Tuesday, December 30, 2008

great idea

for a drinking game ...

Monday, December 29, 2008

rose rose

rookie rankings
The kid can still find a way to blow past top defenders even when they play five feet off him. What do you do with that?

hughes going to be traded? (scroll way down)

Sunday, December 28, 2008

excellent find

from kmart

rose and random

rose and beasely
There are perks to being the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the NBA draft, of course. However, they can be mitigated by circumstances, such as the state of the team the players are drafted to or the quality of teammates surrounding them. Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley have experienced this first hand. And both have been confronted with unique challenges that no other rookies in this class have had to face. Let's examine.

kobe convo with magic (video)

year in numbers

Saturday, December 27, 2008

recomended reading

but first, d-rose and tt better top this list 2 years from now


this is one of the best books i have read in a while


i have not finished this yet, but it is a must read if you're a fan of the association

Friday, December 26, 2008

rose rose rose

i don't have my laptop at home, so no access to my bookmarks. i did find a few decent reads tho ...

"Derrick Rose, he's taken the league by storm with athletic ability," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who grew up in Chicago. "I mean, he's one of the best penetrators, finishers, that the league has already. And he's going to keep coming at us. This guy's going to keep coming, keep coming, especially ... because of him and Beasley, first and second pick. I'm sure he wants to live up to the hype."




As far as making comparisons, Wade admitted he sees plenty of himself in Rose, who is probably an inch or two shorter.




east’s most surprising backcourt

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

some rose and a must read

There were plenty of questions after practice Monday concerning how Derrick Rose would defend Allen Iverson tonight at Detroit. ''It's going to be fun,'' Rose said. ''He's one of the best talents in the NBA. It's also going to be a challenge.''

"Derrick's one of the best finishers in the league already from the guard position," the Bulls' leading scorer said. "His strongest attribute is attacking the rim."





must read from rick reilly







baseball?

Teixeira's salary gives the Yankees, who are preparing to move into their pricey new ballpark in 2009, the four highest-paid players in Major League Baseball, including third baseman Alex Rodriguez, shortstop Derek Jeter and Sabathia.

Monday, December 22, 2008

noc

noc fouled himself

nuggets getting david lee?

not hoops -
http://2pie.blogspot.com/2008/12/snow-prints.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT1TSbarW1U&e

Saturday, December 20, 2008

worst trades

i might put kidd for devin harris on this list

tt less moveable?

Something else we touched on a week ago: Chicago showing a willingness to part with guards Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha as well as forward Tyrus Thomas between now and the trade deadline ... and an unwillingness to part with second-year center Joakim Noah.

According to NBA front-office sources, after some progress from Thomas in the past week, we need to move Drew Gooden to the front of the list of Chicago's availables and push Thomas' closer to Noah's status.

Interest in Thomas remains high, though, while Gooden is also considered highly movable with an expiring salary of $7.2 million.




Former Bull Brad Miller is available. ... Gooden's expiring contract and solid averages that are near a double-double could attract interest.

i'm interested if we don't have to give up tt



dirty 30 from slam
bull are 20 - gross



nba uniforms

mvp rankings and 1/3 awards

Friday, December 19, 2008

q&a

Q: Despite his heroics he's always been completely underrated by fans. He's less appreciated than Hinrich and Deng, and rarely complimented by the media. Here's a crazy stat: Ben Gordon already has made more career three-pointers than Larry Bird. If he makes his usual 150 three's per season this year he'll be in the top hundred by the end of this year even though he's only in his fifth season. He's quite a bit younger than every player ahead of him in this stat. There's a very good chance that he's going to finish his career in the Top 5 ever in made threes. Please tell me that the organization has finally decided that they'd like to keep him over Hinrich.

A: You've got some Ben Gordon love here. And I wrote in Thursday's Tribune that Gordon hasn't ruled out re-signing with the Bulls.

Look, Ben drives everyone crazy with his decision-making and occasional defensive lapses. But name me another Bull not named Rose that has truly mastered one NBA skill. Gordon has in scoring. His 18-point first quarter last week in Memphis should remind all what he's capable of when hot. If I'm management, his ability to play with Rose should make re-signing him an offseason priority.

So bring on the Ben Gordon hate mail. And given that Gordon has to give his consent for any trade this season, Hinrich could be traded before him.



Q: I know Thomas, Noah and Sefolosha haven't exactly done anything to earn much playing time, but isn't it time we just let them loose and see what happens? I think we need to find out what they can do this season so that moving forward, the team can plan appropriately.

A: This, right here, narrows the Bulls' issue to its essence. What is this season about? Is it about limping into the playoffs and getting beat in the first round? Is it about building around Rose and seeing who fits with him? Because right now you don't know if Thabo fits with him because Hughes is taking his minutes. Noah and Thomas are playing more of late but weren't for awhile while Gooden and Gray took all the minutes. It appeared management was almost straddling both worlds, trying to make the playoffs while also building around Rose. But with recent rumblings that the Bulls are quite active in trade talks, I think the strategy is moving toward the future. It's why I wouldn't be surprised if Drew Gooden is dealt, parlaying an expiring deal for a valuable piece that fits with Rose. Moving Gooden also would open up more minutes for Noah and Thomas. As for the Hughes/Sefolosha debate, Hughes is playing well so perhaps you're getting good minutes out of him while also showcasing him. But I'd like to see Thabo get a chance. I'm sure glad I'm not coaching this team. Too many playing time headaches!




eastern conference first-quarter grades
Chicago Bulls (12-13) – C+
Derrick Rose is the future of the team, but there's little else going on with this franchise that screams "long-term success." Their record is mediocre, they're coach still doesn't quite seem to have a grasp on things, and two of their most promising young players aren't getting consistent minutes. Until a ton of kinks get worked out, this team is no better than average.



thomas out tonight v celtics


another rookie ranking has rose at 2 this week

Thursday, December 18, 2008

tt

will probably play saturday



could it be true? (scroll down a little)

With things seemingly going so well, is it possible Gordon could re-sign with the Bulls when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer?

"I'm not ruling anything out at all," Gordon said before the Bulls' 115-109 overtime victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night. "My focus right now is to play well, help the team win games and stay healthy. That's a long time from now. But I've always said I'm happy here, and that hasn't changed."

makin moves?

Paxson has been fielding calls for most of the month trying to find complementary pieces that fit into the new plans to make Derrick Rose the focal point of the team, and to find guys that fit into head coach Vinny Del Negro's "More Effort" game plan.

...

Bulls' sources would not name names on players Paxson may be targeting, but did say John expects to trigger at least one significant deal before the February 19th NBA trade deadline.





''We're trying to find some things that fit [with Derrick Rose]. The fact of the matter is he's very, very good and we're lucky to have him. When you look at the big picture, our goal is going to be to try and get this thing built with Derrick in mind and what fits him. That's going to take a little bit of time here to try and move some pieces.''



A win's a win, they had to win this stretch of easy schedule (oops, they went 4-4), and that's good. But man this Bulls team is hard to watch. It took a miracle Ben Gordon 4-point play to send it to overtime, and several minutes of dodging bullets while the Clippers failed to capitalize on their inside advantage, either by some, um, gritty defense (more on that later) or by their own ineptitude. A couple OT shots by Luol Deng.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

terrible

truehoop's take on bull v bobcats ...

If you wanted to hear some guffaws, get some real deal basketball experts together and have them watch the closing minutes of last night's Bulls vs. Bobcats game. Seldom have I seen three entities -- the two teams and the officials -- compete so diligently for the "most disappointing performance of the game" award. ...

But, of course, the capper was that the game was essentially won with three D.J. Augustin free throws that replays show never should have been awarded.



blog-a-bull ...
This team will get better as it goes along, but it doesn't mean I can't stomp my feet until it happens.

and preview for tonight ...

Even with strong games from both Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas, our fearless leader showed that he was still human and had a dismal game by his standards which to say, was much better than the game that Larry Hughes had.

Regardless of the results of the game and the impending walk of shame after such a loss, we still have a game against another sub .500 team, the Los Angeles Clippers at home in the United Center.




Derrick Rose the All-Star?

This has come up quite a big in chat sessions of late. Is Derrick Rose an All-Star?

The first round of votes have been counted and it's already clear that the fans are not going to vote Rose into the big game, so the real question here is whether or not the coaches will select Rose to join the squad once the starters are officially announced. If the game were held tomorrow, the starting guards for the East would be Allen Iverson at the point and Dwyane Wade at the two.

So . . .who's next?

You're Phil Jackson. You're Jerry Sloan. You're Larry Brown.

Do you pick rookie Derrick Rose over NBA champion Ray Allen? How about in front of Devin Harris, who has taken the league by storm this season? Think Phil Jackson will pick a rookie over Rajon Rondo, who handed his team their hats in helping lead the Celtics to a title last season? What about perennial All-Star Vince Carter?

Still think Derrick Rose is getting into the All-Star game?

The bottom line is Rose will, indeed, be a part of the All-Star festivities in Phoenix. He'll be there with OJ Mayo, Greg Oden, and Michael Beasley. But it won't be Sunday night's game where you'll see Rose doing his thing. Rose, like every top rookie every other year, will be headlining the Friday night action during the Rookie/Sophomore Game. He'll probably lead the Rookies to a rare win, too.

But don't hold your breath waiting for the coaches to send Rose to the big game on Sunday night. His time will come, but not in 2009.






rose not in the top spot

It's easy to see Rose's deficiencies on defense right now. He's not nearly as interested on this side of the ball as he is when the ball is in his hands. He doesn't just struggle guarding some of the quick and crafty point guards, but also is far from understanding how to be a good helper.

This does not make him unique among rookies, as most rookies struggle defensively, but it does prove that he's not a superhero. Yet.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

back to back

bull against the bobcats tonight, then i'm 'loving it live' against the clippers tomorrow

Rose is shooting a team-high 49 percent, including 33 percent from three-point range.

random

so many of these are jordan commercials

sir charles

mj playing softball


i got 27


loads of pics of each jordan shoe

Monday, December 15, 2008

interesting luol

was he worth $71m?


rookie rankings, guess who's #1?

Sunday, December 14, 2008

howard ... and a bull win

superman off the court




finally saw some flashes from TT again, so hopefully he earned more tick

"He gave us the whole package tonight," Derrick Rose said of Thomas.

The Bulls had six players in double figures, including Derrick Rose, who scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Joakim Noah led the Bulls with eight rebounds and had three of their season-high 13 blocked shots. ''Our guys gutted it out,'' coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''We got some great performances, especially off the bench from Tyrus and Joakim. The young guys came in and did a tremendous job. Their energy, length and young legs -- when they have games like this, there's no question they're difference-makers.''




and forgot about this from the knicks game the other day

Thursday, December 11, 2008

ANGRY

The Wizards have the NBA's least-productive back court and have been looking to improve it all season. In fact, according to several league sources, the Wizards and Chicago Bulls nearly had a deal worked out in October that would have sent Daniels and Etan Thomas to Chicago as a part of a package for Larry Hughes, a former Wizards guard. The deal collapsed after Hughes injured his shoulder.


maybe tt and vdn should read this

ridiculous

2 nights ago had some great games - shaq was young again, double OT, cavs records

then the suns made a big trade yesterday (kerr worked mj!)

melo last night- previous season high = 30 points, tied nba record

bad news about TT


and of course - rose

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

not rose, then rose, then obvious

Chris Paul now has 13 games where he had at least 20 points and 10 assists. The rest of the league's Point Guards combined have 16: B. Davis (3), Billups (2), Nash (2), Augustin (1), TJ Ford (1), Ridnour (1), Bibby (1), Devin Harris (1), Foye (1), Calderon (1), Duhon (1). Paul is insane.


rose has company



mj v. kobe (found on truehoop)...
Similar in style and mannerism, maybe, but when we translate the statistics for era, it becomes very clear that Jordan was actually the one "playing chess" while Bryant "plays checkers."

Monday, December 8, 2008

ultra sad -

goat broke the story -

rose injured

sad ...

apparently tyrus' time with the bull is running out. i would almost rather see vinny fired and start over next year with a coach that wants to use tt the way he should/can play, than trade him and see him turn into something great in another uniform. i feel like tt and luol can compliment d-rose so well if they have an offense that utilizes their skill set (rather than vdn's worhtless p&r/everyone is a spot up shooter offense)

possible trades that have been brought up recently -

kirk for mike miller

noc + thabo + future pick for brad miller

noc + thabo + future pick for kaman

(i would do all 3!)


also, the knicks want a guard (and obviously want cap space) - so would they take hughes + tt + pick for david lee? or even kirk + tt for lee??

Sunday, December 7, 2008

rose challenged for roy?

and some bad news for tt and noah

Saturday, December 6, 2008

waste of space

it's a little early for the game-by-game comparison to the 1996 bull

Friday, December 5, 2008

cost of larry hughes

2008 salary of larry hughes: $12,000,084
games played: 11
minutes played: 287 (26 mpg)
points: 132 (12 ppg)
- numbers from basketballreference.com


the bulls are about 1/4 of the way thru the schedule, but larry missed some time with an injury.

assuming larry hughes plays the rest of the season, he will play about 74 games. assuming his current averages hold true, he will finish with:

1926 minutes played
888 points

that will cost the bull
$6250.57 per minute (the nba average is $3400 per minute) and about $13,513.60 per point scored


compare derrick rose (again assuming the avg holds true)


355 points (18.6 ppg) ... 1525 total points over 82 games
729 minutes (38 mpg) ... 3116 total minutes

@ $4,019,000 (guaranteed salary of #1 pick)


only $5513 per minute played (about $800 less than larry hughes) and $2635 per point scored (almost $10k less than larry)












rose v. oden ... update

Thursday, December 4, 2008

rose

from hoopsworld

At first look in Wednesday's game against Milwaukee, Rose's 18 points, 9 assists in 43 minutes are just another in a typically impressive stat line for the potential Rookie of the Year. But come in a little closer and it's the things he does that don't necessarily have a stat column that make you appreciate just how good he is.

...

For all of the statistics, which are impressive, and the superlatives, which are deserved, Rose also has all of the subtle, intangible factors that make a young rookie one of the potential great players in the league. Learning when to lead and when to defer, when to take over and when to get his teammates going - those are the skills that come with time. And those are the attributes of a championship point guard.

Rose has already shown signs those skills have improved in just five weeks of his climb up the NBA mountain. In five years, we may very well see him standing at the top.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

first time "loving it live" this season

quick thoughts -

- d-rose is exceptionally fast/quick, especially with the ball. he made defenders look terrible a lot (he even dropped 2 with a crossover, but of course it's not in the highlights b/c we missed the open look it created. rose also seems like he'd be fun to play with. he kills himself trying to win.

- lindsey hunter is a player-coach, brought on to help rose learn the game, and seems to be doing a good job of it. there were multiple time-outs/huddles were he pulled d-rose to the side. i especially liked late in the game, an outlet went to ben "handles" gordon ... and lindsey was up screaming for rose to be more assertive and go get/demand the ball.

- FINALLY saw some explosiveness (not to mention an all around decent game) from TT.

- larry hughes is terrible.

- our best lineup = rose, gordon, noc, tt and gooden (possibly interchanging deng for either noc or tt)







DC's thoughts on the game -
1) Rose is ridiculously fast...Simmons is right, defenders are playing at least 5 feet off of him at all times and he still beats them off the dribble. when he develops a consistent jumpshot he'll be damn near unstoppable.
2) There are two guys who play well off of Rose on the team: Nocioni (who had a horrible game but knew where to be in order to get kickouts from rose) and gooden. everyone else is lost.
3) Gordon and Hughes are just plain terrible.
4) Lindsay Hunter literally yelling at Rose to go and take the ball from Gordon late in the 4th quarter right before Gordon turned it over. Rose needs to take a cue from Hunter and realize he needs the ball in his hands in key spots.
5) With 40 seconds left in the 4th quarter we're down 2 and the 76ers have the ball....Del Negro is screaming for us to foul Iguodala intentionally. Then he looks back and has to ask if the Bulls had any fouls to give, forgetting that the 76ers had been in the bonus for the last 7 minutes.
6) Del Harris told the whole bench to stand up for the last couple of possessions (Noah stands pretty much the whole time, as a side note)...the only player not to listen to this request: Larry Hughes
7) We're paying Luol Deng $12 million to be off the court during 4th quarter crunchtime and the entirely of overtime...good investment.

(dc and i obviously got our pics taken)




blogabull summed things up nicely -
Not the worst game I've seen, but that's only because I'm a Bulls fan so I see a lot of garbage




top 10 d-rose highlights

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

first of many

rookie of the month

still smiling

"That's how I've been playing my whole life. I just try to win. For those plays to happen, it just takes a will. I just wanted those plays to happen."

wonder what play he's talking about? this one

Monday, December 1, 2008

random video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbZTmcIfdBQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zcE1q4J7PQ&NR=1







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAfRFnckuY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvxijHNWB4



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfewtndGnCY

need a smile?

this will make you happy, i guarantee it!

(another clip that includes the block that came just before the ankle-breaker)


mixed bag about the bull in this chat
Q:Will the Bulls be in the running in 2010? Will wade bosh amare or lebron consider playing alongside D-Rose and co. ?
A: The Bulls will be a radically different team in 2010. Wade and LeBon are going nowhere. Unless there are 2-3 better pieces around Rose, don't expect Amar'e or Bosh to spend much time thinking about Chicago.