Chicago Bulls Season Thread 35-33 -- vs kings 3.21/3.23 vs knicks/3.24 knicks

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Yeah, even though we beat them last time I wasn't fully satisfied.
Those cats embarrassed us the previous time. We need a big game from Rose he's due.
 
Even though we haven't played to the best of our abilities this season, we are first in the east. 
smokin.gif
 Hopefully D. Rose can get it going soon. 
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 Get well soon Dun
 
The night Bobby Portis was drafted he knew playing time would be at a premium in his rookie season.

Portis, the second team All-American his sophomore year at Arkansas, slipped to No. 22 at draft night, with the Bulls scooping up the best player available expected by many to be taken in the lottery.

The Bulls had a need at point guard behind Derrick Rose and could have added a wing to complement Tony Snell and Doug McDermott, but instead they drafted with an eye toward the future and added to their already loaded frontcourt, perhaps the deepest in the league.

There was optimism that Portis was ready for the big stage when he averaged 14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds in the Las Vegas Summer League, and he performed well in seven preseason games, averaging 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds.

But the regular season was a different story. Portis has appeared in just three games, totaling 22 minutes. The Bulls' frontcourt quartet of Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson have combined to miss just one game, with Noah sitting out a game in Philadelphia last month.

"Once I got drafted I kind of knew. It’s not that hard to tell," Portis said of his expected playing time. "They’ve been here longer than I have and obviously I’m a rookie so I have to play to my role and my role is to be a positive guy on the bench and cheer for my teammates and be the best teammate possible.

"My role is not to play right now. I’m cool with waiting on my turn and once my turn comes then I’ll be the Bobby Portis I’ve always been."

He made his NBA debut in the Bulls' blowout loss to the Hornets in November, scoring 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter. When Noah sat out in Philadelphia, Portis saw his first first-half action, scoring two points in 10 minutes.

And though his playing time has been minuscule, head coach Fred Hoiberg has constantly applauded Portis' work ethic and attitude, where he "pushes the heck out of our guys in practice."

"He’s a great attitude, great spirit, he’s doing all the things that he has to do to keep himself ready for when that time comes that his name is called," Hoiberg added, "which again will happen sometime this season and most likely sometime soon."

Portis has admitted frustration at not playing a year after he averaged 29.9 minutes per game for the Razorbacks. But the same veterans playing ahead of him also have been the ones in his ear, telling him to be ready whenever his number is called.

"(Joakim Noah) and Taj (Gibson) always tell me that their rookie years they were siting on the bench and something happened, someone got traded or injured and then they started playing," Portis said. "So they told me to stay ready because things happen in this league that are crazy and things can change easily."




Portis has filled the void of not playing by participating in 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 drills after practice against teammates. And while he'd like to be playing, with the Bulls' frontcourt playing well and the team sitting at 11-7, just a half game out of the top seed in the East, Portis is taking his role in stride.

"(Hoiberg) actually talked to me today, told me to stay ready. He likes the things that I’m doing," Portis said. I come here every day with a positive attitude. I don’t complain about me not playing. I just try to bring positive energy on the bench, in practice and even on the road. I just try to be myself.

"Like I’ve always said, it’s not about me right now. It’s about the team. I’m just trying to be the best teammate possible."
 
I feel like this team has good pieces but arent a championship caliber team. I hope that one day the Bulls can learn from teams like the Spurs, Hawks, and most importantly the Warriors. We've been too conservative for too long. So i enjoy this team for what they are and dont expect much anymore.
 
sthebest said:
I feel like this team has good pieces but arent a championship caliber team. I hope that one day the Bulls can learn from teams like the Spurs, Hawks, and most importantly the Warriors. We've been too conservative for too long. So i enjoy this team for what they are and dont expect much anymore.
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DJ KHALED*  -  "ACRU-RATE"
 
This team is so garbage. The only reason we have winning record is because we're in the East. It's such a chore watching these guys. No one remotely shows passion or seems to ever build on their performances. No consistency.


I got a lot of heat for defending the FO and rightfully so. But I can see where this team is going. Fire whoever needs to be fired. This team is a joke.
 
I was paying attention on Bleacher report on the Bulls stream... everything looked great, but as usual, I questioned the lead.

Bam, 40 point 4th quarter by the suns and yep. Of course, bad pass by mirotic and gasol. The end

What do I expect? Nothing anymore. Lol SAD!
 
Identifying the problem?

That’s easy for the Bulls coaching staff and players.



Fixing it?



Therein lies the difficulty.

After the Bulls blew what was a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter in Monday night’s catastrophic meltdown, Pau Gasol had no problem calling out his teammates in the wake of the 103-101 loss to Phoenix.



“I wouldn’t say it’s X’s and O’s,’’ the veteran big man said. “It’s a mental thing. It’s a mindset thing. It’s a heart thing. It’s a chemistry thing. I think there are different factors at play here. Like I’ve said, we’ve got to understand what’s going on here. How bad to we want this?

“Because games like this and games like Charlotte, we can’t afford to lose. There’s a big difference between winning those games and losing them at the end of the season. We’re playing ourselves out of the playoffs right now. The Eastern Conference is too tight. It’s wide open, but we’ve got to go for it. We’re fighting for something, but we’ve got to change things up a bit.’’

Then Gasol was asked what changes need to be made.

“I have no idea,’’ Gasol said. “You have to come out and start playing like you want it more than anything else.’’

But it’s time to address the elephant in the room – or at least the pit-bull of a coach that used to spend 24/7 watching tape in the film room.

Through no fault of his own, Fred Hoiberg proudly insisted in his first press conference that he was inheriting a championship-caliber roster. The front office obviously felt it was a championship-caliber roster, making no real changes from last season except firing Tom Thibodeau.

Here’s what could have been the huge miscalculation by Gar/Pax, however. Thibodeau brought the best out of his players. He got Nate Robinson and D.J. Augustin paid, was the only coach that ever figured out the full potential of Luol Deng, put an MVP trophy above Derrick Rose’s fireplace, made Joakim Noah an All-Star, an MVP candidate and the Defensive Player of the Year, and developed Jimmy Butler into an All-Star.

Maybe, just maybe, Hoiberg actually inherited a team that was made better by a coach that pushed players to their highest potential.

On top of that, Hoiberg won’t admit it, but this is not exactly the ideal personnel for what he wants to do, especially on offense.

For as athletic as Derrick Rose is, he still doesn’t push the ball up the court with the relentlessness Hoiberg wants it pushed. The outside shooting is inconsistent, the ball still stops far too often on one side of the court, and on misses, the transition defense is still filled with miscommunication.

Considering all of that, Hoiberg has done a good job getting the Bulls off to an 11-7 start, but it’s time for the front office to start looking for personnel that will aid their new coach rather than force him to jam a square peg into a round hole.

That, however, would also mean that this front office would be admitting that their personal dislike for Thibodeau outweighed the importance for a title chase with this current core of players. Not an easy get, and fireable in some organizations.

Hoiberg can coach. As his philosophies are hammered in on a daily basis, things will get better. Until then, though, there will be nights like Phoenix and Charlotte with this group of players.

Nights where there will be more questions than answers.
 
Remember when Drose said he wanted Bulls to go after Joe Johnson? JJ is a free agent next year.
 
Bc of playing on a horrible team.

If any motivation JJ can get, I'm sure he can be pretty good. Plus, that's another ball handler.
 
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HELL NAW!! To JJ on this team!
We don't need anymore old players on the decline.
JJ is completely washed! All his numbers are down all across the board, got the worst fg% next to Kobe.

You should be banned from this thread for bringing up that non sense.
 
SLP Product said:
^
HELL NAW!! To JJ on this team!
We don't need anymore old players on the decline.
JJ is completely washed! All his numbers are down all across the board, got the worst fg% next to Kobe.

You should be banned from this thread for bringing up that non sense.
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Hahahaha Goodness, I should be banned? 

JJ may be old, but at least he can still be productive rather than Snell who can't do much, Hinrich who will give you bad nights more than good ones.

You remember when Gasol had two terrible years with the Lakers after D'antoni took over? Well, same situation with Joe Johnson.

All because he's playing on a trashy Nets team with a coach that does not run any plays for him this year.. 

Again, if I should be banned for this "nonsense", maybe some of us should be banned from this thread of being delusional. 

Delusional = Nonsense.  And getting JJ isn't delusional, because that's actually what the Bulls FO are about, OLD HEADS. lol
sthebest said:
JJ is washed. We need young athleticism.
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As much as we need young athleticism, you really think we're gonna get it? 

I'm just being as real as the Bulls owners are..  Sign old heads. hahahaha

But if it's truly was up to us, I would agree to sign young athletic guys as well. 
 
Besides all that,  Hoiberg is thinking about starting Taj Gibson..

PLEASE DO ! It's way overdue!
 
I've said it before the season started.
Front court should've been Pau/Taj and JO/Niko off the bench.
Raise Taj's value up before flipping him, and give Pau the old Boozer treatment and limit his minutes down the stretch in favor of JO to keep our intensity and close out games.

As good as Pau is on offense he's a huge liability on D.

As far as JJ goes...no he won't be a 20 ppg guy, hell he won't even be a 15 ppg unless he chucks over 15 shots. You're same analogy of Kirk applies to JJ he'll be off more than hot.

Bulls front office isn't about "old heads" more so than settling for 2nd and 3rd options after failing to land the big prize. Part of the reason I believe Fred is struggling a bit is due to personnel. He doesn't have they type of players he needs for his system to be effective.

Gotta remember he's a rookie head coach inheriting a veteran team, not the same as getting a young team and growing together.
 
SLP Product said:
I've said it before the season started.
Front court should've been Pau/Taj and JO/Niko off the bench.
Raise Taj's value up before flipping him, and give Pau the old Boozer treatment and limit his minutes down the stretch in favor of JO to keep our intensity and close out games.

As good as Pau is on offense he's a huge liability on D.

As far as JJ goes...no he won't be a 20 ppg guy, hell he won't even be a 15 ppg unless he chucks over 15 shots. You're same analogy of Kirk applies to JJ he'll be off more than hot.

Bulls front office isn't about "old heads" more so than settling for 2nd and 3rd options after failing to land the big prize. Part of the reason I believe Fred is struggling a bit is due to personnel. He doesn't have they type of players he needs for his system to be effective.

Gotta remember he's a rookie head coach inheriting a veteran team, not the same as getting a young team and growing together.
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Agreed with what you said with everything until the JJ part, 

That there, I or nor should anyone expect JJ to average 20ppg because that's Butler's job or Rose or Gasol.. Either or. 

What Joe Johnson can bring to the table is off the dribble, penetration to some extent or if the double teams come, he'll be one more player to alleviate the pressure of Butler and Rose. 

To be able to have 2 or 3 players being able to go off on any given night is what can make the Bulls team dangerous. As of  now, if you nullified Butler and Rose, that's pretty much. As we saw from the Hornets game.  As long as there is a THREAT on the team that the scouting report says, "Pay attention to him also", you have a better percentage to play with. 

The Bulls FO's 2nd or 3rd options are always either OLD or SHORT. 

And I've definitely take into the account of Fred being a rookie coach. Which last night, he made a rookie mistake by not going for a 2 for 1 situation and instead, he called a time out when the ball is almost half court and thus resulting the ball being in-bound into the back court. Besides that, I have faith in him. And yes, I agreed with you, the players mostly don't fit his system. 
 
Joe isnt the answer. Older guy who plays when he wants, we got enough guys like that.

Hoiberg may be the answer but this group isnt playing hard for him. He needs his best players to buy into his system, Rose doesnt believe in it or isnt running it. Hoiberg wants to push the ball, Rose doesnt push the ball at all.

Some is on the players and some is on the front office. Hoiberg is trying too hard not to rock the boat, playing the nice guy role since he came into a built team already. Team just doesnt play hard. It is what it is
 
jmause3 said:
Joe isnt the answer. Older guy who plays when he wants, we got enough guys like that.

Hoiberg may be the answer but this group isnt playing hard for him. He needs his best players to buy into his system, Rose doesnt believe in it or isnt running it. Hoiberg wants to push the ball, Rose doesnt push the ball at all.

Some is on the players and some is on the front office. Hoiberg is trying too hard not to rock the boat, playing the nice guy role since he came into a built team already. Team just doesnt play hard. It is what it is
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of course Joe isn't the answer, at least he can help be a threat. Which he truly creates spacing on the floor.

Gasol doesn't fit the system at all, I'm sure other players on the team knows that but they have to accommodate him because he's a vet. As soon as Pau leaves, the team would probably look much different.
Pau doesn't run and running is the main part of Hoiberg system.
 
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