2010/2011 Chicago Bulls thread

[soulman]

They blew it again. Rose is playing like shit and the collapse.

[Dagan81]

They blew it again. Rose is playing like shit and the collapse.

Actually, the past two games have been excellent efforts by the Bulls. The Heat just has three thoroughbreds compared to a lineup of ponies for the Bulls. Our defense took them down to the wire in this game, but Miami wore us down. I think Spoelstra managed his bench better today than we did. Perhaps the reason on paper this looks to be so is because the Heat have better players coming in off the bench.

Look at it like this: in Games 2 and 3, Udonis Haslem torched the Bulls. In this game, it was Mike Miller scoring 12 points and Mario Chalmers hanging 9 on us. The leading scorer off the bench for the Bulls was Ronnie Brewer with 7. You can't expect to win if your bench players don't score.

Also, free throws were at a premium for us. We were 17-22 from the stripe while the Heat were 32-38. That kind of disparity is rough; we didn't play very disciplined at times, and as a result, we were nearly doubled up in terms of free throws made and attempted.

I hate to go all Manny Ramirez in this situation, but we might as well accept that Miami has been our daddy these past three games. There have been rumors going around that Dwight Howard might be available in the offseason, and if that is the case, I would cash in my chips and go for broke in trying to get him. No offense to Joakim Noah, but Howard can score (which Noah hasn't done in this series very well), rebound, AND play defense. He wasn't the league's defensive player of the year for nothing. Imagine having Rose and Howard on one team together.

[Riczaj01]

it comes down to rebounds folks. Our O cannot keep up; our D can keep us in it. In the first, when we had a 10+ rebound edge, which was creating a huge shot advantage for us, we were looking at a win. As they caught up w/the rebounds they caught up in the score. The one win we had, we had a huge rebound advantage; since then they have neutralized that.
Korver needs to go; the guy is a liablility on the D and his ability to score is more then offset by his negative impact on the D side.

We need to get someone that can create their own shot at the forward position. Just not sure how you get rid of Boozer or Deng now. Boozer is a hot mess, he can rebound, and shoot/score, but cannot create his shot, and is awful on D. Taj needs to step up his game and retake his starting job. He's as good a rebounder, a better defender, and I think given the oppertunity could score as much; just not sure if it would be through dribble penatration.

Not sure another dribble penetration guard really helps; although that is the one glaring weakness on the starting team. One that can play D and hit mulitple 3's every game would be ideal; but again we are looking for someone that can create off the dribble besides Rose, and not sure another small guy dribbling is what they need.

Don't see Noah as a problem, even w/no Offense. He can rebound, play D and get assists, that is good enough if we have a scorer elsewhere. As for Howard, try and trade Boozer and Deng for him. I'd like to see Howard and Noah under the rim...Rebounding, block shots, and scoring/assists from underneath would be amazing. Taj take take his starting role back; and we need to get another forward. Besies I like Noah's leadership and energy for this team.

[dabears54]

if derrick rose wants to be MVP and Considered elite, you can't miss a free throw with 1:09 left that would have been the winning difference, nor miss 2 shots with under a minute to end game( though on both the plays the rest of the team can't just stand around with no movement either)

[Dagan81]

it comes down to rebounds folks. Our O cannot keep up; our D can keep us in it. In the first, when we had a 10+ rebound edge, which was creating a huge shot advantage for us, we were looking at a win. As they caught up w/the rebounds they caught up in the score. The one win we had, we had a huge rebound advantage; since then they have neutralized that.
Korver needs to go; the guy is a liablility on the D and his ability to score is more then offset by his negative impact on the D side.

We need to get someone that can create their own shot at the forward position. Just not sure how you get rid of Boozer or Deng now. Boozer is a hot mess, he can rebound, and shoot/score, but cannot create his shot, and is awful on D. Taj needs to step up his game and retake his starting job. He's as good a rebounder, a better defender, and I think given the oppertunity could score as much; just not sure if it would be through dribble penatration.

Not sure another dribble penetration guard really helps; although that is the one glaring weakness on the starting team. One that can play D and hit mulitple 3's every game would be ideal; but again we are looking for someone that can create off the dribble besides Rose, and not sure another small guy dribbling is what they need.

Don't see Noah as a problem, even w/no Offense. He can rebound, play D and get assists, that is good enough if we have a scorer elsewhere. As for Howard, try and trade Boozer and Deng for him. I'd like to see Howard and Noah under the rim...Rebounding, block shots, and scoring/assists from underneath would be amazing. Taj take take his starting role back; and we need to get another forward. Besies I like Noah's leadership and energy for this team.

Aside from Derrick Rose, Luol Deng is the second best player on the team for the Bulls. He is good on the dribble drive and has the ability to create his on scoring opportunities. I could see trading Boozer and Noah for Dwight Howard in a deal that would be equally as enticing as the one you mentioned. Boozer is awful in most every defensive situation; look no further than in the closing minutes of regulation last night when LeBron James blew right by him and he failed to get in front of James, set his feet, and draw the charge. He is good at scoring, but I think that with him gone and Howard in, we would be set. As far as Noah goes, he has acted like a big cry baby in this series, and it wasn't helped by what he said to those fans while on the bench. Noah has been getting out muscled in the paint; smaller players are able to reject nearly ever scoring opportunity he gets because he plays "too softly." Dwight Howard is a little taller or at least as tall as Noah, and can score 21-22 points per game too. Both play great defense, so I think that would be worthy of further conversation in the future.

[Dagan81]

if derrick rose wants to be MVP and Considered elite, you can't miss a free throw with 1:09 left that would have been the winning difference, nor miss 2 shots with under a minute to end game( though on both the plays the rest of the team can't just stand around with no movement either)

I was thinking the exact same thing, DB. Rose isn't big enough to penetrate his way to the hoop and create his own shots against teams like Miami who have longer players. I mean, is it me or has everyone else noticed that he constantly get rejected not just on lay ups and dunk attempts, but on jump shots as well? And just as you said, those two jump shots he missed in regulation in the final minute were crucial and had to be made. If he makes those two, we win last night and go back home to Chicago with a 2-2 tie in the series. Instead, we are down 3-1, and our best player is being held in check with relative ease.

[The Benjamin]

I was thinking the exact same thing, DB. Rose isn't big enough to penetrate his way to the hoop and create his own shots against teams like Miami who have longer players. I mean, is it me or has everyone else noticed that he constantly get rejected not just on lay ups and dunk attempts, but on jump shots as well? And just as you said, those two jump shots he missed in regulation in the final minute were crucial and had to be made. If he makes those two, we win last night and go back home to Chicago with a 2-2 tie in the series. Instead, we are down 3-1, and our best player is being held in check with relative ease.

Main reason he is being held in check, is there is not really a true second option. If there was another real threat on the team, they would not be able to gang up on Rose.

[Dagan81]

Main reason he is being held in check, is there is not really a true second option. If there was another real threat on the team, they would not be able to gang up on Rose.

Deng and Boozer have the closest things to second options to Derrick Rose, but this is the time of year where big time players step up and make big plays. Yeah, Rose is average about 23 points per game in the Eastern Conference Finals, which is not far off his season average, but he is having to create assists where there aren't any as well as drive the ball to the hole in order to hopefully have a shot at creating a good scoring opportunity. In that sense, Benji, you're right, but those two missed jump shots in the final minute of regulation plus the missed free throw were huge blunders by him. He has to be more clutch than that if he wants to be considered a PTPer in this league. He is a very good player, reminiscent of Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson, but he is no Michael Jordan.

[The Benjamin]

Deng and Boozer have the closest things to second options to Derrick Rose, but this is the time of year where big time players step up and make big plays. Yeah, Rose is average about 23 points per game in the Eastern Conference Finals, which is not far off his season average, but he is having to create assists where there aren't any as well as drive the ball to the hole in order to hopefully have a shot at creating a good scoring opportunity. In that sense, Benji, you're right, but those two missed jump shots in the final minute of regulation plus the missed free throw were huge blunders by him. He has to be more clutch than that if he wants to be considered a PTPer in this league. He is a very good player, reminiscent of Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson, but he is no Michael Jordan.

No one ever said he was Jordan. And those who did are idiots.

[Dagan81]

No one ever said he was Jordan. And those who did are idiots.

That's probably the curse of playing in Chicago: the constant reminders of Jordan's greatness.