Chicago Bulls Thread

[air gordon]

Maybe the martin rumors will pick up once he comes back from injury and the twolve sludge on

I like brewer's skillet but I think it's going to take more than the bull's scraps to get him.

Mcbuckets rookie struggles almost make dunleavy untradeable. Hinrich is almost in the same boat as he is one of the good perimeter defenders on the team

[Andrew]

Tuned in to the second half of the Nets game, seems like it was the half to watch. Offense was in decent shape, defense was quite good indeed. Nice to see Rose come back into the game in the fourth even with a double digit lead. A few weeks ago, he might've sat out/been held out in that situation, but with it being so important that he gets his wind and his rhythm, it was a good call. Good game from Gibson, six blocks and that "angry man dunk". Nasty.

On a not unrelated note, Stacey King is a lot of fun to listen to.

[benji]

Maybe the martin rumors will pick up once he comes back from injury and the twolve sludge on

But that contract (two more years after this one at $7 million)...and you probably have to move both Dunleavy and McDermott to make a deal work cap-wise. Maybe they can send Rose too and get back Budinger and Rubio.

Also (as I've mentioned before) Alonze Gee is stuck on that logjam in Denver

He's also a legitimately terrible player.

[Moz]

Also (as I've mentioned before) Alonze Gee is stuck on that logjam in Denver

He's also a legitimately terrible player.

Less awful than Snell though...

Good comeback in the 2nd half... Thibs testing Nikola at the 3, although it's garbage time, is a pretty sight... I reckon he got the same skillset of a Turkoglu or a Teletovic so why not? All he have to do is improve his lateral movements and be not too aggressive on reach-ins so he can avoid those unnecessary fouls... need to work more on defensive rebounding and those abrupt pull-up treys got to stop for Rose, Hinrich, and Brooks... I mean don't shoot if the rebounders are not yet in place...

On a not unrelated note, Stacey King is a lot of fun to listen to.

Indeed though sometimes he gets over excited and occasionally you can tell that Neil Funk's not too fond of it by changing the subject... that oven joke is good though...

[air gordon]

one of the espn college guys was talking about that turkey glue comparison during the offseason. the ball handling skills haven't been showcased just yet. at this point, i'll be happy with a draymond green type of player. a stretch 4 that can finish at the rim as well.

the blazers destroyed them last time they played. here's hoping for a bounce back game

[Moz]

Though not that aggressive yet (as those floaters suggests), it's good to see Derrick attacks the basket rather than jacking up 3s... also it's good to see that Thibs ran another unusual strategy with that Rose-Brooks combo they played at the 4th... only risky thing about it is (as Lillard demonstrated) there'll be trouble on defense but I reckon given the right front court (maybe with a Noah-Gibson-Butler/Mirotic frontline) it could work on both ends... Mirotic, again, showed that he's worthy of a 6th man playing time...

[Andrew]

Agreed, I'm hoping that the aggressiveness will be there in time. In the meantime, it's encouraging to see him settling for less threes and dipping into the bag of tricks a little more. Good win over one of the elite teams this season.

Also, it's Rose's first 30+ point game in over 1000 days; how time has flown.

[Kevin]

About damn time he played like (or closer to) the MVP that he was.

[air gordon]

Lillard was absolutely lighting them up. Hinrich should not be out there if he's not stopping anyone on defense. And once again he missed a clutch free throw

Indeed a vintage performance for rose. Maybe a sign of good things to come as old school rose used to get up for the games versus top point guards in the league

[Andrew]

He came back down to Earth in the Miami game, but at least it was a decisive victory. Currently in fourth place in the East, despite a 4-5 record at the United Center so far.

[Moz]

He came back down to Earth in the Miami game...

Because he settles on jumpshots again on that game... meanwhile Dunleavy's shooting has been phenomenal this year... he's not like this last year... you can't leave him open nowadays and I reckon his confidence' the factor behind it...

[Kevin]

He actually attempted like 3 or 4 shots with a runner in just one possession and what I did was just .

[air gordon]

They crushed the heat with no Noah, gasol and rose having subpar games, and no bench production. Nice

[Andrew]

Some subpar performances in the loss to the Hawks. Read comments from Rose and Thibs regarding his aggressiveness; they both acknowledge the problem, and say that it's just something he has to keep working on, rust he has to shake off, out there on the court. To that end, I'm glad he's still out there playing 30 plus minutes and finishing games on a regular basis. If he stays healthy, and the effort is there, I'm optimistic that things will pick up. I think we're naturally going to be a bit impatient, with two seasons (arguably three; who knows what they might've done in the 2012 Playoffs) derailed because of injuries, but it's early days in this one, and it could be worse.

[air gordon]

Could be better too

[Andrew]

Oh, for sure. I want to see them get better, I think we all do. But I'm optimistic.

[Moz]

I reckon they would've won that game if Noah's playing... they played good defense it's just that Gasol is too slow for the Hawks' front line... Jimmy Butler to the rescue again as Rose' hesitance to go to the basket is apparent.. One consistent problem for the past games now are the turnovers and I don't like how they're running their pick and rolls at this game(the rollman is running toward the passer instead of going to the opposite direction)...

[air gordon]

they played good defense it's just that Gasol is too slow for the Hawks' front line... Jimmy Butler to the rescue again as Rose' hesitance to go to the basket is apparent

This may be an ongoing issue all year. Gasol isn't an ideal defender for the pf position at this point of his career. Noah's versatility to guard PF's allows the bulls to get away with it on most nights. those opposing teams with an active pf can give them problems. plus factor in Rose is not defending his position well, the bulls defense is no longer a juggernaut we are used to seeing. drinking the Andrew's optimistic Kool-Aid, Gibson's return and Rose getting into nba shape should eventually improve the defense

and what is up with mcbuckets? he certainly didn't hurt his knee playing in a nba game. I shall remain optimistic though. plenty of time to earn thibb's trust once he comes back healthy

[Andrew]

The Cult of Optimism welcomes you. Drink deep, brother!

[Moz]

Very fortunate for the Bulls that they caught the Grizzlies with an off night... Buckets with 2 straight 30 point games I reckon he should've have the ball more (instead of Hinrich and Brooks dribbling endlessly...) since he invites double teams and he's smart with his shot selections... Nikola got the hot sauce tonight and I love seeing him taking advantage of that ZBo matchup on offense...

[Andrew]

I know I'm towing the optimist line at the moment, because frankly after the last couple of seasons I'm over the whole "Well, maybe they can make a proper go of things next year, fingers crossed" train of thought, and would like to enjoy them having a fine year, but I can't shake the feeling they're going to lose Butler. If it's not this offseason via an unmatched offer sheet, then the year after, following a year on the qualifying offer.

Then again, he did seem to indicate that he would prefer to stay. I guess for the moment, I should just enjoy the fact that he's playing well. Rose isn't where he needs to be yet, injuries still seem poised to rear their ugly heads at any moment, but Butler's performance is great to see.

[air gordon]

Road victory against one of the top teams in the league and no rse. I won't nitpick

Anything is possible with butler. His decision to turn down the preseason offer is turning out very well for him. Reinsdorf willbe forced to open up the checkbook

I'll let the cap gurus figure how to fit in butler's fat raise

[Moz]

Jimmy G MaxContractintheOffSeason went Pippen '94 mode on that one and glad that Rose adjusted his game from a perimeter scorer in the first half to a slasher/kicker in the 2nd... same can be said for Thibs with that Noah-Mirotic frontline he put in the 4th giving Rose space to penetrate inside... They're hyping Mirotic for the ROY but I reckon as long as Wiggins is producing, they'll give it to him... also Brooks is fantastic in the 3rd quarter only complain is when they almost blew it in the final minutes ... They're caught by surprise of that Raptors full court trap and Taj almost did a Hinrich on Lowry... I hope Snell will get his break and regain his summer league confidence now that Kirk is injured...

[Andrew]

49-37 in the fourth quarter...the stuff of video games, right there. That 49 points is a new franchise record, too.

[Andrew]

Another good win over a quality opponent. Rose is still improving and still has a ways to go, but I did get a chuckle out of this being posted in reply to a post about the game on the NBA on ESPN's Facebook page: