Missed it, but actually figured they'd win despite the five game losing streak and the overall crappy play throughout. This is because the Clippers are wounded and walking wounded. The starting five they put in against us was E. Gordon, F. Jones, Thornton, D. Jordan, and Skinner. If we can't overcome that, then we shouldn't be in the pros. Camby and Davis did play, but just back from injury, they were simply testing their injured limbs.
From the box it looks like Rose had a good game. Deng and Thomas don't look too bad either, but I know how misleading that can be. A win is a win though and the Bulls badly needed one.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Minnesota away
First, don't get any false hopes that we put up a battle just because we got into overtime. Minnesota is a bad team and they played bad. We were just worse.
This game was typical of our most glaring weakness -- the inability of our front court to defend, particularly when Drew Gooden is out. Of course when Gooden is in we are only a bit less pathetic, but with him gone, the opposing teams' front court have big nights. In this game, our generosity was extended to Jefferson (39pt, 9rb) and Love (19pt, 15rb).
Bulls were completely gutless, just about everywhere across the board. And Hinrich, our lone bright spot of the last stinker, was particularly off, going 0-7 with 3 turnovers.
What is the solution for this mess? Blow up the team? Sounds good to me, but that isn't practical. We just won't get much in trade. The coach? We've tried three now with this group. The GM? I think so. Paxson had his shot and completely blew it. I like him personally, and think he's a class guy, but something has to change. I'd love to change owners, but that won't happen.
Bloggers can deal with the hypothetical though, so here's what I would do if I could swap out players -- get rid of everyone except Rose, Gordon and Gooden. If I had to factor in contracts, I'd get rid of everyone except Rose and try to lure someone from the big free agent class of 2010. Boston did the big turnaround, so it can actually be done. The trick is not to hold on to over-rated players like Deng and Thomas.
This game was typical of our most glaring weakness -- the inability of our front court to defend, particularly when Drew Gooden is out. Of course when Gooden is in we are only a bit less pathetic, but with him gone, the opposing teams' front court have big nights. In this game, our generosity was extended to Jefferson (39pt, 9rb) and Love (19pt, 15rb).
Bulls were completely gutless, just about everywhere across the board. And Hinrich, our lone bright spot of the last stinker, was particularly off, going 0-7 with 3 turnovers.
What is the solution for this mess? Blow up the team? Sounds good to me, but that isn't practical. We just won't get much in trade. The coach? We've tried three now with this group. The GM? I think so. Paxson had his shot and completely blew it. I like him personally, and think he's a class guy, but something has to change. I'd love to change owners, but that won't happen.
Bloggers can deal with the hypothetical though, so here's what I would do if I could swap out players -- get rid of everyone except Rose, Gordon and Gooden. If I had to factor in contracts, I'd get rid of everyone except Rose and try to lure someone from the big free agent class of 2010. Boston did the big turnaround, so it can actually be done. The trick is not to hold on to over-rated players like Deng and Thomas.
Toronto away
One clear pattern with the Bulls is the second half collapse, and this game was typical. They stay in the ballgame until about midway into the third quarter and then roll over. Vinny needs to change up his rotations.
Hinrich was the only Bull who played well and that was mostly in the first half. Noch broke out of his slump a bit. Otherwise, we were bad, bad, bad.
Hinrich was the only Bull who played well and that was mostly in the first half. Noch broke out of his slump a bit. Otherwise, we were bad, bad, bad.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Atlanta home
In a nutshell, Bulls went with a three guard lineup for much of the night and none of them could guard Mike Bibby. It's funny how certain players just play better against certain teams, and Bibby always seems to kill the Bulls. Johnson was off this game, so the Hawks were open for a loss, but the Bulls did not want to go there.
One telling point was that early in the game, Deng and Thomas made one of their lazy mid-range jumpers. My spider sense immediately went off as I knew we would pay for those later. Sure enough, they both clanked a few lazy mid-range jumpers when they should have gone to the basket. Well, Tyrus at least. You see, there was one point where Deng got the ball, and as usual, I'm shouting "drive, drive," and he actually did drive, but only to shovel up the most pathetic excuse for a shot I've ever seen. It was shocking. Here, for so long, I thought the answer to Deng's problems was to go to the hole and now it turns out that he's even worse at that than his terrible mid-range jumper. I blame him for this loss more than anyone, since he bricked a key jumper in the stretch, but in reality, there was plenty of blame to go around.
And Tyrus, well he looked cool and got some highlights by blocking shots, but he didn't play a lick of defense otherwise. There was another memorable moment when Tyrus and Deng were put into the game at the same time, just before our traditional third quarter collapse, and the lack of intensity on both of their faces was so striking that I immediately said: "here comes the lazy twins." Back when the Bulls were a championship team, you could see the steely determination on just about everyone's face. I think M.J. stamped it there before the game and Phil read them some philosophy to turn them into mystical warriors. Now, they look like they can't wait to get the game over with so they can go home and play on their Xbox.
As for the not so fearsome threesome of Ben/Derrick/Kurt, they were not quite terrible, but they've all had far better games. They combined for 12 turnovers, 3 more than the Hawks had total. And none of them shot well. Ben at least got to the line for some free throws when he's shot wasn't working, and after his Knicks performance it was great to at least see some of his shots go down. And as I already said, they watched Bibby drop 31 on them.
One telling point was that early in the game, Deng and Thomas made one of their lazy mid-range jumpers. My spider sense immediately went off as I knew we would pay for those later. Sure enough, they both clanked a few lazy mid-range jumpers when they should have gone to the basket. Well, Tyrus at least. You see, there was one point where Deng got the ball, and as usual, I'm shouting "drive, drive," and he actually did drive, but only to shovel up the most pathetic excuse for a shot I've ever seen. It was shocking. Here, for so long, I thought the answer to Deng's problems was to go to the hole and now it turns out that he's even worse at that than his terrible mid-range jumper. I blame him for this loss more than anyone, since he bricked a key jumper in the stretch, but in reality, there was plenty of blame to go around.
And Tyrus, well he looked cool and got some highlights by blocking shots, but he didn't play a lick of defense otherwise. There was another memorable moment when Tyrus and Deng were put into the game at the same time, just before our traditional third quarter collapse, and the lack of intensity on both of their faces was so striking that I immediately said: "here comes the lazy twins." Back when the Bulls were a championship team, you could see the steely determination on just about everyone's face. I think M.J. stamped it there before the game and Phil read them some philosophy to turn them into mystical warriors. Now, they look like they can't wait to get the game over with so they can go home and play on their Xbox.
As for the not so fearsome threesome of Ben/Derrick/Kurt, they were not quite terrible, but they've all had far better games. They combined for 12 turnovers, 3 more than the Hawks had total. And none of them shot well. Ben at least got to the line for some free throws when he's shot wasn't working, and after his Knicks performance it was great to at least see some of his shots go down. And as I already said, they watched Bibby drop 31 on them.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
New York away
This was one of those rare games when pretty much everyone on the court stunk. Truly, a pathetic game for both teams. Richardson on the Knicks came closest to having a good game, but he made his share of bonehead plays. Actually, their rookie, Gallinari, made a few nice plays during the short time he was out there. Rose and maybe Deng came closest on the Bulls. Bulls would have one this mess except that Gordon, who usually torches the Knicks, shot a miserable 3-15. Gooden only played 12 minutes. I don't get this, is he hurt or what? My guess is that he is banged up and also that the Bulls what to include him in an upcoming trade.
Pretty much zero defense in this game and both teams struggled to approach the 100 mark. The Bulls played right into the Knicks' game plan, which is to lure you into their sloppy, jack-em-up pace and hope they catch enough lucky bounces for their awful team to steal a win. And to rub salt in the Bulls' wounds, it was Duhon who finished them off, with a driving layup and some free throws.
Pretty much zero defense in this game and both teams struggled to approach the 100 mark. The Bulls played right into the Knicks' game plan, which is to lure you into their sloppy, jack-em-up pace and hope they catch enough lucky bounces for their awful team to steal a win. And to rub salt in the Bulls' wounds, it was Duhon who finished them off, with a driving layup and some free throws.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Spurs home
I knew the good times wouldn't last very long. We were actually in this game right until the end, but the experienced Spurs just performed better in the stretch. They were ice cold for much of the game too, but wound up better than us.
Deng went back to his old, lazy, wimpy self. Tyrus too. Gordon basically kept us close for much of the game with good shooting. Noch broke out of his slump (17pt, 15rb) and was very good for most of the game, but made some errors at the very end. In one play, Ginobili baited him into a crucial three point foul. Rose was good, but not great. I think Parker outplayed him. Gooden was good, but didn't play that much, so he must be still hurting. Hinrich was good in stretches, but not shooting great. He only played 23 min, same as Gooden.
Bulls defense was better than usual, but still not good. They have to find a way to win games like this, and I think their best bet to do it is to step it up on the defensive end.
Deng went back to his old, lazy, wimpy self. Tyrus too. Gordon basically kept us close for much of the game with good shooting. Noch broke out of his slump (17pt, 15rb) and was very good for most of the game, but made some errors at the very end. In one play, Ginobili baited him into a crucial three point foul. Rose was good, but not great. I think Parker outplayed him. Gooden was good, but didn't play that much, so he must be still hurting. Hinrich was good in stretches, but not shooting great. He only played 23 min, same as Gooden.
Bulls defense was better than usual, but still not good. They have to find a way to win games like this, and I think their best bet to do it is to step it up on the defensive end.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Cleveland home, attended
The best game of the year for the Bulls and I had the good fortune to be there, in a very nice box, and I'm grateful for getting the opportunity.
First off, we won because we played some defense and LeBron was off his game a bit. Yes, it is harsh to look at a 28pt, 14rb, 7 assist line and say the guy was off, but hey, this is LeBron and he really was. He usually drops 40 on the Bulls without breaking a sweat. We made him work this game and even frustrated him a bit at times. He had 8 turnovers and missed a shot that would have won it in regulation.
Hinrich and Deng were not perfect, but they both had solid outings for the second game in a row. If you toss out 4 stupid turnovers, Deng had his best game of the year. He continued to use better judgement with his job selection. Hinrich played excellent defense and was 3-4 from behind the arc, including a huge one in overtime. Tyrus also had a very good game, being active on both ends of the court. Hughes, Gray, and Hunter all got DNP and I think this is clearly the trend for the Bulls, at least until they start losing again.
Once again, Rose was standout at the end. He did miss two big free throws, but then made two huge ones later to get us into OT. Earlier in the game, his shot wasn't dropping and he was getting schooled on defense, but he turned that around with another outstanding end run.
It's a huge lift for the Bulls to beat Cleveland, who are clearly a lot better than them this year. When you think about the Bulls falling to the Thunder just a few games back at home, they've made a huge turnaround in a short time. I'm not convinced they've turned the corner for good, but this is a very sweet victory to savor for now.
First off, we won because we played some defense and LeBron was off his game a bit. Yes, it is harsh to look at a 28pt, 14rb, 7 assist line and say the guy was off, but hey, this is LeBron and he really was. He usually drops 40 on the Bulls without breaking a sweat. We made him work this game and even frustrated him a bit at times. He had 8 turnovers and missed a shot that would have won it in regulation.
Hinrich and Deng were not perfect, but they both had solid outings for the second game in a row. If you toss out 4 stupid turnovers, Deng had his best game of the year. He continued to use better judgement with his job selection. Hinrich played excellent defense and was 3-4 from behind the arc, including a huge one in overtime. Tyrus also had a very good game, being active on both ends of the court. Hughes, Gray, and Hunter all got DNP and I think this is clearly the trend for the Bulls, at least until they start losing again.
Once again, Rose was standout at the end. He did miss two big free throws, but then made two huge ones later to get us into OT. Earlier in the game, his shot wasn't dropping and he was getting schooled on defense, but he turned that around with another outstanding end run.
It's a huge lift for the Bulls to beat Cleveland, who are clearly a lot better than them this year. When you think about the Bulls falling to the Thunder just a few games back at home, they've made a huge turnaround in a short time. I'm not convinced they've turned the corner for good, but this is a very sweet victory to savor for now.
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