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.

A New Beginning

A new season with a new coach and mostly a new team. However, at least for the first two games, we have pretty much the same Bulls. Rose is still our main offensive weapon. He's still great at scooting towards the rim, out-racing his defenders. And he's still not that great with his defense or jump shot. Noah is still our hustle play rebounder. Taj is still our power forward and tries very hard. Deng is still a total wuss.

None of the new guys have been at all impressive. Brewer looks crippled. Korver looks slow, but better than Brewer. Bogans looks decidedly average and he's our starter. Thomas plays far less than I was expecting. And C. J. Watson is looking way to much like Pargo -- a few streaky shots and then turnover city.

It's actually the guys I had the least amount of hope in who have done better than expected. Scalabrine is, amazingly, part of the rotation, and he's not terrible when he's in there. Asik gets minutes as well and he's shown that he can take a charge and scrap for rebounds. And Johnson may just claw his way back from the dead. He's obviously lighter and faster than last year and plays with much more intensity. He still makes dumb mistakes, but now he also makes some good plays to go along with them!

In the opener, the Bulls ran up and down with the Thunder and finally wound up playing less defense in the end. Rose went to his erratic jumper too often. In the home opener, it looked like it was going to be Ben Gordon revenge night as he was lighting up Rose early. The Bulls were getting blown out but made a typical Bull charge in the fourth quarter and came away with a win.

Very telling to me is that Thibs sat Deng on the bench for that entire fourth quarter charge. And many of those minutes were going to Asik and Johnson! That's how worthless Deng has become for this team. I've called for him to be traded over and over but now it absolutely has to happen. There are rumors now about swapping Deng for Iguodala, and even though I know Iguodala is kind of a head case himself and I'm not crazy about his game, I can't believe the 76's would be stupid enough to make that swap. Every year we hear about how Deng has improved his game over the summer and how great he looks in pre-season, and every year we find out that when he gets into a real game he rolls over on his belly and whimpers.

Of course if the Bulls ever do trade him I won't have any easy targets to vent my frustrations on when the Bulls lose. I'll practice with some Boozer bashing, before he even steps foot on the floor. How does a guy break his frickin hand tripping over a bag in his house while going to answer his doorbell? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy his story. And even if he isn't lying, he's proven to be an idiot either way. He better bring a lot of game with him when he gets back on the court because I'm already eying him as my Deng blog-bashing replacement.