My initial analysis of the post game can be found here, but here's some of the interesting stuff everyone else was saying after the game:
Coach Vinny Del Negro revealed after the 87-86 triumph that he called plays for rookies James Johnson and Taj Gibson down the stretch.
"I
want them to feel that a little bit," Del Negro said. "I think it's a
good time to do that in the exhibition season. It's only going to
prepare them for the regular season."
Makes sense to give them some shots to make things happen at the end of games, though interestingly, I don't think any of Johnson's scores came off set play calls, so he must have passed out of his plays.
"It was
really nerve-wracking," Gibson said. "My heart was beating 100 miles a
minute. When you look up and see those banners and think about Scottie
Pippen and some of the other guys who played here, you're bound to get
a little bit nervous.
So nervous that you mention Scottie Pippen before Michael Jordan or does Taj just love Pippen? I'm not sure if I've ever heard someone refer to the Bulls history and mention Scottie first, but I like that. Scottie deserves to be mentioned first every once in awhile.
Gibson's been outstanding lately, and while I was a Blair guy on draft night, I said I'd wait and see how Gibson does. Well, I've always been impressed with the Bulls' scouting, and they appear to have done a great job again in picking Gibson who fits what the Bulls need; a PF to give them rebounding, energy, defense, help defense, and can hit an open jumper.
Mike McGraw has this gem from Noah:
If Noah knocks down a few more hook shots, maybe coach Vinny Del Negro will start looking to him for post offense.
"Let's not go that far," Noah said. "But I'm feeling
more comfortable. I even shot a couple jump shots today. I haven't made
one yet, but coach has confidence in me and tells me to shoot it all
the time."
Noah did look good in the post, but he had really favorable matchups all night. It's probably not something we're going to see all the time out of him, but it's nice to see him take advantage and punish a team who's going small while defending him. Also interesting to know that he has the green light to shoot the mid range jump shot. We'll see how that works out, but I'm not entirely pessemistic as long as he's taking open shots.
McGraw's other piece on the game had this amusing nugget:
Bucks guard learning: Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles announced
Monday that rookie Brandon Jennings would start at point guard against
the Bulls, then changed his mind and stuck with Luke Ridnour.
Maybe Jennings and Gordon can form a coached by Scott Skiles support group. Jennings does look awfully raw, and he shot the ball putridly, but despite that, he's doing a great job making plays in both games. I know you're going to kill me, but watching him for five minutes makes you realize how far Derrick needs to go in the court vision category. Of course watching Derrick for five minutes makes you realize how far Jennings needs to go in the scoring one.
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Tags: brandon jennings, chicago bulls, james johnson, Joakim Noah, milwaukee bucks, notes, preseason game four, Taj Gibson
Noah and Gibson looked really good yesterday. Gibson has become a pleasant surprise. I knew he was a good player at USC, but I didn't think he would be playing this well so soon.
Deng, Salmons and Pargo continue to struggle finding their shooting range. Hopefully, they can get that corrected sooner than later.
I thought Derrick Byars showed nice energy, but he really didn't take advantage of Deng and Salmons struggling with their shot. He missed two open baseline shots in the 4th quarter (a 3-point shot and a mid-range jumper), which was too bad. That was the difference between a 10 and 5 game he could have had and the 5 and 5 game he produced. His hustle and fundamentals are wonderful, but he definitely needs to step-up his shot-making, if he wants to grab that last roster spot.