Chicago Bulls 2004/2005 (Road to the 2005 Playoffs)

[Matthew]

I'm turning into Charlie Rosen!

I think Vince is the better option. Kidd would be nice, but you mentioned his age and health. Vince is very underated at the moment and it'd be fun rebuilding his career, whilst doing it in a bulls uniform and winning at the same time.

Kidd is a different story altogether. Would he be able to bring out the best in Chandler and Curry like he did in Kenyon Martin? Or would he just be a small upgrade of hinrich with the same shooting problems?

[Andrew]

That's true. With the right scorers around him, Hinrich could be our Jason Kidd. Vince is the more interesting idea, but I'm still intrigued by the Kidd scenario.

[Andrew]

November 27th, 2004
Chicago 90, Cleveland 79
[ Boxscore ]

This was one of the finest efforts of the season from start to finish. Kirk's numbers in particular are deceptive. He would have played at least 35 minutes had he not picked up a couple of quick fouls in the first quarter. All of his 13 points came in the first half, but once he picked up his third foul early in the second half, I decided to sit him out the rest of the third quarter as we had a comfortable lead.

From the start of the game, we played fine defense and our offense was working perfectly. Everyone was getting good looks, so the scoring remained evenly spread throughout the game. Apart from a few lapses here and there the execution on offense was great all game, something we've had trouble with recently - too many mistakes with a few patches of good play that sometimes bail us out, but more often than not prove to be too little, too late.

Cleveland never came within 9 after we raced out to an 18 point lead at the end of the first. There were a few lapses on defense, but we answered every run they made and tightened up our defense when they started to pick it apart. A win over the Central Division leaders should help restore lost confidence. More importantly, it's put us back above .500.

I was surprised to see that LeBron James didn't pick up a single assist in the game. He did make his presence felt though. After scoring only 6 points in the first half, he scored 7 points in the first three minutes of the second. Paul Silas has been talking about James quite favourably recently, suggesting he could become greater than Michael Jordan. While anything's possible, that's not a tag that Silas should be throwing around, if only for the curse that seems to plague the "next Jordans". Having said that, like everyone else I'm certainly impressed by LeBron.

Message from Jerry

Jerry Reinsdorf spoke with me as November drew to a close. His message was clear: I have a lot of work to do, but he has confidence that I'll make the right decisions and guide the team to a playoff berth. I'm sure the meeting might have been a little more cordial had we not blown those two OT games this month, but it's nice to know that my job isn't on the rocks.

Standing at the end of November

Sixth in Eastern Conference, Third in Central Division
First Week Power Ranking: 11th
Second Week Power Ranking: 12th

Players of the Month

The Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November was the Hawks' Antoine Walker. Walker averaged 29.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg and 4.7 apg during November.

Tim Duncan took home Western Conference Player of the Month honours with averages of 25.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.3 bpg and 1.3 spg.

The East's best rookie was the number one pick in this year's draft. Dwight Howard was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month after averaging 17 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.6 apg and 1.3 bpg during November.

Out West, Devin Harris was touted as the conference's top rookie for November, with averages of 8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.9 apg and 1.3 spg.

Top Teams after the first month

November saw some teams jump out to surprising starts. Hubie Brown's Memphis Grizzlies are the hottest team in the league with a record of 12-4. Denver is 10-4, as are the Orlando Magic who are benefiting from the inspiring play of Grant Hill. Hill recently scored 36 points in a 109-91 win over Allen Iverson and the Sixers. Cleveland remains atop the Central Division with a record of 10-5, while Boston is 9-5 despite missing Gary Payton who has been sidelined by a broken foot. In the Pacific Division, the Lakers and Suns are neck and neck at 9-6, while Detroit is one of the top teams in the East with a record of 9-5.

MVP Candidates

Vince Carter: 21.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.76 bpg, 1.94 spg

Despite demanding a trade in the offseason, Vinsanity is having a productive season for the Toronto Raptors. His name continues to pop up in trade rumours despite his impressive play.

Tim Duncan: 25.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.3 bpg, 1.3 spg

Duncan remains one of the best players in the league with some nice all around stats. The San Antonio Spurs have had a slow start, but are not too far away from climbing back into the top four teams out West.

Antoine Walker: 29.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1 bpg, 1.4 spg

Walker is currently leading the league in scoring after a couple of impressive 30+ point outings. The Hawks are still middle-of-the-pack, but Walker is keeping them afloat.

Ray Allen: 27.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.6 apg, 0.47 bpg, 1.24 spg

Though he's yielded the scoring lead to Antoine Walker, Allen is still one of the league's deadliest scorers this season. His nice numbers across the board have Seattle out of the NBA basement.

Shaquille O'Neal: 20.3 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 bpg

The Diesel seems very comfortable back in the East playing alongside Dywane Wade, though the Heat have struggled recently and fallen back to .500. Still, Shaq's dominating presence has been felt in Florida and he should lead them back into the playoffs this year.

[Matthew]

Nice update . Sometimes a team lack defensive intensity, and you can just pick them apart. Nice job against the cavs.

Jerry Krause has alot to do? Does this mean a trade?

How is Ben Gordon playing compared to Howard and Emeka?

[Andrew]

Possibly...but I'll change gameplans and have a few training sessions before opting for a trade.

Gordon's been playing quite well as of late. He struggled in his first few games but I've found out how to use him effectively. Howard's playing pretty well right now and I believe Emeka's not doing too bad either (I'll have to look at their stats again), but Gordon and Deng are certainly up there so far.

[JP_Frost]

Nice stuff so far Andrew.

Gordon is a gem is you know how to play with him. He can draw fouls with the best of the em.

[Andrew]

Very true JP, as my next recap/journal entry confirms.

December 1st, 2004
Chicago 119, Los Angeles Lakers 115
[ Boxscore ]

This one was an old school shootout at the United Center. I wasn't very happy with our defense, especially in the third quarter, but we had enough firepower to outscore the Lakers an unbelievable 44-30 in the final period. We won't be able to win every game with such lacklustre defense, but hovering around .500, even early in the season, I'm happy of a win no matter how we get it.

The two players that impressed me most in this contest were Ben Gordon and Keon Clark. Keon was huge in 21 minutes off the bench, even if he did have a sequence in which he missed about six or seven tip attempts. Gordon scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter run that gave us the game. He's just been getting better and better as the season progresses. I'm thinking of making him our first option on offense; I'll try it for a game or two and see how he responds.

Kirk had a poor shooting night, but contributed 10 points and 11 assists. His shot is inconsistent and he's been having trouble finishing when he gets inside, but he's been consistent as a playmaker. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have been considering moving him recently, especially with his shooting struggles against the Lakers. I'm also considering starting Clark for a game or two, but Tyson is still playing well.

Kobe really made things difficult for us in this one. If Gordon has one weakness at shooting guard, it's his height. Kobe was able to hit quite a few shots over him and abused him in the post. We also let Chucky Atkins score much too easily, another reason we trailed most of the game. Brian Grant was the only Laker reserve to score however. Had guys like Walton and Rush chipped in with a few points, they probably would have won. As it was, their starters shouldered too much of the load, and fizzled late in the game. No complaints here, though.

I don't think I'll make any changes to the lineup next game, but I'll certainly be more willing to give Keon more minutes; this is what I hoped he would do given the opportunity when I signed him in the offseason. I'll definitely give Gordon a chance to be the #1 option: if he delivers, I think we'll be a pretty good team this season.

[JP_Frost]

nice recap andrew. congrats on the tough win.

My #1 option on offense is probably Curry...as he's simply too strong in the post for most centers. However, I've been playing very well with Gordon lately ( at the end of the season he had a 3 game stretch in which he averaged over 32 points a game - scoring 37, 32 and 29 respectively ). He's so versatile and his outside shooting has really improved in the 2nd season, but like you mentioned in your journal...his height is such a disadvantage on deffense. Luckily he makes up for it with his quickness and stealing abillity, but it's tough to guard the 6'5''+ guys with him.

Hinrich is a true point guard. Kind of reminiscent of Jason Kidd. Great passer, and he sees the floor very well, but his fg% is shaky to say the least. However, his 3 point shooting is solid as is his free throw percentage...and think about it...how many teams have such an adequate pg of his age. He'll only get better.

I'll stop my rambling in a minute, but I just wanna say that if you make one or two guys the designated go-to guys then the Chicago starting line up can match up with almost every one ( I run about 4 different set plays with them and I can find a way to score or draw foul most of the time ). Because of their lack of a superstar...improve the bench. That has been my advantage the 2nd season - I've ended up with the 4th best record in the league ( my bulls team currently has a 93 rating ). So, if you wanna make some moves, try getting some guys that can give you a spark off the bench. Players like Rafer Alston and Ronald Murray ( both are on my squad btw ) really fit this role. They are also more than able to fill the shoes of a starter in case of an injury. The bulls biggest problem is their depth. I'd say try trading for a solid point guard and a shooting guard. Seeing that you have Clark and Davis working the paint, you need a strong backcourt for your bench.

okay...I'm done, sorry if I sound preachy, just my 2 cents.

Keep it up

[Andrew]

No apologies necessary, I certainly appreciate the advice. I'd have to agree about the backcourt...I haven't really commented on it but I'm not exactly happy with Piatkowski. He doesn't get a lot of minutes, but the minutes he does get generally aren't productive. He's had a couple of games where he's scored in double figures and he's pretty good at drawing fouls on three point attempts, but he should be shooting much better than he does and he's not a great defender.

Chris Duhon has been pretty good backing up point guard, but I'm not confident that he's a long term solution - I have a feeling he's simply overachieving. Still, as long as he's playing well I'll continue to use him as the primary backup, but I'm not against an upgrade. I definitely need to upgrade the backup shooting guard spot though, preferably with some youth. Flip Murray doesn't sound like a bad option at all.

You're right about Hinrich, I've just been frustrated with his inability to score efficiently as of late. He's shooting about 34% from downtown which I can live with, but he's still too inconsistent from midrange and the amount of layups he's blown in the last few games (including that one that might have prevented OT and the subsequent loss) is troublesome. I'm not really close to making a deal right now, but the thought does pop up from time to time.

[trsba]

Andrew.. Yep I started my Chicago Dynasty but haven't really posted anything to the forum.. I'll keep you up to date with my season. I just lost to the Portland Trailblazers so my season is 14-9.
I have Ben Gordon averaging 14, 3 & 3 has a 12 game injury (sore back)
Chandler has been injured on two ocassions not having him in the last quarter has hurt but he is ruthless averaging 19ppg 11rpg. Hinrich is up there in 3 pointers and getting 16ppg and leading the league with 8.7apg. Curry averaging 10 & 10. Deng 11 and 6. Nocioni 10 and 5. Davis 10 & 7.8.. So the scoring is balanced. I have had to bring back Pippen into the rotation with Gordon injured. Nocioni does get lots of minutes at PF. I have been bringing Deng of the bench.. My biggest problem is keeping the CPU off the offensive boards they are averaging 15orpg to my 10.

Mate I really love your dynasty have a great 2005..

[Andrew]

December 3rd, 2004
Chicago 119, Miami 99
[ Boxscore ]

So far so good with the Gordon experiment. This was one of the best performances of the year, and certainly one of the most exciting games. With the team starting to gel, I've called for more alleyoops. Aside from the spectacular finishes, they punish teams that are leaving guys like Eddy and Tyson with an open path to the basket. Gordon scored eight points in the first quarter, mostly taking the ball to the basket. I knew if we kept up the same intensity throughout the game as we did in the first quarter, we would have little trouble cruising to victory.

The Heat never really threatened us with a serious run after the first quarter. As much as I give credit to Gordon (who had the finest game of his short career with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals) and the rest of the team, the absence of Eddie Jones who is out with a broken foot did help us. Wes Person scored 21 points starting in his place, but he's nowhere near the defender EJ is.

Kirk's jumper was on target in this game, especially from beyond the arc. Trading him this early in the season is an option that is growing less appealing. But Gordon was the true star of this game, doing a lot of scoring and little bit of everything else. Curry and Chandler crashed the boards and got into position for easy buckets inside. Eddy Curry finished the third quarter slamming home an alleyoop from Chris Duhon, one of the best plays of the game.

Christian Laettner started the game at power forward for the Heat. He caused a few problems on the boards, but his only basket came at the end of the first half, a Hail Mary for mid court that found nothing but net. I just shook my head. It didn't really matter, we had the game well under control by that point.

Once again, our bench outplayed the opposition accounting for more than 40 points. No one scored in double figures off the bench but Nocioni, Keon, Duhon and Pike all had at least 8 points. We were moving the ball extremely well, totalling 32 assists to just 16 turnovers.

I've got a feeling this season is starting to pick up. Most of our upcoming games are at home and it looks like Gordon will make a great first option. November was a shaky start, but December looks like it will be much kinder to us.

[Matthew]

This dynasty has dejavue all over it.. 20 years ago, the bulls had the 3rd pick in the draft, and selected Jordan. Gordon, with a simialr surname and the same selction number in the draft is looking like he's your jordan andrew. Dont trade him

[Andrew]

No plans to trade him just yet. He might not succeed as the first option (though it's looking very promising right now), but he's been too good and too consistent after finding his feet for me to give up on him.

[KDWilliams85]

Andrew, if you really want some trade advice, you could afford to get rid of Chapu, Chandler, and Deng and try and snatch Peja, Dirk, Pierce, Carter, Carmelo, J-Rich, Yao, Maggette, Brand, Starbury, R. Jefferson, Grant Hill, or Allen Iverson away from their respective teams.

Depending on your needs, Jefferson, Hill, Peja, Carmelo, J-Rich, Maggette, and Yao are your closer attainables.

As it stands, Deng isn't really a powerhouse scoring threat though he is a good rebounder; Chapu can never really be solid at anything; and Chandler is too injury prone.

You'd probably have to have Antonio Davis in as a money equalizer on much of the deals but Chapu and Deng/Chandler could get you a couple of those guys.

All the possible players have their upsides because they are multi-positional. I know from personal experience that J-Rich is a sure bet. His shot leaves a little to be desired but you can stick him in with Deng or Gordon and have a nice little trio with Hinrich, Deng/J-Rich, and Gordon/J-Rich.

Me personally, I'd try and get Dirk away from Dallas, Maggette away from the Clippers, Peja away from Sacramento, or Carmelo away from Denver. They all are in the same boat, believe it or not. They're both fairly accurate shooters and defensive powerhouses and they'd step in and make noise.

[The X]

nah, he can't do that....don't trade away the Bulls' identity (if they have one)....

I can't speak for Andrew, but I'm thinking he likes Nocco (he's a nice role player), will give Deng a chance to flourish over the length of his rookie contract, and perhaps will re-sign Tyson....

although IMHO I still think you should deal either Curry or Chandler before deadline if you can get something decent back in return....

[Andrew]

I don't feel like making any trades at this point because the last couple of games have been really good performances, but I appreciate the advice all the same. I'm more inclined to trade Davis and Nocioni, but I'd probably trade Deng, Curry or Chandler if they weren't working out or there was an offer I couldn't pass up.

But I will consider those guys if (or when ) I decide to make a change, so by all means thanks for the ideas.

[trsba]

So how is Andrew's Dynasty going?
Well I've just caught up to the schedule I'm now 19-11 after destroying Utah in a scoring fest performance.. Highest score ever in 2004.. 129 -98.
I was down 28-18 after one quarter..
Deng was the man 36 points 9 boards.
Gordon went for 20 points and I had everyone on the team score.. Still giving up way too many offensive rebounds despite slider adjustments there..
Hinrich now 17.7ppg 8.9apg and had 7 steals a season high against Utah should make the All-Star team.. Chandler still 17ppg & 10.8rpg.

Looking forward to seeing how Andrew's Dynasty is progressing.. Beware you have two games coming up agaist Detroit.. They shut me totally down in the latter game.. But I beat them in an earlier encounter but they are tough.

Timbo

[Donatello]

ben gordon whoopin ass and takin names again! hehehe

[Andrew]

I haven't played another game yet, been too busy with work, going out with friends or working on the roster update. Next time I play I'll be sure to post the boxscores and recap as always.

[Andrew]

December 4th, 2004
Chicago 132, Washingon 125 2OT
[ Boxscore ]
Note: Apparently, NBA Live 2005 doesn't track the overtime stats seperately. Both teams scored 10 points in the first overtime, Chicago scored 20 in the second overtime while Washington scored 13.

Overtime games haven't been too kind to us this season. You may recall losses to Phoenix and Denver with the offense breaking down in the waning seconds of the extra period. At times it looked as though the same thing would happen in this one, but we eventually prevailed after an exciting 58 minute contest.

For a while there, it didn't look like they'd be any overtime coming at the end of regulation. The first quarter ended with a tie at 21, but the Wizards pulled away in the second quarter as Arenas and Hughes abused the perimeter defense off the dribble before making our big men look foolish inside. Gordon was scoring easily, but he soon got into foul trouble. We fell behind by as many as ten, but brought the deficit back to single digits by the hald.

In the third, Washington ran up a 15 point lead that we managed to cut to six by the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter was our finest, but as the quarter drew to a close we were both in the penalty. We should have been able to close them out, but an ill-advised foul led to a 102-102 tie with 5 seconds left. We managed to rush the ball up the floor, but it was Chandler who had to take the final shot. It missed off the back of the rim, and we went into OT.

Knowing our tendency to fall apart in the OT, I slowed down the pace on offense while aggressively double teaming on defense. It worked for most of the first overtime, but a couple of careless fouls put us in the penalty.

With less than 10 seconds left in the game and the Wizards up 112-110, we were forced to foul Antawn Jamison to put him at the line. He missed both, and Chandler grabbed the rebound. We quickly called timeout, and set up a very simple play - Hinrich would receive the inbounds pass while Curry would post up down low where he would receive the entry pass for a shot to tie it. Curry couldn't establish position, but Chandler did. Hinrich got the inbound, sent it to Chandler who spun baseline and put up a layup that was good, with 0.2 seconds left. Double OT.

I'd been playing the starters since about halfway through the fourth quarter and by now, fatigue was starting to set in, especially with Chandler. But I decided that they were playing too well to shake things up now. I used the same gameplan at the start of the second overtime and again it worked, but a couple of defensive breakdowns allowed the Wizards to catch up. With about two minutes left, they took a 121-120 lead. We kept pounding the ball into Curry and he delivered, throwing down some powerful dunks and making a couple of circus shots.

Even though we led 126-123 with just under a minute and half left, the Wizards threatened to make one last run. However, Hinrich made a steal and passed the ball up to Curry, who ran the entire frontcourt for the dunk. Washington was forced to foul, so we ended up taking the game 132-125. Quite possibly the game of the year so far.

Record: 9-5

[Andrew]

December 6th, 2004
Chicago 111, San Antonio 106 OT
[ Boxscore ]

Another overtime victory, and a game that we really shouldn't have won. Looking at the final result, it's difficult to believe we were down by as much as 27 points during the third quarter. But then Pike caught fire.

Pike's been struggling all season with his jumper. I haven't been playing him much as that's pretty much his only role on the team: to come in and hit a few threes every now and then. But Pike was awesome in the third quarter, hitting three straight from downtown upon entering the game, finishing up 4/6 at the end of the third. We still trailed 75-55.

The Spurs' big three were responsible for that. Parker's outside shot was falling and Duncan was cleaning up on the boards and abusing the two Cs in the post with an assortment of fakes and his deadly bank shot from the mid block.

Pike hit a couple more threes in the fourth as part of a run that saw us storm right back into the game. I couldn't believe we had a chance to win the game with just under a minute left. We tied the game but failed to take the lead. Parker hit a shot to give the Spurs a 95-93 advantage with 6 seconds left. Once again, I called for Hinrich to Curry in the low post. Curry threw down a dunk with 0.6 seconds left to tie the game, forcing the OT.

It was probably our least frantic overtime game all season. We traded a couple of baskets but grabbed hold of the lead and held it for the final couple of minutes. What once seemed like an embarrassing blowout ended up another candidate for Game of the Year.

Record: 10-5

[JP_Frost]

great games, Andrew. Back to back overtime wins. Your players must be exhausted though.

[Fresh8]

Andrew, seems like ur bulls are doing well! My Lakers look set to make the playoffs, and we are 1 game behind denver for 4th but alkot of teams are 0.5 - 2 games behind me for 5th... Is it me or will it take a while before u finish ur dynasty.. cause ur only at Dec 6th...

[Andrew]

Yeah, I'm playing an 82 game season, but I'm starting to get into this Dynasty a bit more so I'll probably be playing more when I have the time.

[Bullsfan239712]

glad to see a bulls fan. see i live in california where ppl like the kings or the lakers. i must be the only 1. anyways where can i find the 1999/2000 roster update if there even is any?