2013 Chicago Bulls Season

[pdga#7648]

27 is amazing, but Dan is 100% correct.   

[Clonan]

I would agree as well that there is no comparison between the this Heat team and the 96-98' Bulls team. They are very different teams.  It is pretty darn impressive what Lebron and Wade have been able to do with the cast they have though. 

Great team win for the Bulls last night without Noah.  They beat the streak and clinched thier 5th straight playoff spot in the process, not too shabby.

[Dan Michler]

Proud of the Bulls effort last night.  We would lose that game 8 out of 10, but last night was one of the 2 where we actually hit the shots we needed to hit.  I'll remember that game for a long time.  The formula for having a chance against Miami should be clear to the rest of the league.  Rough them up and you can get them out of their comfort zone.  If we see an OKC vs Miami Finals matchup like I think we will, it'll be interesting to see if the Thunder follow the Bulls gameplan.

LeBron may not like the physical play, but he's 6' 8" 280 lbs and the best basketball player on the planet.  When he comes barrelling down the lane at 50 mph, you can either foul him hard, let him do a highlight dunk, or give him an easy and-1.

Bosh is an incredible offensive talent, but his philosophy on physical play was clear last season when he got pissed at Asik for diving for a loose ball and coming close to his legs.  No diving for loose balls around Chris Bosh!  Kirk made him look bad when he took that ball away in the 4Q.  That was a huge play.

Wade seems to get more easily frustrated as the years wear on.  Just count the number of times he misses a lay-up and then refuses to go back on defense while he lays on the ground and yells at the refs.  And every bad play is always followed by hobbling around like someone just took a crowbar to your knee.  He's the most unlikable player in the NBA.

[Clonan]

Bulls played a lot better basketball than I thought they would this year, considering the dismantling of the Bench Mob and no Derrick Rose.  Deng posted some serious minutes for the second straight season.  Gibson fought through some MCL issues.  Noah is battling Plantar.  Hamilton... is Hamilton.  And we saw some bright things from Jimmy Butler.  I thought they would get a 7th or 8th seed, and they exceeded that expectation. Thibs is a damn good coach.

The Bulls/Nets playoff series should be a good one. Hopefully Noah is healthy. Go Bulls!

[CEValkyrie]

I rarely watch NBA basketball but I'm really hoping for a miracle NBA Finals run for the Bulls. I'd love to see Rose's miracle return for that series.

[Dan Michler]

I'm normally as optimistic as anybody when it comes to the Bulls, but its hard to feel that way heading into this series.  If we were healthy (other than Derrick), then I think we'd have plenty to handle the Nets.  However, the fact is we have a severely limited Noah and a limited Taj Gibson.  Losing your 2 best defense/rebounding big men is a tall task for any team to overcome.

What frustrates me is that Noah was struggling with this fascitis 2 months ago.  Fascitis takes about 4 weeks to completely heal if you stay completely off the foot.  Had Noah been able to make the tough decision and sit out for a few weeks, he's be ready to go right now.  Instead he'd miss a few games, feel a little better, then reaggrivate the injury.  He repeated that cycle 3 times and here we are with a 50% Noah instead of the All-Star Noah from December.

Oh well.  If the Bulls are to pull this series out, Deng is going to have to elevate his offensive game to another level.  We need a combined 40 ppg from Deng and Boozer to have a chance.  Otherwise, I'll be looking forward to watching a healthy team play next November!

[Dan Michler]

Deng out for Game 1.  I understand we are extreme long shots even if Deng and Hinrich were in there at 100%, but having Deng out is extremely disappointing.  The fact that he was just released from the hospital after undergoing a procedure to stop his spinal fluid from leaking makes me think he might not play at all this series.  Seems like some serious stuff he is going through.  Just couldn't have come at a worse time as I'd love to see a 100% Luol Deng out there trying to make LeBron's life difficult.  Tough break for him and for Bulls fans.  Hope he can make it back by Game 3 in Chicago on Friday.

[Dan Michler]

Wade's knee injury may be more of a factor than was initially reported.  He didn't look right last night.  Hopefully the Bulls can keep their foot on the gas pedal.  Terrific defensive execution last night as a whole.  They kept LeBron out of his comfort zone most of the game.  The key against the Heat offense is always to limit transition buckets.  That is when they're really in their element.

[Clonan]

WOW. The Bulls looked like a team missing 3 starters playing against the defending champs and the MVP at home last night.  This loss is forgettable for me only because the heat were supposed to do that.   The refs were pretty whistle happy from the jump, a lot of emotion got out of control.  I agreed with Noah and Gibson sentiments to the refs, something like  "F you MF'r"  right in the ref's face... but the missed foul and blatant goaltending by that douche birdman were just icing on the frustration cake.

Anyone else sick of the announcers talking about Derrick Rose?? Drop it already.  Game 3 at home should be a little better but, hey, the bulls are still starting the bench so expectations are low. I just hope to watch some good well coached basketball for the next week or so before I turn off the NBA until October.

[Dan Michler]

For a season that should have been a complete loss, it had some pretty memorable moments.  Jo's 20-20-10 game.  Stopping the Heat's 27 game win streak.  The Nate Robinson Game.  Winning Game 7 in Brooklyn and Game 1 in Miami without Deng or Hinrich.  The emergence of Jimmy Butler.

I'm happy with what the Bulls gave me this season.  Certainly looking forward to next October when we see Rose back on the court.  Right now the Bulls are committed to Rose, Deng, Noah, Boozer, Taj, Butler, and Teague on the payroll for next season.  Most likely we'll be trying to fill in the remaining spots by spending as little as possible.  With the way the luxury tax works now, once they go over the tax threshhold (which they are already sitting at), every dollar they spend gets doubled or tripled by the luxury tax.  So, $4M might not seem like much to try and bring back Belinelli, but if it actually costs you $12M?  Tough call.  So, don't expect anything significant to happen in the offseason.

I'm looking forward to this team making another run.  We had the NBA's best record 2 years running with this team.  Now we've added a hugely improved Jimmy Butler.  With the way D Wade looks, I think the Heat are 1 injury away from being awfully vulnerable.  The Bulls may be in position to strike next season.

The big question mark moving forward will be Luol Deng.  His contract expires after next year.  Will he be willing to take less money to stay with the Bulls?  If the answer is no, will the Bulls look to trade his expiring contract?  I hope that doesn't happen.  They will be looking to stay flexible for the summer of 2014, when some bigtime players may be on the open market and we'll be in a nice position if we amnesty the final year of Boozer's contract.  Until then, what we've got is what we've got and I'm okay with that.

[Dan Michler]

Agonizing defeat for the Spurs.  Game 6, up 5 with 28 sec left.  Can't lose that one.

Game 7.  Tony Parker, you're best player and Team MVP....3-12??  Where you at Tony Parker?  It's like he wasn't even there!  Danny Green who set a Finals record for thee-pointers earlier in the series....1-12?  1 for f'in 12?!

Spurs played a very good defensive strategy.  They turned LeBron into a jump shooter for most of the series.  Credit to LeBron, he made those jumpers over and over.  5-10 from 3pt in Game 7.   What will keep the Spurs awake at night is Battier going 6-8 from 3pt in Game 7.  If Green makes a couple more shots and Battier makes a couple less, the outcome is reversed.

All that said, Duncan still had 2 point blank chances to tie the game with 40 sec left.  A lot to stew about for the Spurs who are unlikely to ever make it back here with this core.

How about Bosh?  0-5 with 0 points in Game 7?  Miami may have to ship him out of town, not only to save a truck load of money in the luxury tax, but also to free up some space to bring in a younger star and convince LeBron to sign an extension.  Playing with a beat-up, rapidly aging D Wade and Chris Bosh is unlikely to bring LeBron many more titles.  They may have 1 or 2 more years left, but that would likely be it.  LeBron can opt out of his contract after next season.  He has hinted at leaving.  Possibly back to Cleveland who has a young superstar in the making in Kyrie Irving, along with cap space to add another star player along side James should he make that move.

[Clonan]

2nd highest rated NBA game in ABC history! It was a good one but yea, Tony Parker and Green laid an egg and thats unfortunate. I really wanted to see some Miami fans cry.

Looking forward to seeing who the Bulls pick up in the off season and seing D Rose's comback (finally!).  Was a good NBA season this year.