Blame Game: Bulls-Raptors

I have to make this quick so I can get some sleep, but an hour and a half later I'm still pretty pissed off about this loss. Call it a trap game, Noah not in sync with the rest of the team, or whatever other excuse you want to use, but the fact is the Bulls gave up 118 points in regulation to a team that averages 98 points. That's not what a team that thinks they're one of the best defensive clubs in the NBA does when they get their best defender back.

TT- 40%

Haven't had a real cause to rail against TT for awhile, but I was yelling at him almost the entire 4th quarter. Kurt Thomas played more than Joakim in the 4th quarter, and more than Taj in the game. And he was killing the Bulls help D. He just could not get to the rim to protect it fast enough when Barbosa and Derozan blew by Korver or Deng. The Bulls were down 92-91 at the 8:26 mark, a perfect time to put Joakim back in the game. But he sticks with Kurt, the Raptors get three easy buckets making it 98-91, then it occurs to TT to put his best defender into the game.

I was holding out hope that it wouldn't be true, but it appears Kurt is going to be the 3rd big man for the Bulls, sliding Taj to 4th and Asik out of the rotation entirely. Big Sexy played 22 mostly ineffective minutes tonight, Taj 16, Asik 20someodd seconds. If this is a problem against the Raptors, you can be damn sure it's going to be a problem against the Heat tomorrow night, and every night until TT starts playing his best players.

Also, TT is supposed to be good at Xs and Os, but it seemed like it was the Raptors getting easy layups off inbounds plays at the end of the game, and the Bulls the ones throwing up off-balance shots or throwing the ball away. Sorry, TT, you were outcoached tonight.

And please grow the stones to remove Boozer when he's not playing defense at the end of games (more on this in a moment.)

Carlos Boozer- 25%

You weren't asked to guard Tim Duncan, or Blake Griffin, or even freaking Andrea Bargnani. Amir fucking Johnson went 8-8 from the field on whatever the hell you were passing off as defense, not to mention all the times you watched the Raptors wings beat their men to the hole without even a glimmer of help D. That's how you drop 24 and are a -7.

John Paxson and Gar Foreman- 15%

This one's for JJ. The silver lining in this loss was the look on JJ's face after the game, hugging ex-teammates who were all clearly happy for the guy to be in a situation where he gets to be a major contributer. And I'm going to write this in bold and italics and give it it's own paragraph to get the point across:

HE COULD HAVE BEEN A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR FOR THE BULLS!!!

JJ wasn't Tyrus Thomas, a malcontent grumbling about playing time. He was always up on the bench with everyone else, even if it'd been 7 or 8 consecutive games with a DNP-CD. JJ has the athleticism, all he needs is the playing time and the right coaching to help him make better decisions on the court. There's no reason he couldn't have done that here. For how off Deng might have been on the defensive end tonight, the Bulls were way worse during the 6 minutes he was off, as the Raptors wings pretty much had their way with Kyle Korver. And I didn't like seeing JJ as one of those guys, although I'm rooting for him the rest of the way.

(And isn't the biggest knock on JJ his shot-selection? He took 4 shots in 26 minutes tonight. Seems like Toronto straightened him out in a hurry.)

Kyle Korver- 10%

When Kyle isn't hitting his shot, he shouldn't be on the court. The offense/defense substitution is fine when he's on, otherwise keep Ronnie on the court. Kyle had no chance against the quick Raptors wings and they ate him up all night. It would be different if Taj and Noah were behind him (I wish I had the minutes they played together in front of me, but I feel like it wasn't very much), but when Kurt and Booze are behind him, it's like an invitation to the basket.

Kurt Thomas- 5%

Not a lot left to say about Kurt. You know why he's here at this point.

Luol Deng- 5%

I hope it was just that you were saving your good defense for Lebron tomorrow night, Deng.

Absolved-

Derrick- I still love Derrick putting the team on his back offensively at the end of games. He shouldn't have to do that against the Raptors.
Ronnie Brewer- 4th leading scorer tonight, played with great energy like always. Big reason the 2nd unit went on a run at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.
Taj- I could probably give Taj a percent or two for his 2-8 from the field performance, but it looked like another night when he was getting hacked and the officials just ignored it.
Joakim- Again, maybe worth a percent or two for letting Bargnani drop so much, but he is a good offensive big man, and it was Noah's first game back, so I'll let him slide this time.

Better effort tomorrow tomorrow night, fellas. There are less and less cream puffs in the East by the day, and the 1 seed is within reach.