Chicago Bulls 2004/2005 (Road to the 2005 Playoffs)

I don't know if there's still a roster patch for that season available, at least for NBA Live 2005.

its alright i can just do it myself from the game

Hey Andrew, can I ask how do you play Deng on your team?

I'm playing the Heat and traded Dooling and Wright for Deng and I having trouble scoring with him. Im using him at 3. I don't think he can shot the ball well.

Any suggestions?

I find he's pretty consistent shooting from mid range. An effective play is to draw a double team by posting up or force the defense to collapse on a player slashing to the bucket, then kicking it out to Deng for the jumper. He's also pretty good at slashing to the basket himself.

Yup, that's what I'm doing. Posting up with Shaq or Wade slashing to the basket and kicking out to Deng, he's always on about 20-ft from the basket. If it is the start of the quarter, he'll probably sink it, but if he's fatigue is about 80% full, then it will not fall.

I don't know, maybe coz my slider rating is 40 on medium range?

Thanks for the input.

Could be, since that raises the difficulty of mid-range jumpers.

man, I think I made a wrong move with Deng, should've gotten Kukoc instead.

I use to play Deng when I'm using my Bulls dynasty, but I used him at 2 spots.

nway thanks! I think I'll trade him for Kukoc or Van Horn. I need tall players who can shot above 20ft.

man, I think I made a wrong move with Deng, should've gotten Kukoc instead.

I use to play Deng when I'm using my Bulls dynasty, but I used him at 2 spots.

nway thanks! I think I'll trade him for Kukoc or Van Horn. I need tall players who can shot above 20ft.

i would stick with deng hes only a rookie and has alot of upside if you train him enough he will be good. kukoc is old and van horn is slow and expensive.

yeah I know he's only a rookie, but I wanted to win a championship on my first year. I wanted Shaq to win allot of rings before he retires. 'sides I got Wade and can able to trade draft picks if the rookies are good.

may be im expecting too much from Deng...and also Im scouting a good rookie on my dynasty. 6-9, 18yrsold, good potential and having a C+ on FG. good enough I think. + maybe he'll get taller in a couple of years.

December 8th, 2004
Chicago 107, Cleveland 89
[ Boxscore ]

CHICAGO -- Kirk Hinrich may not have played the entire fourth quarter against the Cavaliers, but he made his presence felt throughout the first three. The second year guard was at his finest during the second and third quarters, shooting 9/11 during the middle stanzas propelling the Bulls to a double digit lead by the fourth period.

The Bulls also got a surprising performance from Jannero Pargo, who scored 11 points including three three-pointers in just 15 minutes of court time. Pargo, who has seen little court time this season, scored 9 of his 11 during a first quarter surge that gave the Bulls a 30-21 edge and set the stage for their blowout victory.

Sophomore sensation LeBron James was spectacular with 26 points, but was hampered early by two quick fouls and registered only one assist in 30 minutes. Drew Gooden outplayed Chicago's starting frontcourt with 16 points and 10 rebounds but the Cavaliers never recovered from the early deficit.

With the victory, Chicago's record now stands at 11-5. They are undefeated in the month of December.

(And back to first person perspective, based on the latest PDA message from the Team Owner)

Meeting with Jerry #2

Another meeting with Jerry Reinsdorf, much more cordial than the last. He expressed great satisfaction with the team and indicated that he was very happy with the direction we're going. He complimented me on the recent success, but we both know there's still a long way to go.

nice writting

December 10th, 2004
Philadelphia 112, Chicago 107 OT
[ Boxscore ]

This one was a really frustrating loss, not so much for the collapse in overtime (really, it was a couple of lucky shots from AI that put us away) but how the game was sent to an extra period in the first place.

The game was close throughout and I was concerned of a late collapse, especially when the lead changed hands a couple of times in the last couple of minutes. In fact, I thought the game was lost with about 30 seconds left and the score 93-90 in favour of Philly. Fortunately, Gordon made a driving layup and Curry converted on a three point play to give us a 95-93 edge with 4.7 seconds left.

And that's when it happened.

With no timeouts left, Philadelphia was forced to rush the ball up court and take a hurried shot. Iverson stopped before mid court and put up a Hail Mary that hit the backboard about a foot wide (or what would be a foot wide in real life, anyway) after the buzzer. Everyone started to leave the floor, except Kenny Thomas who tipped in the shot a long time after the buzzer...or so it seemed.

To my utter disbelief, the shot was declared good (not even the basket review cutscene!) and the score stood at 95 apiece. Overtime. Look back through some of my earlier recaps, and you'll know that so far we've had trouble with overtime games. This one was no different, and we lost it thanks to AI hitting a couple of lucky baskets. (It's only a game, but rest assured I told the PC what I thought of it at the final buzzer).

The controversy aside, it wasn't a bad game. Hinrich has been playing extremely well the last couple of games, especially when it comes to his jumper. He's shooting over 60% in the last couple of games, and was 10/17 tonight (4/8 from downtown). He's just under 40% for the season now - it's a relief to see him finally develop a good rhythm on offense.

Gordon had a tough night, but Curry and Chandler had big games. As we usually do late in a close game, we fed both of them in the post for easy buckets.

AI simply killed us with his 38 points. We didn't do too bad a job defending him early in the game but he started picking apart our defense and abusing Hinrich and Gordon with his footspeed. Too often we let him penetrate, and didn't get physical enough for him to blow the finish. The two Cs blocked him a few times, but more often than not he finished. Dalembert got injured in a collision with AD, forcing the Sixers to use Marc Jackson most of the way as well as Brian Skinner.

Our record is now 11-6, hardly terrible but it really should be 12-5. We're certainly not going to forget this come the rematch in January.

December 11th, 2004
Minnesota 96, Chicago 87
[ Boxscore ]

CHICAGO -- One night after a controversial loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Chicago Bulls came up short against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that received a 25 point, 12 rebound performance from reigning league Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett.

Ben Gordon scored most of his 25 points in a fourth quarter run that fizzled as Chicago's perimeter defense sagged, allowing Sam Cassell and Wally Szczerbiak to extend the Timberwolves lead to seven. The Bulls also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 7/13 for the game while Minnesota connected on 12 of the 16 foul shots they attempted.

The Bulls' record now stands at 11-7, and 5-2 for the month of December.

sounds like 2 tough losses, Andrew, but was it some kinda glitch in that Philly game or did he actually tip it in in time?

anyhow, keep it up.

The real life Bulls going so well and so I seem to be.. But are 2nd in the league behind Minnesota. 27-13 but lost 2 recently after a 7 game streak.
Hinrich has now had 2 triple doubles, had 14 rebounds the other day.. Chandler just seems to be dominant and Curry less so. Chandler averaging 17ppg, 11rpg, Curry 10 & 10. Deng needs work to get his scoring up above 10ppg. AD has had some great games off the bench. I love 2005.. Not every game is the same.. Some games are just sheer tough especially when the Pistons beat me the other day. .Sheed just went off for 38 points..
I love reading your dynasty Andrew.. How did Keon Clark come about your team.. U sign him as a FA..

It's only a game, but rest assured I told the PC what I thought of it at the final buzzer

A++. this dynasty rocks. i especially like how you use effective recaps, so there is no need for a million pictures. (56ker right here).

keep up the good work

sounds like 2 tough losses, Andrew, but was it some kinda glitch in that Philly game or did he actually tip it in in time?

I guess it's possible he tipped it in in time, but the buzzer did sound (and the time expired lights around the backboard lit up) before Iverson's shot actually missed, I lost control of my players since none of them had the ball and they began walking off the court before Thomas actually tipped it in...so it's either a glitch or another case of the CPU being able to circumvent the rules to make the game more challenging (such as being able to double dribble, while the user will get called for it).

Call me a sore loser, but I'm sticking with the glitch story.

I love reading your dynasty Andrew.. How did Keon Clark come about your team.. U sign him as a FA..

Thanks trsba. I signed Keon Clark before the season began.

Thanks for the kind words also, zeppelin, glad you enjoy reading the recaps.

Jerry Krause has alot to do? Does this mean a trade?

jerry krause is not with the bulls anymore john paxson is the gm.

Yes, I believe it's the glitch. I read of somebody else experiencing the tip-in bug in General Issues, I think.

That could have been me again, I posted that part of the story in the "Best/Worst" game thread.

Finally played another game in my Dynasty. I've really fallen behind, I haven't played NBA Live 2005 for nearly a month. But I had some time this evening, so I thought it was as good a time as any to pick up where I left off.

December 13th, 2004
Chicago 102, Dallas 87
[ Boxscore ]

Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley combined for 42 points, but it wasn't enough to stop the Bulls, who snapped a two game losing streak that included a controversial loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Rookie Ben Gordon once again provided most of the firepower, scoring 16 first half points and 28 in the game as the Bulls defeated their Western Conference opponents 102-87.

The Bulls also got help from Kirk Hinrich, who found his teammates for buckets eight times while scoring 18 points of his own on 6/10 shooting. Eddy Curry and Luol Deng also scored in double figures for Chicago, now 6-2 in the month of December. Eric Piatkowski, who has seen limited minutes so far this season, once again came off the bench to do damage from downtown, hitting three three-pointers including two late in the third quarter to extend the Bulls' lead.

For most of the game, the Bulls and Mavericks remained close with lead changes taking place throughout the first three quarters. Nowitzki, along with Erick Dampier, met with little resistance in the low post but the Mavericks' backcourt struggled from the field. Devin Harris and Michael Finley were a combined 9/33 from the field, while Dallas shot just 1/13 from three point range.

Chicago currently sits atop the Central Division, with the second best record in the East and the fourth best in the league. Dallas fell to 10-13 with the loss, and are currently 12th in the West.

Back to the old winning ways. Any players on the bulls trading block?

I'm happy with my starters for the moment, but I was considering moving some of my bench players. The problem is, I don't really have a lot to work with, even in terms of trading for other reserves. I'm not really interested in acquiring a superstar at the moment as Gordon appears to be emerging, but I was thinking of getting a little more size in the form of a young swingman off the bench. As good as Hinrich and Gordon have been, they form a pretty small backcourt and Pike, while good for a few baskets in limited minutes, isn't the best solution.

Adrian Griffin has been on the IR all season. I might bring him into the fold. I could probably afford to send either Harrington or Pargo to the IR. I might also give Frank Williams a run to see how he fits in the system.

Hey Andrew, are you going to update your season with the trades in the real NBA?

Webber + Barnes + Bradley to 76ers
Thomas + Williamson + Skinner to Kings
Welsch to Cavs

...and any other deals that come up???

this dynasty is awesome, great job as always Andrew only u can pull off a dynasty without any pics or w/e and still make it great, i really like Ben Gordon specially after what he did to my HEAT on the 23rd, its really interesting JORDAN/GORDON, has a familiar ring to it, well good luck and hopefully u can get some trade done to improve ur bench, i agree ben and kirk make a small backcourt