Thank You Isiah

With No Great Moves Availables, Why Not Make A Dick Move?

2011-12-08T11:34:00.002-06:00

Reading Zach Lowe’s analysis of Miami signing Shane Battier got me thinking…

Lowe writes about the move’s financial ripple effects for Miami’s roster, and notes, “The Heat have tendered Chalmers a $1.1 million qualifying offer, and Battier’s decision to take less than the full mid-level should allow Miami to retain its point guard at that cost. [But] if another team offers much more, Miami might have to let Chalmers go…”

I know that the Bulls’ biggest need is at 2-guard, but seeing as Jason Richardson (a great shooter, but only a middling defender and not much of a shot creator) is probably the best realistic option on the free agency market, I’m wondering if whether instead the Bulls should swoop in and offer Chalmers a part of their MLE (say, a 3-year, $9 mil. deal) to backup Derrick Rose and maybe even play alongside him at times.

Chalmers would obviously be woefully under-sized as a two-guard, but he can shoot the three, handle the rock and create for others, play hard on-the-ball D, and he hit some of Miami’s biggest shots in the Finals against Dallas (i.e., he has a bit of Simmons’ “Irrational Confidence Guy” in him). He’d allow the Bulls to part much more easily with C.J. Watson in any future trades for a starting 2, and perhaps more importantly, stealing him from Miami would leave the Heat with only one player, rookie Norris Cole, at PG, and there sure as hell aren’t a lot of other appetizing options out there on the market.

With Wade and James, Miami can obviously play without a traditional point, but adding one more thing (primary ballhandler) to either player’s list of duties is likely to make them somewhat worse in another area, considering just how many things Miami calls on both players to do (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, shotblocking, wing-defending, etc.). Signing away Chalmers from Miami may not be a great move for the Bulls, but it would be a dick move to Miami, which might make it the Bulls’ best option at this point.

W000000000000000000000000000T!!!!!111!!!11!1!!!

2011-11-26T11:07:00.001-06:00

See you at Christmas, Derrick.

Derrick Rose for MVP, Without Apologies

2011-03-31T11:48:00.002-05:00

The argument against Derrick Rose for MVP is logically unassailable. (Unless it's attempted by Colin Cowherd. Then it's a notch below a toddler goofily fingerpainting the walls with his own feces.) M. Haubs at The Painted Area has made it most flawlessly, but locate any stat geek hanging out a shingle on the Internet, and you'll find some version of it. Dwight Howard (or LeBron James) is the correct decision for MVP. Dwight Howard (or LeBron James) is the logical decision for MVP. Dwight Howard (or LeBron James) is the thoughtful decision for MVP. Dwight Howard (or LeBron James) is the just decision for MVP.

All these essays and arguments serve a vital and useful purpose for thinking about basketball, for how we accurately measure and/or quantify an individual player's impact on the court, and as such the world is a better (i.e., more knowledgeable) place for them. But nevertheless I believe these essays all suffer from one simple yet fatal flaw, which is that the world of correctness, logic, thought, and justice is completely divorced from the lizard-brained realm in which 99.9% of NBA fans experience NBA basketball games. Indeed, I'd wager those fans love watching NBA games largely because they offer a fleeting escape from the quotidian tyranny of that reasonable world.

Distilled to its purest form, my basic argument is: Motherfuckin' Derrick Rose makes you feel fuckin' ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE, mothafuckaz!!!!!!!! Why the fuck are you beancounters waving PER in my face when I saw Derrick Rose hit a last-second, game-tying three that literally made an opponent scream in agony??? You think I give a flying fuck about Defensive On Court/Off Court Efficiency after witnessing Rose miss a shot late in a tight game against Utah and then, visibly furious, appear to will himself into making a perfect steal moments later against Deron Williams to preserve the W???

Wait, I'm sorry; what was that you tried to say? Win Shares? Motherfucker, fuck you! I saw Derrick Rose start a one-man fast-break, get sandwiched by Wade and LeBron while racing downcourt at ludicrous speed, bounce off of Wade and then hit an arms-splayed left-handed layup from an impossible angle, somehow evading LeBron and rendering his awesome block attempt impotent and futile. Then he turned around at James and Wade, vanquished and sprawled out on the floor, barked something foul and nasty at them, and slithered back up the court like some fucking God damn cobra, basking in primal ecstasy over its most recent kill.

And here's the thing: The stat heads agree with this. SI's Zach Lowe, a Howard backer who's as smart as they come, recently wrote that, while Rose may not be MVP, he is the league's Most Exciting Player, one who he recently made his girlfriend watch four different highlights of, from a single game. Haubs' post itself was inspired by Rose's recent fourth-quarter display against Milwaukee, which left all its observers slack-jawed in wonder and admiration. So overwhelmed was Haubs by that performance--by its capital-S Sublimity--he began to question what he thought he knew about Rose's "worthiness" for the MVP. That may bear repeating: The sheer artistic majesty of Rose's performance made one of the basketball blogosphere's sharpest analytical minds doubt its own knowledge.

Well, after he came to from this reverie, in the sober light of day, Haubs went back to the numbers, and in them, he found safety; he found Dwight Howard. And I'm not suggesting the numbers lie; they don't. Howard's a good choice for MVP.

But I didn't start writing a basketball blog to wear a fucking suit and make good decisions. Fuck that. Give the id its due, and give the kid his due: Give D-Rose the MVP. It might be a guilty pleasure, but isn't pleasure what drew you to this game in the first place? And is that really not the Most Valuable thing?

Just When You Thought You Couldn't Love This Team Any More

2011-03-24T08:31:00.003-05:00

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago city officials were effusive in their praise for the Chicago Bulls basketball team this afternoon -- but not for the squad's recent winning streak.

Instead, the Bulls were honored for collectively saving 17 children trapped in a burning orphanage located near the United Center on the city's Near West Side.

"We are pride [sic] of this team. All 14 players contributed to preventing a terrible castrophy [sic]," outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said at a City Hall ceremony.

"This team will do what it needs to do," said star point guard Derrick Rose, who ordered a team bus to halt at the burning building and led his teammates into the decrepit structure after jumping through a fire-rimmed window open on the first floor.

Officials said they believe the orphanage may have been boobytrapped with incendiary devices. Sources tell the AP that authorities are questioning suspects today in South Beach, the Greater Boston area, and Los Angeles.

Regardless of the outcome of the criminal investigation, the team's heroics Wednesday will go down in the annals of Chicago fire history.

Fire spokesman Larry Langford said the Bulls were able to get the children out gracefully, using an ingenious handing-off system that expertly distributed the labor and played to each individual's personal strengths.

While back-up power forward Brian Scalabrine did not enter the building, even he played a crucial role in the rescue, providing water to other players and handing them blankets after the children were saved.

All props to Mr. Maidenberg for this.

"I shoot the lights out...high 'til it's bright out."

2011-02-27T16:53:00.005-06:00

Both Benny and Yeezy agree David Berri's assertion that Derrick Rose should shoot less is laughable. Lets hope our new Bulls expert is only trying to step to the real Dave Barry.

These "cute" critiques of Rose have become tired. The Monster has lead Los Toros to 40 wins in 57 outings. Enough is enough.

The Case Against GQ

2011-02-18T10:09:00.004-06:00

I don't want to say too much about this because, really, showering kids with attention when they throw temper tantrums isn't the right way to go about things. But in light of this performance against the best team in the league on national TV, I did want to congratulate Mr. Shoals; his prescience and sense of timing haven't been seen in journalism for more than 60 years.

Rondo For Rose? In. Your. Wet. Fucking. Dreams.

2011-01-14T16:55:00.004-06:00

Every now and then, someone on the Internet will write something so brainless, so stupid, so insipid, so manifestly wrong, that it’s all you can do to stop yourself from hunting that person down so as to shake them by the lapels and scream, “For God’s sake, man, THINK before you let your fingers go clacking away on the keyboard willy nilly and just ‘Publish’ the damned half-formed facsimile of an idea that’s popped into your silly little head!!!!”

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Exhibit A, in which Jeff Clark proposes to “compare” Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, and finds Rose wanting.

What’s interesting in this comparison is that Clark chooses to eschew writing about any objective measurements of the two players. (I believe these are sometimes referred to as “statistics,” or “stats,” for the monosyllabic.) Instead, after presenting the post’s sole notes of reason and logic courtesy of Matt at Blog-a-Bull, Clark argues thusly:

I counter with the fact that Rose scores more because he has to be a volume shooter on an otherwise mostly sub-par team and that Rondo is a better defender (though it seems Rose is making strides). I would absolutely not take Rose for Rondo because I feel like pure point guards with this talent only come around once every few years(Nash, Kidd, etc.)

I’m not even going to touch on his rather elastic definition of the word “fact” and instead will send interested readers here. And what do you see there?

You see that one player has a better TS% than the other, despite shooting somewhat worse from the field. (Perhaps the latter can be explained because his USG% is more than 10 percentage points higher than the other’s.) You’ll notice the better TS% comes about because one player shoots over 80% from the line, while the other shoots 43 POINT FUCKING 5% from the line. (Does that number conjure up the names Nash and Kidd to your mind? For some reason, the names springing to mine are Chris Dudley, and Andris Biedrins.) Considering those averages, it’s just as well the player shooting almost two times better from the FUCKING FREE THROW LINE gets there more than three times as often.

Oh, but wait: Shooting percentages and getting to the line aren’t indicative of those “pure point guard” talents that give some people such giant boners. And indeed, one of these players has a sizeable lead in AST%. (Although perhaps some of that lead is because one of them finishes the fast break like this while the other finishes like this.)

But then again…look at the two players’ turnover percentages!! Despite having a higher assist percentage, one of these players turns the ball over nearly three out of every 10 times he has the ball! And why, that rate is more than twice as much as the other player’s!!! That doesn’t quite seem indicative of the pure point guard-y goodness one might expect from one of those rare, once-in-a-blue-moon type of players!

Need I go on? One of these players can shoot from distance, the other cannot. One of these players is tall and athletic enough to block a decent number (and thus able to contest an even greater number) of shots, the other is not. One of these players has a PER above (indeed, high above) 20, the other does not. Oh, and one of these players is two years younger than the other as well.

But sure, go ahead and tell yourself that you’d rather build your franchise around fucking Rondo, particularly when he’s no longer surrounded by three surefire Hall of Famers. It’s not as if Chicago would ever be fucking stupid enough to trade you Derrick Rose for him anyhow.

No One Rose Should Have All That Power

2010-12-15T14:04:00.002-06:00

There's been some talk lately about coming up with a nickname for Derrick Rose. (That thar link is to a video; the Rose nickname stuff is around the 15 minute mark. Or you can just take my word for it.) The ones thrown around in the above link include Deep Dish, The Separator, and Space Provider. Needless to say, all three are Moby Dick-sized failwhales.

Anyway, I've been thinking about this some, and like all fine denizens of our fair, fallen city, I've spent about 30-40% of my conscious hours over the past month listening to Mr. West's My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy. It's probably no coincidence, then, that recently, after every ridiculous Rose jump-stop layup, obscene display of vertical, or last second dagger from Kedzie Avenue, I've taken to screaming aloud: "Everybody knows he's a motherfucking monster!" (It might also be no coincidence that my new neighbors have taken to eying me warily when passing by in the hallway.)

Now, I realize some moralistic wags might not consider "Motherfucking Monster" a fan-friendly moniker for the soon-to-be starting PG on the Eastern All Star squad. And yet, I submit that "Motherfucking Monster" is a uniquely constructed phrase that manages to precisely convey the visceral thrill of almost-illicit excitement that comes from watching Derrick Rose play basketball on a regular basis. (Seriously, this kid should be illegal; if people can start routinely feeling this much joy, they might start taking offense to this whole capitalism thing.)

Anyway, I thought I'd call up Kanye and see if he'd be willing to write another verse for "Monster," one extolling the virtues of Rose. Unfortunately, his assistant told me that he was busy teaching or re-upholstering something. (It was hard to make out exactly, what with all the loud screaming and moaning in the background.) Next up on my speed dial, then, was Jay-Z who, despite his allegiance to the Nets, was more amenable. After taking his daily morning swim in his Scrooge McDuck pool of gold coins, he sent along the following verse for your enjoyment:

D-Rose, Godzilla, King Kong, Lochness,
Goblin, ghoul, lane driver with no conscience
Question: What do these things all have in common?
Everybody knows Rose a muthafuckin' monster
Conquer, swat ya, jump-stop ya silly defense
Pretense
None of you playas know where Number 1 is
None of you playas have caused the carnage that I bring
I still hear Courtney Lee scream** in my dreams
Breakin ankles in black Adidas shoes
I kill and block on Madison Avenue
Awe and thrill a village of women and children
Everybody wanna know what my Achilles' heel is
CALLS I don't get enough of 'em!
Only get 'em when Rush is fuckin' undercuttin'
All I see is these playas I made millionnaires
Wide open for dunks, then fixin' they mess of frizzy hair
All I see is these fake fucks with no game
Tryna draw fouls blindly chargin' thru the lane
(Sniiiiiff) I smell a 5 PER jump
Seems to be the only way to shut Hollinger up

Thanks again, H.O.V.A. In conclusion, I'd just like to add that Rose's living in the future, so your present is his past, his presence is a present, kiss my ass.

**Check the 0:35 mark; it's amazing.

How Good Was Deng Tonight?

2010-11-01T22:56:00.002-05:00

Well, he raised his season FG% from 30.4% to 50.0, raised his 3 pt. FG% from 20% to 40%, nearly doubled his FTA (jumping from 13 to 24) and more than doubled his makes (from 7 to 16).

So yeah, he was really fucking good.

Watch Your Back, Monta Ellis...

2010-10-31T11:29:00.002-05:00

...James Johnson is gunning for you.

Rats

2010-10-27T22:54:00.002-05:00

That was a great first game, save that 18-4 run the Bulls let the Thunder go on in the last six minutes or so. Some quick thoughts:

** Joakim Noah was frickin' awesome, 18 pts., 19 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, as well as a number of redirections at the rim for misses. And his 7 of 13 line from the field would've been better, except that a number of his misses were offensive tips at the rim that just didn't fall. Pretty incredible.

** Rose was a mixed bag, jaw-droppingly awesome at times, groaningly undisciplined at others. After a slow start, he seemed to take over the game, then got into some foul trouble with some ticky-tack calls, then heated up again, and then was pretty terrible during crunch time. Twelve of 31, and only four trips to the line, isn't going to get it done, to say nothing of his 0 for 4 line from three point land. I feel like one or two of those were good shots, but the others were forced, and those are just wasted possessions. He's just gotta harness things a little more and he'll be unstoppable. I'm keeping the faith.

** Taj made a nice recovery from a crappy preseason for the first three quarters, then shit the bed in the fourth, making one of only three shots, bricking two much-needed FTs, and making an excruciatingly bad turnover at a crucial time. Still, overall he shot 66% from the field, scoring 16 pts. and hauling in 11 boards. But his 14 and 8 line thru three quarters was much more impressive. It'll be nice when Boozer's back on the court for the big minutes and Taj can do his good work in spurts off the bench. As a third big, he should be fine.

** Korver's minute allotment seemed kinda weird, only 16 overall, but many coming toward the end of the game. He shot okay, but missed his only three point attempt and seemed to have trouble shaking Thabo off screens. I guess OKC is a tough matchup for him, seeing as Durant plays the 3 and that's Kyle's best position. Be interesting to see how Thibs uses him moving forward.

** Overall, Deng did a great job on Durant, who got his 30 but needed 24 shots to do it and turned the ball over 6 times as well. But it was sad to see Deng's 3-pointer leave him, as he had some good looks but they just didn't fall. Here's hoping the hot shooter from the preseason can re-emerge soon.

** CJ Watson looked a little shaky in his first stint, although he did get on a little hot streak that kept the Bulls in the game when it looked like OKC might build a big lead. His second stint in the 2nd half, though less explosive, seemed more stabilizing. Rose's foul trouble kept Thibs from playing the two together, which might've actually been effective against the Thunder.

Overall, the Bulls looked great for 3 and a half quarters, playing their first game in a tough environment. (Given the ridiculous FT disparity, it certainly seemed to rattle the refs.) The end was pretty ugly, but I can't complain too much as a) I didn't really expect them to win this game and b) they were a much more watchable team for the first 40 minutes than they've been in years. I'm still very excited for this season to unfold.

"What Should I Do?"

2010-10-25T16:09:00.002-05:00

I don't know, but I know what you shouldn't do: Stab an entire city in the back in slow motion on national television. It's not always what you do, but how you do it.

Douchebag.

Preseason Review

2010-10-23T09:46:00.004-05:00

So I watched the game against the Pacers last night, but that team is just gonna be awful this year, so it doesn't make much sense to dissect just why the Bulls looked so good against them. Instead I thought I'd just go through the roster and assess how each player did this preseason. Without further ado:

Derrick Rose: Yeah, he's fucking awesome. It's a bit of a bummer that his bragged about 3 point shot doesn't appear to have actually materialized, although I'm not entirely willing to write it off for this season just yet. He took more than 2 a game, and though the percentage was terrible, I am glad to see he has the confidence to take them. Obviously if the execution's not there, then yes, it becomes a problem. But that's nitpicking; He got to the line pretty regularly this preseason (about 5 times per game, in only 28 min. per game) and his court vision looked improved as well. Don't think he'll ever be a 20 pt., 10 asst. guy, but he could be a 25 pt., 7 asst. guy this year. I would take that.

Joakim Noah: Also, pretty fucking awesome. Averaged almost a double-double in 28 min. a game, and was just behind D-Rose in assists per game, at 4.2. A little unefficient on the offensive end, but again, that's nit-picking. I think he'll be fine.

Luol Deng: Just had a monster preseason. Over 50% from three point land, and though the sample size was small (8 games), the attempts per game sample (almost 4) was pretty damn good. He appears to be comfortable taking three pointers in this offense, and though he obviously won't hit 50% this season, if he can even continue to hit them in the high 30s range, it is a great shot for him. Meanwhile, he got to the line a ton (even if you discount his 12-for-12 rampage at the FT line last night) and always appeared active defensively. As a 2nd option offensively (or 3rd once Boozer comes back), he looks more than up to the task.

Taj Gibson: I thought Taj looked pretty shaky, but between his coming off the injury and then possibly having it flare up again, that's understandable. If you thought Taj might improve considerably from last year's (fine) rookie performance, I think you might be disappointed, but so long as he can replicate what he gave last year, I'll have no complaints.

Keith Bogans: Bogans shot 50 percent from 3 point land, taking about 2.5 per game. His defense seemed hard-nosed and pretty serviceable, and...yeah, that's about it. He's a boring, but dependable player, who fits in well on this roster. He might start at the start of the season, and later on, he may not even play, but he doesn't seem to care about that, which is commendable. Just in general, the apparent lack of ego on this team is pretty cool to see.

Kyle Korver: 'Twas a tale of two preseasons for Korver. In the first couple games, he looked unstoppable. Then he got a cyst on his ankle, which he said bothered his shooting for a couple games. He looked pretty good, though not amazing, last night, but I would settle for pretty good if it means he doesn't have to miss a bunch of games for surgery. His defense is pretty awful, despite the fact that you can tell he expends quite a bit of energy on it. But that's no matter: Keep trying at that end hit 40-plus percent on your threes, and this team should have no complaints.

Omer Asik: Omer surprised me with his play, but he's still incredibly rough. He's a fouling machine on the defensive end, which is to be expected, and he appears to have no offensive game if he's not right around the basket. But if he's around it, he can finish strongly and he does have a knack for getting himself nice separation on pick-and-rolls. He also seems like a pretty damn good rebounder and a serviceable shotblocker. Basically, like a number of Bulls, he's a limited player who can still be effective in spot minutes/situations. I like the big fella and plan on being incredibly patient with him this season.

C.J. Watson: Frankly, he was downright Pargo-esque this preseason, although he's on a new team, was injured for a bit, and is playing a position (point guard) that he's not really suited for. He showed flashes that he can be an excellent scorer in transition and I'm still intrigued by him and Rose getting some minutes together, as they'd form one of the quickest backcourts in the league. But he really needs to start scoring more efficiently or else the Bulls are going to have to do something about their backup PG situation; they should probably do something, anyway.

Kurt Thomas: He shot 47% from the field this preseason, which seems shocking to me, because every time I watched, it seemed like he was missing a wide open midrange jump shot. But 47% is okay. He still rebounds the hell out of the ball, and though on defense he's now a step slow and foul-prone, he is the type of fouler who lets you know you got fouled, which is pretty awesome in that testosterone-fueled, lizard-brain kind of a way.

Brian Scalabrine: Scalabrine is the personification of just about every idiotic sports cliche you've ever heard: "heady," "gets the most out of his talent," "an extension of his coach out on the floor," etc. You pry it from the dead, lumpen prose of Rick Morrissey and it fits Scalabrine. That said, it's hard not to like the guy. In just about every game I saw this preseason, he made at least one really great play on the offensive end (a pass for an open bucket, a cut for an open bucket, etc.) that came about solely through his knowledge of the game. But what's impressed me most about him is his defense, in particular (and actually only) his pick-and-roll defense, which basically provides a clinic in how Thibodeau would like it to be executed by his big men: Show on the ball-handler extremely hard until the picked defender can recover, then run like hell to get back and cover the man who picked you. If Brian Scalabrine has to play a ton of minutes on this team, something will have gone horribly, horribly wrong, but I no longer think that every time he's out on the court something will go horribly, horribly wrong.

Ronnie Brewer: Brewer was injured, then looked like crap as he was getting his legs under him, but he finally showed some flashes last night. Super quick, made some nice passes, and even hit a jump shot or two. My guess is he'll have to work get himself back in the rotation, but he could easily be starting for this team in a month or so, if not sooner.

James Johnson: In a way, I saved the best for last. J.J. has been a fucking revelation the past couple preseason games, and if the Bulls don't extend his contract for next season, I will be pretty pissed. That's saying something considering I didn't have an opinion on the matter one way or the other about three weeks ago. Offensively, he's hitting shots and making quick decisions with the ball, be it driving or passing. He rarely turned the ball over, which is astonishing given how careless he was with the rock last season. And his on-the-ball defense looked pretty damn good to my eyes. I don't know whether he has a place on this team if everyone's healthy, but since that's often a rarity, I think he's going to find some minutes and use them productively. At this point, I'd actually be hesitant to trade him for Rudy Fernandez, given that a) Rudy seems like a prima donna and J.J. seems like a pretty fucking awesome dude and b) I can't say with certainty that Rudy will be a more effective player. The dude worked his ass off this summer, and though he arguably should've been in this type of shape to start his career, it seems to me he "gets" it now, and I think the Bulls as an organization would be giving off a good signal to the rest of their players by rewarding J.J. with a third year.

The Pick and Ro' Under Thibodeau

2010-10-21T12:57:00.002-05:00

Great stuff from Sebastian Pruti at NBA Playbook, looking at how the Bulls are doing when it comes to defending the pick-and-roll in Thibodeau's scheme.

Uhm...Wow.

2010-10-13T10:53:00.002-05:00

So I caught my first glimpse of the Bulls last night and only saw the first half, and keeping in mind the rather huge caveats that it was a) only a preseason game that was b) against the Raptors, who look like they might be the worst team in the league, I was really, really impressed. Some scattered thoughts:

1) Kelly Dwyer has it exactly 100% right: The difference between VDN and Tom Thibodeau is night and day. The Bulls offense looks like a thing of beauty, with lots of movement, cutting, backscreens, and quick passes. And I love how much of it is being run at the top of the key through Noah, who looks like he's going to average at least 5 dimes a game this year. Taking advantage of his height and passing ability is really, really smart, and I also liked how they let Noah take the ball upcourt if the Raps tried to double team Rose on the inbounds pass after a bucket. He's got both the handle and the court vision to make teams pay for that, and it's that type of diverse skill set (along with his rebounding, and his improving offensive game) that make Noah, barring injury, worth every penny of his new deal.

2) Yes, Asik is extremely rough around the edges, but he looks like a legit rotation player to me, if not now then relatively soon. The shotblocking was great to see (coming as it did from both on the ball and from help defense), his defensive rebounding looked solid, and he seems to have a nice, innate sense of positioning/off the screen movement on offense. And though I know his 3 of 4 night from the charity stripe was an anomaly, I have to say that I thought his form from the line looked pretty good; seemed to be using his legs and it looked like he had a decent follow-through on his release. WE CAN BUILD ON THIS!

3) Between Korver, Bogans, Watson, Rose, and Deng, it appears as if the Bulls three-point shooting, which looked to be a potential Achilles' heel coming into this season, should be adequate. There are obviously still some question marks, but Rose and Deng each look to be improved enough to the point that they are now viable threats from that range. Neither will put the fear of God in opponents, but both seem to be confident that, if left open, they'll hit it. And the type of open looks from three-land that Bogans is consistently getting (coming largely courtesy of Rose's unstoppable penetration and kick) should be there all season. Indeed, in a way, it seems like Bogans might almost be the perfect type of 2 guard to pair with Rose: a nice defender, doesn't need the ball on offense, but dangerous enough from distance to provide the spacing Rose needs to operate effectively. And I love the way they're using Korver as a Ray Allen/Rip Hamilton-type threat, running him all over the court offensively through a gauntlet of screens.

4) Overall, it looks like this Bulls team has the potential to be much better than the sum of its parts. A lot of their regular rotation players have significant flaws in their game, but it seems to me that not only are many, if not most, of these weakness largely offset by the strengths of their teammates, but that the strengths of some teammates can play directly to the strengths of the more limited players (a la Rose and Bogans). The Boozer injury had really bummed me out, but after seeing what I witnessed last night, I can't wait for this season to start, even without him. And then to think what they might be with him...well, it's exciting.

Groan, Head Slap, Etc.

2010-09-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

From training camp's opening (yay!) KC tweets: "Gar Forman: 'There's a feeling in the building something special could be developing long-term.'"

God forbid the Bulls attempt to foster and nurture this "feeling" by slightly overpaying Joakim Noah.

Noah for Melo? Um, No.

2010-09-09T16:08:00.002-05:00

As you've surely seen by now, there's been a report that the Bulls' front office has internally discussed moving Joakim Noah in order to pick up Carmelo Anthony. I don't mind that they're having such internal discussions---that being their job and all---but I do hope at the end of that discussion, they decide against it.

It's not often that I disagree with Doug Thonus (who I think is extremely sharp, and who I would put toward the top of the TYI-Approved blog roll if I wasn't such a lazy, insolent cur), but I think the sentiment expressed in this tweet ("Easier to find a center than a star") is, if not wrong in principle, wrong within the context of the current Bulls' squad.

Because in trying to replace Joakim Noah, the Bulls wouldn't just be trying to replace "a center," they'd be trying to replace one of the top 10 centers in the NBA. And given Arturo Galletti's research that suggests just how rare and valuable even "an average center" (and Noah is certainly above average) is over a "replacement level center" (which is exactly what Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas are), the Bulls should definitely think hard before giving Noah up, even for a "star."

Leaving aside whether Melo truly is a "star" (and there are some very smart people who believe he isn't), it's also worth considering just how much better he is than Deng in relation to how much better Noah is to Asik/Thomas. Certainly Melo is a significant offensive upgrade over Deng, a player able to get his own shot on almost any spot on the court at any time. That said, I don't think Melo is close to the defender that Deng is. And what's more, Melo, despite his inarguable offensive proficiency, still doesn't help the Bulls address the glaring weakness of their offense: efficient three-point shooting.

One last thing to consider about Melo with regards to Noah is whether he improves the Bulls' chances of beating Miami, and I don't see how he does. By shedding Noah, the Bulls are weakening themselves at one of the two positions where they inarguably have an edge over Miami (C and PG). Adding Melo would certainly lessen the talent gap at SF that the Bulls face with Miami, but that gap wouldn't close. (LeBron is clearly better than Melo). And adding Melo would undoubtedly help the Bulls offensively, but the idea that any three-man combo will be able to outscore Wade/James/Bosh seems ridiculous to me. Indeed, if there is any way to do it, it looks like one of the few ways to beat Miami will be to pound them inside on the boards and have some type of shotblocker at the rim who can, if not stop, then at least harass James and Wade on their drives inside. The Bulls have one player who fits both those criteria, and his name is Joakim Noah.

Let the Record Show...

2010-08-22T23:46:00.001-05:00

...that when Team USA needed a huge, crunchtime bucket today, they went Derrick Rose. And he delivered. Twice.

Great to see.

KD on Pippen

2010-08-13T18:49:00.002-05:00

I wasn't planning on doing the obligatory Pippen-is-in-the-HOF post, but KD's so damn good on him, he deserves a link. Hell, he deserves two.

Almost impossible to excerpt from, but this in particular made me smile:

And anytime I get spitting mad at the thought that millions of people have to listen to Mark Jackson help "call" this league's biggest games, I just pull up tapes of the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, to watch Scottie make him his absolute creature. Mama, there goes that chump.

Soooooooooooooooooo good. Read it.

The Schedule Is Out

2010-08-10T14:16:00.003-05:00

Link here [PDF]

Quick thoughts: 1) November is brutal. The circus trip is the worst one I can recall in recent memory: All West Coast teams, tons of back-to-backs, and not one slouch. (Sacramento comes closest, but it's the last game on the trip and the second of a back-to-back following a game at Denver). Honestly, even the new-and-improved Bulls squad will be doing a pretty good job if they go 2-5 on it. What's worse, things don't get much easier when they get back home: They get Orlando, Boston (away), Houston and OKC all in a row, then a possible gimme on the road against the Cavs, and then back at home to face the Lakers. They could play pretty well and still easily go 4-9 during that stretch. Like I said, brutal.

2) But things improve considerably directly following that stretch, with 13 out of their next 14 games coming against opponents who should struggle to even sniff .500. (And the 14th, Milwaukee, while good, isn't an elite team.) Any ground lost in November can definitely be made up here.

3) The flipside to the nasty Circus Trip is that their second West Coast swing (which takes place in early Feb.) appears much easier than normal, with no back-to-backs, less fearsome opponents, and only five games in two weeks. Manageable.

4) All told, using my super-scientifc method of going through the schedule and tabulating their record by "Think They'll Win/Think They'll Lose," I had the Bulls going 51-31. I was fairly conservative---despite my deep desires for it to be otherwise, I didn't pick them to win against Miami once, and I usually gave them a loss on the road in the 2nd of a back-to-back, regardless of the opponent---so I could easily see them winning 55 games or so. It probably depends on how quick they can gel, but they're going to get a baptism by fire at the start of the season, which you would think might help the hardening process.

Three Kings

2010-08-08T23:54:00.005-05:00

Or, rather, two kings and one dude who, all things considered, I'm still relatively stoked to have as president:

No, Ro and O

H/T

Like A Bad Penny...

2010-08-06T15:31:00.002-05:00

It's good to know that if for some reason the current iteration of the Bulls' team doesn't work out, our old friend is working his way back toward the helm of the Knicks.

I forsee two problems: 1) We don't really have any terrible, Curryesque players on this roster any more. I suppose Deng's contract is less than ideal, so maybe we could dump him for Gallinari and, say, three first round picks. But that leads into 2) I'm pretty sure the Knicks can't trade any of their 1st round picks until 2016. (This most recent year's went to Utah, and Houston got NYK's 2012 and 2014 picks for kindly taking on Jared Jeffries.) Of course, by then, Noah will be in his early 30s, so we might be looking to re-load; what a relief to know Isiah might very well be out there, making that task infinitely easier.

The Flex Plan

2010-07-28T19:56:00.001-05:00

Kevin Arnovitz on why the Bulls should run the Flex offense. Read it.

So Far, So Good...

2010-07-28T00:07:00.002-05:00

I've given GarPaxDorf a lot of shit over the years, but I have to say I really like what the Bulls have done this offseason. In one sense, I suppose it's a total failure, in that they whiffed on Bosh, Wade, and James, but seeing as I don't know what the Bulls could've actually done to lure any (or all) of them to Chicago, I can't get my dander up too much over it. And since then, they've been making good move after good move. (Possible exception is that they overpaid for Boozer, particularly at the end of his deal, but, ultimately, that's what good teams do: They bite the bullet and overpay for good players, particularly at the end of their careers.)

Indeed, the Bulls have followed my Plan B blueprint almost to a T. They offered Redick a front-loaded deal; they got Korver for $5 mil. a year; and locked up Asik (for a pretty good price, too). After Orlando matched Redick, they immediately signed the best available shooting guard on the market in Ronnie Brewer. And with the additions of C.J. Watson and Kurt Thomas, the Bulls were more creative than I was. (Of course, if they'd signed Redick, they probably wouldn't been able to afford both of them.)

As for the final piece (backup 2), it's looking like either, in order of my preference, House, Bogans, or Mason. None of them are great, they all come with significant weaknesses (as well as decent attributes), but for a fourth guard, any of them would suffice.

Still, I'm happy to hear the Bulls are still a contender for Rudy Fernandez. To me, whether a starter or bench guy, he's the perfect complement to Brewer. If you have some time to kill, compare the two on Hot Spots; it's hilarious how almost perfectly polar opposite they are, offensively. The one area of overlap is that both have almost no midrange game to speak of. (Not too big of a problem with Derrick, Booz, and Deng all performing pretty well in that area.) Last year Brewer took roughly 170 shots total between the rim and the 3 pt. line; Fernandez took even less, a grand total of 97.

But the comparison at the rim and three-point line is amazing. Brewer took 229 shots at the rim last year, and only 28 threes. Meanwhile, Rudy took 259 threes, and only 60 shots at the hoop. That is some yin and yang type shit.

If the proposed J.J. and 1st rounder for Rudy deal does go through (and I can't see what the Knicks or Celts could conceivably offer that's significantly more enticing), I think you'd have to grade this offseason an A-. Certainly not the A+++ that Riley ~~cheated for~~ managed to put together, but considering that's the greatest offseason haul in NBA history, you'd have to grade the rest of the league on a curve and, dumbfounded as it makes me, I think GarPaxDorf are right up there at the head of the class.

Hmmmm...

2010-07-11T13:03:00.002-05:00

From Brian Windhorst's awesome story on "The Decision":

The Bulls' chances were diminished for two central reasons. Wade wasn't willing to go to his own hometown. And the Bulls made it clear James' friends would not be given the privileges they were given in Cleveland or the high-paying jobs.

A lot to think about here. For starters, it seems like the talk about Wade not ever being serious about signing in Chicago was correct.

As for the second revelation...I have to say I'm torn. On the one hand, I could bitch and moan about Reinsdorf's controlling ways and how they cost the Bulls a chance at getting the best player of our generation. That aspect of him drvies me absolutely nuts. But on the other hand, after seeing what all the coddling and enabling of James in Cleveland eventually wrought for that franchise (destruction, a handful of bitter ashes), it does make me have second thoughts about selling your soul to the devil (and "his team"). It's hard for me to read this classic Woj article and think, "Man, I wish the Bulls would have followed that blueprint."

Of course, if the Heat end up winning four titles and killing the Bulls over the next half-decade, I might have to revise that opinion.

Sitting On A Cornflake...

2010-07-07T23:02:00.003-05:00

As we wait for the Word to come down from on high ("In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy LBJ"), here are some random thoughts on what's been a pretty crazy day.

First off: BOOZER! I like it. Would Bosh have been preferable? Of course. But as Stan Van Gundy pointed out, he's been following Wade around like a poodle for two weeks. And anyway, as I wrote to one of my friends in S. Fla. who was taunting me about the Bulls having to settle for Boozer:

Here are Boozer's career stats per 36 min.

19 pt, 11.2 rebs., .541 FG%, 2.7 assts., 1.1 steals, 0.5 blocks, 2.5 turnovers

Here are Bosh's career per 36 min.

19.7 pts, 9.1 rebs., .492 FG%, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, 2.2 turnovers

So Bosh is a slightly better scorer (although less efficient), a markedly worse rebounder, a slightly worse passer, a better shot blocker (although still no great shakes in that department) and a slightly better ballhandler. (Although Boozer's assist/TO ratio is slightly better than Bosh's.) Bosh does get to the line a lot more than Boozer, which almost offsets their disparity in FG%, but not quite. The advanced metric of PER rates Boozer 20.8 throughout his career; Bosh's is 21.3

Neither guy is good enough to carry a team alone. (In Bosh's 7 seasons, the Raptors were lottery bound five times, with a 3-8 playoff record in the other two seaosn.) The difference between them ain't that large.

Now the obvious caveat to this is that Bosh is still improving (and indeed, he averaged 24 ppg last year) while Boozer is already at his peak and may start declining in three years or so. But Boozer provides a lot that this team needs (a skilled pick-and-roll/pop player, high efficiency offense, and excellent rebounding at the four) and to overlook that while crying over spilled Bosh is, I think, a mistake.

2. Somewhat related, I wasn't too pleased with this True Hoop post, particularly the following:

Wade on considering the Bulls: "I get teared up a little bit thinking about the opportunity I had. ... Chicago, that's my home. That's where my heart will always be ... unfortunately it didn't work out that I'm in Chicago, but Chicago is my heart. And it will always be. ... It was, it was a time where things kind of swinged, and it played on my emotions a lot, because I am a family oriented person and everyone heard the stuff about my kids. That was going to be my final decision. Of course, I want to be just like every man in the world, you want to be the best dad possible. You want to have every moment with your kids."

Note: Bulls, you have missed an opportunity. Here's the second-best player in the best free agent class ever saying it's "unfortunate" he did not get to join your team, and that doing so would have helped him fulfill his role as a father. Also, the Bulls have a much better supporting cast. How did the Bulls fumble this catch? Also, this testimonial is nice to hear for those reporters who said Wade was leaning Bulls a few days ago. Many said they were nuts, but it was good reporting all along.

I'm sorry but the analysis of Henry here seems waaaaaaaaay too willing to take the words of Dwyane Wade at face value. Lord knows, I have been far from an apologist for the Bulls' front office, but D. Wade could easily be lying (or simply deluding himself). I mean, isn't it just as likely that Wade wants to keep leading the bachelor's life in South Beach while broadcasting what a committed and loving father he is? For Chrissakes, if he was such a committed and loving father, he'd be in Chicago, no matter how inept the Bulls' front office is. It doesn't take much for me to get my dander up about GarPaxDorf, but I'm going to need more compelling evidence than this to slam them for failing to sign D. Wade.

3. So what's next, particularly if LBJ doesn't come here? Obviously, shooting guard is the priority, and unfortunately, one of the decent options (Ray Allen) is heading back to Boston. Personally (and I never thought I'd find myself writing this), I like J.J. Redick. Over 60 TS% last year, over 40% from three point land, and though his defense is nothing to write home about, he's improved considerably at it and you can tell he gives a crap about it, which I think is more than half the battle. Plus, Orlando's salaries are so deep into the luxury tax (whattup, Rashard?), that if you offered him a front-loaded offer sheet for, say, 5 years, $35 million, Orlando would have to pay around $18 million for Redick's services next year. There's no way they'd match that.

If you're spending $9 million on Redick next year (and remember, by the end of this front-loaded contract, you'll just be paying him $5 million), I think that still leaves the Bulls with about $9 million to spend. I'd like to see another shooter added to the mix (You could maybe get Kyle Korver for about $5 m. a year), Omer Asik come over from Turkey, and a cheap backup point guard, like Acie Law or Anthony Carter. (Read the always-interesting Kevin Pelton's take on the free agent point guards here.)

If you did that, you'd have a starting lineup of Rose, Redick, Deng, Boozer, Noah, with a pretty nice bench of Law/Carter, Korver, Johnson, Gibson, Asik. That team should definitely score more efficiently than last year's squad, and hopefully Thibodeau's schemes can make up for whatever defensive drop-off you'd see from Hinrich to Redick. With the upgrade from Del Negro to Thibodeau, Boozer's offensive efficiency, superior 3 point shooting and an improving Rose, I don't see why the 41-win squad from last year couldn't be in the 50-55 win area, and give Cleveland (as proven this year, eminently beatable, even with LBJ), Orlando (Vince and Rashard aren't getting better), Boston (getting older), and Miami (top-heavy but almost sure-to-be thin at certain positions) a run for their money come Playoff time.

4. But then again, what if LeBron is coming here? (Although I found this lady more convincing.) But whatever, tomorrow it ends. Finally. Thank Christ.

The End of Hinrich?

2010-06-24T15:03:00.003-05:00

That's what Ric Bucher's reporting:

The Chicago Bulls have a deal in place that would move Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick to the Washington Wizards, freeing up enough cap space to pursue two maximum-salary players on this summer's free-agent market, sources with knowledge of the Bulls' plans said Thursday.

It wasn't immediately clear what Washington would send to Chicago in the trade.

The deal can't be officially consummated until July 8, when the Wizards will have room under the salary cap to absorb Hinrich's $9 million contract without having to send back anything of similar value.

Since it's a good-faith deal for the time being, there remains a chance it could fall apart. But according to one source, the Sacramento Kings are prepared to make a similar deal with the Bulls in the Wizards' stead if that were to happen.

This is obviously a pretty risky move by the Bulls, because as much as I carped about him, I still think Hinrich is a valuable player in a lot of ways. This must also mean the Bulls will almost certainly be signing Joe Johnson as one of their free-agent pickups (as K.C. suggested this morning). Though I'm not a huge fan of Joe, he does make more sense to me if he's one of two big free agent pickups, as opposed to being the sole prize. And I guess a "core" of Rose, Noah, and Johnson is more enticing to, say, Lebron, than a core of Rose, Noah, and Hinrich would be. And this also means that even if the Bulls whiff on LBJ, they could add one of the bigger time PF free agents (Bosh, Stoudemire, hell even Lee or Boozer) and throw out a pretty impressive starting five. Would it be enough to compete with the Wade-Bosh-James "super team" that Miami seems dead-set on putting together? Hard to say, but...it might.

Quite Possibly...

2010-05-19T15:53:00.003-05:00

... the dumbest paragraph ever written:

One last observation before this process begins: Derrick Rose was considered the consensus number one choice in 2008. Rose posted better college numbers (11.28 PAW40) but after two seasons he has yet to develop into one of the top point guards in the game. Maybe that will happen for Rose in the future. Maybe, though, it won’t. The Rose story, though, should be considered as Washington evaluates the merits of Wall. Remember – and I repeat – people were just as certain about Rose in 2008.

Just about every word is suspect, including "it" and "and." For fuck's sake Mr. Berri, DERRICK ROSE WON THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR! He has clearly outperformed the only other player plausibly thought of as his rival for first pick in that draft. He has also clearly outplayed the second-best point guard taken in that draft (who is himself, no slouch). And though you claim with certainty that Rose has "yet to develop into one of the top point guards in the game," other objective sabermetricians clearly disagree. Dave Berry is actually disparaging a 21-year-old PG for failing to overtake Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, and Rajon Rondo (or, arguably, five of the 20 best point guards ever) within his first two years in the league. (And, indeed, Derrick's PER this year was better than the 2nd-year PER of all of the above, with the exception of Chris Paul; historically, it was better than Jason Kidd's and just a smidge below Isiah Thomas'.)

Just as general advice to NBA analysts: if you find yourself using the career of Derrick Rose as a "cautionary tale" to teams drafting no. 1, you might want to reconsider your argument's fundamental premise.

What the Hell Is Wrong With The Bulls Blogosphere?

2010-05-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

Of all the rumors swirling around, why isn't this one all over the fucking place?

The sports world is blowing up with a rumor that LeBron James' poor performance last week against the Boston Celtics can be blamed on mommy issues -- more specifically, mommy-sleeping-with-a-teammate issues. Word is that the Cleveland Cavaliers star found out that his 41-year-old mother, Gloria, had been having an affair with 26-year-old Delonte West just before game time, and some are predicting the upset will push him to leave the team.

Come July, this humble blog might very well have to change its name to Thank You Delonte.

My Lord, Sweet Jesus, No

2010-05-17T16:20:00.002-05:00

With regards to K.C.'s latest:

But the question — as crazy as it sounds — that Bulls management has to ask itself is if it already has its alpha male superstar to build around in All-Star Rose.

Would the Bulls be better off adding a space-the-floor shooter in Johnson — whose only drama would be a poor performance in the Hawks' Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Magic — and perhaps having enough money left to sign another piece?

Listen, I'm a reasonable man. I understand that, from an organizational control standpoint, signing LeBron comes with a fair amount of unsavory baggage. (If you doubt that, read Woj's recent columns.) But unless LBJ is demanding that his contract include a provision that allows him to partake in weekly menages-a-neuf with the mothers, wives and daughters of Forman, Paxson, and Reinsdorf, then I think the Bulls should just go ahead out on that limb and sign LeBron James over Joe Fucking Johnson.

One more thought, semi-related: Joe Johnson is apsafuckingtively NOT a "space-the-floor shooter." I know some folks thought I was too harsh about Joe in this post and that I was suggesting he was no better than Hinrich. For the record, I do think Joe Johnson is a (much) better (offensive) player than Hinrich, but not because of his outside shooting. Indeed, on that score, it's hard to tell the difference between Johnson (.373 career 3pt. FG%) and Hinrch (.379 career 3 pt. FG%). Indeed, even from 16-23 feet out, I would prefer Hinrich's 43 FG% over the past four years to Johnson's 39.5 FG%). Johnson does a lot of things better offensively than Hinrich, but shooting from the outside is not one of them.

If the Bulls are really so hard up for a space-the-floor shooter, there are plenty of legitimate options out there. You could throw a ton of money (or at least the MLE) at Ray Allen. You could throw $6-7 million a year at restricted free agents like Anthony Morrow or J.J. Redick. I'm not saying we should spend that kind of money on outside shooting---that would actually be pretty stupid; read Sham as to why---but it would at least be somewhat logical and it would be a helluva lot smarter than signing Joe Johnson for tons' more dough with the dopey, braindead-on-arrival idea that his outside shooting will give Derrick more room to maneuver.

Tomorrow's Bulls Headlines Today

2010-05-12T13:03:00.002-05:00

July 5, 2010

LEBRON, BULLS NEGOTIATIONS FALL APART

Sources say sticking point is Reinsdorf's refusal to grant James maximum deal, citing Game 5 performance against Boston.

My Greatest Fear

2010-05-07T10:38:00.003-05:00

Let's compare:

----------PER TS% eFG% TRB% AST% TO% USG% 3FG% FTA/G

Player A 14.2 .501 .465 7.0 18.7 11.6 23.4 38.2 3.5 (Career Playoffs)
-------- 16.9 .476 .432 7.7 25.0 10.2 26.8 25.0 3.8 (2010 Playoffs)

Player B 15.9 .537 .492 5.9 28.8 12.8 20.6 40.5 4.7 (Career Playoffs)
-------- 13.3 .533 .500 6.5 15.1 3.3 13.9 50.0 2.8 (2010 Playoffs)

Do either of these players look significantly better than the other? And do you think either of these players should command a maximum salary?

I ask because one of them is Kirk Hinrich and one of them is Joe Johnson. If the Bulls end up inking the latter, I hereby predict it will make the Ben Wallace signing look like the Deal of the Century, as well as take the incredibly promising career of Derrick Rose and squander it down the toilet. That it is even being discussed is absolutely terrifying. Any talk of it---much less, a (perverse) hope for it---needs to stop. Now.

The King Is Dead! Long Live the King!

2010-05-04T12:15:00.002-05:00

The VDN Era is officially over but the GarPaxDorf ancien regime remains firmly ensconced, free to draw out another lengthy and sure-to-be disappointing search for a head coach. (When, after hearing all of the possible candidates, you find yourself hoping they tap Dwane Casey, you know this process is going to be about as exciting as watching flies fuck.)

Anyway, I'll miss VDN's tight rotations and the fact that his players didn't actively hate him so much that they quit being competitive on the court. (Tyrus Thomas possibly excepted.) Just about every other aspect of his coaching seemed to my untrained eyes to be mediocre at best, laughably horrendous at worst. (It takes a special kind of ineptitude to lead an offense that ranks 28th out of 30 NBA teams, some five points per 100 possessions below the league average, even when taking into account that management did leave VDN with Kirk Hinrich as his starting two-guard.) That his record wasn't astonishingly bad can be attributed to the fact that there seemed to be a bunch of good eggs on his Bulls teams, self-disciplined players who didn't need a head coach to tell them to work hard night in and night out. That could bode well for the future, but of course the long-held theory here is that GarPaxDorf will somehow manage to screw it up. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Deep, Deep Playoff Analysis/Prediction

2010-04-16T17:18:00.002-05:00

Bulls in six.

Logic? Fuck the Internet.

Not That I Would Ever Be One To Say 'I Told You So'...

2010-04-14T10:26:00.003-05:00

...but with regards to this, please note that back in July I wrote:

There are a ton of teams that are going to have salary cap space next year, and why any of the top free agents would choose to play for a franchise this fucked up and screwy is beyond my ken.

Would love to be proven wrong obviously (and maybe a big check and playing alongside Derrick will be all that matters), but if there's a more screwy NBA franchise with supposedly "stable" ownership, I'd like to know what it is.

On a sidenote, can I just say I loved this from David Haugh:

As loyal as Reinsdorf is to employees, he is unlikely to fire Paxson over this. Nor should he. Paxson has served the organization long enough and well enough to classify this as an isolated incident. It's impossible to ignore the emotional capital Paxson has accrued within the organization. [Emphasis mine, as is that jaw, on the fucking floor]

Curious if readers can point to one thing Paxson has done (ouside of drafting D. Rose and Noah, who were both totally obvious picks at their respective draft slots) that literally anyone off the street (not named Isiah Thomas) couldn't have done. Let Ben Gordon go for nothing? Sign Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Ben Wallace to outsized contracts? Pawn off Drew Gooden and Nocioni on a Kings franchise in desperate need of salary-cutting? Screw Isiah in one-sided trades? Seriously, what are the Bulls franchise's successes under the excellent reign of Pax? I count one playoff series win in seven years of his tenure. Even in a country that loves to reward failure, this fucking guy is hardly irreplaceable.

UPDATE: I meant to put this in the first draft, but the absolute worst thing about all this is that it's drawing attention away from what was a) an absolutely astonishing performance by Rose ( this dunk took my breath away) and b) another yeoman's effort from Noah, whose court game as of late has been stupdendous. Both of these guys have been playing out of their minds in the crucible of a playoff race, and meanwhile John Paxson is losing his shit over two fucking minutes and taking away from what should be their well-earned kudos. What an embarrassment.

Vaya Con Gimmick

2010-03-11T09:32:00.002-06:00

Seems to me that in the midst of a five-game losing streak and with the Bulls' entire starting frontcourt out tonight on the road against Orlando, Vinny Del Negro might as well let this team have some fun. I'd like to see some four-, and even five-guard lineups on the floor tonight. (Think Rose, Pargo, Law, Hinrich, and Murray.) On offense, spread the floor, identify the largest mismatch, and go at it one-on-one off the dribble. When the Magic go to Howard on the offensive end, just have Law foul the shit out of him and send him to the line. Indeed, Hack-a-Howard should be the order of the night (I'd like to see Joe Alexander get about 4 minutes in the mid-late 2nd quarter, and foul Howard on six straight possessions.) Just something to make the game's pace a little herky-jerky, maybe frustrate Dwight, and, if nothing else, have a little laugh for yourself. Because at this point, with this roster and the current injuries, there's not a chance in hell of the Bulls getting off the shnide tonight if they play straight-up and conventional. So what the hey? Misbehave, make some mischief, get crazy, and fuck with the program a little. If you're VDN, what's the worst that can happen? You lose the game, miss out on the Playoffs, and get canned? I don't think Vinny's under any illusions that all of that is probably in the cards anyhow. So what the fuck? If you're going to the gallows, might as well have a good time on your way there.

What Could Roust Me From My Bulls-Blogging Lethargy?

2010-03-05T15:03:00.002-06:00

Only the searing hatred I felt last night, as I watched the Bulls' lead dwindle and dwindle, as Rose's stellar penetration-and-kick allowed for wide-open trey after wide-open trey by Kirk Hinrich, who proceeded to brick just about every fucking one.

The hatred burned so deeply, my loathing of this "shooting guard" becoming so bilious, that I was moved to try to understand why this oft-familiar sight bothered me so much. And I think it comes down to this: When Kirk Hinrich shoots even halfway decently, the Bulls are a good, if not very good, team.

To wit, Hinrich has missed 6 games this year and the Bulls went 1-5 in his absence. That means they're 30-25 when he's on the court, and I went through his game log to check his FG% in Bulls' wins vs. losses. The difference is astounding.

In the Bulls' 30 wins, Hinrich has made 140 of the 313 shots he's taken, a FG% of 44.7. That's almost identical to his career high in '06-'07 when he shot 44.8%.

But of course, Hinrich isn't anywhere near his career-high FG% this year. That's because in the Bulls' 25 losses, Hinrich has made only 74 of his 228 shots, a FG% of 32.5. (To get a sense of how bad that is for a regular player, click on the FG% stats at Hoop Data. No one who takes as many shots per game (9.5, in Bulls' losses) is worse. No one.) And, of course, when you combine the two, you see that Hinrich is having the worst shooting year of his career since he was a rookie. (Actually, worst ever if you're counting his TS%.)

Conclusion? (Other than that while "thrust" and "hustle" are nice, they are nowhere near enough.) The Bulls really need to upgrade the shooting in their shooting guard position next season. Which is why, assuming the Bulls whiff on Wade, TYI is now officially on the Anthony Morrow bandwagon.

A Meme That Has So Got To Die

2009-12-04T16:17:00.004-06:00

I like Matt McHale and Bulls By The Horns, but when I see the following cited on True Hoop:

[Taj Gibson is] probably worth about 70 percent of “Good Tyrus” and around 127 percent of “Bad Tyrus” already

I have to flash my pen from its scabbard. This is, frankly, fucking nuts, whackadoodle nonsense on stilts.

Taj Gibson is a (slightly) better jump-shooter than Tyrus (though I don't think he has Ty's range out to 20 feet) and a (slightly) better offensive rebounder. This is mainly because Tyrus is a pretty terrible jump-shooter and a pretty terrible offensive rebounder. Being slightly less terrible at two things is no great shakes.

In every other facet of the game, Tyrus suprasses Taj, and often obliterates him. He is a much better defensive rebounder than Taj, an immensely better shot-blocker, a more skilled passer. He turns the ball over less, he fouls (significantly) less, he gets to the FT line twice as much, and, once there, shoots 20 percentage points higher. (Oh, and Tyrus is still a year younger than Taj.) For the love of Christ, there is no comparison.

Taj Gibson is playing pretty well for a late first-round draft pick. Not incredibly well (see how he eerily compares with a rookie Big Baby), but okay; he's no Wayne Simien.

But that's it, folks. He is not a legitimate starting NBA power forward, much less a particularly promising young player. (He's neither especially promising, nor especially young.) He never provides 127 percent of anything that Tyrus Thomas brings to the table. Please. Stop. Spouting. Such. Madness.

Oh, Brother...

2009-12-04T10:18:00.003-06:00

Season already in limbo, the Bulls are contemplating a move to further entrench themselves in the lower rungs of mediocrity.

Look, I get it. "The plan" is to reel in one of the free agent biggies next summer. This move will help with that (and also save Reinsdorf another $1 million this year, which I have no doubt the organization considers another "big plus" going for it). And, of course, if the Bulls land Bosh or Wade or LBJ, then sure, retroactively, this will be a brilliant deal. (Although, again, I don't know why any big-name FA would have any interest in joining a franchise this screwy.)

But Goddamnit, reading shit like "the Bulls believe Harrington’s ability to score ... make this a worthy exchange" (so much for the "emphasizing defense and team chemistry this year" horseshit) and that "Chicago believes it has a worthy power forward successor on the cheap in rookie Taj Gibson" insults everybody's intelligence. Do we really have to keep up the pretense that this current season matters in any way whatsoever? Haven't all the season tickets been sold already?

A Match Made for Morons (Or, Maybe, Sado-Masochists)

2009-12-03T10:07:00.002-06:00

To all the mouth-breathers who booed Ben Gordon last night: You idiots deserve to root for this offense. Or maybe you actually prefer this over one that's nine points per 100 poss. more efficient? Seeing as you actually financially rewarded Jerry Reinsdorf for providing you the "opportunity" to watch a backcourt of Jannero Pargo and Lindsey Hunter for sustained minutes, it seems likely your perversity knows no bounds.

Some Random Thoughts About A Nice Win

2009-11-18T10:11:00.003-06:00

* After watching the Bulls break 100, I was a bit concerned I'd wake up this morning and the sun would be rising in the west, the sky would be black as night, and the U.S. Senate would be a functional institution. But no, everything still seems normal. Maybe the Bulls can keep trying this.

* It helps that the Kings are terrible defenders, particularly when decimated by injuries (although it's not like Martin and Nocioni would really help much on that end, either).

* Since I bemoaned our lack of Morris Peterson, Salmons has had two nice games. And even though Kirk shot like crap last night, he defended well, which, so long as Salmons and Deng are both hitting shots, is really all we need from him.

* I'm struggling to come up with the right nickname/metaphor for Pargo. He's not quite Halley's Comet, because his offense does show up a little more regularly than once every 76 years. Maybe Old Semi-Faithful? You can basically count on him to have an absurdly hot 3-minute offensive stretch about once every five games. Outside of that, he's totally useless; but those three-minute stretches really do help! Anyway, if you can come up with a proper metaphor for him, let me know.

* I think James Johnson has one of the weirdest games I've ever seen. He's definitely talented and skilled, but those talents and skills are almost completely at odds with the normal skillset of someone with his size (and at odds with what the Bulls really need from someone with his size). He's kinda like the inverse of a great rebounding point guard who has a nice post-up game. His handle looks pretty incredible, which, y'know, is great, but a power forward with a great handle isn't really all that necessary when you've got Derrick Rose. But I'm still intrigued by him. If utilized correctly, he could be a tremendous asset, but I think at the moment, utilizing him correctly would require making him too much the focus of the offense, which, at this point, probably isn't worth the tradeoff (on both the defensive end and in taking the ball out of Rose's hands).

* Speaking of Rose, he is obviously still injured, and all the people freaking out about any regression on his part need to recognize that. What made him so amazing last year was his explosiveness (particularly around the rim) and he is showing almost no signs of it right now. He looks...ordinary. To judge from last night, I would say he's at 80 percent, tops. Which leads to the question: Should the Bulls just sit him down until he completely heals? Not being a doctor or sports trainer, I have no idea. If there's even the slightest chance that he could permanently damage his ankle, then I would say, yes, absolutely, but that would mean flushing this season directly down the shitter, leaving an already-thin team absolutely threadbare. Though I often have my doubts, I'm going to kindly assume that the Bulls' organization isn't totally idiotic and that if Rose was in any jeopardy of causing any permanent damage by playing, they would make him sit. (They actually did this with Jordan when he got injured in his second year, and though he loathed and resented them for it, it was obviously the right call.) Which to me means that rather than gnashing our teeth about the lack of Rose's development, we should instead appreciate that he is on the floor every night, gutting it out, doing what he can. He's been a grinder, very much like this team, which is playing very good defense and is now at 6-4 (considerably better than what I thought they'd be at this point). Outside the Boston game and the 4th quarter of the Raps' game, they've been fun to watch, and I'm starting to focus less on what this team doesn't do (which is still considerable) and to appreciate more of what they do very well.

(P.S. Noah is totally awesome.)

Sign of the Apocalypse: Peterson Envy

2009-11-12T15:54:00.005-06:00

To piggyback on my last post: Writing about the firing of Byron Scott, Matt Yglesias notes:

Paul, Okafor, and a bunch of average guys could make the playoffs. But these are not average guys. Morris Peterson is shooting .341 from the field and .269 from three point land.

For comparison's sake: Kirk is shooting .346 and .222 from 3 land; Salmons is at .306 and .262.

My Kingdom For A Two-Guard!

2009-11-12T09:53:00.003-06:00

Only caught the fourth quarter, so it's kinda funny in retrospect that throughout it, I was so disgusted by Kirk's play that I was screaming at the TV, "Where the hell is Salmons?! Put in Salmons!!," blissfully unaware that the subject of my desire was himself mired in a 1 for 11 game. (Then again, at least he had no turnovers, compared to Kirk's four. And my God, was Kirk fouling up the offense in the 4th! Dribbling to nowhere, stupid passes, forced shots. Just putrid.)

Anyway, you can't win when your two-guards score 16 points on combined 4 of 21 shooting against the worst defensive team in the league. The good news was that Hinrich and Salmons managed to hit 2 of 7 threes, thereby raising their 3 pt. FG percentage thus far to a stunning 24.6.

In other news, there's some guy playing the two for Detroit who's putting up 24 points a game, hitting 37% of his threes (still a career low), and getting to the line 7 times a game. (Our two shooting guards don't get there five times a night combined.)

But hey, why cry over spilled milk? Jerry Reinsdorf made a lot of money by letting that guy go, and we fans should like totally appreciate that.

Dates To Remember: 12/7/41, 9/11/01, 1/5/09

2009-11-10T09:37:00.003-06:00

In light of this, let us never, ever forget: Rick Morrissey is a douchenozzle.

Ten months ago, this guy wanted to cut Joakim Noah while admiring Larry Hughes' game, and he now thinks that eating a newspaper in public will somehow atone for his stupidity. Of course, when you churn out crappy columns every week without shame, what's a little more public humiliation?

Another Bouquet for Noah

2009-11-09T10:43:00.002-06:00

He's been getting props all over the place, but take a look at Hollinger's PER leaders among centers.

He's third, behind only Howard and Duncan. And looking at the rest of the list, I'm not sure if there's another center on it who I would prefer over him. Maybe Lopez, maybe Horford, but while not as skilled offensively as those two, Jo rebounds and passes better than both of them. (And probably is Lopez's near equal in blocking shots.) Oden, of course, still tantalizes with his potential, but given his injury history and how much trouble he has staying on the floor, I'm not sure I'd even take him over Noah.

Anyway, those are the only three possibilities coming to mind; any others?

Just So We're Clear...

2009-11-04T12:35:00.002-06:00

...I'm not saying that Jason Goff, Sarah Spain, and Steve Rosenbloom are involved in some sordid love triangle that may or may not also include bestiality. I'm just saying that it's "awfully convenient" that all three of them made dark insinuations about Tyrus Thomas' flu without a scintilla of evidence.

Of course, just as Ockham's razor might suggest that, lo and behold, Tyrus Thomas actually had the flu, one might also deduce that these three are just terrible journalists.

A Little Unsettling...

2009-11-02T10:30:00.002-06:00

Keeping in mind the GIGANTIC caveats that a) it's a totally worthless three-game sample size and b) the Bulls' three opponents thus far are among the league leaders in defensive efficiency (and will likely remain among them even when they're not playing the Bulls), is anyone else a little concerned that the Bulls are in the league's Top 5 in both offensive rebounding and smallest turnover ratio, and yet are the league's third-worst team in offensive efficiency?

I suppose the glass-half-full way to look at this is that all the Bulls really need to do is improve their shooting, which is (maybe) unlikely to remain this bad. The glass-half-empty view is that if there is any decrease in offensive boards and/or increase in turnovers, this offense could become historically shitty.

(But, hyuk, hyuk, Ben Gordon's really short, chortle, chortle...)

Game One: The X-Man Cometh

2009-10-30T11:14:00.003-05:00

During the first, second, and fourth quarters last night, the Bulls scrapped their way to a standstill against a talented (but tired-looking) Spurs team. The difference in the game was the third quarter, which is why, with apologies to Xavier McDaniel, I’ve got a new nickname for Tyrus: The X-Man. In the third quarter, he showed why, though by no means their best or even most essential player, he is perhaps the Bulls’ most important player, the X-factor who will determine just how good this team becomes.

And what’s great is, he doesn’t even need to be “consistent” throughout an entire game. Rather he just needs to consistently bring spurts like he flashed in the third quarter. Man, was he everywhere: blocking shots (3), getting rebounds (3), getting to the line (3 times), nailing open jumpers and cutting for easy dunks (going 4 of 6 from the floor), and not turnning the ball over once. It’s a cliché but Tyrus embodied it during the third quarter: He was a game changer.

These sporadic bursts of dynamism are what helped his LSU team reach the Final Four when he was a freshman, and they're why the Bulls drafted him over someone like Aldridge. Over the long haul, Aldridge will likely be a more consistent player, pulling in his 7 to 8 rebounds over four quarters and steadily knocking down his open looks. But when Tyrus plays with the type of controlled fury he unleashed during that 12-minute span last night, he becomes something like a turbo booster that launches the Bulls ahead of their opponents. Rather than see him average 20 pts. and 10 rebs. a game (which to me is a line suggestive of a measured, methodical player), I think I'd prefer regularly seeing Tyrus go bonkers in a single quarter.

We have plenty of consistent players on this team--Hinrich, Deng, Salmons, Miller, and even, perhaps, Taj, who impressed me despite not shooting the ball particularly well. What we don’t have, besides Rose, is another dynamo, and if Ty can provide that (even if it’s only for a quarter), this team could be very good.

One other thought: Since I haven’t seen it mentioned elsewhere, I think Noah’s interior passing really deserves to be lauded. The pass he threw to Deng curling underneath the basket for an easy layup was perhaps my favorite play of the night (the anticipation and the execution were so, so lovely). And it’s a nice change-up to have the offense initiated by Noah (or Miller, who seems to have had a fantastic impact on Noah’s game) at the top of the key. As good as Rose is on the ball, he can be equally effective off it (I think it’s why he and Kirk play so well together) and having such a fine-passing big man really helps the Bulls utilize that aspect of Rose’s game.

Two (Kinda Related) Thoughts

2009-09-30T13:29:00.002-05:00

1. Since it's on True Hoop, everyone's going to see it and talk about it, but it's worth quoting anyway:

My prediction is that the Bulls are going to stink this year. Ben Gordon and Brad Miller were there best players. They let Ben Gordon go to the team they need to beat for the playoffs? Why'd they do that?

He wanted a lot of money.
Well, he's worth it.

Letting him go is just beyond stupid. It's ridiculous. And who'd they pick up to replace him? Jannero Pargo?

Exactly.

2. The big talk thus far in training camp is that this year the Bulls are going to focus on defense. How are they going to replace Gordon? Defense. How are they going to improve on last season? Defense. Defense, defense, defense.

Now, I'm not opposed to improving defense. It's half the game, and the Bulls were terrible at it last year. But, since I haven't seen it elsewhere, I think it's worth pointing out that they were, um, just as awful on the offensive end last year. And that they lost arguably their most potent offensive player from that team. And that during their best stretch of ball last season (the 12-6 run at the end of the year), they were a team that won by outscoring their opponents, not out-defending them.

Now, again, this isn't to say that the Bulls can't win through defense or that they don't need to improve it. But I'm a bit concerned. It's kinda the opposite of the old saw about how when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like nail. My fear is the Bulls don't have a full hammer (i.e., an offense and defense), so they're telling themselves they can drive in a nail with just a handle, and no peen. It could still work, but it will not be easy.

"...but when I was growing up, I played outside at a park."

2009-08-28T09:23:00.001-05:00

Derrick, on his goals for the upcoming season:

DR: To be the best player in the league at my position, and hopefully be the best player in the NBA. There's no point of playing basketball if you don't want to be the best -- or doing anything if you don't want to be the best. So that's my goal for next season.

(via http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/08/derrick_rose_talks_nba_2k10_dr.html)

Let's hope Chris Paul doesn't read the Sun-Times.

Reinsdorf Owns Bulls, Lots of Money, No Responsibility for Anything

2009-07-21T10:03:00.004-05:00

There's much to yell and scream about when it comes to this interview with Reinsdorf (it really has to be read to be believed), but I just want to focus on one aspect of Jerry's astonishing self-regard. W/r/t the Ben Wallace signing, Jerry sez:

Was Ben Wallace a mistake? Probably. What we didn't think about was Ben needs to play alongside somebody who can score a lot of points. But it's not the thought of Ben Wallace that makes us be careful. It's just the thought of when you make a mistake, you own that mistake.

Okay, first of all: "Probably":???? Ben Wallace is out of the league, and the final year of his contract money is now going to two guys (Tim Thomas and Jerome James) who will not play one minute for the Bulls this year. I think we can safely change this to "Certainly." And I love that the lesson Jerry's taken away from this signing is not "Don't give large, long-term contracts to under-sized overachievers whose number have begun declining and who are on the far side of their prime," but rather that "Ben needs to play alongside somebody who can score a lot of points." Give. Me. A. Fucking. Break.

But it's not even that that astonishes. Rather, it's his sentiment, "when you make a mistake, you own that mistake," which, considering the context of the rest of the interview, in which Jerry runs, hides, prevaricates, and outright lies to avoid any responsibility for or ownership of the wayward direction of the Bulls franchise in recent years, that is absolutely gobsmacking.

To wit: "I wasn't talking about Vinny that day [when he called the season a "disaster" and an "embarrassment"]. It got totally misinterpreted." This is simply bullshit. In that interview, Jerry praised Pax to the heavens, and so North and Jiggets followed up with the question on whether this meant he was specifically disappointed in Del Negro. His response? "I have a lot of thoughts on that, but they're nothing I can really say publicly."

On Ben Gordon: "Actually, we made a decision a year ago not to commit long term to Ben. ... We have [John] Salmons and a hell of a three-guard rotation with Salmons, [Kirk] Hinrich and Derrick [Rose]. Ben wasn't going to get a whole lot of playing time. His time was going to be diminished." I love this. No reckoning or reasoning as to why Kirk might be a better fit than Gordon; no, rather he chooses to slag Ben Gordon as a player, the dude who led this team in scoring for the past four years and who was nothing but professional during his time here. Stay classy, Jerry; I'm sure the 2010 free agents are going to be running over themselves to play under someone like you.

He does the same thing when responding to why the team didn't pull the trigger on the Gasol deal: "Gasol made sense for the Lakers because, what is he, their third best player probably?" Again, Jerry could simply explain that Pax believed Memphis wanted too much for him, or that the Bulls didn't want Brian Cardinal's contract. But no, he has to diminish Gasol the player, calling him the Lakers' "third best player." (Obviously, he is their second best, and in a lot of ways, he is really the straw that stirs the Lakers' drink.)

There's a lot more fatuous, complacent babble to shred in this interview, but it's hard to work up the energy to do so. I love the city of Chicago, and I love basketball, and so, ergo, I love the Bulls. But loving something owned by Reinsdorf manages to suck away a significant amount of one's passion.

Ugh...

2009-07-02T10:00:00.002-05:00

What Matt said.

I don't have much else to add, particularly about a team that could have re-signed a 20 ppg player for almost $1.5 mil. per year less than his market value (indeed, would've basically gotten a free year out of him) last summer, except that doing so would've meant backtracking from their own arbitrary bullshit deadline. So Jerry got to keep his pride, and the Bulls' best offensive player goes to their longtime rival, where he will undoubtedly torch us a couple of times each season.

Any talk that this is all part of the Bulls' master plan to get Wade needs to keep in mind that this is the Bulls, and there is no master plan. So far as I can tell, there are Jerry's whims ("I like Ben Wallace (and his agent, Arn Tellem)!", "I like Luol Deng!", "I like Kirk Hinrich!", "I don't like Mike D'Antoni!", "I don't like Ben Gordon!", "I don't like Tyrus Thomas!"), and that's about it. There are a ton of teams that are going to have salary cap space next year, and why any of the top free agents would choose to play for a franchise this fucked up and screwy is beyond my ken.

Think I'll be taking a break from the blog for a while, because at this point, what's the fucking point?

I'll Make MinceMeat Out of That Tweet, Mouse

2009-06-29T10:18:00.002-05:00

A Word of Advice For Late-First Round Picks: When there's a better than average chance that you're hardly going to see the floor this year, it might be a good idea to swallow your pride and keep the bragging about the toughness of your fuckin' college conference to yourself.

(That said, TYI approves of Taj's taste in films.)

Who Should the Bulls Draft?

2009-06-22T16:52:00.004-05:00

Honestly, I have no frickin’ idea.

It’s not that there aren’t players I like or identifiable needs for this current Bulls team. But, at the same time, possible trades/Gordon’s free agency has left this Bulls team in such potential flux that those needs could change in an instant. Out of the eight core players on this team (Rose, Gordon, Hinrich, Salmons, Deng, Tyrus, Noah, and Miller), only Rose and Noah seem to be absolute locks to be here by the start of the season. (And, probably, Miller, though a team eager for cap space might be looking to snatch him up ‘round the next trading deadline.)

Anyway, I’m just going to sketch out some possible team scenarios and suggest draft picks according to those. Let’s begin with:

A) The Bulls trade Hinrich for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw (Ignoring the part about swapping picks, which would obviously be madness.)

I like this trade for a number of reasons: It gives the Bulls a perfectly competent backup veteran PG for one year at half the cost of Hinrich; the addition of Outlaw means that should the Bulls need to package either Deng or Salmons with (say) Tyrus in a supposed blockbuster deal for Bosh or Stoudemire, they’ll have a viable backup at the 3; and it frees the Bulls from the last two years of Kirk’s contract.

But this trade doesn’t end the need for a relatively cheap, long-term backup for Rose, and I think it obviously makes a lot of sense to use one of the 1st rounders in this year’s draft to do just that. Though I don’t mind the due dilligence, reaching for Wake’s Jeff Teague, VCU’s Eric Maynor, or UNC’s Ty Lawson with the 16th pick (as Sam Smith hints at here) doesn’t make much sense to me. Much preferable is Smith’s other suggestion: Florida’s Nick Calathes with the 26th pick.

Calathes will play in Greece next year, but that works perfectly in tandem with this proposed deal; we get Blake’s more polished services for one year, then bring in a much cheaper (and somewhat more seasoned) Calathes after that. As far as Calathes’ game goes, I like it. Offensively, he’s a very creative passer who has good 3-pt. range and can really finish inside at the hoop. He’s not as quick as Hinrich, and I don’t see him being a good NBA defender at all, but for a backup swing guard playing 15 min. a game or so, he should be fine.

Assuming this trade doesn’t happen for whatever reason, and the Bulls ultimately trade Hinrich for a player who can’t spell Rose, I’d be cool with taking UCLA’s Darren Collison with the 26 pick, who I think will be a perfectly adequate backup NBA point guard.

SCENARIO B) The Bulls fail to re-sign Ben Gordon
This scenario appears increasingly likely, and, quite frankly, it freaks me out. I wouldn’t be so concerned if the Bulls had a coach with an actual offensive scheme, but since VDN’s “scheme” appears to consist of the high pick-and-roll and “let guys play one-on-one,” then it’s kinda a big problem to lose perhaps our best one-on-one offensive player (as well as our best three point shooter).

In any event, by this point, the Bulls should have a pretty decent notion of whether they’re going to be able to re-sign Ben. And if they don’t think they are, they need “insurance” in this draft, and no, contra Chad Ford, FSU’s Toney Douglas will not suffice. To believe he can in any way replace Gordon’s production goes beyond wishful thinking, and lands firmly in the realm of magical thinking. (Although considering Pax appeared to have similar ideas w/r/t Jameson Curry, we cannot rest assured that Bulls execs reside do not reside in that realm.)

Real insurance (in asmuch as one might be able to acquire such in this pretty weak draft) comes from one of three players: James Harden, Stephon Curry, and, to a lesser extent, Gerald Henderson. At their current position, the Bulls have no chance at the first two and only an outside shot (at best) at Henderson. That’s why, if the Wiz would bite, I like the idea of sending Kirk and the 16 pick to Washington for the 5, Etan Thomas, and Javaris Crittendon.

It’s no guarantee Harden will be there at the 5, but I think Stephon Curry might be a better (or at least more apt) replacement for Gordon than Harden. Indeed, I believe he’ll be similar to Gordon as far as being a hard-to-characterize offensive force, but he’ll probably have the same trouble guarding a lot 2s that Gordon has. Harden has the physical tools to be a good defender, but, as this post notes, his shooting is somewhat worrisome, and, with Rose, the Bulls don’t really need an off-guard who can initiate the offense. As for Henderson, I don’t think he’ll be a great offensive player, but his game could evolve into a foul-drawing slasher’s (like Corey Magette’s), and he has the length to be a terrific defender at the 2. Much different than Gordon, but adequate in his own way.

SCENARIO 3: The Bulls Stand Pat
I think this is unlikely, but I suppose it’s possible they bring roughly the same team back that they had last year. In this case, I really like DaJuan Blair, whose phenomenal college rebounding projects nicely for the pros. However, most mock drafts have him gone by 16, so I guess I could settle for (gack!) Tyler Hansborough, who, despite being one of the most annoying dudes on the planet, I think will probably turn out to be a semi-decent frontcourt rotation player, a la Glen Davis. His jumper looked to be improving last year, and I like how he can score inside w/out really jumping (i.e., by shooting with either hand from almost any odd angle). If you’re unathletic, you at least need to be skilled, and I think Hansborough is that (as well as—yay!—a hard worker).

I suppose I also wouldn’t care too much if the Bulls went in the entirely different direction and, instead of going for Hansborough’s high floor/low ceiling, took B.J. Mullens, who in three years could be either Brook Lopez or Patrick O’Bryant.

One dude I’m not enamoured with is James Johnson, one of the fattest players in the draft, who strikes me as an unathletic Tyrus Thomas. (And, of course, he’s the name being thrown around as someone the Bulls might be willing to trade up to get.) I suppose if you’re ultimately looking to swap Tyrus in a deal for Bosh or (perhaps) Stoudemire, then I’d be okay with this pick, but as the roster is currently constructed, Johnson seems redundant to me.

time for Pax to earn his keep

2009-05-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

1. Hinrich for Camby

2. Brad Miller and #16 for Vince Carter.

3. Collison with #26

4. Unless you can dump Deng, don't resign Gordon.

Assuming Bulls get a medical waiver for Jerome James this should put them right at the luxury cap. If not, considering how much money Reinsdorf has made from the Bulls, going over the cap once a decade should be doable.

Camby, Noah and Ty at the 4 and 5.

Deng, Carter and Salmons at the swing.

Rose, Collison and Carter at the 1 and 2.

Rose, Carter, Salmons, Deng and Ty as Bill Simmons' ultimate 2010 Eastern conference playoff small-ball team.

2nd Pick 2nd Overall

2009-05-15T13:43:00.002-05:00

Everyone else is going to post something nice. Guitar Center Olympian below.

OK, this might stir things up a bit - I'm sure some snobs will stick their noses in here somehow but...

I'm coming around to the opinion that Wayman Tisdale does NOT play bass. Oh, he plays a large, long scale, extended range, multi string instrument, but in his band, he's not playing bass. Nope, there's some guy in the back playing bass - nice groove, good tone, just what you'd expect. But out front there's Wayman. Big ol' Wayman. And he's choppin' and lickin' all over the place. Uh-uh, Wayman isn't playing bass... :scowl:

...he's playing the only guit*r that fits him! :D

The Year of Daily Orgasms From the American Heartland

2009-05-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

You know that video in Infinite Jest that's so entertaining and enthralling that people will just go on watching it forever, shitting themselves and withering away happily without food or drink?

I think it's real:

Wow!

2009-04-30T23:22:00.004-05:00

Brad Miller (or, as I've taken to shouting his name upon his hitting of an open three, Brad Mill-AH!)...WOW!!

Joakim Noah...WOW!!! (AND FUCK YEAH!!!)

John Salmons...WOW!

Looking at the box score, it's hard to figure out how they won. The Bulls were out-rebounded (by seven on the offensive end), had four more turnovers, and were outscored by three at the charity stripe. I did the math, and efficiency-wise, the Celts actually outscored them per 100 possessions, 111.4 to 109.4. But ultimately, Boston had Ray Allen, Glen Davis...and that was it. Remove Ray from the equation, and they shot 2 for 13 from 3 pt. land. Meanwhile, Salmons and Miller combined to go 7/11 from long-distance. (Just imagine if this team still had Nocioni and Gooden...shudder!)

I know it won't happen, but if someone could explain to me why Rondo shouldn't be suspended for Game 7 for his cheap-shot (and then sucker-punch) against Kirk, I'd appreciate it. I'm still trying to figure out how he stayed in this game. I'd say there was no justice on this earth, except tonight, there was. Now come on, Karma Police...arrest that man.

UPDATE: By the way, if the Bulls are up by three points in Game 7 with less than 24 seconds left and VDN chooses not to foul, I am going to figure out a way to murder him. If that's not justifiable homicide, then nothing is.

Vinny out for game 6 with Swine Flu?

2009-04-30T16:16:00.001-05:00

One could only hope.

Brad Miller...

2009-04-28T21:38:00.001-05:00

...we still love ya, big fella.

Now let's go take these motherfuckers out in seven.

Game 4: Bulls Overcome Celtics, Del Negro

2009-04-26T17:49:00.003-05:00

Don't have too much to say about the game, other than that Vinny better be kissing Ben Gordon's ass the rest of the week. That big-balled shot probably made it possible for most of the media to overlook his a) playing John Salmons at the 4 during crunchtime and b) at the end of regulation, failing to put Ray Allen in the "fifth row with the popcorn man." (And the same goes with Rondo at the end of double OT; that he wasn't fouled before passing the ball to Pierce is unbelievably egregious.)

Aside from that, Hinrich, Miller and Noah all had nice games, and, turnovers aside, it was absolutely a brilliant game by Derrick, who not only fucked around and nearly got a triple double, but also answered my prayers on the glass. Indeed, overall, it was a much tidier job by the Bulls on the glass; if they can limit Boston's O rebounds even somewhat, they're going to knock this tired, whiny, old-ass team out of the playoffs. It just sucks they have to overcome their coach, as well.

Oh, and I can't find it online yet, but when it hits YouTube, I promise to embed Gordon's OT game-tying shot and his "check out my huge nuts" reaction to it on national TV. That pretty much made my weekend.

Derrick Rose Has To Do A Lot of Things

2009-04-21T12:08:00.005-05:00

For full-on post-mortems, read Matt (who's right about everything except John Salmons) and KD (who's right about everything.)

Derrick Rose has to do a lot of things on this team. He has to be the primary ball-handler, he has to run the break (and know when to run it), he has to initiate the offense (such as it is). He has to be a big-time scorer, and a big-time facilitator. He has to get into the lane, he has to finish in the lane, he has to get to the line, he has to knock down the mid-range jumper. This is a lot of stuff to make a 20-year-old rookie do, and he's pretty much done it all with an almost eerie nonchalance.

But, I'm sorry to say, there's one more thing Derrick Rose has to do: He has to keep Rajon Rondo off the mother fuckin' offensive glass! Everybody and their mother could see that the Bulls got killed on the offensive boards last night, but what I didn't notice until today was that Rondo got 1/3 of Boston's offensive boards. And yes, Perkins got another third, but if we all agree that Noah has to do a better job on the defensive glass, the fact remains that it's even more important for Derrick to do a better job as well. Because (though I'm coming to totally loathe him) Kendrick Perkins is a helluva lot bigger than Noah and one of his main jobs out on the court is to attack the glass. If dude gets some O-boards, it may be frustrating, but it's at least understandable. Whereas with Rose, there's absolutely no reason he should be allowing Rondo to get seven offensive boards; he's bigger than him, he's stronger than him, he can leap higher than him, and he's just as lightning-quick.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say about Game 2, other than I found Boston's (and Kevin Garnett's) trash-talking throughout the game pretty fucking ridiculous, considering they needed a miraculous three to win one game against a .500 team on their own homecourt. To me, it looked like so much raging against the dying of the light, and I'm fully expecting things to get pretty frickin' dim for Boston at the UC. But we'll see.

UPDATE: It went without saying, but for posterity's sake, I should add that Ben Gordon is a motherfucking g.

Derrick Rose Is A Mother Fuckin' G

2009-04-18T19:01:00.001-05:00

(And so is Tyrus.)

That is all.

Obligatory Bulls Playoff Post

2009-04-17T12:46:00.003-05:00

Not sure if we have any readers left since I've been treating this poor blog like a leprous, red-headed stepchild, but seeing as the Bulls summoned the energy to make the postseason, I should summon enough to make some comments/observations/predictions. So in no particular order, here are some jumbled thoughts.

1) I've got to say, there's a part of me that likes what the Bulls have done over the past month or so, aside from the fact that they went 12-6 in their last 18 games. Rather than accept their status as a middling offensive team (they finished 19th in the NBA in Offensive Efficency) and a middling defensive team (they finished 18th in Defensive Efficiency), the Bulls went to the extremes in their last 18 games. By my calculations, during that span, their Offensive Efficiency shot up to 109.5 pts. per 100 possessions, which, over the course of the full season, would've ranked them 5th in the NBA, between Cleveland and Dallas. (Before the last two sub-par offensive games, they'd reached as high as 110.7, which would've ranked them second in the league.) In other words, they became an elite offensive squad, which, y'know, is exciting and fun to watch.

At the same time, though, they became one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing their opponents to score at a clip (again, by my perhaps-dodgy calculations) of 109.9 pts. per 100 possessions, which would've ranked them fourth-to-last in the NBA, not quite as porous as Golden State, but not as staunch and lockdown as the fearsome Minnesota Timberwolves.

On just a cursory examination, what accounts for much of this (on both ends) is another statistical extremity: offensive rebounding. Again, the Bulls are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league, ranking 6th overall. But as good as they are on the offensive boards, they're equally bad at rebounding on the defensive end.

None of this portends well against Boston, which is third in the league in defensive rebounding and just behind the Bulls (tied for 7th) in offensive rebounding. Garnett's absence will definitely help the Bulls' offensive rebounding (he's one of the best defensive rebounders in the league) but defensively, the Bulls are really going to have to keep an eye on Leon Powe, who, with all apologies to Kendrick Perkins, is in fact the the true beast on the boards. (Although Perk is no slouch himself, on either end.) On the plus side, at least we don't have to worry about Dwight Howard.

2) It's probably been talked about a bunch already in a bunch of places, but the thought of a gimpy John Salmons trying to stop Paul Pierce is pretty terrifying. What's worse, you know the absence of KG is going to motivate Pierce to prove he can put the team on his back, and I just don't see the Bulls having any answer for him. (By the way, with all the Deng-hating going on in this city, I'll note it would be very helpful to have him healthy right about now.) I give Salmons props for gutting it out the past month, but I fear he's going to be completely overmatched against Pierce. It might be interesting to see what Tyrus could do on him, but if he wasn't doing so while playing on a frontline alongside Miller and Noah, that switch would cause all sorts of other problems down low. And that would leave no room at the inn for Tim Thomas, which might just about break poor Vinny's heart.

3) I heard on the radio today that Big Baby had been playing real well for Boston lately, so I was a bit surprised to see Matt pooh-pooh him in this post. I looked into it a little more, and it turns out Matt is pretty much correct. Yeah, his minutes have gone up and his shooting % has improved somewhat, but he's still a terrible overall rebounder (though pretty good on the offensive boards), a sub-par free throw shooter, and a non-entity as a shot blocker. But what shocked me was when I compared him with Tyrus. At first glance, nothing's too surprising, but check out their career minutes per game: 17.8 for Big Baby vs. 19.9 for Tyrus. (And that factors in Tyrus' 27.5 mpg this season.) In other words, a team that starts Kevin Garnett has somehow found a way to get almost equal minutes for a young, early 2nd-round player as the team that has started Drew Gooden, Joe Smith and P.J. Brown has managed to get for the second overall pick in the draft. I know, I know, it's crying over spilled milk, but my God, what a fucking waste.

4) Anyway, the only hope I see for the Bulls in this series lies in three possibilities: 1) Ben Gordon shoots the lights out; 2) Tyrus, seeing no KG, goes bonkers; and c) Derrick Rose says, "Fuck it, I'm winning this series." It's that last possibility I'm most intrigued by. Defensively, Derrick could have plenty of trouble with Rondo, but potentially, there's nothing this kid can't do. Bouncing the defending champs almost single-handedly is certainly too much to ask of a rookie (any rookie), but at times, Rose makes me think anything is possible.

So fuck it: Bulls in 6.

Noah's value?

2009-04-14T13:15:00.002-05:00

Ok, Los Bulls have made a nice run and won't play the Cavs. Thank God.

I haven't seen much of the Bulls lately, mainly just peeping the box scores, but I have to give it up to Noah. A big question mark coming into the season I now feel comfortable with him as a solid 5 for the next phase of the Bulls, whatever that is.

Thoughts on the Bulls chances versus the Celts or Magic?

Bulls Basketball: It's Markedly Efficient!

2009-04-02T17:10:00.002-05:00

A great post by Kevin Pelton over at Basketball Prospectus sums up his research on Marginal Dollar per Marginal Wins throughout the NBA in recent years. Over the past four years, the Bulls rank seventh (if the expansion Bobcats are excluded) with $650,000 spent per win.

My thoughts? Great news for Jerry Reinsdorf, middling news for Bulls fans, who have been treated to a team of scrappy young underpaid players (and the occasional overpaid stiff) play slightly-above-mediocre basketball in recent years. I'm feeling the excitement; aren't you?

Cry Me a Pinche Rio

2009-03-25T16:57:00.003-05:00

Via Blog-a-Bull, I got a kick out of this Nocioni lament:

Last year I lost all hope they would pass the ball to me (laughs). I just waited on the corner watching what happened. If the ball came, it came... It rarely did (laughs). It's the same thing in Sacramento. There's a lot of young people and a lot of individualistic play.

Love it. Dude took the most shots per minute of his entire career last year, and indeed, took the third most total shots on the team in 07-08, behind only Deng and Gordon. Meanwhile, his AST% (8.3) was third-lowest on the team among those playing meaningful minutes, (barely) ahead of only Ben Wallace (8.2) and Joe Smith (7.4).

Anyone know the Spanish word for chutzpah?

The Bulls Abide

2009-03-11T13:03:00.003-05:00

It probably doesn't speak well of Vinny's overall coaching this year, but I would like to single out for praise and wholeheartedly endorse his reaction to a soul-crushing loss by essentially responding, "Fuck it, Dude; let's go bowling."

Foreboding

2009-03-09T12:54:00.002-05:00

Given the Bulls' recent play on the road, I share Matt's pessimism w/r/t the upcoming 3-game swing. Ideally, you'd like to take one out of two from the Florida teams, and then get the big win in Philly, but at this point, I'd settle for 1-2, particularly since an O-fer seems a distinct possibility.

As for tonight's game, there appears to be something of a perfect storm conspiring against the Bulls. Hinrich is injured, and though he vows he'll play and usually does a nice job guarding D-Wade, I think the tables could be drastically turned tonight.

LeBron is probably going to win the MVP, and I think that's well and good, but D-Wade is currently in the midst of the most impressive sustained stretch of basketball by an individual player this year. Over his last 8 games, Wade is averaging:

* 36.4 points
* 10.8 assists
* 6.0 rebounds
* 2.6 steals
* shooting 56% from the field (and indeed, he hasn't shot under 50% in a game, since he last played Chicago, nearly a month ago.)
* 44% from three-point land
* getting to the line nearly 9 times a night, and shooting 88% while there
* (He's also blocking a shot a night, as well, apparently just for shits and giggles.)

This torrid stretch includes scoring nights of 50, 46, 41 and 42; on the nights where he hasn't broken the 40-mark, he's atoned by getting double-digit assists in every contest. The correct adjective for this, I believe, is "Jordanesque."

That said, the Heat are only 4-4 during this run (albeit 3-1 at home). As the Bard said, "It ain't no fun if the homies can't have none," so my advice would be to not worry about Wade so much--he's going to get his--and instead make sure the Beasleys and Cooks and Haslems and Chalmerses don't get theirs. (See Marion, Shawn.)

Oh, and Vinny, if it's a close game at the end, please make sure our best player is on the court, mkthxbai!

Listening to Sports Radio...

2009-03-03T13:08:00.002-06:00

...will drive you insane.

I heard Hanley this morning, raving about how well Sefolosha is playing for the Thunder, "averaging a double double," etc. Curious--and kinda shocked--I decided to look into it further. He's had a couple nice games, but as you can see, he's not exactly setting the world on fire, averaging 9.8 points, 6 boards, while shooting 42.2 percent in 32 minutes a game. In other words, very close to the 10.8 points, 6.3 boards, and 42.8 shooting that he's averaged per 36 minutes in his career.

I'm happy that Thabo's getting some burn, but come on: Only teams with .250 winning percentages are going to give him 36 minutes a game. This was not a big loss.

Talk About A Bad Day for Chicagoans...

2009-02-27T16:53:00.005-06:00

Two Bulls' legends die, the weather turns crap-tastic, and fuckin' Fast Eddie walks.

Still, this was pretty sweet:

After all this, if they don't come out and wallop the Wiz by 30 tonight, this team has no soul.

UPDATE: This Joravsky piece on Van Lier is simply phenomenal. (H/T Crash Davis) I mean, seriously, if you don't read this, you're not only missing out, but are probably an asshole.

Could 'Space Chimps' Be Any Worse Than Watching Hinrich in the Fourth?

2009-02-23T17:32:00.002-06:00

Not entirely original (and boy am I missing the Hot Shit these days), but this is very, very funny.

Two Things

2009-02-22T13:17:00.002-06:00

1) This late-game preference of Hinrich over Rose has to stop. Now. (And I know Rose hasn't been playing all that well of late. Doesn't matter.) If it doesn't, some sort of collective action by Bulls' fans might be necessary.

2) The next time your shooting guard is 9 for 11 at the half with 22 points, let's make sure he gets more than ONE FUCKING SHOT in the third quarter. Un-fucking-believeable.

Good News/Bad News

2009-02-20T13:19:00.003-06:00

The good news is that the Bulls might have lucked out by not trading for Amar'e Stoudemire, who appears to be out for the season with a partially torn retina.

The bad news is that the Bulls do not have a player on their roster (even an injured player) who can score 42 points on 15 of 20 shooting and pull down 11 rebounds with a fucking partially torn retina!

Why Two Semi-Crappy Contracts Are Better Than One Hugely Crappy Contract

2009-02-19T13:03:00.003-06:00

Scoff all you want at the news that the Bulls are trading Larry Hughes for Jerome James and (ha!) Tim Thomas, but keep in mind that NBA teams need to carry a minimum of 13 player contracts. Paying James and Thomas roughly the same as Hughes (actually, about $600K less) means that the Bulls now have 10 players under contract at basically the same salary that they previously had nine. That means only three roster spots need to be filled within a limited amount of cap space, as opposed to four.

It's not much, but considering we're talking about Larry Hughes, every little benefit counts. (Morrissey, however, is probably pissed.)

UPDATE: The addition of Roberson makes this even more salient. Assuming they pick up Roberson's option next year--he sucks and was an absolute cancer on the Gator teams he played for in college, but is cheap roster filler--that means only two more roster spots need to be filled.

The Financial Ramifications

2009-02-18T17:17:00.003-06:00

Some of my quick cap math (which is notoriously bad, so please take with grain of salt):

**As noted below, this deal actually saves the Bulls some money this year, around $1.5 million. UPDATE: (Not exactly true; turns out Salmons has a trade kicker in his contract, meaning the Bulls have to pay him $2 m. more this year; if the Bulls agreed to that, it makes me think a Hinrich for parts deal is likely, as that would offset some of that kicker this year.)

**If that Hinrich deal doesn't go down, that means the Bulls are looking at $65.4 m. on the books for next year, with only 9 players signed. Assuming the lux tax limit is roughly the same as this year's (and assuming that IT MUST NOT BE BREACHED!), that leaves only $6 m. to spread around a minimum of three (and likely four or five) roster spots). And that means, adios Lil' Ben.

**However, if Hinrich is traded for, say, the expiring deals of Jason Collins and Rashad McCants, that opens up an additional $9.5 million next year. Presume we sign Gordon for something close to 5 years, $50 million (which might be possible given how many teams are taking a bath in this economy), and the Bulls now have nine players at $64.2 million. That would leave them both in better shape financially and as a team on the court. (Unless you think Hinrich is a better player than Gordon, in which case, kindly piss off.)

Quick Trade Reaction

2009-02-18T16:35:00.005-06:00

1) I like it. Miller is both a nice complimentary piece to Ty and Noah, and an expiring deal in the much-anticipated "Summer of '10" (TM). Salmons is having a career year this season, and will likely never play this well again, but as a backup to Deng (who is actually quick enough to guard SFs, unlike Noce) and possible 1-year Gordon insurance (he'd be a slow defender at the 2, but he's tall (!!) and has actually been a decent shooter the past three seasons), he's fine. What's more, he's owed considerably less than Noce, which is fantastic. Plus, I'm obviously pleased that I don't have to watch Gooden and Noce any more.

2) I'll like this deal even more, if Pax pulls off the rumored Hinrich to T'Wolves trade for two expiring deals, which would at least make the possibility of re-signing Gordon this summer feasible. But if that doesn't come off, it's bye-bye, Ben, which obviously wouldn't please me.

UPDATE: Also, this deal gets the Bulls' fully under the luxury tax limit this year, so dear ol' Jerry won't have to pay $300K in luxury taxes. Thank the lord.

Farewell to a Mensch

2009-02-16T13:29:00.005-06:00

Will the Bulls get Amar'e? Camby? Kaman? Is Pax really going to quit in the coming weeks?

To be honest, we here at TYI could really give a shit at the moment. Over the weekend, we said our goodbyes to Coach Skiles, one of this humble blog's founders and indeed the inspired creator of our very name. This morning, the Coach officially left the frigid flatlands of Chi-City for the warmer, more non-linear climes of his native North Carolina, and though we understand and support his decision, it doesn't change the sad fact that we're losing a worthy adversary/teammate on the pickup court, a wry, oft-hilarious voice on all matters of current events, and a very, very good friend. (To say nothing of the gaping hole his absence will leave in the Deadline Dogs' outfield/batting order this summer.) He'll be more than missed.

(The Coach (middle), at the Weegee's shuffleboard court this past weekend for his going away party, reacts to the exhortations of BenGo (right, pointed hand) that they immediately partake in a round of Jameson shots to properly mark his departure from Chicago. The Coach, of course, kindly accepted.)

The Logic of Amare'

2009-02-12T17:03:00.007-06:00

Now that there's talk about trading him for Stoudemire, I've been getting a kick out of the sudden influx of Tyrus love. Where are all those people who once bemoaned our lack of LaMarcus Aldridge, and demanded that Tyrus' minutes be given to the hustling Noce?

No doubt much of the new-found adoration stems from T-Dub's recent five-game stretch (the best of his career), in which he's averaged nearly 18 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks, while shooting 50% from the field and getting to the line more than seven times a game. That this stretch also corresponds with the best five game stretch of his career in terms of minutes played--38.6 a game--is no surprise to some of us. Indeed, his career numbers projected at 36 per come out to 14, 9 and 2.4, with 5.4 FTA, so while Ty's recent run demonstrates real improvement, it's by no means jaw-dropping.

So why, in spite of all this, would I be willing to trade this budding young hoss for an apparent malcontent/head-case who "can't rebound"? Because that malcontent can really, really score, and I agree with Kelly Dwyer that the root of the Bulls' recent problems are much more offense-related than defense-related.

A couple things first: While Amare' has never been a great rebounder, it's only this season where he's been hanging around the dreaded Aldridge line of 12.8% TRB. Indeed, throughout his career, Amare' has been an adequate-to-good defensive rebounder (career DRB 20.1); it's only at the offensive end where his boarding gets suspect. That doesn't concern me too much as, so long as any deal does not include Noah, Amare' will be playing alongside one of the best offensive rebounders in the league.

I also wonder if Amare's offensive boards don't suffer from the fact that he is very, very good around the rim. Indeed, compare the eFG% of his Close and Dunk Shots to Tyrus', and you find Amare' more than 13% points better on Close shots, and even nearly 8% points better on Dunks. (He's also 10% points better than Ty on Jumpers.) ~~Less misses mean less chances to rebound those misses.~~ [But obviously doesn't mean less percentage of real-existing offensive rebounding chances, thereby making my original point idiotic. Still, I'll keep it as it shows just how much more an efficient offensive player Amare' is than Ty.]

Indeed, even factoring in how well Tyrus has been playing as of late---and I think he's been pretty phenomenal---I can't imagine him ever being as much of an offensive force as Amare'. This is no knock against Tyrus. Amare' is one of the most efficient scorers to ever play the game. Two years ago, he became one of only two players in NBA history to average 20 points while taking less than 13 shots a game. (The other is Dwight Howard.) Last year, he joined Charles Barkley as the only other player in NBA history to average 25 points while taking less than 16 shots a game. This year, a supposedly bad and distracted Stoudemire is still putting up a TS% that is among the Top 20 of all players (and 7th among players averaging more than 30 min. a game).

I might not be so beguiled by Stoudemire's offensive ability (or deem it more worthwhile than Tyrus' defensive skills) if the Bulls had locked up Ben Gordon for the next few years. But as they didn't---and, with Toronto's O'Neal trade, it becomes likely that the Rapts could sign BG up long-term---the Bulls are really going to need another offensive threat to pair alongside Rose in order to compete night-in and night-out. Amare' would also firmly cement Luol's place as the team's third offensive option (behind AS and Rose), which I think is exactly where he belongs. With a frontcourt of Deng, Stoudemire, and Noah and the PG manned by Rose, I think I could live with Kirk Hinrich playing the two next year, which appears to be where we are heading regardless of whether this trade gets made.

For The Record

2009-02-10T10:51:00.003-06:00

TYI's official stance on the Amare trade is:

**If it's Gooden, Tyrus, Sefolosha and a draft pick, pull the trigger.

**If Steve Kerr actually expect you to add Noah to all of that, laugh in his face.

Learning Curve

2009-02-09T14:32:00.005-06:00

I'll bow to no one when it comes to my unhealthy man-crush on Derrick Rose, but since I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere, honesty compels me to note that he was absolutely MIA defensively on Kidd's game-tying three the other night. Check the tape:

It would be one thing if he'd been doubling down hard and trying to tie up Nowitzki and/or Barea. (It would be stupid with a three-point lead, but at least he'd be involved in the play.) Instead, he is simply watching the play unfold in no-man's-land, completely losing track of his man in the process.

This isn't suggest Rose shouldn't be on the floor at times like this; he MUST be, and VDN's recognition of this is one of the few things he's gotten right this year. But it is to suggest that the Bulls played a pretty nice game overall for 47 minutes and 47 seconds, and that Rose's defensive brain-fart cost them a chance to lock down the W. It really doesn't matter much this year, but in the future, hopefully, it will. And if Rose is ultimately going to become the type of franchise cornerstone that we all hope/believe he can be, he's going to have to eliminate these crunchtime lapses in concentration completely.

Can You Say Chi-City?

2009-02-05T12:30:00.002-06:00

Come on, Henry: What team is going to top a backcourt of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade?

Add in Kevin Garnett at the 4 and Corey Maggette at the 3, and it doesn't matter that we're starting Eddy Curry at center.

(And Julian Wright representing Big Sweet's own Flossmoor is a pretty nice sixth man.)

If By "Positive" You Mean "Sucky"...

2009-02-02T23:32:00.002-06:00

I know I just need to get over this already, but it's clear that K.C. Johnson and I live in two different worlds:

Making Monday's practice even more positive was the fact veteran big man Drew Gooden participated.

Less minutes for an improving Noah and Tyrus so as to make room for the guy who endlessly launches 20-footers, plays terrible defense, and has no future in the organization? Why, that is positive!

Signs of Life

2009-01-31T12:25:00.004-06:00

Okay, so blowing out two of the league's worst teams (even on the road) is no great shakes, but when your accomplishments have been as few and your failures as great as the Bulls' this season, this is a pretty decent-sized reed to hang your hat on.

It's been nice to see Deng once again begin to resemble the player who I was once so excited by. (Seems like eons ago.) And it's not just the increase in his scoring; He's been getting to the line almost five times a game this month; he'd previously only been getting there around 3. His rebounding this month has skyrocketed to 8 per game, up from a meager five. And he's been active in passing lanes defensively, nearly doubling his steals this month to almost 2 per game. (Although perhaps this is a mixed blessing; it seemed to me that, at least in the 2nd quarter of the Minnesota game, Rodney Carney was abusing Deng with back cuts to the rim; that stretch might've very well cost the Bulls that game.) Nevertheless, this is the player the Bulls were expecting when they shelled out $70-plus mil. this summer; If Deng can maintain this level of play for the rest of the season, I'll be feeling a lot better about that extension.

But the bigger treat during this recent stretch has been Joakim. Over the past six games, Noah is nearly averaging a double-double, with 9.5 ppg (on 62.5% shooting) and 9.3 rbg, while blocking more than 3 shots a game. (Although those blocks, too, can be a mixed blessing, as KD astutely pointed out the other day.) Take away the Toronto game (where Noah did most truly and profoundly shit the bed) and his numbers over this stretch would be even better.

What's the difference? Well, certainly he's probably finally in game shape at this point (and let's hope he's learned his lesson about staying in shape in the off-season). But the real difference is minutes. When Noah plays around 25 minutes or more (and he's been around 30 in this recent stretch), he is a perfectly adequate and productive NBA center. Period. Indeed, compare him against Drew Gooden at the position, and you find that Noah is almost as productive and that the opposing team's centers are considerably less so against Noah than Gooden. On that front, it'll be interesting to watch tonight's matchup with Shaq. For all the manhandling Noah might receive on the defensive end, he should be able to offset much of that if he runs the floor like he did against the Kings last night.

One last thing: I thought this quote from Orlando GM Otis Smith w/r/t Jameer Nelson was interesting: "I always said: 'Name me 10 guys that are better.'" Something to keep in mind with Ben Gordon. I'd say Kobe, Wade, Roy, Ginobli and Joe Johnson, for sure. Some older cats (Ray Allen, Vince, Rip) might be somewhat more productive, but they'll be declining soon. You've got some dudes who might be more productive, but have injury history (Monta, Kevin Martin, Michael Redd). Mayo might be, but he's not there yet. In any event, I'd say it's certainly arguable Gordon's one of the top 10 SGs in the NBA. As far as our position players go, you can say that about Rose and...anyone else?

Marx Was Right

2009-01-23T11:29:00.000-06:00

First as tragedy, then as farce.

Bulls #44 jerseys on sale now

2009-01-20T15:23:00.002-06:00

Deuce city raise up!

Third coast rise up!

Second c ...

Oh hell no, we got this for a while now.

Thrashing Via Proxy

2009-01-15T17:32:00.002-06:00

I don't really have the time or energy to give this post the whipping it so richly deserves. (I mean, come on: Who is the two guard in the 2004 Draft they'd have preferred Paxson draft over Gordon (who is, by the way, leading that draft class in career points per game)? Or, for that matter, which small forward would they have preferred over Deng? Would Iggy be some massive improvement?) So for now, I will keep my powder dry, and just point you here.

Apologies

2009-01-12T00:09:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the light posting recently, but until the Bulls decide to stop sitting Tyrus Thomas in the 4th quarter in favor of Drew Gooden (who in the last four minutes of regulation last night committed two fouls (which led to 3 OKC points), had two TOs (one of which forced Noah to foul Jeff Green in transition, leading to two more OKC points, which means that every point that OKC scored in the last 4 minutes can be attributed to Drew Gooden), then I don't see much point to keep this up.

Though still intrigued by some of the players, as the Bulls are currently configured/run out on the floor, I have no interest in this team. None.

I would rather watch flies fuck.

Something to Chew On...

2009-01-08T17:14:00.005-06:00

...for all the Ben Gordon haters out there: The Bulls' two-guards are ranked 7th in the league in Positional PER at 17.8. ~~(And I can assure you, Larry Hughes (14.6) is not helping matters.)~~** And for all the talk about how much of a detriment Gordon is as a defender, it's worth noting that they're sixth in net difference. So unless you think the Bulls are going to pick up D-Wade, Kobe, Joe Johnson, Brandon Roy, or Ray Allen, you might want to re-think your assumptions about how easy Gordon will be to replace.

Bulls are ranked 11th at PG (Yay, D. Rose!), 22nd at SF (You're worth every penny of that $70 plus mil., Luol!), 27th at PF (and second to last in Net), and 20th at C (and dead last in Net).

Helluva defensive frontcourt you've put together, Pax!

**Actually, I'm being unfair to Mr. Hughes. When he plays the 2-guard, his PER is nothing to sniff at. Not a giant sample, but still, fair's fair.

Rick Morrissey Is A Douchenozzle

2009-01-05T00:26:00.006-06:00

It's ugly enough watching Vinny Del Negro try to coach a professional basketball team. (For some reason, the words "monkey," "fucking," and "a football" are coming to mind.) But as if to prove that ugly can stretch beyond the Bulls' recent suckitude (indeed, can tend toward the infinite), the Trib's Rick Morrissey has been roused from his armchair to edify his readers with with what he no doubt believes is sound advice: "Bulls Should Throw Joakim Noah Overboard."

This column makes only one argument, but it makes it absolutely brilliantly. The only problem is, it's not the argument that Morrissey believes he is so cleverly making. Indeed, Morrissey's lone argument doesn't proceed from logic or reason (or--heaven forbid!--evidence), and in fact it is not so much rhetorical as it is performative. That is to say, throughout his scribblings, Morrissey makes one thing perfectly, remarkably clear, over and over and over again: "I am a fucking moron. I am a fucking moron. I am a fucking moron." (Or, alternatively, "Pieces of shit columns like this are why the Trib's going bankrupt! Pieces of shit columns like this, etc...")

There are so many perfectly formed pebbles of turd to tweeze out of this stinker, but let's start with this:

Noah informed Andres Nocioni last week that he had missed a defensive assignment, leading to a verbal altercation. That's called being out of touch. Nocioni is to defensive effort what a tornado chaser is to bad hair.

Gee, Rick, bang-on analogy (seriously, dude: a tornado chaser to bad hair??? WTF?), but as Matt explained the other day, the only problem here is that Noah was correct in calling Nocioni out.

It gets even better. Here's my favorite. My Lord, is this perfect nonsense:

Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Larry Hughes were fined after reacting poorly to coach Vinny Del Negro's reminder that Bulls players are not allowed to eat in the locker room before games. The fine, of course, had nothing to do with food and everything to do with who is running the show.

[...]

The truth about professional sports is that if you can play, you can get away with just about anything. In that sense, Noah's problem is a complete lack of awareness. He thinks he can play. And because of it, he gets himself in all sorts of situations he should avoid if he wants to have an NBA career that lasts longer than a few seasons.

The difference between Hughes and the double-headed, inconsistent monster of Noah and Thomas is that Hughes can play a little bit. [Emphasis abso-fucking-lutely gobsmackingly mine]

I repeat: The man actually wrote "Hughes can play a little bit." The man bitching about the Bulls' play in their last three games is complimenting the guard who is 9 for 30 in those games, while averaging 3 assists and 1.67 turnovers. This, so that he can castigate the player shooting 10 of 21 over the same period, while grabbing almost 10 boards a game. Ooh, the stupidity! It burns!

And indeed, though they're obviously very different players, if you compare their two seasons this year, you find the still-developing second-year center outperforming the nine-year guard (who should be roughly in his prime) in just about every meaningful statistical category (PER, True Shooting, Effective FG%, Win Shares, etc.).

Ah, but I'm sorry; I was potty-mouthed during this post (while actually performing research and introducing objective evidence into my argument). Looks like it's off to a Blogger's Ethics Panel for me. And if there was any accountability in this world, while I was there, Rick Morrissey would be in the unemployment line.

Stat of the Night

2008-12-29T21:57:00.004-06:00

Second Half Minutes

Tyrus Thomas: 4 minutes, 15 seconds

Lindsey Hunter: 8 minutes, 12 seconds

Christ, I don't even care that (somehow) they won. Throw in Thabo logging some significant minutes at PF, and come on: I have zero interest in watching this team. If for some reason Tyrus mouthed off at VDN again, who could blame him?

La Plus Que Ca Meme...

2008-12-29T09:58:00.003-06:00

So I'm back from vacation: What'd I miss?

Larry Hughes once again giving voice to his delusions of grandeur? K.C. Johnson endorsing the playing of Cedric Simmons over Joakim Noah, in the holy name of "Accountability"? Andres Nocioni sternly lecturing the team about playing solid one-on-one defense and preventing offensive rebounds?

Ahh...it's great to be back with the 2008/09 edition of the Chicago Bulls, where Irony and Self-Awareness are truly dead.

Players in the Box Score May Be Shittier Than They Appear (And Rookie Coaches May Be The Shittiest)

2008-12-17T09:54:00.002-06:00

Reading the box score from last night, you might think Drew Gooden had a good game: 14 pts. on an efficient 7/11 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists in 32 min. And yet---aside from the ref who whistled Rose for that horrible phantom foul on Augustin's three---I'd say Gooden had more to do with the Bulls' loss last night than any other person (with the possible exception of Vinny Del Negro, who I'll get to in a minute.)

First, let's look at the 4th quarter play-by-play. Even here, Gooden appears to have played pretty well. His line: 2/2 from the field, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 0 rebounds, and 2 fouls in 11+ minutes. His plus/minus for the quarter was +2.

Right away, you notice that he had a hand in six points, almost one-fifth of the Bulls' total in the quarter, which is decent. And while the two shots he took were pretty horrible (two long jumpers; one highly contested, one super early in the shot clock), he did make them both, so let's give him a pat on the head for that.

But look at the rest of that statline, particularly within the context of the game, and the small negatives really, really add up. His two fouls both came early in the quarter (in the first four min.), and both were shooting fouls, leading directly to three FTAs. (They made two, and missed an "and one.") It's true, Nocioni's terrible D on Carroll put Gooden in a tough spot on one of those fouls, but even granting the perils of being hung out to dry by Noce, Gooden's own defensive positioning on that play was still pathetic. Indirectly, you can add two more Charlotte FTs to Gooden's early fouls, b/c Deng's non-shooting foul on Augustin to stop a fast break with 3 min. left to play was the Bulls' fifth, putting the Bobcats in the bonus. (Augustin sunk them both.)

Meanwhile, Gooden's turnover at the 5:20 mark was jaw-droppingly stupid, a lazy pass to Rose in the backcourt that Augustin easily picked off. What's more, it came immediately after the Bobcats had cut the Bulls' 4 pt. lead to two. So instead of playing in control of a 1-2 possession game, the Bulls were suddenly on their heels, facing a potential tie. And in the extra Bobcats' possession directly following that bone-headed TO, Gooden's zero rebounds came into play. At 5:03, Diaw missed a jump shot, but Gooden didn't box out Okafor, who tipped it in over him. In 25 seconds, the Bulls' four-point lead was evaporated, due in no small part to Gooden.

Then there's the stuff that doesn't show up in the box score or play-by-play, or at least only shows up under "Rose: Turnover." I am talking, of course, about what seems to be one of VDN's favorite plays, the two-man game at the top of the key with Rose and Gooden. This is utterly infuriating; stupidity of Blagojevichian proportions. If I have to watch it for much more this season, I'm either going to end up electrocuting myself by taking a golf club to the television, or wandering mindlessly through the wintry streets of Chicago, garments rent and raving madly like Lear.

If Gooden actually played the pick-and-roll (instead of his much preferred pick-and-pop), that might be one thing. Perhaps Rose could then find him cutting to the hoop for an easy bucket. But Gooden being who he is (and he's a multi-year vet at this point; he is who he is), this play-call late in games is tailor-made to result in Rose being double-teamed and forced to give up the rock to Gooden for an open 20-foot jumper. If our power forward was, say, Tim Duncan, or Kevin Garnett, or Rasheed Wallace, or Amare Stoudemire, I might happily cheer such devious play-calling, cackling in delight at such crafty forcing-upon-the-defense to "pick its poison." But our power forward is Drew Fucking Gooden, and there isn't a defense in the league that wouldn't love to have him shooting 20-footers all night, particularly when the other option is Derrick Rose wreaking havoc in the lane and taking it to you like some goddamn monster.

You've gotta feel sorry for Derrick. He forced some things last night, but Vinny was repeatedly putting him in a position to fail (or, at any rate, in a position to repeatedly pass to Drew Gooden for open 20-foot jumpers, which is pretty much the same thing). Surely what added to Derrick's frustration is that he remembers what I remember: Him, last March, during the NCAA Tournament, playing against Texas, being guarded by Augustin, and absolutely ABUSING him by going one-on-one in open space, starting at the top of the key and then using his combination of quickness, hops, and upper-body strength to muscle his way to layup after layup after layup.

It was while watching Rose simply obliterate Augustin (who many had previously been touting as Rose's equal) during that game that I first realized for certain he was going to be something else in the NBA, sui generis. A lot of people are surprised by how well he's playing; I can honestly say that I'm not, because my eyes were opened during that game. It would be nice if Vinny could track down a tape of it and watch it, and maybe get a sense of how to effectively use Rose. But then again, who'd want to watch Rose's athleticism and creativity in full, unfettered blossom late in the fourth quarter, when you can gaze in love and affection instead at the beauty that is Drew Gooden, jacking up 20-footers?

UPDATE: Henry appears to agree

Question

2008-12-15T23:53:00.005-06:00

To all those people who are always like, "d00d, Da Bullz totally need an All-Star!!!111!!! 4 reelz": Would you trade Derrick Rose for Allen Iverson? Or maybe Luke Ridnour?

If your answer is no, then, please, do kindly shut it. Thanks,

The TYI Management

Stat of the Night

2008-12-12T21:19:00.004-06:00

4th Quarter Shot Attempts

Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose Combined: 5 (2 with under 30 seconds left)
Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden Combined: 8

Nocioni also added 2 fouls, 1 rebound (0 defensive), 1 turnover, 0 assists, and 1 goaltend in his 6 minute stint. But I'm sure he's much more of "a professional" than Tyrus.

Give. Me. A. Fucking. Break.

UPDATE: Luol Deng's three fucking rebounds (1 defensive) in 37 minutes didn't fucking help, either.

A Short Docu-Drama in One Act

2008-12-10T17:31:00.002-06:00

(BenGo07's cell phone rings. He looks and sees it's Coach Skiles.)

BenGo07: Yo, yo.

Coach Skiles: What's up! I'm on the Larry Hughes Bandwagon!

BenGo07 (clearly stunned): Really?

Coach Skiles: No. In fact, if I ever say that again, it means I'm in a hostage situation and that's the code phrase for the sharpshooters to take me out.

Therapy

2008-12-10T12:04:00.003-06:00

All Nocioni (-10) and no Tyrus make BenGo07 something something.

Go crazy?

Don't mind if I do: BLAH!! EEK!! BIPPITY-BIPPITY!! WAAAAAHAHAHAHA!! YAAAAAAAARRRRGGGH!!!! GRBBBBLE!!! NONONONONONONONONO!!! WHYOWHYOWHYOWHYOWHY!!!! RATFINKCOCKSUCKAMOTHAFUCKADELNEGRO!!!!

(gurgle)

K.C.'s Irony-Free Zone

2008-12-08T16:17:00.001-06:00

From K.C. Johnson's article today:

The creator of the hilarious Web site heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com has posted only two entries since the February trade that sent Larry Hughes from Cleveland to the Bulls.

The self-described Cavaliers fan claims his work is done now that Hughes plays elsewhere. But even if the witty site were still being mined for material daily, the serious truth is Hughes wouldn't be giving anybody much with which to work. [Emphasis mine]

I don't know, K.C. Hell, in this very article, there's this:

"I always try to keep my teammates before me on the court. I try to help guys out, get guys in their groove because I feel I can always find my groove."

Says the dude averaging 2.1 assists per 40 minutes!!!

As the late, great Bill Hicks said, "It's irony, at a pretty base level, but I like it!"

Charting Individual Defense

2008-12-03T16:41:00.005-06:00

Schulyer Davis over at Basketball Statistics is charting and attempting to quantify the Bulls' individual defense this year. His categories seem a little arbitrary and subjective to me, but that's sort of the nature of the enterprise. (And what, no Closeout category?) In any event, I'll be interested to see what comes up with...

Thank You Isiah

With No Great Moves Availables, Why Not Make A Dick Move?

W000000000000000000000000000T!!!!!111!!!11!1!!!

Derrick Rose for MVP, Without Apologies

Just When You Thought You Couldn't Love This Team Any More

"I shoot the lights out...high 'til it's bright out."

The Case Against GQ

Rondo For Rose? In. Your. Wet. Fucking. Dreams.

No One Rose Should Have All That Power

How Good Was Deng Tonight?

Watch Your Back, Monta Ellis...

Rats

"What Should I Do?"

Preseason Review

The Pick and Ro' Under Thibodeau

Uhm...Wow.

Groan, Head Slap, Etc.

Noah for Melo? Um, No.

Let the Record Show...

KD on Pippen

The Schedule Is Out

Three Kings

Like A Bad Penny...

The Flex Plan

So Far, So Good...

Hmmmm...

Sitting On A Cornflake...

The End of Hinrich?

Quite Possibly...

What the Hell Is Wrong With The Bulls Blogosphere?

My Lord, Sweet Jesus, No

Tomorrow's Bulls Headlines Today

My Greatest Fear

The King Is Dead! Long Live the King!

Deep, Deep Playoff Analysis/Prediction

Not That I Would Ever Be One To Say 'I Told You So'...

Vaya Con Gimmick

What Could Roust Me From My Bulls-Blogging Lethargy?

A Meme That Has So Got To Die

Oh, Brother...

A Match Made for Morons (Or, Maybe, Sado-Masochists)

Some Random Thoughts About A Nice Win

Sign of the Apocalypse: Peterson Envy

My Kingdom For A Two-Guard!

Dates To Remember: 12/7/41, 9/11/01, 1/5/09

Another Bouquet for Noah

Just So We're Clear...

A Little Unsettling...

Game One: The X-Man Cometh

Two (Kinda Related) Thoughts

"...but when I was growing up, I played outside at a park."

Reinsdorf Owns Bulls, Lots of Money, No Responsibility for Anything

Ugh...

I'll Make MinceMeat Out of That Tweet, Mouse

Who Should the Bulls Draft?

time for Pax to earn his keep

2nd Pick 2nd Overall

The Year of Daily Orgasms From the American Heartland

Wow!

Vinny out for game 6 with Swine Flu?

Brad Miller...

Game 4: Bulls Overcome Celtics, Del Negro

Derrick Rose Has To Do A Lot of Things

More Moderated Post-Game 1 Thoughts

Derrick Rose Is A Mother Fuckin' G

Obligatory Bulls Playoff Post

Noah's value?

Bulls Basketball: It's Markedly Efficient!

Cry Me a Pinche Rio

The Bulls Abide

Foreboding

Listening to Sports Radio...

Talk About A Bad Day for Chicagoans...

Could 'Space Chimps' Be Any Worse Than Watching Hinrich in the Fourth?

Two Things

Good News/Bad News

Why Two Semi-Crappy Contracts Are Better Than One Hugely Crappy Contract

The Financial Ramifications

Quick Trade Reaction

Farewell to a Mensch