Chicago Bulls Thread

[maes]

What can the bulls do if they cant get their insider scorer in a couple of years? I mean, what if they cant get KG or Jermaine. Its a guy like Shareef or Sean May enough?

Bulls should not base their playoff strategy around trading for an elite level big man scorer. That's virtually impossible in the NBA, barring freaky circumstances. When you look at recent title contending teams that use a big man scorer:

- Dallas: Nowitzki, draft
- Phoenix: Stoudemire, draft
- Spurs: Duncan, Robinson; draft
- NY: Ewing, draft
- Houston: Olajuwon, draft
- Jazz: Malone, draft

(Detroit was/is primarily a perimeter offense, Sixers were a perimeter team, as were Reggie's Pacers, Jordan's Bulls, perimeter.)

Going back to 1991, there has been exactly 1 free agent big man scorer to take teams to the Finals, and Shaq is not a common commodity.

The closest is probably Rasheed...but they don't run their offense through him as he's the Pistons' 5th scorer. And a lot about Sheed in Atlanta reminds of Gasol in Memphis...a perimeter big man with good shotblocking, someone you can't base a rebuilding team on, but someone who proved to be the final link for an already playoff ready team.

[Toche]

Men, I was praying for the Knicks to suck this season..as any other Bulls Fan...

Maybe, maes, is right, maybe Deng, Gordon and Hinrich turn out to be better than I expected... I hope!

[Andrew]

At this point I'd much rather see the Bulls pursue someone like Shareef, who comes with a more affordable price tag and can improve their inside game without depleting the team and leaving deficiencies elsewhere. If Tyrus Thomas can become a player that can give them 12-14 points per game it will help greatly. Through seven games in March he's averaging 9.6 ppg playing just 21 mpg, grabbing around six rebounds a game along with a steal and a block. There's a long way to go yet but he's looking very promising as of late.

[Toche]

Tyrus is a great energy guy, but I dont know, I see him as the next Stromile Swift instead of the next Shawn Kemp. I hope I'm wrong

[air gordon]

the blocks are a given but it seems like every time tyrus thomas scores a basket, the team gets energized. it's weird- even if it's just a jump hook.

another strange thing is that Thomas has been pretty calm- unlike in Ncaa tourney last year when he made some huge plays against Duke... the guy was going nuts. though we did see him get hype when he has that series of blocking a shot then dunking on someone plus the foul

this somewhat leads me to believe that he's not a "fake energy guy" like Chandler or even Swift. you know he's making big plays because you see him do it... not because he yells or flexes his muscles after one rebound or block.

i think it's a little early to be saying Thomas is going to be like Stromile Swift. he hasn't even played a full nba season lol. i should say that Thomas is already a better ball handler, has a better work ethic/attitude. Swift does have a better jumper though

but more importantly- he's been giving the bulls good minutes. his athleticism/energy has given the team a big boost.. something the team has been lacking since Nocioni has been out

i wonder how the Sf-Pf minutes will be split up when Nocioni comes back...

[Andrew]

Seems like he'll be getting the opportunity for more quality minutes down the stretch.

Bulls To Promote Thomas?

Scott Skiles said before Wednesday's game that rookie forward Tyrus Thomas could begin to start down the stretch.

That move would come at the expense of veteran P.J. Brown, Thomas' closest friend on the Bulls. The two recently spent an off day together in Orlando along with family members.

"I've created a monster," Brown said facetiously. "This young guy is about ready to take over. But that's good. We're going to need him if we're going to make a run."

[Dan's Brain]

I think that's the way it needs to be, at least until the end of the regular season. Come playoff time, PJ will probably get the lions share of the minutes, but giving Tyrus the starts before that will definitely boost his confidence.

As for Noc, off the bench behind Deng, possibly spelling Ben Gordon as well.

[Andrew]

Tough loss to the Grizzlies today, which will no doubt fuel more "the Bulls should've traded for Gasol" talk. It's a game they really should have won but even the elite teams fall to lottery bound teams from time to time so it's not the end of the world. Mind you, they have had a couple of fortunate escapes against struggling teams so they need to get their heads on straight during this final stretch. It doesn't help that Nocioni is still sidelined of course, hopefully he'll make it back for the postseason though I recall reading that the outlook isn't too encouraging at this point.

[maes]

Always sucks to lose to the league's worst team...but the Bulls play well against the better teams tho =P

I think Mike Miller killed us more than Gasol, but both did a lot of damage. It's not exactly news, a tall guard and a tall big man give the bulls problems. 12 boards by Mike Miller sucks.

[Slizz]

At least Thomas and my main man Thabo did quite well...
Sefolosha has like 3 turnovers in 4 minutes but when he plays above 10 mins there's none of them

[maes]

I like Thabo as well, hopefully he'll have a good off-season and get some minutes next year.

Who do you guys think the Bulls should draft?

Both nbadraft.net and draftexpress has the Bulls picking Corey Brewer at 14.
6' 8", 185 lbs. Defensive SF.

But i'm not sure why we need another SF? Especially when Thabo is basically a swingman, SG/SF.

I would think they'd draft big...Tiago Splitter? Marc Gasol?

[Toche]

I think the question is if they r keeping that draft pick, and if they do, if they trade the kid they select packaging with a "core player".... I dont want to sound pesimist, but I dont think this current team can have a long playoff run with just adding another rookie

I'm HUGE FAN of Thabo, I have seen him playing just a couple of times (I just get a couple of NBA Games per week) and I think he could be a great defender

[Andrew]

Who do you guys think the Bulls should draft?

Both nbadraft.net and draftexpress has the Bulls picking Corey Brewer at 14.
6' 8", 185 lbs. Defensive SF.

But i'm not sure why we need another SF? Especially when Thabo is basically a swingman, SG/SF.

I glanced at nbadraft.net the other day and noticed that as well. It certainly doesn't hurt to have size and solid defense in the backcourt but I was under the impression that's what Thabo is expected to provide. They're not exactly in the running to snare the next great big man but a solid frontcourt player with size would seem the wiser choice...if such a player is going to be available.

[Dan's Brain]

And Big Ben 2 assists shy of a triple double: MONSTER!

Another solid all round game from Ben Wallace. 19 points, 16 boards and 7 assists. Unfortunately it wasnt enough, because the Bulls couldnt pull the win out.

Certainly a team that they should have beaten at home. Although Kirk did have a very rare solid home game, picking up the scoring slack while Gordon slumped.

Disappointing, this is the type of game the Bulls should be winning if they want to advance this year.

[Andrew]

Disappointing, this is the type of game the Bulls should be winning if they want to advance this year.

You said it. You can't win every game but at this point of the year you should be winning most of the games you're expected to, especially at home. Even though it's only a couple of losses in a row, their wins over lottery bound teams last week were performances that left something to be desired. Let's hope they're suitably embarrassed/motivated by these two losses, this last one in particular. I'd like to see them approach every game as though they lost the last one by 20.

Congrats on the custom title, too. About time.

[---]

Who do you guys think the Bulls should draft?

Both nbadraft.net and draftexpress has the Bulls picking Corey Brewer at 14.
6' 8", 185 lbs. Defensive SF.

But i'm not sure why we need another SF? Especially when Thabo is basically a swingman, SG/SF.

Just so you know, they don't take team needs into account until their official mock draft thing which I believe comes out after the lottery order is set.

Personally I think the Bulls should grab a young center or a ready-to-score post player. Tyler Hansbrough would be available, as would Josh McRoberts (although I wouldn't draft him). Al Thornton in my opinion won't be a great post player, he would just be another SF to add to the Bulls roster so I wouldn't target him. Maybe Yi Jianlian could slip down to Chicago. Roy Hibbert wouldn't be a bad pick, although he isn't much of a scorer.

Two players Chicago could get in the second round that I believe could really work out nicely:

Herbert Hill, 6-10 PF, Providence: Essentially a 20/10 player in college that also averages 3 blocks. If Providence made the NCAA tournement I garuntee his stock would rise like crazy. Shoots 64% and has had some huge games this year, eg. 29 pts 15 rbs 8 blks against Syracuse. I don't see how this guy isn't a 1st rounder.

Sean Williams, 6-10 PF, Boston College: Amazing shot blocker at 5 per game. Averaged 2.3 blocks in just 17 minutes per in his freshmen season. Also averages 1.4 steals per. Extremely athletic, learning from Ben Wallace he could become a beast. Got kicked off the team this season after being projected to go alot higher. 7"5 wingspan.

[Dan's Brain]

Congrats on the custom title, too. About time.

Cheers. Frightening to think that i've been coming here for almost 9 years...

Those two second round prospects look alright. Especially, if the Bulls were able to use Sean Williams in tandem with Big Ben and Tyrus.

[Andrew]

How about Marc Gasol if he's available with the Knicks' first round pick? They wouldn't have to give up anyone from the core group to acquire that sibling.

[beau_boy04]

05-06 Chandler 5.3ppg, 9.0rpg, 1.3bpg, 26.8mpg
06-07 Chandler 9.1ppg,12.4rpg, 1.8bpg, 34.8mpg
06-07 BWallace 6.7ppg,10.6rpg, 2.1bpg, 35.0mpg

I know numbers are not everything. I know there are other factors such as: team mentoring, leadership, self-confidence, and many other traits that have some effect on a team performance.

Had Chandler not been traded, do you think he'll have these numbers with the Bulls this season?

Thanks.

[Andrew]

Probably not, I think Chandler simply needed a change of scene. Byron Scott has given him 35 minutes a game and an opportunity for a fresh start. I don't think Skiles would have had enough trust in Chandler to give him the same opportunities.

[Dan's Brain]

How about Marc Gasol if he's available with the Knicks' first round pick? They wouldn't have to give up anyone from the core group to acquire that sibling.

nbadraft.net compares him to Todd MacCulloch. I dont think that's necessarily a bad thing. But it sounds like he's not much of an athlete compared to Pau. I'd be reluctant to pair him with a slowly aging (or ageing? I never know) Ben Wallace.

What about Spencer Hawes? He looks, from his scouting reports, to be a little like Andrew Bogut. Although possibly not ready to compete on the pro-level yet. He could be available late-lottery

As for Tyson Chandler, There'd be crazy highlight reel opportunities with he and Thomas, but ultimately, the Bulls wouldnt be winning as much. And Big Ben's been having some big (for him) offensive nights lately. Who's to say he cant compete with that scoring average by season's end?

[---]

Completely forgot about him. Spencer Hawes IMO would be a perfect pick, he is basicaly Pau Gasol. Good low post scorer, decent rebounder/shot blocker and one of the best passing big men to come along in a while. I just don't think he will be available when the Bulls pick, he could even go top 5 because he has alot of upside and like Oden is a big center. I would take him over Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Yi Jianlian, Julian Wright, etc.

How about a point guard though? Although this draft is weak at the PG spot, Acie Law and Tywon Lawson are both very good players (Tywon Lawson has all the tools to be an elite PG in the league).

[Dean]

All a point guard would be doing in Skiles' team is play back up to Hinrich and Duhon..

[---]

True, but only because Skiles loves Duhon so much.

[beau_boy04]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3QUPUQ9qA
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Enjoy