So apparently I can just never write Bulls-Heat games up on the day of. At least we won this one, it would have been not fun to write a blame game about last night. But we'll get to the unpleasantness later, let's start with the fun stuff.
Credit:
CJ Watson- 30%
CJ earned every bit of that +38. It's been a little bit rough for CJ as of late, what with JL3 more than occasionally outplaying him with Derrick out, but last night he was great. And I don't think just because Derrick was making him look good by comparison. CJ was taking smart shots and playing strong defense (even on Wade for a few possessions).
There were a lot of good players last night, but CJ gets an extra 10% for having the presence of mind to pump fake and get out of D-Wade's way. I was getting ready to go off on him for making himself unbalanced, but upon further review if CJ shoots right away it would have been thrown into the 5th row.
Taj- 20%
Speaking of "throwing things into the third row", Taj was sensational. He only had 1 block in the box score, but he altered way more shots than that and as usual changed the game when he was in defensively. I firmly believe Taj could be a DPOY candidate if he was averaging more than 20 minutes a game.
My big worry with Taj, although it's a few years off, is that Taj is going to play his way into a contract too big for us to offer him. Boozer and Noah are going to be pulling down 8 figures for the Bulls for the next several years, but if I was playing a pickup game and had my choice of Bulls big men, I'd pick Taj first right now. Again, I know this isn't a concern for today, but I can't help but wonder if it's part of the reason he's averaging 20 minutes per game.
Fredo- 20%
After posts like this one from last year, I didn't think I'd see a Heat-Bulls game where Kyle and Boozer were our two leading scorers. But Kyle is turning it on at the right time from the field right now, dropping 5-6 from downtown, including that Dan Majerle-esque dagger from about 30. More importantly, Korver has been so much improved defensively it's absurd. I used to be stressed out about Fredo's defense when he was on the court. Now he's an improvement over Rip Hamilton, and is almost making TBN expendable against most NBA teams.
Turkish D- 10%
How do you go 0-2 from the field and end up +25? By altering every shot Taj doesn't, and pulling down huge rebounds. I feel like we forget that Turkish was hurt for some of the Heat series, and it's not a little matter. Making Wade and James throw up more difficult shots when they go to the hole all game is going to wear them down over the course of a long playoff series, and it's nice that the Bulls always have at least one above average defensive player on the court at all times, and sometimes two. Three of the four 5-man units that have a defensive rating under .9 (which is pretty darn good) have Asik in for Noah. (All 4, of course, have Gibson)
Boozer- 7%
Don't let the -15 fool you, Boozer is the only reason the game wasn't over by halftime. Smart, open shots, mixed with some aggressive basket-attacking, which is when Boozer is at his best. Boozer was actually in line for a lot more credit, but then he went back to Dr. Jeckyl in the 2nd half and started taking stupid contested fallaways until he was pulled. As Sam says all the time, "towards the basket, Booze!"
Luol Deng- 5%
I suppose I'm shortchanging Lu a little, since he hit some clutch shots and played much improved defense over the Melo torch-job the other day. But we saw some of the bad Deng, too, settling for too many jumpers instead of finding lanes to the basket, especially when LeBron wasn't guarding him. It might, of course be a result of him playing 43 minutes last night, which we'll get to shortly.
TT- 5%
Low? I give credit to TT for sitting Derrick at the end of the game and overtime, and completely rolling with the Bench Mob to win this game. That being said, I think if Derrick doesn't come back in late in the 4th at all, the Bulls win comfortably. He said after the game CJ needed a rest, but I'm calling BS on that since Taj came in at about the same time, and he wasn't getting pulled for Noah until he fouled out in OT. No, the best case scenario for TT was Derrick coming in for the last few minutes and helping the Bulls win, so there's no story about it the next day. Instead it was obvious Derrick was actively hurting the Bulls on both ends, and TT probably held on a possession too long. If the Heat go with the Wade-LeBron-Battier-Bosh-Turiaf 5 in crunch time in the playoffs, I hope TT follows the pattern of this game. On the most important possession of the game for the Heat, the 5 on the floor to defend them was TBN-Deng-JFB-Taj-Asik. That's why I love TT. But if you have that much trust in those guys, why not see them more often?
TBN- 2%
I said Korver was making TBN obsolete against most teams, but not the Heat. Ronnie guards Wade as well as anyone in the NBA, and some of those late shots Wade hit by praying them in, through no fault of Ronnie's. We might not need him more than 12 minutes a game to beat the Knicks and whoever we'll see in round 2 (knock on wood), but we'll need Ronnie against the Heat.
JFB- 1%
JFB was on the court for some of the most key possessions of the game (which I fully support, TT). So why the hell can't he play for 6 minutes in the 2nd quarter and get Deng a little more rest? I really need this explained to me.
No Credit-
Derrick- I'm just going to skip the negative stuff we can talk about here and focus on the positive. Derrick got a lot of love from ESPN today for being a true professional and team player, and being "the first off the bench to congratulate guys" last night. But that's not entirely true. JL3 and Boozer were always the first ones up. Derrick said and did all the right things, and was in the huddle at timeouts and encouraging CJ and whatnot. But you could tell inside he wasn't happy with the game. And I like that about Derrick. I want my alpha dog to be angry when he has a bad game, regardless of the outcome. I want him to take ownership of it. That's the way Derrick's wired, and it's going to help in the long run.
Joakim- I don't know what to say about Jo, though. There have been too many games lately where Jo has been our 4th best big man for my tastes. You can't use the "he's not in shape" excuse anymore, it's mid-April, Jo. I want to see this Joakim back, soon. We need him for the playoffs:
Showing posts with label Turkish D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkish D. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls-Sixers 3/4
The Sixers are not a good matchup for the Bulls. The gameplan to beat the Bulls is always "make them beat you from the outside", but not many teams have the right combination of perimeter defenders and athletic big men to make it happen. The Sixers are a team that's able to help aggressively when Derrick penetrates, and rotate in the paint well. They'll give Carlos and Ronnie open 18 footers at the expense of anything inside, which is exactly what I'd do if I had to play the Bulls.
Which brings me to the other matchup problem: coaching. I don't want this to turn into "nitpick TT into oblivion" time (like I frequently do here), but I feel like Doug Collins has TT's number. Calling Vucevic's number whenever Asik was in, forcing Asik outside (where he's not nearly as effective of a defender), was one of the main reasons the game was close. Then there was TT's misuse of timeouts (which we fortunately haven't seen in awhile), forcing Taj and Joakim to take clutch free throws instead of better shooters.
Of course, this is a credit post, not a blame one, and there's two main reasons for this:
Derrick- 40%
35 points on 12-23 from the field (4-7 from beyond the arc), and frequently against a double team. The biggest part of that was clearly the three point shooting. As we know, Derrick can run hot-and-cold from downtown, and if Derrick wasn't making those, the domino effect on defense might have made this game look an awful lot like the last time we played the Sixers.
Oh, and he hit a bunch of clutch, athletic shots in the 4th quarter that no one else in the NBA except maybe Kobe and LeBron can make. That too.
The Sixers lack of an offensive go-to-guy- 40%
Wow. The Sixers had plenty of chances to win this game, but the shots Andre Iguodala were putting up to try to tie the game were awful. Thaddeus Young's terrible 17-footer didn't help matters either. I know it's hard to attack the basket when the Bulls have Taj and Joakim in the game, but that's no excuse for not trying. This is a charge that's been leveled against the Sixers from way more reputable sources than me, but as I don't watch a lot of Sixers games when the Bulls aren't involved, this was my first chance to see it with my own eyes. And it was terrible. If the Sixers want to do anything in the playoffs, this needs to be addressed, quickly.
Joakim- 5%
I was giving Joakim crap early in the game for coming out lackadaisically, but he certainly picked it up in the 2nd half, attacking the boards on both ends and playing solid help D. It could have been not-close in the Bulls favor if he wasn't the only big man to have a decent all-around game.
CJ- 3%
It wasn't the Bench Mob's finest night, but CJ made some clutch shots in the 4th quarter, and was, as usual, the entire Bulls' offense in the beginning of the 2nd.
Rip- 2%
That's more like it, Rip. 4-6 from the field, and a little bit of pressure off of Derrick is what the Bulls signed him for. Hopefully we can get it for more than 19 minutes a night going forward.
The flip side to Rip playing more is Kyle Korver, who only played 5 minutes tonight (which I didn't even realize until I saw the box score.) It'll be interesting to see what happens with Fredo going forward.
No Credit:
Luol Deng (with an assist to TT)- Mainly because Deng is going back to standing around the 3 point circle waiting to shoot, instead of attacking the basket. Which is probably where the 3-11 came from. But whether it's because that's what he's supposed to do in the plays TT drew up, or just because he's tired due to how many minutes he's playing, either one is TT's fault. Free Jimmy Butler.
Taj Gibson- while 1-6 from the field isn't terribly unusual for Taj, the step slow on defensive rotations is. Also, make your clutch free throws, please.
Turkish D- While I'll defend Asik as a player, it's kind of a problem that he can't be trusted to guard anyone that can make him play D from more than 15 feet away from the basket.
Which brings me to the other matchup problem: coaching. I don't want this to turn into "nitpick TT into oblivion" time (like I frequently do here), but I feel like Doug Collins has TT's number. Calling Vucevic's number whenever Asik was in, forcing Asik outside (where he's not nearly as effective of a defender), was one of the main reasons the game was close. Then there was TT's misuse of timeouts (which we fortunately haven't seen in awhile), forcing Taj and Joakim to take clutch free throws instead of better shooters.
Of course, this is a credit post, not a blame one, and there's two main reasons for this:
Derrick- 40%
35 points on 12-23 from the field (4-7 from beyond the arc), and frequently against a double team. The biggest part of that was clearly the three point shooting. As we know, Derrick can run hot-and-cold from downtown, and if Derrick wasn't making those, the domino effect on defense might have made this game look an awful lot like the last time we played the Sixers.
Oh, and he hit a bunch of clutch, athletic shots in the 4th quarter that no one else in the NBA except maybe Kobe and LeBron can make. That too.
The Sixers lack of an offensive go-to-guy- 40%
Wow. The Sixers had plenty of chances to win this game, but the shots Andre Iguodala were putting up to try to tie the game were awful. Thaddeus Young's terrible 17-footer didn't help matters either. I know it's hard to attack the basket when the Bulls have Taj and Joakim in the game, but that's no excuse for not trying. This is a charge that's been leveled against the Sixers from way more reputable sources than me, but as I don't watch a lot of Sixers games when the Bulls aren't involved, this was my first chance to see it with my own eyes. And it was terrible. If the Sixers want to do anything in the playoffs, this needs to be addressed, quickly.
Joakim- 5%
I was giving Joakim crap early in the game for coming out lackadaisically, but he certainly picked it up in the 2nd half, attacking the boards on both ends and playing solid help D. It could have been not-close in the Bulls favor if he wasn't the only big man to have a decent all-around game.
CJ- 3%
It wasn't the Bench Mob's finest night, but CJ made some clutch shots in the 4th quarter, and was, as usual, the entire Bulls' offense in the beginning of the 2nd.
Rip- 2%
That's more like it, Rip. 4-6 from the field, and a little bit of pressure off of Derrick is what the Bulls signed him for. Hopefully we can get it for more than 19 minutes a night going forward.
The flip side to Rip playing more is Kyle Korver, who only played 5 minutes tonight (which I didn't even realize until I saw the box score.) It'll be interesting to see what happens with Fredo going forward.
No Credit:
Luol Deng (with an assist to TT)- Mainly because Deng is going back to standing around the 3 point circle waiting to shoot, instead of attacking the basket. Which is probably where the 3-11 came from. But whether it's because that's what he's supposed to do in the plays TT drew up, or just because he's tired due to how many minutes he's playing, either one is TT's fault. Free Jimmy Butler.
Taj Gibson- while 1-6 from the field isn't terribly unusual for Taj, the step slow on defensive rotations is. Also, make your clutch free throws, please.
Turkish D- While I'll defend Asik as a player, it's kind of a problem that he can't be trusted to guard anyone that can make him play D from more than 15 feet away from the basket.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Credit Where Credit is Due: Bulls-Bucks 1/27
Not that this game really calls for it all that much, but I have a little time on my hands for once, and want to rant about Boozer for awhile, so why not?
Credit:
Derrick- 50%
The Bulls have the best record in the East because of our depth, and continuity in the roster in this shortened season. The Bulls are a contender, though, because Derrick is capable of putting the Bulls on his shoulder from time to time. Now, I realize this wasn't the highest degree-of-difficulty game for Derrick, Jennings was basically rolling out the welcome mat for him and the Bucks' frontcourt without Bogut is horrible defensively. But Derrick made 34 points on 14-24 shooting look easy. And twenty of those points came in the paint. This is what Boozer's shot chart should look like:
Brandon Jennings- 20%
I was secretly excited when Jennings went off in the first half, since he's the type of guy that will then look for his shot the rest of the game at the expense of his team. Brandon didn't disappoint, with questionable bricks and turnovers killing the Bucks' momentum whenever it seemed like they were going to go on a run. And, of course, he didn't even try to play any D on Derrick. Good work, Brandon.
Joakim- 15%
Maybe Jo does need to play his way back into playing shape. Two good games in a row from Jo, being active on the offensive glass and a bigger presence on D, which is exactly what the Bulls have needed from him all year. In fact, I'd say 15 points, 16 boards is his best game of the year so far. A good sign for the future.
CJ Watson- 8%
CJ did CJ, hitting some big shots and being pesky on D. Not much else to say, other than that I'm liking CJ + Derrick time more and more, especially with Rip out. Maybe if Rip struggles with his shot when he comes back TT will be more likely to use CJ at the 2 even with Rip healthy.
Taj Gibson- 5%
This wasn't Taj's finest game by any means, but he gets 5% since it wasn't bad for his first game back, and for not being Boozer. Hopefully his ankle gets better soon. (At least I assume it's not 100%, and that's why Boozer played the 4th quarter minutes, because otherwise I'm not happy with TT.)
Turkish D- 2%
Eh. Nothing great, nothing terrible. It's kind of refreshing that Asik never shoots from more than 8 feet out. While it might enhance his game, I also never have to be worried about Omer taking a dumb shot, because he never takes dumb shots.
No Credit
TBN- I felt like TBN was having a good game, playing lockdown D and making things happen on offense. Then I look at the box score and realize he's 2-13. That ain't not never good.
Fredo- Why stats are misleading part 1: Korver was +16 in this game, but he had nothing to do with that on either side of the ball. 3-9 from the field, and his trademark "passable" D, he just happened to not be on the court when the Bucks made their runs.
Boozer- Why stats are misleading part 2: If you didn't see this game and just looked at the box score, you would think Boozer had a good game. 20 points on 8-15, 13 boards, and a +5. But stats, even so called advanced ones like PER, don't take into account just how many more points the Bucks scored because Boozer was on the court refusing to play a whiff of help D. This was Boozer's worst defensive game of the season. He never went anywhere near Jennings when he came to the rim, preferring to stay near his man, who he still wasn't guarding. Jon freaking Leuer had 19 points on 9-11 from the field (I realize not all of that was on Boozer, but still). There was no reason the Bucks should have been anywhere near 100 points in this game, and wouldn't have been if Boozer and Taj's minutes had been switched. Since TT has proven this season he's not afraid to play Taj over Boozer in crunch time, I'm sure it was just a case of Taj not being 100% right now. It would be nice, though, if Taj over Boozer was an exception instead of the rule, though. Or if Boozer would just pretend like he wants to help on D.
Bring on the Heat!
Credit:
Derrick- 50%
The Bulls have the best record in the East because of our depth, and continuity in the roster in this shortened season. The Bulls are a contender, though, because Derrick is capable of putting the Bulls on his shoulder from time to time. Now, I realize this wasn't the highest degree-of-difficulty game for Derrick, Jennings was basically rolling out the welcome mat for him and the Bucks' frontcourt without Bogut is horrible defensively. But Derrick made 34 points on 14-24 shooting look easy. And twenty of those points came in the paint. This is what Boozer's shot chart should look like:
Brandon Jennings- 20%
I was secretly excited when Jennings went off in the first half, since he's the type of guy that will then look for his shot the rest of the game at the expense of his team. Brandon didn't disappoint, with questionable bricks and turnovers killing the Bucks' momentum whenever it seemed like they were going to go on a run. And, of course, he didn't even try to play any D on Derrick. Good work, Brandon.
Joakim- 15%
Maybe Jo does need to play his way back into playing shape. Two good games in a row from Jo, being active on the offensive glass and a bigger presence on D, which is exactly what the Bulls have needed from him all year. In fact, I'd say 15 points, 16 boards is his best game of the year so far. A good sign for the future.
CJ Watson- 8%
CJ did CJ, hitting some big shots and being pesky on D. Not much else to say, other than that I'm liking CJ + Derrick time more and more, especially with Rip out. Maybe if Rip struggles with his shot when he comes back TT will be more likely to use CJ at the 2 even with Rip healthy.
Taj Gibson- 5%
This wasn't Taj's finest game by any means, but he gets 5% since it wasn't bad for his first game back, and for not being Boozer. Hopefully his ankle gets better soon. (At least I assume it's not 100%, and that's why Boozer played the 4th quarter minutes, because otherwise I'm not happy with TT.)
Turkish D- 2%
Eh. Nothing great, nothing terrible. It's kind of refreshing that Asik never shoots from more than 8 feet out. While it might enhance his game, I also never have to be worried about Omer taking a dumb shot, because he never takes dumb shots.
No Credit
TBN- I felt like TBN was having a good game, playing lockdown D and making things happen on offense. Then I look at the box score and realize he's 2-13. That ain't not never good.
Fredo- Why stats are misleading part 1: Korver was +16 in this game, but he had nothing to do with that on either side of the ball. 3-9 from the field, and his trademark "passable" D, he just happened to not be on the court when the Bucks made their runs.
Boozer- Why stats are misleading part 2: If you didn't see this game and just looked at the box score, you would think Boozer had a good game. 20 points on 8-15, 13 boards, and a +5. But stats, even so called advanced ones like PER, don't take into account just how many more points the Bucks scored because Boozer was on the court refusing to play a whiff of help D. This was Boozer's worst defensive game of the season. He never went anywhere near Jennings when he came to the rim, preferring to stay near his man, who he still wasn't guarding. Jon freaking Leuer had 19 points on 9-11 from the field (I realize not all of that was on Boozer, but still). There was no reason the Bucks should have been anywhere near 100 points in this game, and wouldn't have been if Boozer and Taj's minutes had been switched. Since TT has proven this season he's not afraid to play Taj over Boozer in crunch time, I'm sure it was just a case of Taj not being 100% right now. It would be nice, though, if Taj over Boozer was an exception instead of the rule, though. Or if Boozer would just pretend like he wants to help on D.
Bring on the Heat!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Quick Thoughts on Bulls/Wizards
Don't have a lot of time, but here are a few thoughts about the Bulls game tonight:
-Taj and Asik should be playing 36 minutes a night.
-I love what John Lucas did tonight...but here's his shot chart.
That's a lot of bricks. Thankfully we were playing the Wizards.
-I don't get why everyone loves the Wizards new unis so much. I get the Bullets nostalgia and whatnot, but the Bullets old uniforms were never that great, they were pretty...blah. And the new ones are too busy, and you can't even read the numbers on the jerseys. I am not a fan.
I told you the thoughts would be quick. Expect a much longer rant if Boozer and Noah don't get it together soon and start costing us games.
Free Jimmy Butler.
-Taj and Asik should be playing 36 minutes a night.
-I love what John Lucas did tonight...but here's his shot chart.
That's a lot of bricks. Thankfully we were playing the Wizards.
-I don't get why everyone loves the Wizards new unis so much. I get the Bullets nostalgia and whatnot, but the Bullets old uniforms were never that great, they were pretty...blah. And the new ones are too busy, and you can't even read the numbers on the jerseys. I am not a fan.
I told you the thoughts would be quick. Expect a much longer rant if Boozer and Noah don't get it together soon and start costing us games.
Free Jimmy Butler.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Bulls' Big Dilemma
Quick note: I'm writing this during tonight's Bulls-Pistons game, so all the stats I'm citing are subject to change.
I started writing this post in my head after Friday night's game, but never got a chance until now. Obviously there's a lot that can be said about the loss to the Hawks, but I'm not going to waste too much time on the game itself, other than to give TT a little credit for throwing in the towel and giving the starters (who got absolutely destroyed in the minutes they did play) a decent amount of rest.
However, I do want to focus on the Bulls' big men for a minute, and make another bold proclamation:
Taj Gibson is the Bulls' best big man.
And I'm really not panicking here about Noah's slow start. He'll get it together offensively, and not be the type of player you can leave open from 15 feet. I love Noah's passing and on-the-ball defense. But Taj has been better in every aspect of the game thus far this year. He's always been the Bulls' best help defender, but lately has been guarding other bigs as well if not better than Noah this year, and has been finishing around the rim better than anyone besides Rose and Deng. The Bulls have somehow only played 3 games this year decided by less than 10 points, and one of those was the Warriors game, which really was never in doubt. By my count 4 games have been undecided with about 8 minutes left, the Lakers and Hawks comebacks, the Clippers game, and the Magic. In those 4 games, here are the 4 big men +/- numbers:
Taj: +34
Noah: +6
Boozer: +2
Turkish: -1
I know +/- has a lot of noise, but this isn't a coincidence. Taj has been really good when it counts. I'm willing to bet most of that +34 number has to do with Taj altering shots of players attacking the rim (which I'm sitting here watching Boozer and Noah fail to do against Detroit).
Looking at 82games.com, the best 5-man unit for the Bulls at +21 is the current starters (with TBN in for Rip). The starting 5 with Rip isn't far behind at +18. But what's interesting is the 2nd best unit, Rose-Korver-Deng-Taj-Turkish, +20 in only 19 minutes (current starters have played 51 minutes together.)
A lot of that has to do with that 5 being on the floor for most of the Hawks comeback, but I'm willing to say that 5 makes me more confident than any other 5, assuming the opposing team doesn't take advantage of Korver defensively. But the way Korver is shooting, that's probably the best offensive backcourt we can send out there, along with two solid defensive bigs to protect the rim. At least until Noah gets it together, I want to see more of this.
***
Two quick unrelated notes-
ESPN...this is not CJ Watson:
Also, TT, THIS WOULD BE THE PERFECT GAME TO PLAY JIMMY BUTLER. Deng is not having a good game, he's 2-12 from the field, and not playing particularly great defense on Tayshaun Prince (who isn't the toughest matchup in the world anyway,) yet Deng has played 34 minutes 3 minutes into the 4th. What could you possibly have to lose?
Free Jimmy Butler.
I started writing this post in my head after Friday night's game, but never got a chance until now. Obviously there's a lot that can be said about the loss to the Hawks, but I'm not going to waste too much time on the game itself, other than to give TT a little credit for throwing in the towel and giving the starters (who got absolutely destroyed in the minutes they did play) a decent amount of rest.
However, I do want to focus on the Bulls' big men for a minute, and make another bold proclamation:
Taj Gibson is the Bulls' best big man.
And I'm really not panicking here about Noah's slow start. He'll get it together offensively, and not be the type of player you can leave open from 15 feet. I love Noah's passing and on-the-ball defense. But Taj has been better in every aspect of the game thus far this year. He's always been the Bulls' best help defender, but lately has been guarding other bigs as well if not better than Noah this year, and has been finishing around the rim better than anyone besides Rose and Deng. The Bulls have somehow only played 3 games this year decided by less than 10 points, and one of those was the Warriors game, which really was never in doubt. By my count 4 games have been undecided with about 8 minutes left, the Lakers and Hawks comebacks, the Clippers game, and the Magic. In those 4 games, here are the 4 big men +/- numbers:
Taj: +34
Noah: +6
Boozer: +2
Turkish: -1
I know +/- has a lot of noise, but this isn't a coincidence. Taj has been really good when it counts. I'm willing to bet most of that +34 number has to do with Taj altering shots of players attacking the rim (which I'm sitting here watching Boozer and Noah fail to do against Detroit).
Looking at 82games.com, the best 5-man unit for the Bulls at +21 is the current starters (with TBN in for Rip). The starting 5 with Rip isn't far behind at +18. But what's interesting is the 2nd best unit, Rose-Korver-Deng-Taj-Turkish, +20 in only 19 minutes (current starters have played 51 minutes together.)
A lot of that has to do with that 5 being on the floor for most of the Hawks comeback, but I'm willing to say that 5 makes me more confident than any other 5, assuming the opposing team doesn't take advantage of Korver defensively. But the way Korver is shooting, that's probably the best offensive backcourt we can send out there, along with two solid defensive bigs to protect the rim. At least until Noah gets it together, I want to see more of this.
***
Two quick unrelated notes-
ESPN...this is not CJ Watson:
Also, TT, THIS WOULD BE THE PERFECT GAME TO PLAY JIMMY BUTLER. Deng is not having a good game, he's 2-12 from the field, and not playing particularly great defense on Tayshaun Prince (who isn't the toughest matchup in the world anyway,) yet Deng has played 34 minutes 3 minutes into the 4th. What could you possibly have to lose?
Free Jimmy Butler.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
An Ugly Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls-Hawks 1/3
Guest opinion of the night goes to Jordan Haramia, who put it simply when he said "Bulls do not deserve to win this game." Simple, direct, to the point, and probably true. However, the Bench Mob did deserve to win. Look at the following plus-minus numbers:
Fredo +18
Taj +17
Turkish D +10
T-Mac -9
Radmonovic -9
Willie Greene -9
Pargo -12
Zaza -7
For comparison, some starters:
Boozer -15
TBN -18
Al Horford +5
Jeff Teague +10
Marvin Williams +7
Joe Johnson +7
Josh Smith +7
With no Rip Hamilton, the Bulls are going to really struggle if Derrick and Deng are both off, like the first three quarters. But the key to this year is depth, and not being afraid to use it, like I said the other night. While it's sorta defeating the purpose to play Derrick and Lu 44 minutes each, I'm completely fine with Turkish playing 22 straight minutes (came in with 10:03 to play in the third, and didn't come out until the last play for Deng.) But I'm spilling over into the credit territory here. Let's get to it:
TT-40%
Here's the tweet of the night (Hollinger and Adande are now tied at two.)
About 25 head coaches in the NBA just give the ball to Derrick in that situation at the top of the key. I know Derrick was supposed to get the ball on that one, too, but just the fact that there was a 2nd option is more than VDN would have been able to come up with. TT had just done it 2 possessions before with the Korver curl play, but it almost backfired as Korver and Taj both passed up open jumpers, and they got nothing out of the play.
Also, I know I've praised this before, but I love that TT will let the group that brought them back stay in the game. I don't know if we complete the comeback if Boozer comes in with 6 minutes left in the game, no matter how tired Taj and Asik were.
Derrick-20%
Just the MVP doing MVP-type things. 16 of his 30 came in the 4th, and the Hawks played the best defense they could on some of Derrick's late drives. Maybe the Hawks should have ran a double at him and forced the ball into Asik or Korver's hands late, but they made the shots tough for Derrick. He's just better.
(After watching the highlights that last paragraph was only half true. Josh Smith could have played much better defense on the layup where Derrick crossed teague over and switched hands at the rim with 57 seconds left.)
Turkish D-15%
Stacey was trying to give him all the credit, but let's not go nuts. Still, Asik certainly changed the game in the 3rd quarter with his hustle, and outplayed the Hawks' bigs on the boards and the defensive end of the court.
Luol Deng-10%
21 points on 7-15 from the field, 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 game winning shot...and that might have been Deng's worst game of the season. We saw a little of the "settling-for-open-js" Deng tonight, which might have something to do with the fact that he's playing over 40 minutes a game in a stretch of 6 games in 10 days. Tonight wasn't the night for it, but we need to see some Jimmy Butler soon (or just more Ronnie/Korver time)
Fredo-5%
We're developing a pleasantly surprising trend of Korver being on the floor when the Bulls are playing their best defense. Other teams aren't really taking advantage of him one-on-one (although maybe Marvin Williams isn't the ideal candidate for that), and he's been pretty good at help D and team rebounding lately (Korver had 8 boards tonight, the most since...March 8th, 2008.)
Taj-5%
I've already done a lot of research for this post, and don't feel like doing more, but I'm willing to bet Taj has a lot more 4th quarter minutes this season than Carlos Boozer, which is a trend I really, really like TT.
Joe Johnson- 2%
3-17 from the field. I'm so glad we aren't paying you $120 million.
Atlanta's Free Throw Shooting- 2%
4-9 in the 4th quarter. That's not how you close out games.
Joakim-1%
TBN
Even the other night, TBN was more comfortable playing with the Bench Mob than the starters. I think that's the right place for him, and he's going to struggle in the starting roll. Hopefully Rip comes back soon.
Boozer (and his parents)
So it takes your parents being at a game to get attacking, non-defensive liability Boozer? Then how can we get them to every game?
There are going to be ugly games in a shortened, compressed season. Championship teams win those games. Great job, Bulls.
Fredo +18
Taj +17
Turkish D +10
T-Mac -9
Radmonovic -9
Willie Greene -9
Pargo -12
Zaza -7
For comparison, some starters:
Boozer -15
TBN -18
Al Horford +5
Jeff Teague +10
Marvin Williams +7
Joe Johnson +7
Josh Smith +7
With no Rip Hamilton, the Bulls are going to really struggle if Derrick and Deng are both off, like the first three quarters. But the key to this year is depth, and not being afraid to use it, like I said the other night. While it's sorta defeating the purpose to play Derrick and Lu 44 minutes each, I'm completely fine with Turkish playing 22 straight minutes (came in with 10:03 to play in the third, and didn't come out until the last play for Deng.) But I'm spilling over into the credit territory here. Let's get to it:
TT-40%
Here's the tweet of the night (Hollinger and Adande are now tied at two.)
About 25 head coaches in the NBA just give the ball to Derrick in that situation at the top of the key. I know Derrick was supposed to get the ball on that one, too, but just the fact that there was a 2nd option is more than VDN would have been able to come up with. TT had just done it 2 possessions before with the Korver curl play, but it almost backfired as Korver and Taj both passed up open jumpers, and they got nothing out of the play.
Also, I know I've praised this before, but I love that TT will let the group that brought them back stay in the game. I don't know if we complete the comeback if Boozer comes in with 6 minutes left in the game, no matter how tired Taj and Asik were.
Derrick-20%
Just the MVP doing MVP-type things. 16 of his 30 came in the 4th, and the Hawks played the best defense they could on some of Derrick's late drives. Maybe the Hawks should have ran a double at him and forced the ball into Asik or Korver's hands late, but they made the shots tough for Derrick. He's just better.
(After watching the highlights that last paragraph was only half true. Josh Smith could have played much better defense on the layup where Derrick crossed teague over and switched hands at the rim with 57 seconds left.)
Turkish D-15%
Stacey was trying to give him all the credit, but let's not go nuts. Still, Asik certainly changed the game in the 3rd quarter with his hustle, and outplayed the Hawks' bigs on the boards and the defensive end of the court.
Luol Deng-10%
21 points on 7-15 from the field, 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 game winning shot...and that might have been Deng's worst game of the season. We saw a little of the "settling-for-open-js" Deng tonight, which might have something to do with the fact that he's playing over 40 minutes a game in a stretch of 6 games in 10 days. Tonight wasn't the night for it, but we need to see some Jimmy Butler soon (or just more Ronnie/Korver time)
Fredo-5%
We're developing a pleasantly surprising trend of Korver being on the floor when the Bulls are playing their best defense. Other teams aren't really taking advantage of him one-on-one (although maybe Marvin Williams isn't the ideal candidate for that), and he's been pretty good at help D and team rebounding lately (Korver had 8 boards tonight, the most since...March 8th, 2008.)
Taj-5%
I've already done a lot of research for this post, and don't feel like doing more, but I'm willing to bet Taj has a lot more 4th quarter minutes this season than Carlos Boozer, which is a trend I really, really like TT.
Joe Johnson- 2%
3-17 from the field. I'm so glad we aren't paying you $120 million.
Atlanta's Free Throw Shooting- 2%
4-9 in the 4th quarter. That's not how you close out games.
Joakim-1%
I want to give Joakim a percent for that pass, but I was thinking I should give Joakim and Boozer credit for the fact that they don't have any attitude about not being a part of a few crunch situations lately. I know it should be expected of a professional, but as DeMarcus Cousins can tell you, you can't always count on that much maturity from an NBA player. Thank you, fellas, and thank you Garpax for putting together a team of professionals.
No CreditTBN
Even the other night, TBN was more comfortable playing with the Bench Mob than the starters. I think that's the right place for him, and he's going to struggle in the starting roll. Hopefully Rip comes back soon.
Boozer (and his parents)
So it takes your parents being at a game to get attacking, non-defensive liability Boozer? Then how can we get them to every game?
There are going to be ugly games in a shortened, compressed season. Championship teams win those games. Great job, Bulls.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls/Hawks Game 5
TT. TT. TT. TT. TT. I love it. You got rid of the stubbornness, and played your 5 that were playing the best at the end, regardless of regular rotations. If there wasn't so much credit to go around right now, I'd give you 100%.
TT- 50% (Honorary 100)
I've probably been a bigger TT critic this season than anyone I know. (See here. And here.) I love the intensity he's brought, the way he's gotten his team to buy into his scheme, the fact that he knows the Xs and Os better than anyone (although after VDN, anyone would have been an improvement there,) but I just couldn't stand the way the rotation was set in fucking stone. Bogans played in even number quarters approximately 5 times this year. Taj could go out and have a beastly night, and be back to 18 minutes the next night. It was driving me crazy.
Tonight he showed some flexibility, and it won them the game. It's quite possible that Derrick does his thing in the 4th even with Boozer, Noah, and Korver on the floor, but it would have been significantly harder. Instead TT put his 3 best energy guys/shot blockers (yes, I'm counting Turkish D as an energy guy, just for his work on the offensive glass) and they disrupted everything the Hawks tried to do on offense for the last 8 minutes, and instead of Derrick having to get his points in tough halfcourt sets with the Hawks collapsing on everything, he could get out and run in transition. Mad credit to TT for trusting those 3 to get the job done.
Derrick- 25%
Of course, that could have backfired completely if Derrick wasn't putting the ball in the basket as well. He stayed aggressive, mixed up the runners with the pull-up Js, and had his best game in awhile in terms of not turning the ball over. I'd really like it though, Thursday, if Derrick didn't have to be the entire offense for stretches of time.
Taj/Asik/TBN- 15%
Probably could have been way more for all three, but I gave TT so much of the credit above, just deflect some of that down to these guys. Seriously, all those stops and run-outs don't happen if there's a weak defensive link (coughboozerandkorvercough) on the floor for the Hawks to exploit. The closest they had was Teague on Derrick, and Taj and Turkish could make up for that. And the way Ronnie disrupted Joe Johnson was amazing.
Possibly premature side-note (knocking on wood) IF the Bulls get past the Hawks in this round, TBN is going to be huge in the next round for his ability to guard Wade. I remember giving Ronnie a ton of credit in games against the Heat earlier, and they're going to need him again. I hope TT keeps this momentum going and makes sure Ronnie gets the minutes on Thursday, too.
Deng- 5%
Great D, aggressive offensive, not too many flat jumpers. Deng looks a lot like the Deng that Kobe didn't want to lose in a trade back in 07. If Ronnie is going to be important in a (hypothetical) Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat, Deng will be 10x more important, since he'll have to guard LeBron while still contributing on offense. Now I know why TT has been playing him 44 minutes a game all year.
Big Shot Bogans- 5%
Again, could be more. I almost want to do the thing I did in Game 1 of the Pacers series and give some other guys negatives so I have more to go around. I like Bogans involved in the offense. It's simple, when Bogans is hitting, there's more room for the big men to work around the basket and Derrick to drive. Even if Bogans isn't having a great shooting night, it's still worth finding him for 3-4 shots a game. And if he is hitting, I'm fine with him playing in even quarters.
No Credit
Joakim- What the hell was that? Maybe Judson was right: the lower the hair is tied, the worse Joakim plays. He couldn't have played much worse tonight, 0 points, poor defense on Horford, and a few head-in-the-cloud defensive rotations, which is very uncharacteristic.
Fredo- I said it in one of the liveblogs, but I'll say it again. There might not be a place for Korver in this series. All the Hawks guards are quick and effective scorers, and having Korver in there for them to exploit gives the Hawks a giant offensive advantage. Bogans or Ronnie should be in the game at all times. Fredo will be important again in the hypothetical ECF, where he could guard Jones or Miller (Assuming Miller isn't picking up DNP-CDs by then.)
Boozer- I'm done with Boozer. He is actively hurting the Bulls right now. I think we win Game 6 easily if Taj was to play 30 minutes and Kurt Thomas came in to spell him. White Mamba can be the emergency big. There's literally nothing Boozer helps us do right now. And don't try to point to his rebounds, fully half of the rebounds Boozer gets at this point are ripped out of teammates' hands. Hopefully this game is a harbinger of things to come, though.
Alright, let's do it again in Atlanta, and not have to worry about a Game 7.
TT- 50% (Honorary 100)
I've probably been a bigger TT critic this season than anyone I know. (See here. And here.) I love the intensity he's brought, the way he's gotten his team to buy into his scheme, the fact that he knows the Xs and Os better than anyone (although after VDN, anyone would have been an improvement there,) but I just couldn't stand the way the rotation was set in fucking stone. Bogans played in even number quarters approximately 5 times this year. Taj could go out and have a beastly night, and be back to 18 minutes the next night. It was driving me crazy.
Tonight he showed some flexibility, and it won them the game. It's quite possible that Derrick does his thing in the 4th even with Boozer, Noah, and Korver on the floor, but it would have been significantly harder. Instead TT put his 3 best energy guys/shot blockers (yes, I'm counting Turkish D as an energy guy, just for his work on the offensive glass) and they disrupted everything the Hawks tried to do on offense for the last 8 minutes, and instead of Derrick having to get his points in tough halfcourt sets with the Hawks collapsing on everything, he could get out and run in transition. Mad credit to TT for trusting those 3 to get the job done.
Derrick- 25%
Of course, that could have backfired completely if Derrick wasn't putting the ball in the basket as well. He stayed aggressive, mixed up the runners with the pull-up Js, and had his best game in awhile in terms of not turning the ball over. I'd really like it though, Thursday, if Derrick didn't have to be the entire offense for stretches of time.
Taj/Asik/TBN- 15%
Probably could have been way more for all three, but I gave TT so much of the credit above, just deflect some of that down to these guys. Seriously, all those stops and run-outs don't happen if there's a weak defensive link (coughboozerandkorvercough) on the floor for the Hawks to exploit. The closest they had was Teague on Derrick, and Taj and Turkish could make up for that. And the way Ronnie disrupted Joe Johnson was amazing.
Possibly premature side-note (knocking on wood) IF the Bulls get past the Hawks in this round, TBN is going to be huge in the next round for his ability to guard Wade. I remember giving Ronnie a ton of credit in games against the Heat earlier, and they're going to need him again. I hope TT keeps this momentum going and makes sure Ronnie gets the minutes on Thursday, too.
Deng- 5%
Great D, aggressive offensive, not too many flat jumpers. Deng looks a lot like the Deng that Kobe didn't want to lose in a trade back in 07. If Ronnie is going to be important in a (hypothetical) Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat, Deng will be 10x more important, since he'll have to guard LeBron while still contributing on offense. Now I know why TT has been playing him 44 minutes a game all year.
Big Shot Bogans- 5%
Again, could be more. I almost want to do the thing I did in Game 1 of the Pacers series and give some other guys negatives so I have more to go around. I like Bogans involved in the offense. It's simple, when Bogans is hitting, there's more room for the big men to work around the basket and Derrick to drive. Even if Bogans isn't having a great shooting night, it's still worth finding him for 3-4 shots a game. And if he is hitting, I'm fine with him playing in even quarters.
No Credit
Joakim- What the hell was that? Maybe Judson was right: the lower the hair is tied, the worse Joakim plays. He couldn't have played much worse tonight, 0 points, poor defense on Horford, and a few head-in-the-cloud defensive rotations, which is very uncharacteristic.
Fredo- I said it in one of the liveblogs, but I'll say it again. There might not be a place for Korver in this series. All the Hawks guards are quick and effective scorers, and having Korver in there for them to exploit gives the Hawks a giant offensive advantage. Bogans or Ronnie should be in the game at all times. Fredo will be important again in the hypothetical ECF, where he could guard Jones or Miller (Assuming Miller isn't picking up DNP-CDs by then.)
Boozer- I'm done with Boozer. He is actively hurting the Bulls right now. I think we win Game 6 easily if Taj was to play 30 minutes and Kurt Thomas came in to spell him. White Mamba can be the emergency big. There's literally nothing Boozer helps us do right now. And don't try to point to his rebounds, fully half of the rebounds Boozer gets at this point are ripped out of teammates' hands. Hopefully this game is a harbinger of things to come, though.
Alright, let's do it again in Atlanta, and not have to worry about a Game 7.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Credit Where Credit is Due- Bulls/Pacers Game 1
I was all ready to write a blame game for this one. There was so much to go around, I was going to have to go to decimals.
Then Derrick Rose happened.
Again.
Don't get me wrong, Derrick's not getting all the credit, but there's no way we win that game without Derrick's trademark fire. You know what, fuck this not-comparing-him-to-Jordan crap. Let's bring it out. More than anyone since 23, when Derrick decides to win a game, only the basketball gods can stop him. Kobe does it sometimes, but Mr. 6-for-24 doesn't know how to do it while getting his teammates to rise to the occasion. Lebron looked like he might be able to do it around when he dropped 23 in a row on the Pistons, but then Delonte West met Gloria James, and we all know the rest.
In crunch time, Derrick changes everything about the game. It doesn't matter how hot you are, like Hansbrough and Granger learned tonight. You know exactly what's going to happen, and you can't stop it anyway.
Your 2011 MVP- 50%
Because of a freezing cold track meet I had to watch the game on delay by myself at home. After deftly avoiding the score all day (any student who told me anything about the game today would be running the mile for the next 4 meets), I came home with the radio and my phone off and put the game on. Despite my complete isolation, when Derrick made the and-1 on Hibbert, then pounded his chest in front of the home crowd, I jumped around on the couch like a 5-year old that's why there are pillows everywhere, Sam), and could probably be heard at the bar down the street. Derrick turns you into a little kid watching basketball again. I love it. I love him. I have no qualms about announcing this to the world.
Luol Deng- 20%
All that being said, I think that maybe the most important moment in the game was Luol Deng picking up the tech when Hansbrough fouled Derrick with about 5 minutes left, and getting the crowd fired up. Jon Barry was right that it was just a good hard foul, not even that hard really, but was completely wrong about Deng needing to keep his cool. Deng brought the toughness that (most of) the Bulls used the rest of the game, and finally got a disappointingly quiet crowd to life, both of those factors would have been worth the point even if Collison had made the free throw.
Deng also gets credit for some clutch shots in the 2nd half and excellent individual D on Granger in the 1st half, but loses some for his help D. Too late on rotations in the first half.
Joakim Noah- 15%
The Bulls were outhustled in the first half, which is completely unacceptable. It changed when Jo started crashing the offensive boards and being the toughest guy on the floor on D. Jo beating everyone down the floor, and Derrick hitting him for the dunk to cut it to 4 was the point I knew we were winning this game. The Bulls need this Joakim every night (and hopefully for more than 30 minutes) to be able to beat the better Eastern Conference teams.
Fredo- 12%
Fredo is usually the +/- whipping boy, but he led the Bulls with a +13 tonight, in no small part due to his decent effort defensively on Paul George, and of course the 4 for 4 from beyond the arc.
Big Sexy- 5%
I think 24 minutes for Sexy is a little much, but he certainly picked up the defense and rebounding when he was in the game without outright hurting them offensively. There were a few slow rotations or jump outs on Hansbrough, but not nearly as much as Boozer, and I'd say his +11 shows he was certainly came out on the right side of the balance sheet.
TBN- 3%
Nothing about Ronnie's stat line will jump out, but he continued to do the little things, get loose balls, disrupt passing lanes, and do all the TBN things that make him valuable.
No Credit
TT's Rotations- While Big Sexy was good tonight, I still think 24 minutes for Kurt to 3 for Turkish might come back to hurt us later. We are going to need Asik to play big in the Orlando series (or the Atlanta series, if it comes to that.) Not to mention the Pacers were getting too many offensive rebounds. You know who has the best rebound rate on the Bulls after Noah? Turkish D.
TT's Defensive Strategy- TT is usually much better at adjusting his gameplan quickly. So why the hell did it take so long for the Bulls to stop letting Collison and Price go through screens completely free? After the 5th three-pointer, maybe they could have had someone show over the top? I think this is the big reason we were down the whole first half.
Negative Credit(like, I'm taking points from a previous assignment for this crap)
Carlos Boozer- -5% Savvy mathematicians would notice that the previous percentages add up to 105%. That's because they needed to overcome whatever the hell Boozer was doing on the court all day. 4-11 from the field (and those 7 misses were mostly dumb shots), 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, and someone of the worst defense I've seen Boozer play all year. Not even just slow or weak, but also disinterested, which is unacceptable. In the first quarter the Pacers get a fastbreak oop on a turnover where Paul George is about 20 feet behind Boozer when the break starts and beats him to the basket by a good 15 feet. Then the whole second half Hansbrough had open jumper after open jumper where Boozer gets caught in no man's land between helping and not. In a way, we might have had a Ben Gordon situation where his 5 fouls helped us, since he might have cost us this game if he played more than 26 minutes tonight. Get it together, Boozer. Quickly.
Game 2 Liveblog Monday night. Set your calendar accordingly.
Then Derrick Rose happened.
Again.
Don't get me wrong, Derrick's not getting all the credit, but there's no way we win that game without Derrick's trademark fire. You know what, fuck this not-comparing-him-to-Jordan crap. Let's bring it out. More than anyone since 23, when Derrick decides to win a game, only the basketball gods can stop him. Kobe does it sometimes, but Mr. 6-for-24 doesn't know how to do it while getting his teammates to rise to the occasion. Lebron looked like he might be able to do it around when he dropped 23 in a row on the Pistons, but then Delonte West met Gloria James, and we all know the rest.
In crunch time, Derrick changes everything about the game. It doesn't matter how hot you are, like Hansbrough and Granger learned tonight. You know exactly what's going to happen, and you can't stop it anyway.
Your 2011 MVP- 50%
Because of a freezing cold track meet I had to watch the game on delay by myself at home. After deftly avoiding the score all day (any student who told me anything about the game today would be running the mile for the next 4 meets), I came home with the radio and my phone off and put the game on. Despite my complete isolation, when Derrick made the and-1 on Hibbert, then pounded his chest in front of the home crowd, I jumped around on the couch like a 5-year old that's why there are pillows everywhere, Sam), and could probably be heard at the bar down the street. Derrick turns you into a little kid watching basketball again. I love it. I love him. I have no qualms about announcing this to the world.
Luol Deng- 20%
All that being said, I think that maybe the most important moment in the game was Luol Deng picking up the tech when Hansbrough fouled Derrick with about 5 minutes left, and getting the crowd fired up. Jon Barry was right that it was just a good hard foul, not even that hard really, but was completely wrong about Deng needing to keep his cool. Deng brought the toughness that (most of) the Bulls used the rest of the game, and finally got a disappointingly quiet crowd to life, both of those factors would have been worth the point even if Collison had made the free throw.
Deng also gets credit for some clutch shots in the 2nd half and excellent individual D on Granger in the 1st half, but loses some for his help D. Too late on rotations in the first half.
Joakim Noah- 15%
The Bulls were outhustled in the first half, which is completely unacceptable. It changed when Jo started crashing the offensive boards and being the toughest guy on the floor on D. Jo beating everyone down the floor, and Derrick hitting him for the dunk to cut it to 4 was the point I knew we were winning this game. The Bulls need this Joakim every night (and hopefully for more than 30 minutes) to be able to beat the better Eastern Conference teams.
Fredo- 12%
Fredo is usually the +/- whipping boy, but he led the Bulls with a +13 tonight, in no small part due to his decent effort defensively on Paul George, and of course the 4 for 4 from beyond the arc.
Big Sexy- 5%
I think 24 minutes for Sexy is a little much, but he certainly picked up the defense and rebounding when he was in the game without outright hurting them offensively. There were a few slow rotations or jump outs on Hansbrough, but not nearly as much as Boozer, and I'd say his +11 shows he was certainly came out on the right side of the balance sheet.
TBN- 3%
Nothing about Ronnie's stat line will jump out, but he continued to do the little things, get loose balls, disrupt passing lanes, and do all the TBN things that make him valuable.
No Credit
TT's Rotations- While Big Sexy was good tonight, I still think 24 minutes for Kurt to 3 for Turkish might come back to hurt us later. We are going to need Asik to play big in the Orlando series (or the Atlanta series, if it comes to that.) Not to mention the Pacers were getting too many offensive rebounds. You know who has the best rebound rate on the Bulls after Noah? Turkish D.
TT's Defensive Strategy- TT is usually much better at adjusting his gameplan quickly. So why the hell did it take so long for the Bulls to stop letting Collison and Price go through screens completely free? After the 5th three-pointer, maybe they could have had someone show over the top? I think this is the big reason we were down the whole first half.
Negative Credit(like, I'm taking points from a previous assignment for this crap)
Carlos Boozer- -5% Savvy mathematicians would notice that the previous percentages add up to 105%. That's because they needed to overcome whatever the hell Boozer was doing on the court all day. 4-11 from the field (and those 7 misses were mostly dumb shots), 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, and someone of the worst defense I've seen Boozer play all year. Not even just slow or weak, but also disinterested, which is unacceptable. In the first quarter the Pacers get a fastbreak oop on a turnover where Paul George is about 20 feet behind Boozer when the break starts and beats him to the basket by a good 15 feet. Then the whole second half Hansbrough had open jumper after open jumper where Boozer gets caught in no man's land between helping and not. In a way, we might have had a Ben Gordon situation where his 5 fouls helped us, since he might have cost us this game if he played more than 26 minutes tonight. Get it together, Boozer. Quickly.
Game 2 Liveblog Monday night. Set your calendar accordingly.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Official Bulls Nicknames
The playoffs are coming quickly, and we have a problem. The occasional lack of focus and cold spells on offense? The fact times when Bogans isn't helping at all but still on the floor? The fact that Kurt Thomas is still sometimes getting important minutes?
No. The problem is we're not all on the same page nickname wise with this Bulls team. Let's fix that with this handy guide:
Tom Thibodeau= TT
This was originally just because I didn't feel like looking up "Thibodeau" every time I wanted to write his name (I've been calling him TT for so long I had to look it up for this post.) But I also think it's funny to call a guy so serious he apparently has no life outside of basketball a name that sounds vaguely like a gogo dancer's.
Omer Asik= Turkish Delight (Turkish D for short)
I like Stacey's "Aseek and Destroy" but that's really more of a catchphrase than a nickname, so I'd rather go with Bill Wennington's suggestion of Turkish Delight. Plus it allows for plenty of "Snatch" quotes. "Hey, how long on those sausages?" "Two minutes, Turkish." "You said two minutes five minutes ago..."
Ronnie Brewer= The Baseline Ninja (TBN for short)
Other than TT, this is the only one I can take credit for. Ronnie at least once a game scores a basket where he sneaks undetected along the baseline and someone finds him for an easy layup. Every now and then someone else tries it and fails, only Ronnie has the ninja skills necessary to make the play work.
Brian Scalabrine= White Mamba
No need for explanation here, Stacey pretty much solidified this one.
Kurt Thomas= Big Sexy (when good), Kurt Thomas (when sucking)
After a rocky start which I was very angry about, Kurt filled in adequately for whatever big man was injured, allowing Taj and Turkish to play together with the 2nd unit. And sometimes when Kurt isflopping like a ragdoll drawing charges, hitting the 17 footer, and playing decent straight-up post defense, he's earned the Big Sexy nickname Stacey he gave him when they played for the Heat together in 95-96. When he's not rotating on D and messing up offensive plays by not being athletic enough to get where he needs to be on time, though, I'm not calling him that.
Kyle Korver= Alfredo Sauce (Fredo for short)
Stacey is loving the "Hot Sauce" call, but the problem is, Hot Sauce is already taken as a nickname.
(Don't act like you didn't watch And-1 tapes back in the early 00s)
So BJ submitted "Alfredo Sauce" for reasons that I'm sure had nothing to do with race whatsoever. I like it, and endorse it fully.
Derrick= Derrick
It's too premature to start comparing Derrick to MJ...but I'm going to do it anyway. When you say the name "Derrick" in Chicago right now, even if you aren't talking about the Bulls (or sports in general), people know who you're talking about. You don't need a nickname when you've completely co-opted your first name. Derrick is simple, business-life, and doesn't need all the flash and dazzle, which is exactly why he doesn't need a ego-boosting nickname. And why we all love him.
If you have any more suggestions, leave them in the comments. I feel like Taj or CJ are due for nicknames soon.
No. The problem is we're not all on the same page nickname wise with this Bulls team. Let's fix that with this handy guide:
Tom Thibodeau= TT
This was originally just because I didn't feel like looking up "Thibodeau" every time I wanted to write his name (I've been calling him TT for so long I had to look it up for this post.) But I also think it's funny to call a guy so serious he apparently has no life outside of basketball a name that sounds vaguely like a gogo dancer's.
Omer Asik= Turkish Delight (Turkish D for short)
I like Stacey's "Aseek and Destroy" but that's really more of a catchphrase than a nickname, so I'd rather go with Bill Wennington's suggestion of Turkish Delight. Plus it allows for plenty of "Snatch" quotes. "Hey, how long on those sausages?" "Two minutes, Turkish." "You said two minutes five minutes ago..."
Ronnie Brewer= The Baseline Ninja (TBN for short)
Other than TT, this is the only one I can take credit for. Ronnie at least once a game scores a basket where he sneaks undetected along the baseline and someone finds him for an easy layup. Every now and then someone else tries it and fails, only Ronnie has the ninja skills necessary to make the play work.
Brian Scalabrine= White Mamba
No need for explanation here, Stacey pretty much solidified this one.
Kurt Thomas= Big Sexy (when good), Kurt Thomas (when sucking)
After a rocky start which I was very angry about, Kurt filled in adequately for whatever big man was injured, allowing Taj and Turkish to play together with the 2nd unit. And sometimes when Kurt is
Kyle Korver= Alfredo Sauce (Fredo for short)
Stacey is loving the "Hot Sauce" call, but the problem is, Hot Sauce is already taken as a nickname.
(Don't act like you didn't watch And-1 tapes back in the early 00s)
So BJ submitted "Alfredo Sauce" for reasons that I'm sure had nothing to do with race whatsoever. I like it, and endorse it fully.
Derrick= Derrick
It's too premature to start comparing Derrick to MJ...but I'm going to do it anyway. When you say the name "Derrick" in Chicago right now, even if you aren't talking about the Bulls (or sports in general), people know who you're talking about. You don't need a nickname when you've completely co-opted your first name. Derrick is simple, business-life, and doesn't need all the flash and dazzle, which is exactly why he doesn't need a ego-boosting nickname. And why we all love him.
If you have any more suggestions, leave them in the comments. I feel like Taj or CJ are due for nicknames soon.
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