Chicago Bulls Thread

[Jona]

^^^^^^^^^^Nice sig man!

[J-Smoove]

^^^^^^^^^^Nice sig man!

much credit to The G.O.A.T.; my idea, but he incorporated into a much nicer one

[air gordon]

lol it wasn't like tyson wasn't trying before... most of his problems were health/strength related... don't try and downplay his development

the win over the wiz ensures the bulls will finish february with a winning record. quite a feat considering 8 of the 11 games were on the road and they played some good teams

[Andrew]

Another win today/yesterday, against the Bobcats. Sounds like Chandler did a good job in the final couple of minutes.

[Mikki]

Since the Bulls have been on a roll this season, I decided to make an EC wallpaper. The wallpaper is only available in 1024x768 dimension. Check it out.

[Andrew]

Nice Mikki.

A few numbers. The Bulls are now one win away from equalling their highest win total since 1998, and 12 wins away from securing a .500 finish. A 21-8 finish would yield a 50 win season, while a more conservative 16-13 finish would result in a 45-37 record, which should be good enough to make the playoffs possibly even as the sixth seed.

[bullsfan009]

The sixth seed isn't what it used to be before the trade deadline. It used to be that everyone wanted it, because the winner of the Atlantic is going to get the #3 seed, which plays the #6 seed in the first round, and the Atlantic used to be by far the worst division in the league.

But since adding Chris Webber to Phili, and 'Twoine to Boston, it's not going to be easy no matter where you're seeded in the East. Although, if I'm the Bulls, I'd still rather play any Atlantic team instead of Detroit or Miami...

BTW, considering Detroit playing lights-out now, Shaq is in on Miami, and the best young talent the league has seen since the Diseal (LeBron) is on the Cavs, I think the gap between the West and the East has now closed.

[Mikki]

If they become the 6th seed, they'll battle it out with a weak 3rd seeder from the Atlantic Division.

[Andrew]

I agree, the sixth seed isn't likely to be the ticket to the second round it was thought to be a couple of weeks ago, but I like Chicago's chances against Philadelphia or Boston more than I like their chances of knocking off Miami or Detroit. Besides, I like to see them do as well and finish as high as they possibly can - the draft pick will be lower, but the experience will surely help develop such a young team.

[Amphatoast]

If they become the 6th seed, they'll battle it out with a weak 3rd seeder from the Atlantic Division.

why think 6th and not think of being Miami of last year..bad start, but finished 4th in the conference. Currently standing with 24 loses...same as cleveland and washington

[Andrew]

Because the last couple of months are still pretty rough as far as opponents and road games are concerned. It's obvious the team is playing better than it has in years, but they're still not back at the level they were at, say, the mid 80s when MJ had just come aboard and they were becoming a good but not great team.

If the Bulls post a record that's just over .500 the rest of the way, they should finish the season about four or five games above .500 and that should be good enough for 6th or 7th in the East. I'm hoping that they'll do better than just around .500 the rest of the way, I think they can do better than that, but it's a conservative suggestion, given the schedule.

Meanwhile, a blowout loss to Houston today.

[air gordon]

gezz they really got their asses handed to them by the rockets. not a good start to a tough march schedule but if the bulls can rebound from 0-9 start, they could rebound from this

tmac could have went for 50 points if this game was close. he had 30 something points in only 3 quarters

[Andrew]

Currently on a three game skid. Orlando won today, so the Bulls are back in 7th place, though their lead over Indiana remains 1.5 games.

[air gordon]

wrong kind of 3 game streak to have. but it's good to see the media get upset and start a controversy- this time it being curry 'not being happy' and the issue of his lack of 4th quarter PT. the past 6 years it would just be "oh the bulls are on another 3 game losing streak"

the bulls are at home and face the bucks again. the bulls could use a win

[Jona]

Andrés Nocioni is starting!! YAY!!! (WHY????)

[air gordon]

luol deng is on the IL with an ankle sprain

[Jona]

Lol, I knew it!!!
It was just too strange to be true...

[Andrew]

The streak is broken with today's win, which gives Chicago its 30th win of the season, tying the most wins in a season since 1998. 11 more wins and it's a guaranteed .500 finish. I believe they'll finish a bit higher than that though, 45-37 being my conservative guess.

[air gordon]

hinrich scoring in the 4th quarter. duhon hitting 3's. gordon sitting in the 4th and curry playing the entire 4th. wtf is going on? wasn't pretty but the bulls won so it doesn't matter

wow, andrew, who would have thought that predicting the bulls for 45 wins would be CONSERVATIVE

bulls haven't swept the portland series in ages... it's been a season of change though for chicago

[Fresh8]

30 wins is quite an acheivement.. Drew... can the Bulls win 10 straight any time soon?

[Andrew]

wow, andrew, who would have thought that predicting the bulls for 45 wins would be CONSERVATIVE

Indeed, considering my best case scenario prediction at the beginning of the season had them picking up around 35, 37 wins and falling just short of the 8th seed. But here we are in March, with 45-37 entirely possible with a 15-10 finish. Best case scenario, 20-5 finish for a 50 win season...that might be pushing it a bit, though.

30 wins is quite an acheivement.. Drew... can the Bulls win 10 straight any time soon?

I don't think they're strong enough to win 10 or more in a row, especially with their schedule the rest of the way. That's a couple of steps ahead, if/when (hopefully when) they go from being a surprisingly good team to a good team.

[Andrew]

A 13 point victory with some nice numbers for Curry, Hinrich and Nocioni. Orlando lost too, so they've inched a little further away in that sixth spot. And of course, win number 31 makes for their highest win total since 1998; how many times have we said best/highest since 1998 this season when it comes to facts and figures?

[Nel]

Hey andrew, do you think Ben Gordon could win R.O.Y. award?

[beau_boy04]

I'm amazed at the Bulls' performance so far this season. I think they have a good core of players but there's a superstar missing.

[air gordon]

nice win over portland.. sebastian telfair carries/palms the ball 90% of the time

portland's interior D is really tough when ratliff and przybilla are in. they pretty much controlled the paint in the 1st half. but portland's perimeter D is pretty bad and the bulls guards were able to penetrate easily in the 2nd half leading to a eddy curry dunk you very much fest on the vanilla gorilla and portland defense

bulls announcer redd kerr is becoming increasingly senile. he has disregarded professionalism and does the broadcast with something in his mouth. when its not hinrich's sack, it's a hot dog or cough drop, maybe viagra

only .5 game behind the cleavage cavs