I know Carlos Pena isn't really that big, but whenever I see him in my mind I see a Mike Lavalliere-type waddling to first base.
So we're going to pay $10 million for a first baseman that hit below the Mendoza line last year, huh? It's a little sad that I'm not even that mad about it. Mainly because what better option do we have? I wish we had a decent first baseman in the minors that could come up with Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin. One thing us Cubs fans haven't been is patient, but I'd be fine with letting a rookie take his lumps this year if it meant we saw what we had down the line. But that player doesn't exist.
So, Carlos Pena. Last year's slash numbers: .196/.325/.407. 28 home runs, though. Also, he had plantar fasciitis all year, so hopefully we can see a little upswing in those numbers. They say he's a decent fielder, but those fielding numbers are definitely a drop-off from Derrek Lee. The good news is he walks a lot, something the Cubs as a whole very much need to work on, and also it's a 1 year deal, so if he completely flames out, it doesn't hurt us for years to come.
Now let's find some starting pitching, shall we?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Bulls vs. Thunder 12/6
Very happy the Bulls won, but can't help feeling they could have done better against a team that shot below 40% along with Durant sitting the majority of the 3rd quarter. It did not feel like the Bulls played the full 6o minutes, especially at the end of the game. I understand trying to hold them off, but sometimes that leads to letting the other team back in the game, which I felt almost happened last night. Also, if I were at the game, I would be upset that the Bulls were one point away from getting me a free Big Mac.
All that aside, holding OKC to 90 points and below 35% shooting is pretty good. There were quite a few great defensive series forcing OKC to take a lot of bad shots. OKC was putting a lot of pressure on Rose, but that was fine since Boozer was coming up big for the Bulls. If only Noah wasn't "put in a box" the Bulls could have had their two big men with double-doubles. Still, it doesn't look like the Bulls are going to start getting calls going their way anytime soon and even if they started going to the line more, they have to make free throws. Under 60% last night from the line...terrible.
A good win to avenge the game 1 loss. Deng is still playing great and Rose + Boozer in the paint = money. Please comment as your analysis will probably be more in depth than my cliché ridden post.
Go Bulls
BULLS BULLS UNBELIEVA-BULL, INCREDI-BULL, INBOOZE-BULL
YES YES YES. YES YES YES.
How great is it to see Rose have a guy he can dish it off to? How great is it to see Luol having brilliant consistency on the arc and getting offensive rebounds and putting them in? How great is it to see Taj coming off the bench and ruining the opposition? How great is it to see Boozer draining shots in a Bulls uniform??
The score was close in the first half, but I never thought the Thunder had a chance the way the Bulls were playing. And how great was that to see? The Thunder are very good, but the Bulls are better. This was a real team win. The pressure just is not entirely all on Derrick anymore, and he loves it. It got to the point where it seemed like he was tossing it to Boozer just to watch him put it in the basket. Boozer. What can we say about Boozer? Relentless. Relia-BULL. A true post player. So good to see him playing on our team. 29 pts, 12 boards, drawing fouls. What a jump shot. Thank you, Carlos.
This team is deep. Everyone contributed. Korver was on fire in the first half. Luol was consistent throughout the whole game--which on that note, I also don't think consistency should be a controversy attached to Luol anymore. He's been incredible every game this season. Last night Luol was awesome. Draining 3's, offensive boards, and playing great D. Complete game for Lu. And Rose. Our beloved PG. Thank you for shining so brightly every night. Even with 11 pts, he had 9 assists, and is just....sighhhh. Our point guard. Out point guard who exploits the opposition's defensive mistakes, our point guard who murders you in the paint, our point guard who makes everyone better around him.
Discrepancies?
1. Derrick not getting calls. Old news. But for real. When is that going to change? Will and I spoke yesterday and he brought up something that Stacey King brought up last night: that Rose is so strong that when he drives the basket his stride is never broken by the players fouling him. So it's hard for the refs to see the contact because Rose's body doesn't show it. I guess. You're right, Will. It is time for Gar and Paxson to send in a tape of all the fouls on Rose that were never called so the league can look this over.
2. CJ. Come on, man. You don't need to be Rose. Just be someone that we can rely on to run our offense. He came in twice last night. Both times he turned the ball over right away and got benched. Neat. I'm glad TT isn't settling for mediocrity, though, and benching him if he doesn't see production out of him. That's awesome. But we do need a back-up PG we can rely on. Come on, CJ.
And for the record, on the topic of discrepancies, Asher and I have one about Asik(it's time to make this public, Asher). I think he's a great new player for the Bulls' bench, and is really growing quickly. He goes hard to the basket, plays great defense, blocks shots, gets key rebounds, and is very aggressive in the paint. He's even fixed his main problem which was getting into foul trouble. In every game I see evidence of Asik being awesome, and getting better and better. I think it's only uphill from here and he's really going to bud into something special for us. Asher thinks otherwise. Granted it was a few weeks ago when this was all said, and maybe he hadn't had a chance to really get a good look at Asik's game, but Asher said that he is "as coordinated as a baby giraffe with down syndrome." To follow that, he has promised that if Asik ever "resembles anything close to a special player" he will "take me to Chinatown and buy me a happy-ending." Asher, I don't how much a happy-ending is in Chinatown, but I think you could start by getting me a reservation.
How great is it to see Rose have a guy he can dish it off to? How great is it to see Luol having brilliant consistency on the arc and getting offensive rebounds and putting them in? How great is it to see Taj coming off the bench and ruining the opposition? How great is it to see Boozer draining shots in a Bulls uniform??
The score was close in the first half, but I never thought the Thunder had a chance the way the Bulls were playing. And how great was that to see? The Thunder are very good, but the Bulls are better. This was a real team win. The pressure just is not entirely all on Derrick anymore, and he loves it. It got to the point where it seemed like he was tossing it to Boozer just to watch him put it in the basket. Boozer. What can we say about Boozer? Relentless. Relia-BULL. A true post player. So good to see him playing on our team. 29 pts, 12 boards, drawing fouls. What a jump shot. Thank you, Carlos.
This team is deep. Everyone contributed. Korver was on fire in the first half. Luol was consistent throughout the whole game--which on that note, I also don't think consistency should be a controversy attached to Luol anymore. He's been incredible every game this season. Last night Luol was awesome. Draining 3's, offensive boards, and playing great D. Complete game for Lu. And Rose. Our beloved PG. Thank you for shining so brightly every night. Even with 11 pts, he had 9 assists, and is just....sighhhh. Our point guard. Out point guard who exploits the opposition's defensive mistakes, our point guard who murders you in the paint, our point guard who makes everyone better around him.
Discrepancies?
1. Derrick not getting calls. Old news. But for real. When is that going to change? Will and I spoke yesterday and he brought up something that Stacey King brought up last night: that Rose is so strong that when he drives the basket his stride is never broken by the players fouling him. So it's hard for the refs to see the contact because Rose's body doesn't show it. I guess. You're right, Will. It is time for Gar and Paxson to send in a tape of all the fouls on Rose that were never called so the league can look this over.
2. CJ. Come on, man. You don't need to be Rose. Just be someone that we can rely on to run our offense. He came in twice last night. Both times he turned the ball over right away and got benched. Neat. I'm glad TT isn't settling for mediocrity, though, and benching him if he doesn't see production out of him. That's awesome. But we do need a back-up PG we can rely on. Come on, CJ.
And for the record, on the topic of discrepancies, Asher and I have one about Asik(it's time to make this public, Asher). I think he's a great new player for the Bulls' bench, and is really growing quickly. He goes hard to the basket, plays great defense, blocks shots, gets key rebounds, and is very aggressive in the paint. He's even fixed his main problem which was getting into foul trouble. In every game I see evidence of Asik being awesome, and getting better and better. I think it's only uphill from here and he's really going to bud into something special for us. Asher thinks otherwise. Granted it was a few weeks ago when this was all said, and maybe he hadn't had a chance to really get a good look at Asik's game, but Asher said that he is "as coordinated as a baby giraffe with down syndrome." To follow that, he has promised that if Asik ever "resembles anything close to a special player" he will "take me to Chinatown and buy me a happy-ending." Asher, I don't how much a happy-ending is in Chinatown, but I think you could start by getting me a reservation.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Announcers: Rod Marinelli is Awesome. Also, Bears Getting Torched by the Lions
"All the Bears defenders will talk about Rod Marinelli and say he's all about attitude, but he also breaks down plays and makes the players better, and he's also a specialist with the defensive line."
"Well, expertise is certainly how you would classify him. Was he a great head coach? I don't know, how many great head coaches have been in Detroit with all the losing? I know this, he's arguably the best defensive line coach in all of football."
The Bears have 1 sack (for 1 yard) and 0 turnovers on Drew Stanton today.
"Well, expertise is certainly how you would classify him. Was he a great head coach? I don't know, how many great head coaches have been in Detroit with all the losing? I know this, he's arguably the best defensive line coach in all of football."
The Bears have 1 sack (for 1 yard) and 0 turnovers on Drew Stanton today.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
My Patience With TT is Waning...
Maybe I set my expectations way too high. I think after the VDN debacle, I was expecting the 2nd coming of Phil Jackson. TT is 18 games into his NBA career, and has a winning record. There's really no reason for me not to expect him to improve as well.
That being said, some of the habits I've seen from him so far fall in line with the things that irritated me most about VDN.
1. Players with no clear roles.
What's Keith Bogans' job on this team? I was under the impression he was our defensive 2-guard. But this is not the first time this season Bogans has played the first 7 minutes of the 1st and 3rd quarters, and no other time during the game. When the Bulls need stops at the end of the game, it's been Ronnie Brewer on the court. Which is fine, Brewer's been pretty good defensively. But then why isn't he starting? What good do we get out of having Bogans on the court to start each half?
From talking to other Bulls fans, I think I'm much higher on James Johnson than most people. I'm just really afraid that if we keep treating him like he's Tyrus Thomas, he's going to end up like Tyrus Thomas. JJ makes mistakes, and will take a dumb shot every now and then. However there hasn't been a game he's played all year where he didn't at least infuse some energy on the court and pick the pace up, and the Bulls are a better team in an up-tempo game. I just don't think JJ should be picking up DNP-CDs like he did tonight in games like this.
2. Using timeouts wisely.
I was at the game again tonight, so I didn't have the graphic with the amount of timeouts left in front of me. However, I did notice that with 24 seconds left, down 5, we were out of timeouts. Henry Abbot of TrueHoop wrote an excellent piece about the importance of late timeouts here, and this is a perfect example of that situation. We were helped immensely by Courtney Lee and Brad Miller splitting their free throws, and had either of them hit both, a timeout or two left could have extended the game. Also, while Derrick did manage to get open for his game-tying three, I'm sure TT wished he could have drawn up a play with 10 seconds left.
3. Waiting too long to make adjustments.
Carlos Boozer was absolutely getting killed on the screen-and-roll with Lee and Luis Scola, not showing at all, which directly led to some easy finishes for Lee or an open three as everyone else had to rotate. In the OT, he started with Noah and Taj up front (until Noah fouled out) and we didn't have that problem any more. I'm not sure why someone didn't suggest Taj taking Boozer's place earlier, but we probably wouldn't have needed OT if that was the case. (Side note: The crunch time lineup is going to have to be Taj and Noah up front until Boozer picks up his defense. Until then we'll have to treat him like 2005 Eddy Curry, providing offense in the first 3 quarters and letting Chandler come in for D in the 4th).
I hope TT's learning curve is quicker than VDN's was. I have faith that it will be. But I think the Bulls championship window is coming up sooner than we think, and we're going to need TT to not be getting out-coached anymore.
That being said, some of the habits I've seen from him so far fall in line with the things that irritated me most about VDN.
1. Players with no clear roles.
What's Keith Bogans' job on this team? I was under the impression he was our defensive 2-guard. But this is not the first time this season Bogans has played the first 7 minutes of the 1st and 3rd quarters, and no other time during the game. When the Bulls need stops at the end of the game, it's been Ronnie Brewer on the court. Which is fine, Brewer's been pretty good defensively. But then why isn't he starting? What good do we get out of having Bogans on the court to start each half?
From talking to other Bulls fans, I think I'm much higher on James Johnson than most people. I'm just really afraid that if we keep treating him like he's Tyrus Thomas, he's going to end up like Tyrus Thomas. JJ makes mistakes, and will take a dumb shot every now and then. However there hasn't been a game he's played all year where he didn't at least infuse some energy on the court and pick the pace up, and the Bulls are a better team in an up-tempo game. I just don't think JJ should be picking up DNP-CDs like he did tonight in games like this.
2. Using timeouts wisely.
I was at the game again tonight, so I didn't have the graphic with the amount of timeouts left in front of me. However, I did notice that with 24 seconds left, down 5, we were out of timeouts. Henry Abbot of TrueHoop wrote an excellent piece about the importance of late timeouts here, and this is a perfect example of that situation. We were helped immensely by Courtney Lee and Brad Miller splitting their free throws, and had either of them hit both, a timeout or two left could have extended the game. Also, while Derrick did manage to get open for his game-tying three, I'm sure TT wished he could have drawn up a play with 10 seconds left.
3. Waiting too long to make adjustments.
Carlos Boozer was absolutely getting killed on the screen-and-roll with Lee and Luis Scola, not showing at all, which directly led to some easy finishes for Lee or an open three as everyone else had to rotate. In the OT, he started with Noah and Taj up front (until Noah fouled out) and we didn't have that problem any more. I'm not sure why someone didn't suggest Taj taking Boozer's place earlier, but we probably wouldn't have needed OT if that was the case. (Side note: The crunch time lineup is going to have to be Taj and Noah up front until Boozer picks up his defense. Until then we'll have to treat him like 2005 Eddy Curry, providing offense in the first 3 quarters and letting Chandler come in for D in the 4th).
I hope TT's learning curve is quicker than VDN's was. I have faith that it will be. But I think the Bulls championship window is coming up sooner than we think, and we're going to need TT to not be getting out-coached anymore.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Losing a Grandpa: RIP Ron Santo
The crappy thing about trying to be a part-time blogger is when something happens and you don't have time to write about it, since you have an actual job to do that they pay you for. As a result I've gone back and forth about what I want to write about Santo dozens of times today. I could talk about the complete injustice of Ron not being in the Hall of Fame, but that's like talking to a wall at this point. The sabermetically inclined have made their case, the old-timey "3,000 or 500" people have made theirs, and neither side is budging. I am not old enough to have memories of Ron actually playing, although I did enjoy watching him in "This Old Cub" (which I highly recommend everyone watches this weekend.)
Then I thought about doing a top 5 Ron Santo moments. So I was wracking my terrible memory to try to come up with which important Cubs games I listened to on the radio. Although I much prefer watching, I came up with a few: The 98 wild card tiebreaker vs. the Giants (on the bus on the way back from a dual meet at Waukegan.) Much of the 4 wins in a 5 game series with the Cardinals in August of 03 (including Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou's walkoff back-to-back jacks).
But much of Ron's memorable moments were the same. The most memorable one, of course, is the Brant Brown call in 98. (Poor Brant Brown, I'm sure, has been googled more times today than ever in his life.) I was watching this game on TV, so I don't remember exactly when I heard this call, but it's a great snapshot of Santo's broadcasting style.
For non-Cubs fans, the Cubs were in the middle of a close pennant race. They were at 88-70 with 4 to play, the Giants were at 86-72, and the Mets were at 88-70. (The poor Mets would then lose out and not even make the tiebreaker. Neifi Perez had a clutch hit to beat them on the last day of the season.) A win puts a stranglehold on the season. The Cubs were up 7-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. Rod Beck, who was awesome that year, was on the mound. Brant Brown came in to replace Glenallen Hill in left field for defensive purposes. Beck gets a groundout, then allows a single and a double, followed by an intentional walk to Jeremy Burnitz (haha, what a silly sentence to write) to load the bases. Beck had spent the entire year setting up jams for himself, then pitching out of them, so I still felt reasonably confident. He got Grissom to pop out to 3rd base, then Geoff Jenkins came up and hit a routine pop fly to left field.
Listen to the call again. It's Ron in a nutshell, and what we love about him. It's the exact way I would have reacted if I was in Ron's seat, and it's pretty much what I (and I'm sure a majority of Cubs fans) were saying when it happened. And pretty much all the great calls I can remember from Ron were variations of this call. From the lesser "Aw geez" for slightly bad things, to "Jesus Christ!" when the wheels were really falling off, to the whoops and cheers for good plays that preceded Pat Hughes telling you what actually happened. I trained my ear on big pitches to listen to Ron's reaction more than Pat's call. "PleaseletRoncheerPleaseletRoncheerPleaseletRoncheer..." is a mantra I can recall saying to myself on more car rides or listen-to-a-late-Cubs-game-as-I'm-falling-asleeps than I can remember.
I just heard a Sportscenter Anchor say "younger Cub fans are more familiar with him as the unabashedly biased broadcaster who openly rooted for the Cubs from the booth." He said it with a negative connotation, and I hear this from the established media all the time. "Homer" like it's a bad thing. "No cheering from the press box" bullshit.
Fuck That.
I want my broadcaster cheering from the press box. I want him to be going through what I'm going through, to be just as invested as I am. I want him to care about the team he's caring more than stupid established traditions and ideas of unbiased journalism. Ron wasn't calling games for both audiences, he was calling them for Cubs fans.
Ron is probably going to be replaced by Dave Otto or somebody boring like that, and I'm sure that whoever it is will go the expected route of being buttoned-down and respectable. And what I'm going to miss most about Ron, more than his ability to say something kooky and not even realize it, more than the way he would entertain me with a rambling, Abe Simpson like story during a 10-1 blowout, will be the fact that I won't have someone in the booth genuinely reflecting what I'm feeling, and not being afraid to show it. Rest in peace, Ron. Cubs games on the radio truly aren't going to be the same any more, and to me, that's one of the saddest things I can think of.
Then I thought about doing a top 5 Ron Santo moments. So I was wracking my terrible memory to try to come up with which important Cubs games I listened to on the radio. Although I much prefer watching, I came up with a few: The 98 wild card tiebreaker vs. the Giants (on the bus on the way back from a dual meet at Waukegan.) Much of the 4 wins in a 5 game series with the Cardinals in August of 03 (including Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou's walkoff back-to-back jacks).
But much of Ron's memorable moments were the same. The most memorable one, of course, is the Brant Brown call in 98. (Poor Brant Brown, I'm sure, has been googled more times today than ever in his life.) I was watching this game on TV, so I don't remember exactly when I heard this call, but it's a great snapshot of Santo's broadcasting style.
For non-Cubs fans, the Cubs were in the middle of a close pennant race. They were at 88-70 with 4 to play, the Giants were at 86-72, and the Mets were at 88-70. (The poor Mets would then lose out and not even make the tiebreaker. Neifi Perez had a clutch hit to beat them on the last day of the season.) A win puts a stranglehold on the season. The Cubs were up 7-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. Rod Beck, who was awesome that year, was on the mound. Brant Brown came in to replace Glenallen Hill in left field for defensive purposes. Beck gets a groundout, then allows a single and a double, followed by an intentional walk to Jeremy Burnitz (haha, what a silly sentence to write) to load the bases. Beck had spent the entire year setting up jams for himself, then pitching out of them, so I still felt reasonably confident. He got Grissom to pop out to 3rd base, then Geoff Jenkins came up and hit a routine pop fly to left field.
Listen to the call again. It's Ron in a nutshell, and what we love about him. It's the exact way I would have reacted if I was in Ron's seat, and it's pretty much what I (and I'm sure a majority of Cubs fans) were saying when it happened. And pretty much all the great calls I can remember from Ron were variations of this call. From the lesser "Aw geez" for slightly bad things, to "Jesus Christ!" when the wheels were really falling off, to the whoops and cheers for good plays that preceded Pat Hughes telling you what actually happened. I trained my ear on big pitches to listen to Ron's reaction more than Pat's call. "PleaseletRoncheerPleaseletRoncheerPleaseletRoncheer..." is a mantra I can recall saying to myself on more car rides or listen-to-a-late-Cubs-game-as-I'm-falling-asleeps than I can remember.
I just heard a Sportscenter Anchor say "younger Cub fans are more familiar with him as the unabashedly biased broadcaster who openly rooted for the Cubs from the booth." He said it with a negative connotation, and I hear this from the established media all the time. "Homer" like it's a bad thing. "No cheering from the press box" bullshit.
Fuck That.
I want my broadcaster cheering from the press box. I want him to be going through what I'm going through, to be just as invested as I am. I want him to care about the team he's caring more than stupid established traditions and ideas of unbiased journalism. Ron wasn't calling games for both audiences, he was calling them for Cubs fans.
Ron is probably going to be replaced by Dave Otto or somebody boring like that, and I'm sure that whoever it is will go the expected route of being buttoned-down and respectable. And what I'm going to miss most about Ron, more than his ability to say something kooky and not even realize it, more than the way he would entertain me with a rambling, Abe Simpson like story during a 10-1 blowout, will be the fact that I won't have someone in the booth genuinely reflecting what I'm feeling, and not being afraid to show it. Rest in peace, Ron. Cubs games on the radio truly aren't going to be the same any more, and to me, that's one of the saddest things I can think of.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Blame Game: Bulls-Magic
What a disappointment. First Sam and I get there an hour early, but are still too late for the Joakim Noah bobblehead giveaway, then the Bulls come out and gave easily their worst effort of the year so far. Let's see where the blame lies, shall we?
Joakim Noah- 50%
Joakim's bobblehead ended up with as many rebounds as he did. This is the first time Joakim's ever ended up without a board when he's played more than 7 minutes (he played 26). The Magic played a very similar style of offense as they did in the 2009 playoffs, where they basically dumped it in to Dwight Howard, and if the double team came, they kicked it out to the shooters. It worked against Cleveland, who kept falling for the trap and leaving Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu open. It didn't against the Lakers, who left Pau Gasol alone on Howard and made him try to beat them. He couldn't. Tonight, unfortunately, Joakim was no Gasol. Even though Howard didn't put up a very impressive line (5-12 for 13 points and 12 boards), it was obvious the Bulls were afraid of Howard being left alone with Noah, which led to the Magic being 10-21 from beyond the arc (a few of those were contested Jameer Nelson 3s, but most were the result of late rotation on the collapse.) I expect more from Noah at this point. If you're going to be the heart and soul of the team, when you don't bring it, almost nobody is bringing it.
Anyone assigned to guard Vince Carter- 25%
Mainly Keith Bogans and Kyle Korver, a little Ronnie Brewer, although I think Brewer was mainly matched up with Pietrus or Richardson. Vince Carter looked like the 2000 version tonight, which he really shouldn't against a good defensive team. Some of those baskets I blame on Noah (the 2nd and 3rd buckets of the game for the Magic were both easy put backs on boards in front of Noah, I believe), but Carter was also getting to the rim whenever he wanted. The 2010 version of Vinsanity shouldn't be able to do that, even against Kyle Korver.
TT- 10%
Speaking of which, why was Korver spending so much time guarding Vince? He didn't have his shot tonight (2-5 from the field, -25 on the night) yet he played the second most minutes behind Derrick. Couldn't JJ have gotten some minutes in the first half? He came in and brought some great energy with a couple of nice blocks and hustle plays at the end of the 3rd quarter, once the game was already decided. (Being JJ, he then undermined himself with a dumb 3, dumb foul, and a missed dunk from too far away when he could have just layed it up, but he still at least looked like he came to play tonight.)
Whoever decided Carlos Boozer was ready to play- 10%
God, I hope it's just that Boozer isn't 100% yet, and that's not what we're paying 14.4 mil a year for. Too slow on the defensive rotations, and he didn't have any type of post moves, not on Howard, Lewis or even Brandon Bass (who, by the way, was a beast tonight). All Boozer's points came on jump shots, which while nice, doesn't really give him a reason to get minutes over Taj Gibson, especially since Taj is a much better defender. If Carlos is 100%...we might have signed the wrong Jazz power forward.
Derrick Rose- 5%
Two reasons for Derrick being here
1. Jameer Nelson abused him at the defensive end. I know Derrick's defense isn't his strong suit, but if we do happen to run into the Magic in the playoffs, they could exploit that matchup all day.
2. The tried-and-true method to beat the Magic is get Dwight Howard in foul trouble. But I can think of very few times Derrick went to the rim and tried to draw a foul on Howard. That should have been our offense for most of the first half, but I don't think Dwight even picked up a foul until the very end of the half.
Absolved-
Taj Gibson- The Bulls were much better defensively when Taj was on the court. He was a -11, but when you by 29, everyone's +/- is ugly. I wish there was a +/- for rebounding, because I bet Taj was the only Bull anywhere near the positives there.
Luol Deng- Lu was 2-8 from the field, and late on a few rotations to get back to Lewis, but I give him credit for at least shedding the soft label for one night and being the only player to attack the basket.
JJ- Like I said above, the complexion of the game changed a lot for the better when JJ came in, then he showed why he didn't play until garbage time with some bonehead plays. I have high hopes for JJ, though, as soon as he gets the mental mistakes out of his system, we could have even more depth on the wing, plus another guy that can guard a Lewis-type big wing.
Let's put this one behind us and make a statement against the other behemoth in the East right now, Boston on Friday night.
Joakim Noah- 50%
Joakim's bobblehead ended up with as many rebounds as he did. This is the first time Joakim's ever ended up without a board when he's played more than 7 minutes (he played 26). The Magic played a very similar style of offense as they did in the 2009 playoffs, where they basically dumped it in to Dwight Howard, and if the double team came, they kicked it out to the shooters. It worked against Cleveland, who kept falling for the trap and leaving Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu open. It didn't against the Lakers, who left Pau Gasol alone on Howard and made him try to beat them. He couldn't. Tonight, unfortunately, Joakim was no Gasol. Even though Howard didn't put up a very impressive line (5-12 for 13 points and 12 boards), it was obvious the Bulls were afraid of Howard being left alone with Noah, which led to the Magic being 10-21 from beyond the arc (a few of those were contested Jameer Nelson 3s, but most were the result of late rotation on the collapse.) I expect more from Noah at this point. If you're going to be the heart and soul of the team, when you don't bring it, almost nobody is bringing it.
Anyone assigned to guard Vince Carter- 25%
Mainly Keith Bogans and Kyle Korver, a little Ronnie Brewer, although I think Brewer was mainly matched up with Pietrus or Richardson. Vince Carter looked like the 2000 version tonight, which he really shouldn't against a good defensive team. Some of those baskets I blame on Noah (the 2nd and 3rd buckets of the game for the Magic were both easy put backs on boards in front of Noah, I believe), but Carter was also getting to the rim whenever he wanted. The 2010 version of Vinsanity shouldn't be able to do that, even against Kyle Korver.
TT- 10%
Speaking of which, why was Korver spending so much time guarding Vince? He didn't have his shot tonight (2-5 from the field, -25 on the night) yet he played the second most minutes behind Derrick. Couldn't JJ have gotten some minutes in the first half? He came in and brought some great energy with a couple of nice blocks and hustle plays at the end of the 3rd quarter, once the game was already decided. (Being JJ, he then undermined himself with a dumb 3, dumb foul, and a missed dunk from too far away when he could have just layed it up, but he still at least looked like he came to play tonight.)
Whoever decided Carlos Boozer was ready to play- 10%
God, I hope it's just that Boozer isn't 100% yet, and that's not what we're paying 14.4 mil a year for. Too slow on the defensive rotations, and he didn't have any type of post moves, not on Howard, Lewis or even Brandon Bass (who, by the way, was a beast tonight). All Boozer's points came on jump shots, which while nice, doesn't really give him a reason to get minutes over Taj Gibson, especially since Taj is a much better defender. If Carlos is 100%...we might have signed the wrong Jazz power forward.
Derrick Rose- 5%
Two reasons for Derrick being here
1. Jameer Nelson abused him at the defensive end. I know Derrick's defense isn't his strong suit, but if we do happen to run into the Magic in the playoffs, they could exploit that matchup all day.
2. The tried-and-true method to beat the Magic is get Dwight Howard in foul trouble. But I can think of very few times Derrick went to the rim and tried to draw a foul on Howard. That should have been our offense for most of the first half, but I don't think Dwight even picked up a foul until the very end of the half.
Absolved-
Taj Gibson- The Bulls were much better defensively when Taj was on the court. He was a -11, but when you by 29, everyone's +/- is ugly. I wish there was a +/- for rebounding, because I bet Taj was the only Bull anywhere near the positives there.
Luol Deng- Lu was 2-8 from the field, and late on a few rotations to get back to Lewis, but I give him credit for at least shedding the soft label for one night and being the only player to attack the basket.
JJ- Like I said above, the complexion of the game changed a lot for the better when JJ came in, then he showed why he didn't play until garbage time with some bonehead plays. I have high hopes for JJ, though, as soon as he gets the mental mistakes out of his system, we could have even more depth on the wing, plus another guy that can guard a Lewis-type big wing.
Let's put this one behind us and make a statement against the other behemoth in the East right now, Boston on Friday night.
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