Chicago Bulls Thread

[Andrew]

They almost threw it away in the third, but make it three straight with a win over the Cavs. Another quiet one for Boozer but 29 points, 8 assists for Rose, 13 points and 14 rebounds for Noah. Tough one coming up against the Lakers but a chance to possibly bounce back against the Timberwolves the night after.

[Martti.]

Korver with 12 points in the fourth, that's huge.

[Andrew]

Indeed, all 12 of his points in fact. Better late than never, I guess. Rose with the three point play to put them ahead for good, too.

[George7]

Another win for the Bulls!This season is shaping really nicely so far!
Rose had another huge game,and I really couldn't see that coming ,having so many 25+ point games and again almost 10 assists as well.
The thing I like most about Rose this year though,is that he's clutch too!After the buzzer vs Houston, to the big time plays in the 4th yesterday,Rose seems the man to give the ball when the game is close.

Korver,Noah for their games as well.Noah for a solid outing,and Korver for his great 4th quarter game.

As for Boozer,it's normal to have a bad game now and then,as he's on the final phase of the rehab from a severe injury and he's still finding his form. Why did he play only 20 minutes though? He had foul troubles or sth?

[Andrew]

His jumpshot is improving and he's getting quite proficient with that one hander in the lane as well. I definitely like his willingness to take charge in the clutch and take the big shots. He's got the competitive drive and the willingness to be a fine clutch player, he just needs to keep developing his jumper. Hopefully that buzzer beater against the Rockets was a sign of things to come as far as his clutch abilities.

[George7]

I hope so as well.

One thing concerns me though.If he can't play? Then what? Hopefully Hoozy Boozy can step up in those situations and followed by an overall performance by the rest of the team like on the game @ Nuggets on the circus trip things can be great.

[air gordon]

Why did he play only 20 minutes though? He had foul troubles or sth?

he never got in rhythm- he drew relatively 2 quick fouls in the 1st qtr. plus the matchup w/Jamison wasn't working out defensively

[Andrew]

One thing concerns me though.If he can't play? Then what? Hopefully Hoozy Boozy can step up in those situations and followed by an overall performance by the rest of the team like on the game @ Nuggets on the circus trip things can be great.

Hopefully Rose is going to be around more often than not in crunch time but if they get a solid backup point guard to run the offense and make things happen, they've got Boozer to go to when they need baskets, Noah to crash the boards for tip-ins when things go awry and while he's not consistently clutch, Deng's there too. Another dependable three point shooter wouldn't hurt either, it's just a shame things couldn't have worked out differently with Ben Gordon as his offensive firepower would have rounded out this team nicely and he'd be getting a decent amount of open looks.

[air gordon]

how were the bulls going to be able to acquire Boozer (and brewer + korver + asik) if Gordon and his 3yr/$34 mil contract was still on the books?

[NovU]

Looking at Ben Gordon's performance these days, don't Bulls' fans think it was a good decision to let him walk?

[Andrew]

how were the bulls going to be able to acquire Boozer (and brewer + korver + asik) if Gordon and his 3yr/$34 mil contract was still on the books?

With the contracts that were handed out, they couldn't. However, if they were paying Deng around $8 million a year instead of $11 million, or Deng and Gordon had both accepted deals around $9 million, I believe it would have been possible but they wouldn't have been able to sign Watson, Bogans and Thomas...at least according to the figures listed on HoopsHype. Alternatively, if you've got Gordon then you don't necessarily need to bring in Korver which takes $5 million out of the equation and should definitely have allowed them to bring in Boozer, Brewer and Asik. Brewer's your big guard and your better defensive player at the two, Gordon's your offensive spark plug, that could have worked.

But as I said, that's if things worked differently. Obviously they did not, and keeping Gordon would've limited their options this past offseason. They might have been able to bring in two or three out of those four, but not all four with Deng and Gordon's actual salaries, no question there.

Looking at Ben Gordon's performance these days, don't Bulls' fans think it was a good decision to let him walk?

For absolutely nothing, not even trying to work out a deal for a draft pick? I think they could've handled it better, though admittedly they didn't have any leverage as he was an unrestricted free agent. As for his performance, he's coming off the bench in Detroit as opposed to starting in Chicago and playing fewer minutes so naturally his numbers are down. For what it's worth, he's actually shooting the ball better than Korver so far this year. I do understand why they let him go and the way things went down made it difficult to keep him and have the cap room they did this past offseason but I wouldn't say good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Mandich]

Looking at Ben Gordon's performance these days, don't Bulls' fans think it was a good decision to let him walk?

NO . they could at-least sign and trade him , and after the performance against boston in the play-offs that year they could of get something solid in return

[benji]

Looking at Ben Gordon's performance these days, don't Bulls' fans think it was a good decision to let him walk?

Unfair, he plays for the Pistons.

Yes, I know I argued against paying him. Aren't you glad the Bulls followed my advice on him, Duhon, Salmons and Hinrich? AREN'T YOU?

[Andrew]

Kobe and Jackson both gave Rose and the Bulls some props. The cynical view to take here would be that it's all mind games, some flattery to catch them off guard or a few nice words before a road victory, but those are some strong endorsements if they're genuine. Game starts in less than an hour.

[Andrew]

First quarter and a half was difficult to watch, they were shooting 6/28 at one point. Strong run to finish the first half though and a great up-and-under move by Rose. They really got on a run in the fourth which was fun to watch but they almost blew it in the last couple of minutes. Clutch play by Rose though and two big free throws for Brewer, huge for someone shooting 59% for the season. Even when he doesn't score, getting the ball to Boozer in the post is making good things happen. Some ugly moments but they'll take the win, great to get one over the defending champs after the game in LA went awry in the fourth.

[George7]

Damn!Rose was just cooking today!!
Great game despite coming close to losing it on the end!

[air gordon]

ha why you gotta rehash this gordon thing again. it's been over a year now. get over it. there's no sense in playing this imaginary salary game either. do we still need a reminder of the shitty contracts that Paxson gave out?

Gordon was a good player when he was in chicago. did you want the bulls to give him a 4yr/$44mil+ contract to come off the bench?? I'll take Korver at $5mil/yr over him easily


i think it's about time that Brewer replaces Bogans in the starting lineup. Bogans time after time misses wide open shots and his defense is not good enough to warrant him starting. Brewer can't hit 3's but at least he's a better defender and can contribute in other areas

[Andrew]

If you don't want to discuss a hypothetical, that's fine. But you did pose the question as to how it would be possible, so I offered a scenario in which it could possibly work out. Obviously it didn't go down that way and we've all got to move on, but it's just a thought that came to mind. I don't constantly dwell on it so there's nothing really to get over, I'm certainly not calling for PaxMan's jobs (indeed this past offseason restored a lot of my confidence in them) but I do find it interesting to ponder these things from time to time, to look back and see what could've been done differently.

I'm all for Brewer getting the starting nod, I figured he'd be the starter when they signed him.

EDIT: Posted this in the video thread but figured it was worth posting here as well:

phpBB [video]

[Andrew]

Huge win over the Timberwolves to make it five in a row, with a decent chance of making it six in a row with a home game against the Pacers and seven in a row if they can pick up a road win in Toronto, which would make them .500 on the road. Rose was on fire again, 21 points on 8/10 from the field, 5/6 from downtown; he's now shooting 41% on threes for the season, 46.5% overall.

[Mandich]

Rose hit 5 three's , looks like he really improved his jumper

[George7]

Bulls are really maturing in my opinion as a team,along with Derrick Rose. I am really impressed by the improvement he showed on his long range shooting this season so far, and his consistency in his performance so far. The team really does what every contending team should do,beating the lower caliber opponents ,especially on home. The next games are easier than the previous matches have been,as neither Indiana nor Toronto is a really tough match-up.Though the game against Pacers needs some attention,I believe that with steady performance on the whole game,the road game against the Raptors will be a not so difficult task.

[Mandich]

True that , and with east being all shitty , they are in serious talk for home court in the play-offs

[air gordon]

Ben Gordon

you're the one that needs to get over it. i'm not the one who brought up Gordon, you did. for some reason you mention him when someone asks what happens to the team if Rose is out. lol

you want to talk hypothetical... would you give Gordon the same contract he got from Detroit to come off the bench ????

maybe Bogans saved his job. though it's easier to make wide open shots when the score isn't close

One thing concerns me though.If he can't play?

they are screwed

[Andrew]

you're the one that needs to get over it. i'm not the one who brought up Gordon, you did. for some reason you mention him when someone asks what happens to the team if Rose is out. lol

When did I say you needed to get over anything? When did I say that you brought up Gordon? I did, I know that. And what exactly must I get over? What's done is done, I think some things could've been handled better but such is life. I don't see why it's so wrong to say "This is a time when having Gordon could've helped", the same way we once could've said "And this is why they shouldn't have traded Elton Brand" when we bemoaned a lack of a 20-10 post player. Those are plausible what-ifs because those players were on the team at one point, it's not a far out suggestion for the Bulls to have them. I mean, we could throw out "They should've traded for Kobe" or "They should rip the fabric of space-time and bring back MJ and Pip from the 90s" but that would be silly. After all, the Lakers were never going to trade Kobe.

Yes, I brought Gordon up in reference to his offensive abilities and three point shooting. You asked how it was possible to keep him, pretty much suggesting that there's no way that it was and I answered with a couple of scenarios where it could've been done. I answered your question, which was a fair one and seeing as though I was suggesting a hypothetical I figured I'd better go back and do the math to see if what I was suggesting could actually have been done. Turns out it could have, if a few things had been done differently (which was admittedly unlikely). But for whatever reason, you're hitting me with this line about needing to get over it because I answered your question. I'll admit it, I don't get it.

you want to talk hypothetical... would you give Gordon the same contract he got from Detroit to come off the bench ????

$11 mil per year to come off the bench for half a game as in Detroit? No, that doesn't sound like a good idea and I've said that before. But as I've also said before, I'm not sure why he absolutely has to come off the bench either, or not play starter's minutes

I guess the Gordon stuff has been done so much in the past and hypothetical scenarios do lose their appeal after a while, so it's best to look forward and move on. That'd mean changing your username, though.

[air gordon]

it's pretty clear you still have a hard on for Gordon. not only do we get to hear we could use him, we get to hear that the his departure, yet again, should have been handled better (even though you admit there was nothing that could have been done). as a bonus there's this suggestion he should be playing starters minutes (hypothetical contract undisclosed (which he wouldn't sign anyway)) with the current cast of Bulls.

the brand situation is different. we traded him away. The bulls let Gordon walk because they didn't want to give him that ridiculous contract. Gordon hasn't done jack shit to make us regret that decision. it's been a little over a year and he's become an afterthought. and rightfully so. Rose has taken over this city and the Bulls are in 1st place. Even Deng & Rose are hitting 3pters. yet you're the only one bringing up Gordon.

and why haven't we heard this talk of needing brand when boozer was out?? when was the last time brand's name has come up in this thread? haven't we needed a 20-10 guy since what seems forever?? didn't we sign the guy who owns the all time record for highest 3pt% in a season? and we still need to hear this Gordon talk??!! if you can't see "it", then i feel sorry for you