Chicago Bulls Thread

[air gordon]

i was impressed w/Korver. he was running around screens like he was Reggie Miller/Ray Allen. i had never seen him do that before. too bad he missed a wide open layup lol

Deng's 3pt shot was a shocker. didn't hesitate either. in true Deng fashion he fell down after taking 2 dribbles (just like shaq does in street jam when you try to do anything more then a crossover with him). it has been a while but Deng looks more bulky. anyone esle notice this? maybe the bulls plan to convert him to a PF?

[Andrew]

Interesting...did they post him up at all?

[shadowgrin]

it has been a while but Deng looks more bulky. anyone esle notice this? maybe the bulls plan to convert him to a PF?

Might not be a bad idea considering he played better at the PF spot last season.

[air gordon]

Interesting...did they post him up at all?

he had a few isolations from 15ft out- he mostly faced up but he did try backing into the paint once. plus he even scored some points on the break. friggin shocker, man

other tidbits:
The bulls met w/ Eric Dampier yesterday. he'd be a good signing

in the annual survery of nba GM's... several notables for the bulls:
82.1% picked the Bulls to win the Central Division
Derrick Rose voted fastest player with the ball- 21.4%
Korver voted 2nd best pure shooter 21.4% (Someone actually voted for Brandon Jennings lol)

[George7]

i was impressed with Korver.He really played great and if Deng can play at PF instead of Boozer he can easily be the starter.

-Dampier would be a signing
-Rose is fast as hell with the ball for sure!Looked a transition play on the recap,where he outran everyone!
-Korver is like he is born to shoot!In his day he can be great scorer!

[Andrew]

other tidbits:
The bulls met w/ Eric Dampier yesterday. he'd be a good signing

Agreed, I'd like to see that happen.

[air gordon]

after looking like an oaf in the 1st preseason game, Omer Asik has looked like he could be depended on for reserve minutes. maybe even keep ol' Crazy Eyes on the bench, collecting dust?!

[puttincomputers]

watched the last part of the bulls game last night.
Have yal seen how deng and jj have improved? Deng was lights out from the three. JJ was ok, but he does have a long ways to go.
The bulls proved to me that they are good enough to compete with dallas during the season.

[Andrew]

The bulls proved to me that they are good enough to compete with dallas during the season.

By losing by 38 points?

[air gordon]

James Johnson looks like he lost 30lbs. still stinks. at least he knows he's going to be a SF for however long he's in the league

[shadowgrin]

Rose wants to be MVP. Nao.

“Why can’t I be M.V.P. of the league?” Rose said. “I’m more comfortable this year, with both our defensive and offensive sets. I’m way more comfortable out there now, and that should make me a better player this season.”

For a player whose primary contribution is scoring, Rose doesn’t do enough to compete for the honor. He’s efficient enough with his shooting, but his deficit in total scoring production gives him an advantage on that front.

Rose’s playmaking is fine, but he’s far from a point guard in the mold of Steve Nash (according to HoopData.com, Rose’s assist rate, or the percentage of his possessions that culminate with an assist, is comparable to the less-than-immortal Sebastian Telfair and Jonny Flynn).

His defense is often marked by poor effort and faulty execution

[Lamrock]

Hard to do that when he's his team's third or fourth best player.

[Dan's Brain]

Hard to do that when he's his team's third or fourth best player.

sigh.

Back to the point though, I love his confidence, and I hope to Science that he's right (but he won't be). He's had a better pre-season, free of injury and other interruptions and he should be able to hit the ground running this year, as opposed to his VERY slow start last season, and he'll be a much more deserving All-Star than he was last year.

[George7]

Hard to do that when he's his team's third or fourth best player.

Whatever you say Lamrock....

As for this,Rose has a chance to shine this year.Obviously he won't win the MVP award,but he can show that he can be the leader of the Bulls' team now.Circumstances are the best for him

-He has a great coach to work with
-His teammates are solid.Deng is playing solidly enough(on the preseason and hopefully he can keep it up),Noah has grown up,Boozer is a great and experienced PF,Korver is a sharp shooter, and the rest of the bench has experience(Thomas,Bogans) and talent(Gibson,Watson)
-Bulls couldn't land a superstar(LeBron,Wade) who can be the leader on the team.Rose can seize that opportunity.
-Attention is shifted mostly to Miami and Durant and Kobe ,leaving space for Rose and the Bulls to work and build a team quietly and maybe go past the first or even if they get lucky and play well on the 2nd round of the playoffs

[Valor]

Hard to do that when he's his team's third or fourth best player.

Whatever you say Lamrock....

As for this,Rose has a chance to shine this year.Obviously he won't win the MVP award,but he can show that he can be the leader of the Bulls' team now.Circumstances are the best for him

-He has a great coach to work with
-His teammates are solid.Deng is playing solidly enough(on the preseason and hopefully he can keep it up),Noah has grown up,Boozer is a great and experienced PF,Korver is a sharp shooter, and the rest of the bench has experience(Thomas,Bogans) and talent(Gibson,Watson)
-Bulls couldn't land a superstar(LeBron,Wade) who can be the leader on the team.Rose can seize that opportunity.
-Attention is shifted mostly to Miami and Durant and Kobe ,leaving space for Rose and the Bulls to work and build a team quietly and maybe go past the first or even if they get lucky and play well on the 2nd round of the playoffs

He'll be in the conversation though, if the Bulls can live up to their potential and get a solid position going into the playoffs

[George7]

Valor, I hope so.I'd really love to have a Bulls' player as the MVP or at least a candidate,and if Bulls can get a solid seed as you said,he can be included there(provided he will lead them there of course).

But i can't see it because of the lack of attention Bulls and Rose get.I mean,Heat have all the Spotlight,Kobe has the spotlight,Durant,Howard also got the spotlight.I think Rose gets into the MVP conversation as a slight underdog.(On the other hand though,i think that this may be actually good for him.As i stated before,he would have more quiet to work harder and focus on his game)

He clearly has the talent and the potential though...

[air gordon]

that rose quote was made at the beginning of training camp. why is it getting pub now lol

not sure i agree with the bulls getting lack of attention. they will be on national TV A LOT. they were picked by the gms to win the Central Divsion. the guys on nbatv picked them to win the division. if you watch NBA tv you'll see Rose is in almost all of the commercials. heck even on a gambling site Rose was listed 15-1 to win MVP

the heat and the rest of those teams you mentioned get more of the spotlight rightfully so lol

[Andrew]

Back to the point though, I love his confidence, and I hope to Science that he's right (but he won't be). He's had a better pre-season, free of injury and other interruptions and he should be able to hit the ground running this year, as opposed to his VERY slow start last season, and he'll be a much more deserving All-Star than he was last year.

Agreed on all counts. Just a shame Boozer's not going to be around for a couple of months.

[Lamrock]

Don't see how Rose can be MVP when he really excels at nothing. He's extremely athletic but he has mediocre court vision, shooting touch and ability to get to the line. Add that he doesn't play defense and that his team is unlikely to win 50 games with Boozer out for a month and you have a pretty shitty MVP candidate.

To qualify, he's been a better pro than Oden. (though I wouldn't trade Greg for him)

[air gordon]

Agreed on all counts. Just a shame Boozer's not going to be around for a couple of months.

i thought originally expected out 6-8 weeks after his surgery which was early October?

i don't think anyone really thinks Rose is a true MVP candidate but c'mon, lamrock, as much as it hurts you to admit it-you know he had one of the best midrange jumpers last year. tops amongst pG irrc

[rise]

Hard to do that when he's his team's third or fourth best player.

Behind Keith Bogans, Brian Scalabrine, and Ömer Aşık, right?

[Valor]

Agreed on all counts. Just a shame Boozer's not going to be around for a couple of months.

i thought originally expected out 6-8 weeks after his surgery which was early October?

i don't think anyone really thinks Rose is a true MVP candidate but c'mon, lamrock, as much as it hurts you to admit it-you know he had one of the best midrange jumpers last year. tops amongst pG irrc

and i thought Both Coach K and Tibs praised his defense?

As for Boozer, its more likely to be early-mid Nov than anytime in Oct unfortunately. He won't miss that many games still

[Lamrock]

Errick Rose's mid-game was 5th, but all 4 players above him were PG's (Nash, Paul, Collison, CJ Watson) Not to take anything away from this accomplishment, but the mid-range game is dying for a reason. Worst place to take all your shots from. *cough* Aldridge *cough*

[shadowgrin]

Hey, Aldridge is allergic to paint. It's not proper to make fun of people's conditions. Just look at Charlie Villanueva. Hilarious.

[shadowgrin]

Damn you Thibodeau.

The Bulls New Pick And Roll Defense

The most memorable trait of Tom Thibodeau’s pick and roll defense with the Celtics was the fact that they seemed to swarm the basketball. They were able to do this because they had enough trust in their teammates to react/rotate off of that. When watching the Bulls play, you can start to see that “swarming” effect, and it has been pretty successful when run correctly. However, there have been those missed rotations that you would expect when a new defensive philosophy gets put in.

In my opinion, it seems that the Bulls are picking up Thibodeau’s pick and roll defense pretty quickly.

Putting in a new defensive system takes time, and there are going to be some missteps along the way, both in terms of missed or late rotations. However, I do think that the Bulls are well on their way to picking up this defense.

With all of that being said, it is going to be interesting to see what happens when Carlos Boozer comes back. He is already considered a so-so defender, and he is missing out on two months of game (and maybe more importantly practice time) to get this rotations down. I expect him to struggle a little while on the defensive end until he gets used to playing in this system.

Look somewhat familiar?