Through 10 games, the Bulls defense looked elite. The offense looked anemic. Now, the Bulls have been blown out three straight times giving up 108, 112, and 122 points. What to think of this team right now? First, I refer you to this aritcle. The Bulls aren't playing well, but it's really an incredibly difficult stretch of games, and they've given themselves some breathing room with a couple unexpected early wins.
What to do after three blowouts?
Next, the past three opponents had massive front lines which is something the Bulls will struggle with until they have another legit big man on this team. Brad Miller has aged before our eyes. He's still playing solid ball, but he can't play more than 20 minutes or so a night, and his lack of speed can kill the team on the defensive end at times. Taj Gibson's fighting valiantly, but he's not strong enough to bang against bigger players, and isn't talented enough to make a huge impact. Joakim Noah's doing his best, but he's typically the only guy who's not completely overmatched up front.
Fortunately, the Bulls aren't going to play teams with huge front lines the rest of the season. Nor are they going to play them on the road all the time. Nor will Tyrus Thomas be sitting out [we hope anyway]. The Bulls have gotten a disproportionate number of really hard games out of the way already, and it's easy to panic after three losses, especially massacres, there's no reason to.
We know this team isn't winning the championship, so the fact that there's a large gap between the elite teams and us shouldn't come as a surprise. We've also known this season was largely a placeholder to pursue a superstar next season, and that this season wasn't going to be all about winning, but winning enough to attract 2010 free agents while keeping cap space open.
The Bulls can still easily accomplish that mission. There is one shining light through this recent stretch of blowout losses. Derrick Rose is getting his crap together again. He's shooting over 50% since the second half of the LA game, and he's more aggressive on offense. It may not result in wins yet, but Rose playing at a higher level is the one thing this team desperately needs.
The team also looks fatigued. We've talked about how short the Bulls rotation was, and how it could catch up to them later, well, it appears that it has. I wrote before that at some point, VDN needs to let a game or two go when the route is on and just play his young guys and rest everyone else. The Bulls can't try and go 48 minutes of intensity while down 20 on a seven man rotation and come out and play with huge energy every night.
Guys are going to wear down.
The biggest problem with the three losses is the defense isn't looking like the elite unit we hoped it was earlier in the season. I think the fatigue plays a large factor in that though as the Bulls defense requires a lot of energy expenditure by everyone. The Bulls are lacking depth on this team right now, but they still desperately need to expand the rotation. Tyrus Thomas can't get back soon enough.
Teams won't be looking to make serious adjustments until Dec 15th when all the trade restrictions from summer signings wear off, so adjustments at this point rely on rallying the team emotionally.
The Bulls are giving everyone a day off on Tuesday which is an excellent decision in my opinion.
The next two games aren't quite so tough as the past three, but the Bulls are large underdogs in both. Utah has won 4 of their last 5 [and plays OKC tonight] while Milwaukee is 8-4 behind the sudden superstud, Brandon Jennings.
My goal for the Bulls is to win one of the next two games. Obviously, we hope they can win both, but realistically, they're going to be fairly large underdogs in both. Pick up one win and the Bulls return 2-4 on the road trip, 7-8 through a brutal November schedule. I'd feel awfully good about that.
Fortunately, the Bulls aren't going to play teams with huge front lines the rest of the season. Nor are they going to play them on the road all the time. Nor will Tyrus Thomas be sitting out [we hope anyway]. The Bulls have gotten a disproportionate number of really hard games out of the way already, and it's easy to panic after three losses, especially massacres, there's no reason to.
We know this team isn't winning the championship, so the fact that there's a large gap between the elite teams and us shouldn't come as a surprise. We've also known this season was largely a placeholder to pursue a superstar next season, and that this season wasn't going to be all about winning, but winning enough to attract 2010 free agents while keeping cap space open.
The Bulls can still easily accomplish that mission. There is one shining light through this recent stretch of blowout losses. Derrick Rose is getting his crap together again. He's shooting over 50% since the second half of the LA game, and he's more aggressive on offense. It may not result in wins yet, but Rose playing at a higher level is the one thing this team desperately needs.
The team also looks fatigued. We've talked about how short the Bulls rotation was, and how it could catch up to them later, well, it appears that it has. I wrote before that at some point, VDN needs to let a game or two go when the route is on and just play his young guys and rest everyone else. The Bulls can't try and go 48 minutes of intensity while down 20 on a seven man rotation and come out and play with huge energy every night.
Guys are going to wear down.
The biggest problem with the three losses is the defense isn't looking like the elite unit we hoped it was earlier in the season. I think the fatigue plays a large factor in that though as the Bulls defense requires a lot of energy expenditure by everyone. The Bulls are lacking depth on this team right now, but they still desperately need to expand the rotation. Tyrus Thomas can't get back soon enough.
Teams won't be looking to make serious adjustments until Dec 15th when all the trade restrictions from summer signings wear off, so adjustments at this point rely on rallying the team emotionally.
The Bulls are giving everyone a day off on Tuesday which is an excellent decision in my opinion.
The next two games aren't quite so tough as the past three, but the Bulls are large underdogs in both. Utah has won 4 of their last 5 [and plays OKC tonight] while Milwaukee is 8-4 behind the sudden superstud, Brandon Jennings.
My goal for the Bulls is to win one of the next two games. Obviously, we hope they can win both, but realistically, they're going to be fairly large underdogs in both. Pick up one win and the Bulls return 2-4 on the road trip, 7-8 through a brutal November schedule. I'd feel awfully good about that.
54 Comments
Scooter said:
Actually, I completely disagree with your assesment of Noah. He has been completely overmatched in the last three games. He can't handle Bynum, Oden nor Nene because he's just not big enough. Vinnie may have been right about effort, but it's Noah and the rest of the front court were nothing more than laughable to the front lines of the Lakers, Nuggets and Blazers. We need bigger stronger guys to compete with that kind of size. That means either Noah and Tyrus get bigger and stronger or we have to trade them for players who are. NOah needs at least 15 more pounds of muscle. Taj needs to eat. He looks like a stick. I hope Tyrus is watching all this because we really need him to win his match ups when he gets back from his injury.
Doug Thonus said:
Noah definitely struggled, but I think his struggles were exacerbated by the fact that he's the ONLY big guy we have. Brad Miller and Taj Gibson haven't been giving the team anything.
Bigway said:
Totally agree, if you watch Noah play it is as if he is guarding all five guys, he seems to have to help on everybody elses man, and no else ever covers up for him, and no one ever boxes out anyone on this team.
As a rebounder myself, the most valuable thing that any player can do, especially when you can't get the rebound yourself is to put a body on your man or any man for that matter and prevent him from getting to the boards. Most of the Bulls block out like they were trained by Ben Gordon. Rose is useless in this regard.
sometimes I wonder how Noah puts up with it.
MrHappy said:
I think we all need to stand up and cheer for mediocrity. It's not like pro sports is about winning championships, right?
Doug Thonus said:
Every team wants to win a championship. Each year only one team can. In the NBA, where titles are so highly linked to a few ultra talented players, you know before the season starts which teams have realistic chances.
If you thought the Bulls were one of those teams or thought they could make moves to be one of those teams this season then you were kidding yourself.
Now, if you want to rant about it, it's your right. However, you might as well have been ranting about the sun rising this morning.
MrHappy said:
It's statement about the talent level on this team, Doug. It's not championship caliber. Don't you get that?
clancy said:
Uhm - that's exactly what he said....
MrHappy said:
As far as Milwaukee goes, you need to look at their schedule. They are 8-4 because they have had an easy schedule, not a super-stud in Brandon Jennings. Please...save it. They finally hit a road trip, which will contribute to a handful of more losses.
Doug Thonus said:
You know who beats bad teams every time they play them?
Good teams.
MrHappy said:
Let's see how Milwaukee does when they play against better teams. All I'm saying is, Brandon Jennings isn't the reaason why they are 8-4, their weak schedule is.
Doug Thonus said:
I don't think Milwaukee is as good as their record, but I think they're better than expected. We definitely are a similar caliber team to them, and we should be able to put up a good fight and possibly come out with the win.
MrHappy said:
If Noah can outplay Bogut, then I like the Bulls chances.
rodman said:
Bogut is out with injury, so that should be no problem.
MrHappy said:
Now let's get serious.
To answer your question, "What do they do after 3 straight blow-outs?" Well, they need to show some HEART, SKILL and CHARACTER and start playing hard for 48 minutes, not just 24 minutes.
Unlike you Doug, my goal for the Bulls is from them to finish this road trip with two more wins, not just one. I fully expect them to beat Utah and Milwaukee before coming back home.
Doug Thonus said:
I certainly hope they win both games. If I were the coaching staff, I'd be taking them one game at a time rather than focusing on both games anyway.
If we beat Utah, I'm certainly not going to go "mission accomplished let's relax against Milwaukee". However, if the team wins one of the next two I'll be very content with the season to date.
I will have very high hopes for when the schedule lightens, and I'll be hoping that we clean house against the lousy teams similar to what Milwaukee has done.
Based on the level of talent you see on the Bulls, how many games do you think they'll win this year?
MrHappy said:
It's hard to say how many games this team will win this year. If the roster stays as is, I'm guessing 44 wins. If they do some minor tweeking (let's say for Camby and Butler) maybe 47. If they can make a significant trade (let's say for Chris Bosh), then maybe 50.
Supercesto said:
44 wins? This team, at the most, 31 wins. Unless management find a way to bring some scoring. You can not win a lot a games with scoring 92 points per game.
Doug Thonus said:
I will bet you any amount of money you want that they win more than 31 games.
MrHappy said:
I'm actually encouraged by last night's performance. I see some really improvement there. Let's not forget that the Bulls lost to the Blazers by 42 points in Portland last year. They managed to cut that in half with a 24 point loss last night.
Things are looking up.
MrHappy said:
My math is bad. It was almost in half. They did flip the 4 and 2, that's encouraging...haha. (sarcasm)
Doug Thonus said:
There's certainly little encouraging about the Portland game, except that it's over.
PJ Brown said:
As I said at the start of the trip, I can live with 2-4. You'd like these last three games to be prettier, but ultimately that doesn't mean a whole lot.
Doug Thonus said:
I consider a 2-4 trip to be par for the course. They would win 1 game they were supposed to. 1 game they were a light underdog in and lose 1 game they were a light underdog in and 3 games they were massive underdogs.
If they can win the next two I'd consider the trip a rousing success.
MrHappy said:
Outside of a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, there doesn't seem to be that many teams out-there, where the Bulls can do some minor tweeking. The Clippers have quite a few free-agents on their team.
- Marcus Camby
- Rasual Butler
- Mardy Collins
- Ricky Davis
- Craig Smith
- Sebastian Telfair
- Steve Novak
- Al Thornton
Anybody, besides me, want any of those guys on the Bulls? I think a minor trade could be made.
RPK said:
Some random stuff.
Noah's lack of weight/girth has been exposed is the last 2 games where he played the much bigger and stronger Bynum/Gasol/Oden/ And Pryzbilla. Of course the fact are starting Taj Gibson (who would not be a started NBA power forward for 99 percent of the other NBA teams) isn't helping.
We are a jumpshooting team without a 3 point threat.
We go small ball but only have one player that consistently drive the lane.
Bulls are a 500 team. They can be competitive with other mediocre teams, but there will be no cakewalks. Utah and Milwaukee are at least winnable road games, and I agree winning those 2 and going 3/3 on the road trip would something be extremely happy about.
Doug Thonus said:
You summed it up nicely with the statement "We are a jumpshooting team without a 3 point threat".
That's a bad place to be offensively. While winning the next two would obviously be awesome, it's also unlikely.
Supercesto said:
Why complain? The Bulls are under the tax and with the flexibility for the next 10 years to stay under. Yes, the flexibility that management is talking about is to not pay luxury tax for years to come.
MrHappy said:
I guess if you enjoy supporting MEDIOCRITY, then there is nothing to complain about.
Doug Thonus said:
A better question would be, "Why emotionally invest yourself?"
The Bulls salary structure is pretty well known. They aren't going to pay the luxury tax for an average team, and it remains to be seen if they'll pay it for a good team.
Profits will always be more important than incremental improvements in winning though a level of winning which makes more profit likely will certainly be supported I'm sure.
So if you know this already, and you know that the present roster isn't that close to competing for a title then why are you so outraged?
Biggestbullsfan said:
My main issue is that if we can all see that the bulls are fatifued then why cant del negro see it and play JJ. Not saying he will make an impact but its definitly better than the alternative and running our players ragged until then.
Also, when is GTT and ray gonna be able to play. I think TT still had a week or two to go but Gray has some issues as well. Any news on the two.
Doug Thonus said:
Tyrus should be back mid December I believe. As for Gray, he had a stress fracture, so I think the healing time on that is more iffy. It's hard to imagine Gray coming back and making an impact though as he'll probably be heavily deconditioned gien his size and that he's recovering from a stress fracture in his leg.
MrHappy said:
I think Aaron Gray is very close to returning. I thought they said that on the broadcast last night. Ty Thomas is out probably until right around Christmas. At least, I think so.
MrHappy said:
It seems like this team needs another trade to spark them again. I hope a significant trade (Chris Bosh?) can be made, but if not I'll settle for a smart trade (Lottery Pick or more cap relief).
RPK said:
What about trading for Troy Murphy?
He would come cheap, is unhappy with Hansbrough taking up his minutes and as Chad Ford said, "Murphy does two things (rebound and shoot threes)", which is EXACTLY what the Bulls could use right now.
MrHappy said:
I like Troy Murphy as a player, but with his contract going past this summer, I don't see that happening. I have to believe they would rather save their money for a shot at Bosh, Amar'e or Boozer at the trade-deadline or in July.
MrHappy said:
Plus, the Bulls really need ALL-STARS, not more role players.
Doug Thonus said:
Not that I want to trade for Troy Murphy per se, but all teams want all stars, and conversely teams with them don't like to trade them.
MrHappy said:
True.
However, there happens to be alot of STARS hitting free-agency next summer. You know the list. That makes trades a definite possiblity.
johnfriendly said:
That Aldridge guy in Portland is really good. I wish the Bulls had a chance to get him.
MrHappy said:
Any chance the Bulls can pull off this trade?
http://www.realgm.com/src_checktrade.php?tradeid=5297870
To Bulls: Marcus Camby (UFA), Rasual Butler (UFA) and Craig Smith (UFA)
To Clippers: Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas
The Bulls would add nice veterans and clear more cap space for 2010, while the Clippers can continue with their youth movement.
Bigway said:
Other than the fact that the Clippers have almost no need for a small forward(Al Thornton) or a power forward(some guy named Blake something or other) this trade is awesome.
I would however, not mind getting a guy like Craig Smith on the Bulls, we need his toughness off the bench, heck he could probably start ahead of Taj.
Doug Thonus said:
If Al Thornton is your SF, you have a desperate need for a SF.
MrHappy said:
They just demoted Thornton to the bench, where is more suited anyway. Plus, Camby is getting older and hitting free-agency, so maybe they want a younger shot-blocker.
PF - Griffin/Thomas
C - Kaman/Jordan
That's nice depth.
MrHappy said:
SF - Deng/Thornton
Doug Thonus said:
The Clippers are notoriously cheap, and they may have their own 2010 dreams. They are a major market afterall, I don't see them adding on salary.
MrHappy said:
They are living in the shawdow of the Lakers and with a history of LOSING. How many worthwhile free-agents would want to play for them? I'm guessing, NONE!!!
On top of that, they draft like garbage. So, trades may be the way to go for them.
Bigway said:
Lets not get carried away with upgrading Rose to problem solved status just yet.
While I agree that he has given us a glimse of hope the past few games, I don't see any consistency yet.
He has just barely shown a flash or 2 of what we thought he was last season. He still isnt getting to the rim as easy or as often as last season, he still isn't finishing as strong(the dunk over Oden was a stunner) or as well. There are glimpses, but he needs to be on pretty much every minute that he is on the floor. He needs to shoot over 50% pretty much every game, especially since he doesn't shoot 3's or get to the line. In fact I would not say that he is playing at a high level until he actually starts going to the line the way the all stars do, just look at Brandon Roy last night, the officials appear to have confused him with Michael Jordan.
As for the rest of Rose's game, from ball handling to turnovers, to defense, he is borderline attrocious to outright useless. On offense he still looks passive if not lost when not creating a shot for himself.
On defense he is the proverbial deer in the headlights, everyone just blows by him, even without the ball, then he just turns around puts his hands up in the air and acts like his teammates let him down. I gave him a pass on D last season, after all he only had Ben Gordon to emulate.
I will never understand how a guy with great athleticism cannot be a solid if not a lock down defender. You become a legitimate championship team when your best player leads by example with his commitment to defense, see Michael, Kobe, e.t.c. probably not Lebron yet.
Not that he is in that category, but look what Sefolosha is doing for the entire OKC team this season, Roy, Wade, Kobe Kevin Martin and others have had their worst games of the season against him, which is why I still think dumping him for a late #1 was not worth it. It will be interesting to see who has the better NBA career Thabo or Taj.
With the lack of elite talent on this Bulls team Rose needs to play at the level of Chris Paul, Steve Nash or Dwayne Wade before I will say that he has his crap together, at least offensively.
Heck, Right now I'd probably settle for Brandon Jennings or Rajon Rondo.
Doug Thonus said:
I agree with all of your concerns.
I think Rose is starting to look better, but saying "he needs to play at superstar level because we lack other talent" isn't necessarily reasonable.
Derrick Rose isn't that type of player right now. I don't think he ever will be. It doesn't mean he's a failure though, he can still play much better and be a core piece moving forward.
sfBULLS said:
Hinrich / Miller for McGrady / Andersen
LET's Do This!!!!!!!!
Throw in Gray as well. Andersen is a perfectly serviceable back-up C... can probably stay on the court longer than Miller. McGrady's ready to come back and McGrady at 50% is about as good as Hinrich at 100%. And our cap problem just disappears for next year. Who cares about the 2Mil over Cap this year!! It's Peanuts!! The leverage we could get w/ McGrady's Bird Rights next year will more than make up.
Think about the future y'all! Think!
Houston wants to and is going to move McGrady. Hinrich and Miller will fit perfectly and push them over the edge. We gotta role the dice folks or hinrich's contract will KILL us next year if we're serious about putting together a championship level team.
I promise that McGrady will put it all on the line this year when he get's healthy. He's been hobbled, but remember that we're talking about a former superstar here and he say's he's ready. he will shock the world come january.
I know it's been a tough road trip, but face the facts that we're not making it out of the first round this year. We'll still make the playoffs and have enough cash to put together ALL the pieces next year!!!!
Doug Thonus said:
I like this if Houston does. I'm not sure they do. They can just start collecting insurance on McGrady by delaying his entrance back on the court and get money for every game he misses from now on.
I don't think they'll be anxious to trade him as people think.
MrHappy said:
PATIENCE, then ACTION.
That coud be the way to go. They have to see how Ty Thomas plays off of his injury, then assess the trade landscape. They clearly need upgrades at SG and PF. The minor trades are probably there for the to make (Camby and Butler), but the major trades might not be there until the trade-deadline (Bosh, Boozer, or Amar'e). Major free-agent signings until the summer (Wade, Bosh, LBJ, Amar'e, Lee, Azubuike, or Morrow).
At this point, if I were John Paxson and/or Gar Forman I would at least be STARTING the trade conversation and dialogue with some teams about certain players.
Like I said before, if a major trade can't get done and free-agency blows up in their face, then I would do my best to make a trade into the Draft Lottery. Getting in the Lottery and going after guys like Cole Aldrich or Evan Turner wouldn't be a bad third option of improvement.
OPTION #1 - Do a "sign and trade" for an All-Star at the deadline.
OPTION #2 - Sign an All-Star via free-agency in July.
OPTION #3 - Trade into the Lottery before the June Draft.
NadaSurf2009 said:
I want to applaud Doug Thonus for his patience in handling Mr. Happy the same way Milwaukee has handled weaker opponents so far.
NadaSurf2009 said:
Mr. Happy needs a dose of Prozac...
This is a fun Bulls' team to watch and one that is going through the toughest part of its schedule for the entire season...
Was Mr. Happy actually expecting the 2009-10 Bulls to take it all?
For that to happen, Rose and Thomas would not only have to reach expectations, but exceed them. And everyone else would have to have career seasons right down to the final player.
5248 said:
Ahh the infamous Nada Surf makes an appearance here. Welcome, my fellow Sox fan.
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