Thoughts on the Bull

"The Bulls don’t have a go-to guy. Ben Gordon isn’t it, and Derrick Rose won’t be until he starts getting whistles. And they don’t have any end-game offensive sets that can produce anything but low-percentage jumpers under pressure."



"As currently constructed, the Bulls’ absolute ceiling is the Hawks. The teams are very similarly built. They both are solid defensive teams that could be upper-level if they give consistent effort. They both could be successful if they ran a little bit more. The main difference is that the Bulls play a good game 40% of the time, and the Hawks play well 60% of the time.
More problematic is that neither of these teams is going anywhere. The Bulls, obviously, have wasted another half season due to Del Negro’s resistance to playing Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah extended minutes. While Aaron Gray played well in his stint in the first half, keeping the Bulls in the game for stretches, he’s maxed out his potential, whereas Thomas and Noah have the chance to be key pieces to a team. Per 36 minutes, both Noah and Thomas perform well, but they are desperately in need of a coach that will push them to try hard. That sounds silly; these guys should both know that when they play hard, they play a lot, and in turn play well. However, VDN’s annoyingly merit-based rotations leave players in fear of making mistakes, lest they sit for quarters at a time."

Rough finish v. Hawks

"The Bulls have been in more stretch runs than a thoroughbred racehorse this season, blowing fourth-quarter opportunities more often than not."

"Too many mistakes and too much Mike Bibby combined to boost the Bulls' losing streak to three games after a 105-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night at the United Center."

Never would have guessed ...

... that I'd be opposed to a Larry Hughes trade. But the rumored trade with the Nets is terrible. If we are getting nothing back, shouldn't we just wait until next year when his expiring contract is worth something (like a draft pick). The only obvious benefit is ridding ourselves of Larry Hughes, and possibly freeing up cap space to re-sign BG, or go after Boozer (note - I don't want Boozer because we have TT at the 4).

More trade talk

Noc on the way out? - "The big talk is whether the Bulls will make a major trade. I'd doubt it, and I believe it will be difficult to deal Larry Hughes until after the season or during next season when his contract finally is expiring. I expect the Bulls would send him home once the trade deadline is past if they cannot trade him. His contract remains too much of a potential asset to release him. If there is a trade, I think it will be looking toward the future and the first one out, I'd guess, would be Andres Nocioni."

And Hinrich is not on the way out (same link as above)- "My guess is Hinrich stays for now unless the Bulls are knocked over with a package of young players and picks, which seems unlikely. Del Negro has been involving Joakim Noah in more specialized defensive situations, though Noah also needs to work on his game more. I'm not sure what coaching he is getting as the Bulls moved away from the big man coach again. But if Noah can keep from bringing the ball down so much and get in the kind of shape to hold his position and run himself into some scores, he'll be worth keeping and the Bulls need to get a better look at him and continue to play him."

Rose and possible trade

Rose at MSG - "And on Monday, barely two years removed from his high school days, Rose took the Garden stage for the first time as a professional, the cream of this season’s rookie crop. With his baggy Chicago Bulls jersey hanging out of his shorts, Rose has looked so comfortable in the league — and under the Garden lights — that he even surprised himself."

Finally trading Hughes - " ... Chicago Bulls and the New Jersey Nets are contemplating a swap where the primary names involved are Bulls guard Larry Hughes and Nets forward Bobby Simmons."

Loss to Knicks

"Strong performances by Luol Deng (20 points, 10 rebounds), Tyrus Thomas (19, 10) and Joakim Noah (season-high 18 rebounds) put the Bulls (18-24) in position to win, but they couldn’t finish the deal."

Gooden on the trading block - "Gooden's production and persistence, not to mention his expiring contract, should make him an attractive asset as the Feb. 19 trade deadline approaches. He has been traded three times in six seasons, so he isn't fazed by the possibility."



Rose is back on top in these rankings, but #4 in these.


These rankings say we still have a shot at the playoffs, but these odds say it's only 20% chance.

Boring day -

Bull play the Knicks this afternoon in a battle of mediocrity. (What could have been with D-Rose and D'Antoni ... ) And Bron v. Kobe.

All-Star jerseys are out.