The Derrick Rose - Rajon Rondo 'rivalry' (one's MVP, the other's E.T.)* is a nice subplot to any Bulls-Celtics contest. But especially with Rose out, the fun part of playing the Celtics nowadays is seeing the Bulls frontcourt just destroy the same Celtics that seemed so imposing in the 2009 playoffs.
Carlos Boozer had one hiccup with a groan-inducing sad-reminder-he-can't-jump missed layup, but besides that put in a dominating performance: 11-15 from the field for 23 points, and 15 rebounds (all defensive). Joakim Noah didn't shoot the ball nearly as well, but had 16 rebounds of his own. Collectively the Bulls dominated the glass, with an oReb% of 34% to the Celtics paltry 14%. The C's still have talent, but the Bulls are tremendously bigger than them and it showed tonight. Luol Deng didn't accumulate as many rebounds, but had 10 assists and the best 3-point shooting game of his career, going 6-9 and keeping the Bulls near 50% even through (their usual marksman) Kyle Korver's 0-5 night.
As for the smaller guys, Mike James was the best D-League out-of-nowhere story this side of Jeremy Lin (hi Google!). He didn't finish with a great statistical line, but James helmed the point as a part of the Bulls biggest runs of both halves, the team finishing with +15 with him on the floor. James may actually be the best pure distributor and pick-and-roll player on the (healthy) roster, and Thibs went to him in crunch time (after a blown defensive play by John Lucas) through the time he fouled out.
With Derrick and Rip out there isn't that much to learn of this group (and the games are usually defensive struggles like this), so it's fun to get nights where the unexpected can still happen. As long as it's combined with an expected dominating frontcourt performance of course.
*sorry.
0 recs | 125 comments
Mike James bitch!
T.Moore - February 16, 2012
Who is Mike Jones?
chapuforyou - February 16, 2012
He's old, like Taj
Juiceboxjerry - February 16, 2012
Nobody
is that old
metalkiwis - February 17, 2012
My friend actually asked
“Mike James? Isn’t that a rapper?”
Yes, he was somewhat drunk
ChiTownSportsMaster - February 17, 2012
great game
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
By far my favorite Boozer game
Aside from the missed dunk, I thought he did almost everything decent today. Great scoring, passing, and even played with hustle on defense. The only defensive play I was pissed at him was one alley oop I think Wilcox got, by out running Boozer. But He was on his game tonight.
Yibs - February 16, 2012
i still like that game in toronto last year more, but he was great tonight.
TheMoon - February 16, 2012
Against Toronto though
surely beating the Celtics bumps this one up.
Stacey_Is_King - February 17, 2012
if the celtics were good, yeah.
TheMoon - February 17, 2012
But still, it's the Celtics
green hate, and all that
Stacey_Is_King - February 17, 2012
i know, i just wanted to say that the celtics arent good because its so satisfying to write that.
TheMoon - February 17, 2012
Boozer rennaissance
Amazing how much more he’s scoring going toward the basket now, and how few fadeaways he’s shooting. Is it all cuz Derrick’s not there to “clog up the middle”? Fingers crossed he keeps this up the rest of the season.
He’s also dispelling the notion that he and Noah can’t play together. Lots of great passing going on there, Booz coulda had a triple double if Noah hadn’t dorked a bunch of zero-foot shots and Noah coulda scored 25. And I love me some Noah, but sometimes…god damn.
But yeah, more aggressive Booz, pleez.
DLRoth - February 17, 2012
okay fine, renaissance
who knew it would show up in the next thread?
DLRoth - February 17, 2012
funny that they're both getting it together at about the same time...hope it sticks
but yeah, noah has very little touch around the rim
paddyfairview - February 17, 2012
Omer curses the Gods as they fail him yet again on offense
Juiceboxjerry - February 16, 2012
Someone needs to teach that man to KEEP THE DAMNED BALL HIGH!
Doc Heff - February 16, 2012
yeah.. i mean it's getting insane now, how many scoring opportunities he's wasting with that shit
Yibs - February 16, 2012
this is the best picture ever
because he’s posing like one of those renaissance pictures of naked women
paddyfairview - February 16, 2012
That's why it's the best picture ever? Maybe the creepiest image ever in my mind now.
Thanks.
Doc Heff - February 16, 2012
that's not even a little bit funny to you?
paddyfairview - February 16, 2012
It's a little bit funny...and a lot terrifying.
Doc Heff - February 16, 2012
Like this?
Trey23 - February 17, 2012
That's exactly what I was thinking!!!
windycitywarrior - February 17, 2012
this is just beyond epic
would make Michelangelo proud
windycitywarrior - February 17, 2012
Reminds me of
Laocoon and His Sons:
Tim S. - February 17, 2012
that one is great. if you are looking for a female omer...
Uncle Stanley McGoober - February 17, 2012
Am I at the right site?
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
"if you are looking for a female omer..."
Quite an interesting taste in women …
jpx7 - February 17, 2012
nom nom
cayal - February 17, 2012
We should keep Mike James. Kurt Thomas 2.0
adocarbog - February 16, 2012
as i posted in the gamethread
all 3 front court players with double doubles
last time it happened? I must know!
Trey23 - February 16, 2012
I implore each and every one of you to watch this post game interview with Noah
Specifically the part where Swirsk asks him about the gun celebration after he hits a shot. Fucking classic.
LINK
Juiceboxjerry - February 16, 2012
pineapple express 2: the gun show
shutupdrogba - February 16, 2012
Noah is my favorite Bull
he’s so nice to fans, teammates, and media. Yet such a dick to the other teams, it’s perfect.
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
Now that Noah's got a gun
he ain’t ever going to be the same.
Tim S. - February 17, 2012
hahaha. thats so great.
does noah call boozer “Los”?
TheMoon - February 17, 2012
Yeah, I've never heard that before either
Juiceboxjerry - February 17, 2012
Love it.
I’m totally calling Booz “Los” from now on in BaB
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
Beats "Sharpie"
Protocol - February 17, 2012
my coworker carlos
goes by “los”…
Jaina - February 17, 2012
deng is better than rondo.
TheMoon - February 16, 2012
WORD
not coincidence that Pierce was 6-16 tonight
DLRoth - February 17, 2012
even if mike james goes back to the D-league, I think the Bulls should retire his number
2813308004
paddyfairview - February 16, 2012
i can't wait for the Mike James greatest moments dvd
he’s done so much for this organization
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
Shady eBay DVDs
“MJs Greatest Moments”
jrobulls - February 16, 2012
oh my god
Chuck: “that big beaming smile of yours when you’re giving it up to Jo and he goes in for a dunk or a layup” Boozer: “I love watching him get off”
Booze… you’re dirty
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
^^
http://www.nba.com/bulls/bullstv/gameday.html
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
Boozer attacked the rim and also dished some assists out...
Had a great game as he did not settle for the jumper for the most part.
mjtig - February 16, 2012 via mobile
Hmm, I’m not saying the authorities should check the trunk of Mike James’ car, but ya know, it couldn’t hurt…
Juiceboxjerry - February 16, 2012
you didn't know?
Mike James is really just Gilbert Arenas, he’s disguised because as Mike James he maintains our “culture”.
MartyMondays - February 16, 2012
Well, he's right.
Mike is bigger and stronger than Rondo, there’s no reason Rondo should be able to score on him down low.
Now, I didn’t watch the game, did Rondo try to post him up much?
dakoose - February 17, 2012
Rondo was pushing Cj and Lucas around
Then Thibs put Mike James in and Rondo tried again… James wasn’t having it and Rondo stopped lol.
MartyMondays - February 17, 2012
he really was a lot more important than the box score reveals.
paddyfairview - February 17, 2012
Yes, he was
And I think it’s the same with Boozer. People only want to talk about results with that guy, but offensively, he draws a lot of attention. There’s a lot of value in the fact that you can hand him the ball in the post, and he can be pass, shoot, drive (ok, occasionally). I personally think he’s really undervalued on that end of the floor.
Juiceboxjerry - February 17, 2012
yeah i would definitely say that part of his dip in offensive production siince he's been here
has to do with playing alongside bogans, brewer, and even deng when things aren’t clicking. there hasn’t been enough offense in the starting unit except in short spurts.
paddyfairview - February 17, 2012
Boozer's been doing better and better on offense as the year goes along
If we can get and stay healthy, I really like our chances against Miami.
tuluse - February 17, 2012
the other nominal PGs on the team could neither shoot nor defend nor run a team even adequately.
james did at least 2 of 3, hence the team looked way better with him on the floor. i wasnt following the boxscore in real time, but i knew james would have a great +/-, and im sure im not alone here.
TheMoon - February 17, 2012
yeah, lucas might be effective racking up numbers against crap teams
but we saw how ineffective he was against miami…against physical defenders you need a good sized guy who can run pnr and doesnt habe to rely on fancy bullshit. i hope we keep james around for the stretch
paddyfairview - February 17, 2012
as it turns out, if youre 5'11'' and for all your electric dribbling cant penetrate below the foul line, you probably
arent very good.
TheMoon - February 17, 2012
indeed
i was getting pretty tired of that icky tense feeling i got every time lucas got the ball
DLRoth - February 17, 2012
Just blow on the ball, and Rondo will lose it
jrobulls - February 16, 2012
Meanwhile
Carlton is off in the background, worried that an alien is in Bel Air
zortaf - February 16, 2012
he looks like hes in mid snap of of the carlton dance
piccolomair - February 17, 2012
All I have to say is:
OOZY BOOZY!!!!!
BullsFan22 - February 17, 2012
30 baskets, 27 assisted.
Surprised this hasn’t been mentioned.
Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. - February 17, 2012
Wow. That's impressive.
Against what is still a good defense no less.
bleigh82 - February 17, 2012
I would think it would be more likely against good defensive teams. They play good defense, so we need to move the ball around to score. Anyone can get a shot off against a bad defensive team.
metalkiwis - February 17, 2012
This
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
I think I heard before the game that the Bulls have only one loss
When they have 23+ assisted baskets this season.
BCs71 - February 17, 2012
I think that is further proof that there is not a single player on the team, outside of our beloved humblebot, can create his own shot.
metalkiwis - February 17, 2012
Rip can (for the most part)
Loul is getting there too.
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
If they're creating shots for others
Who cares?
tuluse - February 17, 2012
I'm pretty sure you will
In the Playoffs when it matters that we do not have the best team.
metalkiwis - February 19, 2012
Way to find a dark lining in the silver cloud.
ColonelFatheart - February 17, 2012
Mike James > Rondo
No mike james, we dont win this game. Just like the last one.
Rose2RipKaboom! - February 17, 2012 via Android app
We could literally go on for weeks listing better PGs than Ronda.
metalkiwis - February 17, 2012
You cant just back down an old guy that easy
ask Kurt and Bradass
trig - February 17, 2012
Jamesanity
J Theory - February 17, 2012 via mobile
Has anyone else noticed
that this is the 3rd straight Nationally Televised game (Memphis,Boston 2xs) with CJ as the starter and he stunk it up? After he gets media press and lauding from his team that he “could be a starter on a lot of NBA teams” he comes out and plays poorly. Coincidence?
ChiTownBallz - February 17, 2012
Yeah, what's up with that
Right now, I would define CJ as streaky. Once he gets going, he’s starter material. But when he’s off, he’s downright painful to watch. He needs more consistency.
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
Yeah, I feel that. He has not been the same player.
I think it probably has more to do with the bench mob being so discombobulated and broken up with Rip and DRose gone. Everyone on the mob is playing poorly. Omer is in his worst slump since last February. Taj can’t hit a shot or grab a rebound (although he is getting pretty good in the paint). Don’t even get me started about Ronnie. Thibs seemed to have the right idea by giving them together as a unit.
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
The only downside of MJ's game last night was that he fouled out
But he did get two bullshit offensive fouls called on him. So I’m at peace with him fouling out.
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
ya he dropped O'Neal on both too
I lol’d
ThorCo - February 17, 2012
Everybody Loves James
trig - February 17, 2012
The only thing I care about from last night
Thibs screaming “Shoot the fucking ball” after their 24 second violation. Please tell me someone has a .gif of that.
Ozzie Montana - February 17, 2012
missed that
would love to see the clip
Hopefully a gif surfaces with Thibs mouthing it and the words fly across the screen…. like Taj in his promo saying “Oh my God, Taj Gibson”
BCs71 - February 17, 2012
Damn good SIG! I was actually surprised when I read Miami Heat.
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
Yeah, I caught that
Thibs was ready to bust a button.
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
Passing
The Bulls interior passing has been outstanding over the past few games. Some of it has to do with poor defense, and some to the absence of Rose. But in any case, I sure hope that it continues.
Paul Warfield - February 17, 2012
The Celts have the third best defense in the league, so last night it had nothing to do with bad defense. The Bulls offense looked great last night in
stretches.
fundamentallysound - February 17, 2012
Booz not settling for jumpshot helped a lot
Booz and noah going in and out of the lane passing the ball around was awesome
trig - February 17, 2012
yeah i mean noah's a great passer
and booz ain’t too bad himself. and now deng is averaging a career high in assists. not a whole lot different from his old numbers, but if he keeps up what he’s been doing the past 2 games it’ll rise even more.
Jaina - February 17, 2012
I'm well aware of that...
which is why I said “some of it” in the context of the “past few games”
Paul Warfield - February 17, 2012
I feel that...
When things are clicking it is beautiful to watch. The problem is those stretches when things go slightly off (3rd quarter) and shots are falling. I do not know why this occurs but this is when you need DRose about to will a few baskets until the offense can find their feet again.
That said, there were stretches in that game that were among the best basketball I have seen all season.
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
*not falling
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
watching the replay right now
TNT guys making fun of Booz’ sharpie hair lol
trig - February 17, 2012
Noah + Booz stats vs Boston
First Bulls teammates with 15+pts 15+rebs since1986 Oakley+Corzine
trig - February 17, 2012
Where to you find these wonderful stats?
I dig the separation of labor solution to the overlapping rebounding talent. It seems like Noah is the main offensive glass crasher and Boozer does more defensive rebounding. If they keep playing like this… good things will happen.
THEKILLERWHALE - February 17, 2012
TNT showed the stat
trig - February 17, 2012
i remember reggie talking about booz needing to step up his defense
and mentioned rebounding in there. i was just like WTF? that’s the one part of defense he’s never lacked…
Jaina - February 17, 2012
of course, it's reggie.
Jaina - February 17, 2012
Unless he was referring to the offense boards.
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
*offensive
Bullforlife - February 17, 2012
as i said, he was mentioning it in the context of defense...
Jaina - February 17, 2012
what's even crazier is it is 26 years to the DAY:
BOOZER AND NOAH TEAM UP FOR 15/15 GAMES
From Elias: Carlos Boozer (23 points, 15 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (15 points, 15 rebounds) compensated for the absence of Derrick Rose as the Bulls defeated the Celtics, 89-80. Boozer and Noah were the first Bulls teammates with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in the same game in exactly 26 years, echoing the performance of rookie Charles Oakley (28 and 15) and Dave Corzine (19 and 15) in a loss to the Mavericks on Feb. 16, 1986.
Jaina - February 17, 2012
that is...
AMAZING!
Paul Warfield - February 17, 2012
corzine didn't start -stan albeck only started corzine 4 games
it was mj’s sophomore, scary ankle/tendon injury season. i saw them beat the pacers 3 days after christmas…. walked up to the ticket window 1/2 hr before game time and got seats right on the floor under the basket…. to combat the boredom, mj had taken up one-footed, one-handed shots from the half court line – making an alarming percentage – decades before lbj.
then mj went wild in specialist/physician-limited minutes as the season closed, they scrapped into the playoffs, and got a legendary 63 from the goat in 2ot loss at the garden…. it got harder to get tickets and reinsdorf bought in, not sure in what order.
marionette - February 17, 2012
box score
marionette - February 17, 2012
i didn't say he did?
i just copy and pasted something anyway…
but yeah, it’s just nuts that it was february 16…
Jaina - February 17, 2012
it's nuts the difference mj made in interest in chicago bulls basketball
disposable income too, i suppose. you could get cubs seats easy before sosa, as well. i took in a game sosa’s first cub year… same game-day deal… sat right across from first… grace got himself tossed on a call before he even batted once(!), crazy! (he was right, dude was out.)
maybe the disposable income theory fits the cubs better than the sosa theory, at least i hope so. but the current fans are super-dumb… and there’s less reason to visit in the summer now.
marionette - February 17, 2012
and... i almost forgot, 'cause it doesn't occur to apologize for the team
but i’m sorry they played so piss poor for you in beantown, jaina.
marionette - February 17, 2012
yeah that was lame
but maybe if they had had mike james, the game would have been saved, lol :P
Jaina - February 17, 2012
But still
Booz sucks! Trade him for Crayolas! Rabble rabble
T.Moore - February 17, 2012
It is discouraging...
that Asik not only hasn’t improved offensively, but looks worse than ever.
Paul Warfield - February 17, 2012
hey
he’s only lowering his value so the bulls can afford to keep him! :D
Jaina - February 17, 2012
I know Asik’s main value is defense. Honestly he gives up at least 6-8 points a game minimum because he can’t or won’t go up strong with the ball. People are dropping him some lovely dimes and he brings the fuckin ball down, pumpfakes like 6 times in a row because he knows he’s going to get hit and then either gets stripped or goes up weak with it and gets blocked. And if he does go to the line, he bricks the FTs.
Even his defense has been kind of subpar lately. It might be time to sell high on Asik in the offseason if he can’t get stronger.
C Smoove - February 17, 2012
yeah, i would do that too except we wouldnt have a backup center anymore. Idk wth is going on with Joel situation b.c he said he would decide between the heat and bulls by last week.
Geo4MVP - February 17, 2012
We can find a defensive big body without too much difficulty.
C Smoove - February 17, 2012
Pryz
Trey23 - February 17, 2012
Nono, He has so much room to improve!
Do I have to start a “Need for Sheek” page?
BAB-Bass - February 17, 2012 via Android app
Ha! i remember some people were saying to bench Noah and start Asik...
Geo4MVP - February 17, 2012
well both players played like crap at the start of the season
I was in the keep them at starters but play Booz with the bench mob more so we can see some Booz/Asik and Taj/Noah combination
trig - February 17, 2012
Time to sell high on Boozer.
And get Gasol in here.
ColonelFatheart - February 17, 2012
booz was great (except the blown layin on the break). 180ยบ difference from in boston.
your plan for pau is good
marionette - February 17, 2012
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