch but somehow we keep avoiding losing streaks.  I could be wrong but I don't think we have lost 3 in a row yet this year.  If we keep this pace we could be looking at a 55 win season and a favorable match up in first round.  I really don't want to see New York or Atlanta there.

Quote from: philvb85 on February 03, 2011, 09:39:16 AM
After the win last night, I think winning 2 of the next 4 should be easy. 

Nice jinx man.  You never assume it will be easy on the road.  Blazers went 37-40 from the line last night.  That is some unreal shooting.  Portland has a great home crowd and an underrated home court advantage.  Next up, Utah, where it isn't getting any easier.  Then @NO.  Could be a 4 game skid really fast if we don't pick it up defensively.  Then we go home for CHA who is 2-0 against us this year and SA, the best team in the league.  Going to be a tough stretch heading into the break.  2-2 in these next 4 would be great.

Yeah that was a bad idea to make that prediction. It was tough to watch that game last night, I'm actually surprised we managed to score 100+ points considering how bad our offense looked at times.  Despite the better than average night from our bench players, it just seemed like we couldn't score unless it was created by Rose.

I have been really disappointed in our defense as well.  Aldridge is a top power forward in the league and he's going to get his even if 42 is a little excessive.  What I was the most upset with was Andre Miller dropping 27 and having what looks like his best game of the season against us.  I'll just chalk it up to him being embarrassed one too many times be Rose and looking for vengeance. 

I hate to blame officials for losses, but this was just another game showcasing the Bull's lack of respect when it comes to the officials around the league.  No matter how you spin it, it gets pretty tough for an officiating crew to explain a 18 to 40 free throw differential.  We made 9 more field goals (2 more 3s), have a  +10 rebound margin and still lose. 

Hope I can stay up for the whole game tonite.

Side note: Anyone see JJ's #s down in the D League?  I heard he's tearing it up. 

2 huge road wins, finally gets them over .500 on the road at 13-12. need at least 1 of the next 2 home games vs Charlotte and the Spurs before the break. cause after it, besides Milwaukee and the Wizards, they have a tough 2 week stretch. Going to see how good they really are with seeing the Heat 2 times in that time.


All Bulls fans should be very happy regardless of the outcome of the next 2 games. and Noah will be back soon. Going to make a good team very hard to beat if the big 3 play their games. very excited about the 2nd half.

Quote from: dana on February 09, 2011, 01:07:24 PM
Hope I can stay up for the whole game tonite.

Side note: Anyone see JJ's #s down in the D League?  I heard he's tearing it up. 

I read the same thing.  I guess he has the best player efficency rating in the D league.  Thibs should probably consider getting this guy in the rotation.  He just doesn't trust young guys. 

I'm not complaining though, Thibs should be coach of the year for the way he has gotten this team to play defense.  I hope Asik stays in the rotation when Noah comes back.  I have a feeling Kurt Thomas is going to get those minutes off the bench and Asik will be forgotten.  I'd like to see him develop.  He could be an important player for the Bulls in the future.  Ronnie Brewer has been fantastic.  These last 2 wins were impressive.

Battle for the top seeds in the East is fierce.

Right now:  Miami 14 loss    Boston   15 loss      Bulls 16 loss

Bulls have 13 games left vs above .500 teams, 6 of which are on the road.
Boston has 9 left vs above .500 teams, 8 of which are on the road.
Miami has 14 left vs above .500 teams, 4 of which are on the road.

If Miami stays healthy, I think they finish strong and take the top seed.

I think the battle for the 2 seed between the Bulls and Celtics is going to be tight.  Boston is banged up and they are old.  They might make the decision to sacrifice the home court advantage in the 2nd round and rest up the old guys for another playoff run.  Remember, this same team finished last season 27-27 over their last 54 games.

The Bulls have some tough games ahead of them, but we should get Noah back at the end of the month.  If we get the 2 seed, it could mean home court advantage over Boston in the 2nd round.  That would be a hell of a playoff matchup.  Miami/Orlando in the 2nd round would also be worth the price of admission.  This year's playoffs are going to be the best since the Bulls/Knicks matchups in the early 90's.

I do no think Asik will get lost on the bench. He has his moments and plays really well against certain matchups. You can never have too many big men. Especially against the Celtics and Lakers. Good big men can dominate against Miami cause they have no size. That is why they can not beat the Celtics right now. Asik's best days are ahead of him. He has some good skills. He needs to work on his overall fitness and upper body strength. He always looks tired on the floor and gets pushed around against stronger guys. Why is his nose always red? Does he drink too much or is he related to Rudolph.

I think JJ's best attribute right now is as trade bait. Not sure where he fits in on this team. I am glad that he is playing well in the D league. Makes him that much more valuable in a trade. With Deng playing he best basketball since being drafted and rotating Korver and Brewer. There are just too many guys who are the same. Both Korver and Brewer can play both 2 and 3.

Brewer is my favorite player to watch other than the obvious MVP choice D.Rose. Brewer's energy and defense are something to watch. He might be as responsible for changing the momentum in games and anyone else on this team. If the man could only make a 15-20 jump shot consistently he might be of best players in the league. He sure knows how to play the baseline. But that is the only offense he has.

When Noah comes back The Bulls are so deep and have so many lineup options they are going to be a matchup nightmare. Oh did I mention the League MVP D.Rose.

I am most impressed with Deng has been healthy all year. Knock on wood twice. I am assuming he will step up his game in the playoffs like he did last year. Last years playoffs showed me why Deng is getting paid what he is. He has earned that contract now. Just do not let him dribble down the lane, please.

Thibs is a really good coach. Now that could skewed because Vinny was soo bad. But I like what he has done so far.

Quote from: Mike Clark on February 14, 2011, 06:58:25 AM

I think JJ's best attribute right now is as trade bait. Not sure where he fits in on this team. I am glad that he is playing well in the D league. Makes him that much more valuable in a trade. With Deng playing he best basketball since being drafted and rotating Korver and Brewer. There are just too many guys who are the same. Both Korver and Brewer can play both 2 and 3.

I disagree with you on that Clark.  JJ recalled from the D league the other day.  I'd love to see him in the rotation.  He's 6'9" and long.  He should be coming in to give Deng a rest.  JJ is our only true small forward on the bench.

Instead we are just using Bogans, Korver, and Brewer equal amounts.  Bogans is just a 30 year old journeyman shooting guard.  No real upside.  PER 7.8

I love Brewer.  I agree he can play the 3 if you need him to.  He's still just 25.  I'd rather he be our starting shooting guard and get starters minutes.  PER 12.9

We overpaid for Korver.  He's a good shooter and serves a purpose.  If we aren't playing him more then I don't think he's worth what we paid.  PER 12.7  About the same player efficiency as Brewer.  Korver is the guy we should look to trade if a trade is an actual possibility for the Bulls.  I'd like to see the 10 man rotation when Noah comes back to be as follows:  Rose, Brewer, Deng, Boozer, Noah starting and Korver, Watson, James Johnson, Asik, and Taj coming off the bench.  The old guys Bogans and Thomas can rest up and be ready for the playoffs in case they are needed.  Scalabrine can provide fan entertainment when the Bulls get up 20+ late in the game.

I am not knocking JJ. If it came across that way, my bad. The team/coach is. They are the ones not finding playing time for him and sent him to the D-league. If he/team can find a way for him to contribute to the team all the better. They could not get him on the floor and find him playing time when he was here before. I was talking from a numbers perspective. Hopefully if he can provide some much needed rest for Deng. The rumors were they sent him to the D-league to show he has trade value since he couldn't get any playing time with the big club. The Bulls feel they need a 2 guard not another small forward. Again according to trade rumors and reports. JJ has been included in all trade rumors involving the Bulls.

According to reports/articles Thibs likes Brewer's energy coming off the bench. I tend to agree with you. But there is a lot about the NBA I do not understand. I like the results with him coming off the bench. I would think it would be better for him to start. But Thibs does does think that atm. I have heard something about stability or something with Bogans starting. I do not get it. When Bogans is hitting the open 3 it seems to work but that it isn't very often I see him hitting the open 3.

I think Korver needs to play with Rose more so he can get more open jumpers. That is what he needs to score. I do not think that paying 5mil for a veteran swing man is too much in NBA money. He is getting the average for what he is. He is one of the best shooters in the game when he is open. He can not create his own shot.

I don't see a trade happening this season, do you?  Obviously shooting guard is the 1 glaring weakness of the team, but how can we realistically get somebody that is a significant upgrade from Brewer/Korver?  For a top-tier guy like Carmelo or Monta Ellis, teams are going to demand Noah.  That ain't happening.  I've heard these Asik for Courtney Lee rumors.  I don't think the Bulls are going to give up Asik that easily.  OJ Mayo?  Is he really that much better than Brewer?  That would seem like a waste of our resources.  I just don't see us being compatible for a big trade right now.

I think a big trade might be detrimental to what we have going right now.  We have extremely good chemistry with the group we put on the floor every night.  Every guy is cheering for each other whether they are a starter or the last man on the bench.  I can't see us recreating that type of chemistry if we go after a big deal and gut half the roster.

Like Clark said,  we really need to work on getting Korver time with Rose.  I think the perfect opportunity for this would be the middle of the 2nd and 4th quarters, when Rose comes back in from his rest.  You can either start Korver in the 2nd quarter, hopefully to get him going and then by the time Rose comes back off the bench he is ready to hit the open jumpers our offense has been lacking.  This combined with Noah's return should open up the paint more for Rose to get quality drives and good chances for assists.  Right now with Kurt and Bogans out there the opposition can effectively "hide" two of their defenders on what are basically non-threats.  Although it was nice to see Bogans hit a couple 3s and make the Hornets pay for using his man to help and double Rose.

I would do JJ and some picks for C.Lee. Now way would I give up Asik for C.Lee. First off he would get hurt right away and never play again. Or am I confusing Houston with Portland.

No I do not see any trade happening. Teams are out of their minds with some of the stuff they are asking.

The Nuggets better take the Lakers rumored trade if they want to trade Mello. Why they think anyone is going to give them anything when he will not sign an extension? No OJ please.

I really do not see any real weakness on The Bulls when Noah comes back. To me it is just a matter of how they match up against Boston and Miami. From the past they match up against Boston really well. But that is the past. I do not believe in the Miami thing until they get some players around them.

I think the continual complaints, not by anyone here just in general, about the 2 spot is stupid. You can't have top players at every position. It might not be this year but they will be able to fill the spot with a quality player at some point. I can live with who they have now. As long as they play defense. What did John Paxon ever bring to the table other than being a decent player who could hit an open jump shot? The second set of titles they didn't even have a point guard.  D.Rose scores more than enough to make up for the lack of a scoring 2 guard. They need a 2 that can hit an open jump shot and play defense. Hopefully Bogans steps up and start hitting those open 3s like he was in preseason. If Bogans does not step it up you might see Brewer starting by then end of the year and in the playoffs. Where is Ron Harper when you need him?

It is nice to be discussing such minor details about The Bulls. The decade before D.Rose has been brutal to watch.

no trade needs to really happen.
when Noah comes back, having him, Boozer and MVP Rose on the floor together will be tough!

I agree Korver needs to play with Rose more. Korver can not score of the dribble, he is a catch and shoot player. Rose drives the middle then kicks it to Korver for the open 3.

Would love to see these Bulls knock LeBron from the playoffs! how freakin sweet would that be?

A lot of rambling:

As long as Korver has a white guy to match up against, I love having him in the game.  Watching him try to guard Stephen Jackson last time around against the Bobcats was UGLY.

No way Asik gets traded.  How about the game he had Saturday?  Once he builds some strength and can bang with the big guys, he's gonna be a solid (backup) center. 

JJ sparked a few comeback wins off the bench early in the season, I'm guessing his lack of effort on D kept him on bench. 

I don't want to see a trade this year.  While Melo could take us to the next level, I don't think that Stephen Jackson or OJ Mayo can? 

Bogans has been shooting the 3 better lately, did anyone see him drive the lane on Saturday!!?  Ronnie is in the game when it matters, so I don't mind Bogans starting and getting some minutes. 

It will be nice when Noah is back to be able to count on Big Sexy and Asik for minutes.  They can pound away and get in foul trouble all they want, once Noah is back (this goes for Taj too). 

Quote from: dana on February 15, 2011, 03:32:38 PM
As long as Korver has a white guy to match up against, I love having him in the game.  Watching him try to guard Stephen Jackson last time around against the Bobcats was UGLY.

Totally agree.  Defensive liability and just a spot up shooter.  Not sure why anybody would want to see him getting more minutes when we have Brewer getting equal minutes.

Quote
I don't want to see a trade this year.  While Melo could take us to the next level, I don't think that Stephen Jackson or OJ Mayo can? 

Agree on Mayo.  Steven Jax might be interesting?

Quote from: Mike Clark on February 15, 2011, 02:00:01 PM
I think the continual complaints, not by anyone here just in general, about the 2 spot is stupid. You can't have top players at every position. It might not be this year but they will be able to fill the spot with a quality player at some point. I can live with who they have now. As long as they play defense. What did John Paxon ever bring to the table other than being a decent player who could hit an open jump shot? The second set of titles they didn't even have a point guard.

Are you saying, "We don't need to add a solid 2 guard.  The proof is that the 90's Bulls were able to win multiple titles with some weaknesses." ?  Not sure I get that argument.  You are talking about the greatest teams of all-time.  Rose is no Michael Jordan, and even if he was, we have no Scottie Pippen.

Wanting to upgrade at the 2 guard is not really a complaint, and its certainly not stupid.  I love our team.  But if we want to win multiple titles with Derrick Rose, we need to upgrade at the 2 guard.  I think its pretty obvious.  It doesn't necessarily need to be a max contract guy like Carmelo, but a borderline all-star caliber shooting guard would clearly take this team to another level.  That being said, I think we are a longshot to win the title this year, but its not completely out of the question.  We would need Deng to elevate his game to new heights though.

This is getting confusing. Are we talking upgrade or blockbuster trade?

There is nothing wrong trying to upgrade your team when you can. But I am not willing to trade any of the core of this current team for anyone who is available this year. Not even Mello. The way Deng is playing right now I would not trade him. To get Mello the Bulls would have to part with either Noah of Deng just to match salary. I would not be willing to give up either of those guys for Mello. If someone wants JJ, or a similar player, and some picks for Mayo, C.Lee, S.Jackson or some other quality 2 guard so be it. I guess J.R.Smith is in the picture now as well. S.Jackson is interesting but where are The Bulls going to find 9mil in salary to trade for him. OJ and J.R.Smith salaries match up better. But they both have character issues. Good luck getting those guys past Paxon and Uncle Jerry.

The Bulls just do not have any high priced contracts to get rid of for a high priced player. Now there are all kinds of exceptions that I am not clear about that might let them get something done. But there is nothing obvious.

Now if there were some sort of deal available where you could get 1 of the 5 best players in the league. That is a different story. If for some reason Kobe or LeBron, even Wade for that matter were to want to come to Chicago that is something worth considering.

Players the Bulls have I would be willing to trade to get S.Jackson:
Korver- 5mil
JJ- 1.8mil

Those 2 and a little more will get you S.Jackson. But if that little more is Taj that is too much for me. Is that worth it? Is anyone really going to take Korver if he is overpaid like Dan says. Everyone else makes less than 2mil and not very good.

If Houston would take JJ and some picks for C.Lee that would be doable. Not really giving up anything and does not mess with the current team too much

For reference: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/chicago.htm

I consider Brewer a very solid 2 on this team. Again I do not understand why he is not starting. Cause he can not hit an outside shot? Then start Korver and live with the defense. But then we have no defense in the backcourt. I guess that is why Bogans has to start. He can play defense and sometimes hit the open jumper. S.Jackson could solve that problem for the short term.

All this aside, really looking forward to the Thursday night games on TNT the next 2 weeks. 
Spurs @ Bulls
Heat @ Bulls

Lets get it on!

I am super excited to see the Spurs vs Bulls coming up. The Bulls are super hot at home. Pretty sure they have the 2nd best home record in the league. 1/2 game behind the the Celts. Love watching the Bulls at home.

very nice win tonight against a very strong Spurs team. A very big plus headed to the break. 38-16 is a great start. The division record looks awesome at 11-0, but every team is below .445 winning percentage. The road record at 13-12 has to be very concerning. They also play alot of road games after the break, so hopefully they find a hot streak away from the UC. Cause Boston is 15-9, and Miami is 21-10 on the road, so going to either one of them in the playoffs is a tough win. The Bulls only have a 4-4 record vs other division leaders.
Lets just hope when Noah gets back, the team doesn't lose any of their agressiveness. Who leaves when Noah does return? anybody?


MVP Rose had a career high 42 points tonight. Dude is slick!

Rose continues to surprise me, not only with his scoring but his true urge to help his team mates score.  With about 4 minutes to go (Rose had 36 at this point, 3 short of tying his career high) on 4 consecutive possessions he continued to find open looks for the other guys on the floor.  It wasn't until they missed shots on all of those possessions that he took over and scored 6 more.  It almost seemed as if he didn't care (or maybe just wasn't aware) that he was that close to tying or surpassing his career high in points. 

A great win going into the all star break, can't wait to get Noah back.  I personally think we should DNP Thomas for a couple weeks.  He's old and we could really use his fresh legs and fouls come playoff time when Thibs might be more hesitant to trust Asik anyways. 

The way Rose played the at the end of the Spurs game was some great basketball. If he continues to hit that open jump shot he is unstoppable.

The Hamilton rumor came up earlier in the year and I loved the idea but thought there was no way due to Hamilton's contract. It sounds like the Pistons might be buying out his contract. If this happens it makes a lot of sense for him to sign with the Bulls for the veterans minimum. That would be a steal and a half for the Bulls if that were to happen.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bulls-confidential/2011/02/bulls-leading-candidate-to-land-hamilton-and-other-trade-rumors.html#more

Another link discussing the Bulls options.
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_110221.html

So the Pistons would be releasing Hamilton and the Bulls would acquire him for the rest of this season?  If that is the case, it'd be worth a shot.  He can still shoot and has a ton of playoff experience.  He might end up providing exactly the same thing we get from Korver though.  The hell with J.R. Smith.  That guy takes more bad shots than Antoine Walker in his prime.

Quote from: Dan Michler on February 21, 2011, 12:05:29 PM
So the Pistons would be releasing Hamilton and the Bulls would acquire him for the rest of this season? 

Yes. Once the Pistons buyout the contract Hamilton can sign with who ever he wants. Back in the day Hamilton was a better scorer than Korver but I haven't seen him play in a few years. I am not too sure what Hamilton has left.
It is a long shot that Hamilton and the Pistons would come to an agreement on the buyout. Hamilton is owed $25mil after this year. He will not make that back on the open market. I guess it depends on how bad he wants out and what Detroit is willing to pay to get rid of him.

Thank god this Carmelo BS is over with.  So sick of hearing about it.  The East coast bias is in full effect.  The Knicks are not suddenly a contender.  They downgraded from Ray Felton (17 ppg 9 assists) to the aging Billups (16 ppg 6 assists).  They lose Gallinari and Chandler (combined 32 ppg).  This team will play zero defense.  I don't see them being much different from what they currently are, which is a 28-26 team, the 6th seed in the East.  If the Bulls end up the 3 seed, we'll stomp this team in the 1st round.

I agree with you Dan.  I'm no longer scared of the Knicks in the first round.  We match up better with them now that they won't have a great athlete who plays solid D at the 4 in Chandler.  I can't speak for Billup's D since I really haven't seen him play much this year, but being as old as he is you would have to think Rose matches up better with him. 

Can't wait to get my boy Joakim back tomorrow night. 

Well I guess Paxson sees nothing in James Johnson.  Traded him today for the pick Toronto got from Miami in the Bosh deal.  That'll be a bottom of the 1st round pick, which in the NBA, is usually not much of an impact.

I like(d) JJ.  He wasn't going to see any playing time so at least they got something out of him.  Good chance they can get a servicable player with a 27-30 pick.

well, I guess Noah was ready to return. he had 10 rebounds in the 1st quarter  :o kind of sucks, he's going against me in my fantasy league. at least I have D Rose

last night was a trap game in a half

Toronto shot their best % of the season and scored 118 without hitting a single 3.  I don't know if we have allowed another team to shoot 58% from the field on us all year.  I'll just assume it was lethargy caused from too much time off, and not that our D was disrupted by Noah's return.

I think we made that JJ deal in hopes to have another bargaining chip for a trade today.  A draft pick is a lot more tempting to GMs than a JJ type player since GMs assume they can all strike gold and mold a player of their choice.  We will see what today holds.

Toronto just couldn't miss a shot.  It wasn't the best defensive performance by Da Bulls but when you hit some of the shots Toronto made it's hard to defend.  With that trade it gives Da Bulls three first round picks next draft.  So even if they don't make a trade this season they could in the off season or find someone good in the draft.  They have the pick from that trade, their own pick and the pick from the Tyrus Thomas trade to he Bobcats.  Should be a great game tonight vs. the Heat!!

So incredibly slow to rotate over and help on defense the whole game last night.  58 points in the paint by the F'ing Toronto Raptors.  Brutal.  If that Bulls team shows up tonight, Miami is going to win big.  We beat a short-handed Miami team last month.  Expect the Heat to be extra motivated tonight to get revenge for that loss, and establish their dominance in the East.

The Heat were short handed but so were Da Bulls.  They didn't have Noah so we will see what happens.  GO BULLS!!!

Bosh was 1-18 shooting. the worst since 1976(1-22). Great win again tonight, vs a strong Heat team. Asik's 11 rebounds were the edge at 52-39.  but at home once again. the team needs to play sooo much better on the road. still hoping with Noah back, they can become a little better on the defensive end. that will be key to getting a 3 or 4 seed, and a opening 1st round at home.

Deng was great once again tonight. I truly believe this team can beat the Heat in a playoff matchup. Wade and LeBron had huge games, and they still lost. Yea, Bosh was terrible, but thats just good defense. They defend home court, and find that way to win on the road, watch out everyone.

WOW.

I am so hyped up right now.  What a game!!  How bout DENG!  Asik played HUGE tonite too.  Ronnie woo woo is a steal machine.

I have to admit that I got a little nervous when LeBron started denying D Rose the ball...

DENG IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Son of a biscuit that was a fun game to watch!  Even my wife could not go to sleep until the end.  This just emphasizes how incredible the East playoffs are going to be this year.  The NBA has not been this loaded with talent and heated rivalries since the 80's.  If you aren't watching, you are missing out on some high quality entertainment.

Through mid-way in the 3rd quarter I was convinced we were going to lose.  Then Luol Deng kicked it into high gear!  He matched up 1-1 with James and got the better of him on both ends of the floor.  James/Wade combined for 24/45.  They threw their best punch last night and we took it.  This was a statement game.  Rose/James going head to head in that final minute was nerve racking.  LeBron is such a freakish athlete, its tough to not get rattled when he decides to play defense like that.  The first possession Rose struggled to get the ball, then James end up with it and sprints down the floor for the and-1 to tie the game.  Next time down, Rose beats James off the dribble and draws Wade for the double team.  Good stuff!

A telling stat I read in Wilbon's article this morning...Miami is 1-7 against the top 5 teams in the NBA, the Bulls are 7-4.

WTF was up with the Celtics trading Kendrick Perkins?  Ainge is messing with team chemistry when team chemistry is the #1 thing that team is built on.  Wierd stuff.

D.Rose for MVP!!!

That was great regular season game. The Bulls played a great 2nd half. Deng stepped up his defense when it mattered most. It was really good to see the Bulls 2nd team out play Wade/Bosh and company. Miami came back and took the lead back when Lebron came returned to the game. Thibs put the starters, minus Bogans, back in and they slammed they door shut. Plus he played the offense/defense switch really well with Korver/Brewer at the end. Nicely played and a well coached game.

Not sure what the Celtics are thinking either. Doesn't sound like the players are all that happy about the trade. Interesting for both sides. Maybe Garnett and Peirce really are getting old and need more rest. Maybe Perkins was due to get paid and they knew they could not afford him. No matter what it is strange.

The Celtics are banking on Shaq and his experience in the playoffs to be better than Perkins it sounds like. Thats what the guys on around the horn believe anyway. and 1 of the guys was from Boston globe, so who knows? I don't think he can play long enough to hold down other big men, his age will be a factor. Perkins was so much younger. that may have been the trade the Bulls needed to outduel them in the playoffs though. didn't the go to a game 7  with the Celts?

For all the Stacy King fans out there.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/stacey-king-soundboard.html

Season SWEEP over the Heat 3-0. great sign for the playoffs. finally starting to win on the road, also a very big +

Rose has to be MVP!

The Heat have no half-court offense in the final minute of close games.  If they did, they'd have the best record in the NBA.  How about Noah manning up against James on that final possession.  Every one of these games has been thrilling to watch.  A Bulls/Heat playoff series could be epic.  The biggest thing I took from this one was Luol Deng showing he wanted the ball in his hands with the game on the line.  Having that 2nd option at the end of games is huge.

Loving this Heat losing streak.  I think Rose has all but locked up the MVP award.  Youngest ever at age 22.  Bulls only have 4 games left that look tough on paper.  Unlikely the Heat will catch us for the 2 seed.  I'm still holding out hope for the top seed.  We've got a home game aganist Boston on April 7.

Do not count Kobe out for the MVP. The Lakers are hot right now. They haven't lost since the All Start Break. They keep this up the media bias could get Kobe the MVP. They do not have to win them all but they are going to make a serious run for the #1seed in the West.

I think if The Bulls finish 1 thru 3 in the east D.Rose is the more deserving player. Unless something horrible happens The Bulls should finish no worse than #2 in the East. They have a pretty easy schedule to finish out the year.

Now the serious blame game starts for The Heat. It will be fun to watch the meltdown. Bosh is now speaking up about how he needs to be more aggressive. Lebron is not going to let the team down anymore. Wade doesn't want Lebron taking the last shot anymore. They are not even close to being on the same page. Good luck. Not!

And Kobe would be a deserving choice.  By the numbers, Kobe is averaging a 25/5 to Rose's 25/8.  Rose shoots 44% and Kobe 45%.  Both are about 32% from three.  Kobe's defense has been down this year compared to past year's where is a dominant defender.  He's conserved his legs a bit more with the knee injuries.  Rose's defense has been way up, so I think defense is almost a wash, even though Kobe is the better natural defender.

The thing that is on Rose's side is that Kobe has won MVP's in the past and is clearly not having one of his better seasons.  This fact kept MJ from winning some MVP's that he deserved (see Karl Malone and Barkley's awards).  And the fact that the general perception in the media is that Rose has completely carried Chicago this season when we've missed Boozer and Noah.

LeBron is the best player in the league, but with the way things are going in Miami and the negative vibe from the media, I just can't imagine James taking the award for the 3rd straight year.  Dirk and Amare are deserving candidates, but they play no defense so I'm against giving them the award unless their offensive games are off the charts.

I just hope the voters, don't call the MVP, the same way the refs call fouls(actually don't call fouls) when Rose goes to the hoop. I think because he is so young, that he hardly ever gets a call. I hope they don't use the he will get his later BS.
just ask this, where would the Bulls be without him in the lineup?
yea Kobe scores 25, but isn't that down from his normal numbers? I know Rose's 25pg is up from last year, as are his assists, fg% and 3pt%.
Unless Rose goes down, or Kobe and LeBron don't lose another game all year, Rose should be the favorite in my eyes.

The only thing that worries me about Rose not getting the MVP is the media bias. Its all about the 2 coasts and the 2 big cities in the media. Rose is more deserving than both Kobe and James. I guess Dirk's name has been thrown around as well. But I do not see him getting it over Rose either.

So much for the Lakers being hot. Their big men ended that game horribly.

Celtics with a bad loss. Bulls only 1.5 games back. Bulls have the easiest schedule of the top teams in the East. #1 seed is getting closer. The Bulls and Celtics still play each other next month. That game could determine the Eastern Conference Champion.

I can see the media bias changing some peoples votes.  What has me more worried is that if Rose wins he will be the youngest MVP of all time.  I have a bad feeling that voters will take that in to consideration and deem him unworthy, simply because greater players (in their minds) were unable to win a league MVP at that age. 

Luckily they say that Boozer's ankle injury is similar to the one he suffered a few weeks ago, prediction he will only need to sit a week or so.  I would really like to see us grab the #1 seed, but I would rather we are healthy and firing on all cylinders when we start the post season.  The East will be extremely tough this year and we will need all the bodies we can get.

How bout the first quarter rose is having tonite! Wow.

went to the game last night. Great time, even got to see the white mamba drill a 3

Maybe Da Bulls shouldn't have a huge lead.  They play bad when they have a big lead.  That second half was disappointing!  The worst part was the d.  Man did they get sloppy  Don't get me wrong they are a really good team but you could see when they weren't hitting shots they missed boozer in the post.  It was a great streak of 9 games in a row with giving up less than 90 points.  And how about that half time presentation!!  Wow that was epic!  Made my hairs stand up!  GO BULLS!!

Boston lost to the Nets tonight, which I think puts the Bulls in a tie for 1st place.
I was believing it before Saturday, but hearing MJ say these guys might win another 6, I have to agree with him, if they stay together, which in this day and age, just doesn't happen anymore. Let's just hope the health stays with us this year, cause this team is very impressive, and they are playing some very good team ball right now. And it helps they are a 10 man deep team. The bench always steps up when needed.

Bulls have been hot from 3 point land the past few games. 

I thin Bogans brought is ppg up a little bit tonite!

7 game winning streak, has them all alone in sole posession of 1st place. Tibbs said last night, we don't have the best record, that is the next goal. I love this guys attitude. He wasn't happy with last nights 19 point win. he said the defense was sloppy and terrible.

16 games left. even if they finsihed 12-4, that still puts them at 60 wins. good enough for Tibbs to win Coach of the Year, and Rose the MVP. They played great last night without Boozer and Noah in the lineup. I know it was the Wizards, but still they looked like a veteran team, and people stepped up big(Bogans)

I'm excited every time I turn on a Bulls game. anout like it was in the 90's  :)

OMG D Rose is ridiculous!!  They way he played tonight hands down mvp of the league.  That was one hell of a performance!

Bulls are 12-2 this month.  Just dominating right now headed into the playoffs as the 1 seed.  Boston seems to be floundering as they've lost at home to the Bobcats, they lost to the Nets, and they damn near lost to the TWolves last night.  I think Miami will end up the 2 seed and Boston the 3. 

Miami certainly scares me a little when I see box scores like last night:
Bost 31 pts 12 reb
James 33 pts 10 reb
Wade 30 pts 11 reb

But even with that, they won by just 6 pts at home over Houston.  They are a wierd team.  The Bulls seem to have their number because of our depth and the fact that Rose seems to be the best player on the court in the final 3 minutes of the game.  We need that home court adv. though.

Why do the Bulls keep letting these crappy teams hang around til the end of games?  Last night we hung on against the Suns after being up 22 in the 3rd qtr.  Then the Toronto and Piston games both came down to the wire last weekend.  I'm a little bit concerned that we may have peaked too early in the season, although we do keep winning the games in the end.  Hoping we get a renewed energy in the playoffs.  Orlando will be waiting in the 2nd round and that series is going to be a battle.  Derrick Rose has still never won a playoff series, so we can't take anything for granted.

Bad reffing.

Bad rebounding, including boxing out. The Bulls made Gortat look way too good.

Frye is a nightmare match up and they did not adjust at all. Noah was the only player that even attempted to guard him at the 3 point line.

Vince Carter got treated with kit gloves last night. He got way too many calls which was responsible for 10-14 points of that lead disappearing.

Resting the starter a lot. Which is good. I heard a interview yesterday with D.Rose and he said the Thibs is letting them rest right now. They will pick it up again. It was on ESPN1000 it was a great interview. I am sure it was podcast if anyone wants to hear it.

Doesn't matter cause D.Rose is the MVP and he took over.

They will be fine in the playoffs. If they play like this against Boston on Thursday then I may start to worry a little.

With Miami's loss last night to the Bucks, a win tonight for the Bulls virtually clinches the 1 seed.

This is a DAMN good team fellas!
get ready for a long playoff run. I will be suprised if they are not in the East Finals.

That second half d was amazing!!  That was the best I have seen them play d in a while.  Only gave up two field goals in 11 minutes. That was awesome!!

Last night was impressive, but the Bulls' shouldn't get too cocky right now.  First of all, I think Boston is dead in the water without Kendrick Perkins.  They are 8-9 in their last 17 games.  They aren't the same team.  Paul Pierce looks older every day.  I'm predicting a 1st round exit at the hands of the Sixers.

Orlando had that stretch where they lost 8 of 9 after the Vince Carter trade.  Since, they have been a pretty solid club and look to be peaking at the right time.  They won't have a problem getting by the Hawks in Rd 1 (remember those 30+ point blowouts in their series last year?), and the Bulls will have their hands full in Rd 2.  D.Howard took them to the Finals just a couple years ago.  They've been through a few more battles than this Bulls team.  I'm actually more worried about Orlando in Rd 2 than Miami in the East Finals.  The Bulls get back on defense and the Heat have shown they can't win in a half-court game.

Wouldn't it be cool if its Bulls/Lakers in the Finals just like 20 years ago when Jordan won his first title and Magic's run with the Lakers was coming to an end?  Now it could be Rose winning his 1st of multiple titles at the end of Kobe's run.  That would be a dream scenario for the NBA.  Of course, they'll probably have a lockout this offseason and throw away all the momentum the league is building.

I really wasn't sure what to think about Thibbs as the head coach at the start of the year. But I really like how he gets so mad when the team doesn't get back, or doesn't play fundamental defense. his post game conferences, he explains in detail what they did right, and what they still did wrong, and then he works at fixing the problem. The Bulls fans should be excited for alot of years to come.
And D Rose will win multiple MVP'S in the next 5 years, after of course he gets his 1st this year. Hell, even LeBron said hands down Rose is the MVP this year. 

Great game played by the Bulls.The Bulls defense is amazing at times. They contest almost every shot. They run down jump shooters constantly(except Channing Frye). Last night playing under the pick and roll was awesome. Everyone has been playing Rondo over the screen. That is when he can be dangerous.

The only way Orlando can beat the Bulls is with some real hot outside shooting. I just do not see that standing up in a 7 game series. I do not understand how a team built around a player who can not play the last 5min of the game can win a Championship(Orlando and Howard to be exact). Howard is a liability to his team at the end of games cause he can not make a foul shot. I do not care how good his defense is. The Bulls have at least 24-30 fouls to use on him. Gotta love the Bulls depth at the 4 and 5 spots.

I do not see a team in the East that can beat the Bulls in a 7 game series. The Bulls just play to good of a defense and have the best regular season closer atm. D.Rose leads the league in scoring with 3min left in a game.

Time to stop drooling over the Bulls and get some work done.

D.Rose blocking a Garnett layup/dunk was my favorite highlight of many. Maybe it was Gibson's roundhouse kick to Deng's head. As long as Deng is okay that is.

My only real concern in the playoffs is how the Bulls will adjust to teams being more physical and tougher defenses.

the Knicks are a scary 1st round opponent with Amare, Melo, and Billups.  hope the bulls don't look ahead to soon.

Quote from: pdga#7648 on April 12, 2011, 09:38:04 AM
the Knicks are a scary 1st round opponent with Amare, Melo, and Billups.  hope the bulls don't look ahead to soon.

Doug, the Celtics will be worrying about the Knicks in Round 1.  The Bulls will be cruising by the well-below-.500 Indiana Pacers.  It would be hard for the Bulls to look ahead too soon in that matchup.

okay. the guy on the radio this morning on my way to work said the Bulls hosting the Knicks.  Your right, this will be an easy series against the Pacers. Contain Granger and they will be lucky to score 70 against the Bulls D!

Quote from: pdga#7648 on April 12, 2011, 10:22:00 AM
okay. the guy on the radio this morning on my way to work said the Bulls hosting the Knicks.  Your right, this will be an easy series against the Pacers. Contain Granger and they will be lucky to score 70 against the Bulls D!

Perhaps because the Bulls are @Knicks tonight.  I wonder if Thibodeau plans any rest for Rose and company.  Sunday @Orlando was a meaningless game, and yet Rose played 36 min and Deng 39 min.  Rose took a number of hard fouls on drives to the rim.  That is the only way he knows how to play.  In my opinion Thibs needs to greatly limit starter's minutes tonight and tomorrow so they can spend the next 4 days reenergizing physically and mentally.

Did you see Thibodeau lay a verbal assault in Rose's face after some lazy defense before the half Sunday?  The guy is intense!  No team plays as hard as the Bulls....for 2 reasons

1.  Derrick Rose is an animal.  His mind is on 1 thing only.  Winning.  He cares about nothing else.  It doesn't matter if that means taking 3 shots or 30 shots.  If LeBron had Rose's mindset, he'd already have 2 titles in Cleveland.

Rose is the unquestioned leader of the team and his attitude and work ethic trickle down to every other player.

2.  Tom Thibodeau doesn't just teach intensity on defense, he demands it.  The reason his intense style is successful is again because of Derrick Rose.  If the best player on the team allows the coach to rip him for a poor defensive effort, then how can the other player's complain?  There are a number of superstars who would not put up with a coach getting on them like that.  They'd undermine the coach, get the lockerroom on their side, and eventually he'd be gone.  This is the reality of the NBA.  Tom Thibodeau is a great coach because Derrick Rose allows him to be.  He's a special player. 

The Bulls were EXTREMELY lucky to win that lottery and get him (1.7% chance of winning the 1st pick that year).  Just think, Miami had the worst record that year and had the best chance to win that 1st pick.  How different would the NBA look if Rose ended up in Miami?

your very last sentence??
let's just be glad we don't have to think what the league would have looked like. let's just be glad that 1.7% fell in the Bulls favor.

I really do not think that these guys know how to do it any differently. The coach is intense. D.Rose is intense. Thibs wants to win every game they can. That is just the way they appear to be. I think they only know how to do things 1 way and that is hardcore. It may come back to bite them eventually. Maybe Thibs will learn when to let up and when to go all out.

Dan you are so right about D.Rose believing in Thibs and the rest of the team following along. You described it perfectly. It is pretty amazing that someone as young and talented as D.Rose acts the way he does. Hard to believe he is only 22yo.

I do not think the NBA Lottery is legit. I think it is rigged when the NBA wants it to be. Why else is it done behind closed doors? It was not always done that way. I really do not need to look any further back than LeBron. Does anyone really think it is luck that the Cavs got the home town LeBron or The Bulls got the home town D.Rose? Maybe it was luck but I am sure a little more research would find a few similar situations from past drafts. Not complaining just pointing out an observation. Love D.Rose being a Bull.

On the playoffs. I am really worried about Noah's play lately. If he does not step up his game I do not see this team making the finals. He has not looked good rebounding or on defense since coming back form the ankle injury.

I don't always block shots, but when I do I block yours.

Playoff predictions:

Chicago over Indy 4-0
Orlando over ATL 4-1
Boston over NY  4-3
Miami over Philly 4-0

Memphis over Spurs 4-2
OKC over Denver 4-3
Blazers over Mavs 4-3
Lakers over Hornets 4-0


Chicago over Orlando  4-3
Miami over Boston  4-1

OKC over Memphis  4-3
Lakers over Blazers  4-3

Chicago over Miami 4-3      Things get testy, setting up a heated rivalry for the next 5 years as the 2 dominant teams in the East.
Lakers over OKC  4-3

Chicago over Lakers  4-1     We lose the 1st game at home and then win 4 straight just like 1991.

Crazy first 2 days of the NBA playoffs.  Every single underdog either had a big lead in the game or ended up winning the game.  Hoping the Bulls bring an end to that run tonight with a blowout that sends me to bed early.

I almost punched the TV watching Boozer get dominated by Tyler Hansbrough.  Seriously, how many open jumpers does he have to knock down before you step out on him?  He's put up 51 combined points the last 2 times we've played them.  Meanwhile, Boozer with his max contract put up 12 pts 6 reb 4 turnovers and 5 fouls.  Why even show up to the game Carlos?  I expect a LOT more tonight.

I'm tired as hell after that late game (why did they schedule it this way?  hard for kids to stay up and watch until 11:30pm)

Game 2 with a very similar flow to Game 1.  The Bulls made some defensive adjustments and prevented Hansbrough from getting wide open 15 footers.  I thought the Bulls played very well defensively all game.  Offensively, its like everybody is gun-shy except for Rose.  Our 2nd unit was essential to winning 62 games this year.  They looked completely lost and without confidence in the first 2 games of this series.  Thibs has switched up the rotations from what he used during the regular season and I wonder if that is part of it.  Just not getting that energy off the bench.

Not a great performance, but a win is a win.  Get one in Indy and this series is all but over.

Many similarities from Saturday, including us getting screwed schedule wise so that Miami can get the prime time spot. 

Dan is right when he says we looked lost.  It reminded me of playing pickup basketball at the local rec center.  I don't know if the rest of the team is afraid to try and take over for fear that Rose won't get going, but they need to realize everyone has to step up to win big games (see:  Artest in the finals last year for the Lakers). 

I liked how we were trying to establish Boozer early, but did you see some of those forced passes that led to those early turnovers?  I'm sorry, but you can't try to force a pass in to the lane when Booz is surrounded by 2 or more defenders.  Use his offense to help establish the rest of the team by finding the open man when the double team comes.

On a side note, I had to watch the first game on ESPN since I was at a bar so I didn't get to hear Scottie during the broadcast.  He really works well with Neil and Stacey and he provides some good insight as to what the players are thinking.  I especially loved his comments about Hansbrough flopping.

I'll give the Pacers a lot of credit.  They have played a great series and executed an effective gameplan.  They clearly have aimed to make it a physical series, keep it low scoring, and don't let the Bulls get comfortable.  Its worked.  The Bulls could not have looked less comfortable in these 3 games.  The only problem for the Pacers is we have Derrick Rose and they don't.  I think the Bulls will get better from having gone through these battles.  This won't be the last team that tries to play them this way and they need to learn how to deal with it.  The bench HAS to find a way to contribute more in the playoffs.

I really think the Bulls need to lose one of these games in Indy. Something to shake them up; they'll get killed in the next round if they keep playing like this.

Quote from: damonshort on April 21, 2011, 08:08:05 PM
I really think the Bulls need to lose one of these games in Indy. Something to shake them up; they'll get killed in the next round if they keep playing like this.

I think people are underestimating how well the Pacers have played.

Rose's ankle sprain prevented the sweep, but nothing will stop the Bulls from winning tomorrow in the United Center to close this thing out and get a few days of much needed rest. 

Looks like it'll be the Hawks up next.  I doubt the Hawks will play us any tougher than the Pacers have.  We took an easy 2 of 3 (94-76, 114-81, 80-83) from the Hawks in the regular season and the 1 loss was absolutely a gift from the Bulls as they blew a 20 point 2nd half lead.  Its taken some of the worst shooting I've ever seen by Orlando to give them a 3-1 series lead.

Boston/Miami next round should be really fun to watch.  I still think Miami takes it, maybe in 6.  The Bulls will take the Hawks in 5 and then we'll have the East showdown people have been waiting for.

The Pacers have really played well against us.  If not for our capability to make the comeback in the fourth quarter, this series could easily be 2-2 or even 3-1 the other way.  People underestimate the Pacers due to their record, which is really misleading.  Many overlook the fact under Frank Vogel the team was over .500.  I personally think the Pacers are on par with a 5-6 seed.  It has become clear that the Celtics got the easiest match up out of the top 3 seeds.

Although they listed Rose as questionable for tomorrow's game, he will still play.  X-rays and MRIs both came back negative, and with the the medical care that is available to professional sports teams he will be back to 75%.

I just hope the Pacers don't steal one in the U.C. and force us into a long series.  Rose will need all the rest he can get against Hinrich's D.

Sprained ankle can be bad. I hear it's more worse off than people think. We will find out soon. Pacers big guys match up good with the Bulls. They are a good team. The ankle will decide this series.

Finally.  After 4 games of failing to establish any sort of big lead in a game, the Bulls took care of business early.  It all started with Noah dominating the first 6 minutes of the game.  The early double digit lead seemed to just loosen up the entire team.  Rose finally got his J back.  Lieutenant Deng scored inside and outside and dominated defensively.  The 2nd unit came in and did what they did all season long.  Big confidence boost heading into Round 2.  The Pacers, and their strategy of sending four 6'10" white dudes out to elbow people in the face, will soon be forgotten like a slightly disturbing dream that you can't remember the details of.

Orlando laid the wood to the Hawks last night.  We'll see if ATL can get up off the floor or if they fold like last year.  If that series goes 7, Orlando is winning.  I really don't care who the Bulls play right now.

p.s.  Just read about Granger crying to the media that Noah took cheap shots.  I'm not going to deny that it happened.  But, that made the cheap shot tally something like   Bulls 1  Pacers 15     And they responded to that 1 cheap shot by trying to punch Noah in the back of the head.  The Bulls took how many shots to the face in this series and just kept playing through it instead of getting caught up in it?  Granger has to see the irony in him complaining about a cheap shot.  Go watch the video buddy.

I find it funny as hell that anyone on the Pacers complained about cheap fouls. Grainger hasn't stopped running his mouth since before the series started. He is probably still talking smack somewhere. McRoberts himself didn't think that was a cheap shot from Noah. Foster and McRoberts are nothing but hacks. They have no business in the NBA.

As for the Bulls.

Sounds like Boozer now has turf toe. Ouch.

The good news is the team played a lot better last night. D.Rose looked good last night. I just hope he didn't have to shoot up his ankle to play, that is not good long term. 2 games in a row Bogens is hitting the 3. Deng has been solid. Noah has stepped up the past 2 games. Defense has been great at times, including D.Rose. That shutdown in the 3 period was nice. D.Rose blocking Hibbert, how sweet was that? Can't forget about Korver dunking and getting a lay up. That will make teams play him little different.

I am now looking forward to a 7 game series between the Magic and Hawks. I would like the Bulls to play Orlando so D.Rose can get his MVP trophy in front of Howard. Either way I see the Bulls winning. Atlanta has no big men or anyone who can guard D.Rose. Orlando can not win unless they are hitting 40% from 3 point land.

Quote from: Mike Clark on April 27, 2011, 11:00:45 AM
Atlanta has no big men or anyone who can guard D.Rose.

Well, nobody can guard Rose.  But, Captain Kirk is a smart enough defender that he does about as well as anybody.  Rose's 3 performances versus Kirk this year:

5-21 FG
9-24 FG
11-20 FG

Thats 25-65 (38%) shooting.  Rose gets his points, but Kirk has made him take more perimeter shots than he likes.

Versus Orlando:
5-13
6-21 (w/ ulcers)
9-20
13-17

33-71 (46%). Thats above his season average.  D.Rose had an easier time against Orlando.  I'm still not sure who I'd rather face.  I don't really care.  Like Mike said, we're winning either way.  If I was another NBA team I'd be watching tape of that Bulls @ Golden State game.  GS did the best job of frustrating D.Rose with traps and double teams that anybody did all season.  I was actually a little frightened after that game that other teams would be able to duplicate that.

Atlanta will not win the next series they play.

Bulls in 5.!

Quote from: pdga#7648 on April 28, 2011, 07:12:46 PM
Atlanta will not win the next series they play.

Bulls in 5.!

I'm going Bulls in 4.  Atlanta looked terrible most of that series.  39% shooting won't win a game versus Chicago.  Orlando has to blow up their team and start over.  That was humiliating.  Anybody still wishing the Bulls had signed Redick?  Could he have been more open?  Meanwhile Korver is Mr.Clutch everytime we've found him with the game on the line this whole season.

Predicting the Miami Boston series is significantly tougher.  I'm not really sure what I'm going to see, but I can't wait to see it.  Both teams are so unpredictable right now.  I'm sticking with Miami in 7, but I'm not totally confident in that pick.  I could even see Boston winning this thing in 5.

I'm really happy ATL won that series.  I felt that if ORL had won it would have been a much tougher 2nd round for us.  We have a great shot at sweeping, especially with Kirk having tweaked his hamstring last night. 

One thing we have to do is make sure Crawford doesn't go off.  He is really streaky and is capable of putting 40 up in any given game, but his defense is so bad he is just as capable of giving up 40. 

The other player we really need to lock down is Horford.  He lit us up for 31-16 the only time we lost to ATL this season.  For those of you unfortunate enough to remember that game, we blew a 17 point half time lead and Korver shot an air ball at the end of the game.

Okay, Atlanta shot 51% from the field and 54% from 3P range, which they most likely will not repeat.  I'm not so concerned that we lost the game to a team who happened to have an incredible night of perimeter shooting.

However, I am very concerned about the play of the MVP.  He shot a grand total of 0 free throws last night.  He protected himself from contact throughout the game.  It seems something is not right.  That minor ankle roll at the end showed that his left ankle is nowhere near healed from the sprain he suffered in the Indiana series.  We might be able to beat the Hawks with a perimeter shooting D.Rose, but we damn sure will not beat the Heat that way.  We need him barrelling into the lane drawing fouls and putting constant pressure on the other team's defense.  Without that, we are a mediocre team like the Hawks.

Game 2 is now a must-win.

The Hawks and Joe Johnson had an amazing night from the perimeter. I do not think that will continue. The Hawks should not be over confident about the win. If they can duplicate that performance consistently they will win the NBA Championship. Which I do not think is going to happen.

Now The Bulls need to get the heads out of their collective arse. Deng was the only player to show up in the 1st half. Where was everyone else. Including D.Rose. The team played no defense except for a short stretch in the 3rd. The got pushed around under the boards all night. There was no rebounding or energy to speak of. They let Atlanta get 9 offensive rebounds and got out rebounded overall. Pathetic! Not to mention the the shooting stats Dan posted. That had to be one of the softest games I have seen The Bulls play all year. Are you kidding me this is the playoffs? Where the hell was Noah. Did he even dress for the game? What a joke. They had better show up on Wednesday or this season is over.

Oh I forgot 1 thing. Can anyone tell me why Kyle Korver is guarding Jamal Crawford. Are you kidding me?

like we didn't know this was coming?




CHICAGO (AP)—Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose(notes) is the NBA's MVP, becoming the youngest player in league history to win the award, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke Monday night on the condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not been made. That could come Tuesday, with a formal presentation before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The news is hardly a surprise.


Derrick Rose averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists per game this season.

He ended the two-year MVP reign of LeBron James

My wife asked me what Turf Toe is since they were saying Boozer is trying to play through it.  I looked this up:

"Athletes diagnosed with turf toe should avoid their sport at least three weeks to allow the joint capsule to heal. Without doing so, the injury can progress, and can lead to an even longer recuperation. It is not uncommon for athletes to try to come back too soon, or to try to play through the injury. Unfortunately, this usually leads to a more chronic injury, and ultimately a longer recovery."


So, I don't expect a healthy Boozer anytime soon.  Boozer's toe, Noah's ankle, Rose's ankle, Brewer's thumb....its starting to feel like this just isn't the year.  Going to be an interesting game tonight.  The energy level should be high at the start of the game after Rose receives his trophy.

I know nobody cares, but OJ Simpson or Eic Dickerson had to retire from football for turf toe!  It has to be serious!

It ended Eddie George and Dieon Sanders careers  as well. Those are the most recent football players forced to retire from turf toe that I can think of. I am sure there are a lot more.

From what I understand it is the torn ligament that creates most of the problem. And as with any torn ligament if you don't let it heal it is just going to get worse. Capsule not so much. The capsule usually will heal. The pain may never go away.The ligament stability issue can linger forever and that is when they are forced to retire.

Good to see the Bulls defense show up last night. Their offense still needs to get going but with defense like that it is not as important. Noah did his job. Boozer is not scoring but I will take the 11 rebounds. Deng played some really good defense on Joe Johnson last night. Putting Korver on Teague and Deng on Johnson in second half was great. Forcing Johnson to play point was priceless. Korver actually found someone he can play effective defense against. He shutdown Teague when it counted late. Out rebounding the Hawks by 19. 33% from the field. That is more like it.

Do the Hawks take some bad shots or what? Wow...

not looking very good Bulls fans. they need to win the next 2 games, to get their momentum back.
Miami looks very good right now to where the Bulls don't!

I know that Miami may look pretty good right now, but how much of that is the Celtics looking bad?  Their age is showing in this series, as well as the gaping hole at center they have with Perkins gone.  Not to mention Rondo's injury.  Last night was a game last year's Celtics would have won handily, even with the Rondo injury. 

I think the Bulls stand the best chance of beating the Heat out of the Hawks/Bulls, but if we make it passed the Hawks we can not have more than 1 bad game in a 7 game series, and we absolutely have to lock down one of the "Big 3".  Either way, that is a tall order given the way we have played our first 2 series.

They looked alot better tonight. Gibson was HUGE in the 4th!

Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 10, 2011, 08:07:39 AM
not looking very good Bulls fans. they need to win the next 2 games, to get their momentum back.
Miami looks very good right now to where the Bulls don't!

Actually, they only need to win 1 more.  I don't care if they lose Game 6 as long as they win Game 7.  Just get to the next round.  The next series is a new series.  When Boston won in '08 they went 7 games in the first round against ATL and 7 in the 2nd round against CLE and everybody wanted to talk about how they weren't playing good enough to win.  The NBA playoffs are never easy.  Just win 4 games and move on.

Quote from: philvb85 on May 10, 2011, 08:15:51 AM

I think the Bulls stand the best chance of beating the Heat out of the Hawks/Bulls, but if we make it passed the Hawks we can not have more than 1 bad game in a 7 game series, and we absolutely have to lock down one of the "Big 3".

We can have 3 bad games in a 7 game series.  I'm good at math like that.  We've beaten the Heat before and we can do it again.  Its going to be a battle.  The Bulls will be the underdogs this time which might do some good for our mentality.

How about the Celtics just completely throwing that game away last night?  They were in command most of the way and outshot the Heat 49% to 46%.  17 turnovers.  Most of those were not really forced by the Heat defense either.  Just ugly ugly BS.  This series was a lot more about the Celtics than the Heat.  If the Celts could close out a game without fumbling all over the place they'd be up 3-2 right now.

I love LeBron stating that the only reason he had to make The Decision was so he could beat the Celtics.  First of all, he could have beaten this Celtics team with the Cavs team he had last year.  Secondly, it was Round 2, a little early to be so self satisfied.  The toughest test for the Heat lies ahead.  His name is Derrick Rose, MVP.  Maybe LeBron has heard of him?

Wait, the Heat have to play another series?  I just caught the end of the game but I could have sworn they were celebrating a championship win when it ended.   :unsure:

The Heat/LeBron make me sick. Boston can not close out games 4 and 5 and they celebrate like the won the NBA Championship.

here's a stat for ya then Mike.

The heat are 0-5 against the 2 teams left that they will probably have to play.

Mavericks 0-2
Bulls 0-3

Speaking of the Mavs.... their bench scored 86 points the other night. The Lakers entire team scored 86. If they continue to play the way they have played in these playoffs, they will be very tough for either team in the East in my opinion. I am just 39(in July) but Dirk Nowitzki is probably the 2nd best white guy I have ever seen play behind Larry The Legend Bird. Dude is 7'0" tall but can do everything. No one will be able to guard him and keep him under his avg.



The Bulls look alot better these last 2 games. Playing unselfesh team ball. I like the extra passes I saw tonight. Can't wait to play the Heat. Actually excited about a  NBA playoff series in a real long time!

it's really hard to like many players in the NBA. ME this ME that, but DRose is so Humble for his age. His post game news conference, he was smooth on everything asked about him and his team. How can you not like this guy if your a fan of basketball, Bulls fan or not?  Atlantas coach shook his hand after the game and had an 8 sec chat. In that time Rose said Yes Sir, and Thank you Sir!  The kid is 22  :o

Time to shut the whiny bitches in Miami up and their annoying fair-weather fans.

Quote from: Dan Michler on May 13, 2011, 05:45:29 AM
Time to shut the whiny bitches in Miami up and their annoying fair-weather fans.

Atlanta versus Miami would have been a battle of the worst fans in sports.

Quote from: Tom McManus on May 13, 2011, 07:00:15 AM

Quote from: Dan Michler on May 13, 2011, 05:45:29 AM
Time to shut the whiny bitches in Miami up and their annoying fair-weather fans.

Atlanta versus Miami would have been a battle of the worst fans in sports.

I think ABC was hoping for the ratings bonanza that an Atlanta Memphis series could have produced.

now that was a statement game :)  Loved that Taj Gibson dunk at the end!

The Bulls are completely in their comfort zone in this matchup.  Miami has no front line players who can knock the Bulls around and make it a physical battle.  Also, I think the team feels more at home without the label of 'heavy favorite'.  Deng, Noah, Taj, Bogans, and Brewer all clearly relish the chance to defend LeBron and Wade.  They are not used to being defended so aggressively in one-on-one situations.

The most telling stats from Game 1:

The Heat actually outshot the Bulls 47% to 44%.  Rare, considering the 21 pt margin of victory.  The Bulls won the turnover battle 16-9 and outrebounded Miami on the offensive glass 19-6.  Huge margins.

This formula has proved to be reproducible in the matchup.  The Bulls have dominated the Heat on the offensive glass in all 4 matchups this season.  The pressure is on the Heat to find a way to stop the trend, although I'm not sure how they can possibly do it with the personnel they have.

Things that probably won't continue:  James/Wade both held to less than 20 pts.  These guys account for a majority of the Heat offense.  They will find a way to start scoring (although Bosh is unlikely to replicate his 30 pt output).  Also, the Heat only had 15 FT's.  I'd love to think we can continue to defend like that without fouling, but that'll be a tough act to follow.

Last night was a load of crap. Is it a coincidence that the Bulls started getting BS fouls called on them as soon they started to pull away from the Heat in the 2nd period. Completely changed the pace of the game.

NBA reffing is a joke. Can't let the Heat go down 0-2.

Despite 34% shooting and getting out rebounded the Bulls still could have won that game. If it wasn't for Haslem big game Miami might have lost last night.

So if the games are called fairly from now on the Bulls still have a great chance to win the series. But who knows now.

I agree Mike. The NBA is a joke and why I do not watch it. How about Cleveland landing the #1 pick. How about the Timberwolves owner calling it rigged.

"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines. Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy  ... . We were done. I told [Utah Jazz General Manager Kevin O'Connor], 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us,' and I was right about that."

The thought that games are rigged is always going to be a battle that the NBA has to fight, especially after the Tim Donaghy situation.  Every level of basketball deals with accusations that the refs prefer 1 team or the other.  Its just the nature of the game of basketball which has so many subjective calls.  Its the most difficult game to officiate.  I will say this, if the NBA is fixing the games, why did they allow the Lakers to get swept?  And why did only 1 series in the 1st 2 rounds produce a Game 7?  There is always going to be plenty of bad calls, but to constantly rush to judgment that the game is fixed is a little silly.

As for the Bulls, they got their butts kicked in Game 2 and again in Game 3.  To say it was the refs is just ignorant.  The last 2 games have been depressing as hell.  Miami has figured out how to stop Derrick.  Rose is going to have to play a much more controlled game if we're going to get back in this series.  Bulldozing into the lane just isn't working, as Miami is stacking their entire team up to stop him.  He has to find another way to be relevant in the game.  Boozer, Noah, Asik, and Taj have to do a much better job of finishing around the rim, especially after all the offesive rebounds they accumulate.  We can still win this series, but total domination on the front line is the only way its going to happen.

As much as it hurts to say it, the fact is we are losing because LeBron is the best player in the NBA.  He controlled the game on the offensive end with unbelievable passing.  His athleticism, size, and speed on the defensive end are breathtaking.  He can gamble on a steal or a block and still recover before we take advantage.  The non-stop effort is hard to deal with when you don't have a guy like that on your side.  Deng is doing a commendable job, but the task is a little too tall the last 2 games.

Quote from: CEValkyrie on May 19, 2011, 07:11:55 AM
I agree Mike. The NBA is a joke and why I do not watch it. How about Cleveland landing the #1 pick. How about the Timberwolves owner calling it rigged.

"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines. Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy  ... . We were done. I told [Utah Jazz General Manager Kevin O'Connor], 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us,' and I was right about that."

As for the TWolves GM, he is an idiot, but I'm pretty sure he was just joking.  The TWolves odds at the #1 pick the past 3 years...25%, 20%, 8%.  I don't think you have to be a math major to know that the odds were against them getting the #1 pick.  Nobody needed to fix it.  The Cavs had a 20% chance, the 2nd best chance of any team.  If the conspiracy theories were right, the Knicks would have gotten the #1 pick in either '09 or '10.

I am not blaming the loses completely on the reffing. They still need scoring in the 4th period. But is it affecting the Bulls defense and that is what this teams depends on to win games. In games 2 and 3 every time the Bulls start to make a run with the defensive pressure the refs make some BS call and gives the momentum back to the Heat. They have also put the Bulls in early foul trouble in both games 2 and 3. Games 2 and 3 are being called completely different than Game 1.Boozers defense is just horrible.

I do think Rose is frustrated and at a loss with what to do. Maybe this is what people mean by not having playoff experience. I do not understand why the Bulls players are so hesitant to take shots. Especially in the 4th period. Sometimes they pass too much. Bottom line is no matter what the refs or the Heat do it is up to the Bulls to adjust. And they have not adjusted up to this point. But that does not make it any less frustrating to watch as a fan.

Well, that was a hard one to take last night.  Resulted in at least 1 broken remote control.

We played the game we needed to play to beat this team.  If Rose doesn't miss that free throw with a minute left in regulation, its 2-2 right now with 2 of the final 3 in Chicago.  Not to mention the final 2 possessions.

I feel a little like Thibodeau may have gotten out-coached in this one.  Miami's bench players played 81 minutes and contributed 23 points.  Chicago's bench played 56 minutes and scored 18 points.  Our depth has to be our trump card againt the Heat.  Instead of the Miami trio running ragged in OT, it was Rose, Noah, Deng, and Boozer who were totally gassed.  Just can't let that happen if your Thibodeau.

The +/- tells a huge story.  LeBron -1 and D.Wade -10.  Mike Miller +36!  Haslem +25!  Unreal.

I'll stick it out until the end, but this season feels like it may be over.  If it is, you can't say it wasn't a successful year.  I was hoping for maybe a 3 seed and a possible trip to the ECF.  We won 62 games, had the MVP, and made it to the ECF.  A good year for Bulls fans.  D.Rose will still be just 23 next year.  I hope he learns from this experience.  Jacking up 9 three pointers was not a great idea.  The defense of LeBron has gotten in the head of a lot of our players, including Rose.  They are hesitating and missing layups, looking for him even when he's not there.  The Bulls will be back.  This is just Round 1, and it appears to be going to the Heat.

Just to change things up. I can't take talking about the conference finals anymore. It has been disappointing on so many levels. Even if the Bulls lose tonight it has been a good season. More than I had expected when it started.

Looking into the future. The Bulls have no cap room to sign anyone significant in the off season. After the lockout the cap will shrink.

Would you trade Noah, Gibson, and the pick from Charlotte for Dwight Howard?

no!


Howard may be going to the Lakers??

Quote from: Mike Clark on May 26, 2011, 12:49:57 PM
Just to change things up. I can't take talking about the conference finals anymore. It has been disappointing on so many levels. Even if the Bulls lose tonight it has been a good season. More than I had expected when it started.

Looking into the future. The Bulls have no cap room to sign anyone significant in the off season. After the lockout the cap will shrink.

Would you trade Noah, Gibson, and the pick from Charlotte for Dwight Howard?

Would that solve the problem of lacking a wing player who can creat his own shots?  Although Howard would be an improvment, he is a great player. However, this team does not really have a big deficiency at #5.

Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 26, 2011, 01:22:32 PM
no!


Howard may be going to the Lakers??

According to Jim Buss, Jerry Buss's son, Bynum is untouchable. The Lakers will not get Howard if this is the case. I do not think that Orlando would trade Howard for Pau Gasol. That is the only reason I brought it up. I figured he was going to the Lakers as well. Jim Buss is also the guy who hired Mike Brown. I think The Lakers franchise is in trouble if this guy keeps making decision for them.



Barish,

If the Bulls could get Dwight Howard I would be willing to find a 2 guard who can score in the draft or someone like Jason Richardson, who is a free agent next season, for a mid-level exception. It is not so much that there is a deficiency at center, you would be getting the most dominant big man in the game today. Minus the foul shooting of course.

Quote from: Mike Clark on May 26, 2011, 12:49:57 PM
Just to change things up. I can't take talking about the conference finals anymore. It has been disappointing on so many levels. Even if the Bulls lose tonight it has been a good season. More than I had expected when it started.

Looking into the future. The Bulls have no cap room to sign anyone significant in the off season. After the lockout the cap will shrink.

Would you trade Noah, Gibson, and the pick from Charlotte for Dwight Howard?

Thats an easy one.  Yes, obviously.  I love Noah, but if you have the chance to trade 4 quarters for a dollar bill, you take it every time.

I agree, there isn't likely to be a bigtime pickup at the 2 guard this offseason.  I think the Bulls come back with essentially the same team.  Its a team that won 62 games and was 1 free throw from being tied up 2-2 in the ECF, so I'm not too upset about that. 

We'll see how the salary cap situation shakes out, but the Bulls are paying Boozer $15M/year through 2015, Deng $13M/year through 2014, Noah $13M/year through 2016, and we'll have to start paying Rose max money starting 2013.  So, barring a trade of Noah or Deng, a major acquisition of a 2 guard is not likely.  Bottom line:  I'm committed to rooting for this core of players for the forseeable future.  Considering the depths we went to after 1998, it could be a lot worse. 

That was a kick to the groin to end the year.  Felt like I got punched in the stomach.  With Deng, Noah, and Boozer all collecting their 4th fouls mid-way through the 3rd quarter, I was waiting for the Heat run that finally did come.

The Bulls will be back and they will be better and more experienced.  While everyone was talking about the time it would take for the Heat to gel as a team, nobody seemed to realize the Bulls had just acquired pretty much the entire team in the offseason, other than Rose/Noah/Deng.  Throw in the fact that Noah and Boozer were barely on the floor together until the postseason because of injuries.  I think the turf toe took alot away from Boozer the last month.

Rose is 22, Deng 26, Noah 26, Boozer 29.  This team has what it takes.  It would've been great to win it all in the 1st season with this team.  It didn't happen, but they got close enough to taste it.  I can't wait for next season.

Dallas in 6!

Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 29, 2011, 02:38:32 PM
Dallas in 6!

You think so?  Like most of America, I would love to see that.  Should be interesting.  If Dallas can keep shooting the ball the way they have been, Miami is going to have to score to win.  If they let Bosh cover Dirk alone, Dirk should have his way.  I would assume Dirk will see a lot of double teams though, which should leave a lot of 3 pt opportunites for Terry, Kidd, and company. 

Miami won't see anything like the defense they just played against with Chicago.  Points will be easier to come by.  A lot of intersting matchups in this series.  Both teams riding a major high coming in.

I have said before the Bulls/Miami series started that both those teams wouldn't beat Dallas. And yes, I still think that way.
Dirk is determined to win his 1st title. He has a team around him to help support him. Bulls really didn't have anyone to step up when Rose was down, other than Deng. Like you said, Dirk will see alot of double teams, which means open 3's for a good 3 shooting team.

Miami will get titles, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it is going to be this year. But who knows? I thought the Bulls would handle them this year!

Just read this article on ESPN, with Kareem giving his analysis of the greatest of all-time in response to Pippen stating LeBron might take the crown from Jordan.

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=6613625 (http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=6613625)

I get so annoyed at stuff like this.  Kareem is such an idiot!  He suggested Wilt is the greatest scorer of all-time and Russell the greatest player of all-time. 

Wilt averaged 50 pts and 25 rebounds in 1962.  Pretty amazing right!  Well yeah, but not nearly as amazing as Kareem seems to think.  Consider that Wilt's Warriors averaged around 140-150 possessions (they scored 125 ppg and gave up 123 ppg) per game at that time.  Today's game features around 95 possessions per game.  Thats 50% more chances to score and grab rebounds!  Wilt took 40 shots a game that year!  And lets not even begin to talk about his 100 point game where his team spent the final 18 minutes fouling the other team to make sure they could get the ball back as quickly as possible to get Wilt his 100 points.  Any stats from this era (such as Oscar Robertson averaging a triple double) need to be taken with a giant grain of salt.

I am glad I stayed up late and watched the end of that game last night.

pre mature celebration from LeBron & Wade!   outscored 22-5 down the stretch.

I LOVED IT!

Note to Coach Thibodeau:

Double LeBron on the perimeter and try to deny him any involvement in the offense.  This is what teams do to Rose to make things tough on the Bulls.  Make D.Wade beat you.  Thats how you beat the Heat.  Wade is a great scorer, but he is not the creator that LeBron is.  Last night the Heat jacked up 30 pt attempts because of their stale half-court offense.  In the Bulls series, the Heat never attempted more than 15 in any of the 5 games. 

In each the Heat wins, LeBron was huge, not only scoring but getting their whole team involved.  He makes the game easier for everyone when he has the ball in his hands.  The Bulls solo covered LeBron with Deng all series until LeBron was in the paint, allowing him to create offense.   Deng did a commendable job, but this isn't a winning strategy. 

Had the Heat offense settled for 3's like that at any point in the Bulls series, we may be discussing Game 2 of Bulls/Mavs right now.

Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 29, 2011, 02:38:32 PM
Dallas in 6!

bump

keep shooting like this Mavs bench.  If it ends tonight, I win $100.00

hell yes Dallas.   

Good call on the series Doug.  I'm still sore about the Bulls defeat, but tonight felt good seeing Miami lose.  It was good to see Dallas and Dirk get a title after the controversial '06 Finals defeat and the brutal 1st round exit the year Dirk won MVP and Dallas was the top seed.  Terry won that game for them, that is for sure.  He's the exact type of player the Bulls are missing.

So, what the hell happened to LeBron?  It defies explanation.  Dallas' defense was not THAT good.  If LeBron didn't already have $100M in the bank, you would think he threw the series.  It wasn't so much that he sucked, it was more like he didn't even TRY.  Numerous times he got a head of steam going toward the bucket and then would slow down and look to dump it off.  Rarely did he get to the line.  Other than Game 1, his facial expression was pretty much listless at all times.  He was exactly the opposite of the LeBron who decimated the Chicago Bulls a few weeks ago.  And he was exactly like the LeBron that went down without a fight last year against Boston.  Just a wierd player.  He just put a stamp on his reputation with that performance.  It will take a title and a Finals MVP award to change it.

he is for sure NOT the finisher MJ was or that Kobe is!  he averaged 2.4 points in the 4th quarter of those Finals! piss poor!

Was looking at the list of free agents this offseason.

I know the Bulls don't have a ton of cap room, but I'm wondering if Rodney Stuckey is a realistic option if Detroit doesn't resign him after they just drafted Brandon Knight.  The only thing the Bulls are missing is that 1 extra guy who can create off the dribble and score consistently in isolation.  Stuckey could fill that role and he's still only 25.  I would think he might come at a bargain rate considering the problems he had with coaching/management in Detroit.

The other FA who fits this mold would be Jamal Crawford, but it would be hard to get excited about him.

Monta Ellis. I have heard the Bulls will seek to sign him. He will be a huge plus if DRose was to get hurt. and this dude can drop 30pts. on any given night.

Quote from: pdga#7648 on June 28, 2011, 09:17:51 AM
Monta Ellis. I have heard the Bulls will seek to sign him. He will be a huge plus if DRose was to get hurt. and this dude can drop 30pts. on any given night.

Doug, I was getting my list of free agents from here.  http://www.cbssports.com/#!/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/30283991 (http://www.cbssports.com/#!/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/30283991)

Monta isn't a free agent, but I have also heard that Golden State is likely to trade either him or Steph Curry, since they both do pretty much the same thing on the floor.  Ellis would be more likely because of his age.  I was thinking more down-to-earth options, but he would be a monster addition to our team if that was possible.  If we could pull that off without giving up Noah, I'd be all for it.

yea, maybe I was reaching way above the bar, but when I heard talk of Ellis as a Bull,I guess I got excited, and didn't really listen(imagine that huh)  But it may take someone like him, to help next year, cause like it or not, Miami will be back and ready next year. I hate em, but they will be the team to beat, besides the Bulls.

Quote from: pdga#7648 on June 28, 2011, 02:08:38 PM
yea, maybe I was reaching way above the bar, but when I heard talk of Ellis as a Bull,I guess I got excited, and didn't really listen(imagine that huh)  But it may take someone like him, to help next year, cause like it or not, Miami will be back and ready next year. I hate em, but they will be the team to beat, besides the Bulls.

It might not be that unrealistic.  The problem is that the Bulls major trade assets don't make very much money (Taj, Asik, Brewer), and the guys we'd like to acquire make a lot of money.  I think the money needs to be close to equal in any potential trade for the Bulls to stay under the post-lockout cap.  I don't think anybody is going to be willing to take on Boozer's contract, unless we are getting a bad contract in return (like a Gilbert Arenas).

The Bulls have around 4-5mil under the cap if it stays the same. So that is how much they could absorb in a trade. They are only losing 3 players who did really matter that much. Kurt Thomas being the only one that mattered. So they are in pretty good shape.

No Jason Richardson love? He is the best available free agent shooting guard. I think he would take a mid-level exception, 5.5mil, for a shot to win a title.

Arron Afflalo is another good choice for the Bulls. I think he is going to demand top dollars cause he is so young and has a big upside. I do not think the Bulls can afford him under the cap. But I do not see why Denver would not resign him.

I do not think Monte Ellis is a good fit for this team. He is one of those players who can score on a bad team. He is a ball hog who takes a lot of shots to get his point. Remember when Jalen Rose was a Bull. He is a younger Jalen Rose. Maybe not that bad but Ellis' stats are misleading.

The Bulls didn't want anything to do with JR Smith the first time they had him. But that was with Scott Skiles. I am not a fan but he is a good player. Just has a bad attitude.

The Bulls actually have two very good trade pieces available. The kid they drafted from Spain and the Bobcats protected pick, Tyrus Thomas trade, that is unprotected in 2016. But that does not help them match any dollars.