Bulls 2012

[Dan Michler]

I would never imply that Jordan isn't the greatest of alltime.  LeBron isn't yet top 5 alltime, and there is a decent chance he never will be.  My point was that he's a different type of player that we are less likely to see in the future.  In numerous ways Kobe is exactly the type of player Jordan was (just not as good), and I think we'll see more Jordan-type shooting guards come and go.

[pdga#7648]

Dan, I agree 100%. Funny you should mention the Kobe comparison though.
I have an 18 yr old son, who has been a Kobe nut for about 10 years. always saying MJ wasn't close to the Black Mamba, BLAH BLAH BLAH. I tried and tried to get it through his thick head(must be a family thing) but didn't work. Yea he can score, and score and score, but he can't play with other great players(Shaq) or he would have alot more rings than MJ's 6! MJ loved having great players on his team.


LeBron is just a freak. Again, Dan is right. He can do it all and make it look effortless.  I guess I shouldn't say do it all, until he is wearing at least 1 ring! 

[Dan Michler]

Heard a Bulls/Lakers trade rumor on the radio this morning involving Boozer and Pau Gasol.

I went to the ESPN trade machine and  http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine  a Boozer/Korver for Gasol deal would be equal money.  If I'm the Bulls, I would do that deal in a heartbeat.  I don't see losing Korver as a very big negative.  When Rip Hamilton comes back we've got Brewer/Rip/Watson splitting 2 guard duties when Rose and Deng are pretty much playing the entire game in the playoffs.  There aren't many minutes available for Korver.  Gasol would match up MUCH better with Bosh in the playoffs, and the Miami series is the only concern I have right now.  Boozer got dominated by Bosh last year.

I think the Lakers are motivated to dump Gasol soon.  Korver would give them the extra shooter that Kobe has been screaming for all season.  Boozer might be more successful in the Lakers system than he has been with the Bulls.

[Tom McManus]

Heard a Bulls/Lakers trade rumor on the radio this morning involving Boozer and Pau Gasol.

I went to the ESPN trade machine and  http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine  a Boozer/Korver for Gasol deal would be equal money.  If I'm the Bulls, I would do that deal in a heartbeat.  I don't see losing Korver as a very big negative.  When Rip Hamilton comes back we've got Brewer/Rip/Watson splitting 2 guard duties when Rose and Deng are pretty much playing the entire game in the playoffs.  There aren't many minutes available for Korver.  Gasol would match up MUCH better with Bosh in the playoffs, and the Miami series is the only concern I have right now.  Boozer got dominated by Bosh last year.

I think the Lakers are motivated to dump Gasol soon.  Korver would give them the extra shooter that Kobe has been screaming for all season.  Boozer might be more successful in the Lakers system than he has been with the Bulls.

Might happen if the Lakers hire Isiah Thomas as the GM.

[Dan Michler]

Heard a Bulls/Lakers trade rumor on the radio this morning involving Boozer and Pau Gasol.

I went to the ESPN trade machine and  http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine  a Boozer/Korver for Gasol deal would be equal money.  If I'm the Bulls, I would do that deal in a heartbeat.  I don't see losing Korver as a very big negative.  When Rip Hamilton comes back we've got Brewer/Rip/Watson splitting 2 guard duties when Rose and Deng are pretty much playing the entire game in the playoffs.  There aren't many minutes available for Korver.  Gasol would match up MUCH better with Bosh in the playoffs, and the Miami series is the only concern I have right now.  Boozer got dominated by Bosh last year.

I think the Lakers are motivated to dump Gasol soon.  Korver would give them the extra shooter that Kobe has been screaming for all season.  Boozer might be more successful in the Lakers system than he has been with the Bulls.

Might happen if the Lakers hire Isiah Thomas as the GM.

I'm not so sure Isiah wouldn't be an upgrade from their current GM.  This would be a big step up from their previous trade where they shipped out Lamar Odom in exchange for nothing.

[tacimala]

I think the overall level of skill in the NBA is going up, which is logical since more and more money is going into the league and game over time. This will directly make it difficult for any player or team to win like the Jordan years because there are too many other great players to compete against. No question that there weren't amazing players 15-20 years ago, but the level of skill on average has gone up in my opinion. Just another angle to think about when comparing different players, have to compare the timeframe as well.

[Jon Brakel]

That would be kind of funny if Boozer got traded. That would mean that for like 6 out of the last 7 years that the Bull player honored at the Comcast Sportsnet Sports Awards got traded soon after the awards. Weird.

[Tom McManus]

That game last night was entertaining. The shot that Rose hit at the end of the game was amazing.  It was a tie game, but still a great shot.  Looks like it will be the Bulls and Miami. But I would not completely rule out Philadelphia and Indiana in the east.

[Dan Michler]

Good stretch of games to end the season.  17 of the final 25 games are against playoff teams.  3 against Miami and 1 @OKC, the only other 2 teams that I would consider as elite teams along with the Bulls.  That top seed always has the potential to be very important, so these games will be crucial for the Bulls.

The East is going to end up with Chicago, Miami, Indiana, Philly, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta, and New York in the playoffs.  I think every one of those teams has the capability to push Chicago or Miami to a tough 6 or 7 game series.

[pdga#7648]

WOW Dan    All those teams could push the Bulls to a 6th or 7th game? I strongly disagree. 3 of those teams MIGHT win 1 game.
But I will say this, of the other 6 teams, nobody will stop MVP2 DRose! I love the NBA again. Turning on WGN or Fox Sports and seeing this team play is very exciting!  Can't wait for the Heat!!

[Tom McManus]

That game last night was entertaining. The shot that Rose hit at the end of the game was amazing.  It was a tie game, but still a great shot.  Looks like it will be the Bulls and Miami. But I would not completely rule out Philadelphia and Indiana in the east.

Glad that I mentioned something about the Bulls. Orlando was on fire in the first quarter last night.

[Clonan]

WOW Dan    All those teams could push the Bulls to a 6th or 7th game? I strongly disagree. 3 of those teams MIGHT win 1 game.
But I will say this, of the other 6 teams, nobody will stop MVP2 DRose! I love the NBA again. Turning on WGN or Fox Sports and seeing this team play is very exciting!  Can't wait for the Heat!!

It's still pretty early for predicting outcomes but i think those teams will be in the playoffs and if the Bulls are injured it could be an interesting series with any of those teams.  When CJ watson is out, John Lucas is really a roll of the dice and Rose can only do 48 mins a night for so long.  They still dont have a consistent 2nd scorer (Deng has been streaky). If the Bulls are healthy, Chicago will be pretty tough and Miami and OKC will be the only teams deep enough/Talented enough to take us down.

Honestly though, the only thing I care about is beating Miami in the playoffs and If they don't, the season will be kind of a bust ya know. Its all about Miami.

[Sr.]

Miami has improved their team this year. If they stay healthy there's no way the Bulls beat them in a 7 game series. Their bench is just as strong as ours this year and the starters have been playing together all year, something the Bulls haven't. I hope I'm wrong!

[Dan Michler]

Miami has improved their team this year. If they stay healthy there's no way the Bulls beat them in a 7 game series. Their bench is just as strong as ours this year and the starters have been playing together all year, something the Bulls haven't. I hope I'm wrong!

I hope you are wrong too Randy, but there is certainly nothing wrong with your logic.  Miami would be a significant favorite over the Bulls if the series started tomorrow.  With LeBron having perhaps his best season ever, Miami appears to be a notch better than they were last year.  They still lack size in their front court though, which is where the Bulls must make them pay if we are to make a game of it.  Noah has looked inspired over the last month, hopefully that continues.  Derrick will do his thing and give it everything he has, but its the guys around him that will determine the Bulls fate in the playoffs.

All that being said, the Bulls are absolutely better than the Dallas team that took down Miami in the Finals last year.  So, there is always a chance.  And as long as we have a healthy Derrick Rose on the floor, I will be glued to the TV for better or worse.

[Dan Michler]

Some MF'er from Maryland rear-ended Derrick on the Kennedy expressway and now he's a game-time decision tonight versus the HEAT.  Great.

Deng is back tonight, so at least if Rose does play, we'll be much closer to 100% strength this time around.  I've got to imagine Derrick is going to lace up if at all possible for this game.

The cheapest ticket on StubHub is $115 for standing room only tonight.  Imagine if you paid that and then found out Rose isn't playing.

ESPN moved the start time back to 8:30pm.  I'm going to be tired tomorrow morning.

[pdga#7648]

got the win without DRose playing. great sign of things to come in the playoffs.  let's just hope they can stay healthy going forward?!

[Dan Michler]

Nice confidence boosting win last night.  Gives the Bulls a 2 game edge on the Heat in the loss column for home-court in the East Finals.

One thing that occurred to me amidst all the talk about how deficient the Bulls are on offense, and how they rely totally on Derrick Rose on that end of the floor.  First, any team with a player the caliber of Derrick Rose would get most of their offense through him.  Second, I checked the standings today and the Bulls have the 2nd highest scoring offense in the East, and the 6th highest in the NBA.  So, all the talk about offensive deficiencies is just that....talk.

More tough games ahead, keep it rolling.

[Dan Michler]

Went to the game Monday night...worst loss of the season.  Just my luck.

Read an article yesterday that made the argument Kobe should be considered for MVP this season.  Ridiculous!  I'm not a Kobe-hater, but to me he is having one of his worst seasons.  Shooting 42.5%, his lowest since he was an 18 yr old rookie that played 15 min/game.  He's jacking up way more 3's this season, and making just 29% of them!  Sure, he's leading the league in scoring, but don't be fooled.  The Player Efficiency Rating (PER) tells the truth, Andrew Bynum is the best player on that team.

Durant is having another great year.  Kevin Love also.  But, its still no contest.  LeBron is by far the MVP.  26.5 ppg with career-high shooting % (53%FG 36%3pt  77% FT).  8 rebounds and 7 assists.  He's also 4th in the league with 2.0 steals.  You can make the case that Durant and Love are right there with LeBron offensively.  But, defensively?  LeBron can dominate the game on that end.  You could argue DWade for runner-up MVP as he also has a dominant defensive game and a better PER than Durant or Love.

That being said, the BULLS still somehow have a 3 1/2 game lead on the Heat for home-court!  I'm not sure how that is possible when we've had far more injury problems than any of the other top teams?  If Thibodeau was COY last year, then he should be a unanimous choice to repeat as COY this year.  Hopefully Rose can get near 100% healthy by the 2nd round of the playoffs.  This groin strain has me worried.

[Clonan]

 Hopefully Rose can get near 100% healthy by the 2nd round of the playoffs.  This groin strain has me worried.

I really was never that concerned with his groin injury but i too am on the wagon of worriers.  Although the bulls seem to be maintaining the #1 seed and Miami has flipped it off for the regular season (just my observation), A strain groin and a torn groin are bad and WORSE.   I pulled strained groin once as a teenager, and it is an injury i will never forget.  Although all talk says hes "strained" it, they continue to say it was worse than orginally thought..

  From what I've read we wont see Rose on the court with any big minutes for like another 2 weeks MAYBE.... The other thing is, With all this rest i think his back and toe should be tip top upon return.  It would kill the diehard Bulls fan inside me not to see him %100 in the playoffs.

[Dan Michler]

Rip is back tonight which means he should be down by tomorrow. Seriously, on our first possession he attempted a shot and started grimacing and stretching out.  We should just sit him until the East Finals and hope he can string together a handful of games.

I think Rose will come back with a handful of games left to get in shape before the playoffs.  Probably another 2-3 weeks.  Luckily we should be able to get through the 1st round without him playing his best.  Then I agree with you, he should be physically fresh if he gets over the groin and might hit his midseason stride late in the playoffs. At least that is the extremely optimistic way of looking at it.