When the Bulls schedule was initially released, Bulls fans cringed in horror at the opening schedule. Not only was the circus trip going to provide us with our typical November nightmare, but the pre-circus trip schedule included road games against Cleveland, Boston, and Miami plus a home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
To put it briefly, it did not look pretty.
Just remember the worst that can happen is 6-9
Expert opinions largely seemed to predict a 5-10 start for the Bulls. Even Luol Deng said they could find themselves in a hole early in the season due to the tough schedule [then was ripped to death for it, which I hate, because why shouldn't an athlete have a rational and honest opinion about how difficult a task is?].
Here the Bulls sit at 6-4. They have beaten all the teams they should beat, and a couple which you figured they shouldn't, and the toughest four game stretch of the entire season probably sits in front of them. @Lakers, @Denver, @Portland, @Utah. Heck, the fifth game against @Milwaukee doesn't seem like a cake walk anymore either.
Those five teams are a combined 36-19 right now, and we're playing them all on the road where they are a combined 22-7.
I expect the Bulls to scrape out at least one win, and I hope for two. However, even if the worst should happen, I can't complain about a 6-9 run through the November gauntlet.
Here the Bulls sit at 6-4. They have beaten all the teams they should beat, and a couple which you figured they shouldn't, and the toughest four game stretch of the entire season probably sits in front of them. @Lakers, @Denver, @Portland, @Utah. Heck, the fifth game against @Milwaukee doesn't seem like a cake walk anymore either.
Those five teams are a combined 36-19 right now, and we're playing them all on the road where they are a combined 22-7.
I expect the Bulls to scrape out at least one win, and I hope for two. However, even if the worst should happen, I can't complain about a 6-9 run through the November gauntlet.
31 Comments
Tyrus_Rodman said:
Gasol is back tonight...hopefully he's a rust bucket because there's no way Deng is playing PF against him on defense. And Gibson will be eaten alive if he's at 70%. Should be seeing a lot of Brad Miller tonight.
Hey, at least the game is nationally televised and I'll get to see it in HD and not crappy ass internet streaming the size of my balls.
Doug Thonus said:
I'm hoping for a really rusty Gasol, but I'm not holding my breath.
Bigway said:
Too bad that Del Bimbo didn't consult with you before hand.
Starting Taj at he beginning of the game was dumb enough, doing so in the second half after seeing the result in the first half was assinine.
"PACMAN" said:
I'm a hard-core bulls fan ever since the MJ ERA. I strongly believe that our defense and D-Rose will rise to the occasion with this Circus Trip r. We will beat Denver, Portland and UTAH! This is a great test for the young bulls. We need to show LBJ and Wade that chicago is the team they wanna go to 2010-2011 season.
Doug Thonus said:
I hope you're right, but I think you're in for some disappointment.
Dan Frystak said:
The Bulls play the Lakers tough, so I expect a good game tonight. The Bulls actually match up pretty nicely with the defending champs.
The Lakers with the last 8 minutes because of Kobe, but they win the first 40 because of their size advantage over most teams. With Noah and Miller, we have the size and skill to negate a lot of what Bynum and Gasol will try to do.
IMO, this game will depend a lot on whether Rose can elevate his game tonight. In a lot of ways, we are a poor man's Lakers team - Salmons a poor man's Kobe, Deng a good matchup with Artest, and big men about one level below the Lakers. The one major advantage we have is Rose over Fisher. Rose should be able to blow by him and get into the lane at will.
If Rose plays big tonight, and the Bulls continue their tough D, they'll have a shot.
"PACMAN" said:
Well put, I agree 100%.
Doug Thonus said:
Rose is the one matchup we should have a big advantage at. He has to win that.
We also need to shoot well from the three point line to get some easy offense.
Bigway said:
using 20/20 hindsight care to revise any of this, particularly the part about Deng matching up well with Artest.
Artest scared Deng out of the game, and he didn't even do anything particularly scary. I can't believe that we are already overating Deng, again. He is neither athletic nor physical, so what exactly is he. A plodding, flat footed, overpaid role player, nothing more, maybe something less.
It is always a danger to go with the "poor mans" analogy, so I am not even going to go there, other than to say that Noah said after the game it was like a pro team going against the JV, enough said.
This Lakers team, if it stays healthy will win 70+ games and might just threaten the 72 Lakers 33 game winning streak. Who is going to beat this team 10 more times this season.
"PACMAN" said:
Bulls: SCORING
Points/Game: 90.4
Field Goal %42.9
Free Throw %71.6
Three Point %29.4
Lakers:SCORING
Points/Game:101.5
Field Goal %45.7
Free Throw %71.7
Three Point %34.9
Bulls:DEFENSE
Rebounds/Game:44.4
Steals/Game:7.2
Blocks/Game:6.4
Lakers:DEFENSE
Rebounds/Game:44.4
Steals/Game:8.8
Blocks/Game:5.0
*This is gonna be a good game based on stats!
Scoot said:
Well to nitpick, the Bulls should have beaten Toronto, and didnt. But other than that they've beaten everyone they should have.
Tonight will be a tough game and we'll have to see how the Bulls play Kobe. We also have to wonder who will play Gasol and Bynum. Seems like a mismatch either way for Gibson. Perhaps Brad Miller will get huge minutes tonight.
Rose will need to have a big game tonight for us to have a chance. We have beat the Lakers before. We should play them competitively again.
Doug Thonus said:
I think Toronto game is iffy. Toronto's a similarly talented team, and they were playing at home.
CN71 said:
Love the postive posts, keep 'em comin....nice to see our usual wannabe GM commenters are at job interviews today...here's hoping they get the job. And yes I'll take fries with that...
Dmband said:
I seem to remember Kirk has played Kobe pretty well over the years...Is this a case of revisionist history on my part, or is that right?
Im looking for Salmons to put together a few good games here...Im not a big fan..but we desperatly need someone to shoot well from the perimeter, as we've covered here, ad naseum.
Doug Thonus said:
I don't really remember that off hand, but I don't remember it the other way either.
Simeon2UC said:
I want to see more of James Johnson. Him and Ron Artest would be nice probe. My boy JJ will be putting the ball in the hole on Artest. Is it me or does JJ have a Artest frame about him. Both are tough, physical, and outspoken.
PG: Rose - 15 points 8 assist 1 block
SG: Salmons - 22 points 4 rebounds
SF: Deng - 8 points 7 rebounds
PF: Noah - 20 points 20 rebounds 5 blocks
C: Miller - 3 Points 10 assist
6th man: Johnson - 14 points 6 rebounds 3 assist
Gibson - 10 points 10 rebounds 3 blocks
Doug Thonus said:
I want to see more James Johnson as well, but it's unlikely to happen this game. He's got to play a lot better.
Tyrus_Rodman said:
Dude you're off your rocker. Those numbers are almost wholly unrealistic and damn near impossible.
Johnson has a similar build to Artest but is baby fat right now. And Artest will never let a rookie like Johnson put points on him.
"PACMAN" said:
We need our PG-Rose to keep being the facilitator and create plays. Lets not worry about him scoring since he is in the a slump. Him being on the court should be distraction for Fischer already.
Doug Thonus said:
He definitely needs to be a threat. He's a threat by getting to the basket whether he does so to score or pass.
So whether we're looking for him to score or set up others, his actions need to be the same. He needs to continually take Fisher off the dribble.
Simeon2UC said:
justin in ky:
if the hornets werer to trade cp3 do u think the bulls could get him for rose, tt and a couple first round picks?????
Joel Brigham:
I don't think that's going to happen. Rose is much MUCH less expensive than Paul right now and still has a lot of the promise to eventually be just as valuable down the road. What Chicago needs to do right now is not look at upgrading at point guard, but at shooting guard or power forward. Those are the spots where they really need the most help.
(This is non-sense and shouldn't be answered. Rose is the truth and not to take anything from Paul, but I'm not trading a superior talent for a rental. Rose is our director and he'll continue to lead the franchise. Once again, you won't get his maximum production until GarPax adds the right talent around my dude. I have supreme confidence that they'll see to that possibility this summer. We all know Boozer and Bosh will leave - most likely. So, Gar and Pax, get to the master plan in persuasion.)
Doug Thonus said:
I don't know how anyone could look at Rose and call him a superior talent to Paul.
I don't think I'd sell the farm for Paul until after I struck out next summer though. Otherwise, the potential to team someone up with Rose is better then building around Paul with no cap space and not a lot of great pieces.
"PACMAN" said:
why is our chicago sport teams always missing parts to a complete a awesome TEAM=Money!
Doug Thonus said:
Chicago's not breaking the bank, but they're not trolling the league minimum either. They're consistently in the top 3rd of money spent.
Dan Frystak said:
To follow up on an earlier point, Doug, what are your thoughts on Deng's minutes this year? I could not disagree more with his excessive PT so far this season. I understand the team's need for his scoring, and that there are more minutes to go around with TT out. However, he's averaging almost 40 a game, more than he's ever averaged in his career. Coming off an injury that requires basically just rest to heal properly.
More than his minutes, its the way Vinnie disperses them. Deng generally plays the entire first quarter, and is spelled at the 3 for about 9 minutes straight in the second quarter, with James Johnson taking up the majority of that these days. The problem in the second half is, Vinnie doesn't trust his bench, so Deng gets thrown out there most nights for the remainder of the game. Not only does that naturally make him more tired/less effective when closing out games, but Luol is not afforded the valuable breaks needed to ensure his injury does not flare up again.
Why not give him a 5 minute break towards the end of the 3rd? Beginning of the 4th? Something. Vinnie is riding him way too much, and someone needs to tell him that before Deng either grows fatigued and ineffective, or worse, reinjures his leg.
Doug Thonus said:
Vinny is definitely playing with fire right now going all out to win games. Part of that is because we're in every game.
He doesn't want to sacrifice wins, and I think we can all appreciate that. However, he needs to figure out a way to get Johnson/Pargo/Taj involved enough to help ease the burden more on Deng/Salmons or else there could be significant negative impact later.
It's hard to say though, because you can't quantify the long term risk easily, and the short term gain is hard to give up.
Dan Frystak said:
The counterpoint would be to say that ANY team that played only its starters (best players) with limited-to-no time for bench guys would fare well enough. Vinnie is exhausting his best players...for a 6-4 record. I'd rather be 4-6 or 3-7 right now with guys who won't be fried out in a month. I know it's hard to quantify long-term risk. But one thing is certain - if you play guys a ton of minutes to open the season, you're increasing the odds greatly that they wil be tired, or worse, break down with injuries mid-season. All for a 6-4 record.
Sorta makes you wonder if Vinnie is feeling the heat? Maybe he thinks he's fighting to keep his job, or worse, he knows he'll be gone soon so he is just trying to pad his resume at the expense of his players. While I dont think Vinnie is malicious in nature, if he doesn't know where he'll be working next season (or sooner), I wouldn't put it past him to consider his own well-being over that of his players. That is a sad, but well-documented reality of human nature.
It will be interesting to see this play out.
Doug Thonus said:
Well it's not like he's playing them 45 minutes a game. The Bulls have also played fewer games than most teams, so I don't think it's a big factor yet.
I don't think it's something you want to continue all season, but I wouldn't give up 2-3 wins to have Deng have played a combined 45 minutes less this season which is basically what you're saying.
It's a trend that I don't want to see continue all season long, and I think if there's a game we're getting blown out in (like tonight) that it's time to fall on the sword and throw in Johnson/Pargo/Taj for very extended minutes.
Tyrus_Rodman said:
From ESPN:
"With Kevin Martin out several more weeks with a fractured left wrist, rookie Tyreke Evans has assumed the starting job at shooting guard, probably a more natural fit for him than the point.
So far, Evans has proven staying power, as he's averaging 17.1 points a game. So if he's the Kings' shooting guard of the future, does that make Martin some good trade bait? ESPN's Chad Ford addressed that in his chat earlier this week.
"I think there's a chance that Kevin Martin goes on the block," he writes. "Tyreke Evans is a two, not a one, and he's been thriving since the position change. That makes Martin expendable."
Obviously, this is purely speculative. But if the Kings decide to dangle Martin, they could get some expiring contracts in return to go after a free agent or two, or get some real value in return for Martin, as he's a good scorer other teams would crave."
Who else thinks it's a good idea to try to wax the Kings again?
Doug Thonus said:
A Kirk for Martin swap is actually a really interesting idea. I can see why both teams would do that.
Tyrus_Rodman said:
Didn't mean to post that quickly...Hinrich straight up works monetarily though I don't know if they bite. Hinrich is an established starting PG in the NBA and Udrih is not very good. Martin, although more fragile than Deng could ever aspire to be, would provide the Bulls with a #1 scoring option and 3pt shooting. He only makes $9.6mil/year. I think it would be worth exploring should he go on the block.
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