Bulls offseason Thread

Rose balled, Jimmy balled, Noah and Pau double double. Brooks went off in his short time. Cant wait for us to get all healthy and in a groove.
 
Mirotic playing much better too. We have to figure out a way to continue to give him minutes when Taj comes back.

Think the leash is getting tighter with Doug which im not mad about.

Defense needs to get better. Hopefully by February we will have a locked in rotation and have everyone healthy for at least a string of 10 games.
 
Nice victory over Boston. And rose played solid.
Jimmy butler has been carrying the bulls this season so far.
Hope the management rewards his efforts.
 
Now way.
Part of the reason Jimmy is flourishing is because he has Carte Blanche over the offense.
Aside from Pau, Jimmy is really the only other scoring threat out there without Rose.

As much as I like Melo's scoring abilities his style of play usually stagnates the offense due to him dominating the ball and playing hero ball most of the time. No one else gets in rhythm and players just stand around waiting for a shot. Jimmy tends to blend well in the offense and doesn't become a black hole, he is also always busy. Running and slashing in the lanes, picking up rebounds, and he passes well too.

Someone mentioned this earlier but at this point I will consider it a great accomplishment if we can string 20 games together. I really feel like if this squad were healthy and everyone was playing, we would be the best team in the L.
 
I see what Rose has done to his shot.

His threes, when he misses, he historically misses short, so now I'm seeing him lean forward a lot on his threes.

Whatever works :pimp:
 
Yeh I noticed that tweak as well. I just hope he continues to get back to dominating night in and night out. I hit up City panicking when they went down. But they did what they always do, comeback and make it a game. Proud of this team. I pray this is the year.
 
Bulls have a window this yr.

This is going to be the worst the Cavs will ever be and the Cavs will be better next yr after a yr of getting to know each other and adding some more pieces..

They just gotta have their health in order, and they'll have a strong chance of coming out the east..

Winning the finals is a different beast lol, but first things first..
 
Snell has his moments but for the most part it seems he plays scared or his confidence gets shaken up pretty easily
 
amel223 said:
Snell has his moments but for the most part it seems he plays scared or his confidence gets shaken up pretty easily
Click to expand...

That's what happens when ur hc would rather play jimmy buckets 53 mpg if he could. His new loul!!!

Kids play scared/timid instead of what the bench mobb used to do, balls to the wall.
 
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If Snell keeps it up, playing behind Buter is the least of his worries. Might follow the way of another ex-Bull ej. Marquis Teague
 
Teague never sniffed 16mpg iirc

Mind blowing how thibs doesn't get this is a marathon not a sprint. I mean, ur in the gd east Tom. Faaaaaaakkkk
 
I'd love to see Snell do well and was excited about him coming into this season stronger and playing very well in summer league, but he's just gone back to looking awful and I question if you're actually watching the games if you're arguing that he deserves more minutes
 
^^Confident players get minutes, not the other way around lol

Teague only has himself to blame for being out of the league

Back when the Bulls bench was strongest, Thibs liked to play 9 men, par for the course for an nba rotation, with Luol playing the most minutes

It'd be about the same right now if everyone was healthy, with Mirotic looking to be that 9th man.
 
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IMO confidence or minutes is like the chicken before the egg argument. I believe in both; if you're confident you get minutes, but you also need to give minutes to have players gain confidence. Snell and McMisses need more chances this early part of the season. You'll never know when you need them. Giving Jimmy 4-5 minutes a game would save him from breaking down.

Teague just flat out sucked :lol:
 
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It's not looking good for Snell. He's had two summer leagues, two training camps, a yr of nba experience under his belt and one rookie is passing him on the depth chart already (Mirotic) and he's fighting to get out of the trenches with another (McDermott) ; I have a feeling McDermott will pass him on the depth chart too

Even though it will take Jimmy three more seasons to break out, at this point of his career, Jimmy was already getting minutes

Even though Dougie has looked lost on offense, I think what's keeping Thibs from playing him is his defense, not his offense. Once he stops irritating Thibs on that end, Thibs will start giving him the go ahead
 
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As for Teague, he looked promising in his second summer league stint. Just one of those dudes whose confidence is fragile as an egg. Couldn't take advantage of Rose being hurt for two seasons lol

Now DJ Augustin did. Nate did. Now look at them.
 
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http://drosesandthorns.com/2014/11/26/jimmy-butler-an-unexpected-journey-chicago-bulls/

via pippenainteasy


Player Profiles

The Butler: An Unexpected Journey

November 26, 2014 Jake Weiner Leave a comment


Jimmy Butler has been a fan favorite for most of his Bulls career, but it wasn’t until this season that he’s played like a true All-Star on both ends of the floor. I won’t get into his incredible life story, but it’s well worth a read if you’re unfamiliar. Most players as talented as Jimmy are great offensive players who take longer to become consistent defenders, if ever (like James Harden or Carmelo Anthony). Butler is the rare player who came out of the gate as an elite defender and has, early on this season, developed into a high level offensive player as well.

While the Bulls are no doubt ecstatic about this development, it has come at a particularly opportune time for Butler financially. In the NBA, first round picks are under cheap, cost-controlled rookie contracts for their first four seasons. The deadline for teams to agree to extensions with these players is on Halloween of their fourth season. (You might remember Taj Gibson receiving his contract extension at the buzzer two seasons ago). After Jimmy’s extremely disappointing campaign on the offensive end last year (which we’re about to dig into), the Bulls were hesitant to hand Butler the $12 million per year plus he wanted. With Butler on the shelf to start the year, the two sides agreed it would be mutually beneficial to revisit contract talks after the season.

jimmy butler

Of course, this could be horrific for Bulls fans. After the season, Butler will be a restricted free agent. If Butler signs a qualifying offer like the vast majority of RFAs, any team can sign him to an offer sheet that the Bulls will have the ability to match. While the Bulls have expressed that they’re happy to match a big contract if Jimmy is worth it, one only needs to look at Houston, Dallas and Chandler Parsons to see how dicey things can get when a savvy team gets creative with the offer sheet. In fact, stay in Houston for a moment and you’ll remember that the Bulls lost Omer Asik to a backloaded offer sheet that had more consequences for Chicago than Houston. The Bulls’ front office was confident about retaining Asik as well.

If Butler keeps up his current level of play, the Bulls will likely match a maximum offer sheet, especially if Derrick Rose’s health issues exacerbate and it becomes time to consider building around other young players like Butler. Let’s take a look at how Butler’s game has gone on the titular unexpected journey towards stardom. Here are Jimmy’s traditional box score statistics over the last three seasons (he didn’t get much run his rookie year):

(stats via Basketball-Reference)
(stats via Basketball-Reference)

The numbers that stand out first are the constant increases in scoring. What’s important to note is that Butler’s minutes increased by nearly 50% from 2012-13 to 2013-14 but have remained at the same insanely high level for this season. He’s fluctuated wildly in terms of efficiency from range, but this season’s small sample size is probably the most indicative of his true rate. While Jimmy’s not bricking his threes this year, he’s upped his scoring in multiple ways. Originally thought to have the ceiling of a “3 and D” guy who could lock down top scorers and knock down shots from the corners, Butler has instead become a dynamic playmaker.

To really dig in, we need to look at the advanced stats, which are actually quite simple. Usage % is an estimate of the possessions that a player uses while he’s on the floor. With five guys on each team, an average usage rate would be 20%. Free throw rate (FTr) is the number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt; it tells us how proficient a guy is at getting to the charity stripe. Three point attempt % (3PA%) is the percentage of FG attempts that come from long distance. Assist, rebound and steal rate measure how often a player accrues those statistics. Finally, Win Shares per 48 Minutes (WP/48) quantifies the number of “wins” a player contributes on a per game basis. It’s a stat that encompasses many aspects of the game and the career leaders are MJ, David Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Chris Paul and LeBron. (All advanced stats besides FT rate do not include Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets):

stats via Basketball-Reference
(stats via Basketball-Reference)

The most shocking development in Jimmy’s game has been his usage rate. For his first three seasons in the league, Butler was a markedly below average player in terms of volume on offense. At times last season he would disappear for entire halves. Of course Butler was playing through turf toe, but his role was severely diminished regardless. Jimmy has not just been an important part of the offense this year; he’s been the integral part. Using almost 23% of possessions has made Butler the first or second option most nights on a team that has played far more often than not without its highest usage player (Derrick Rose).

Key to Butler’s increased volume has been the efficiency coming with it. On last season’s anemic Bulls squad, Jimmy took a very high 34.6% of his field goal attempts from long distance. Because he shot so poorly from range, he brought very little value on the offensive side of the floor. By bringing that number under 20% in the early part of this season, Butler has regained his efficiency through a vastly improved post game and constant activity cutting and driving to the basket. Furthermore, taking less contested jumpers has brought Jimmy’s three point percentage up to a more acceptable 33%.

Of course, the most important part of Jimmy Butler’s emerging offensive game is his ridiculous free throw rate. After setting a career high with 18 free throws made in 20 attempts in Denver, Butler’s free throw rate now stands at .588 which is higher than DeMarcus Cousins and free throw legend James Harden!!! It’s no wonder Stacey King loves comparing Butler to Harden (.579 FT rate). Getting to the stripe has always been a big part of Jimmy’s game, but it’s been a delight seeing him continue to rack up free throws as his volume increases so significantly.

Finally, we can see by using WS/48 that Butler may truly be ready to join the league’s elite. Going into Tuesday’s loss to Denver, his WS/48 of .209 would have ranked in the top ten in 2013-14 and is notably higher than his two previous seasons. Combining Jimmy’s constant All-NBA defense with his improved offensive game is lethal. If Butler can keep up what he’s shown thus far, he’ll be a no-brainer All-NBA and maximum contract player.
 
Another great game for Jimmy and Pau :pimp:

I feel what a lot of you guys are saying on Snell, IMO its less about Snell and more about Jimmy. Cant continue to play him this much. The FO thought they addressed this issue in the offseason with Doug, but hes not ready yet. I'd rather have Tony out there than Doug at this point. Thats not saying much but i feel Tony is playing better right now.
 
Lol didn't realize until someone pointed it out on Twitter but today is the first time Rose finished consecutive games this season

And if the order of substitutions is any indication, it seems Thibs favors Doug (marginally) over Tony
 
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This clown's act has long ago worn thin on me :smh:

Can't understand how I can despise a player I used to like this much....time somebody put this rabid dog to sleep.

Good win nonetheless......

I really wished Thibs would give Tony and Doug more TIP, were gonna need all these guys in the late stretch of the season. I want to see these guys flourish and find their roles within the team.
It may sound cliche but Thibs has that game 7 mentality for every single game we play....it's good and bad at the same time.
 
I'm being completely serious when I say this. I think Kevin Garnett has some mental health issues. Obviously high functioning but definitely has issues
 
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