Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls-Lob City 12/30

Now that's what I'm talking about. Complete game on both sides of the ball for the first time this year. The ball movement was excellent, they knocked down open shots, and it seemed like most of the Clippers baskets that didn't come from oops came with a hand in the face of the shooter. Plenty of credit in this one, let's start at the top.

Derrick- 25%
I love when Derrick faces other top point guards. Despite what he says about not caring about the matchup, just trying to get the win (which is, of course, the right thing to say,) he cares about these games. Joakim will have to do his bragging for him (quote from Nick Friedell of ESPN):
"I think he takes those games as a challenge, I don't think it's another game for him. I think he circles those games in the calendar."
More tweets I love from last night (courtesty Adande again:)

VDN- 15%
This one's for you, Ethan. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers have the ball and the chance to take the final shot. The "play" involved CP3 dribbling around while Blake Griffin looked at the bench trying to figure out what the hell was going on, then throwing up an off-balance shot that had 0% chance of going in, while VDN flapped his arms around like a pterodactyl. VDN is getting some credit because the Clippers have all these great offensive weapons but no plays to take advantage of them besides "Blake and Jordan run to the rim and CP3 or Mo throws it 12 feet in the air up to them." When VDN is fired at midseason because the Clippers are underachieving and replaced by someone competent (Jeff Van Gundy?), the Clippers are going to be scary.

Taj Gibson- 15%
Time to start give more credit to Taj for everything he does at the defensive end. When Taj is on the floor, opponents have a significantly harder time attacking the basket. I know this is no great insight, but against teams with two good offensive bigs, we need Taj giving us good minutes to keep them off the boards, and he does it every time.

Luol Deng-10%
Ho-hum, 19 points, 8 boards, solid defense on Caron Butler. Expected at this point.

Joakim- 10%
Good offensive game from Joakim tonight, which is nice to see on occasion (especially since Taj has actually been the better on-ball defender lately.) 9-10 from the line, too.

Fredo- 7%
+16 in 10 minutes! After the beat down by Metta World Peace, Korver's actually held his own defensively the last few games. Or maybe we've just played coaches not bright enough to exploit him. We'll see.

TBN- 7%
Ronnie hasn't missed a shot in 2 games. I guess calling him out worked.

Carlos Boozer- 5%
When you're paying a guy 13.5 million, you would think 10 points, 6 boards in 30 minutes would be a disappointing game, not a solid one, but that's where we're at with him right now.

Rip- 5%
I want to see Rip start hitting some of those corner 3s, but I'll be fine with this line going forward.

Turkish D- 1%
If only for that nice pass to Taj on the baseline.

No Credit
TT
While I want to give him credit for the small lineup, I believe Hollinger pointed out last night that he can't keep playing his starters these minutes in this condensed season. He has to have more faith in the Bench Mob to carry the load, and cut Derrick and Luol back to about 40 minutes a night (ideally less).

CJ Watson
Had 3 solid games to start the season, so I'll take a .750 batting average from CJ.

DeMarcus Cousins is Cra, and Other Random Thoughts From Bulls-Kings 12/29

No time for a full credit post (and I'm not sure I want to give them full credit for last night, anyway,) so I'll just do this bullet point style. I saved the most controversial one for the end. Foreshadowing! Suspense! That's why you come to Chitown Sports.

-Nice to see a good game from Boozer, but it was kind of a perfect storm of a matchup for him. Chuck Hayes is strong, but not long enough to do anything about Boozer's jump shot, and certainly can't make him pay on the offensive end. There aren't a lot of other teams in the NBA that have that kind of situation for Boozer to take advantage of (although the Bobcats and Boris Diaw jump immediately to mind), so I think we might want to wait a few games before letting Boozer out of the doghouse.

-TBN, thank you. When you're hitting jumpers and running the floor in transition, there are very few second units that can keep up with the Bench Mob. Stacey, please stop trying to shove "Chicago's Finest Brew" down our throats. He's the Baseline Ninja, as he showed on that play where Derrick broke Jimmer's ankles.

-Jimmer, I'm sorry for saying you can't win the Rookie of the Year award. The Kings truly are a disaster, and if they're going to play like a pickup team that never plays together (and doesn't like each other) all year, there's no reason you can't score enough to win this award.

-Let's talk about the Kings for a second. This game actually worried me more than the Warriors game, because it felt like we should have won that game by 30. We won by 10, and it was helped by the Kings shooting 59% from the free throw line. If they even shoot 78% (27-34), it's a 1-possession game. The Kings have a lot of scorers, yes, but they're terrible defensively and have no decent passers. From the "tweets that sum everything up" file, here's John Hollinger:

But the Kings still managed to keep it close. And the reason for that, worryingly, is that the Bulls were not good defensively. After 3 games, the Bulls are 11th in the league in points against. That number is deceiving, though, because the Bulls play at one of the slower paces in the league. Right now they're 23rd in opponents field goal percentage, and 18th in defensive efficiency. I realize it's early, and we've played some good offensive teams, but...it just looks like teams are scoring easier on the Bulls this year. And the reason for that is...

-The Bulls are going to miss Keith Bogans. DON'T LAUGH. Hear me out. It's hard to be a good defensive team when only 2 of your 5 starters are good at defense (Derrick improved, but he's still at best average.) Last year, if the Bulls starters didn't give the Bench Mob a lead, it was usually because a big man was taking advantage of Boozer. It was very rarely because a wing got hot early, because Deng and Bogans did a great job locking them down. It's a nice psychological advantage to take high scoring wings out of a game early, and even when they Bench Mob did come in, having Ronnie guard you is no better than Bogans. The only weak defensive link was Korver, and when you only have one weak link it's easier to hide them.

Now? Through three games, there have been at least 3 stretches where a wing (Kobe, Ellis, Marcus Thornton) have gotten off on Rip. Which leads to the dilemma, do you switch Deng onto the other wing and risk the small forward posting Rip up? Or do you hope Rip can step up to the challenge and get some stops. Or do you just bring in Brewer right away? All of these are not ideal options, especially if the other team has two great scoring wings (like a certain team-that-will-not-be-named.)

I have been going back and forth with one Will Taplin about this for awhile now, but there is one point I'm willing to concede to him: Rip Hamilton can not guard D Wade. Which sort of defeats the purpose of acquiring him, if we're going to have to play Ronnie 40 minutes a game against them. Either that or Rip needs to outscore Wade, which means he needs to shoot better. Here's to hoping that happens soon.

(Almost) Preseason NBA Predictions

I find it fun to both make predictions and make fun of other people's predictions, so that's what we're going to do today. ESPN likes to have their experts (and Chris Broussard) make predictions on the end of season awards, so I'm going to add my predictions to the mix, as well as take the worst prediction from each section and break it down.

MVP

My pick: LeBron James

It's so hard to repeat as MVP, and Derrick is going to suffer from the curse of high expectations this year. I expect the Heat to hum along during the regular season this year, and LeBron to put up pretty gaudy numbers. And he can have that, I'll still take Derrick in the playoffs.

Worst pick: Chris Paul

No one really went out on a limb here, and Chris Paul could very well win the MVP if the Clippers turn the corner and get one of the top 4 seeds in the west, and voters credit the move for CP3 as the reason. But I think if it happens, it will be more because Blake Griffin becomes one of the top 5 big men in the NBA, not because of Paul.

Rookie of the Year

My pick: Derrick Williams

I think the Timberwolves are going to overachieve, and I think Williams will be a big reason why. Kyrie Irving will put up similar numbers, but it's just because there are no other options in Cleveland.

Worst pick: Jimmer Fredette

I like Jimmer. I think he's going to be a good NBA player. But it's going to take a little time before he's averaging more than 15 ppg (unless everything falls apart in Sacramento and he has to be the whole offense.)

Coach of the Year

My pick: Frank Vogel

I think the Pacers are going to be good this year, and I think Vogel is going to be a big reason why. The Pacers last year played better than the sum of their parts, and now those parts are better. (I can't pick TT for the same reason I can't pick Derrick, the Bulls are supposed to be the top team in the East now.)

Worst pick: Vinny Del Negro

Broussard shows he's never actually seen an NBA game (or at least one VDN has coached.) Just wait until the first close Clippers game, when the final play is just CP3 dribbling around while Blake and Caron Butler stand around watching. If the Clippers don't improve, my prediction is it'll be because they've completely tuned VDN out.

Defensive POY

My pick: Tyson Chandler

It's too easy to pick Dwight Howard, I'm going with Chandler because I think New York will be markedly improved defensively because Chandler is protecting the rim. He was exactly what the Knicks needed.

Worst pick: Tony Allen

Tony Allen doesn't lock down wings any better than Luol Deng does, he's just more self-aggrandizing about it. I hate Tony Allen.

Sixth Man

My pick: James Harden

Harden is going to thrive even more than before playing alongside Durant and Westbrook. I think he'll end up averaging 20 ppg this year.

Worst pick: Mo Williams

Chauncey Billups somehow led the Clippers in minutes on Christmas, despite the fact that MO WILLIAMS IS BETTER. This pick isn't because Williams isn't good, it's because VDN is too stupid to play Williams enough to get this award.

Most Improved

My pick: Eric Gordon

I realize I trashed Gordon on draft night a few years ago, but I admit I was wrong. Eric Gordon is going to come into his own this year being the main option in New Orleans.

Worst pick: Carlos Boozer

Ummm...Scoop Jackson? No.

Eastern Conference:
1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. New York
4. Indiana
5. Boston
6. Atlanta
7. Orlando
8. Milwaukee
9. New Jersey
10. Philadelphia
11. Charlotte
12. Detroit
13. Washington
14. Cleveland
15. Toronto

Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City
2. San Antonio
3. Memphis
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Dallas
6. Los Angeles Lakers
7. Portland
8. Golden State
9. Denver
10. New Orleans
11. Minnesota
12. Pheonix
13. Houston
14. Sacramento
15. Utah

Boxing Day Blame Game: Bulls-Warriors 12/26

I've had to talk multiple other Bulls fans off a ledge tonight, so I'll just say it here to everyone: Wait until we've played some freaking home games before declaring the Bulls the worst team to ever play basketball. One thing you're going to see a lot of this season is ugly, turnover-filled games. Hopefully going forward the Bulls will be on the other side of these games, but every now and then, the bar eats you (like, for example, in Golden State last year.)

Blame time:
Derrick- 30%
We're not going to win a lot of games when Derrick goes 4-17 for the field. More importantly (and more worrying), I think we're going to see a lot of teams this year follow the Warriors defensive blueprint of this game, which is to collapse everyone when Derrick drives, and make him finish over 3 people, kick it out, or pull up and shoot. For some reason Derrick didn't do a lot of option 3, but it didn't help that Derrick was 1-8 from beyond the arc. That's not going to free up a lot of driving lanes.

Mark Jackson and Monta Ellis- 20%
Mark Jackson was never known as an offensive mastermind, so I was expecting the Warriors' game plan to be "Monta Ellis dribbles around and shoots, Stephen Curry dribbles around as shoots, repeat as necessary." I was aggravatingly surprised by how many creative screen-and-rolls and backcuts were in the Warriors playbook, and how effectively they were run with David Lee in the middle and Dorell Wright keeping Deng honest on the perimeter.

And when the Bulls finally woke up and starting playing their A defense in the 4th quarter, Ellis did what Kobe couldn't last night and made big shots to kill the Bulls' momentum. That's the kind of thing the Warriors and Ellis do sometimes.

Carlos Boozer- 20%
When TT tries to tell me Boozer plays underrated defense (as he did this past offseason), I'm pointing to the play at 7:15 of the 2nd quarter as exhibit A in my rebuttal. Ellis gets by Derrick in the open court, and Boozer, despite being in perfect position to stop the ball and let Derrick recover, just sort of watches Ellis go by. At some point after it was too late it looks like Boozer thinks to himself, "oh, I'm supposed to help here", and springs into action. Thanks, Boozer.

And his non-help defense on David Lee left a lot to be desired, too. Last night Boozer didn't hurt us defensively and helped offensively. Tonight he didn't help on either end.
Rip Hamilton- 10%
The best we can hope for from Rip is what we saw in the 2nd preseason game against Indiana, where he was opening up shots for everyone, scoring in transition, and knocking down open jumpers. The worst case scenario? That was tonight, when he was Boozer 2.0. Rip was 5-12, but some of those 7 misses were wide open, and he just got absolutely torched by Monta when he was on him. You can't be a guy who's defensive liability and disappears on offense, Rip. We already have one of those.

TT- 5%
I very rarely felt like TT was outcoached last year, but he was tonight. TT is not dumb, he knows the right thing to do (switch to Deng on Kobe last night, bring in Taj to help protect the rim tonight), but it's taking him way too long to pull the trigger. I have no idea why that is.

On the flip side, I've always loved how if the bench mob takes a game that looks out of reach and makes it interesting, he leaves them in to finish. Kudos for that, TT.

Baseline Ninja- 3%
Ronnie, it makes it sooooo hard for me to defend you as a viable shooting guard on a championship team when you can't make shot to save your life, even from the free throw line. He had a game worst -16, but the D wasn't bad, Ellis just made tough shots over him.

Turkish D- 2%
Last night's rebound rate was 8 boards in 20 minutes. I like that. Tonight's rebound rate? 0 boards in 10 minutes. That's...not OK.

Absolved:
CJ Watson
3-10, yes, but he changed the momentum and the energy of the game when he came in. Tom tried to convince me the Bulls need what Bill Simmons calls an "irrational confidence guy". I think CJ fits the description.

Fredo
Just when you think we have him figured out, the Bulls defense actually improved with Korver on the floor in the 4th quarter (a lot of that is because he came in at the same time as Taj, but Kyle did his part and knocked some 3s down, which is all we can ask of him.)

Luol Deng
Lu continues to be our most consistent player, keeping us in the game in the 3rd quarter. Something I want to see from TT going forward: don't be afraid to switch Deng onto a smaller guard when they're hot. Deng might have made some of those shots Ellis hit a lot harder, and I think Rip and TBN could have handled Dorell Wright if he tried to post them up.

Think of this opening trip like the circus trip, people. If we come out of it .500 going home, we'll be OK. If you feel anxious, consult the Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy advice at the top of the post. Thank you and enjoy the flight.

Christmas Credit! Bulls-Lakers 12/25

Full disclosure: I missed the terrible 3rd quarter due to silly things like "Christmas dinner with the family", so I'm just going to assume everyone was awful and leave it at that. If someone was particularly awful, let me know in the comments.

Credit:
Derrick- 50%
This tweet from J.A. Adande sums it all up:

For about 3 seconds after Derrick got the ball on the Bulls' last possession, I was silently yelling at him to take a timeout and let the Bulls set up a play. Then I remembered Derrick is Derrick, had the man he wanted on him, and all the momentum. Sure, there was no one there to rebound if he missed, but he didn't. M, V, P.

Also, nice to see Derrick hitting his 3s in the first game back. 4-6 from beyond the arc.

Luol Deng- 29%
Luol Deng guards Kobe as well or better than anyone in the NBA. This is, of course, the major reason why Deng was a game best +13 (that and the fact that while he wasn't in the game, Fredo was off getting housed by World Peace, but we'll get to that in a minute.) Deng also did nice Deng things on the offensive end, too, and following his shot after the missed three and getting an and-1 was obviously huge, as was the 5-5 from the line at the end.

-1% for the mistake that even my 8th graders know what not to do, though. Don't jump unless you know what you're going to do with the ball, please.

Carlos Boozer- 15%
While the whole help defense thing still has a way to go, at least tonight's Carlos Boozer was doing the things we should be paying him for, and not being a total liability on defense (although that might change when we play a better power forward than Josh McRoberts.) There was a stretch in the 2nd quarter when Boozer basically was our offense. Nice to see him playing with confidence again.

TT- 3%
I'm giving TT 3% for the following reasons:
1. The Lakers last second play was "give the ball to Kobe and let him go 1-0n-5 to the basket". I'm grateful TT has more sense than that, and if I was a fan of any other team in the Western Conference, I'd be so glad the Lakers no longer have Phil Jackson and now have Mike Brown.
2. I love that TT had the confidence in Rose to let him make the decision about whether to take a timeout, instead of doing it for him. I don't think many other coaches in the NBA don't call timeout there.
3. But when they need a good play (like the possession before), he's completely capable of drawing one up that gets us an open three.

The reason he doesn't get more credit is because it took him so friggin long to switch Deng onto Kobe. Deng usually always guards Kobe. I don't know if he was deferring to Rip out of respect or what (I have a feeling Rip wanted to start out on Kobe), but it shouldn't have taken that long for the Bulls' best defender to be causing problems with his length. If I had more time right now, I'd look up Kobe's shooting by defender.

Baseline Ninja- 2%
Nothing special, nothing flashy, just solid defense and a mid-range jumper or two. I love how Ronnie works with the 2nd unit, and keeps the pace up-tempo.

Turkish D- 1%
I know he was 1-5 from the field, but 8 rebounds (4 offensive) in 20 minutes is a rate I can live with.

No Credit:
Fredo
Careful, Kyle. You're starting to get a little bit useless over here. 10 minutes, 0-3 from the floor (with Steve Blake guarding him for most of those 9 minutes), and a -12, which is not like a "team was bad so my +/- is bad" -12, it was -12 because Metta World Peace was directly scoring on him for most of the time he was on the floor. Look, I know Korver isn't a great defender, but when the Lakers' 6th best player is calling for iso in the post on you, and you're not making up for it on the offensive end at all, then TT might as well be playing Jimmy Butler. (Note to TT: please try this experiment soon.)

Joakim Noah
I very much recall Joakim having 6 of the first 10 points for the Bulls. However, he ended the game 3-12 with 6 points, so that means he was quiet for there on out. I would give him a little credit for the big steal late in the game (and good help D in general), but it's a little negated by letting Pau knock a huge rebound off your knee to get possession. I expect Joakim to clear that rebound every time.

Should be no credit, but isn't-
Rip Hamilton
Let's not panic yet, very ticky-tack foul trouble kept Rip from getting into a rhythm, which is why he was such a no-show on the offensive end. It happens to every player now and then. I predict Rip has 20 tomorrow night against the Warriors.

The Inevitable Reilly/Tebow Column is Even Less Coherant Than You Think

OK, this is kinda late, but it's so awful it very much deserves to be mocked. Basically, Rick wants to compare Tom Brady with Tebow, and is way too lazy to actually write a coherent, thoughtful article, so he just spouts of trivia in the style of an Onion "keys to the matchup" article, but a lot less funny.

Take your pick

Tom is righty. Tim is lefty.

Tom is 34. Tim is 24.

So far, so mundane.

Tom is second in passing yards among NFL starters this season. Tim is dead last.

Tom is third in completion percentage. Tim is dead last.

So is this article going to be about how much Tebow sucks?

Tom has won five games in a row. Tim has won six.

All by himself? Tebow must be great defensively.

Tom swears like a teamster who has stubbed his little toe. Tim says "Gosh!" and "Golly!" and calls reporters "Sir." (I hired a lip reader to monitor Tim in Week 13. The worst he said was an impassioned, "Let's go!")

Let me get this straight. You hired a lip reader to watch Tebow for a whole game, and the most interesting thing you can report him saying is "Let's go!"? Money well spent, Reilly.

Tom has a QB rating of 106.0. Tim's is 83.9.

But in the fourth quarter, Tom's is 91.0 and Tim's is 99.6.

QB rating is a terrible stat

Tom is a national sex symbol who's had two children, one out of wedlock with a stunning actress and the other with his wife, a Brazilian supermodel. Tim is a national sexless symbol, a proud virgin.

(coughexcepthemightbesleepingwithLindsayVonncough)

Tom has won 77 percent of his games as a starter. Tim has won 73 percent.

Tom throws spirals that could slide into a mailbox from across a cul de sac. They nestle into receivers' arms like babies returned to new mothers. Tim throws chevrons of mallards. He has more overthrows than the Arab Spring.

Chevrons of mallards? I get that mallards=ducks but what unit of measurement is a chevron, besides a gas station? He throws gas stations of ducks?

Tom has the seventh-best-selling Fathead poster in the NFL this week. Tim has the best-selling one. And the second-best-selling one. And the 10th-best-selling one.

Oh, so we're measuring quarterbacks by Fathead sales now? Wonderful, Dan Gilbert will be thrilled.

Tom is the ultimate pocket quarterback. He's as comfortable in it as Sarah Palin in mink. Tim treats the pocket as an electric chair. He bolts it like it's on fire.

I don't know what's worse, the dated Sarah Palin reference for Tom, or the fact that he doesn't even try to come up with a funny metaphor for Tim.

Tom runs like he's wearing ski boots. Tim runs like he's wearing ACME jet packs. In his entire career, Tom has rushed for 697 yards. Tim could very well run for that many this season.

Like Brian Urlacher said, he's a good running back.

Tom has lost games this season scoring 31, 20 and 17 points. Tim has won games scoring 18, 17, 17, 16 and 13.

Might this have something to do with the fact that New England is dead last in total defense?

Tom is aided by the NFL's leading receiver, Wes Welker, and a touchdown-gobbling tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Tim is helped by God, according to his pastor, Wayne Henson. "God favors Tim for all his hard work," the pastor says.

...God is playing wide receiver for the Broncos now? I missed that signing. Where were you on that one, Adam Schefter?

Tom is in his 12th season. Tim is in his second. Tom finished his second season with a passer rating of 86.5. Tim's passer rating is about the same, 83.9.

You already said that. Now you're repeating the same boring facts over again.

Tom was born in San Mateo, Calif., to an insurance consultant and has three siblings, all girls. Tim was born in Makati City, Philippines, to a Baptist missionary, and is the youngest of five.

These aren't even interesting anymore. It's like you're just taking random things off their Wikipedia pages and calling it an article.

Tom went to the prestigious Catholic high school Junipero Serra, where Barry Bonds and Lynn Swann went. Tim was homeschooled.

Catholic school wasn't religious enough?

Tom was mostly unknown in college. He sat on the bench his first two years. Tim was one of the most famous college athletes in history, a cinch for the College Football Hall of Fame, winner of two national championships, claimer of one Heisman and finalist for two more.

Tom was a sixth-round draft pick. Tim was a first-rounder.

Tom did not start a game as a rookie. Tim did.

When you compare and contrast Tebow and Brady this way, it's just abundantly clear how over-hyped Tebow is, and how good Brady is. It's like Reilly wanted to show the world how they were actually closer than you think, but none of his research backed this up, and he was too lazy to come up with another idea so he just kept it anyway.

Tom has won three Super Bowls, two Super Bowl MVPs and two league MVPs. He owns the NFL regular-season records for TD passes, best TDs-to-interception ratio, consecutive home wins and consecutive playoff wins. Tim is a favorite of Skip Bayless.

I can't tell with Reilly if he thinks this is a point in Tebow's favor or not.

Tom is Goliath. Tim is David. A 6-foot-3, 235-pound David who can bench 350 and flatten cornerbacks into peanut brittle.

Tom has 24 fourth-quarter comeback victories in his 11 years as a starter. Tim has six in, basically, one.

I would bet large amounts of money that Tebow never gets to 24.

Tom has no jokes going around about him. Tim has this one: Tebow asks for an audience with the Pope, who grants it. Tebow flies to Rome and the Pope gives him a tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, everything. But it's Sunday morning and now the Pope needs to deliver Mass to the 50,000 people waiting in St. Peter's Square below his window. "Come with me to the window and see for yourself," the Pope says. The two of them go to the window. Down below, an Italian guy says to his buddy, "Hey, who's the guy in the pointy hat next to Tebow?"

There are plenty of jokes about Tom Brady, but they're just as unfunny.

Tom has made 17 Sports Illustrated covers. Tim has eight, one more than Drew Brees.

Just as bad of a way to rate quarterbacks as Fathead sales.

Tom has 19 books for sale about him on Amazon.com. Tim has six.

So you ran out of info on Wikipedia and went to Amazon. See what you can find on IMDB!

Tom is the namesake of the NFL's Brady Rule, which prohibits hitting QBs below the knees. Tim is the namesake behind the NCAA's Tebow Rule, regarding athletes wearing messages on their eye black.

My God, it's getting more boring by the minute.

Tom is on a greeting card. Tim is on a Christmas card.

I'm sure both are on all types of cards.

Tom has been named his team's QB of the future. Tim has not.

For good reason (hint: it's because only one of them is good at throwing a football.)

Tom is 1-5 versus Tim's team. Tim has never played Tom's team.

Probably goes back to that whole "Tom is 34, Tim is 24" thing you were hitting on earlier.

Bradying is not an acknowledged English word, according to the Global Language Monitor. Tebowing is.

Both men would chew through a cement embankment to win a football game.

They play Sunday.

Who do you like?

Even though I already know the outcome, I think it was fair to say beforehand that I liked Brady more. Because you forgot one important comparison:

Tom is a good quarterback. Tim is not.

Bulls/Pacers Preseason Open Thread 12/16

Can't do the whole liveblog thing tonight, but I'm sure I will have a ton of thoughts to put up about the game tonight. Feel free to contribute as well.

The Bulls as Ninja Turtles (Part 2)

Taj Gibson= Casey Jones

Like Casey, Taj can come in and have a big impact in support of the main guys, but sometimes lets his temper get the best of him and says something to make things worse (see: Chris Bosh in the ECF)

Ronnie Brewer= Karai


Mainly just because they're both ninjas.

CJ Watson= Shadow
(there are no good pictures of Shawdow on the internet)

I like to think CJ is Derrick's mentee, even though he's older.

Big Sexy= Splinter


I was thinking about Bogans for Splinter, but I thought about it a little more and decided Sexy was a perfect Splinter, since nowadays he's so old and slow he mainly just gets the other guys into trouble.

White Mamba= Zippy Lad


Mainly because when he's involved, you know the situation isn't too serious.