vs BOSTON CELTICS (2-3) @ CHICAGO BULLS (5-1) Game 7, Home Game 3 Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 – 7:00 PM CT United Center WGN America / ESPN 1000 AM / WRTO-AM BULLS/CELTICS STREAKS BULLS CURRENT STREAK ..... 3 Wins BULLS HOME STREAK ............ 2 Wins BULLS ROAD STREAK ............. 1 Wins BULLS VS. CELTICS THIS SEASON Nov. 8 @ Chicago – Nov. 28 @ Boston – Jan. 3 @ Chicago – Jan. 16 @ Boston – All-Time-Record Overall - 96-114 Home - 60-45 Road - 35-63 Neutral 1-6 Game Notes Chicago Bulls (5-1) Home 1-1 Road 4-0 Bulls Season Averages: PPG: 104.8 (Opp: 98.3) RPG: 42.2 (Opp: 45.3) APG: 22.2 (Opp: 22.0) SPG: 5.67 (Opp: 8.17) BPG: 7.33 (Opp: 4.00) TO: 15.5 (Opp: 11.2) FG%: .480 (Opp: .413) FT%: .398 (Opp: .301) 3p%: .775 (Opp: .793) Probable Bulls starters Kirk Hinrich - PG - Jimmy Butler - SG - Mike Dunleavy - SF - Pau Gasol - PF - Joakim Noah - C - Bulls Stats Leaders Points: Butler 20.5, Gasol 18.5 Rebounds: Gasol 10.8, Noah 9.8 Assists: Rose 5.3, Butler & Brooks 4.3 Steals: Butler 1.75, Hinrich 1.33 Blocks: Gasol 2.50, Noah 2.25 FG%: Gibson .625, Brooks .500 FT%: Mirotic .900, Brooks .875 3FG%: Brooks .558, Dunleavy .438 Injury report Jimmy Butler (left thumb sprain), Taj Gibson (left ankle sprain) are probalbe Derrick Rose (left ankle sprain) is questionable. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report. Boston Celtics (2-3) Home 2-1 Road 0-2 Probable Celtics starters Phil Pressey - PG Avery Bradley - SG Jeff Green - SF Jared Sullinger - PF Kelly Olynyk - C Injury report Vitor Faverani Left Knee Surgery Out 10/6/14 Marcus Smart Left Ankle Sprain Out 11/7/14 Rajon Rondo Left Hand Procedure Out 11/7/14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another team with an inferior record. However, like Transplant said in last night's game thread......these guys are all still playing for money, so you actually have to show up and take care of business.
Message to the Chicago West Side Basketball Club: Thank you for the exciting finish to last night's game. Gosh, I just never dreamed that a 16-point lead could be frittered away that quickly. Imagine my surprise. Don't fucking do that again. Thank you.
It's looking like "if" we're going to win, it's the down 1 with 1 second left scenario. Coasting to victory vs. furious comeback or brutally difficult possession ever time.
10 minutes left, down by 18, and the team decided to start playing like it gave a damn. Let's hope it's enough.
It is unfortunate that Kirk only shows flashes of the player he once was too infrequently. Too many games like tonight.
Bulls look kind of old and gimpy out there. Nice to see some defensive effort down the stretch and Aaron Brooks is playing as expected. Tired of the Rose issues. This guy has taken the franchise hostage. Noah is out there giving it a go. Rose has sprained ankles. I get being cautious and that its only the regular season, but it gets old. No surprise that Dougie and Mirotic are not seeing the court much during crunch time. Not used to seeing the Bulls getting outrebounded and not winning the loose ball battles. When the engine (Noah) is gimpy and Captain Kirk, Gasol and Dunleavy are getting heavy minutes, well, the Bulls are old. Its going to catch up eventually. Long season. Get out there soon Derrick.
To me the biggest concern about the Bulls' season so far has been the low motor for the team as a whole. It's weird watching a Thibs coached team continually getting outworked each night. Part of it might be veteran complacency. Some of it might be structural since we lost Boozer (a very good rebounder) and Deng from last season. I kind of think we're beginning to see the absence of Deng here more than anything. His motor was one of the best in the league. Last year we had a chip on our shoulder so we compensated. This year we don't. I'm glad we have Pau but he doesn't go out of his way too much.
Thibs doesn't seem the same. Sort of defeated. Not coaching his way. A lot of old guys and a bunch of games without time to rest or practice in between.
I can't decide if the team has learned how to play under Thibs (tune him out in the regular season so that you're ready for the playoffs) or if this is what it looks like when a franchise keeps a coach too long. Regardless, this was just another game that didn't mean anything.
Interesting posts guys. Denny often said in the past that Thibodeau could win with girls. Thibodeau certainly did seem to get the absolute most that could be expected from the players he was given to coach. This season, not so much. There are lots of possible explanations. I don't have a strong opinion at this point, but the situation serves as a reminder that the job of a NBA head coach can really suck. You can be universally-acknowledged as being great at what you do, but in the end, your continued employment isn't in your own hands. With Rose back (kinda) and apparently not listening nearly as closely to Thibodeau as he once did, this could be a very frustrating season for all of us. We always assume that Thibodeau will make the most of the material he's given, but what are we to think if this dynamic ceases to hold? The Bulls are currently 4th in the NBA in Offensive Rating and 7th in points per game. This is what we wanted, right? We never have to worry about anything on the defensive end so long as Thibodeau is coaching the team, right? Oh well, it's still early.
Thibs seems to be getting plenty out of Gasol and Brooks. Butler seems to be playing well. Noah is sick / hurt. I don't think its a motivation / tuning the coach out thing with him. Hinrich is just getting old. Magic Mike is playing pretty well this year, but he's old too. Gibson has taken a step back so far from a rebounding / rotating perspective, IMO. Is he a little gimpy? Tuning Thibs out? Not as willing to kill himself for an organization who keeps him on the bench and goes out and acquires guys like Gasol and Mirotic? People are likely bummed that McBuckets and Mirotic are not blossoming already. Rookies don't usually get heavy burn on title contenders, especially right off the bat. Once again, its not like either were top 3 picks or anything. The expectations are out of whack with those guys IMO. If Noah rounds back into form the rebounding and defense will improve. He sets the tone, IMO. When you are playing lots of old men at this point like Hinrich, Gasol and Dunleavy its going be hard to be the most hustle-rific, reboundy team out there. If Noah comes back and can play like he did last year, the Bulls should be about as good as they were last year. If Rose can be close to an MVP again, they can contend for the title. This group will need some young, athletic blood soon.
I think this is the bottom line right now. It'll be interesting to re-visit these issues at the 20 game mark......might provide more clarity. Statistically the Bulls are a good team. Good record, good combination of defense and offense. Good +/- differential, etc. And if you would've asked me before the season began, I would've greatly preferred that the Bulls came out of the gate with a great offense with defensive problems than the other way around. In the past offense has been an intractable problem. Defense has not. And our offense has been great without D Rose playing most of the games. And when he has played he's looked great. I don't think minutes or age has been a big issue up until this point. We didn't look old against the Knicks or Cavs. We didn't look old in the 4th quarter last night. We're only 7 games into the season....not long enough for people to get worn down yet. And when you look at the minutes I don't think there's really anything to get too excited about. They look like this: Jimmy 38.8 Pau 34.9 Taj 30.7 Jo 30.2 Dunleavy 29.9 Kirk 29.1 Rose 26.0 I'm really not sure where the fire is. I think the only thing that might give people hesitation is Pau at 35 might be a little too high and some of us prefer Kirk to be at less than 20 minutes a game, but that's probably not for health concerns. Everything else looks hunky-dory to me. Jimmy's minutes are high but it's okay to play young two-way players high minutes. That's what they're there for, and practically every team does it, no matter how hard we clamor to be more like the Spurs. Sometimes I think the concern with Thibs and minutes has turned into an echo chamber where everyone gets angry and up in arms about it just because. At least half the time I really don't see what all the fuss is about. At least this season. I do think it's possible that this team might have some structural differences between years past which is causing the rebounding/hustle deficit. Like I said, Lu was one of the best hustle guys in the league, and he brought it every night. Booz had a lot of problems, but defensive rebounding wasn't one of them. I think Pau is quality but my guess is that he's not really a hustle player and we might just have to get used to some of his lackadaisicalness throughout the regular season.