A pretty good team in this league.

This

"When the game is on the line, our guys fight for it," said coach Scott Skiles, who blistered his team after Friday night's victory over Atlanta. "I'm not at all embarrassed [over this performance against Detroit]. Right from the beginning, we were here and played hard."

is sweet.

0-7 Crawford

How did Jamal Crawford do in the Bulls Knicks rematch in NYC? He shot 4-14 and was 0-7 from 3 point range. His counterpart, Stephon Marbury, make 8-of-14 shots.

Crawford, a former Bull who missed the last 10 games with right turf toe, settled for eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. He was 0-of-7 from 3-point range.

Wildcard J.Crawford

The Knicks are in a slump with key offensive players injured. One injured play is Jamal Crawford who can score at will. He can also shoot too often. If he's “hot” then he's going to hurt you and help his team but if his shot is off, he'll continue to shoot and hand away the game.

Which Crawford will show up (if any since he's hurt is big toe) on Saturday?

Crawford said he had been looking forward to playing the Bulls, who traded him to the Knicks in September with Williams for four players. But he said that was only one motivating factor to come back now. The Knicks need him.

Another Knicks player is hurt, PF Mike Sweetney. If both Crawford and Sweetney come back and play effectively, this game could be really tough fro the Bulls.

Mike Sweetney, the reserve forward who has missed the last four games because of a sprained right ankle, also practiced Thursday and pointed to the scrimmage Friday as an important test.

"I want to get back, and I want to play," Sweetney said.

Convincing

Something to note: Despite wining four games in a row, Coach Skiles complained that the Bulls were not playing well and cautioned about them getting over confident. He held a hard 2.5 hour practice on Tuesday and afterwards none of the players complained. Wednesday the Bulls demolished the 76ers and took possession of the last playoff spot, 8th seed, in the East.

Looking good but less exciting

The Nets lost and Bulls won.

Da Bulls kept up pace with the high scoring Boston team and had fewer turnovers. O.Harrington
started the game and played very well. This shows how deep the team is this year.

Next up is Philidelpia which is 1.5 games ahead of Chicago for the last playoff spot. Allen
Iverson is small enough to permit the Bulls to play Gordon and Hinrich.

Winning is fun but the stories are not as interesting. It was much more dramatic to read about
players complaining and team pressure when Da Bulls were chronic losers.

=====
Regards,

Joseph

Bulls and Nets both win, Boston next for Bulls

Bulls and NJ Nets both won. Utah has lost 8 in a row. It was nice for Chicago to extend that streak. NJ faces Detroit who beat the Bulls next opponent, Boston.

Yes, Boston and Chicago are both playing back to back games.

At the season's start I picked Boston to do well this year, 4th in the East if I recall. They're not doing that well but they're contending for the playoffs and as a young team, are going to play better as the year goes on (and they stay healthy). Like Chicago, Boston did well in the '04 draft and are a young team albeit with a NBA star in Paul Pierce.

For January, I picked Chicago to lose this upcoming game (I think) but given Boston is also playing a back to back game with a loss to the Pistons, I think they'll be tight and tired. Da Bulls will beat them tomorrow and give me one Mulligan so I can meet my January prediction for wins/loses.

Yardstick #1 (The Nets)

Track Da Bulls and Nets records and power rankings for January.

NJ is ranked #24 11-20

Bulls is ranked #25 11-18.

Does Carter and Kidd's return rejuvenate the team or do they flounder?

If Chicago can go 7-3 in their next 10 games, (as I predicted) then they'll definitely be taken seriously and crack the top 20-15. It's hard for a perennial loser ball-club to climb in the rankings.

January Highlights

1. Detroit January 3rd. The Champs either assert their dominance or lose to a young Bulls team. Which will it be?
   
2. New York Kick's back-to-back 17th and 19th. Issiah thinks his team is much better than the Bulls. Maybe Jamal Crawford's turf-toe will heal in time for these games.
3. January 17th -25th: six games four on the road. Going 500 or better is the goal. Boston on the road is a predicted loss, but maybe if the team continues to mature...
   
4. Homestand: 8th,10th,12th,15th. Da Bulls face Boston, GS, Phillie, & NY. A 500 club can win all four home games.

Prediction for January

12 wins 4 losses. Happy new year!

Jan	Opponent	Prediction	Reality
Sat 1	Orlando	W	W
Mon 3	Detroit	W	L
Wed 5	@ New Orleans	W	W
Fri 7	Utah	W	W
Sat 8	Boston	L (back to back)	W
Mon 10	Golden State	W	W
Wed 12	Philadelphia	W	W
Sat 15	New York	W	W
Mon 17	@ New York	W	W
Wed 19	@ Boston	L	L
Fri 21	Atlanta	W	W
Sat 22	@ Detroit	L	W
Mon 24	@ Atlanta	W
Tue 25	Denver	L (back to back)
Thu 27	Charlotte	W
Sat 29	Boston	W

Prediction for January 12-4

Detroit on Wednesday: Be There.

Da Bulls play on the road at Detroit on Wednesday. Ben Wallace is back and they are 6-4 for the last 10 games.

The Blazers, who the Bulls defeated today, beat Detroit by 1 point in their previous game in Detroit.

A win at Detroit on Wednesday would signal Da Bulls are back and contending for a playoff spot. A blow loss would be a indication this team is still too young to keep it together. A close loss would indicate a competitive team capable of making the playoff. Got it?

Bulls climbing out of cellar.

Toronto defeats the NJ Nets 110 to 99.  NJ (7-16) drops below Da Bulls (7-15) and Toronto moves two games ahead of Chicago with a (9-17) record.  Since NJ has the better conference record, the Bulls need to beat Portland on Monday to stay ahead of NJ and pace Toronto. 

 

Chicago has climbed from 15th to 11th in the Eastern Conference. There are a cluster of teams at the bottom and a few consecutive wins have great impact in the conference standings.

 

This year a 500 record will get a team into the playoffs.  Boston now holds the 8th position with a 11-12 record. 

 

A good goal for Chicago is to move into 9th by the end of January, passing Toronto and Philadelphia. 

Win !

Da Bulls didn't fall apart.  I saw it happening but they stopped the hemorrhaging.  A fully staffed Pacer team would have taken Da Bulls down.  This team, like all, can get cold or choke and needs a closer.  Rookie Ben Gordon isn't reliable. Curry and Chandler both played large in this game.  Maybe this is their year.

Bulls losing it in 4th period

Bulls losing it in 4th period.

 

Key plays that turned around the game's momentum at 66-72

66-72 Chandler blocks a shot

68-74 Hinrich makes a shot

68-74 Chandler def rebound

68-76 Harrington layup

68-78 Harrington pair of free throws

68-79 Curry one of two free throws

68-80 Hinrick makes one of two free throws

68-80 Three Pacers miss three shots (two offensive rebounds on one possession)

71-82 Deng off rebound (and score)

71-82 Deng def rebound

 

1:05 Left in the game.  Phew!

Looks like Da Bulls will win!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking up: Nets and Raptors

Given Chicago started 0-9, they are now starting to climb the standings with a 6-6 record over the past 12 games (6-15).  Chicago should pass the Bucks in the standings. Assuming some they can maintain some sort of 500 play, the Bulls will moving closer to the 8th playoff spot.  Two teams in the way are the Nets and Raptors.

 

The Nets and Raptors play tomorrow, The NETS acquired Vince Carter for future considerations.  Basically the Raptors gave up talent while the NETS acquired talent and become much better on the perimeter.  The Nets can play Kidd, Carter and Jefferson - all three are all-stars.

 

One of these teams is going to win and the favorite for me is Toronto - Carter has been hurt and is not integrated in to the Nets offense and they are the weaker team prior to the trade.  The Raptors will be playing to prove they're good without Carter. Rose will sure be shooting the ball.

 

Candidly, Carter is a flake and it's not clear the Nets clubhouse will tolerate his antics but this is a dynamic which will be more apparent in the spring. 

 

With a win tonight vs a depleted Indiana and a loss by the Nets Sunday, Da Bulls will pull ahead of the Nets in the standings.

Regards,

Joseph

Two in a Row

Contrast: Da Bulls & Warriors

Da Bulls win over Memphis was convincing. The team stayed ahead in the 4th quarter and did not panic. They play again tomorrow. Their opponent, Milwaukee, has won only 2 more games than Da Bulls. In back-to-back games Da Bulls usually do poorly and they also do poorly games after they win - overconfident or inattentive - you can name a number of reasons.

If Da Bulls can win two in a row, this team will have turned an emotional corner. They'll start thinking of themselves as a NBA team that can win and I hope they'll play better and more consistent.

Golden State Warriors won over Dallas the night after Da Bulls gave the game to Dallas. The next game, Golden State lost to the worst team in the West, New Orleans. They also allowed a former Gonzaga PG have a career day.

Warriors can't keep win streak going in New Orleans. They lose to the worst team in the NBA

Dickau scored a career-best 23 points -- including a four-point play on a 32-foot buzzer beater as he was fouled -- and the Hornets (2-19) snapped an 11-game skid and won their first home game of the season, 98-89 over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

"You can't take anything for granted in this league, that's for doggone sure," Warriors coach Mike Montgomery said.

Oh the pain

Oh the pain

Regards,

Joseph

Oh, Are We Hard to Understand

The Bulls play against Philadelphia and lose.
They take on Minnesota and win.

Ben Gordon seems to be the key. If he can score with a reasonable
shooting percentage, the Bulls have a chance to win.

Next up Dallas and D. Nowitzki. They are 6-4 and vulnerable on the road.
Will Ben Gordon be eaten alive by M. Finley?
Can the baby bulls hold Nowitzki under his average of 27 ppg?
Will Hinrick foul out?
Can Deng start making 3 pointers?
Who will Nocioci piss off?

So far Da Bulls have dropped two games behind my optimistic forecast for December. They lost to the Wizards and Heat. Philadelphia is a critical game, they seem to be having problems and Da Bulls have a rest day before this game. This is a home game a competitive team would expect to play hard and win.

Can Da Bulls make up any ground on their schedule?
Possibly they could steal a win vs Dallas and - oh maybe - Detroit (if suspensions are still in place). Hey! Is that an 8 game winning streak !! Why not dream? All these games but MN are winable ! The team is too inconsistent to win 8 in a row but which ones are hopeless? one game. MN & Garnett

Fri 3	Miami	W	LOSS
Sat 4	@ Washington	W	LOSS
Mon 6	San Antonio	L	LOSS
Wed 8	Cleveland	W	WIN
Fri 10	Philadelphia	W	LOSS?!
Sat 11	Minnesota	L	WIN!!
Mon 13	Dallas	L?	LOSSSS
Wed 15	@ Memphis	W	WIN
Thu 16	Milwaukee	W
Sat 18	Indiana	W
Mon 20	Portland	W
Wed 22	@ Detroit	L?
Sun 26	@ Milwaukee	W
Tue 28	New Jersey	W

Bulls Win is Golden

The Bulls victory over the Cavaliers is significant for two reasons:

1. They took advantage of the schedule. You must beat better teams when they play back-to-back games.
2. The Bulls also fed off each other. The young players got each other to play better as a group - not as individuals. They can't play this consistently every night but they need to win when they have good nights. Wins build confidence.

When these two things happen together, favorable schedule and players on-their-game, you should be able to beat any team.

Oh, I was (and still am) down on the Cavaliers' high preseason ranking. So far, that pessimism looks foolish. Cleveland is leading the Division.

Still, it's a long season and I am very stubborn. It's still possible that the Bulls will turn this season around this month and be one of the better young teams this spring. No Trades needed.

More Losing

The loss to the Spurs was expected but the booing and early exit of
many fans wasn't.
11-4
10-5
9-6
8-7 !
Merry Xmas