Chicago Bulls Thread

I agree on phat with this. Not for lack of effort but he is slow on the pick n roll as mentioned. Gasol's stats are perceived as slightly empty as he is terrible on contested rebounds, especially in the playoffs and not a strong rim protector

I've always been on board with Pau moving to center at this point of his career. He is what he is which is why I'd also like to see him paired with a mobile Pf like Taj

I'm still holding out hope Noah has not gone Ben Wallace on us and his skills and athleticism just fell off a cliff

I think you could give Gibson the starting nod over Mirotic, if you wanted to shore up the defense. I know it goes against the "defense wins championships" mantra, but I'd sacrifice some of the defense in the starting lineup with Gasol at centre, over sacrificing scoring with Noah in there. Also, I get the impression that Noah would play better off the bench than Gasol would. It's not that Gasol strikes me as being particularly selfish or anything, but being a proverbial "energy guy", Noah just seems like he'll come in rearing to go, and willing to accept that role.

I think the defensive mantra is cut out when you pair Gasol and Niko together.

The defense would be better with Taj instead and even though taj is a good threat to score, there isn't the spacing Niko provides. Nice corundum for the mayor to deal with

I am curious to see how the magic Hoiberg offense works with the 2nd unit. It's a more classic Thibs type of players instead of the floor spacing lineup

I feel bad Noah will come off the bench. He's claiming he's fully healthy, in a contract year, and wanted to play the big minutes Thibs would give him.

As I said earlier, he is a slow starter/rhythm player. It will be a big adjustment for him

If my expectation is right, I wouldn't worry about spacing since you'll have MDJ to help them with that beside the fact that it seems Pau got a much further range now. I reckon Mirotic is more suited to a 6th man kind of role since he tends to commit excessive fouls... If I'm not fond of the Pau-Niko pairing on defense, having Taj and Jo on offense is also not ideal for me so it should be the other guy paired to the other.

That seems ideal balancing out the skill sets.

Looks like though Hoiberg and Andrew are the same page- start Pau and Niko.

The masked man may be making an appearance in tonites final preseason game.

I should give kudos to Brooks for his performance against the Pacers.

Once the unicorn is back to full strength, the backup pg may get resolved. I think Moore has been steady but hasn't significantly put himself ahead of Brooks

I like Pau and Taj pairing more than Niko.

I think Noah off the bench or at least reduced minutes is the right way to go if you want a deep run in the playoffs

Looks like though Hoiberg and Andrew are the same page- start Pau and Niko.

I'm not completely sold on Niko as a starter, since Gibson can get the job done offensively and would be better defensively. I'm definitely not against starting Gibson, though I'd give Pau the nod over Noah at centre.

Niko could be offensive firepower off the bench while Noah provides defense and playmaking from the pivot, but we'll see how it works out, I guess.

Almost an ugly end to the pre-season with that turnover, but McBuckets saves the day. Token appearance by Derrick Rose, 8 points on 4/6 shooting, driving the ball. Encouraging.

He looked good in limited minutes, just watching now actually!

yeah how about that masked man with those drives to the basket

i think it's Pau and Niko, like it or not. Gibson had another strong showing tonite. it will be interesting to see how fluid Hoiberg will be with the rotations. i think this is something we will be criticizing/applauding all season long

it will be a challenge to find minutes for the bigs plus they went most of the preseason without their starting pg

Yeah I think coach likes Pau paired with Niko because he can shoot the ball so Gasol can use more of the paint.

I read that Rose is very enthusiastic about the offense.

Derrick Rose Did Something Incredible For Jimmy Butler Before Training Camp

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Derrick Rose was so proud of Jimmy Butler’s 2014-15 season – a first time All-Star and the recipient of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award – that Derrick Rose bought Jimmy a gift before training camp started.

This is the Derrick Rose that many in the media have said is “jealous” of Butler’s newly earned status on the team. The Derrick Rose who apparently can’t coexist with a star like Butler, even though the two averaged 20.0 points per game, each, in last year’s playoffs.

Rose bought Butler a brand new watch, one which Johnson described as having “a price tag that college-tuition-paying parents would recognize”, aka a very expensive watch.

See, that's why he's looking ahead to his next contract. All those gifts for teammates he has to buy!

Seriously though, stuff like this does suggest that any supposed rift or feud between the two is overblown. I'm sure there are moments of frustration, times when they don't see eye-to-eye and egos clash, but it doesn't sound like they're constantly at each other's throats, or unable and unwilling to play with one another.

Haha I don't think these 2 are buddies off the court but they make it work on the court. The media and fans can be fickle. This "feud" will be a non story as long they are winning

Rose to start Bulls' opener without restrictions

The Chicago Bulls will open a new era under coach Fred Hoiberg with Derrick Rose in the lineup.

The former MVP point guard is set to start without any minute restrictions when the Bulls meet LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Tuesday's opener.

Kudos to the masked man for being ready for the opener...

From our friends at Bovada. Over and under Prop bets

Derrick Rose assists per game: 5.5
Derrick Rose points per game: 18
Jimmy Butler points per game: 18
Joakim Noah points per game: 8.5
Nikola Mirotic points per game: 14.5
Pau Gasol points per game: 17
Joakim Noah rebounds per game: 9.5
Pau Gasol rebounds per game: 10

I say...
Rose apg under
rose ppg under
Butler ppg over
Noah ppg under
Niko ppg under
Gasol ppg under
Noah rpg under
Gasol rpg over

Yeah, with Noah's projected bench role, his numbers will probably be a little lower than that. They might be around that or slightly higher Per 36, of course.

The Hypocritical Response To Derrick Rose

But here we are, still in the era of “So-and-so will return before Derrick Rose” and “He’ll be out for the rest of the season” after any minor incident. Never to be forgotten is the unforgivable sin of Rose not returning, with zero game experience in twelve months, having never having started next to Jimmy Butler, in the 2013 playoffs. It’s the talking point that always remains.

So imagine my surprise when, after Rose announced he would (and subsequently did) play in the Bulls final preseason game of 2015, there were questions as to whether he really should. The same people who had spent the last two and a half years lambasting Rose for not returning soon enough from his ACL tear, because he was “medically cleared”, were all of a sudden cautious in his return to the court.

Rose chooses to speak openly, but is constantly criticized for it, and told that he should simply say what everyone wants to hear. Yet, all that is ever talked about in relation to athletes are their robotic answers and that, “they should be more honest”. Clearly they should be honest, only if what they have to say is what talking heads want to hear.

All in all, I think it's a good take on the situation. Rose has much to prove, and he's had some gaffes in various remarks that he's made. Still, there is some hypocrisy in the criticism of him, and it's like Charles Barkley pointed out: everyone loves the honest answer that doesn't worry about sugar-coating or political correctness...but only as long as they agree with what's being said.

At the end of the day, it's been frustrating for everyone: the organisation, us fans, and of course, Rose himself. Here's hoping all that stuff is finally over and done with, and we can look forward to better times for the team. Let the games begin!

yeah i agree there is hypocrisy there. unfortunately for him he's made himself a lightning rod for controversy. in the end, i think the majority want to see this guy succeed. if he starts playing the game a consistently at high level no one will care about his "honest" comments.

Playing well and winning does indeed tend to be the magical cure.

Pau the paint protecting extraordinaire!

The spaniard comes through and serves an in your face to the TNT's expert panel haha

14 hours in work done!

A few beers, a well deserved sit down League Pass at the ready to watch LeBron get his ass handed to him!

Boom!

The offense continued to look pretty good, even if the shots weren't always falling, and they were making an effort defensively...especially in the final ten seconds! I liked the looks they were getting, and the way that it was opening up the lane for Rose. He struggled to finish at times, but you can cut him some slack given the double vision, and the Cavs' bigs turned away a couple of shots. Win some, lose some when you're a point guard entering the paint. I'm sure everyone groaned when he came up limping, but seems like it's nothing as he came back in and didn't seem to be affected. As for Noah, apparently he's questionable for the game in Brooklyn with a knee contusion.

A more comfortable win on the road, good to see everyone healthy (MDJ aside) and Noah out there on the floor after leaving the opener and not returning. Much better shooting, too.

14 hours in work done!

A few beers, a well deserved sit down League Pass at the ready to watch LeBron get his ass handed to him!

Boom!

Beer tastes better when that happens...

Looking good so far. Gotta give it up to Brooks for bringing some pop off the bench

And much to my surprise, it is Moore taking the minutes at backup SG. Hinrich can finally be correctly utilized as a minutes filler only when necessary