I wasn't a fan of the officiating in this game. They let some really serious contact go at times only to call the ticky tackiest fouls later.
Anyway, the Bulls played the game pretty close for a half. They were down by six at one point where they had a steal and a two on one fast break. Deng had the ball, and the defender initially played the past. He switched back to Deng only to have Deng dribble the ball off his foot as I believe he was about to try and swing it to Rose.
The Celtics hit a three after the turnover moving the lead up to nine. They never looked back. It was a five point swing against the Bulls, and the game was simply never the same after that.
That being said, I never expected the Bulls to stay close or win this one. They managed to compete and hustle hard for the majority of the game though they appeared to throw in the towel in the mid 4th quarter while down by 23. Of course, you might as well throw in the towel at that point, you're not coming back at that point.
The offense seemed to be running with a lot more motion tonight. The three perimeter players were running a little three man weave play or some variant of the dribble drive where each player would dribble to the middle of the court to penetrate then pass off to another perimeter player who'd then also try to penetrate to the middle who'd then pass to the third perimeter player who'd try to penetrate to the middle.
By the third guy, they had moved the defense enough that they were getting good success. The Bulls were getting excellent basket attacking opportunities out of this play.
So the bulls got smeared. They went into a scoring drought and started turning the ball over while Boston just scored on almost every possession for a stretch in the third. The game was never the same afterwards.
Considering it was a blow out, I was still reasonably happy with the play tonight, of course when you throw in the "considering it was a blow out" tag, that's not saying a whole heck of a lot.
Filed under: Game Threads
Tags: boston celtics, chicago bulls, post game
Is it time to TRADE away Hinrich, Salmons, Thomas and Johnson yet? They are USELESS.
Kirk Hinrich...2 points tonight.
That's $4.5 million per point. Nice gig, if you can get it.
John Salmons...4 points tonight.
That's $1.3 million per point. Nice gig, if you can get it.
Those two ABSOLUTELY SUCK this year.
Okay, I'm a bit frustrated.
They don't make all that money per game, but they do make that money this year. Clearly, they aren't EARNING their HIGH SALARIES. I think it's time to cut them loose and get some expiring contracts in return.
James Johnson seems fatter everytime I see him, he looks like he is going to be a disaster. As for the Bulls we are god boring, i could barley keep my eyes open.
Trade James Johnson to New Jersey for Terrence Williams, who hates it there and just got suspended by the team for TWEETING about it.
The Bulls need a younger athletic Shooting Guard with a Joakim Noah attitude, while the Nets could use a strong and bulky cheerleading Small Forward.
To Bulls: Terrence Williams
To Nets: James Johnson
i dont even know this terrence williams dude, but i bet you he wouldn't like chicago anymore than he does new jersey.
i wanted bulls to get williams outta the draft but he aint know for his offense
Who on the Bulls' team is know of their offense anyway? TWILL would be a nice wingman for Derrick Rose. He's super-athletic and a well-rounded player.
He's not happy or playing in NJ, so why not try and make that trade, if you were John Paxson or Gar Forman?
Terrence Williams Mix.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7FDCppWzw
Enjoy it.
John Paxson and Gar Forman have to shake things up. They can't like this.
I would love to see them get Terrence Williams and go with a young starting line-up of Rose, Williams, Deng, Gibson and Noah. Sit Hinrich, Salmons, Miller, Pargo and Hunter on their ASSES, where they belong. They are the ones, who have played like GARBAGE this year.
James Johnson or Terrence Williams, you tell me who the better fit is for the Bulls?
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=23-james-johnson&i=1&p1=terrence-williams
oh my god you are so redundant. We get it. Once you get something you mention it and move on not talk about and talk about it. First Byars and now Terrence Williams. LET IT GO, TERRENCE WILL NOT BE A BULL.
Is MARCUS CAMBY coming to the Chicago Bulls?
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers-fyi13-2009dec13,0,1043982.story
I hope they are talking.
To Bulls: Marcus Camby and a throw/in (R. Davis?)
To Clippers: Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James
God knows, the Bulls could use his rebounding, defense and LEADERSHIP.
"By the third guy, they had moved the defense enough that they were getting good success. The Bulls were getting excellent basket attacking opportunities out of this play."
By the third quarter the Celts made the adjustment to this lame style of play. This offense can be sustained in college only or with players with the ability to drive and finish. We have 1.5 of those on this roster.
"It's sad how far the team has fallen from the end of last year. Part of it is Gordon gone, but even if he was still here this team would not suddenly be a contender."
If I see a statement like this one more time, I am going to puke. The Bulls weren't going to be a contender with Gordon, REALLY?? Who knew? With Gordon this would be a much better team period! Someone tell me what individual player could come to the Bulls right now and make them a contender?? Spare me the line about FA money because these days it takes more than money to land top free agents. Anyone who has been a Bulls fan should understand that.
Amen... I've been saying for a while this season can be salvaged if the Bulls pick up an actual shooting guard, either bench or move Salmons back to the 3, Deng to the four and have a bench with Taj, Tyrus, Kirk and Miller. Play pressure defense and run like the wind.
I was thinking of this lineup.
Starters:
PG - Rose, SG - Williams, SF - Deng, PF - Gibson, C - Noah
Bench:
PG - Hinrich, SG - Pargo, SF - Salmons, PF - Miller, C - Camby
That's a nice blend of youth and experience.
I think all of you are forgetting about how much of an asset Hinrich has been to the bulls for awhile. Yes sure he is struggling right now, but think about how much he's been thrown around bounching back and forth between the number 2 spot and point guard. Also i think Hinrich works the best as a starter, not coming off the bench. The bulls need to find the right lineup...Hinrich belongs in it.
Kirk Hinrich's numbers have gone down for 3 straight seasons now. I agree, I would try to start him and move Salmons to the bench. If that didn't work, I would dump his DOWNWARD SLIDING ASS for some expiring contracts.
Can we get a REAL GM? Go get Terrence Williams and Marcus Camby, you fool.
The motion offense was pretty effective in the 1st half. It seemed to me that it was producing jumpshots more than inside opportunities though. And the Bulls were hitting their jumpshots.
Of course, teams that rely mostly on the jumpshot don't last too long in an NBA game very often, especially poor shooting teams like the Bulls.
Can anyone remember the MJ Bulls? Remember how they would win those road games during the 5th and 6th title years? They would conserve energy for most of the game and turn it on when they needed to. That's what the Celtics did to the Bulls last night. They turned on the D and the jumpshooting went cold, along with boneheaded turnovers.
There were not really any bright spots. Rose looked OK, but not like a PG and not like a star. Rondo seemed like the better player. Rose would be a bench player on the Celtics.
I was partially glad to see Miller take Rondo down. Its not like they were going to win the game and he needed to go down due to his thug antics from last year. Yes, its a meatball mentality. But I have to admit I was glad to see it. Perhaps its the lone source of pride we can have as Bulls fans.
I listened to the Vinny press conference at the end of the game. He mentioned that it was tough to run the offense without any 3 point shooters. cough cough ben gordon.
Doug,
You have to check out this photo of VDN on the Yahoo. It's under the Bulls' team page photos section. Also, why were Johnson, Pargo, Thomas and Hunter laughing on the bench? Taj Gibson, Salmons and Luol Deng didn't look all that happy.
There is NO EXCUSE for that behavior.
I only watched bits and pieces of the game, but I knew I wasn't missing much when I saw the Bulls were shooting 40% from the field at half time.
Not referring to tonight's game, but in general am I the only one who thinks if the refs would quit giving him three beyond rookie disrespect foul calls a game, Taj Gibson would be having an excellent rookie season? He does commit some bad fouls, but he also gets jobbed incessantly.
Also, as to Lawrence Frank I'd have to respectfully say coaching Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson while they still had some gas in the tank, I was never impressed with the Nets defensive consistency. If I could hire Jeff Van Gundy or Byron Scott, I know Dr. Morose and the Denver Blowout Kid, but I would do it as an experienced coach would help this team immeasurably right now, and is probably are only chance of righting the ship and attracting a top 2010 free agent. Regardless of inexperience and a thin roster, Vinny's leadership and offensive play calling sucks.
The Bulls competed but the Celtics are just at another level, execution-wise. They know what to do out there. The Bulls just have too many guys trying to find their way out there, and right now the vets who should already be there are not playing well.
I noticed the dribble drive too and i think that's a great adjustment to throw some of that in. The DDM set is what Rose ran in college, so he's comfortable in it and it gets the ball to guys like Deng and Salmons already in motion and moving towards the basket, which helps.
It's sad how far the team has fallen from the end of last year. Part of it is Gordon gone, but even if he was still here this team would not suddenly be a contender. With young guys, you want to see effort and learning, and we're getting that with Noah, Rose and Taj, and Deng is going out there and competing, but the drop-off from Brad, Salmons, and Kirk from the end of last season to now has been shocking.
Also, though I think Ben's career 41% shooting and 38% in the playoffs means you can't win with him consistently he's too streaky, but as thee "scorer" on your ballclub, what ballclub without having "the scoring leader" performs well consistently offensively without that old reliable, security blanket what have you? If you want to know who's to really blame for the Bulls being a mess, it's the owner Reinsdorf/the guy who said, "Ben wouldnt have gotten much playing time this season anyway." Not replacing Ben's scoring and hiring a novice/bargain coach like Vinny who is lost offensively without Del Harris set this team up for failure. Bulls fans should absolutely not attend games any more/buy any new/unsold tickets this year unless an experienced new coach is brought in, and we somehow trade for a scorer with expirings or however they can get it done.
okc doesnt want any part of hinrich's huge contract. plus they have plenty of young talent to develop before they start looking for veteran leadership. veteran leadership is hyped. plus you can get it a lot cheaper than hinrich.
the best way to package hinrich is to send of tyrus thomas/taj with him.
The most logical place is for Kirk to go to Portland. The thing is that with them taking Miller in free agency they don't want to be paying two pg long term money. So you have to take Miller's contract back. The question is do you do it? If they gave me Bayless to then yes
Kirk and Deng have got to go! Thats what the Bulls should be focusing on right now. Finding suiters. These guys are part of the reason we have Derrick Rose.
this team going no where.. we keep blown out by teams without fighting.. can anyone do something about this? can tyrus show up when we need him most? our team needs a vet and a leader.. it is what it is..rightnow! it is no brainer now. that we have to bring in avery.. for me thats the best move rightnow..
this team always starts slowly.. thats a bad mentality..we have to fire paxson for not keeping aldridge,if we only kept him,we have a good chance of trading him for garnet,gasol,amare,!! not to mention del negro experiment..and ben wallace headband contact!yeh he did some good things when he first manage the team.. but that long gone now.. i dont see nocioni,gordon,skiles.. it is a learning experience for him, but obviously he ddint learned? for being personal with gordon and not keeping him.. and the team got nothing in return..because the team wants a cap space in the future.. we dont leave in the future.. the bset we can have next year probably david lee..
Interesting thought, at draft time, I thought there was a legitimate debate between taking Johnson or Williams, which is why the trade rumors with New Jersey took place.
Although Williams seems offensively challenged, he is reputed to be a tough player who plays defense rebounds and facilitates the offense.
Problem is Williams is a 2/3, or more likely a 3/2, not a great position to have a non scorer. Also, we have Deng at 3 so Williams would find minutes hard to come by.
Probably too soon to give up on Johnson, since we know that Del Bimbo has no ability to develop any play never mind a young one. Like Rose, Johnson will be a shell of his true self if Del Bimbo sticks around too long.
T Will can't shoot to save his life. I don't want to see another shooting guard on this team that is not at least a respectable 3 point shooter.
Doug, my apologies, but I'm literally going to stop commenting until Mr. Happy gets a job/life/valid opinion. This guy is driving me insane. And I can't look at this page when 3/4 of the comments come from him.
Well at least Kobe has broken finger
name 1 team that wants hinrich? you cant say it's time to trade away hinrich, because he's looking like the worst contract in the nba. ron artest got 5 million a year. hinrich gets 9. you cant package away w/o getting something comparable in return.
Oklahoma City.
They have hardly any veterans on their team, plenty of salary cap space and they don't have alot of depth at Point Guard.
To OKC: Kirk Hinrich
To Chicago: Etan Thomas and Shaun Livingston (or Mike Wilks)
philly maybe, they got no true pgs apart from Jrue Holiday though i dont know what theyd send us
If i may add doug.. we have to remember.. we gambled on a rookie coach last year.. to motivate a rookie drose. so this year both of them strugled..in terms of leadership. i can say.. i guess dell haris has somthing to do. with the team improvement lastyear. now we have chemistry problem,injury problem. ben gordon scoring problem. drose not dominating the game. picking up bad habits.yah in a way.. poor decisions by management.. we had a good run last season in the boston series. im a fan, and i enjoy that series. better than the lakers championship. every body knows in the united center. that this team deserved gordon back. but management betrayed the fans, sayin.. their saving money for free agnecy. and that hits me, a caliber like gordon. after leading the team in scoring every year. they just let him walk away without nothing in return.
Boston's average margin of victory is 9.8 this year. That's just shows how great they are. That being said, they don't win by 26 every night. They have only won by 20 3 times this year and two of those games were against Chicago.
People seem to have been writing off the massive blowouts against good teams as "well, those were against good teams". That's setting the bar way too low. Even the best teams only blow out the worst of teams with consistency.
If nothing changes, Chicago is staring at a 3-5 pick. That may not be a bad thing, but it will be a brutal year for us fans.
#3 to #8 worst records right now
3. Philadelphia 5-18
4. GS 7-16
5. Washington 7-14
6. NY 8-15
7. Chi 8-14
8. Indiana 8-13
Out of that list, I could see all of those teams overtaking the Bulls. I'm not predicting it, but if Philly finally got Jordan's system they could turn it around.
I guess I just think that people are underestimating just how bad Chicago is right now. The past 12 games have been about as bad as Chicago has played, including those 13-17 win seasons.
Kobe with a good hand still wouldnt get LA to beat bulls 72-10. I want Rondo to break his finger, i hate how my friend overrates him.
Lakers haven't lost a single game since Gasol returned.
If he hadn't been injured they would be undefeated right now.
Barring a significant injury, the Lakers will win 70 games and almost certainly will break the Bulls 72 win record.
The West is no longer as strong at the top, and the Lakers only have to play the Celtics, Cavs and Magic a total of 6 times.
Who is going to beat these guys.
Here's hoping that Kobe breaks a leg, not just a finger.
No one will ever beat 72 wins, everyone needs to stop.
We did good...for one half..atleast it shows we can but we then gave up...but also i think vinny has worn down deng and noahs weight is to low..he starts off amazing but them then gets worn down by inside guys..taj is a sixth man gift..rose played great but spacing and lack of refs calling for him hurted out chances of winning a bigger game...out whole season was on displayed tonight..good starts but then depth.spacing.and quoting happend..also deng shows he doesn't fit and neither does hinrich..ironically they both are the highest paid and wanted out by everyone..rose Noah and taj the only real bright spots..
Out of curiosity, what did you hear? And does what's happened since cause you to change your belief in those rumors?
OKC seems like a perfect fit for him.
His buddy Collison is on the team, Kirk knows that area of the country, and OKC needs a veteran Point-Guard for their 1st ever playoff push.
C'mon guys, we have to get on the band wagon,
Salary dump, Hinrich, Salmons and Deng to Houston for McGrady(and Kyle Lowry, or not)
We suck this year no matter what
Rose, McGrady, Johnson, Tyrus and Noah, how much worse could it be.
Players under contract for 2010 Rose, Noah, Johnson and Gibson, total contracts less than $12 million
Cap space available for 2 max free agenst
Our choice of Lebron and anyone, Done deal.
If you still love Deng, substitute Tyrus or Jerome James and the deal still works. Lose double max cap space though.
I have also herd bad things about Del Harris, alot of people in the organization soured on him real fast.
other than Rose (who I would trade for a few of the current elite players in a heart beat) there is nothing to hang one's hat on for this team..an Identity, how about a truly bad pro sports team. Not tough not smart not aggressive not fast not tall not hot shooting not in control of the boards. ZERO.....trade everything you can and start over with a plan to be a team which does something anything well. even the hopeless GSW have some hot shooters n such. The bulls stink.
Sorry to break your heart, but Rose, Deng and Noah aren't going anywhere. They need to find a SUPERSTAR at SG and one at PF.
Deng for sure. Noone would take him, unless the Bulls took a garbage contract in return.
That's wishful thinking.
Deng is due $14 million per in a few years.
Terrence Williams wants to start, but CDR and C.Lee are playing too well for thast to happen. Currently, TWILL is averaging 25 MPG, 9 PPG and 5 RPG off the bench. Now, James Johnson, on the otherhand, doesn't need to start. Currently, JJ is averaging 10 MPG, 4 PPG and 2 RPG off the bench.
Ultimately, when you look at those averages and consider what the team needs are (Bulls - SG, Nets - SF), it could be a WIN-WIN for each team and player. I think this would be a SMART deal for John Paxson and Kiki Vandeweigh to pull off.
They should make this deal.