Yes, I shamelessly just used a King-ism as my headline. But though that's usually for the Derrick Rose, it goes to his teammates in this one. Rose sat out his 3rd straight game, but the Bulls went to 3-1 overall this season without the MVP as they completely rolled the Cavaliers Friday night.
Like against Phoenix, the Bulls took an initial hit but were able to assert their will and take advantage of a smaller opponent. Per the CSN postgame, the 16 blocks tonight were a franchise record, led by 7 from the expected trio of Noah/Gibson/Asik. Somehow Carlos Boozer had 2, usually a season total for him. Poor Tristan Thompson not only had 4 attempts sent back going 2-10 overall he very early became the designated 'opposing player Neil Funk shits on all game' of the night (sponsored by LensCrafters). It wasn't just the Bulls superlative front line using their size advantage on the Cavs, it was evident all over the court from their guards and wings as well. Luol Deng and Rip Hamilton joined in on being about to out-muscle whoever was put on them, and it's startling how two star-less teams can still be so different when you realize that though there's designations such as 'starters' or 'role players', how wide of a spectrum there is in this league.
CJ Watson continued his extremely strong play since returning from injury, with a great scoring efficiency (15 on 8 shots) adding to what we know he can do with his defense and (improved) floor game. Being matched up with Kyrie Irving stood to be perhaps one matchup the Cavs could win, but outside of a really fast offensive start from Irving and his team (starting 6 of 8 from three) Watson dominated. Interesting that Irving was limited to under 23 minutes which has been a reported strategy of Byron Scott. If you have the #1 pick on a rebuilding team, don't you just throw him out there to gain as much experience as possible?
Carlos Boozer (who I totally forgot the Cleveland fans hated) really fed well off the Bulls drives and made another killing from outside (not exclusively) tonight, finishing with 19 points to go with 14 boards. He was part of a huge run in the 3rd quarter that put the game out of reach, and I have to admit I grinned when Stacey King busted out 'Booze Cruise!' after Boozer scoring streak. Like the Suns game, it was against a team that couldn't really match up with him (and pity the undersized forward who loses his athleticism, here's to Antawn Jamison). But like I said then, Booz rolling against these teams is better than the alternative, and maybe it's the start to getting his season on track in time for more formidable front lines. Joakim Noah looks to be on a similar course, with fewer gimmee misses and mishandled attempts that now makes his style of play look actually effective again instead of merely active.
Thibodeau responded postgame to a well-pointed question that it doesn't matter who's on the schedule for the Bulls, Derrick Rose's playing time is up to whether Rose feels good to play. Besides, there are now other injuries to worry about! Taj Gibson sprained an ankle in the 2nd quarter and though he stayed in after asking for a timeout he was soon ruled out for the rest of the night. John Lucas (who had a great game tonight, 9 points in 9 minutes) pulled his groin in the 2nd half, and looked to be no old friend of Thibs as Lucas had to intentionally foul someone to get himself out. Postgame, Lucas said he's fine for Saturday night and Taj isn't sure. Joakim Noah had a very similar sequence to Taj in requesting a timeout, but managed to stay in without issue.
This lockout-schedule really is a bummer sometimes, but with the precious couple days of rest the Bulls looked dominant even without their most dominating player. And tonight garbage time started so early (over 9 minutes) that they could potentially look just as great at home Saturday night against the Bobcats. Let's hope Derrick himself (or an Org. nudge...or Thibs is just fronting) sees how the team can play without him against opponents like this and realizes rest is best.
0 recs | 187 comments
The one thing I took from this game was that the trio of Boozer, Watson, and Rip is very potent on offense.
Each of them were creating space for the other and Noah benefited as a result. All of them shot over 50% and scored in double figures, but let’s be honest; Cleveland gave up. We came out and played harder, tougher, and in waves. They crumbled. It helps me feel a bit better about Rose sitting to let that toe heal, but the only thing that will truly take the anxiety away would be for him to say the toe was healed and completely pain-free.
Brigade17 - January 20, 2012
Cleveland was playing very hard through that first half
Even tho they went down by 20, when we hit em in the 3rd and got it into upper 20s they gave up.
I think we were just on in all facets yesterday. If our other guys can do that more often I don’t see any team beating us in a series when Derrick is back—problem is we need to see that mas often
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
To use an oft-misused cliche...
Rip does seem to make the other 4 players on offense better, particularly the big guys. His ability to move fluidly with and without the ball and to distribute to Booz and Noah after a catch on those off-the-ball screen is something no one else on this team has. We see Korver try to make those passes but they never work for some reason. And I’ve always believed that Rose has been pretty bad in feeding Boozer, in particular, in ways Boozer needs to be fed, to get him shots at/around the rim.
msquared10 - January 21, 2012
agreed, and...
I’m sorry to say that Rose is simply not a very good passer. Rip is excellent, and, as you point out, he is far more effective than Korver at quickly distributing to the right teammate when he can’t (or doesn’t want to) quickly shoot.
He is also excellent on the break, another piece of the puzzle that the Bulls were previously lacking.
Paul Warfield - January 21, 2012
So it looks like yes, CJ Watson is much better than John Lucas III at pretty much everything
tuluse - January 20, 2012
CJ just seems like a completely different player starting instead of coming off the bench
He seems like one of those exceptions where translating per-minutes stats just doesn’t work.
Poloplaya14 - January 21, 2012
And CJ would actually
Pass to Boozer. Seriously did Booz shit in his sportsbag or something. WTF JL3? lol
T.Moore - January 21, 2012
cj would actually pass to ANYONE...
Jaina - January 21, 2012
I don't think its because he's starting, it's because he's actually getting minutes
I mean, last year he basically played 2, 5 minute stretches each half (and sometimes not even that). I’m not a professional basketball player, but it has to be extremely difficult to perform when you play so infrequently. That’s also why it was ridiculous for people to bag on his performance.
Once Rose comes back, I’d really like to see him play less minutes. That way, when he’s out there, he can assert himself even more. I think sometimes he has to put it in cruise control to try and regain some energy, but that’s totally unnecessary with this team.
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
It also needs to be noted, with the first unit he is playing with more accomplished offensive players
chowder - January 21, 2012
Good point
It was basically all on him to do everything at times last year
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I think cj was essentially the same last yr (as in top backup Pg 1-5 best)
Last yr but it took him until Jan or feb to get there mostly bc he had to learn thibs 2 way system and in the first few months he looked awful while learning a real NBA style (and not just Nellie ball)
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
great point
I think last year was a learning experience for a great deal of the team… not just CJ, since many players only knew VDN’s way of doing things before Thibs.
72-10 - January 21, 2012
it's difficult to perform at anything when you do it infrequently.
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
Have you been married?
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
sort of
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
lol
Hope you didn’t take that as an insult. Being divorced myself it struck me as something a lot of married people could relate to.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
no.
i figured. i was just messing around, i’ve had the same girlfriend for like 12 years or something.
obnoxious american - January 23, 2012
Yes, CJ didn't do it all
He played like a point guard, not a ball hog at the local gym.
abock15 - January 21, 2012
I'll give Nick Friedell some credit
at least he’s writing articles like this one, not only questioning Thibs’ attitude about Rose’s injury, but using players’ statements to do so. This kind of article is typically way out of K.C.’s wheelhouse.
I’m not sure I like the way Thibs is publicly putting the burden solely on Rose to decide whether he’s ready to play, especially if the injury is something that could become much worse if he comes back too early. The players seem to see the big picture, anyway.
bryield - January 20, 2012
Totally agree on both points
KC wouldn’t write something like that, and Thibs needs to quit it with the “He can play when he feels like it” stuff. Makes it look like Derrick just can’t deal with playing a little hurt
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I agree, how hard is to give a completely vanilla answer
something along the lines of “I’ll talk to Derrick, talk to the doctors and talk to the coaches before the game and make a determination then”. As a head coach part of your responsibility to insulate players by taking the media/fan blow. For example, when Jeff Van Gundy complained the refs were biased against Yao.
chowder - January 21, 2012
And just as bad as that it makes it look like Thibs and the trainers are incompetent.
I mean come on…I don’t believe that the medical staff doesn’t have the ability to pull Rose if need be. But him commenting like this more than once this year lead you to come to that conclusion. I know a coach doesn’t have the chance to filter off the cuff stuff in interviews but I do think he will learn from this as head coach eventually. Much as I hope he is learning to restrict minutes. He’s a defensive genius to be sure but is young as a head coach.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
Thibs just wants his guys to be honest with them
If you don’t lay it out there as the player’s decision then they’ll just lie to you and tell you it doesn’t hurt when it still does. It creates a bad environment. These guys are adults (all be it young ones) treat them as such!
72-10 - January 21, 2012
I think the word you're looking for is "albeit"
bryield - January 21, 2012 via iPhone app
classic
“cut off your nose to spider face”
Fukudometer - January 21, 2012
for all intensive purposes
boyonthedock - January 21, 2012
He's not putting it solely on Rose
He’s putting it on the doctors and Rose, which makes sense since he’s not a doctor and only Rose knows how his body feels. If the doctors tell him that the player is ready to go and the player says they feel ready to play, Thibs is going to go ahead and take them at their word. It sounds like Rose has learned his lesson about being the tough guy with his statements about feeling regret.
runningman - January 21, 2012
I think Thibs may be also just giving the league respect
not saying outright that the Bulls are playing shitty teams so it’s more OK to sit Rose.
He probably has to be that way, and it’s some fronting with him/Org./doctors doing the long-term planning for the season.
your friendly BullsBlogger - January 21, 2012
I didn't think about that
but it’s a great point showing respect to other teams
bryield - January 21, 2012
We can disagree over the subtleties of his comments
That’s fine. But, it seems pretty clear to me that most of Thibs’ statements about Rose’s return have been in a “he’ll play when he feels ready” tone, not “when the doctors say it’s ok.” And, maybe those two are the same thing. But, after Rip’s decision to come back too early, followed by making his injury worse, I’m not so sure.
In fact, in one of KC’s recent articles he quoted Thibs saying (paraphrasing, sorry) that if Rose can tolerate the pain he’ll play, followed by a quip that “this is the NBA.”
bryield - January 21, 2012 via iPhone app
i saw rip post ups
I like posting up from our 2 guard
sin - January 20, 2012
it's nice but he was posting up Gibson
wouldn’t recommend it against Wade
JustAnotherFan - January 20, 2012
well, teams like Indy and Miami
got away with putting their point guards on Bogans or Brewer last year and putting their top defenders on Rose. Now if they do that, Hamilton can make them pay. I’ve seen him work a bunch of small guards in the post, including a special #12 a few times.
Basketball Smurf - January 21, 2012
miami will still be a problem
i think miamis biggest weakness on defense is 3pt shooting. Wade and lebron are often so busy roaming trying to help the paint where its so weak, that there are always areas on the perimeter that can beat them. I mean the teams that beat miami are minni, golden state, and atlanta…all three teams have a bunch of good shooters from the outside on them, if you want to include last years playoffs, dallas also a good 3pt shooting team.
Yet when miami without lebron and wade played atlanta, they were able to get a win (albeit an ugly one) i think offensively miami suffered, but the lack of wade and lebron forced the miami team defense to really tighten up on defense (couple with atlanta coming out lackadaisical)
I feel the 2/3 zone and 3 pt shooting is the key to killing the heat
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
That is odd
because I felt one of the strengths of Miami’s team in playing the Bulls in the ECF was their ability to close on the 3 point shooters. Wade, Lebron etc had enough athletic ability to help/clog the lane against Rose preventing him from full penetration, yet still close out on the shooter if Rose kicked it out.
chowder - January 21, 2012
in miami we really only had two shooters on the floor at any given time
im not counting rose because i dont think his 3pt shooting is still at a point where its really a threat, a team like miami would want rose shooting 3s instead of driving. Deng and bogans were the only ones who could hit a shot, And bogans primarily just sat in a corner. I think that made it easier to defend for sure. I figure with deng and rip running around and catching and shooting from beyond the arch is gonna cause mayhem for the heat.
I think part of why miami picked up shane battier is so that lebron could stay closer to home and roam around more while it was shane who chased the small forward around on screens, allowing lebron to help protect the paint from any of the perimeter guys mistakes. The heats defense is still primarily lebron and wade and their ability react to plays….very jordan and scottie-ish, at least in that regard
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Call me skeptical
But if we play Miami in the ECF, I don’t think the Bulls’ three point shooting will improve that much. Rip isn’t a great three point shooter, and Deng and Korver will have the same issues as last year. The one thing Rip will be able to do effectively, is not allow the person that would have been guarding Bogans/Brewer to play the lane. Rip is smart enough to cut or find space for Rose to drop him a pass, allowing hamilton to use his quick release and put up a quality 2 point look.
chowder - January 21, 2012
no i think you are right
i think im rushing my conclusions at any rate. its possible miamis real weakness is just having to guard more than one perimeter threat since all the teams i listed also have more 2 or more guys who can create their own shot…..ahhh its late
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
i would think Miami's strength is closing on 3 pt shooters
Wade and LeBron are probably 2 of the top 5 perimeter defenders in the league. I researched it though and Miami is actually 27th in the league in opponent 3 pt % (bulls are 24th in case you were wondering)
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/defense-per-game/sort/threePointFieldGoalPctOpponent
TheHungarianJordan - January 21, 2012
using last years stats is probably more telling
since both teams have practically the same squads as last year. Bulls were #1 and Miami #9.
RoseTyrusMancrush - January 21, 2012
Brewer
Could actually make them pay this year too it seems… the dude is playing great so far!
72-10 - January 21, 2012
true, but it is a solid position to pass out of...
just so we get some different half-court looks…
same goes for Deng… I am surprised we are not talking about Deng posting up more when he has the ball.. I mean I like his slashing off the ball, but we need as much post-game out of him as we do of Boozy…
inkybreath - January 21, 2012
Booz!
Dogfishhead - January 21, 2012
I seriously didn't even know
how much I missed Watson and Hamilton until they came back.
Our offense is staggeringly great, one of the best ALL TIME,
but this offense is crazy smooth. Hamilton is an insane passer from the sides.
I love that extended pick-n-roll play Watson, Hamilton and a big guy run, where the big guy sets a screen for Watson to run from the top of the key to the arc on one side and pass it to Hamilton at about 18 ft while the big guy starts towards the basket. Then Hamilton seems to always make the right decision to shoot, pass it in, or sometimes even throw it cross court when the defense responds well.
Anyway, I’m gushing. That game was great to see with Rose out, and this Cavs team isn’t the same as last year, they had a legitimate shot.
Love this team.
Micdiddy - January 21, 2012
all time offense?
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
NOOOO! Oops,
Huge typo, definitely meant Defense.
Micdiddy - January 21, 2012
Calm down, it's Cleveland.
Don’t crown them yet.
Tim S. - January 21, 2012
If you want to crown them, then crown their ass
They are who we thought they were.
runningman - January 21, 2012
And
We didn’t let them off the hook!
T.Moore - January 21, 2012
Yep and one game.
Games like this happen during the year with an opponent like the Cavs, and with two days rest.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
This was the worst home loss in cavs history.
it does not happen all the time. remember miami destroying them last year? this was worse.
boyonthedock - January 21, 2012
Yes that's true.
My point however was that one game doesn’t make a fearsome offense without Rose, or make Booze and Noah consistent. Much as I enjoyed it and enjoyed seeing the bench do so well. Perhaps substituting “Games like this” with “Blowouts” would make a better point.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
I know
But how the hell is Cleveland the current 7th seed in the east? How the hell is Cleveland NOT a high lottery team?
chowder - January 21, 2012
kyrie irving is actually really good, is how.
boyonthedock - January 21, 2012
pretty sure he meant all time defense, which is clear if you read the following line
RoseTyrusMancrush - January 21, 2012
Yep,
Again, awful typo. Definitely meant defense.
Micdiddy - January 21, 2012
Rip is so damn important to this team
hes pretty integral to what he brings, i wonder if its really much of a coincidence that booze and noah are playing so well with rip in the lineup with them. Its like a trickle affect, rips style of play compliments boozers new jumper-iffic style of play, and that compliments noahs offensive board crash style of play.
Also, like i said, production from boozer, whether it be from jumpshots or inside buckets, is better than forcing boozer to ‘go to work’ in the post and miss layups. I think him hitting his first couple of jumpers really gives him confidence and puts the defense on edge, to the point where when he does put his back to the basket the defense is really guessing since now he can fade back and shoot (since hes knocked some down) they might play him harder which is the set up for his post spin moves and such
If nothing else his hitting (and huge emphasis on making) jumpshots will open up drives to the rim. And while its true that bigger pfs might bother him more, its probably more true in terms of him going inside. That jumpshot should almost always be available especially with rip playing in the game.
I also think cj at the point instead of rose helps boozers game, since booze never has to worry about cj needing the lane opened or boozer having the lane already walled up in anticipation
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Totally agree on Rip
I think the most important thing is that it gives us four legit scoring threats on the court, and just that looks to be an immense help. Then you add in the way he keeps the ball moving, and plays so well off everyone else, and it’s a near perfect fit
But more than anything it just reinforces how right we were for freaking out about Bogans last year.
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
its funny cuz before this year
i would have said i hate rip and his personality and how i think hes a jerk. But man watching him play with this team, i think hes a terrific team mate. He knows his shots, and when he doesnt have it hes a terrific passer. Like a more athletic kyle korver.
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Same here
Remnants of his fights with Kirk and I think Ben too, I always dismissed him as the lucky mid range dog playing with Billups and Sheed and big Ben and thus looking better because of it, but he really looks solid even 2-3 yrs from his likely prime
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
he's dialed down the bitchness
by a huge degree. the pistons must have been a bunch of douches or something. being on a team without any real buttheads must have straightened him out.
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
Yeah... I'm really impressed by Hamilton also
When the Bulls played the Magic a few weeks ago, a commenter on Orlando Pinstriped Post said that he thinks that Hamilton will hurt the Bulls, because he takes too many shots and isn’t that good defensively like Bogans was.
That sure hasn’t been the case so far; when healthy, Rip has been doing a great job of fitting in on offense and he’s an underrated passer also.
He knows what it takes to win.
Mike from Illinois - January 21, 2012
underrated defender as well
and yea, i remember that post
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Rip is an underrated defender?
I would say the exact opposite. He has not been defending well this year.
tuluse - January 21, 2012
beautiful thing is...
if he has an off game on D and isn’t making up for it on the other end, Thibs can always bring in Brewer. This is truly a complete team as constructed. Gar-Pax has built something fun to watch! That 1.7% didn’t hurt either of course.
72-10 - January 21, 2012
What are you basing that on?
runningman - January 21, 2012
Watching him
tuluse - January 21, 2012
yeah, well I'll give him a pass on a short sample...
coming off a groin injury… I would think that is the hardest part about playing is adjusting to another player’s moves…
inkybreath - January 21, 2012
If Booz really keeps shooting that well
his new style will be better than the old one to face MIA, I think
JustAnotherFan - January 21, 2012
I really like the word "jumper-iffic"
is it an omairism or did you find it somewhere?
hedonism bot - January 21, 2012
pure omairism
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
boozer is looking good.
He needs to delete those running leaners though. All attempts (if i recall correctly) in this game resulted in either boozer getting blocked or getting called for the charge.
haypete - January 21, 2012
What says more than anything about how good Rip is,
is that fact that all those pre-season “shouldn’t we have kept Bogans for the minimum?” comments have completely and utterly stopped.
It would look wasteful and foolish to have Bogans warming up that bench and it would have been a bigger insult to him. Everytime he got thrown in for garbage time would have looked bad. I think we gave him a fair send-off and the chance to keep playing with a team that’ll use him (if they want him, though so far no one has).
Hamilton is our man.
Micdiddy - January 21, 2012
Awesome shooting numbers all around for the Bulls
They shot 55.4% from the field, 66.7% on three pointers, and 94.1% on free throws.
This was only the second time in the last 27 years that the Bulls have shot at least 55% from the field, 60% on three pointers, and 90% from the free throw line all in the same game.
Mike from Illinois - January 21, 2012
you sort of remind me of wjb
with the way you present stats and how they fare historically or nationally…..its pretty awesome
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
And no Hinrich nonsense!
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
but i miss the hinrich nonsense
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
haha, I forgot, weren't you a big Hinrich guy too?
Myself, I am LOVING the no Hinrich era. I just got tired of his game. I always liked him, and he was a very good Bull, but I think the relationship ran it’s course. Too foul-y, too reach-y, too dribble-y, and the jump shot inconsistency bugged me
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I miss the mopey Iowan tagline
I still don’t know what happened to his game as in he was much better in his first 3-4 yrs than he’s been in his “prime”, but he is better than his stats. I’d just rather have a 2 guard than Kirk out of position
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
too 'circle under the basket-y'
god that made me nuts.
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
Theres far too many reasons for me to adequetly explain why im such a big hinrich fan
I didnt go to Kansas or watch him play there, the first time i watched him play was more or less out of boredom when i moved to the then inhabited bolingbrook (a new neighborhood/subdivision surrounded by nothing by farm, after spending 14 years in Franklin Park, learning the bulls had finally made the playoffs i turned on a game just to watch hinrich drop his playoff high. Up till that point i didnt know white guards that lacked athleticism could be that dominant in games, after all the last remnants of nba basketball i watched was the bulls final championship, which at the time to me was more akin to a superhero tv show where jordan was the hero and the bulls the good guys…
Eventually they built a park near my house, and the only way i could interact with people was to play basketball, and the more i watched hinrich the more i found a sort of connection with his playing style, since i always liked playing defense and shooting 3s…
In that since he became sort of an idol for me in terms of how i molded my own basketball game, and its where my perfectly illogical fan-boyism stems from. Now its less of that same idolizing, but like how many of us hold certain nostalgic memories in high regards knowing its not actually all that, thats how i still feel of hinrich. I still think his style of play and his game have merits, more because i embody that in my own game, but i also get he will never be the all-star i once imagined he would become.
I still believe he could be productive, and has been productive away from the bulls. I still think this blog is just as biased because hinrich in a sense represents many of what went wrong with this organization, he is the embodiment of Paxsons initial team design, the skiles era, and the embodiment of ben gordon no longer being a bull, and so i feel people shoot him down more because of those reasons as opposed to him playing basketball.
The guy is never gonna be a dominant player or a star player, but i hate that people act like hes just as bad as pargo or something, sure he had flaws, but he was and still is a great ball player
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
fuck
i ranted
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
See I like hinrich
And it’s a diff story, I first really learned of Kirk in college his sr year. I was a yr out or so and was still then really following my Marquette team with Wade. Marquette was solid and Wade was then horribly underrated (people difnt think his game would translate) but Wade blew up against then number one thought to be unbeatable KY—with Bogans mind you—and Wade almost single handily beat KY posting a triple double and my rolled into the final four to play ks.
I had seen a ks game here or there but never saw anything too much from Kirk tho collison was awesome in college.
So anyway I went up to mile to watch that final four at major goolsby’s across the street from the Bradley venter and almost from the tip Kirk amazed and his team crushed my Marquette by 30-35 pts if was embarrassing.
So when the draft came of course Wade was still underrated and I thought as did the analysts we’d get him but in the end we got Kirk and I thought he was a decent pick.
I actually went to his first game -he was sick or something and missed the first few games (bulls tix were dirt cheap since we sucked) and I remember he came on and gave us a spark.
Then the next few yrs he got better and he’s the guy I attribute to turn around our laughably bad team back to respectability and that’s why I am and will be a Kirk fan.
I still think he’s better than his numbers and a great defender, but I do wonder what happened to the almost all star Kirk….still puzzling that the 05-06 yr turned him from legitimate pseudo premier Pg and turned him by losing confidence into a role player so early on in his career
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
wjb once made an interesting critique
citing that from 05-08, every offseason he kept putting on alot of muscle weight, mainly because on defense he was constantly delegated to guarding the teams best perimeter player, often a sg, and he needed the muscle mass to body up with them and not get posted up (in the year we went to the second round, both billups and rip took turns posting up hinrich) however that added weight really affected parts of his game. He lost a lot of quickness for the most part. He was never an explosive athlete to begin with, but his frame was thinly built and his game was sort of built around a sort of decieving amount of quickness he possessed, but the top heavy-ness of his added muscle took that away, making it harder for him to really stay with some pgs, or be as much of a threat off the dribble.
A second thing, that i feel it had an affect on, was his shots. Its not a big secret that when you work out your arms enough, and add alot of muscle there, it affects your shot mechanics because of now the extra force you are generating. Adding that to the constant thumb injuries he kept getting, and i think that explains why his shot was so badly affected especially in the last few years as a bull.
You also have factors like vdn’s terrible coaching, then playing with an immature wizards team, and a hawks team that hes never really had a chance to settle in with, and to me it seems alot of his woes came from being thrust into constantly poor situations after his one real bad year.
I always thought hinrich would have been terrific in a thibs system, defensively and offensively, and im hoping he gets a chance to play in it, or just finds a team that can actually make better use of him and is winning….id like for the last couple years of his career to be as good as his first couple years production wise
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
I rem that post
And it does make sense.
I still think hinrich is good but I do think he lost some confidence. A good coach (like thibs) may work him back—I mean look what thibs has done for deng—he’s now no longer disappearing in the 4th
majoyenrac - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Did wjb stop posting
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
I think she said she was a Hinrich fan way more than a Bulls fan
When he went to the Hawks, she went to Peachtree Hoops. Think she commented a few times during the playoffs last year
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
In other words
she will be back next year
JustAnotherFan - January 21, 2012
Wow so that was over a yr ago
She was good, I don’t remember the specifics but the name… Maybe like piccolo us hinting fans stick together
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
this post started awesome until
I got to the 2nd to last paragraph and then it turned into a horror movie ..seriously wtf just happened…did we just lose 3 people tonight?
Belize - January 21, 2012 via mobile
gibson injury is really not that bad (not like rose), groin injury for JL3 and Noah was ok
the bulls schedule within the next week is def a huge plus
Geo4MVP - January 21, 2012
The worst part of the Gibson injury is that we may be subjected to an entire game of Scalabrine madness tomorrow.
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
hoping maybe it means some JOMER time!
even if scal does have to play real minutes… :(
Jaina - January 21, 2012
Now THAT would be fun
Have those two even been on the floor together? It feels like I’ve never seen it, although I guess it could’ve happened a couple times, briefly
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
i believe last year, yes
could be wrong about that
Jaina - January 21, 2012
watch scal come in the game and drop 50 - lighweight
Belize - January 21, 2012
People need to really notice what Gar has done so far
Also, don’t know of anyone has ever one COY twice in a row but if there ever was a time ….
Option27 - January 21, 2012 via mobile
WHY HE NO DRAFT MARSHON BROOKS???
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
Check that fanshot on Mirotic again
; )
Option27 - January 21, 2012 via mobile
Because the Bulls have several shooting guards better than him
runningman - January 21, 2012
For the record, I was being sarcastic here
I couldn’t care less about him passing on Marshon Brooks. I like the Mirotic pick
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
yeah, CJ Watson is just fantastic pro scouting on their end
I almost want to give Gar credit for the Asik pick too even though it was technically Pax.
your friendly BullsBlogger - January 21, 2012
I can only think of Pax and Gar as a single entity
JustAnotherFan - January 21, 2012
That was definitely an off the radar move
I barely knew who he was when the Bulls got him. It really put into perspective how much Hinrich was overpaid though.
runningman - January 21, 2012
He's getting snubbed this year I can already smell it.
Even the GM’s list of who they think will win didn’t include him in the top 5. I think Thibs deserve the award just as much this year as last if not more. Last year he was part of the story and the historic rise of the Bulls, this year the defense is EVEN BETTER and already breaking records.
Not to mention the offense is better, the games without Rose speak volumes to how well Thibs can draw up good offensive schemes. And the unity of this team, held together by all buying into Thibs’ system, also shows what a leader he his.
Micdiddy - January 21, 2012
my favorite line
bq Poor Tristan Thompson not only had 4 attempts sent back going 2-10 overall he very early became the designated ‘opposing player Neil Funk shits on all game’ of the night (sponsored by LensCrafters)
thats gold yfbb
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
DA ONE AND ONLY!
Geo4MVP - January 21, 2012
Wow, there's gotta be some amazing photoshop opportunities with this one
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I'm on it.
Fukudometer - January 21, 2012
already posted to fanshots, but clearly oblig.....
Fukudometer - January 21, 2012
That's classic.
I thought rays of light behind his body would be cool too. He seems to have been picked long ago as the chosen one by even opposition fans.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
i can't tell if it would be better with normal sized, or the comically large glasses.
either way it rules.
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
Make one of Scal as a flasher.
THEKILLERWHALE - January 21, 2012
ugh
so close to a flagging
SidM - January 23, 2012
Fantastic
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
Boo he's the one player I hate on our team
I see it as racist how people clamor for him and not for the young rook butler or the d league guys who gave worked their butt off for a chance in the league and instead we have to cheer for this guy cuz he’s white and has befriended some coaches…I mean he’s earned like 30m in his career as a bottom 5 player. Boo.
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
aw jeez
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
No need to hate on him, he seems like a great guy
He can’t control how people react when he comes in a game
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I don't hate the player
I hate the stupid chanting.
tuluse - January 21, 2012
awe, comeon man
lighten up. He’s the victory cigar incarnate. Like when the 90’s Bulls brought out big Dicky Simpkins.
Sadly the 99 team actually started Dicky.
72-10 - January 21, 2012
jack haley
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
I don't like him cause he's white
I like he because he seems like I really good guy and teammate and it gives me an decidedly average guy to cheer for who made it to the NBA. Its no different than cheering for the last guy off the bench in a high school basketball game and hoping he scores a point
ThorCo - January 21, 2012
ha! racist
obnoxious american - January 21, 2012
white on white hating
ThorCo - January 21, 2012
ya i dont like him just cuz he's white
honestly, he’s what you would want out of every 12th man..he works his butt off..always comes in ready..and ive heard hes a great practice player..steel sharpens steel in this locker room
Belize - January 21, 2012
Really?
You had to play that card…wow. I’ve never heard anyone think that and I’m not gonna worry about why you think so. Big debbie downer moment here.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
I'm white and I find it racist
I guess if he was anything more than a bottom 5 player in his 10yrs in the league or thereabouts I’d feel differently, or if he made 40-50k a year, but I hate that he steals time from potential players and even better than him d leaguers. I mean if he was our asst. coach fine or if the Boston and now our fans didn’t clamor for him so much I’d feel differently.
I think he’s a jamoke icon mostly cuz he’s white… I wouldn’t see Boston or sadly our fans going so nuts if he was the same guy he is now but had a diff skin tone.
I don’t know maybe I think a guy making 1.2m should reasonably earn that….
majoyenrac - January 21, 2012 via mobile
How do you know he didn't earn his 1.2m?
Or at least as much anybody in the NBA earns their money?
The argument that the Bulls should just make him an assistant coach doesn’t fly because assistant coaches can’t always be in the locker room. Assistant coaches aren’t sitting on the end of the bench with the guys that don’t get to play regularly. Those are the places that malcontents breed. And assistant coaches can’t be there because there is a real dividing line between coaches and players. If Scal is having a positive impact on the locker room where dissension often starts. If he’s at the end of the bench talking to Jimmy Butler about basketball during games instead of someone else in his place complaining about playing time then he’s earning his pay.
I know he went out of his way to reach out to Omer, and to make him feel included. Regularly playing 1 on 1 with Omer before games being one publicized example of that. That’s earning his pay. The cheering for Scal is stupid, but it is not his fault. And if the people actually buying tickets like it then that is earning his pay too.
Scotter - January 21, 2012
dont blame it on scal
thats out of his hands. blame it on the racist yuppies who come to bulls game and are also the same idiots that demand big macs and go nuts for cuppy cup race.
anorexorcist - January 21, 2012
ahem
it’s Cuppy Coffee. I also never understood why Dashing Donut doesn’t win…he’s the most aerodynamic (hole in the middle, no cream cheese, etc). Also, how does Cuppy Coffee not spill hot coffee all over the track? Starting to thing that Biggie Bagel is using PEDs (Bagel Growth Hormone….have you seen a picture of bagels in the 80’s compared to today’s bagels?)
Fukudometer - January 21, 2012
The wheat doping scandals were dispelled. I think anyway.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
Biggie Bagel belongs in the pamphlet of worlds greatest Jewish athletes
your friendly BullsBlogger - January 21, 2012
cuppy coffee wins most of the time
because it is the cheapest item on the menu
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Haha I always laugh
at the idiots screaming for the bagel. Not only is he the heaviest motherfucker out there having a heart attack by lap 2, but he’s also the most ‘spensive to Dunkin D’s.
Biggie sucks.
Bin Bin - January 21, 2012
my mom doesn't even drink coffee
yet she’s obsessed with cuppy… she is sad when he doesn’t win LOL
Jaina - January 21, 2012
Here's a hint
the Indian guy who works at DD doesn’t know who wins the race, so every game card is a “winner”.
Fukudometer - January 21, 2012
That is who I blame it on
And sadly I see it with scal—it was nice to see scal play and do a few things yesterday
majoyenrac - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Scal is a singularity
We didn’t clamor for aaron gray in blowouts. Boston didn’t have harangody chants in theirs (arguably just as white and goofy and nailed to the bench as scal). He probably wouldn’t enjoy as much love as a bench guy if he wasn’t white, but it is far from the only reason people love him.
boyonthedock - January 21, 2012
I agree with you, but I also hate the chants for even another reason too
It was a Boston thing. Come on guys. Stealing other team’s gimmicks is just so lame, and taking it from Boston is about the worst we could do.
tuluse - January 21, 2012
this guy
i bet he hears rocky theme music in his brain or something in that vein…maybe the superman theme..i mean, just look at that focus…he could be a motivational poster
Belize - January 21, 2012
One other point that I haven't seen brought up
It’s likely no coincidence that the Bulls come out looking unstoppable after their first two day rest of the season. I think a lot of the players like Noah and Deng (scoring wise) have been especially affected by the schedule, perhaps more than we thought. Once the schedule lightens even more, and we get everyone back, it will be really interesting to see how we look
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
On the ESPN NBA Today podcast a few days ago, I heard a pretty interesting point about fatigue
Tim Legler was talking about fatigue during this season, and he mentioned that he thinks it is the most overrated concept that the media discusses. He basically said that travel will wear on players a lot, but if they are actually playing in games, they are for the most part in good enough shape that adrenaline will carry them through the game without making them feel tired. Looking at Deng out there sometimes, I’m not sure I agree completely with him but it’s food for thought coming from an nba veteran.
TheHungarianJordan - January 21, 2012
Offense is down dramatically this year
and the most likely explanation is fatigue. It may not make a difference during an average year, but it sure looks like it’s having an impact this year.
runningman - January 21, 2012
Probably has more to do with the lack of practice.
chicity773 - January 21, 2012
Yep.
msquared10 - January 21, 2012
agreed
A higher level of fatigue across the league might actually increase scoring? I would expect that exhaustion would show itself more on the defensive end of the floor, rather than on offense.
folky15 - January 21, 2012
Why does practice affect the ability to make a shot?
They’re not taught how to shoot during practice. Shooting is the one thing they can practice as much as they want without the need of teammates, plus they still have shootarounds on game days. It’s not like the offensive sets are changed very much either. I don’t think there’s any basketball player out there that will tell you that being tired doesn’t affect their jumpshot. Unless we assume that these guys are so well conditioned that 6 games in 8 nights has no effect on them, I don’t see how it would be dismissed as a factor.
runningman - January 21, 2012
Less practice means that offensive sets won't be executed as well.
Fatigue is also a factor, but it also stands to reason that fatigue would lead to worse defense as well.
Poloplaya14 - January 21, 2012
You don't have to have great form to play defense
Both the offensive and defensive player will be a step slower, but there’s no defensive equivalent to shooting with poor form. When I see Luol out there in his 44th minute, he’s still staying in front of his man, but his jumpshot looks like crap.
runningman - January 21, 2012
I disagree
I’ve seen Deng exhausted to the point where he isn’t fighting through screens like we’re used too.
tuluse - January 21, 2012
Sure there is
Getting lazy and failing to get into a good defensive stance can easily lead to a guy blowing by you for an easy bucket.
Poloplaya14 - January 21, 2012
shooting in an open gym is nothing like shooting in a game
you cant do scrimmages on your own.
piccolomair - January 21, 2012
Well, the days in which they would do scrimmages
They’re actually playing games, so it’s not like they’re shooting any less. Does your shooting percentage go up the day after a scrimmage, vs the day after a game?
runningman - January 21, 2012
Offense is also down dramatically at the start of every season, and picks up as the season goes on.
Comparisons to previous full season numbers should not be made at this point. Although it is understandably down a little bit more this season relative to the early part of previous seasons, but when most of training camp was also missed the increased frequency of games can’t be considered the sole reason.
Scotter - January 21, 2012
This was actually their 2nd two day rest.
After the GS lost, they had two full days off as well.
chicity773 - January 21, 2012
Yea
Some have been beating Noah up for his conditioning and picking up too much weight (though it is muscle and not fat), maybe it is just the number of games? Though they are legit concerns.
chowder - January 21, 2012
Great game!
Now what if this kind of offensive punch comes to be expected in chicago. When healthy, wit RIP taking pressure off Rose and Boozer what if all around balanced offense gets the bulls to the promise land. Then Derrick can become a true assassin. I think the single biggest issue we have when it comes to overcoming miami, is avoiding major injuries. This season we got great D for the heat and a offensive punch to go along wit it.
Rose2RipKaboom! - January 21, 2012 via Android app
we're doing pretty shitty at avoiding injuries so far
boyonthedock - January 21, 2012
alright stacy,
lets have a quick look at the guy I’ve decided to bash tonight. Look for me to mention his name at random times throughout this broadcast and shit on him regardless of his performance.
LeBryaneWosh - January 21, 2012
LOL
He was dissing him all game long.
cowraiser - January 21, 2012
Oh this deserves at least 50 recs.
Ozzie Montana - January 21, 2012
hahaha
Seriously, does Funk have any clue how bad he comes across with his bullshit? I can live with Stacey’s kind of homerism because it’s fun and good natured, but this guy just has a bug up his ass. He NEEDS to make fun of someone during the game
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I get the impression that funk feels he needs to make these points to validate himself
He makes these inane evaluations and strategy critiques to make himself sound knowledgeable about the game, maybe because he feels he needs to qualify himself as a basketball announcer. But he’s the play-by-play guy, not the color guy. He should just stick to his role. He’s actually not bad at doing play by play, but his analysis is just brutal most of the time.
TheHungarianJordan - January 21, 2012
well i think a problem is
stacey king encompasses both roles of the traditional sports announcing tandem. He is not only offers NBA expertise, he also has useful commentary and is funny. Neil Funk is just along for the ride and he knows it.
hedonism bot - January 21, 2012
When I hear him broadcast, I'm always hoping he'll ask Stacey why some things occur.
It would take away some of these bullshit moments he uses as filler during the game. Have Stacey explain why the illegal defense was called. Or why you wouldn’t consider using the zone defense. Hell even why Thibs should argue calls more or less than he is. Something has to be more interesting than ragging on one guy just trying to earn a living to fill space. There’s always young fans in the audience who could benefit from it.
Sandberg's evil twin - January 21, 2012
I don't know why it bothers me so much, I love hating on players too
I think it’s mostly because I also shouldn’t be doing play-by-play. And Neil can’t fucking see. And maybe I have Gordon/Tyrus flashbacks for when the ire was turned towards the home team sometimes.
Tristan Thompson was seriously bad though.
your friendly BullsBlogger - January 21, 2012
it's just pure hate, too. he doesn't really have any fun with it, so it gets repetitive.
we get it. you hate yi’s game. it doesn’t need to be brought up every time he’s involved in a play.
MarketMaker - January 21, 2012
i didn't see the Bulls broadcast and Thompson was bad
but he is also a rookie. It reminds me of Funk talking trash about Gallinari who turned out to be a pretty good player. He just picks someone to pick on and the thing that bothers me is how biased it all is. He will criticize Gordon or Gallinari for a bad shot but never do the same for a Bulls player. He also has a terrible habit of when he is be proven wrong, when Gallinari starts hitting shots, of saying it was just luck. That annoys the crap out of me.
Basketball Smurf - January 21, 2012
its to compensate
for his ugly ass
anorexorcist - January 21, 2012
I really like that Rip fastbreak jumpshot.
He (and now I on him) is very confident in taking those shots. Love it.
JLbuLL - January 21, 2012
Jimmy
I’ve loved how Jimmy Butler has played, though obviously only in extremely limited play. If he can sustain that energy over more minutes, it’s only a matter of time before Stacy adds “the Butler did it” to his sayings repertoire.
xFIB - January 21, 2012
what's not to like about a 36 PER?
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6430/jimmy-butler
TheHungarianJordan - January 21, 2012
Boy I'm glad I was dead wrong about the match ups in this game.
The snow and family things kept me from the game, but catching the replay, I’m glad Jo is dunking again, as trivial as that seems.
MRubio52 - January 21, 2012
Still can't believe you gave them the edge :p
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
I know
It was fucking awesome to see the frontcourt rip theirs apart. Verajo put up some good numbers and he was looking ok, early, but damn that game was awesome to see.
MRubio52 - January 21, 2012
i wish dang wouldn't play 33 minutes in a game won by 40.
MarketMaker - January 21, 2012
33 minutes for Deng is like an all-star break.
He’s probably super rested after playing so few minutes.
dakoose - January 21, 2012
and defensive metrics really need some work.
win shares give so much credit to team defense that carlos boozer is tied for 4th in the league in defensive win shares.
forward that around the league and let’s find someone to take him off our hands.
MarketMaker - January 21, 2012
He may not be responsible for the great defense
But it does highlight that he’s not killing the team’s defense when he’s in the game, despite what some like to think. Even when Boozer is in the game, the Bulls are one of the best defensive teams in the league.
With Gibson and Asik in the game, the Bulls are other-wordly on defense. The dropoff from them to our starters makes the situation look a lot worse than it is. A brick wall looks weak when you compare it to a titanium one.
runningman - January 21, 2012
That or 4 good to very good defenders can cover up one shitty defender.
MarketMaker - January 21, 2012
I mean you can say that
But the Utah teams he was on we’re always pretty good defensively and they weren’t loaded with All-defensive team candidates. I’ve always thought his defense was merely subpar and not absolutely terrible.
Poloplaya14 - January 21, 2012
Spoelstra on Wade (Via Ira Winderman)
See, now why can’t Thibs just come out and say something like this, as opposed to his approach, where he’s basically saying “Derrick can play when he stops being such a sissy”?
I know its not a big deal, but I find it bothersome. Nothing wrong with recognizing that “that night’s game” isn’t the most important thing ever.
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
Also, according to various tweets (that I don't feel like linking to)
it looks like Derrick, Taj, and Lucas will all be out tonight. No word on Noah yet. Tonight should be interesting, to say the least. Thank God we’re playing the Bobcats.
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
High ankle sprain for Taj. Are those as bad for Bball players as they are for football?
Juiceboxjerry - January 21, 2012
yes, because high ankle sprains normally are the worse for running backs/WR
but usually not that bad when it comes to bball player.
Geo4MVP - January 21, 2012
Gibson and Lucas out for tonight (new thread)
http://www.blogabull.com/2012/1/21/2724215/taj-gibson-john-lucas-out-for-saturday-vs-bobcats
your friendly BullsBlogger - January 21, 2012
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