Blog a Bull

Lakers 108, Bulls 93

2009-11-20T14:54:18Z

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Chicago	96.0	96.9	48.2%	14.3	21.3	15.6
LA Lakers		112.5	48.9%	19.6	29.2	12.5

Just too big, too good. They actually fought with them for a lot of the 1st half, but when the Lakers started hitting 3-pointers it was one team they couldn't stink out. ANALYSIS!

I did actually think Rose looked more sprightly, a lot of close finishes didn't happen and he was really going up against the trees. And John Salmons had a decent game. And Noah still rules.

But yeah, the Lakers are the ideal. Though when I see the Bulls walk in to their arena and get waxed I can't help but wonder if Bulls braintrust actually sees the Lakers as an ideal, or instead laugh at their overextended payroll.

Open Game Thread #11 OVERFLOW: Bulls at L.A. Lakers

2009-11-20T04:45:08Z

Likely no recap 'til the mornin'

Open Game Thread #11: Bulls at L.A. Lakers

2009-11-20T03:30:11Z

TNT!

New thread at 10:45.

Game Preview #10: Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers

2009-11-19T21:47:55Z

[Thanks to Prevenge for today's game preview. -ed.]

Or, as it is otherwise known, "The Return of Crazy Pills".

You may have heard of the Los Angeles Lakers. They're a pretty good basketball team. Have one or two good players.

Well, then they have Crazy Pills, or [as he is otherwise known] Ron Artest, the man who is changing his number to 37 because that's the number of weeks Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was number 1. Apparently, the Lakers thought that Trevor Ariza wasn't worth the same amount of money as Artest, despite Ariza proving in the playoffs that he was a very good role-player and defender who could hit the open 3 and dunk [and also come up with key steals].

This is both good and bad for us. It's good because Ariza is playing pretty well in Houston, and Artest is both regressing and in the first year of a 3-year deal. Think of Ron Artest as the Lakers' answer to Andres Nocioni, bad-signing-wise: only they could've had a cheaper and better version of him for the same price. He's good, but he's not worth that money when he's so inefficient. Maybe, when we're peaking in two years with Joe Johnson and Rose in our 4th-seed-at-best lineup monstrosity, the Lakers will be weaker.

Of course, when we had Artest as a young player, we traded him and Brad Miller to the Pacers for a second-round pick and Jalen Rose.

So we basically did the same thing the Lakers did. But at least we had a semi-plausible reason to get rid of Ron Artest, which is that he's crazy. [Brad Miller, well, that's another story.]

Did I mention this yet?

Ron. Artest. Is. Crazy.

Here's his Wikipedia Page. Some bullet points:

-In his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, he was criticized for applying for a job at Circuit City in order to get an employee discount.

-He was suspended for two games in the early 2004–05 season by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after he allegedly asked for a month off because he was tired from promoting an R&B album for the group Allure on his production label.

Oh, yeah, and he was kind of involved in this. [That's the brawl, in case you were wondering.]

The last time the Bulls played the Lakers was in March of last year. We lost by 8 after building a lead. However, that game was at home, with Tyrus Thomas and Ben Gordon both contributing [Salmons, too].

Pau Gasol is back for this game after his CSI-induced vacation. Hopefully he's gotten cehmically addicted to something, because otherwise ... let's just say that Taj Gibson has big problems against Jason Thompson, and while Thompson's good, he's not Pau Gasol.

[Sidenote: Gasol wasn't as good on the Grizzlies as he is on the Lakers. He's hyper-efficient, and even a bit strong.]

Matchups to watch

There's a bunch.

- How will Noah do against either Bynum or Gasol [or both]? Noah's the leading rebounder in the NBA, so we at least have a chance down low.

-How will Taj do against either Bynum or Gasol? Or Odom? Uh, I'm just gonna file this under 'problems the Bulls are going to have'.

-Oh hey, we have this great shooting guard who will match Kobe Bryant shot for shot! ...

Problem #2. At least Salmons' crappy help D [I've heard but haven't really seen] won't be exposed, because Kobe likes to iso.

-If Derrick Rose doesn't explode against Derek Fisher, it's the ankle. I mean ... look at Derek. He can't guard anybody, and he can't shoot! He's basically like our own Derrick, only if you had him sprain BOTH ankles, and maybe kicked him in the crotch a couple times to slow him down.

Wait, that didn't work for the Warriors. Hmm. Maybe he just needs to get revved up. I've heard that Shannon Brown can jump pretty high, and I'm sure he can kick.

[Sidenote: Whoever does the next Bulls-Warriors game has to use that video.]

-How will Luol Deng respond knowing that the man across from him on the court may be criminally insane? Win? Lose? Go crazy? Both? Neither?

- WWRD? [Or, 'What Will Ron Do?' This can also be used for Ron Paul.] We know he's crazy. He's kind of mellowed out, except for the times where he's crazy. So what's Artest going to do?!? If we had more crazy people on our team, this game could get really fun. I don't think anything's going to happen, though. Our only enforcer [a pseudo-enforcer at that: I'm talking about Brad Miller] has played with him for a long while. And yes, this means the SF matchup is two matchups. One is Luol Deng vs. Ron Artest. The other one is Ron Artest vs. Ron Artest. Maybe Joakim will bother him with all the yelling.

So. A prediction. I don't think we're going to win. Rose is still battling an ankle injury, and the Lakers are the Lakers. But more surprising things have happened [who thought Milwalkee'd have a record over .500?]. The Lakers have looked pretty bad in the stretch before the Pistons game, and should've lost to the Thunder [the only game this year I've followed]. Not that we've really looked any better. And they are 8-3, while we're ... 6-4.

Pretty meaningless game against a team that's better than us, and it's on the dreaded circus trip [so named because the Ringling Bros. circus moves into the Bulls' players' favorite riverfront casino, forcing them to travel the road in search of other ways to gamble. This is why everyone dreads those away games at Utah].

Lakers by 10, but I'm crossing my fingers for Bulls by 3.

*update* Multiple people have pointed out that Ariza signed for basically the MLE [the Injury Exception], and that Ariza's agent was playing hardball trying to get them to offer $8 million per [and then rising]. Also, Artest's contract is $18 million over 3 years [it declines], not over 5 years. Fxed/updated/etc.

Gar Forman's team is on the floor

2009-11-19T05:53:57Z

It seems to be that point in the NBA season where teams are figuring out what they have and don't like, and as a result the rumor mill has been re-charged, buoyed especially this season by more prominent out-of-work NBA vets than usual.

But the Bulls will do nothing. Not because of their usual impotence and lack of foresight, but because they very publicly backed themselves into a corner this past offseason, and it's actually best for their goals that they do nothing.

They do not want to go into the luxury tax this season. At about $1m under currently, they haven't so far even used that room for short-term fixes while some injuries added up, and they can't deal away long-term money for a shorter (yet more expensive) contract.

They also do not want to take on 2010 salary, to maximize possible cap room in the upcoming offseason. So they can't deal away an expiring contract for a long-term deal.

What they could do is strive for a deal that brings long-term savings while being cap-neutral for this season, but the catch there is that they can't have much of a talent downgrade, since they want to make the playoffs this season. And one of the plusses of this current roster is their continuity and much-exalted team chemistry.

It'd be very hard to find such a deal to satisfy what the Bulls are trying to do this season (tread. water.), at least for now. By the trade deadline, it's possible that a player of high caliber is available and the Bulls cash in their 2010 chips early through dealing expiring contracts (and likely incurring the luxury tax this season, ha!). Or that the Bulls playoff chances are cemented (hopefully on the 'good' side) to where they can risk a slight talent shakeup in order to get some long-term money off their books.

But for now, it'll be very quiet, and I can't really blame the Bulls for that. Well except the not paying the luxury tax for one season thing, that's pretty aggravating.

Bulls 101, Kings 87: Bulls shamefully break 100 points on the road, no free big macs

2009-11-18T14:57:49Z

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Dilbert tie? (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Browse more photos »

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Chicago	94.0	107.4	51.2%	19.3	30.0	16.0
Sacramento		92.6	45.7%	16.0	31.0	22.3

I don't have much this morning, but it was nice to see the Bulls turn in a competent offensive performance as a team, and for John Salmons individually. He still does not look like the same player as last year, and gets his shot blocked way too often, but Salmons did hit a couple big 3-pointers (and Deng with a couple 21-footers) to keep the Kings at a manageable distance in the second half.

As usual, the most pleasant aspect of watching the Bulls was Joakim Noah, who again played heavy minutes and kept his production up accordingly with 15 points and 14 rebounds. He dominated and frustrated Jason Thompson, a rising young frontcourt player in his own right who'd strung together some solid rebounding efforts. But Noah has been past 'rising' this season, and is already here. He outmuscled Thompson throwing him off his game leading to my favorite sequence of the night, when he blatantly pushed Noah going for a dunk, and reacting flabbergasted that he got called for a foul. With not only the production but seeing him act like an buffoon every time he's on the bench, Noah is worth watching on this team.

Another positive was the Bulls getting their good Jannero Pargo half of basketball for the week. But there was some bad as well, most worrisome being Derrick Rose getting completely outshone by Tyreke Evans. I'm avoiding Rose's struggles for now, just hoping it's the ankle. Please let it be the ankle.

Also, Taj Gibson fouled out in 11 minutes and Hinrich continues to shoot poorly.

But this was a must-win for the trip, and it was a fairly comfortable victory at that. Amazing how easy not-league-worst on offense for a night will make things.

Open Game Thread #10 OVERFLOW: Bulls at Sacramento Kings

2009-11-18T04:59:39Z

Likely no recap tonight...

Open Game Thread #10: Bulls at Sacramento Kings

2009-11-18T03:00:14Z

One of the few winnables on the road trip. Though this team seems to have no real difference given their degree of opponent: they can stink out a good team just as well as a bad one.

(not that the Kings have proven to be bad so far)

Game Preview #10: Bulls at Sacramento Kings

2009-11-17T12:17:39Z

[Thanks to enemy combatant pookeyguru for today's game preview. I'm not sure yet how the 9pm CST start times will throw off my recappin' game, but it likely will somewhat. -ed.]

Tonight is a battle of 2 teams at different paths in their journey. The Kings started out 1-3 before Kevin Martin was sidelined with a fractured left wrist, and subsequently had surgery, before winning the last 4 games to end up at 5-4. (None of this mentions that Francisco Garcia fractured his shooting wrist lifting weights on a physioball.) The Bulls have had their own fun share with injuries (Tyrus Thomas) so far, but have managed their own 5-4 start. I was told I could not make fun of Brad Miller writing this preview. (Boo!) However, it's clear Miller is happier in Chicago than he was in Sacramento at the end of his stay, and the early returns of Andres Nocioni in Sacramento have worked out pretty well all told. The stars of the Kings team are Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson (especially since Kevin Martin went down), which makes this matchup more intriguing.

If I haven't lost you by now, see you after the jump. Also, I apologize for the length of this in advance.

Starting lineup's for the Bulls:

Derrick Rose

John Salmons

Luol Deng

Joakim Noah

Taj Gibson

Starting lineup's for the Kings:

Tyreke Evans

Beno Udrih

Ime Udoka (subject to change if Noc plays)

Jason Thompson

Spencer Hawes

Andres Nocioni has been the starter at SF for Sacramento the last 5 games, but he suffered a hip pointer and is not expected to go tonight. UPDATE: Per Sam Amick's twitter said Donte Greene may start tonight.

By the numbers

In terms of Pace the Bulls are currently 18th, while the Kings are 12th. The Kings rank 24th in defensive efficiency, and the Bulls rank 8th. In Offensive efficiency, the Bulls rank 27th and the Kings rank 6th.(As such, I won't display the offensive and defensive 4 factors. If you wish, check them out here for both clubs.)

Rebounding, though, may surprise Bulls fans who expect the Kings to get killed on the boards tonight. The Kings are currently 2nd in offensive board%; 8th in defensive board%. Meanwhile the Bulls are 5th in ORB% and 14th in DRB%. If the Bulls are to win tonight, they will most likely need to control the backboards to secure a victory.

So why have the Kings won 4 in a row without Kevin Martin?

Several reasons. One is the improvement of Jason Thompson from last season. Yesterday, TZ had a good article on the very area's of where Jason had improved. Basically, he's a better offensive rebounder (by the numbers he's 3rd in the NBA), and an average defensive rebounder (still). He's turned the ball over less, racked up the assists, and the coaching staff will let him play through foul trouble. He gets to the foul line at a high rate too.

For the last 4 games: Tyreke Evans has averaged 23.8 points, 4.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds since Martin has went down. Jason Thompson has averaged 19.8 points, 2.3 assists and 11.5 boards. WaBeno Udrih has averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 boards.

On the year Evans has averaged: 16.6 points, 4.3 assists and 4.4 boards. Thompson has averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 assists and 10.1 boards. Udrih has averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2.4 boards.

Also, Ime Udoka has been part of the rotation (Desmond Mason was waived to make room for Udoka) from the beginning of the 4 game win streak (10 days ago in Utah). In short, it's been an instance of better fit with role players (Udoka, Kenny Thomas instead of Sean May and Mason), and the other starters have played well so far in Martin's absence.

What are the marquee matchup's?

Well, in my mind, there are two.

The first matchup is Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans. (Sort of.) In the past several games, Paul Westphal has generally asked Beno Udrih to guard Russell Westbrook and Aaron Brooks. (Westbrook was 3-13 from the floor. Brooks was 4-13 from the floor.) While I won't be deluded enough to tell you that Udrih is a great defensive guard, he has been better during this 4 game win streak than he his past would indicate. If that continues it could be a difficult night for the Bulls to score if Derrick Rose doesn't have it going. Then again, I'm not sure we'll watch the Rose and Evans head to head matchup transpire tonight.

It's more likely VDN will ask Rose to defend Udrih (as most teams have with their PG's) and has Salmons guard Evans defensively. Whichever team exploits these matchup's offensively could dictate a possible outcome.

The other matchup I'm looking forward to is Jason Thompson vs Joakim Noah. Noah at the moment is the current NBA's top rebounder (as I'm sure every Bulls fan knows) at 12.2 a game. Noah is 4th in offensive rebounds per game, and Thompson is 2nd. The difference between the two is that Noah grabs the 9th most defensive boards a game, while Thompson grabs the 44th. Whoever wins this battle of offense vs defense boards will win the game I suspect. More importantly, from a Kings POV, Thompson is going to be greatly tested with Noah's defensive abilities. Noah also blocks a couple of shots a game, and Hawes & Thompson get their shots swatted often enough to give Noah ample opportunity to do so. If Taj Gibson chooses to get his block a game, he will receive ample opportunities to do so. Since fouls are a big part of the problem Thompson has faced in the past, it's possible that foul trouble could limit either Noah or Thompson and swing the matchup into the team that exploits said foul trouble. (Since Noah doesn't have very high foul rates, I think this is definitely a bigger concern for Thompson.)

Keys to the game

1) Chicago must keep this game in the high 80's/low 90's to win; on the year the Kings are averaging 112 points in victories and 95 points in defeats.

2) Again, rebounding.

3) Offensively the Bulls must move the ball. The Kings have 2 very good defenders in Udoka and Kenny Thomas, and a bunch of below average to good defenders elsewhere. (Tyreke Evans and Spencer Hawes are the other 2 quality defenders the Kings have at the moment not named Udoka or Thomas. Everyone else ranges in quality.) The Kings can be both exposed, and scored on, by moving the ball, getting to the FT line and hitting shots from the perimeter. But, as every Bulls fan knows that's easier said than done. By the same token the Kings do not boast a very high TS% or eFG% themselves. The Kings are efficient offensively because they have not turned the ball over 20 times a night (mostly), and they grab a lot of offensive rebounds.

4) Forcing turnover's may be an important key to victory to the Bulls. Transition defense is not the Kings strong suit and getting easy buckets this way (as many as possible) could help the Bulls slow the pace down and play a half court game. When the Kings turn the ball over (and they have turned it over to any team that can force TO's--the Bulls are 10th in forced TOV%), they are far easier to beat. (Shocking, I know.) I don't think I'm going out on much of a limb when I say whichever team gets more easy hoops will probably win.

5) The X Factors for tonight's game are the 2 headed monster of Brad Miller/Taj Gibson and Spencer Hawes. Hawes first. While it's easy for anyone to assume Hawes has struggled (and he has shooting the ball), it's also true that Hawes defense and defensive rebounding have been critical for the Kings during their 4 game win streak. If Taj Gibson, or Brad Miller I would guess, are able to exploit Hawes defensively (on the interior with athleticism/finishing strong for Gibson; on the perimeter with shooting/passing/ball movement for Miller), this will be important to helping Chicago pull out a victory.

6) Ime Udoka and Omri Casspi are vital in terms of energy and disruption in fueling Sacramento's defensive attack. If Luol Deng can neutralize them by scoring the ball, particularly from the perimeter where Deng is likely to have many open looks if the Bulls can take advantage, this could be a major strength the Bulls can exploit all night. The Bulls best 3 offensive options (Rose, Deng and Miller) must score the ball well to help Chicago keep pace offensively in a game where offense vs defense is so critical.

7) I'm nearly 104% positive the Bulls don't want to run up & down with the Kings. (Or with anyone actually.) The Bulls play at a slow grind it out pace that generally dictates low shooting percentages, and scores to go along with it. If the Bulls are able to dictate that tempo and take advantage of opportunities, they will win. Conversely, the Kings play far more efficiently at a faster pace. If the Kings win the rebounding battle, and are able to run their offense efficiently, I think prevailing is a large possibility. (I take nothing for granted when the Kings starting lineup is less than 25 years of age on average.) Given that the Bulls are starting their Carnival trip tonight, and will be on the road for tne next 13 weeks (actually days--but I wonder if it feels like that to the players), it's a golden opportunity for both clubs.

With a win the Bulls can get a win to start that 6 game trip away from the UC. If the Kings win tonight they can continue their win streak and complete a perfect homestand. (I personally care about the perfect homestand. That hasn't happened, since, crap I can't remember the last time that happened. After checking, it was when Eric Musselman was still coaching. Yikes!) Oh, I recognize that VDN is not beloved in any Bulls fan circle, but I'll be willing to stack up Eric Musselman against any terrible coaching hire this decade.

For an opponent (or completely Kings centric) point of view hit up the 916 circus better known as Sactown Royalty. Thanks for reading, and good luck tonight.

Game will tip off at 9pm CST on WGN.

How can you not like Noah?: part #459

2009-11-16T20:24:07Z

Mike McGraw:

The Bulls haven’t done a very good job of explaining some of the lingo to players. Joakim Noah had no idea why the Bulls’ annual November road swing is called the circus trip.

Answer: Because the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus moves into the United Center for about two weeks, forcing the Bulls and Blackhawks to hit the road.

"That’s why they call it the circus trip?" Noah said. "I was like, ‘Why do they always call it the circus trip? What’s so circus about it?’ I didn’t even know that."

Though to be fair, one could've made an alternate definition of the Bulls' circus trip as to mean they usually put on a clown show.

Open Game Thread #9 OVERFLOW: Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers

2009-11-15T03:15:14Z

Last thread of the day, hope I timed it well.

Open Game Thread #9: Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers

2009-11-15T01:00:33Z

Last one before the clown show. Interpret that as you will.

Game Preview #9: Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers

2009-11-14T13:57:21Z

[Thanks to chgobr for today's game preview -ed.]

As the Bulls face Philadelphia, we have completed over 10% of the season. Teams' true selves are emerging.

The 76ers'

The Brand experiment has quickly gone from hype to heartburn.The Philly Daily News reports

Now, the situation has been thrown fully into a blender, as new coach Eddie Jordan doesn't appear to have enough confidence in Brand to have him on the floor in key situations. Brand has not played in the fourth quarter in four of the past five games. In those games, he has averaged only 24 minutes, 7 points and 5.2 rebounds.

A bad move by Stefanski to sign the Duke product? Perhaps.

Too early to tell? Again, perhaps.

This much is obvious: Brand is not the player who came to the Sixers with an average of 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in nine NBA seasons. He probably isn't as unproductive as the player who has averaged only 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game this season. But he is now 30. And maybe finding his old form after the injuries and at his age just isn't possible.

Brand has not finished games despite being paid almost $15 million. Brand's long-term cancer runs through 2012-13 and is over $18 million dollars 2013. The consequences are a team that likely will struggle until after 2013 with more empty seats in Philly. Iguodala has been a contributor but Lou Williams and Thadeus Young have not played to the high expectations. Dalembert is a bust who appears to be impossible to trade.

The Bulls

We have our own issues. A new Bulls team has begun to emerge.

The good

There is a lot to like. This team plays like professionals. Most of them want to win and are good team players. Except for minor Tyrus issues the culture of this team has gone professional. Points against has gone to 92.9 from 102.5 2008-9. This is a remarkable improvement. Ball movement seems improved. Noah seems to be the real deal. Players that really want to win, young talent and an inability to take over games makes Chicago ideal for one of the free 2010 agents.

The bad

Hitting shots! We move the ball; find the open man who is excellent at firing up bricks. The main culprits are Hinrich, Pargo and Salmons shooting .346, 351 and .306. This makes you yearn for BG. Despite the urge I still believe we are and will be better off in the long run not signing BG.

The Ugly

Thankfully we do not have the Steven Jackson, Don Nelson, Allen Iverson, New York Knick lunacy going on. With Deng performing up to his contract and with Hinrich's contract contracting, we really have no long-term horrible deals we need to dump to be competitive. No ugly here - a plus for the franchise.

For those of us who

1. thought Kerr was the dumbest Manger in the NBA,

2. who thought Miami would struggle to make the playoffs,

3. who thought Houston would struggle to win 20 games

4. who thought Sacramento would struggle to win 15 games

We appear way off.

The Philly perspective for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers can be found at Liberty Ballers. This is a back-to-back for Philly as they got mauled 112 - 90 at home by a Deron Williams less Utah Jazz. It really would be nice to go on the road 5 -4.

Byron Scott Fired

2009-11-12T18:33:49Z

Byron Scott Fired

I'm going to hijack this thread for a discussion I started on my awesome twitter feed this morning:

Instead of the usual 2010 ideas, what if things stayed so bad in New Orleans on the court (and the Scott firing is a sign of desperation already) and financially that Chris Paul became in any way available?

First, how likely is that? Would Rose be the type of compensation not to have George Shinn run out of town? How much more would it take (with cap room in the summer it could be real savings for N.O.)?

One question already answered (for me, anyway) is 'would you trade Rose in a package for Paul?', a yes because that is such a clear upgrade.

A sadder question: Would Gar Paxdorf give up a cash cow on a rookie contract for a cash cow on a max contract?-ed.

Raptors 99, Bulls 89: Bulls tire out for one game. Will we see it over the season?

2009-11-12T06:00:20Z

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

'Aaaaaaaaargh!' (AP photo/The Candian Press,Frank Gunn)

Browse more photos »

Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Chicago	96.0	92.7	40.9%	19.3	29.4	13.5
Toronto		103.1	43.8%	25.0	26.2	15.6

(more on the 4 factors box score)

This game was tough to expect a win. The Bulls were not only on a back-to-back on the road, but their rotation is so thin right now it makes that common occurrence even more daunting. And they clearly waned (tired or otherwise) in the 2nd half, scoring only 29 points and missing their final 15 shots from the field.

This game was a bit of a validation on both ends of the court, considering the disparity between the excellent Raptors offense and their terrible defense. With the Bulls playing inversely in that game, it confirmed their defense is this good, and their offense is indeed this bad.

Sam tries to get into the psychology of why the Bulls are in a 'slump', but is it really that? They don't have reliable weapons. Hinrich's never strung together good shooting seasons, and he's had bad starts before, including one so bad in 2007 when it submarined the entire season. Salmons may be the cover of John Hollinger's next book: 'The Fluke Rule'. And we've known that as a team they will never get many inside points, or scoring efficiently with 3-pointers or free throws. I don't see things getting much better, merely hope that at least Hinrich gets back to a career norm, Derrick Rose shows ANY improvement in his scoring efficiency, Deng slowly gets that corner-3 going, and Noah continues to be awesome.

(at any point did you think Noah was out-classed by Bosh? I didn't.)

(Another positive in the game for me was Taj Gibson's jumper. I was very reluctant to believe in his shooting prowess, but while his form and release means it doesn't have much range, it is very quick and he keeps the ball high. That's necessary given his lack of size for the position, and it works.)

Vinny's in a real tough spot here. I honestly laud his short rotation so far this season, it was a worry that he'd force in players who stink, and he's kept things very tight. It hurts tremendously that one of a top 7 is out, but Taj has surprised.

But as the season wears on, and more back-to-backs pop up, it will really hurt. You can tell Brad Miller doesn't quite respond to consecutive nights, and he's yet to miss his usual ten games per season. Luol is playing a ton of minutes. And worse yet is that Pargo and James Johnson are too terrible to see the court. And even worse yet is that the Bulls have almost zero roster flexibility during this season.

VDN likely felt the urgency to start this season selling out early and trying to get as many wins as possible before the circus trip (and Gar Paxdorf's BS tour this offseason regarding this team's chances likely making his seat a bit hot). And before they head on that trip, there's a very winnable game on Saturday, being well-rested and the Sixers coming into the United Center. I expect a win in that one, but some much darker times ahead. Merely keeping their heads above water would do wonders in staying at their projected .500 7th-8th seed result this season.

Open Game Thread #8 OVERFLOW: Bulls at Toronto Raptors

2009-11-12T01:45:05Z

Forgot to tape this one, missed a bit of the 3rd :-/

Open Game Thread / Game Preview #8: Bulls vs. Raptors

2009-11-11T22:01:35Z

[Thanks to YaoPau for today's game preview -ed.]

Do you Noah good rebounder? I do.

pa-ching.

Maybe we should start calling it Cantada, because they can't rebound.

pa-ching.

Bosh does well at 11reb per 36, then it's Bargnani's 6.8, Turkoglu's 4.5, Jack's 3.0, Calderon's 2.8. When Taj Gibson would be your team's 2nd best rebounder, you better be awesome at everything else.

They are offensively: 1st in O-Rating so far. Their .591 TS% is ridiculous, and they're top-3 in threes per game, free throws per game, and fewest turnovers. Lots of shooters, good passers, Turkoglu's been a nice fit.

Defensively, they're dead last. They ranked 22nd last year, and since lost Shawn Marion, Jamario Moon, Jermaine O'Neal and Anthony Parker, so it's likely not a fluke. They're bottom-3 in threes per game allowed, free throws per game allowed, and turnovers forced. It's like their defense is allowing it's own offensive gameplan. Weird team. Really weird.

Not surprisingly, they're 3-4 with a good win over Cleveland and a bad loss to Memphis. With all the 3pt shots taken in Raptors games and their overall averageness, game to game fluctuation will happen. Flip a coin for who wins tonight, especially with the Bulls in Toronto.

But our blueprint to victory involves controlling the glass. The Bulls are 6th in OREB%+DREB% at 1.034, while the Raptors are 27th at .957, and Reggie Evans is still out with a foot sprain. I get worried whenever two evenly matched teams play and one has an enormous advantage in one factor - it's hard to match that advantage in reality. But if we do, and the Raptors don't shoot lights out from 3, we should have this in the bag.

Few questions:

(1) Will the Bulls take advantage of Toronto's inability to guard the 3 and the paint? (That involves taking shots in those two locations.)

(2) When Bargnani pulls Taj/Joakim away from the basket, will Deng help keep Bosh off the boards? SFs have averaged almost 9rpg against Toronto this year, and Deng could be in line for a big boxscore.

(3) Is Rose healthy enough to penetrate consistently? With Calderon on him and Bargnani guarding the paint, this is the game to do it.

6pm start time on WCIU.

Nuggets 90, Bulls 89: when 0.3 seconds isn't enough

2009-11-11T05:57:03Z

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Look at Noah with his hands clasped. He's the best. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Denver	91.0	98.9	44.6%	17.9	34.1	19.8
Chicago		97.8	46.0%	10.3	32.6	14.3

(more on the 4 factors box score)

Man, do I not like instant replay. I don't like it in any sport, to be honest. Because I feel like every time it's implemented, it winds up ruining the entertainment value of the game, with the increased stoppages where you watch old men peering into a monitor. I think it devalues the entertainment of watching the sport (which is all it is). I can't see many people that concerned about a point here or there unless they're gambling on the game, and I'd rather just assume one catches some breaks and misses some over the course of a sports-watching life.

Enough of that mini-rant, and back to this game. It's certainly possible that the referees would have ruled Brad Miller's shot no good when it occured if they knew they wouldn't have the crutch of replay, because I believe it's one of Newton's laws of physics that Brad Miller cannot catch and shoot a basketball in 0.3 seconds. But they called it good, and there are shots of the replay (ht: Sham) that indicate that it wasn't. When they started taking forever when looking at the replay, it seemed less and less likely that the on-court ruling would stand, and you could feel the crowd getting more nervous.

But honestly, we got to jump around and high-five like idiots (as did the Bulls) when Miller hit the shot, so we got that winning feeling, if only for a short time. That was fun.

This was a great game, and I was immensely impressed with the Bulls defense. I kept being surprised that they were staying in the game, and then to see them really lock down in the fourth quarter and take a lead was outstanding. With the season Carmelo Anthony is having, he's incredibly scary to see opposing your team in a close game, but the combination of Luol Deng and Joakim Noah made his life as difficult as possible, and both were fantastic on that end of the floor all night. Everyone was, pretty much, with the only defensive holes popping up sporadically was a free pass for Nene to dive down the middle of the lane without impediment. Though I wouldn't want to get in his way either.

The offense continues to stink, and I'm getting more used to it by the game. They can't shoot 3s, they don't get to the line (Rose was avoiding the lane it was a pit of lava and his only FTAs were on the late possession where Billups was trying to give a foul on the floor), traits taken to the extreme when they finished the first quarter with 20 points on 10 field-goals. It almost seems like they'd be better off just chucking the ball at the rim as early in the possession as possible to allow their offensive rebounding to take over, and that was actually how they scored their last basket, an offensive board and then Noah getting the ball stripped right into Rose's hands for a layup.

We know how the next possession went, a foul by Hinrich on Billups with .6 seconds left. He missed the second free throw leaving just enough time for a catch-and-shoot, though apparently not enough for Brad Miller to do so.

Can't say enough about how great Noah was tonight, and seeing 21 rebounds may not be to crazy for the next few weeks, with nearly nobody else on the Bulls able to cannibalize his boarding totals (and him being awesome and everything). As I mentioned, Rose was a bit too jump-shooty but made enough of them. Taj Gibson really impressed with some of his finishing around the rim. As far as the bad, Brad Miller had his worst game of the season, making one basket in 14 minutes and forcing a couple of awful passes from the high post resulting in turnovers. Salmons and Hinrich didn't shoot well and again don't hit enough threes. And Pargo sucks. Defensive rebounding remains a problem. Have I mentioned the offense is still bad?

The defense looks good though, and given their opponent tonight it was looking great. Having Luol Deng back makes all the difference, and Joakim Noah is becoming an absolute force.

Open Game Thread #7 OVERFLOW2: Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets

2009-11-11T04:00:36Z

Up until the recap...

Open Game Thread #7 OVERFLOW: Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets

2009-11-11T02:30:30Z

Next thread at 10.