Bulls Power Ranking: 30

Any site that puts Chicago ahead of the Bobcats hasn't been updated.

 

A Lost Cause

Regards,

Joseph

Isiah Thomas - Again

Isiah Thomas is a fool. He's making trade gestures for Eddie Curry.

Folks, he could have had Bulls PF/C Eddie Curry for Knicks PF Sweetney except that he decided to be cute and make a low ball offer for Eddie Curry and then Eddie started playing as at a level the great talent judge Issiah thought only he could perceive. Now that Curry's showing promise and improvement, Thomas decides to belatedly make what would have been a reasonable offer but is now probably too little and definitely too late offer.

Q: If Thomas has such a knack for talent, why couldn't he have stolen Curry from Paxson before Curry played well? Why make a low ball offer and up the offer only after the talented guy shows he's getting better?

A: Thomas can't read players better than any other competent GM. He's a confidence man and a persistent chatterer who's more concerned about his image than demonstrating mastery by moving boldy to grab undervalued talent.

Pathetic

Golden State Warriors are beating the Bulls handedly.  In the final minutes they are pulling closer but this is not a sign of a club that will not quit, it is a sign of a club that can't play consistent NBA quality B-Ball for long periods of time. 

 

The Warriors have displayed the same problems as the Bulls, only not as severe.  What a disappointing game.

Winning teams...

This Bulls loss to the Clippers hurts "us" as much as it helps the Clippers.  Coming back on the road after being down by 24 is what winning is all about.

Regards,

Joseph

Curry Will Stay

Enough was written about Curry in the current Chi-Tribune to float a battleship.
He's going to stay - there's no magic solution to his problems if he were to change NBA teams.

Chandler is Far More Tradeable than Curry

More later...

Clippers Saturday

The Clippers game on Saturday is critical for this Bulls team. They have to 1) field a competitive player rotation and 2) win a game. Joe Sez this Clipper team is currently playing much better than the Bulls and was probably underrated in the preseason rankings. Winning at home will be hard but losing Saturday will make the upcoming road trip much harder.

Joe Sez Mr. Curry doesn't get to play much - no more "developmental time". Watch Curry's Agent(s) lobby in the press for more playing time so Eddie can boost his numbers. Watch the Press throw it back in their faces.

Enjoy.

Curry

I say keep Eddie Curry and use him as needed if trading him can't bring in a useful asset. Who cares if he wants out. He's become the icon of the losing Bulls - he is the problem. He must prove his value for his upcoming free agency.
The Bulls hold all the cards.
Pouting on a losing team over playing time or the coach isn't going to excuse or cover up his many shortcomings. He needs to play hard and pay attention if he wants to distance himself from the losing record of the Bulls and get big bucks elsewhere.
If he stays and pouts - bench him a la Eddie Robinson. Make his agent regret going to a newspaper to campaign for a trade. Chicago fans are going to boo this big loser harder and sadly for Eddie, its not the Bull's problem if public life for Eddie gets harder after his Agent calls for a trade in the newspapers. The Bulls are not obligated to dump Eddie just because he ad his agent want out. Nope - this kind of negative stunt hurts the Agent and player. Welcome to adult life Eddie.

Curry's now as useful as Cleveland's 2001 bust at #8 - DeSangia Diop. Let them compete for "big-guy flop free-agent" of 2005.

Loss to Suns tells us three things.

It's pretty clear there are 3 messages to take home from yesterday's loss to the Suns by 20 points.

1. Both Baby Bulls - Curry and Chandler - are not NBA starters. Yes they are big but they are not effective and don't know plays or how to play team defense.
2. The small Bulls line-up lost to the small Suns line-up. Size matters in the NBA but even if we go small, we don't have a good small sized team.
3. We're going to struggle to win 20 games this season but we know Skiles and Paxson will not play players (or keep them) if they give an half-assed effort nor will they keep players who do not improve their team effort.

I thought, prior to the Sun's explosive start, that the Bulls could beat this "small team" them at home with help from the Baby Bulls.  The Suns are better than I guessed and the Bulls far worse.  As for the Baby Bulls - it's not just conditioning but fundamental knowledge about the game and mental laziness.  They suck.

 

A must win game for Hyped-Cleveland.

Cleveland (0-3) at Atlanta (0-3)

Someone is going to be 1-3 and someone else will be 0-4. If Cleveland loses this road game, they're in a world of hurt.

4 of 10

4 of 10 top rookies are Bulls.  In a league where playing rookies is a sure sign of losing, it can't be all good to have 4 rookies ranked in the top 10.  

#'s 1, 3, 7, 9

1. Luol Deng, G-F, Chicago (No. 7)
Stats: 21.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG

2. Emeka Okafor, F-C, Charlotte (No. 2)
Stats: 15.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 0.5 APG

3. Andres Nocioni, F, Chicago (Undrafted)
Stats: 13.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.0 APG

4. Dwight Howard, F, Orlando (No. 1)
Stats: 7.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.7 APG

5. Andre Iguodala, F, Philadelphia (No. 9)
Stats: 9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG

6. Devin Harris, G, Dallas (No. 5)
Stats: 8.0 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 3.7 APG

7. Ben Gordon, G, Chicago (No. 3)
Stats: 10.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.0 APG

8. Trevor Ariza, F, New York (No. 43)
Stats: 7.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.5 APG

9. Chris Duhon, G, Chicago (No. 38)
Stats: 3.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 6.5 APG

10. Shaun Livingston, G, L.A. Clippers (No. 4)
Stats: 6.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.7 APG

Eastern Conf. Standings Seem Prophetic

Current Standings - after 2 to 3 games.  How close will these results match the end of year standings?  Central and Southeast seem close.  Atlantic with the Raptors in 1st is the most improbable.  I bet Boston and the Raptors switch places, keep everyone else the same. Playoff teams are in Italics. 

 

Atlantic
Raptors (move to #3)
76ers
Celtics (move to #1)
Nets
Knicks

Central
Pacers
Pistons
Bucks
Bulls
Cavaliers

Southeast
Heat
Wizards
Magic
Bobcats
Hawks

I think the difference between this and my initial guess prior to the season is moving the Knicks below the Raptors and out of the playoffs.

Bulls lose to Pacers

Missed most of the game. Box score shows Deng continues to play well.
Losing by 10 isn't that bad considering the previous nioght's long game and the suspensions. So far the team appears to be playing hard and not quitting like they did last year.

Bulls lose opener to Nets

I happened to tune in when they were down by 27. I followed the game into the double overtime.

This is a game they should have won, a game where the home team makes their free throws and puts the game out of reach. Credit them for fighting - that's what was promised. No more quitting when they fall behind.

We're going to Indiana tonight and the starters are tired.

I predicted a win over the Nets and a loss to the Pacers.

Bulls rank 20041104

From CBS

Rank Date
28 11/4/04
29 10/31/04

Buck Fizer

He's not a bad guy or bad palyer. he was drafted out of spite, not need, by "I'll teach them a lesson" Krause. Now he's a Buck.

Pacific Division

Insidehoops ranks the Pacific Division:

1. Kings
2. Lakers
3. Suns
4. Warriors
5. Clippers

This is a "weak" division. There is no clear, dominate team.

• The Kings lost their depth and Webber (who I don't respect) is in conflict with Stojakovic and Miller. The coach has been resigned. This team could come apart or, becasue of the lack of scoring depth, lose due to injuries.
• The Lakers are going to digress with Kobe dominating the team and ball. They are a smaller team, weak in the PF and center positions. Center Mihm, a Bulls darft pick who was traded for Crawford, might be maturing into a good center. This team might take on the dynamics of last year's Orlando.
  
• Suns are revampoed and high scoring but are weak at center. This will be a fast paced, high scoring team that might not defend well. Nash is going to get injured as the season wears on him. They may win games but will be a weak playoff team - a la the past few Dallas Mavericks teams.
  
• Warriors have potential if their young core can close out games. So far they don't look like they can - lacking a "go to" scorer for the 4th quarter. Aside from the Center position, this is is a talented and deep team that could get much better as the season wears on. Mullin and Monte are committed to playing a type of BB and finding players to fit that mold. If they can play 400%-500% ball in Nov, (4-6, 5-5) they'll make the playoffs.
  
• Clippers could be a better team than expected. They are solid in the SF and PF and their rookie center was good last year. They will probably be irratic, winning hard games and losing easy games, weaker on the road than at home but still losing home games.
  

I am guessing.

1. LA
2. Kings
   
3. Warriors
4. Suns
5. Clippers
   

I don't miss Jamal Crawford's potential

Recap

Jamal Crawford, making his Knicks debut after being acquired from Chicago in a six-player deal this summer, scored 22 points. He shot 8-of-13 in the first half but just 2-for-8 for five points after halftime, taking several questionable shots.

E. Robinson with M Jordon.

M Jordan always pushed himself and he demanded his teammates push themselves to get better. E Robinson shows us that despite the failure to rebuild the Bulls Dynasty, Jerry Krause deserves credit for finding talent (Miller, Artest, Brand) but he couldn't measure heart. If Robinson played with M Jordan, he'd probably have his ass beaten in practice by MJ and been bullied by his teammates to play hard and play for the team. Jordan hated to lose and he probably would have been all over this guy to get him in line and playing to his potential. It would have been ugly beautiful.

Krause foolishly blew up the championship team and unknowingly threw away that most precious thing, the winning attitude and professionalism the aging Bulls players enforced on the rest of the team. In doing this, he proved he wasn't the guy responsible for assembling championship teams. Not him alone. Selecting Robinson (Chandler and Curry too) shows us that talent isn't enough, a super-smart GM isn't enough. A player needs to care deeply to be a winner. I like that. I like the fact it takes the players wanting to win, willing themselves to win and doing the little things to be a winner. Basketball is a great game when it's played right. That few play it right is all the more hope that the Bulls can become a wining team sooner than later.

M Jordan and Bulls GM J.Krause both needed each other.

John Paxson and Chris Mullin are new GMs who as players couldn't hope to match up against Robinson's athleticism. Yet, they're both far better basketball players than Robinson will ever hope to become.

Paxson is not going to pay Curry and Chandler for potential. Frankly, they both have a long ways to go before they're worth what their agents want for them. Some team may overpay for them next year but it will not be the Bulls.

Maybe GSW GM Chris Mullin "overpaid" for D.Fisher and A.Foyle. Maybe he's trying to instill a winning attitude in a perennial loser organization by adding these kind of players. By denying the younger J.Richardson and T.Murphy contract extensions, he risks discontent in the club house. Maybe Fisher, Foyle and Robinson will keep the place in line.

"Eddie's needs"

GM John Paxson says a lot in these few words.

"As an organization, we're trying to find an identity. ... Eddie's needs are a little outside of the realm of what we're trying to do."

"Eddie's needs"