Chicago Bulls Thread

[Moz]

Beside that premature jumpshot by Gibson, that dumb foul by Snell, and Tristan Thompson, Thibs' substitutions ruined this game for them.... Rose is on the roll earlier in the first quarter and he just abruptly halt that momentum by subbing him out (same can be said for Brooks earlier in the 4th though not as upset to that since Hinrich delivered)... also Butler followed his predecessor by rejecting the extension offer and will be a free agent next off season

[Kevin]

got scared when Rose landed awkwardly.

[Andrew]

Tough loss, but with giving up all those rebounds, all those careless turnovers, and some horrendous shooting in the third quarter, they were kind of lucky that it was that close. Rose will reportedly be travelling to Minnesota, so it doesn't sound like his ankle is too bad. I'm sure it'll spark more talk of him being injury prone, but that was just an unfortunate landing on another player's foot. That can happen to anyone, and it often does.

I have a sinking feeling they're going to lose Butler, though at least his restricted free agent status could buy them a little more time.

[Moz]

Same here... I reckon the management is generous enough with that 11 million multi-year deal they offered.... Can't blame him though with all these overpaid wingmen getting their deals...

[werewolf914]

Well Leonard is testing FA as well (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2251 ... with-spurs) So maybe Butler can be retained when other teams are aiming for the reigning Finals MVP.

[Moz]

Leonard's seeking for a max deal and you already know what happened to Greg Monroe....

[shadowgrin]

Can't blame Jimmy wanting star player money considering the way Thibs overplays him with star player minutes.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/lea ... er_game::7

[NovU]

It seems he's trying to make a transformation into a mass number guy from efficiency oriented player. His PER was under average despite the amount of minutes he's played(because of low usage), but he's being more assertive this year and possessions go through more often now. My guess is that he earned enough trust from Thibs & this year's roster is bit less ball hoggy with no Boozer, Deng, and new look backcourt.

He's in a great position to shine and ask for big contract anyway. Peaking fourth year guy with revised NBA TV contract to come. Perhaps he will keep up doing he did tonight on consistent basis and he'll demand a ridiculous contract at the year end.

Anyway, what a win for the Bulls tonight. No Rose, still a win.

[Andrew]

Timely return for Butler. Doesn't sound like Rose or Gibson's ankle injuries are too severe, but as it's often said, the NBA regular season is a marathon, not a sprint. Not exactly a crucial game for them to miss at this juncture, and they got the W anyway.

[Moz]

They're just lucky when they could've held that big lead at half time... Thank goodness Jimmy's forcing himself to drive inside these days since it seems their having a lot of these "jumpshots" offense again like last year... On a more optimistic note, Jimmy seems confident he'll resign this offseason...

[Andrew]

Good to hear that the inability to come to an agreement hasn't soured him on remaining a Bull, at least for now.

[shadowgrin]

Didn't Nate Robinson say a similar thing then about re-signing with the Bulls? Good thing the Bulls were able to retain him...oh...

[Andrew]

He did, as did D.J Augustin. Of course, both had shorter tenures with the team, smaller roles, and weren't restricted free agents.

[air gordon]

Good point. What's the bulls cap situation?? Can butler be accommodated for the alleged $11 to 12 mil per year contract without putting the team in salary purgatory?

[Andrew]

It'd put their payroll up around the $70 million mark.

[NovU]

Wow. Things are looking up in Chicago I guess. McDermott's a solid contributor even as a rookie. Butler is showing all around tremendous improvement. Gasol isn't really looking his age. Brooks is a nice fit. And still managed to get W even with Rose and Noah sitting out, who are supposedly the best players on the Bulls team.

[Andrew]

Agreed, I liked what I saw from McDermott and Mirotic against the Magic. The third quarter was ugly all around and Butler struggled a bit with his free throws, but they came through in the end. As long as everyone stays healthy, it feels like it could be a really good year.

[atlwarrior]

LeBron must have some inner hatred towards the Bulls. Out of his 3 games we're the only ones he drop 36 on. Then drops 11 pts on Portland?

[erudain]

If you thought the Magic game was bad, remember they can always play worse (as they did last night vs the Bucks).
We've seen this several times the last couple of years, Bulls playing down to their opposition level when playing bad teams instead of crushing them... 20 times they've aknowledged it, 20 times they've said "we have to stop doing it"....and they keep doing it...

[Andrew]

At least they eked out the win in the end, but yeah, they've got to break that habit. There were a few times they looked sharp against the Bucks, and those plays were fun to watch. The rest of it...well, I'm glad they were able to come out on top at the final buzzer.

Looks like Rose's ankles are still bothering him, as he was settling for jumpshots and a few of them were very short. He was doing a pretty good job as a facilitator though, and made a couple of more explosive moves to the basket. Nothing to be too concerned about, just bad luck coming down on Irving's foot in the Cavs game, and then tweaking the other ankle while playing on the first sprain and compensating for it. Could happen to anyone, but it's going to get more attention when you've missed most of the past couple of years with major injuries.

[Moz]

Looks like Rose's ankles are still bothering him, as he was settling for jumpshots and a few of them were very short. He was doing a pretty good job as a facilitator though, and made a couple of more explosive moves to the basket

And it seems he aggravated it when he land on Sander's foot on that steal but he soldiered on so that's no concern though I reckon he'll not suit up for the Sixers game... I'm loving how Jimmy Butler is able to get his offense on the post/attract double teams these days... it's like somewhat Rose being hesitant to attack inside/having a midrange game is a blessing in disguise (though I hate those abrupt 3s he's taking for some time now... need to wait rebounders for those)

[Moz]

Another headscratcher there when they could've maintain that huge 19 point lead in the 3rd... what I don't understand is why they settled "again" for jumpshots if all they need to do is to just drive inside and drew fouls on them foul troubled (and undermanned) Sixers....

[erudain]

Bulls barely beating the "migthy" 76ers, the team that could destroy Russell's Celtics, Magic's Lakers and the 90s Bulls....so barely beating that awesome team must feel great.

Seems like we traded our elite defense for elite offense....that's what got the Clippers and Nuggets all those NBA titles....right?

[air gordon]

As long as they continue to pile up wins during this soft part of the schedule...

Maybe the resident stat guys can verify this- Hinrich may be the worst ft shooter in the clutch.. At least top 10 guard

[Moz]

I hope the Bulls learned from this... Their defense is slow and soft for the past 3 or 4 games now... their opponents are having a field day whenever they run screens on them and their defensive rebounding woes continues... I don't know if they're just tired or Thib's new defensive scheme is not working accordingly/effectively... and as usual they prefer their "jumpshots" offense rather than penalizing the Celtics down low with those mismatches they have... Aaron Brooks is solid though...