Chicago Bulls Thread

[Bulls#1]

With all the Lakers need to go through this playoffs I don't want to be harsh but I don't think they can make it

[uly]

if okc will beat the mavs, and bryant and mwp is back.. then its a fair match.. but if mavericks will proceed they will be rip off by the Lakers!! lakers, are now rejuvenate, they are far much diff than last season, and mavs are too, but for the worst!! and the rest are no much from a healthy bryant, with two 7ft's backup.plus some solid and hustle defenders.

[benji]

The Lakers were better with Odom as their third big, they no longer have that advantage.

[Andrew]

Posted this link in the series thread, but also worth mentioning here: No reason not to be optimistic about Rose recovery

Though the big story of the opening weekend of the playoffs remains the saddest one, the serious knee injury suffered by the Bulls’ Derrick Rose. Rose will need anterior cruciate ligament repair surgery, which likely will keep him out into next season.

The history of these injuries is players recover well. The AOS Medical Center in Glendale, California studied anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction for NBA players between 1994 and 2005. They used the Player Efficiency Statistic to compare performance before and after the injury. Of the 21 players who returned to play of 27 studied (six were older and retired), 15 percent performed better on the statistical measure, 19 percent were within one percentage point and 44 percent decreased somewhat but not substantially.

In addition, a look at recent such surgeries on top players shows most returning to a high level of play, like Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford, David West, Kyle Lowry and Al Jefferson. Tim Hardaway had the surgery in 1993-94, and while he wasn’t as explosive afterward, he was first team all-NBA three years later and twice an All-Star afterward. Dunk champion Blake Griffin didn’t have the ACL, but had a stress fracture and broken knee cap before winning the dunk contest. And there was the NFL’s Willis McGahee, who tore his ACL, MCL, PCL 10 years ago, and I think USPS, UPS and DOT. He had about 1,200 yards rushing last season.

While it'll take Rose's full recovery, return to action and return to top form to truly allay my concerns, reading that does make me feel more optimistic about the situation. It's all speculation now and while I suppose the worst case scenario is a distinct possibility, we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Just hope for the best, I think it's safe to assume he'll have the best care and a top surgeon taking care of things.

In the meantime, here's hoping the team can rally and do the best they can, make a good run of it without him. Go Bulls.

[shadowgrin]

ACL's are overrated. Just ask Blair.

[123rockstar]

Mervyn J. Cross
North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre
Sydney, NSW 2065
Australia

At the other end of the scale is the athlete at the height of their career who depends on side-stepping activities for their continued economic well-being. The diagnosis having been made, there is little doubt that they should be recommended for early surgery and will be fit to resume full activities within six months. Not everyone is in agreement with this approach, as some athletes feel they would like to try conservative therapy first followed by reconstruction later if necessary. In many sports this may mean that a patient may miss two seasons of professional sport and they may only have 6 or 7 years at the top of their sport. This could therefore account for something like 30% of their playing life whereas if they are operated on urgently they can be back, after rehabilitation, in six months, and therefore only miss one season.

Jeannine Stein
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
6300 N River Road Suite 500
Rosemont, IL 60018

A 2010 Los Angeles Times review of two seemingly conflicting medical studies discussed whether ACL reconstruction was advisable. One study found that children under 14 who had ACL reconstruction fared better after early surgery than those who underwent a delayed surgery. For adults under 35, though, patients who underwent early surgery followed by rehab fared no better than those who had rehab therapy and a later surgery.

There are different approaches with regards to ACL theraphy, and its up to the patient whichever suits him/her. Fact of the matter is, Rose has to make a very critical decision in his critical situation.

[uly]

i agee with you sir (ANdrew), i know this is a very bad news to all bull fans.. my concern that what if rose will be like carter and mcgrady or even steve francis right now after the injuries, they were all all explosives on there early careers..

[Andrew]

The second half of Game 2 was just painful to watch. As I said in the series thread, the first half offered some hope that they can still win the series without Rose, but they have to sustain that effort for the entire game. Once again they dug themselves a hole in the third quarter and never recovered.

And of course, it highlights the importance of a player like Rose. They're still capable of being a formidable team without him and certainly won a healthy number of games, though most of those wins came against teams that didn't end up making the Playoffs. They're now 7-6 without Rose against teams that made the postseason this year, a little less impressive than the overall 18-10 (or the 33-7 with him in the lineup), including the first two games of the Sixers series.

When all else fails, when nothing else is going, it's handy to have a player like that who can create for himself and make something happen, to settle things down and help the team get back in rhythm. The Bulls went cold, the Sixers did not, and the final score speaks for itself.

Noah was impressive though, it was good to see him so offensive minded, scoring on some nice drives and even making them pay with a handful of open jumpshots. Hamilton, Watson, Lucas and Gibson were all fairly solid too. Deng and Boozer need to step it up though, 17 points on 7/22 shooting and 10 rebounds between them isn't going to get the job done.

[RedPhazon8]

That second half was probably the worst piece of Chicago sports I've watched since the Bears game at Denver... it was just:

[Bulls#1]

Yeah man it was Turrible that you can imagine

[benji]

Don't think this got posted about Curry and Chandler, good chunk of Bulls background: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/788 ... n-chandler

And as I did for Shadow, I got up to the Bulls, so here are the Bulls stat files: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/820953/dabulls.7z

[Andrew]

Krause wanted to rebuild from the inside out. He did not know much about Yao Ming, who arrived to the league the next year. He was told not to look at a young Spaniard named Pau Gasol. "This is not to demean anybody, but we were told not to see Gasol," Krause said recently. "Whoever was in charge of that thing kept saying, 'Don't see him.' We said OK. Was that a mistake? Probably yes. We should have seen him. We didn't."

"Probably yes"? I'd say definitely yes, but it's obviously easier to say that in hindsight.

Good read.

[shadowgrin]

He could do a standing backflip. He was one of the most agile, athletic, quickest, huge human beings I've ever seen. But he was a raw product.

Curry's HS basketball coach fucked up his development then. Turning him into 'baby Shaq' instead of a 7-foot Spider-man on the court.

[air gordon]

the bulls should have won that series. a lot of blame to go around but what difference does it make as philly is a mediocre team and Boston would have embarassed the bulls into their misery...

but the nightmare isn't over. Rose finally had the surgery today. Deng probably won't have wrist surgery until England gets eliminated from the Olympics. the bulls may be in survival mode until January '13 but in the back of my mind i fear that '13 will be a wash as Rose rehabs.

with that being said, Pax-Gar still have more things to work out. SG is still a question mark. Team still needs a legit 2nd scoring option. Boozer sucks

Of the famed bench mob- I believe Asik (gets resigned in offseason) and Gibsons are shoo-ins to be back. Between Korver, Watson, Brewer- I think only 1 returns back to the team. I think Pax-Gar will go after a veteran guard who is more adept at running an offense. Hinrich and Andre Miller are realistic/decent options. Butler can be the defensive wing player Brewer and also put the ball in the basket.

the Boozer corrundum continues. I don't know the exact rules of amnesty but the Bulls need to get rid of this guy. I don't want to hear he crap like he still had a "decent" season or that he played all the games. he was healthy this year but he's regressed into a jump shooting PF. 3yrs/$46mill left on his contract. If the Bulls can't rid of this bum, then kiss Gibson goodbye after next season.

[Andrew]

I'm pretty sure they can still amnesty him. I'll admit that I'm not completely sold on the idea, not because I think he's untouchable (far from it) but because I don't know that they'd be able to replace him with anyone better. Having said that though, I like the idea a lot more than I did when the issue came up at the beginning of the season; I'd just feel a bit more confident about it if they were in a better position to find a suitable replacement. No way you can trade him of course, not without giving up a key player to make it happen. That'd be cutting their nose off to spit their face, amnesty is really the only way to go.

All in all, it's a disappointing situation. It's not like there weren't some red flags when they signed Boozer but naturally we hoped for the best. He's had his moments, but it's not been enough. Disappointing.

Pretty much the word of the season, really. Fingers crossed those stats Sam Smith posted in regards to Rose's injury hold true and he's one of the success stories. We're just going to have to wait and see there. Korver and Brewer are signed through next season, they've got a team option for Watson which I think they'll probably pick up unless someone like Hinrich or Miller is a possibility. I assume they'll at least extend the qualifying offer to Asik.

It is what it is, I guess. Seeing Rose make a full recovery is what concerns me the most right now. I think Paxson and Forman can work some magic elsewhere but if Rose's injury is enough to derail his career...well, it just doesn't bear thinking about at this time. I'd rather not jump the gun and just hope for the best right now.

[air gordon]

What does boozer bring to the tabe that is not replacable ?? what unique skill does he possess? im not seeing it. and i think thibs agrees as boozer has been on the bench in the 4qtrs in the last 2 elimination games. there is Gibson who has shown he is capable filling in.

Kc Johnson is reporting the bulls have team options brewer and korver.

[NovU]

According to the WS/48 and PER, it's sorta amazing how Boozer disappeared and choked in the playoffs so bad. He went from one of the better regular season players to totally a Loser with capital L in the playoffs.

PER: 19.7 -> 10.3
WS/48: .187 -> -0.031(LOL a minus)

And he has never performed good in the playoffs. I don't know what to say for the Bulls fans but he doesn't sound like a player the Bulls need.

[RedPhazon8]

I'm thinking Gibson has gotten enough to be a more useful PF for the bulls at this point, maybe finding someone who can help him with the spot other then boozer and I think Gibson can be successful there... Time for the White Mamba to backup?

[Andrew]

What does boozer bring to the tabe that is not replacable ?? what unique skill does he possess? im not seeing it. and i think thibs agrees as boozer has been on the bench in the 4qtrs in the last 2 elimination games. there is Gibson who has shown he is capable filling in.

I never said he had a unique skill or was irreplaceable, certainly neither holds true. I was thinking more along the lines of getting rid of him cuts the rotation at power forward down to Gibson and...Gibson. I suppose they can just try to find someone solid to back up Gibson as cheaply as possible as a short term solution. About the only option they have, it can't be any more disappointing, right?

[air gordon]

I'm pretty sure they can still amnesty him. I'll admit that I'm not completely sold on the idea, not because I think he's untouchable (far from it) but because I don't know that they'd be able to replace him with anyone better. Having said that though, I like the idea a lot more than I did when the issue came up at the beginning of the season; I'd just feel a bit more confident about it if they were in a better position to find a suitable replacement.

And now you are worried about a backup pf

I am fine with Noah-asik-Gibson taking big man minutes and then a signing a scrub to eat up the garbage minutes. Its only a matter of time until Mirotic arrives

[Andrew]

It appears we have a timeline on Rose's return: Doctor: Bulls' Derrick Rose out 8-12 months

He said Rose is ''doing great,'' that the surgery went ''extremely well'' and he can still be an explosive player.
''It's impossible to predict tomorrow,'' Cole said. ''Statistically, he should be that player and then some. That doesn't mean he's guaranteed. It's a whole lot better than we were accustomed to years ago. The ligament is one thing and the meniscus is another. Getting all the things to heal appropriately is really our goal in the early phases. Then, it's rehab, conditioning - getting his brain connected to his knee, basically.''

That all but confirms that next season is very likely a write-off, but in the long run that's some encouraging news. Additionally, Thibs' option is being picked up and they'll look to discuss an extension.

[uly]

i think john lucas can start for the mean time for the bull next season... lucas is good!only if just given a chance, he can be the next improve player for next year..

[Andrew]

I'd take Watson over Lucas, who's still a bit erratic and looks for his own shot a bit too much at times; great when it's going in, not so much when it's not his night. I'm not against keeping Lucas around of course, but I'd trust Watson with the starting job with Lucas as the backup. If they can bring in someone like Hinrich or Miller as AG mentioned before, then they'd be my choice to start until Rose returns.

[RedPhazon8]

Well the Bulls have to figure out who's gonna stay next season, got a lot of contracts to go through.

[uly]

can they trade noah and boozer for howard? i think howard is looking for a wining team to be trade with.