Andrew's Chicago Bulls Dynasty - November 2006

[Mark.]

Nice recap of the month, your players are doing great in the FG% category and im very impressed with your scoring distribution

[Andrew]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Only 2 months to go and then the finals. Do you think the Bulls are contenders or they could at least 'make some noise' in the play-offs

I think so. I think I've been able to reshuffle the team to compensate for the loss of Gordon and he'll be back before the Playoffs begin, so I believe I can make a good run at the title.

Kemp, Sprewell, Smith and Campbell? You must love the 90s, eh?

You've got a pretty interesting team, its a good mix of young players and old former-all-stars.

Just a little bit. It started with just Kemp but as the season wore on, the others presented themselves as affordable options to strengthen the team. Spree is admittedly expensive but he's only signed to the end of the year.

Nice moves. If Sprewell plays like this all the time then Gordon has to watch his back.

I don't know about that, Gordon's been playing at a high level all season long and with the Outside FSS abilities he's more reliable in a must-score situation. I'm thinking of bringing Spree off the bench when Gordon returns and playing him at both shooting guard and small forward since Deng and Nocioni will continue to start. Steve Smith will get minutes at guard and forward here and there, or when Spree is struggling.

[Matthew]

Andrew, I recieved this email from David Stern:

Dear Beggs,
It has come to my attention that you are considering forfeiting the Knicks draft pick that the Bulls own. I have decided to step in on such a matter, as the Knicks would be likely to fire whoever they select for not winning a championship within that first season, and replace him with Mike James. We do not want this to happen.

Therefore, by order of the league, we are demanding that you keep the draft pick.

David J. Stern

[Andrew]

I can't keep that which I don't have...yet.

[kibaxx7]

Interesting squad, 'Drew... go for the title man!

[Lamrock]

Wow. I loved your '04 dynasty and this is even better! Can't wait for the next update, what is your team's overall rating?

[Andrew]

Thanks Lamrock13, my 2004 Dynasty was one of my favourites too. I think I'm rated around 81 at the moment, though that should come up a bit once Gordon is back in the active roster.

[Andrew]

March 2nd, 2006
Cleveland (100) at Chicago (93)
LeBron scores 29 in road win
[ Boxscore ]

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed why they have the league's best record after dominating the Chicago Bulls 23-8 in the third quarter and withstanding a run in the fourth to leave the United Center with a 100-93 victory. The Cavs held the Bulls to 20% shooting in the third quarter and kept the ball out of reach in the final minute, wasting time and drawing a foul to seal the game from the charity stripe.

LeBron James led the way for Cleveland, scoring 29 points while shooting 60% from the field and collecting 9 rebounds. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also turned in a great performance with 19 points and 16 rebounds while Larry Hughes added 22 points. Luol Deng had 27 points and 5 rebounds for Chicago while Andres Nocioni scored 23 and grabbed 9 boards.

After giving up the lead in the second quarter, Chicago found themselves being pummelled in the third quarter. They remained sluggish until four minutes into the fourth quarter when a dunk by Deng began a run that would cut the lead to eight with just under four minutes remaining. The lead fluctuated between eight and ten points for the next two minutes before Chicago finally cut the lead to four. However, a final surge by Cleveland put the game out reach.

March 3rd, 2006
Chicago (101) at New York (103)
Davis gives Knicks last second win
[ Boxscore ]

Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis played a big part in defeating their former team as the New York Knicks escaped with a 103-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Eddy Curry scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Davis hit the biggest basket of the night, a ten footer to put New York up by two with 1.8 seconds left as the Knicks overcame a nine point fourth quarter deficit. Kirk Hinrich had a chance to win the game but his three point attempt was off-target.

Chicago had led most of the game after taking control late in the first. The lead would not change hands again until halfway through the fourth quarter when the Knicks took advantage of a couple of miscues by the Bulls and pulled ahead 93-92. The Bulls found themselves back on their heels but tied the game at 101 with 14.4 seconds left. After a timeout, the Knicks found Davis down low. Forced off the block by the defense of Shawn Kemp, he retreated towards the foul line and got off a fadeaway that found nothing but net.

After the game, Davis said he didn't hold a grudge against the Bulls but found it satisfying all the same. "I'm just happy we went out there as a team and won the game," he commented. "It felt good to be the one to hit that shot, but I'm not mad at them. I've been around a while now, I know this is a business and (last year) they made a business decision." Curry agreed it was water under the bridge. "I was disappointed with what went down last summer but I ain't (mad)", he told reporters after the game. "We couldn't come to an understanding and they helped me get a fresh start with the trade. I've still got friends on the Bulls."

For the Bulls, it was a disappointing loss. "We've got no one to blame but ourselves, but we're not pointing fingers," Bulls coach Andrew Begley said. "We had that one and we just didn't finish. It was ours for the taking but we just didn't finish them off. They outplayed us in the fourth and we paid for it." Andres Nocioni scored 22 points to lead the Bulls, who are now 33-25 on the season and 3-7 in their last ten games.


In the play of the game, Jamal Crawford nails a three from near half court to beat the shot clock


Deng breaks the ankles of his former teammate

Familiar Faces

The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks have long been linked since their fierce battles through the early 90s. The teams have also traded talent as well as baskets over the years including several players the last two offseasons.


Davis and Sweetney traded places last year


Once thought to be Chicago's frontcourt of the future, Curry and Chandler are now opponents


Crawford joined New York in a sign-and-trade in 2004


Sprewell played five seasons for the Knicks including a Finals appearance in 1999

[Matthew]

Tough loss to the knicks, is it harder to swallow becuase davis hit the game winner?

[Andrew]

For sure, it was a fadeway under pressure too so it was a disappointing finish. It does make a more interesting story though.

[Andrew]

March 5th, 2006
Chicago (90) at Cleveland (106)
Deng scores career high in blowout loss
[ Boxscore ]

Luol Deng may have outdueled LeBron James scoring 37 points to go along with 6 rebounds, but it would be the Cavaliers who would have the last laugh as they soundly defeated the Bulls 106-90, their second victory over the team from the Windy City in the past three days. LeBron top scored for Cleveland with 23 while Zydrunas Ilgauskas almost duplicated his performance from three nights ago with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Drew Gooden added 20 points and 8 rebounds while Larry Hughes scored 19 but shot only 8/24 from the field.

The first quarter was a see-saw battle that ended in a 25-22 lead for Chicago. In the second quarter it would be all Cleveland, who dominated 29-16 to take a ten point lead into the half. The lead would grow to fourteen early in the third but a determined Bulls team came storming back to tie the game at 77 heading in the fourth. Deng scored 14 points in the period and a total of 30 by the end of the third.

However, some costly errors by Chicago at the beginning of the fourth set the tone for the remaining 12 minutes. The Bulls trailed early and could never find their footing, soon finding themselves trailing by double digits. Deng scored 7 points in the quarter but the Bulls were outscored 29-13 to seal their third straight loss.

[funk99]

great writing andrew and good work

[Andrew]

March 7th, 2006
New Jersey (111) at Chicago (106)
Nets' late run hands Bulls fourth straight loss
[ Boxscore ]

Chicago let another one slip through their fingers as they blew a lead late and allowed New Jersey to steal a road victory. In an impressive sequence, the Nets turned a three point deficit into a four point lead beginning with a Jason Kidd three to tie the game at 99. After a Bulls turnover, the Nets found Nenad Krstic under the basket where he was fouled. Krstic made the first and then missed the second, but Cliff Robinson snatched the rebound and made a layup while drawing the foul. He promptly completed the three point play to give the Nets a 103-99 advantage.

On the next play Andres Nocioni was forced to leave the game with a wrist injury. Elden Campbell made two free throws but Richard Jefferson broke loose for a dunk to make it 105-101. The Bulls called a timeout but the play broke down leading to another New Jersey bucket. Kirk Hinrich drove to the hoop out of the Bulls' final timeout but missed a layup, forcing Chicago to foul. The Bulls would come within three at 109-106 on a Hinrich three but Kidd made both free throws to give the Nets the game 111-106.

"We did it again," Bulls' coach Andrew Begley admitted after the game. "It was a great sequence by New Jersey to take the lead back, but we still blew it. We were in control only two minutes earlier. We didn't get the job done, again." Kirk Hinrich would not answer questions about his missed layup, except to say "I had a good look, and I didn't make it. Sometimes you miss the easy ones." Hinrich led all scorers with 28 points but committed four turnovers and shot 12/27 for the game. Jason Kidd topped New Jersey with 26 points and was 2/3 from downtown.

March 8th, 2006
Nocioni expected to sit out against Pistons

CHICAGO, IL -- Andres Nocioni made the trip to Detroit with the rest of the Chicago Bulls last night but he is not expected to play after spraining his wrist in last night's 111-106 loss to the New Jersey Nets. Although he has been cleared to play, Nocioni will likely sit out as a precaution. The Bulls are already without starting guard Ben Gordon, who broke his wrist in a game against the Phoenix Suns on February 4th and likely do not want to take any more chances as the season nears its final stretch.

"Noce is a competitor, tough as nails", said Bulls' trainer Ansel Clayton. "But after what happened to Ben, we all agreed it would be best to play it safe at this point of the season." Nocioni may miss up to five days while his wrist heals, which may also force him out of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tyson Chandler will likely start in place of Nocioni.

The Bulls have received some good news on the injury front however. Ben Gordon's wrist is healing well and he could be back earlier than expected. Chicago will likely be cautious with Gordon upon his returning and won't rush him back until he's completely healed. "We want Ben to be at 100% when he's back on the court," coach Andrew Begley told reporters after the game last night. "We intend on making the Playoffs and making a strong run for the title. We need our team at full strength if we want any hope of doing that, so we're going to be careful about taking any risks."

Begley did not indicate whether Gordon would start upon his return. Latrell Sprewell, signed at the trade deadline, has started in four of the six games he's played in while posting averages of 14.5 ppg, 2 rpg and 2.5 apg. He scored 31 points in a blowout victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on February 25th.

[kibaxx7]

Man tough losses, but Deng had 37 points, that's nice Sweet pics against Knicks.

[Andrew]

Thanks Thierry². I thought I'd do a bit of a side feature seeing as though it was the first time I'd played Curry (he's been out about a month or so) and given there's a few former Bulls and Knicks playing against their old teams. Deng was on fire to begin that Cavs game so I kept on going to him. He cooled off a bit as you can see from the Boxscores but he's been playing much better as of late. He's struggled a bit from downtown on the season but lately he's been knocking them down.

[Srbija]

Very good writing Andrew, just like a professional.

[Andrew]

Thanks Srbija, appreciate the kind words.

[ImDuncanOnYou]

Yeah, I enjoy reading your stuff alot. Very well put together. It's a good read.

Along the lines of kind words, idk why it's nessecary to allow bad language on the forum. It really detracts from the whole experience of it.

[Andrew]

Because in this day and age, it's virtually impossible to moderate against that. In the interest of free speech, profanity is allowed but when it's directed at others in the form of a flame or used to excess then we'll tell people to hold back (and flaming is against the rules regardless of whether it includes profanity or not).

[Matthew]

lol @ the random complaint about profanity.

The Bulls have definatatly encountered some tough times. Are they in a good enough position to definatly get a decent seed, or are only a few games above falling out altogether?

[Mark.]

Nice stuff Andrew, I like that your team is struggling adds a bit more realisim as teams go through rough patches. What is the seed that you are likely to obtain in the playoffs?

Reading the quote under your nickname, and looking at your sig, I take it your quite a Scrubs fan?......

[hova-]

Tough loss vs the Nets, but still one of the top dynasties if you god for realism ... well one of the top dynasties anyway

And now I get it .... "Write this down, Newbie" and "dont call me slabber bag" .... Scrubs rocks, but without Marks hint I had not recognized this are scrubs quotas ... the translation sucks a bit, but still very funny


Good luck !

[Andrew]

The Bulls have definatatly encountered some tough times. Are they in a good enough position to definatly get a decent seed, or are only a few games above falling out altogether?

I certainly hope it's the former. I think it will likely end up as a Houston Rockets in 1995 situation, I reckon I'll be able to rally but I might've missed out on a top four seed.

Nice stuff Andrew, I like that your team is struggling adds a bit more realisim as teams go through rough patches. What is the seed that you are likely to obtain in the playoffs?

Reading the quote under your nickname, and looking at your sig, I take it your quite a Scrubs fan?......

I'm currently the 7th seed in the East, I'm hoping to get back on track and qualify a bit higher. Gordon will be back in about another week or so though, so even if I'm not entering the Playoffs as a high seed I'm still confident. In fact, my record on the road is better than my record at home so perhaps not having homecourt advantage wouldn't be such a bad thing.

And yes, I'm a big Scrubs fan.

Thanks, hova.

[Mark.]

Ah ok, sounds like you'd be best suited to having the 5th seed, no home court advantage, while only having to face the 4th seed.

Ah Scrubs My flatmate and I watch at least 2 episodes each night I beginning to lose count of how many times I see each episode.

[Andrew]

Scrubs is one of those shows that you can watch over and over again. I've got Seasons 1-3 on DVD, I'll probably get Season 4 as soon as it comes out.

March 8th, 2006
Chicago (80) at Detroit (90)
Depleted and weary Bulls lose fifth straight
[ Boxscore ]

Rasheed Wallace shook off an injury in the second quarter to score 26 points, grab 13 rebounds and make a key steal in the fourth quarter as the Detroit Pistons handed their Central Division rivals the Chicago Bulls their fifth straight loss. Ben Wallace also dominated with 17 points and 17 rebounds while Richard Hamilton contributed a solid line of 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Chicago were without forward Andres Nocioni, who sprained his wrist last night against the Nets and sat out as a precaution. Tyson Chandler stepped into the starting lineup and contributed 10 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks but the Bulls as a team struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting 36% on the night and were 6/27 from downtown. Latrell Sprewell led the Bulls with 14 points.

After the teams traded baskets for most of the first quarter, the Pistons pulled away in the latter stages of the period and held a 24-16 advantage at the break. Chicago struggled through the second quarter and found themselves down by 15 at the half. Things went from bad to worse as Detroit would lead by as many as 18 during the third quarter before the Bulls inched closer and trailed by 14 heading into the fourth.

The Pistons remained in control in the fourth but the Bulls came as close as 87-80 with just under a minute and a half remaining. After Luol Deng stole the ball from Rasheed, the Bulls tried to feed Shawn Kemp in the post. Sheed got into the passing lane and swiped the ball leading to a Bulls' foul and two made free throws by Chauncey Billups. Hamilton intercepted a pass after a Chicago timeout and Billups made one of two from the line as the Pistons walked away the winners 90-80.