Ready for Some NBA?

Well, the Bulls just finished off the Pacers to go 2-0 in the ultra-shortened pre-season setup by David Stern...the games start for real on Christmas and the Bulls are on the docket of highlighted games on the NBA's opening day. So the question is, are they ready? I know I am...

Ya, BIG fan of Rip so far...Boozer looked WAY, WAY better tonight than he did on Fri so that's a HUGE key too. Rip is certainly going to help a LOT in my opinion...he just seems to make his teammates better and isn't that what this team is all about...TEAM? But to me, Boozer is still the biggest key to the Bulls taking this all important next step. As well as he played tonight, I still would have liked to see Boozer more on the block instead of taking that fadeaway J...much easier for the J to be "off" while scoring from the block would be more consistent...his J was definitely falling tonight and he went to the hole several times in finishing 11-for-17 from the field significantly helping the Bulls shoot over 50% tonight.

After Korver looked pretty good on Fri, he couldn't buy a bucket tonight (0-3)...he's still a threat so the D has to account for him so even when he's not hitting, he's still at least partially doing his job.

Deng was...well...Deng with 15 points and 7 boards with ZERO turnovers...I'm sure Danny "The Chucker" Granger isn't going to miss Luol's D draped all over him as he shot 4-for-11 after going 5-for-17 on Fri night.

Joakim wasn't a dual threat tonight but he certainly had a very positive effect on the game tonight with his 5 blocks...unfortunately his blocks also matched his point total...he had 8 boards (all defensive) and 3 assists too...I'd just like to see him be a little more aggressive on offense...hitting that tornado jumper every once in a while would be helpful too.

Derrick was in a whole different situation tonight...was it just the presence of Rip on the floor with him or was it something else? He took just 9 shots to account for a pretty efficient 12 points with 9 assists in just 28 minutes on the floor...and maybe even more key...only ONE turnover! Was that "something else" possibly the rumor of him signing an ENORMOUS contract extension...said to be 5 years for $95 million starting next year...that means 6 more seasons with his hometown team...our Bulls! That's pretty exciting news, wouldn't you say? He's obviously a VERY humble guy...especially considering he's the youngest NBA MVP ever. He'll be fine...not at all worried about Derrick.

Boy Derrick and Rip missing back-to-back layups that would have seemingly put the Pacers on the ropes...instead both missed and the Pacers went on like a 6-0 run keeping them in the game in the 3rd quarter...when the opponent is on the ropes, you MUST put them away...I'll chalk it up to getting to know each other still, but they need to finish. Also not happy with Hansbrough dominating that way either although he was much quieter in the second half.

One of my concerns is with Thibs and the way he works the bench...why didn't we see more than a few seconds of Jimmy Butler tonight when he looked awfully good on Fri against this same Pacers team? Heck, even the White Mamba played as much as Butler. Omer had a nice game with 4 points including a nice dunk in traffic and 6 boards (2 offensive) in just 11 minutes...again, I'd like to see the bench get more time...how about some time with he and Joakim on the floor at the same time? Especially with Boozer and Taj in foul trouble like they were tonight.

Still...I'll take the W and 2-0 against a tough, up and coming Pacers squad.

Games start for real on Christmas...Ho Ho Ho GO BULLS!

Dwight Howard to Bulls???

If you have a chance to grab the best player at ANY position to pair up with your superstar, don't you just HAVE to do it? Howard turns 26 on Thu...pair him with 23-year old defending MVP Derrick Rose without giving up your entire roster and THAT is something. I'd throw Noah, Taj and Luol plus the Charlotte pick along with a Bulls top pick at Orlando for Howard and whoever else makes the salaries line up including Turkoglu if that's what it takes. That's WAY better than any of the other proposed deals I've read. Noah is a near All-Star (would have made it last year if he didn't get hurt) and is easily the best player I've heard in any rumors...Taj is a defensive animal and awfully good shot blocker whose offense is coming around...it's tough to trade Luol after the great 2-way year he had on both offense and defense...definitely an underrated player in this league.

But Bynum? Come on...dude plays like 50 games a year and is such a head case, he's suspended for the first 5 games this year due to his horrendous conduct in the playoffs last year. Gasol? Hasn't he already proven he can't be the best player and actually win plus he's 31! Lamar Odom? Dude doesn't even start for his own team and he just turned 32...how is Orlando supposed to rebuild around him? And Brook Lopez from the Nets plus a couple picks? 6 rebounds per game for Brook...isn't he a 7-footer? Sounds more like Brooke Shields...

The Bulls would be AWESOME with Howard, Rose, Boozer (doubt Orlando would take two big contracts so they'd pick Deng over Boozer...less money, younger player, fewer years), Caron Butler (now you could use a 3), and Brewer/Korver...plus you still have some guys on the bench like Omer, rookie Jimmy Butler and hopefully veteran and solid overall player Kurt Thomas.

The problem with a deal like this is GarPax is too much like ex-Cub GM Jim Hendry...too in love with their own players...so they won't pull the trigger on this under the excuse that they had the best record in the East already and just need a better 2. The problem with that theory is the only good 2-way players are going to make more $$$ than you can give them under the CBA...I'd love 26-year old Arron Afflalo (yep, that's how he spells it) as he'd fit right into Thibs' defensive philosophy plus his offensive game is coming around with more playing time, but with half of his team's players literally stuck in China, I have to think Denver will do whatever they can to keep him. The next guy on my list at 2-guard is Jason Richardson, but he'll be 31 next month and he didn't play too well for Orlando at the end of last year. After that, I think my favorite name is Shane Battier...unfortunately, he's not a 2-guard and is better suited to play the 3.

I guess worst case is what happens if Howard goes somewhere that hurts like NY or Boston or stays in Orlando and gets paired up with CP3? That would be bad, right?