Chicago Bulls Thread

[air gordon]

Goodbye Thabo. Off to the Thunder for a first-round pick (one of the five picks that the Thunder have over the next two years). Shame that he was never able to get an opportunity to play and play well for the Bulls.

did you watch any of the games??!!! the guy was starting and/or was getting consistent mintues... especially when Hinrich was injured

farewell, thabo. a first round draft for him?! this may have been Paxson/Forman's best trade this year

TheBigEasy
i'm expecting they make the playoffs and become a sacrifical lamb for Boston or Clev

[Dan's Brain]

I think they're in very good shape to make the playoffs. They're a game and a half behind Milwaukee at present, and with the Bucks' injury woes, the Bulls should be able to leapfrog them in the next couple of weeks. Despite Elton Brand's terrible play this year, I can see the Sixers ultimately missing his input, so the Bulls can also squeeze past them at 7. I can't see Detroit's complete mediocrity continuing for the rest of the year, so 6 might be a bit of a stretch. And Miami probably won't be any worse with O'Neal than with Marion. I think, if he's healthy, then the Heat will be able to make a decent first-round stand against a team like Atlanta.
There may be some initial teething problems in Chicago, incorporating Miller and Salmons, but I dont think that will last long.

Paxson pulled something that I didnt believe he was capable of, getting the team into a better position financially for 2010, while also improving the oncourt product. Hate to say it, but the hat is going off to him on this one.

[Andrew]

Agreed, as I said elsewhere they weren't the blockbuster deals we were hoping for when the Amar'e rumours were swirling but I like the deals well enough. I too am feeling more optimistic about their chances of making a token appearance in the postseason this year and being able to make something happen in the offseason with expiring contracts and whatnot. Certainly the best moves Pax has made in a while.

[puttincomputers]

wow its a good thing the bulls did not trade for amare!!!!

[Andrew]

That's one way of looking at it, but if he'd been traded he wouldn't have played in that game against the Clippers and thus wouldn't have been poked in the eye.

[Andrew]

A familiar story: an impressive victory over a strong opponent followed by a fourth quarter collapse to a lesser team that they really need to beat if they want to make an appearance in the postseason. The saving grace is that the Bucks lost as well which maintains the gap but now the Nets are tied with them and in prime position to overtake them again. That's why I said the Bulls needed to make a push immediately even when there were still around 30 games left in the season as we're closing in on 20 games left and they haven't closed the gap. If it's left too late, if 30 games becomes 20, 20 becomes 10 and 10 becomes 5, if it comes down to the waning moments of the season, my feeling is that they will faulter. But I'd love to be proven wrong.

[Dan's Brain]

Pretty bad implosion against the Nets. I agree that the playoff push needs to come now, but I dont really believe that the Bucks are going to be a threat down the stretch. They're too undermanned.

Sad news: Norm Van Lier, former Bulls All-Star from the 1970s passed away. One of the Bulls better defensive players of all time and a great assist man, too. Also held the record for the longest made field goal for quite a while as well.

RIP Stormin' Norman.

[NovU]

I'm actually quite surprised that the Bucks are still ahead of Chicago, New Jersey and even Knicks for the playoff spot. With some teams struggling to remain in playoff seeds, I think 1 more seed should be within the reach for CHI/NJN. It'd be awesome to see both of them make it although I don't see them getting past the first round.

Rose got schooled by Harris in that last game. I hope to see Rose playing better next time against Harris. Exciting match up to watch.

[Andrew]

True, the Bucks have injuries going against them but they've proven to be scrappy, winning some games they probably shouldn't despite being undermanned. That's why I'd like to see the Bulls make the push and give themselves a bit of a cushion, not to the point where it leads to complacency but if it goes down to the last five games or so I'm not sure about their resolve. Mind you, I haven't looked that far ahead in the schedule either.

Sad news about Van Lier indeed, only 61. RIP.

EDIT: May Johnny "Red" Kerr also rest in peace. A sad day for the Bulls family.

[Andrew]

Another embarrassing one against the Wizards while the Bucks won their game in New Orleans. They face off against the Wizards tomorrow while the Bulls - who've dropped back to tenth - face Houston. Again, it feels like they're leaving it too late even with the amount of games left in the season because no progress is being made.

[NovU]

Bucks lost against NOH. CHI is still only 1 game behind for the 8th spot. Yeah, at this pace, they are likely to fall short. They seem to be losing the games they must win. It's just somewhat lucky that the other teams like NJN/NYK(last 10, 5-5, 3-7) have not been playing good basketball either.

[Andrew]

Sorry, don't know what's been going on with me lately. But even so, they slip back to tenth and while the distance isn't great, no progress is being made. They're not good enough to beat the better teams more often than they do but it's the winnable games - particularly the must-win games as you said - that they're squandering and it's proving costly.

[Robert]

I picked the Bulls to beat the Rockets today! My most risky of the day

[air gordon]

hard to have any kind of a "push" when the coach is standing in the way of victories. del negro won't be with the team after this season and the players know it. they're even openly questioning his tactics in postgame interviews . btw what kind of push you talking about anyway, andrew? the bulls have won 3 times in a row just once this entire season. they've been under .500 all year but they've won 5 out of their last 10. and now the chemistry and playing time is out of whack because del negro insists on force feeding minutes to the new guys & sitting rose in favor of hinrich late in games. what are you expecting from this team with the coach they have?

[Robert]

Yeah Del Negro is Not gonna be there next year wonder who's gonna replace him but they need to get a new coach

[Andrew]

hard to have any kind of a "push" when the coach is standing in the way of victories. del negro won't be with the team after this season and the players know it. they're even openly questioning his tactics in postgame interviews . btw what kind of push you talking about anyway, andrew? the bulls have won 3 times in a row just once this entire season. they've been under .500 all year but they've won 5 out of their last 10. and now the chemistry and playing time is out of whack because del negro insists on force feeding minutes to the new guys & sitting rose in favor of hinrich late in games. what are you expecting from this team with the coach they have?

Stringing together a few wins, winning the must-win contests against teams like the Nets and Wizards, moving into the top eight. I thought that went without saying. As for my expectations, weren't you also saying you thought that they were capable of making the postseason this year? They're certainly not mathematically eliminated yet, they have a shot at it. I'd prefer to see them go down swinging, that's all. I certainly don't disagree about Del Negro but then we've all wondered about that hiring since it happened.

[Lamrock]

This topic just isn't the same without the (a.k.a. Andrew and air gordon talk bulls) bit.

[Andrew]

Others joined in, so it didn't seem fair.

[NovU]

Another 4th quarter collapse by Houston. They need to win these kind of games if they really want to contend. If they meet Jazz in the first round, I'd say their chance of passing first round won't be too good. Anyways, the Bulls won a game but so did the Bucks. This Eastern Conference playoff chase is just too intense. I am loving it.

[Robert]

I picked the Bulls to beat the Rockets today! My most risky of the day

Yes I was right Derrick Rose saved us

[Dan's Brain]

Nice win. Annoying win (ie. why cant it happen against teams like the Wizards), but a nice win, nonetheless.

Shitty bit of news coming through, though:
Luol Deng could be done for the year with a stress fracture in his lower leg. Sure, he's been more down than up the last couple of years, but he could have still made a valuable contribution to a playoff push. This'd be the kind of situation where Nocioni would be at his most valuable.

Bummer.

Thank Science for John Salmons.

Also Tim Thomas left the game in the first half with a quad tendon strain, aka what has kept Carlos Boozer out for most of the year.

Poop.
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... he_season/

[Robert]

Man but we still have a decent squad but we really need to wn the games we're supposed to like I wanna say we play the bobcats our next game we need to win that ( correct me if wrong)

[Andrew]

Deng's had some tough luck with injuries particularly the last couple of years. Here's hoping he can shake that bad fortune.

Nice win indeed, one that makes you shake your head considering a couple of recent losses but a win is a win and it's nice to see them pick up a victory over a superior team too. We can scratch our heads, but we should take it all the same.

[Robert]

Yeah man Deng was a big loss for us idk that much about Tim Thomas's ihjury though

[air gordon]

Andrew
Yes I think they will make the playoffs though that doesn’t negate the fact that they are still a bad/flawed team like the rest of the teams they are contending with for that 8th spot.

You keep on mentioning this push they have to do. That happened weeks heading into all star break- frontcourt consistently producing, rose occasionally taking over games, and Gordon scoring. Even del negro seemed to find a comfort level.

Now with Miller, Salmons, Tim Thomas on board- Del Negro’s out of his comfort level. He has to “coach” more (which is bad) and it’s affecting the team. Tyrus isn’t sure of his touches/minutes anymore so we’re seeing him revert to being out of control/forcing shots on offense. Gordon is seeing fewer touches on offense so he’s forcing. Rose losing 4th quarter minutes to Hinrich (ridiculous!)

Wanting the cliché winning streak/go down fighting is one thing. It actually happening is another thing when del negro is the coach. In the Pacers game- he runs pick and role with Rose going left when he clearly is betting going right. Leaving in Hinrich to guard/get smoked by Ford (who in his career routinely does well against hinrich). Not running plays for Gordon/getting looks for him in the 4th. Or how about that Nets game where del negro refused to trap Devin Harris. I could keep on going on but you’ve seen the games..u already know this about del negro

And now the Rockets game. It was being reported that Paxson met with del negro before the game and told him he’d seen enough of Rose sitting in the 4th. Couple that with tim Thomas & deng getting hurt, del negro was forced to go to a smaller rotation/not fuck up the players rhythm (reminds me of the Nuggets game where they whooped ass with only 7 players) call it a lucky win, whatever. They hit their shots and got stops when they needed to