Fat Lady Warming Up

Now that it is basically all over for the Bulls except for the crying, let's look at how they got there and where they are going. In game two, the Bulls mysteriously didn't show up. Boozer was typically awful, but the overall energy level was missing. It was a tragic game to give away at home in a series where every game is tight.

Bulls did come with energy in game three, but unfortunately the Heat were too hot, most particularly Bosh, who was just hitting everything he put up. Some of those points were bad Boozer defense, but plenty of them were just Bosh hitting the jumper after Bulls bigs rotated off to double team James. This is the dream setup for Miami, because when Bosh can hit the jumper before the defense can rotate back onto him, it is nearly impossible to beat Miami. You have to give a lot of credit to James (Miami's clear MVP for this series) for being able to force a double team and then get Bosh the ball quickly.

Game four was a tragic overtime loss. Pretty much every Bull except for Boozer played hard on defense, but Rose was off his game offensively, much as he has been the entire series, and the Bulls just don't have enough scorers to cover for that. They had golden opportunities to win this one in regulation, but came up a bit short. Those crucial fourth quarter miscues have doomed them against a team that is just enough ahead of the Bulls offensively as the Bulls are against them on defense.

That fourth quarter also illustrates why I'm a confirmed Boozer basher, even for a game where he was OK offensively. At one point, Miller came charging wildly into the lane, dribbling almost out of control. Miller is not fast and Boozer had plenty of time to stop over and take a charge, but Boozer perpetually has his feet cemented to the floor on defense, so all he did was wave at him as he went by for a layup. A play later, he did the same thing to James, only fouling him for good measure to give the Heat a valuable three point play. Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Haslem (the un-Boozer) slid over to take a huge charge. It was actually a dubious call, but the fact is that Haslem put himself in a position to get it and Boozer never does.

And that is the present and future of the Bulls, and a big part of the reason why it is a sad joke to give Forman co-executive of the year honors, ironically with Pat Riley. Much as I hate Miami's whinny Big Three, the Heat are in far better shape for the future than the Bulls. Our biggest free agent acquisition, Boozer, is an expensive albatross around our necks for years to come. He is basically untradeable and I have almost no hope for a Deng-like performance leap. And speaking of Deng, I think now is a great time to unload him while his stock is high! We have no answers at present for the fact that teams are going to get better at ganging up on Rose, much like Miami is doing, and the Bulls will struggle to find alternative scoring.

As a side-note, Asik's series ending injury is a bigger factor than most people realize. Even though he normally comes in for Noah, we now have to leave that to Taj, which means more Boozer in the second half than is good for us.

Still, Boozer doom and gloom aside, it was an excellent year for the Bulls. They did better than expected during the regular season and about as well as expected in the post. If Forman can somehow improve on that next year, then he'll earn the accolades that his mistakenly received this year.

Good Bulls Show Up

Game one started off scary for Bulls fans, with the Heat getting a few quick steals and dunks. Rose looked more like a careless Russell Westbrook than the steady MVP and the ball seemed to be bouncing Miami's way. But the Bulls quickly composed themselves, primarily through solid defense and hustle plays and were tied at half.

About midway through the third quarter the Bulls went on a quick spurt to change a small deficit into a ten point lead. Then they maintained that lead until late in the fourth, where they blew it open to seal the game. It is common to see a situation like that in NBA games. As the fourth quarter shrinks, teams down by ten or so start to take riskier shots, trying to get back in. They either make them and create a close game at the end or wind up losing by more. So, when you see headlines like "Bulls Crush Heat" keep in mind that this game was basically even the entire way except for that short burst in the third quarter and the pull-away at the end.

Still, that doesn't make it any less sweet. Clearly, this was the Bulls team from game six against Atlanta and not the fumbling goofballs that had so much trouble with the first two series. They played hard the entire way, particularly on defense and while rebounding. One could argue that the second chance opportunities that the Bulls got with offensive rebounds was the difference in the game. Outside of getting caught in the air on some fakes (and then fouling) the Bulls did a fabulous job on James and Wade. Bosh had a big scoring game, but I think a lot of those were due to excellent passing by James when the Bulls doubled up on him.

I basically started this blog to vent about the stupid things the Bulls seemed to be always doing. This year, I'm suddenly seeing them correcting just about everything I point out. A lot of credit for that has to go to Thibodeau. I complained about Deng's defense, toughness and shot selection for years and suddenly he improves on all three. More recently, I complained about court time for Boozer and now we have our second game with no Boozer in the fourth quarter. Mind you, he wasn't awful while he was in there, although he did get one of his infuriating defensive 3 second technicals.

Which brings me to The Tajinator (*nickname patent pending)!! Taj was a monster out there in game one! He gave us a poster jam over Wade for a three point play. He blocked James on a drive while guarding him one-on-one. And just to make the evening perfect for the fans, he had a highlight one-handed put-back jam near the end of the game. Truly, if you didn't see that last one, go to youtube right now, search and be amazed.

Miami is vulnerable in the frontcourt, particularly with Big Z and Haslem nursing injuries, so having our bigs play well is one of the keys to the series. Noah was all intensity and motion. Taj was amazing. Asik was very solid, not fouling as much, as he is prone to do. Boozer was still stupid, but he did a lot of things right as well, such as rebounding. He had a couple baskets directly off of offensive rebounds and this is something we have too rarely seen from him.

One thing Miami tries to do in order to offset this weakness is to go small and force a Bulls big man to come out on a three point shooter. This worked a bit for them, with Jones knocking down some three point shots over slowly closing Bulls bigs. But the Bulls adjusted their rotation to minimize this and I think more than made up for it with the rebounding advantage. This is going to be a mini-battle throughout the series as both teams make adjustments to take advantage of mismatches.

It's a great start for the Bulls but I can't help thinking that the Bulls must win their home games in order to take this series. We've seen this team lose focus during the previous two series. It is best to keep Miami on their heels. Once they get their cocky swagger back then they play the way they opened game one and the Bulls will have big trouble with that. Bulls need to use their depth to keep up defensive pressure at all times. If I were Miami's coach, I'd tell James and Wade to drive more, looking for fouls, kickouts for open threes, or easy baskets. The Bulls need to be ready for that.

Trouble With the Eight Seed

Pretty much no one expected the Bulls to have so much trouble with Indiana. I certainly did not, but I'm not at all surprised at the ways in which they are struggling. First off, I'll say that Indiana deserves a lot of credit by playing as hard as they possibly can and not being intimidated by the team with the best regular season record. But the Bulls have themselves to blame for not having an easy first round series.

Carlos Boozer, my biggest concern going into the playoffs, is reason number one for the Bulls' troubles. He's been absolutely horrible in this series, completely outplayed by Indiana no-names like Tyler Hansbrough. Deng, the other Bull I'm always worried about, hasn't been great either, but nowhere near as awful as Boozer. Rose has been excellent, but often not his usual superior self. He has too many turnovers, is missing a lot of outside shots, and seems uncomfortable with the Pacers double teams. Brewer seems bothered by the thumb injury he received in that last, meaningless regular season game. Really, only Noah has shined, along with Korver hitting some clutch shots at the end of games.

Now Rose has a tweaked ankle and Indiana has the confidence of knowing that they've have played the Bulls even for four games despite being down 3-1. I'm thinking the Bulls should still be able to close them out at home, but they need the right their ship quickly before moving on to face more talented opponents.

Fortunately, Orlando is struggling, to the point where they might not make it past Atlanta. Atlanta is a team the Bulls have difficulty against anyway, so they will need to improve in any case, but at least they will face a team with some flaws next round.

I'm at the point now with Boozer where I'm actually happy when he picks up his second stupid foul in the first quarter and has to go to the bench. I think that if he's off, which he has been for most games in recent memory, then the Bulls should be giving more time to Thomas and Gibson. I know it is hard to bench a guy whom the Bulls have invested so much money and hope, but the playoffs are no place to leave a guy in who keeps screwing up.

December Recap

Bulls' annual circus trip was surprisingly successful this year. They wound up 4-3, including a great OT win over Phoenix. Taj had some outstanding games and both Rose and Noah accomplished their strengths. Then the Bulls started December with Carlos Boozer finally in the lineup, surprising Deng so much that he actually ran onto the court when they tried to introduce Boozer -- "6'9" from Duke". Unfortunately Boozer looks awful and the Bulls racked up a pair of bad losses against Orlando and Boston.

Since then the Bulls have strung together a nice little four game winning streak, even though they've played horribly for stretches in each game. They did their best to play down to the level of Houston and Cleveland. And they were fortunate enough to catch OK City and the Lakers on off-nights. Despite this, they are showing some determination and Rose is proving he can hit big shots, including a dramatic buzzer beater against Houston that saved the Bulls from a bad loss. More impressively, he hit some big shots down the stretch against the Lakers. Despite some bad turnover numbers, Rose has got to be a leading candidate for NBA player of the month.

As for the rest of the team, Noah is doing his bit, although he's had some off nights lately. Deng is still Deng, but he has not been as egregiously bad as usual. The fact that Thibs has taught him that he can get a whole extra point from a basket if he just steps back nine inches has been huge. Korver is clearly a streaky shooter, but at least we have someone with some range. Brewer is clumsy, but scrappy and athletic. Bogans is still starting, but his minutes are way down. Unless he starts hitting more 3's his time on the bench will remain high. Asik and Watson have their obvious flaws but both have done a decent job with their limited roles. And Thibs seems to have given up on putting either Johnson or Scalabrine into a game.

My wife tells me that Boozer is my new Deng and there is plenty to criticize about his play. He's lazy on rotations and often seems either lost or careless on defense. Aside from one game, he's had minimal impact on the offense. He doesn't even rebound that well. Still, I'm reserving judgment until he gets a few more games under him. I know he can score and Thibs should be able to teach him a bit of defense (although it is scary if Jerry Sloan did not). The Bulls need an improved Boozer if they are going to do anything in the playoffs this year, and right now Taj is out-playing him.

Putting together a few wins and finally beating the Lakers has got to have the Bulls buoyed up. They are definitely a work in progress but it's nice to see them actually leading their weak division (although they only have the sixth best record in the East). Their record puts them just behind the Knicks (!!!) making their Christmas match-up something to look forward to.

The Playoff Push

When a team is borderline playoffs, do you hope they miss out and get into the draft lottery, or do you cheer for the inevitable first round exit? I used to favor the lottery, but in the Bulls' case you clearly have to hope for the playoffs. First, because the Bulls generally haven't drafted well, and second because the playoff experience is important to developing a winning team.

And, on a night when John Salmons rubbed 26 points in the noses of Bulls management for trading him to the Bucks, clinching a playoff spot for them, and ex-Bulls coach Scott Skiles, the Bulls got a huge break in their playoff hunt. Toronto, who is currently a game ahead of the Bulls for the last playoff spot, lost Chris Bosh to a broken facial bone. It is unclear how long he'll be out but there are only five games left for them. What makes this scenario even more interesting is that Bosh is one of the main targets for the Bulls in next summer's free agent signings, so it's a double competition between the Bulls and the Raptors.

The fact that the Bulls lost an important game at home to a Milwaukee team who was missing Andrew Bogut to injury proves that they clearly don't actually deserve to make the playoffs. They are a leaderless team. Their best player, Rose, is notoriously reticent. Their highest paid player, Deng, is continually slammed for his lack of leadership ability, most stingingly by former Duke alumni and ex-Bull Jay Williams: "I've never really seen Lu lead. I didn't see him lead when he was in college, and I haven't really seen him lead as a pro. I always see him kind of fitting in, following the flow." Yep, that's Luol in a nutshell, sleepily "following the flow" and getting out of the way of any stiff competition. And when was the last time you saw a team waive one of their captains, as the Bulls did this year to Lindsey Hunter?

Their only hope is to import skilled leadership through free agency while continuing to develop their young core talents: Rose, Noah, and Gibson, and that means a playoff stint, even with the inevitable defeat. On the one hand it looks like the Bulls have gone backwards this year, since they easily made the playoffs last year and gave Boston a great fight. However, they are better poised financially to pick up free agents, Rose and Noah have another year under their belts, and we have Taj instead of Tyrus. So, I think they could wind up in a potentially better position, provided they finish strong and avoid the bitter disappointment of missing the playoffs when the door is wide open for them to crawl in.

Punting on their Mistakes at the End of the Trade Deadline

Before the trading frenzy, the Bulls played a rare home/away back-to-back against the Knicks. I had the good fortune to attend the game at the United Center in a very nice halfcourt box. I always enjoy watching the Bulls beat up on one of the few teams consistently more hapless than they are.

Of course the real action between the Bulls and Knicks wasn't on the court, but in that huge T-Mac expiring contract competition. There was some surprising drama here as that coveted T-Mac contract first went to Sacramento from Houston, basically for Kevin Martin. But now it is looking like the Kings will now swap it to the Knicks. They paid a pretty steep price for it though. The Rockets get their draft pick two years from now and have the option to swap picks with them next year. So, the Knicks are gambling big time on getting prime free agents next year, but it is still probably a good move for them.

As mentioned previously, I wanted the Bulls to take this same tactic. They didn't get T-Mac, but they weren't completely idle either. They jettisoned Salmons to the Bucks for expiring contracts, and Thomas (!!!) to the Bobcats for expiring contracts and a protected draft pick. Looking at the glass half empty, tossing away Salmons is proof that their big trade last year was a failure; we didn't get much for Tyrus; and the Bulls didn't get rid of those bloated contracts of Hinrich and Deng, which will be a burden when free agent shopping next year. Also on the pessimistic side is the fact that the Cavs made a great trade in grabbing Jamison from the Wiz, making them the favorites for the title, which would drastically reduce the chances of LeBron bolting for free agency next year.

But let's also examine the glass half full position. First off -- Tyrus is gone!! I don't care that we're basically trading a former number two draft pick for what will be a non-lottery pick. He's gone and that's a good move! Next, tossing away Salmons was no easy task because he, like Deng and Hinrich, makes far more than he is worth, and in this current cash strapped NBA no team likes to take on salaries for under-achievers. The Bulls got lucky because the Bucks are in a rare playoff hunt and they've lost their shooting guard (Redd) to injury. They need someone like Salmons if they want to go to the playoffs, so they were inclined to pay for him.

One might question the wisdom of the Bulls sending players to two of the teams who are competing with them for a playoff spot, but the answer to that is simple -- the Bulls are bailing on this year, as they should. The big danger is that the locker room gets a poisoned attitude towards management waving the white flag. However, the Bulls still have a very good chance to make the playoffs, even with these trades. They did get Warrick and Alexander back for Salmons, and Murray and Law back for Tyrus. Of these four, I only expect Warrick and Murray to play, and while they certainly aren't great players, they should provide enough bodies for the Bulls to limp into their inevitable first round playoff loss.

Can't help pointing out that for two years running, Amare Stoudemire was most involved in trade deadline rumors, and yet he remains a Sun. Last year he got injured right after the trade deadline, so I'm expecting history to repeat itself.

Tyrus Packs His $%^ing Bags

One of my two least favorite Bulls is about to be an ex-Bull. During the Atlanta game, Tyrus Thomas lost what infinitesimal amount of composure he has and launched a profanity tirade at Vinny. Note to Tyrus -- swearing at your head coach during a game is not the best way to increase your playing time. Vinny had little choice but to suspend him for one game (which they won).

So now Tyrus is almost assured to be an ex-Bull before too long. It's no secret that the Bulls have been trying to trade him for quite some time and have not gotten much in the way of offers. This recent incident will only lessen his already low trade value. But at least he will go! If they can't trade him, I expect they will simply release him.

Let's flashback to the 2006 draft for a laugh. Bulls had the second pick, and I, along with almost everyone else on the planet, expected them to pick LaMarcus Aldridge. I was tempted by Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay, who in retrospect look like the best picks in that draft, but I was settled on Aldridge. And so, when the Bulls picked Aldridge, I was satisfied. But then they immediately swapped with Portland, who took Tyrus Thomas with the next pick. At first I had flashbacks to the awful draft-day Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler swap, but I was hoping that the Bulls had done their homework this time and really got the athletic stud they claimed they had in Tyrus.

It very soon became very apparent that the Bulls most definitely did not do their homework. Yes, Tyrus is an athletic marvel, but he's also a hyper-emotional idiot who is completely devoid of both common sense and basketball talent. Meanwhile, Aldridge, after an excellent rookie season, has proven to be the outstanding front court player the Bulls so very desperately need.

As far as dumping Tyrus in a trade, I expect the Bulls only chance it to include him as a package deal with a good player, such as Hinrich. Lots of rumors have these two going to Boston for Ray Allen and his large expiring contract. If the Bulls could somehow manage to include Tyrus with Deng, that would be my dream trade! I'm also all for the plan of dumping players for expiring contracts and targeting either Dwayne Wade or Joe Johnson in free agency next year.

Bulls seem to have stepped back over that thin line between winning and losing and are back to their usual fourth quarter collapse script. It doesn't help that Noah is hurt. All-Star break is a perfect opportunity to trade and heal.

The Fine Line Between Winning and Losing

Bulls played very well for three quarters versus New Orleans, and then started their usual fourth quarter collapse. They lost the lead, but they didn't completely fold. They played just well enough to stay within striking distance. And then they caught a huge break.

With seconds remaining and the Bulls down by two without the Ball, New Orleans inbounded from the backcourt with the Bulls furiously pressing. They tried to toss it up to Paul in the frontcourt, but the pass was led too far and Paul bravely tried to save it inbounds by diving into the crowd, injuring himself in the process. He did save it, but the Bulls got it back. Bulls raced down court, and Rose got a short, contested shot, which missed, but Deng had an easy put-back at the buzzer.

Paul tried to play in overtime, but it was clear that he was injured and had to leave (and now it looks like he will be out over a month). New Orleans still had a chance to win at the end of OT, but backup point guard Collison ended the game with a turnover. A lucky win for the Bulls, but the point is that they put themselves in position to catch a break, and they weren't doing that a few weeks ago.

Basically, they are shooting better and playing a bit better defense. Also, they are making a few less mistakes. Not drastic changes mind you, but just enough to turn them into a team that wins slightly more games than they lose.

Rose makes the All-Star team. A month ago, I wouldn't have voted for him, but he has definitely played well enough to be an All-Star during the last month. He's looking for his shot more and hitting it. He's still weak on defense, but Vinny has been wise about giving Hinrich the tougher guard to defend, so Rose has not looked bad there. During the New Orleans game, they flashed a graphic to have people vote for which point guard they would prefer to anchor their franchise -- Rose or Paul. I would still opt for Paul, even though Rose has outplayed him during the past month and I believe he will still improve. Rose is a better athlete, but Paul is smarter and that is more valuable. I'm still overjoyed to have an All-Star point guard on the Bulls though!

A Mini-Streak and a Trade and Some Rumors

After an excellent game against Boston, the Bulls played some of their most pathetic ball of the year versus Golden State and the Clippers. Then the Bulls put together a pair of solid outings against Phoenix and Houston. They are becoming one of the most unpredictable teams in the league. I guess that beats being clearly one of the worst.

Bulls pull off a trade, but nothing to raise anyone's pulse: Aaron Gray for Devin Brown. You hate to see them trade big for small when they so clearly need front court help, but Gray isn't going to crack into the rotation. He's been a disappointment after a promising start during his rookie year. Bulls are desperate for some 3-point shooting and are hoping Brown can improve that a bit. He's not going to make much of an impact though.

Once again we have a multitude of Amare Stoudemire trade rumors just before the deadline. If you remember from last year, the Suns neglected to pull the trigger on a bunch of Amare trade offers, and then had Amare get injured a day after the trade deadline. So now, we have basically the same rumors as last year. On the Bulls side, that would be Tyrus and Deng for Amare.

Now, you'd think that I would be jumping up and down for a chance to trade away my two least favorite Bulls, but I'm actually only lukewarm to this deal. Both Tyrus and Deng have played better than last year, and Amare is a bit worse. Plus, Amare is still injury prone and a bad defender. That isn't to say I still wouldn't pull the trigger because I just couldn't resist getting rid of Tyrus and Deng, but I don't think Amare is that great a prize. The Suns really made a huge mistake by not trading him last year. I've said it before and will likely say it again: I loved Paxson and Kerr as players and think they are both intelligent guys, but they are both terrible in the front office.

Here's a trade rumor I like a lot more -- Al Jefferson of the Wolves for either Deng or Tyrus plus change. Jefferson has more of an offensive post presence and that is something that has been lacking in the Bulls game for quite some time.

Hinrich is most definitely on the block to get rid of his contract, but I hope the Bulls don't give him away. He's been playing rather well lately. Boston is a team that would love to snatch him away without giving up much. I don't mind including him in a good deal though. I still vote yes to swapping him for Caron Butler.

Right now the Bulls are two games under .500, yet still in the 8th spot in the East, with a reasonable chance of rising all the way up to the 5th seed. And yet they have no chance of winning the championship. So, are they content with a first or second round playoff exit (at best!) or do they start getting themselves in position to be better for next year?

T-Mac Rumors

First off, don't let the last two wins over Minnesota and Detroit fool you. The Bulls still stink. Those teams just stink more.

Trading deadline is about a month off, so that means the rumors will fly fast and furious for the next few weeks. First up is T-Mac who is disgruntled in Houston and is actually in Chicago working out with Tim Grover. And BTW, why don't the Bulls just hire Tim Grover to run their practices? Probably can't afford him.

The Bulls are interested in T-Mac, probably more for his huge expiring contract than for his time on the floor. They've already said that they won't give up Noah for that and I agree with them. Noah has perhaps played the most consistently well of any of the Bulls this year. A bit more than a year ago I predicted that he would be leaps and bounds ahead of Tyrus and he's proven me correct. So, no Noah for McGrady.

Now how about Salmons, Miller, Jones and change for T-Mac? Now that is a tough call. There's no question that T-Mac is extremely talented. The two big knocks against him is that he is injury prone and he has a bad (lazy/indifferent) attitude. You might also add in that he is vastly overpaid, but if you are looking for an expiring contract then that may actually be a positive.

Salmons has taken a huge step backwards this year. Miller is getting older, and no one will miss Jones or anyone else they toss in. So, here's what it comes down to. Is Salmons going to recover and start playing as well as he did during the latter part of last year? And would T-Mac come into Chicago with an improved attitude and a reasonably healthy body?

It's a close call. I think that if the Bulls want to go the T-Mac/expiring contract route, then they must also find a way to dump Deng, Tyrus, and probably Hinrich (contract) as well. If they can do that then I have no problem blowing up this team and building around Rose, Noah and whatever big free agents they can sign.

However, if they can't do that, then adding another lazy, indifferent player to this team is not a good idea. Could you imagine T-Mac, Deng, Tyrus and Rose on the court at the same time? Teams would average 125 points a game against them as they all sulked down the court when it was time to pretend to play defense.

Hinrich for Butler?

Latest rumor buzz has Bulls swapping Hinrich for Caron Butler. Before I weigh in on whether this is good or bad for the Bulls, let's look at why this is possible. Strangely, Butler is on the block because of the misbehavior of his teammates, namely "Agent Zero" Arenas and Javaris Crittenton, who allegedly pulled guns on each other during a gambling dispute in the Wizards locker room. Did these guys not get the memo that they are no longer the Washington Bullets? Or do the Wizards issue handguns out as standard equipment? I'm tempted to make a third joke about their "run and gun" offense, but am stopping myself from going too far.

What this highly publicized incident does is put even more pressure on the woeful Wizards to blow up their team and start anew. And when that happens, the most valuable assets always get swapped first. In this case, with Arenas proving to be far more trouble than his contract is worth, the Wizards really have only two valuable assets: Butler and Antawn Jamison. And Butler seems to be the more disenfranchised of the two.

I like Butler, but still have mixed feelings about the two. Hinrich has been playing extremely well of late. He is a big factor as to why the Bulls have won their last three games. He's the Bulls best defender and backs up both the 1 and 2 spots. Butler is a better offensive player and fills the 2 or 3 spots. I have to vote for the trade because Rose has been playing a lot better recently and we need someone to take minutes away from Salmons and Deng, who are not playing well. It would not be easy to see Hinrich go though, and I suspect the Wizards will want even more than him for Butler.

Of course the Bulls need Jamison even more, to add a scorer to the frontcourt, but it would take more than Hinrich to get him. I would happily give up both Deng and Thomas for Jamison, but I don't think the Bulls would do that, even if they could make the salaries work out.

Bulls can't delude themselves into thinking that this mini winning streak has set them on the right path. They need to make a trade. Of course I always want to see Thomas and Deng on the block, but I'd take anything that improves this bad team.

Update 1/06: Stern gives Arenas an indefinite suspension because of his gun play in the locker room. Understandable, but what I can't figure out is how Crittenton avoided a similar fate. Not that it matters a lot to the Wiz because he is injured and isn't any good when he isn't injured anyway. But how does he not get the same suspension as Agent Zero? Maybe Stern doesn't even know about him? Finally, best of Letterman's top ten Washington Wizards explanations for the gun incident: #3 "Wanted gun close by in case team tried to trade me to the Nets."

Hanging Vinnie Out To Dry

Not surprisingly, there has been lots of speculation that Bulls coach Vinnie Del Negro will be fired, with most people expecting it to happen Christmas Eve, since the Bulls have played Scrooge on that day by firing two coaches in the recent past. But Christmas Eve came and went with no firing. Then, directly after Christmas, there were reports that Vinnie was fired. So, Vinnie had to face a press conference and state that it wasn't true. However, the silence from the front office was deafening. Neither Paxson nor Forman came out to make a statement in support of Del Negro. Their silence was even more punctuated by the fact that the Pacer's coach was in a similar situation with firing rumors and Larry Bird immediately made a statement to support him.

It it seems like the Bulls have their heads up their butt, that's because they do. But before I get back to thumping the front office, I'd like to thump the Bulls players for some of the worst basketball in recent memory.

Post awful circus trip, they get killed by a Cleveland team that clearly looks like they aren't even trying. Then they get destroyed by the Raptors in a game that featured a bizarre moment where a Raptors' guard dribbled the ball past halfcourt in the third quarter with an enormous lead, and then proceeded to casually tie his shoe with the game clock on. The Bulls didn't even attempt to take the ball from him, and instead stood around waiting patiently for him to finish. They probably realized that they would just embarrass themselves with the ball once they got it.

Next the Bulls lose to New Jersey at home. The same New Jersey team that set the record this year for most losses to start the season. A New Jersey team that is currently 2 and 29! Then after a few blowout losses and a few lucky wins, the Bulls produce one of the most stunningly inept games in basketball history. Playing at home to the same Kings team that gave them their only win on the circus trip, a Kings team that is playing without their best player, the Bulls build up a gigantic 35 point lead well into the third quarter. Then they make NBA basketball history by becoming the first team to have a lead like that so late in the second half and lose the game.

Then they lose to the Knicks, one of the very few teams the Bulls have been able to look down on during the past several years. After all the Vinnie rumors, they finally show a bit of life by beating New Orleans, but it was basically a New Orleans team that was taking the night off.

On the plus side, everyone is healthy now and both Hinrich and Thomas played better than usual against New Orleans. This may be the Bulls one last shot at trading Thomas. There are rumors of a three team swap that gets us Al Harrington for Tyrus. Please let it happen!

The other really stunning fact is that as bad as the Bulls have been, they are still in playoff contention! It seems like a bad joke, but there are plenty of crummy teams in the East so all the Bulls have to do is play mediocre ball and they could get a sixth seed!

But getting back to Vinnie and Paxson and Forman, there is certainly plenty of blame to go around for all three. I'd be quite happy to see all of them out the door but the coach always goes first. I've hinted at it before, but now I'll say straight up that Paxson is one of the worst NBA management types I've ever seen. It hurts me to say it because I was a big fan of Paxson when he was a player, starting back in his college days. He's a smart, likable guy, but man has he done an awful job in the front office. And Gar Forman is a joke! Have you ever seen a more invisible GM? Most people I talk to in Chicago don't even know he is the GM! They still think it is Paxson, and really it is all the same because neither one knows what they are doing. This latest fiasco with Del Negro is a perfect example. Clearly the Bulls are looking around for another coach but they don't even know how to do that properly.

Now, as for who I'd like to see as the new coach, that is a tough question and one that I, just like Paxson and Forman, will address in the future.

It's A Circus All Right

Well, I wrote that the Laker game would be a bellwether of what the Bulls were capable of, and unfortunately, it proved that they can't do much. Deng took one look at Ron Artest and stood in the corner sucking his thumb and crying for his teddy bear. Gasol must have had this game penciled in for his return from injury because he knew the Bulls bigs wouldn't be able to stop him. Kobe basically took the night off since he wasn't needed. Salmons is forever going to be up and down. And worst of all, Rose is proving himself to be no floor leader.

A disaster all around, not just for the Laker game, but during the four blowouts in a row to Denver, Portland and Utah as well. Bulls at least put up a fight against the Bucks, mainly by playing a bit of defense, before losing out in the end. That puts the circus trip in the books at 1-5, with four very ugly loses. Extremely disappointing, to say the least.

Bogut took note of Gasol's triumphant return and repeated it himself against the Bulls. Potential trade target Boozer, killed them. Why would he ever want to come here when he can have career highs against them? Bulls displayed almost no toughness or desire during the road trip. They are a weak team, content to go through the motions for a few quarters and then fold.

Clearly, the Bulls are worse than last year, which makes the playoffs unlikely. And a top draft pick is out of the question with horrific teams like New Jersey, New York, and Minnesota sunk down at the very bottom of NBA muck. Free agency may well be their only hope.

Dare I say Rose has been over-rated? He's not good defensively. He doesn't get the offense moving fast enough -- Bulls are ridiculous with their 24 second violations. And he isn't shooting well. Hopefully, it is a bad stretch and he can learn from his mistakes.

Heinrich has been hurt, so the Bulls are short at guard now. Hunter had to play against the Bucks and it wasn't pretty watching the Buck guards breeze past him. Of course the Bulls are short-handed in the front court as well with Thomas out, but I don't see that as any loss. Speaking of which, Bulls revealed that Thomas broke his arm while doing chin-ups. Now, just imagine that for a minute. Think about attempting a chin-up and breaking your arm in the process. Envisioning that? Now you have a glimmer of understanding as to what kind of a spaz Tyrus is.

Nine out the the next eleven games are at home now, so the Bulls should improve somewhat. Historically, they do improve anyway. Bulls are 10-60 on the circus trip in the post MJ era, so it would be difficult for them to be that bad all the time.

Ghost of Trent Tucker

Bulls sweat out a win against Charlotte on a night where Salmons finally has a decent game. Then they come home for a crazy game against Denver. A tight battle throughout, game tied and time running out, Billups drives to the hole and gets bailed out on a dubious call with .6 seconds left. Billups is money at the line, so he makes the first and purposely misses the second to run out the clock. He gets a bad, quick bounce off the rim though and the Bulls call time-out with .3 seconds left.

Now if you are a Bulls fan and know your NBA history, you'll know that there is a "Trent Tucker" rule in the NBA that resulted from a 1990 game between the Bulls and the Knicks. In that game, the Knicks inbounded the ball to Tucker with only .1 seconds left! He tossed up a prayer that went in. Bulls protested, saying that .1 seconds was too short to get off a shot and they lost that protest! However, the NBA subsequently did a bunch of tests and soon after put in a rule that states that a player needs a minimum of .3 seconds to get off a shot.

So, inbounding from the halfcourt with .3 seconds left, Bulls toss it to a wide open Brad Miller who instantly heaves up a prayer that goes in. Bulls and fans go nuts as they seem to have escaped with one. The officials reviewed the play for a good 15 minutes, and they replayed the shot endlessly from every angle on the TV. There was no way in the world you could tell if the ball was completely off his fingertips. Just no way. It looked good to me, but there really was no way you could say for certain. You'd think that the hoop gods would try to make amends for the Tucker fiasco, but no, Chicago is a hard luck town for its sports' teams. Officials somehow decide to overrule the basket and give Denver the game!

Next night, at Toronto, they play hard but ragged and fold in the fourth. Bosh and to a lesser extent Bargnani killed the Bulls last year, and they did it again this game. Hinrich and Salmons couldn't make a shot if they were locked in the gym. Salmons was 1-11!

On the plus side, Gibson is already better than Tyrus. Yes, he makes plenty of mistakes and he's not going to be ROY, but we are 8 games into the season and he already knows more about how to play basketball than our four-year-man Tyrus, who is fortunately out for several weeks with an injured arm.

Bulls now have one at home and then the infamous circus road trip. Bulls get kicked out of the United Center while the circus plays there, and they have historically gone belly up during the long road tour. We'll see.

From Terrible to Not Bad

Boston crushes them at their place; then Bulls fold at Miami; they have an awful first half at home against Milwaukee, but bounce back to squeak out a win; and finally they pull out a gutsy win in an ugly game at Cleveland. Most likely we will see quite a bit of this up and down from the Bulls, but they are not at their best right now so there are things to be hopeful about.

Rose is clearly not back all the way yet. He looks good in spurts, but the way they are controlling his minutes, you can tell he's not well. He does show flashes of his regular self, such as during a coast-to-coast drive at Cleveland.

Tyrus was sick with the flu and got a DNP against the Bucks. May be the best thing to happen to the Bulls as it threw Gibson in there. He was bad against Milwaukee, but he was pretty good against Cleveland; certainly better than Tyrus, who did play a bit there and actually wasn't as awful as usual. Maybe the Bulls should keep infecting him with flu all season. Not only will he play better but he might get some opposing stars sick.

Deng is "half a man" this season. What I mean is that when he's up against smaller, more passive defenders, he's doing pretty well; but when he has someone his own size against him, who challenges him, he folds. There was a sequence in the Boston game where Deng wimps out on driving to the basket against Pierce and instead tosses up one of his flat, lazy, no-arc jumpers. Then he stands there, with wrist gaily extended, watching his shot while Pierce runs down the court for an outlet pass. Deng is too late to catch the guy who infamously couldn't run down Noah on the dribble during the playoffs last year, and fouls him for a three point play. This is the Deng I despise.

However, his shot is falling when he isn't challenged, which is far, far better than we've seen from him the last two years. And while he still isn't a fierce defender, he's at least using a bit of energy on the defensive end, which is new for him. I'll take that, because he's never going to be the All-Star the Bulls were dreaming about when he had a decent year two years ago. Just having him become a relatively useful starter is a huge jump.

Brad Miller has been a key in the Bulls wins. He's stepped up, particularly in the clutch, with less time wasted on Tyrus. Too bad he's not 3-4 years younger because 10 more minutes of Miller on the floor would win a lot more games for the Bulls. And Noah deserves some props too because he's been rebounding, making the hussle plays, and even banging with Shaq as best as he can.

Hinrich has been decent with his increased minutes, good but not as good as he can be. His shooting is off. Not as off as Salmons though, who couldn't hit the side of a barn for most of this season. I think he was shooting .264 before Cleveland! He was 3-15 vs the Spurs and the Bucks and 2-14 vs Boston. It would be hard to shoot that bad if he was trying to miss! He was 6-13 vs Cleveland and was pretty good vs Miami, so he may have just been in a slump -- hopefully short, because the Bulls really need him.

I shouldn't rub salt in the wound, but Ben Gordon has been shooting very well for his new team. He's scored between 22-30 points in every game and has shot over 50% in every game except one.

Except for some garbage time in Boston, Bulls first pick last year, Johnson, has not played a minute. That's a bit scary, and disappointing when so many other rookies are playing decently. I guess if Gibson pans out he'll be considered a steal, but the Bulls obviously had higher hopes for Johnson.

In short, it looks like we're going back to the scrappy Bulls of the early Skiles era. They don't shoot well but they get steals, defend and rebound. If Rose gets back to form and Gibson progresses, a playoff slot is a realistic goal.

Opening Night -- Spurs, home

Bulls beat an old team at home after catching them at the end of a back-to-back, but hey, it's the Spurs, so you have to be happy about that. Duncan certainly didn't look old, dominating the Bulls bigs for 28 points and 16 rebounds. Jefferson is not starting out well with the Spurs. Whether he pans out for them or not will make or break their season. Parker and Ginobili were off as well and the Bulls definitely hussled more, especially for rebounds on the offensive end.

Rose wasn't quite up to par, but he was still quite good. Fortunately, Hinrich played very well, so Rose was able to keep his minutes down. Noah had lots of hussle plays and wound up with a double-double. Salmons couldn't find his shot, going a dismal 3-15, but he played decently otherwise. Miller was solid. Deng still plays bad defense, but he shot pretty well. If he can play at least this well every game I'll stop ragging on him so much.

Gibson played with energy, but still like a rookie. And our top pick, Johnson, got a DNP. How bad does our drafting look now when the Spurs can pick up a guy (Blair) who we passed over twice in the draft and are able to have him in the rotation? Of course it is way too early to judge last year's draft, but at least initially, the Spurs look like they skunked us.

Tyrus was absolutely horrible in the first half. I'm surprised Vinny didn't send him home, but he played about as well as he can in the second half; that is to say, not terrible. He scored 13, all in the second half, but he did it mostly on jumpers, which scares me a lot.

Bulls now have the first of their all-too-many back-to-backs, traveling to Boston. Celtics are looking good this year too. Barring another injury to Garnett, they are my pick to get to the Finals.

Free Agents and Summer League wrapup

Bulls finished the summer league stronger than they started, winning their last three after losing their first two games. Good news is that Johnson started playing a lot better. Bad news is that Gibson sat out the last three games with an injury.

As expected, Deng bailed on the UK Olympic hoops squad because of his perpetual injury. It cracks me up to see him billed in the British papers as "NBA superstar Luol Deng"!! I wonder what the real NBA superstars think when they see that in the papers. They probably think about how many points they are going to score on Deng the next time they play against him. Gordon also opted out, so he can concentrate on scoring as many points as possible against the Bulls next year.

Portland is lucky enough to sign Andre Miller and then their idiotic coach comes out and says that Steve Blake is the starter going into camp! Unless Miller is really feeling his age all of a sudden, he's far better than Blake. Why insult your potential floor leader before he even plays a game for you?

Boozer has pretty much burned his Utah bridges. He clearly wants to play for Miami, but he'd be happy enough to play for the Bulls or just about anyone else. Utah is a stubborn team though that doesn't like to deal away players for less than they are worth. I wish the Bulls could emulate that attitude a bit more, but in this case Utah is going to have to take the best deal available to them and it isn't going to be very advantageous.

Tim Thomas gets picked up by the Mavs, but they don't give him much, not even using an exception on him. He isn't worth it, but may be worth a roster spot.

Aside from the Boozer rumors, there are David Lee trade rumors afloat. I'll take just about anyone if it gets Tyrus out of town.

And the president, in congratulating Bill Lambeer for coaching the winning WNBA team, announced that it was difficult for him to do this as a Chicago Bulls fan, because of the fierce rivalry between Lambeer's Pistons and the Bulls. Can't the president issue some kind of executive order that gifts Deng to England permanently? Or maybe he can use his Emergency Powers privilege to declare the Bulls to be in a state of disaster? FEMA could cart Tyrus away. He could declare war on LA, Boston and Cleveland. Got to be some way he could help the Bulls.

Summer League and more Free Agents.

First off, I had incorrect info on the Summer roster. The two rookies are the only Bulls playing, which is right and normal. Unfortunately, they are playing like crap. Johnson is turning the ball over left and right and Gibson has 9 and 10 fouls respectively in the two games they have played. That's a lot even for Summer League. Hopefully, they are learning something.

Bulls buy out Tim Thomas again!! This is a good demonstration of why I named the title of my blog what it is. They have one stint with Tim Thomas, discover he is lazy and doesn't play defense, so they buy him out. He leaves acrimoniously. Fast forward a few years and they trade for him again, saying that Vinnie knows him and can handle the issues they had previously. Then, surprise, they discover that he's still lazy and doesn't play defense, so they buy him out again. What's great about this story is that the Knicks picked him up off waivers last time and appear likely to do it again. Maybe they hope to trade him back to the Bulls in a year.

On the FA front, it's looking like Utah will match Portland's offer for Millsap and retain him. I think the factor for them in doing this is that Miami appears interested in Boozer, so now they have a few teams that seem to want him, and I'm sure the Bulls are still in the mix. They are gambling that they can get a reasonable deal done before the season and tax time starts.

As a sure sign of the bad economy, the NBA lowered the salary cap this coming year. Less than half the teams made a profit last year. Bulls of course are one of the healthier franchises, but they will be under pressure along with everyone else to keep salaries down. This probably was a big factor in losing Ben.

Rumors and Pargo

A false rumor swirled around that had Tyrus going to Utah, Boozer to the Bulls, and Hinrich to the Blazers. Tyrus was convinced enough to Twitter about how happy he was to be playing with Deron Williams.

Silly to comment on a false rumor, but I will anyway. Boozer isn't an ideal player. He's injury prone and not a great defender. However, he does score and rebound well, and I would be so over-joyed to get rid of Tyrus that I'd take that deal, even with losing Kirk, who we now need since Ben is gone.

As a footnote, the Bulls did bring back Pargo from overseas for guard insurance. I like him for spot stretches

Free Agency and Summer Leagues

Bulls only move during a busy free agent signing period was failing to re-sign their top scorer. They gambled that no one else would overpay him and Detroit made them lose that bet. To lose Ben for nothing hurts a lot, but not as much as overpaying guys like Deng and getting stuck with them.

I was surprised to see Derrick and Tyrus on the summer league team. Derrick, because he is supposed to be working out with the USA National team in Las Vegas, but obviously that was a big factor in having the Bulls join the Vegas summer league this year, instead of Orlando, so Derrick could do both. And Tyrus? Well, what's the point. Are the Bulls going to try to dominate the summer leagues, where his lack of defense is less of a factor? You can't foul out in summer league, so it's perfect for Tyrus. He should stay there permanently. I was also surprised that the rookies were not on the roster, but they may be put on at the last minute.

Good that Noah is on the summer league team. Bad that he's in Vegas though!

Some misc NBA thoughts:

Shame on Rubio for entering the draft and then blowing off the team that picked him. What's the point of having a draft if the unpopular cities can't get the guys they pick?

Very tough break for Yao and Houston. He could very well never regain form.

Cleveland made a bigger move by resigning Varejao than by picking up Shaq, but they will be the favorites in the East next year.

Turkoglu leaving Portland at the altar to elope with Toronto shows two things. First, it's never a done deal until after they sign. And two, you must woo the wife!

And very clever of the Mavs to get Marion out of that Hedo four team shuffle. They need more than that though.

Lakers with Artest is going to be very interesting. They lose Ariza, but I think they still look good enough to be favorites in the West.