Chicago Bulls Thread

Hoiberg's management of the rotation definitely seems pretty good so far. It's a very small sample size, obviously, but it's looking as though he will prove that a change on the sidelines was necessary. I don't want to throw Thibs under the bus, nor downplay his success, and there's no question that the front office handled his dismissal very unprofessionally. But, early as it is, I get the feeling that it was the right move, even if it was done poorly.

I get the feeling that it was the right move, even if it was done poorly.

I don't question the move but the Thibs shadow will loom over Hoiberg until the Bulls win in the playoffs

We heard the pro Thibs comments on the first day with the TNT crew and definitely will hear it on the Bulls first ESPN/abc game from Jeff van gundy

Lately it not rare to switch coaches when a team is successful. However how many of these teams made the move because of the relationship soured between coach and management.

I will enjoy this little grace period though hehe

Oh, definitely. A long way to go yet, and it's probably fair to say that Thibs is the team's most successful coach behind Phil Jackson.

Meanwhile, 2-0 start for only the second time in 13 years. It has been a rough decade or so!

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

That's why relegating Niko to the second unit is a better plan since you can't really rely, in a consistent basis, on anyone in the bench outside of Brooks (unless Snell will be the permanent starter and MDJ will be in the 2nd unit)... Earlier I was worried that Kirk will be the more prioritized guy since he's getting the nod as a starter in the pre-season but gladly, Moore's getting the playing time over him. He's not the sparkplug that Brooks is but you can count on him from time to time since his shot selections are great and of course he's dependable on defense.

But, early as it is, I get the feeling that it was the right move, even if it was done poorly.

You can tell on interviews that the players are really fond with this new system saying there's "more freedom" (perhaps a jab on Drill SGT. Thibodeau) on it. Heard Reggie Miller mentioned that they're also allowed now to have music on practices...

Was worried, after seeing the Cavs game, that Gasol will not have enough touches on the offense with this system but the Brooklyn game dismissed that (though I reckon they still need to run more plays for Pau). Got to work more on rebounding and executing their perimeter defense since those are the factors why they can't keep/losing their leads most of the time. Also they need to better their communication with each other since they're committing a lot of turnovers. Alright enough of the whining... I'm really optimistic about the opportunity that this system is giving to everyone. Perhaps the Bulls will finally have a healthy season this year. Also Noah's team-first attitude is awesome it's getting hard to consider trading or not re-signing him...

That's why relegating Niko to the second unit is a better plan since you can't really rely, in a consistent basis, on anyone in the bench outside of Brooks (unless Snell will be the permanent starter and MDJ will be in the 2nd unit)... Earlier I was worried that Kirk will be the more prioritized guy since he's getting the nod as a starter in the pre-season but gladly, Moore's getting the playing time over him. He's not the sparkplug that Brooks is but you can count on him from time to time since his shot selections are great and of course he's dependable on defense.

You can tell on interviews that the players are really fond with this new system saying there's "more freedom" (perhaps a jab on Drill SGT. Thibodeau) on it. Heard Reggie Miller mentioned that they're also allowed now to have music on practices...

Some good points here. We are riding the high part of the Brooks roller coaster but what happens on the inevitable low? I think Gibson can help here when he starts calming down (seriously) and we'll see how much McBuckets can improve. Against the good teams and especially the playoffs it could be an issue. Brooks and mcbuckets being minus defenders magnifies the problem

Niko plays a big part in the floor spacing and I think management wants him out there. Ideally it would be good to have either Pau or him off the bench.

If Noah gets back his rhythm on offense I am all for starting him and bringing Gasol off the bench to be the bum slayer. He would feast on reserve big men!

Was worried, after seeing the Cavs game, that Gasol will not have enough touches on the offense with this system but the Brooklyn game dismissed that (though I reckon they still need to run more plays for Pau)

Does anyone else notice if Pau is not on Iso or fanning off the pick, he doesn't score? The Bulls run a lot of motion but he's barely making cuts or receive the ball in motion

Oddly enough the Bulls were in it still despite giving a shit load of Orebs and turnovers

In the end there was no answer for the piston high pick and roll. Gasol stinks on defending it and Van Gundy exploited him

I can't stand the name Kentavious Caldwell pope

Next up Orlando. Vucevic can't wait

Oddly enough the Bulls were in it still despite giving a shit load of Orebs and turnovers

In the end there was no answer for the piston high pick and roll. Gasol stinks on defending it and Van Gundy exploited him

They actually played great defense on this game compared to the recent ones it's just that they can't control Drummond on the boards and Morris is hot all game...

I can't stand the name Kentavious Caldwell pope

Yeh It's like an Uncle Tom's name...

They should've went to Butler on that last play just like on those closing minutes in the Brooklyn game... Not saying he should be the shot taker but at least on him the defense will have a dilemma. Rose is having an off night and that move he made was predictable... On the positive note, Mirotic has been fantastic so far. Perhaps we will see some Bobby Portis on the next one. Time to test if he can shake up things on this team (not that they need a change just play him since he's not the benchwarmer type like Bairstow or Murphy)...

Defense was good until the OT when Detroit ran pick and roll to death! Even with Butler on Jackson it didn't matter since Pau is in no mans land and Drummond is eating him up on the boards

The Bulls last possession in OT was stupid indeed!

To me, Kentavious is so over the top as a name, I can't help but enjoy it. Combine it with a double-barrel surname like Caldwell-Pope, and it's fantastic. But that's just my weirdness, I'll definitely grant you that.

Shame they couldn't keep the wins coming to start the season. Then again, these days any game that doesn't end with someone getting badly injured is practically a win, regardless of the final score.

The Bulls last possession in OT was stupid indeed!

Oh just to be clear, I'm talking about the last possession in the regulation

Combine it with a double-barrel surname like Caldwell-Pope, and it's fantastic

And also that... It's like one of those of a married WNBA player...

A couple of mistakes away from a bad loss there, but chalk up another win. Butler bailed out Rose on that pass.

Killer instinct is still an issue but they're playing great defense for the past 2 games and they had fewer turnovers (though those passes on tight spaces are irritating). Rose doesn't score much but he got 8 assists so it's not that bad of a game for him afterall... Glad Pau don't have the Vucecic flu tonight...

Rose's shot selection and aggressiveness is also encouraging. I expect the double-vision is still mostly to blame for his shooting percentages, and I like that he's not settling for threes. He's yet to hit one in the first four games, but he's only taken five during that stretch, and they've either been decent looks or to beat the shot clock. Hopefully, some of those floaters and whatnot will start falling more often once he (almost literally) gets his eye back.

Yeh and what I've noticed lately, he's posting up smaller guards instead of over shooting or out dribbling them. Though it seems he's not yet polished with it, it's nice to see him try new things to be more effective and productive...

Combine it with a double-barrel surname like Caldwell-Pope, and it's fantastic

And also that... It's like one of those of a married WNBA player...

LMAO

An interesting revelation for Rose. When he's got both eyes working, look out

Noah turned in his best game of the young season(Y)

Yeh and what I've noticed lately, he's posting up smaller guards instead of over shooting or out dribbling them. Though it seems he's not yet polished with it, it's nice to see him try new things to be more effective and productive...

Agreed. I was hoping we'd start seeing some diversity in his offensive game, the development of some reliable moves. This could be the start of that.

So, that was a terrible loss. Next up are the Thunder, so it's not going to get any easier.

So did I say already I hate games against Charlotte

Not much going to the basket in this one

Fatty windhurst believes an inevitable split with Rose and the Bulls has begun. As if a matchup against the Thunder was not enough to talk about
http://espn.go.com/espn/now?nowId=1-14054146

I mean, maybe, but he's also had positive things to say about Hoiberg, Butler, and the team in general. As I've said before, trading Rose is easier said than done, so if he's leaving it's probably in 2017 when he's a free agent. If there's an inevitable split coming, there's your timeframe.

Rose is on a slump and coincidentally they got ran over on their last game (which fortunately I didn't saw) so they should make a story about it... I wonder what they will say now after the Thunder game...

Hats off to Jimmy Buckets for covering both Westbrook and Durant when it matters since his teammates can't catch-up with them... If Hoiberg plans to start McBuckets again next time, bring Taj or Noah with him... Pau is just standing on defense and I don't know if he's oblivious or just ignoring mismatches that's setup for him (several times he got switched with Westbrook on him and he's not even calling for the ball until that final possession)... The spacing is not the usual on this game but the defense made up for it.

Agreed. I'm not a big fan of Reggie Miller's commentary in general, but he did have a good point during the Thunder game about Rose being an easy target for speculation and negativity. He's admittedly brought it upon himself, and all noteworthy players in the league are constantly under the microscope, but he's a fashionable target.

After that 1/9 start from the field, it was great to see Rose start making some layups and then knocking down a few jumpers, especially those big shots in the fourth quarter. It's more shot attempts and less efficiency than you'd like to see on a consistent basis, but there were elements of a "vintage" Rose performance there. Fine game from Butler as well, at both ends.

Gasol looked off with his shots at the rim, and his tip attempts. You could tell that he was getting frustrated with himself for missing some of those easy ones. Liked his enthusiasm on that up-and-under dunk attempt, but...yeah, that's probably not his move at this point in his career.

i thought it was going to be another 130+ for a bulls opponent. the thunder offense opened up strong. KD and westbrook scoring within the offensive flow... kicking it out to Ibaka for open jumpers

kudos to the Mayor for going with Noah for big minutes. Also Moore was very active out there.

waiting for spanish team Pau to show up. he got pissed early on but the aggressiveness did not carry over as previously mentioned'

maybe fatty Windhurst should continue to speculate on Rose's eventual breakup with the Bulls. I suppose every analyst will be giving their 2 cents on Rose on their first time calling a bulls game. i'm hoping eventually it will more of the "he's back!" variety instead of the "honest' comments.

this was a "big" win for them. they really got pounded in the previous game. no effort on defense. it was quite an embarrassment

Caught the last six minutes of regulation and overtime. A waste of my monthly download limit.

I was hoping earlier that they lose and gladly they did... I mean this should be bbq chicken and could've been an easy win for them if they put their heads in it instead they played half-arsed for 3 quarters (their shot selections are stroke inducing especially Brooks')... Contrary to my earlier rants, Pau played the most persevered on this one... He should be the man to look for on offense with Rose or Butler being the distractions in the driving lanes since them doing ISOs doesn't work most of the time...