Bulls open 2004 with a victory

[Andrew]

Chicago 104, New York 99

Boxscore
Recap

Nice stat lines from the backcourt. Crawford had 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while Hinrich added 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Curry had another solid performance off the bench with 14 points and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes.

New York was without Allan Houston and Frank Williams, but a victory is a victory. Besides, the Bulls are missing Chandler and Pippen.

For the Knicks, Mutombo had 15 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks. Kurt Thomas was solid (16 points, 10 boards), Keith Van Horn led all Knicks with 25 points, and McDyess had only 1 point and 1 rebound to go with a couple of assists in 16 minutes of play.

I'm assuming Limp or someone else actually got to see the game, so I'll leave further analysis and comments up to them.

[Stevan]

This victory might have something to do (I'm really hoping it does) with the recent team meeting, coach Skiles insitence they rid themselves of the losing culture and begin to work harder. For those who don't know he has been hard on Curry and Fizer lately for not playing hard enough, and on Crawford for his shot selection. Hopefully the team meeting and Skiles' seriousness about wanting to change things is what helped with this win. But um, yeah it was the Knicks.

Go Bulls!

[Vins15]

not bad of a win for Bulls...perhaps this will spark the Bulls to a playoff spot?

[Andrew]

Today's win pushes them ahead of the Cavaliers, who fall to 10-23 after losing to New Jersey. That makes Chicago 11th in the East, 12.5 games behind Philadelphia for the 8th spot. I don't think it's mathematically impossible for them to make the playoffs (yet), but I think they might have dug themselves too deep a hole with the shaky start to the season.

I'll go out on a limb and predict they'll better last year's 30-52 record though.

[DipSetVC]

Great win for the Bulls, as long as they beat the stupid Knicks, I'm happy.

[air gordon]

This victory might have something to do (I'm really hoping it does) with the recent team meeting, coach Skiles insitence they rid themselves of the losing culture and begin to work harder.

i hope so too. it's a good sign to see the players respond. seems like the players respect/believe in skiles much more then they ever did in bill cartwright

For those who don't know he has been hard on Curry and Fizer lately for not playing hard enough, and on Crawford for his shot selection.

hearing curry say that he thinks he's been putting enough work in to be the best player he can be is alarming. i don't think curry has yet come into season in shape in his 3yr career... fizer just needs to calm down when he's on the floor.. crawford's in a no win situation. the bulls had to live and die by crawford's streaky shooting while curry was out. hard to find a good shot in the offense when the defense knows you have no inside game.

as far as the game went...

it was a wrestling match. both teams went on runs, took turns taking the lead. good signs:
*the bulls not give up and see curry, fizer, and crawford (the 3 receiving the most criticism in that meeting) come up big down the stretch.
*i couldn't believe my eyes when curry took a charge on van horn in the closing minutes of the game. but of course, the road team seldom gets a call so they just did a jump ball...
*curry still attack the basket despite mutumbo blocking him numerous times
*the team execute plays after timeouts.

davis did leave the game early with a 'tweaked' knee... even if the knicks were shorthanded, a win's a win. the bulls have had enough moral victories, it's time to pile up real ones now that curry is back. i'm not going to get into this playoff talk until the team can get string more then a 2 game winning streak together.

the bulls have played boston tough in the latest wins, a 2 game winning streak may be on tap

crawford breaking ankles tour:
chalk up another one as JC broke anderson's with a wicked crossover on the fast break in the 1st half, leading to an easy layup. even the msg crowd "woo'ed" on the move

always a pleasure to see the bulls defeat nyk at the msg, even if the rivalry is dead

go bulls!

[scubilete]

, I couldn't believe the Bulls didn't manage to win by 20 against a team playing without their best player, but a win is a win, lol.

[air gordon]

, i couldn't believe a scrub like antonio davis got 14pts, 10rebs, 4asts against a team with good defenders in the post, lol.

, the knicks lost at home to a team that only won 3 times on the road last year. who cares if the overpaid houston wasn't playing. pippen, chandler, linton johnson, chris jeffries, and jay williams didn't even play in the game. what an embarrassment, lol.

it was a good day- the bulls won and it was at the knicks expense

[Matthew]

lol limp, the bulls have been playing well as of late, but they have to play better at home. Currently they are better on the road than at the united center... If MJ only came back and guided them in the right direction

[scubilete]

i couldn't believe a scrub like antonio davis got 14pts, 10rebs, 4asts against a team with good defenders in the post, lol.

Yeah, I can't remember the last time Mutombo blocked 6 shots against any team but he did last friday.

the knicks lost at home to a team that only won 3 times on the road last year.

That's great, lol. But yet, the Bulls still have worse record

lol, the Bulls lost a night later. The Bulls are making the playoffs anyway.

[air gordon]

Yeah, I can't remember the last time Mutombo blocked 6 shots against any team but he did last friday.

mutumbo could have set the record for blocks in one game, his performance is irrelevant, they still lost. davis on the other hand, who's very bad, played a big part in the victory

That's great, lol. But yet, the Bulls still have worse record

even more grounds for the the knicks to be embarrassed for losing that game

That's great, lol. But yet, the Bulls still have worse record

lol, the Bulls lost a night later. The Bulls are making the playoffs anyway.

correct. knicks have and may finish with the better record. but so what? it will be yet another year of irrelevancy. go figure- the knicks at best have been at best a 1st place loser since the 90's. and when #23 wasn't in the way, they still choked. in fact the knicks should have the mj statue in front of MSG. if he didn't retire after the first and second 3peat, nyk doesn't even get a taste of the finals and a first hand look at the rockets and spurs becoming nba champions. if nyk makes the playoffs this year, it will be another early exit. they'll just be playing themselves out of a good draft position (not too worry, there should be an undersized PF available when it's their turn to pick). the franchise is going nowhere with that payroll and roster. what an embarrassment- the team with the highest payroll in the league is a borderline playoff team in the junior varsity conference

talk all your shit about the bulls being bad for 5 years now, but at least they dominated the league before the rebuilidng plan went into affect, winning 6 championships. also- the bulls have a better payroll situation, have a plan, and a better future altogether. none of which nyk has

but hey, at least mutumbo had 6 blocks last nite

[scubilete]

correct. knicks have and may finish with the better record. but so what?

Bold predictions and why?
The bulls making the playoffs as a 5th seed

1. Orlando (8-26)
2. Wizards (9-21)
3. Atlanta (10-25)
4. Cleveland (10-23)
5. Chicago (10-23)

[Colin]

correct. knicks have and may finish with the better record. but so what?

Bold predictions and why?
The bulls making the playoffs as a 5th seed

1. Orlando (8-26)
2. Wizards (9-21)
3. Atlanta (10-25)
4. Cleveland (10-23)
5. Chicago (10-23)

Hahaha,

[Drex]

That was lame, IMO.

[air gordon]

correct. knicks have and may finish with the better record. but so what?

Bold predictions and why?
The bulls making the playoffs as a 5th seed

1. Orlando (8-26)
2. Wizards (9-21)
3. Atlanta (10-25)
4. Cleveland (10-23)
5. Chicago (10-23)

hey at least my prediction so far is holding up
i'll give you credit for looking that one up

That was lame, IMO.

yeh. guess it was the best he could come with up in repsonse to:

correct. knicks have and may finish with the better record. but so what? it will be yet another year of irrelevancy. go figure- the knicks at best have been at best a 1st place loser since the 90's. and when #23 wasn't in the way, they still choked. in fact the knicks should have the mj statue in front of MSG. if he didn't retire after the first and second 3peat, nyk doesn't even get a taste of the finals and a first hand look at the rockets and spurs becoming nba champions. if nyk makes the playoffs this year, it will be another early exit. they'll just be playing themselves out of a good draft position (not too worry, there should be an undersized PF available when it's their turn to pick). the franchise is going nowhere with that payroll and roster. what an embarrassment- the team with the highest payroll in the league is a borderline playoff team in the junior varsity conference

talk all your shit about the bulls being bad for 5 years now, but at least they dominated the league before the rebuilidng plan went into affect, winning 6 championships. also- the bulls have a better payroll situation, have a plan, and a better future altogether. none of which nyk has

but hey, at least mutumbo had 6 blocks last nite

mutumbo had 10 blocks in another loss

[scubilete]

yeh. guess it was the best he could come with up in repsonse to:

lol. I don't even remember when was the last time the Bulls were in a playoff series, seems to me like ages ago when the Heat were competing, Tim Hardaway was playing, Malone was MVP, Kemp was an all-star, Grant Hill was playing a full season, nba went thru a lockout, lol. If you want to mention the Bulls won some championships back when Dinosaurs were playing,

[air gordon]

yeh. guess it was the best he could come with up in repsonse to:

lol. I don't even remember when was the last time the Bulls were in a playoff series, seems to me like ages ago when the Heat were competing, Tim Hardaway was playing, Malone was MVP, Kemp was an all-star, Grant Hill was playing a full season, nba went thru a lockout, lol. If you want to mention the Bulls won some championships back when Dinosaurs were playing,

maybe that's halfway decent if you said that the first time around...it may seem ages ago to you since the bulls were in the playoffs winning their championships, but i'm sure the memory of being knocked out by the bulls so many times in the playoffs will never be forgotten in the minds of players like patrick ewing, oakley, charles smith, starks, etc and a lot their fans.

you want to talk about ancient history: 1973- the last time the knicks won the nba championship

[scubilete]

you want to talk about ancient history: 1973- the last time the knicks won the nba championship

No, that's the case, I don't find any relation to mention teams that won championships if those are not the same teams playing today.

but i'm sure the memory of being knocked out by the bulls so many times in the playoffs will never be forgotten in the minds of players like patrick ewing, oakley, charles smith, starks, etc and a lot their fans.

I would ask you if that's what's happening to you?, That's like mentioning how many times Thomas, Dumars & the Bad Boys smacked down Jordan & his bullies out for good. I mean, maybe you, Jordan & co. keep that in mind but truly I don't think they do.

Sure they remember cause they are not 5 yo, but they don't keep that for so long. Look Jordan played together with Rodman after Rodman took him out so many times, smacked him down, punched him, kicked him, etc. If Jordan had bad memories about those guys, do you think they would have played together?, no.

The Knicks disq. the Bulls as well, I don't think they keep that in mind, that's silly from you to think players have hard feelings, keep bad memories, etc. against the teams that disq. them. Those are professional players, look Ewing working for MJ last season, if he hated him or had bad memories about the Bulls, I don't think he would have accepted the job. We can be fans but being a fan is not a separated class from being a person (human being), people carry on with their life after bad experiences, you remember what happened, but if you keep hard feelings, bad memories, you just get under depression. New York is not a depressed city, I can tell you that, and the city is a reflection of the people who live here. Fans of a bad team, without future?, lol. Whatever, we love the game and there's always a worse team than ours.

[air gordon]

No, that's the case, I don't find any relation to mention teams that won championships if those are not the same teams playing today.

the point is the bulls have been rebuilding after winning 6 championships (if you can remember that 'far' back). the knicks have been rebuilding after...umm... failing to win the championship

I would ask you if that's what's happening to you?, That's like mentioning how many times Thomas, Dumars & the Bad Boys smacked down Jordan & his bullies out for good. I mean, maybe you, Jordan & co. keep that in mind but truly I don't think they do.

terrible comparison...the bulls were able to exercise their demons by defeating the pistons and move on to be nba champions. the knicks could never beat the bulls with MJ in a playoff series. and when the knicks did defeat the bulls w/o mj, they lost in the finals anyway

The Knicks disq. the Bulls as well, I don't think they keep that in mind, that's silly from you to think players have hard feelings, keep bad memories, etc. against the teams that disq. them. Those are professional players, look Ewing working for MJ last season, if he hated him or had bad memories about the Bulls, I don't think he would have accepted the job. We can be fans but being a fan is not a separated class from being a person (human being), people carry on with their life after bad experiences, you remember what happened, but if you keep hard feelings, bad memories, you just get under depression. New York is not a depressed city, I can tell you that, and the city is a reflection of the people who live here. Fans of a bad team, without future?, lol. Whatever, we love the game and there's always a worse team than ours.

you clearly missed the point

this is getting old and tired. trashing the bulls while they're in their rebuilding mode is sad & amatuerish. if you want to continue and act like you got hit in the head with a rock/only remember the nba since 98, go right ahead

[scubilete]

the point is the bulls have been rebuilding after winning 6 championships

rebuilding?, how's that? Brand went somewhere far away, Brad Miller, Artest, all the Bulls players go somewhere else when they get the chance. Who's the one the Bulls are rebuilding around? How long until they finish rebuilding & dismanteling whatever they built? the Bulls have a bunch of young guys who will finish playing for another team, you can keep thinking that's rebuilding.

if you want to continue and act like you got hit in the head with a rock/only remember the nba since 98

I did?, lol. The Knicks went to the Finals as a no. 8th seed, probably that's what happened. Terrific run that brought back all the fans the NBA lost after the lockout. Now something happened yesterday, I don't think you liked a lot, since you think the Knicks have no chance in the future against your Bulls. Just keep rebuilding that!!!

[air gordon]

the bulls beat the suns last in what may have been the hardest game to watch this year. more importantly, hinrich continues to play well and there was an erob spotting- robinson scores 12 points all in the 2nd half. the bulls are looking for wing player who can score, maybe erob's finally ready to step up and claim that role (although i've heard that one before).

i don't know if it was the bus ride that the team had to take down from milwaukee because of the weather or the big trade, but marion looked terrible last nite. without marbs and penny, this suns team is a bunch of players looking to score for themselves. maybe the biggest loser of the trade nyk/suns trade is marion, who's scoring is very dependent on being set up by another player. eisley is decent, but he's more perimeter oriented, and from what i've seen from barbosa, he's more of a scoring point guard. too bad ward's going to be bought out

[Bill Russell]

Day after day I'm more assured you guys have a true love story. Good thread, btw.