Well, it has been TOO long for me to post something on here...I've been busy commenting on Bulls.com (d-rose01) and ESPN.com (dabulls2012) with little nuggets here and there, but this whole near disaster (and we're not out of the woods yet Bulls fans) with Derrick just pushed me over the edge and I can't take it any more.
I've had Bulls season tickets since 1999 so I've seem some HORRIFIC basketball...I'm thrilled Thibs is here after replacing Vinny Del Negro following two under-achieving .500 seasons BUT let's not kid ourselves...before last season, this guy had the same amount of NBA head coaching experience as you and I...yet, he comes in here acting like he's got Phil Jackson's 11 rings. Heck, he's only been an assistant coach for ONE championship team...he does NOT know it all. What he's done for this franchise defensively and even offensively (taking Luol out of the corner where Vinny stuck him) has been fabulous and he earned that Coach of the Year award by taking a .500 team to the NBA's best record in a single season...of course, co-Executive of the Year Gar Forman and Team President John Paxson surely helped him out with a roster renewal. I love just about everything he's done for this team and credit him with the Bulls success...
But...if you read the title of this post, you knew that was coming, right? But, I've been complaining about Coach Thibs' questionable use of his bench pretty much from day one...of course, it started with Keith Bogans inexplicably "winning" the starting shooting spot out of training camp over Ronnie Brewer who was brought in to fill that spot...that was OK, because surely Ronnie would eventually win out once he was healthy...NOPE, the Bulls were winning so Thibs was right and we were all wrong...who cares about the obvious...he averaged an absolutely PATHETIC 4.4ppg on 40.4% shooting (and we're talking WIDE OPEN shots as the opponent would literally ignore him) in too many (17.8) minutes per game...and his D was OK, but far from lock-down by any stretch of the imagination. Ronnie Brewer did play more minutes at 22mpg but still...Bogans shouldn't have been playing more than 5mpg on a sporadic basis...instead, he started ALL 82 regular season games and ALL 16 playoff games. I've got no ill will for Keith whatsoever...how can you be mad at a guy that was just doing his job...it wasn't his fault his coach played him when he shouldn't. But had he not been playing that much, might the Bulls have had enough last year to beat Miami? As we all know, the Bulls were a couple of shots away from being up 3-2 in that series instead of down and out 4-1. Who knows what might have happened with the right lineup?
Besides the Bogans/Brewer thing, it was his lack of playing time for Omer last season and then again with Jimmy Butler this year. Omer was able to earn more and more playing time as the season went along...actually it was more Joakim and Carlos Boozer giving it away with their play late in games. Either way, he did get more and more playing time and began to develop (that's what happens when you let a guy actually play Thibs!)...even to the point that GarPax pretty much took Omer off the trade market (well, at least they didn't trade him). So Thibs surely learned to trust rookies after Omer played so well last year, right? NOPE! And that now seems to be Thibs' thing...he doesn't or maybe just refuses to learn... Anyway, Luol goes back in a worthless game against the lowly Bobcats when Thibs feels they're getting a little too close...Lu comes out of the game with a torn ligament in his wrist...did it happen at the end of the game or earlier? We'll never know, but my suspicion is that it happened at the end...you know, when Lu shouldn't have been in the game. So Lu misses the next game completely so Jimmy Butler will surely get some minutes now...NOPE...not a single second! WHY?!? And then in Lu's first game from the wrist injury...take it easy on him right...after missing SEVEN games indirectly proving his value as the Bulls go 4-3 in that stretch without him...NOPE...Lu plays a game high 41 minutes (actually 6 minutes more than anyone else) in a 23-point "squeaker". Does this guy ever look at the scoreboard??? Maybe someone should introduce Thibs to it...
Well, speaking of injuries, let's talk about prized free agent and planned Dwyane Wade stopper Richard "Rip" Hamilton...I know a guy who knows the trainer from the Wizards where Rip was initially drafted...says the guy has had groin issues since day one...did the Bulls know this? Again, we'll never know...BUT they did know he was struggling in camp and yet, he was out there for the Lakers and the next 3 games before sitting for first 2 home games and then coming back TOO QUICKLY and completely unnecessarily against his former team...Detroit Pistons. He then missed the next 8 games before again coming back too quickly...did Thibs ease him back into the lineup? NOPE - after playing just 21 min in that first game, he played 26, 32 (back-to-back), 42 (15-point win), 38, and 36 (gutty performance admittedly on one leg in Miami) before finally being sat down indefinitely. OK, so lesson learned on dealing with recurring injuries, right? NOPE!
So Derrick has this toe injury which has gone back and forth between being turf-toe and a strained ligament...I don't know which is worse or which he really has...doesn't matter to me. What I do know is that when one part of your body is hurting, especially something in the leg or feet, that your body automatically compensates to lessen the pain on the injury. Is that what caused the back problems? I don't know...again, doesn't matter to me...Derrick played through it and looked pretty darn good too. Well, then comes the game in Milwaukee...Derrick tears up Brandon Jennings in a patented "revenge game" (revenge after Jennings went off on Derrick at least for the first quarter with 16 points) in the first quarter scoring 16 of the Bulls first 18 points...then he goes out in the 2nd with "back stiffness"...Bulls scored a season high 67 points in the first half and the game was OVER...yet, rather than sit Derrick as a precaution with the stiff back, he sends him back into the game...Bulls win by 23 and were never threatened. So surely Thibs would sit him for the next game against the lowly NJ Nets, right? NOPE (see a pattern yet?)! Derrick plays 11 minutes of the stiffest basketball I've ever seen...he was fairly effective but that was NOT the Derrick we need to win it all. Sit him for the even lower New Orleans Hornets who are playing without their two best players??? STILL NO! Derrick plays 22 minutes and leaves the game with back stiffness reporting he could hardly walk! So now that Derrick can't even walk (has "the franchise" even had an MRI to this point?), Thibs FINALLY sits the kid against the lowest of the low Charlotte Bobcats... The Bulls won all of these games by 20+ points...first team in NBA history to win 4 straight road games by 20+ points...what kind of trophy do they win for that Thibs? I believe it is the same trophy you get for having the best regular season record Thibs...NOTHING! Now is there any doubt they win EVERY one of those games without Derrick setting foot on the floor...hardly! So now the Bulls finish off the road trip against their second biggest rival...the Boston Celtics...now the Celtics aren't having a great year but you know they've had this date circled on their calendars and so did their former assistant coach...our very own Thibs. Well Derrick still can't walk so we're stuck with CJ and Ronnie Brewer in the starting lineup (remember, Rip is still out)...not bad, but limits the effectiveness of the bench mob especially since Thibs' pet midget is the backup point guard...last the world besides Bulls fans saw John Lucas III, LeBron James was jumping over him for a dunk during a 10-2 Heat run (Bulls lost by 4) during the 3 1/2 minutes Derrick rested with CJ out with his elbow injury.
So for the ONLY game the Bulls actually needed Derrick, he wasn't available...now would he have been able to play had Thibs rested him for those 4 games with the lesser teams on the schedule? Again, we'll never know for sure, but he most definitely would have had a MUCH better chance.
Now is it all Thibs here? No, but he's got to take the responsibility...Derrick is a 23-year old kid playing basketball for a living...he's the most competitive player we've seen in Chicago since Michael...if he can stand, he's going to say he can play...Thibs has to be the parent there telling Derrick NO. And where is the Bulls crack training staff? Why aren't they telling Thibs that Derrick should NOT play? And then where's Bulls management? Didn't Paxson fire Vinny Del Negro at least in part for playing Joakim too many minutes while injured? Yet they sit on their butts while their coach runs "the franchise" into the ground in WORTHLESS games?!?
Come on folks...looks like we got away with something here as it appears Derrick is going to be OK. There are MUCH BIGGER things going on this season than winning some regular season games...home court didn't prove all that valuable against Miami last year...why does it matter this year? What's SO MUCH more important is having a healthy team come playoff time...start aiming for that and forget the mealy-mouth BS about "one game at a time" and "we've got to treat each game the same" when you're playing teams that have no chance of beating you...TRUST the team your bosses put together...TRUST the offensive and defensive schemes you've put in place and let's win us a RING Coach!
Showing posts with label john paxson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john paxson. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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?
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?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Da Bulls!
OK so what do you do with the Bulls this offseason? While the #7 seeded Bulls Here's a team that played in the best playoff series in the history of the NBA (at least in the first round, but close if not the best). While the #7 seeded Bulls battled the #2 Celtics all the way to the end in their 7-game series, let's try to keep this in perspective...the Celtics weren't exactly at full strength while missing KG and Leon Powe. But the Bulls weren't at full strength either with Luol remaining out with the most debilitating stress fracture ever. He didn't play after 15 minutes in a game on 2/28 at home in a pretty big W against the Houston Rockets. Counting that W, the Bulls finished the season 15-7 without Luol going from 8 games under .500 and nowhere near the playoffs to ending up #7 and finishing at .500 (41-41). Hmmm...
As far as I'm concerned, there's only one untouchaBULL on this roster. Derrick Rose has a chance to be very special. Is he the next MJ? NO!!! There is no next MJ, so let's stop even trying to find one. But D-Rose is going to be VERY, VERY good. The two most exciting aspects of this kid (and let's not forget he's 20!) is his head (not much ego with this kid) and his eagerness to learn. My biggest hope is that he goes back to watch tape of the Celtics series and watch all the little things Rondo did (well, all the LEGAL stuff anyway) - rebounding, defense, better ball handling, and limited turnovers. Rose can certainly be much better than Rondo as he is bigger, stronger, younger and quicker.
What about Coach Vinny Del Negro? In my opinion, the worst part about turning the season around to make the playoffs and then going 7 with the Celtics is that the Bulls management will be all but obligated to keep Vinny for next year. We can only hope they don't extend him over the summer. Do you really want such a totally inexperienced coach developing your franchise player? Not me! But we're stuck with him for another season at least.
What do you do about the guards? Gordon is an unrestricted free agent starting July 1st. Hinrich is under contract for a reasonable salary as his contract was front-loaded - $9 million next season and $8 million the season after that. Gordon proved pretty invaluable in this Celtics series - tough to argue that. Hinrich also proved pretty valuable as well. Salmons can play the 2 guard spot also and he's making under $6 million next season in the last year of his current contract.
Although Pax has been able to dump ridiculous contracts in the past, with today's economy and pending 2010 free agency, we're stuck with the ultra-soft (too bad we're not talking about toilet paper) Luol Deng at least for next year. This guy other than a short stretch after originally returning from a different injury, looked lost out there most of the time. He doesn't go to the hole at all and his stats were down in EVERY category this season. And while all of that sounds bad, the worst part is that the Bulls played their best basketball when he was wearing a suit and cheering from the sidelines. The newly acquired Salmons jumped right in to Luol's spot and played better D and was way more effective on the offensive end as well.
Pending 2010 free agency...most teams are putting themselves in position to make a run at next summer's unprecedented free agent class including LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, Amare, Joe Johnson, and Dirk among others. Salmons is done after next season too so you can add him to the list. So if you are quick to say "sign Gordon to whatever he wants" aren't you knocking yourself out of signing these bigger stars? Do the Bulls have a legit shot at getting LeBron? Nope! He'll either stick around in Cleveland where he's a god right now or sign with Jay-Z and the Nets with an outside shot of going to the Knicks. What about the other guys - particularly Dwyane, Bosh and Amare? I think the Bulls have a shot at all three of these guys - Dwyane is, like D-Rose from Chicago, Bosh has already expressed interest in coming here to join D-Rose and Amare was nearly traded here during the season.
Can Dwyane Wade and D-Rose play together? Their games are pretty similar and both should have the ball in their hands most of the time so how compatible would they be on the same team? They don't exactly play the same position, but Dwyane has the ball in his hands more than most 2-guards. He has a much better handle than Ben Gordon and also attacks the basket better too. So if you think they can play together and think you have a good shot at getting him in here, then you can't resign BG.
What about getting Bosh or Amare NOW? Bosh is stuck in the Great White North (OK, so Toronto's weather isn't much worse than here) and the Raptors know he isn't coming back so why not work a trade before losing him for nothing to the highest bidder in 2010? Pretty much the same situation in Phoenix who missed the playoffs this year. As much as I like Brad Miller as a wiley veteran, Chris Bosh or Amare would obviously be a HUGE upgrade. Now you just have to put together a decent package to get either of them that would have to include Brad Miller.
The play of Tyrus and Joakim really allows the Bulls some flexibility. Both of these guys played really well down the stretch and Joakim took it to another level in the Boston series. The one question mark here is why Vinny limited Tyrus' playing time in the playoffs even with a short bench. That was a very perplexing sub-plot for me. Now if Joakim could start next season in better shape, he could start being effective before January. I'd like to see Joakim dunk the ball a little more rather than attempt so many tip-ins on the offensive glass and I'd like to see Tyrus play with a little more consistent passion as it can be disheartening to see the most athletic player in the league get beat down court by another PF. Tyrus also needs to drive to the hole a little more and rely less on the 15-18' jump shot.
So how about this for a 2009-10 lineup as follows?
Starters:
Should be an interesting off-season...The Bulls have already had somewhat of an interesting off-season. Gar Forman (currently director of player personnel) is said to be taking over Pax's GM role while Pax gets promoted to a new position and basically be Gar's boss. Will Gar be more aggressive with trades? We have all heard the numerous deals the Bulls were supposedly close to pulling the trigger on only to have something hault the deal. While we'll never know what really happened to those deals or even if they ever existed in the first place, a lot of criticism has been placed on Pax that he overvalues this own players and limits his trade possibilities because of it. Will this change allow the Bulls to take more risks and really get another star in here to play next to D-Rose? I sure hope so!
As far as I'm concerned, there's only one untouchaBULL on this roster. Derrick Rose has a chance to be very special. Is he the next MJ? NO!!! There is no next MJ, so let's stop even trying to find one. But D-Rose is going to be VERY, VERY good. The two most exciting aspects of this kid (and let's not forget he's 20!) is his head (not much ego with this kid) and his eagerness to learn. My biggest hope is that he goes back to watch tape of the Celtics series and watch all the little things Rondo did (well, all the LEGAL stuff anyway) - rebounding, defense, better ball handling, and limited turnovers. Rose can certainly be much better than Rondo as he is bigger, stronger, younger and quicker.
What about Coach Vinny Del Negro? In my opinion, the worst part about turning the season around to make the playoffs and then going 7 with the Celtics is that the Bulls management will be all but obligated to keep Vinny for next year. We can only hope they don't extend him over the summer. Do you really want such a totally inexperienced coach developing your franchise player? Not me! But we're stuck with him for another season at least.
What do you do about the guards? Gordon is an unrestricted free agent starting July 1st. Hinrich is under contract for a reasonable salary as his contract was front-loaded - $9 million next season and $8 million the season after that. Gordon proved pretty invaluable in this Celtics series - tough to argue that. Hinrich also proved pretty valuable as well. Salmons can play the 2 guard spot also and he's making under $6 million next season in the last year of his current contract.
Although Pax has been able to dump ridiculous contracts in the past, with today's economy and pending 2010 free agency, we're stuck with the ultra-soft (too bad we're not talking about toilet paper) Luol Deng at least for next year. This guy other than a short stretch after originally returning from a different injury, looked lost out there most of the time. He doesn't go to the hole at all and his stats were down in EVERY category this season. And while all of that sounds bad, the worst part is that the Bulls played their best basketball when he was wearing a suit and cheering from the sidelines. The newly acquired Salmons jumped right in to Luol's spot and played better D and was way more effective on the offensive end as well.
Pending 2010 free agency...most teams are putting themselves in position to make a run at next summer's unprecedented free agent class including LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, Amare, Joe Johnson, and Dirk among others. Salmons is done after next season too so you can add him to the list. So if you are quick to say "sign Gordon to whatever he wants" aren't you knocking yourself out of signing these bigger stars? Do the Bulls have a legit shot at getting LeBron? Nope! He'll either stick around in Cleveland where he's a god right now or sign with Jay-Z and the Nets with an outside shot of going to the Knicks. What about the other guys - particularly Dwyane, Bosh and Amare? I think the Bulls have a shot at all three of these guys - Dwyane is, like D-Rose from Chicago, Bosh has already expressed interest in coming here to join D-Rose and Amare was nearly traded here during the season.
Can Dwyane Wade and D-Rose play together? Their games are pretty similar and both should have the ball in their hands most of the time so how compatible would they be on the same team? They don't exactly play the same position, but Dwyane has the ball in his hands more than most 2-guards. He has a much better handle than Ben Gordon and also attacks the basket better too. So if you think they can play together and think you have a good shot at getting him in here, then you can't resign BG.
What about getting Bosh or Amare NOW? Bosh is stuck in the Great White North (OK, so Toronto's weather isn't much worse than here) and the Raptors know he isn't coming back so why not work a trade before losing him for nothing to the highest bidder in 2010? Pretty much the same situation in Phoenix who missed the playoffs this year. As much as I like Brad Miller as a wiley veteran, Chris Bosh or Amare would obviously be a HUGE upgrade. Now you just have to put together a decent package to get either of them that would have to include Brad Miller.
The play of Tyrus and Joakim really allows the Bulls some flexibility. Both of these guys played really well down the stretch and Joakim took it to another level in the Boston series. The one question mark here is why Vinny limited Tyrus' playing time in the playoffs even with a short bench. That was a very perplexing sub-plot for me. Now if Joakim could start next season in better shape, he could start being effective before January. I'd like to see Joakim dunk the ball a little more rather than attempt so many tip-ins on the offensive glass and I'd like to see Tyrus play with a little more consistent passion as it can be disheartening to see the most athletic player in the league get beat down court by another PF. Tyrus also needs to drive to the hole a little more and rely less on the 15-18' jump shot.
So how about this for a 2009-10 lineup as follows?
Starters:
- Derrick Rose (duh!)
- Salmons (could be a very effective 2-guard that can score and play D)
- Luol (can he come back and be the player we saw in 2006-07?)
- Bosh/Amare (I think you go get one of these guys)
- Noah
- Tyrus (3/4)
- Gordon (can you sign him to another 1-year deal?)
- Hinrich (not sure you can keep him if you trade for Bosh or Amare as he may be part of the deal)
- Tim Thomas (this guy could flourish in Vinny's O-first philosophy)
- Aaron Gray (needs to lose some weight and show a commitment to being an NBA player)
Should be an interesting off-season...The Bulls have already had somewhat of an interesting off-season. Gar Forman (currently director of player personnel) is said to be taking over Pax's GM role while Pax gets promoted to a new position and basically be Gar's boss. Will Gar be more aggressive with trades? We have all heard the numerous deals the Bulls were supposedly close to pulling the trigger on only to have something hault the deal. While we'll never know what really happened to those deals or even if they ever existed in the first place, a lot of criticism has been placed on Pax that he overvalues this own players and limits his trade possibilities because of it. Will this change allow the Bulls to take more risks and really get another star in here to play next to D-Rose? I sure hope so!
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