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.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Season Just Around the Corner
The NBA still doesn't have the refs in place, but it's looking like they are just about to finalize an agreement with them. There have been plenty of complaints about the replacement refs in pre-season, including a bizarre incident where the Israeli Maccabi coach refused to leave Madison Square Garden after being tossed in a warm-up game against the Knicks. A rabbi tried to persuade the replacement refs to let the coach stay, despite having two technical fouls. The refs stuck to their rulebook and the coach finally stormed off after a long game delay.
Rose is hurt, bad ankle. Whether he misses the opener against the Spurs or not is still up in the air. Either way, he's missed most of the pre-season and is bound to not be at his best for awhile. Combine that with a tough early schedule and the Bulls could be digging an early hole.
Bulls play more back-to-back games than any other team, so they clearly have a very unfavorable schedule. Combine that with lots of improvement around the East and loss of Ben Gordon, and you have to think the best the Bulls can do this year is about the same as they did last year.
Tyrus is fuming at being left out of the starting line-up in some pre-season games. Blog-A-Bull has been slamming Vinnie for starting the rookie Gibson over him, but I completely agree with the move. There's no future in Tyrus. I hope he's improved, so that we can fool some other team into taking him on, but I think the Bulls have wasted more time and energy on Tyrus than they should have. Not that Gibson is ready to start, because he isn't, but at least there's hope that he can be a stable NBA player.
So, I think the Bulls should find out what they have in the two rookies, get what they can for duds like Tyrus and Deng, and clear out the cap space for the big guns of 2010. And don't play Rose when he's injured because we'll need him healthy to attract those free agents.
Carlos Arroyo wound up going to Miami, who needs a backup point-guard more than the Bulls do. Maybe that incident with the Maccabi coach scared him out of rejoining them for another year?
Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is about to purchase the Nets and become the most interesting owner since Mark Cuban. The Post reported today that he blew $19k on a lunch at Nello's with six friends! How do you spend $19,000 on lunch? How about $825 for three orders of truffle taglioni; $600 for four orders of truffle carpaccio; $210 for three orders of veal chops; and $72 for six (I'm assuming mineral) waters. Hmm, just googled them and a mineral water is $15-$18 at Nello's! So they were actually being frugal with the waters they ordered! A bowl of soup is $32. Perfect for a Russian billionaire visiting New York before buying their (well, almost "their", Brooklyn in 2011 or 2012) basketball team.
Finally, Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller squared off against Rose at the Berto Center yesterday for a publicity photo shoot they are doing to nominate the sexiest athletes in Chicago. How they could choose Rose for nomination when they have Noah on the floor? He's completely irresistible when he dons his big bow tie and pulls out the Courvoisier.
Rose is hurt, bad ankle. Whether he misses the opener against the Spurs or not is still up in the air. Either way, he's missed most of the pre-season and is bound to not be at his best for awhile. Combine that with a tough early schedule and the Bulls could be digging an early hole.
Bulls play more back-to-back games than any other team, so they clearly have a very unfavorable schedule. Combine that with lots of improvement around the East and loss of Ben Gordon, and you have to think the best the Bulls can do this year is about the same as they did last year.
Tyrus is fuming at being left out of the starting line-up in some pre-season games. Blog-A-Bull has been slamming Vinnie for starting the rookie Gibson over him, but I completely agree with the move. There's no future in Tyrus. I hope he's improved, so that we can fool some other team into taking him on, but I think the Bulls have wasted more time and energy on Tyrus than they should have. Not that Gibson is ready to start, because he isn't, but at least there's hope that he can be a stable NBA player.
So, I think the Bulls should find out what they have in the two rookies, get what they can for duds like Tyrus and Deng, and clear out the cap space for the big guns of 2010. And don't play Rose when he's injured because we'll need him healthy to attract those free agents.
Carlos Arroyo wound up going to Miami, who needs a backup point-guard more than the Bulls do. Maybe that incident with the Maccabi coach scared him out of rejoining them for another year?
Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is about to purchase the Nets and become the most interesting owner since Mark Cuban. The Post reported today that he blew $19k on a lunch at Nello's with six friends! How do you spend $19,000 on lunch? How about $825 for three orders of truffle taglioni; $600 for four orders of truffle carpaccio; $210 for three orders of veal chops; and $72 for six (I'm assuming mineral) waters. Hmm, just googled them and a mineral water is $15-$18 at Nello's! So they were actually being frugal with the waters they ordered! A bowl of soup is $32. Perfect for a Russian billionaire visiting New York before buying their (well, almost "their", Brooklyn in 2011 or 2012) basketball team.
Finally, Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller squared off against Rose at the Berto Center yesterday for a publicity photo shoot they are doing to nominate the sexiest athletes in Chicago. How they could choose Rose for nomination when they have Noah on the floor? He's completely irresistible when he dons his big bow tie and pulls out the Courvoisier.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Arroyo?
Lots of rumors about Carlos Arroyo joining the Bulls, which seems strange at first glance. After all, the Bulls are deepest guard and have been very public about saying that their roster is set for the upcoming season. If they do wind up with Arroyo, I'm thinking they will really be pushing to trade Heinrich. Not that Arroyo is better than Heinrich, because he isn't, but because his contract (rumored to be 1 year and 1 million) is far better for a backup point guard.
Now, I know people will debate about whether Arroyo is better or worse than Pargo. Personally, I think he's better. Pargo has a much better outside shot, but Arroyo can drive to the basket and he's better on a fast break. Arroyo has never had the same success in the NBA as he's had in international ball. He's a star on his Puerto Rico national team, and he just had a good year with his Israeli pro team, yet he seems to bounce from team to team in the NBA. Still, he has some skills and is a bargain at $1 million for the season.
Like the Bulls, I'd hate to see Kirk go, but I don't mind losing his contract. I'm still praying that we can package him with Tyrus for a decent big man.
Now, I know people will debate about whether Arroyo is better or worse than Pargo. Personally, I think he's better. Pargo has a much better outside shot, but Arroyo can drive to the basket and he's better on a fast break. Arroyo has never had the same success in the NBA as he's had in international ball. He's a star on his Puerto Rico national team, and he just had a good year with his Israeli pro team, yet he seems to bounce from team to team in the NBA. Still, he has some skills and is a bargain at $1 million for the season.
Like the Bulls, I'd hate to see Kirk go, but I don't mind losing his contract. I'm still praying that we can package him with Tyrus for a decent big man.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Off Season Infamies
It happens every summer, certain NBA stars get bored and get themselves into trouble. Bulls bad boy Joakim Noah started early, getting photographed in May at St Barts with a surgically-enhanced topless babe, marijuana, and plenty of alcohol. But there's been plenty of off-season notoriety since then.
Rashard Lewis nets a ten game suspension for taking DHEA, a common supplement well-known to have no performance enhancing benefits whatsoever. Since it takes two failed drug tests to get ten games on the pine, that tells me that Lewis is extremely dim. At least use something that works dude!
Stephen Marbury has been the wacko star of the off season. Guy seems to be live webcasting 24x7 and he's sent some pretty weird videos out for our viewing pleasure. Stuff like him eating Vaseline, gay-dancing to "Barbie Doll", and, in a truly bizarre web moment, getting into an auto accident during a live broadcast and encouraging his limo driver to ignore it, saying that it's "just the devil's work". GMs have got to be lining up to offer this guy a contract.
Michael Beasley burns through several Twitter accounts in a few weeks, posting bizarre and distressing messages on them. He posts a photograph on one that displays a horrific tattoo on his back, but gets into trouble when people notice what appears to be two bags of grass on the table next to him. Well, at least that would account for that tattoo. Finally, he disappears and then checks himself into a Houston rehab. Thank goodness Rose was available in that draft or else this would be the Bulls' problem.
Speaking of Rose though, he has his college career at Memphis wiped off the books for getting someone else to take his SAT test. Hey, he's just a natural assist man, right? Probably handed that test off to some guy for an easy layup.
Last but not least, is Shaq and his new TV show. He allegedly stole the idea from Steve Nash, but Nash has been too distracted by his Entourage cameos to do anything with it, so why not let the Big Shamu (he swims against Michael Phelps in one, though they would have gotten better ratings with a bong duel) take it over. "Shaq vs. the World" is the perfect venue for The Big Megalomaniac and is the perfect way for him to pump up his ego before become a member of LeBron's supporting cast. I've never been a Shaq fan, but I've got to say that the guy is entertaining. The Big Goofball will have a fine career post basketball, and I'm predicting that time won't be far off after we see him have a mediocre season with the Cavs this year.
Rashard Lewis nets a ten game suspension for taking DHEA, a common supplement well-known to have no performance enhancing benefits whatsoever. Since it takes two failed drug tests to get ten games on the pine, that tells me that Lewis is extremely dim. At least use something that works dude!
Stephen Marbury has been the wacko star of the off season. Guy seems to be live webcasting 24x7 and he's sent some pretty weird videos out for our viewing pleasure. Stuff like him eating Vaseline, gay-dancing to "Barbie Doll", and, in a truly bizarre web moment, getting into an auto accident during a live broadcast and encouraging his limo driver to ignore it, saying that it's "just the devil's work". GMs have got to be lining up to offer this guy a contract.
Michael Beasley burns through several Twitter accounts in a few weeks, posting bizarre and distressing messages on them. He posts a photograph on one that displays a horrific tattoo on his back, but gets into trouble when people notice what appears to be two bags of grass on the table next to him. Well, at least that would account for that tattoo. Finally, he disappears and then checks himself into a Houston rehab. Thank goodness Rose was available in that draft or else this would be the Bulls' problem.
Speaking of Rose though, he has his college career at Memphis wiped off the books for getting someone else to take his SAT test. Hey, he's just a natural assist man, right? Probably handed that test off to some guy for an easy layup.
Last but not least, is Shaq and his new TV show. He allegedly stole the idea from Steve Nash, but Nash has been too distracted by his Entourage cameos to do anything with it, so why not let the Big Shamu (he swims against Michael Phelps in one, though they would have gotten better ratings with a bong duel) take it over. "Shaq vs. the World" is the perfect venue for The Big Megalomaniac and is the perfect way for him to pump up his ego before become a member of LeBron's supporting cast. I've never been a Shaq fan, but I've got to say that the guy is entertaining. The Big Goofball will have a fine career post basketball, and I'm predicting that time won't be far off after we see him have a mediocre season with the Cavs this year.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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.
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.
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