http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1265956,CST-SPT-bull07.article As much as I want Gordon to start, what kind of a message is it to start a guy immediately after he mouths off? Vinnie could lose control of this thing really, really quick if he’s not careful. And yes, he did mouth off. If I’m a starter, even if I’m struggling, I’d be pissed if the guy behind me is telling the media I need to step up, and maybe the coaches need to change things. That’s the kind of statement that ought to be made in house. Sure, the reporters asked, but a PC comment would have been something to the effect of “Hey, those guys are good players and they’ll get through it”. It might be a boring and generic comment from us, but Ben (and Lou and previously Kirk) ought to be talking to what their teammates are going to hear, not what you and I are going to hear. Of course, when you create a messed up situation, you can expect dissension to be the result.
Why don't they just make calls for Thabo and Tyrus early? I know they aren't great offensive players yet, but if they get their number called early, and they produce then great. If not, hurry up and get Gordon in.
So I don't get it. Did somebody definitively say BG is going to be starting, or is it that a few people speculated that that would be the change that was made? BG hasn't exactly been nurturing the offensive flow with his shot selection, so I don't see how starting him helps anything, other than getting him his shots earlier.
"Gordon, who figures to start in place of Thabo Sefolosha" I'm assuming Hanley wouldn't go out on a limb to say that. -------------- As far as getting Thabo and Tyrus involved early, Tyrus has had plenty of looks, he just hasn't hit on them. Maybe he snaps out of it, maybe he doesn't. Thabo's not really the guy you want getting a lot of looks in the first place, at least at this point.
Ben Gordon has a 60 TS% through 5 games, which puts him among the elite of the league, and tops on the Bull. he also has the highest PER on the team. Sefolosha and Thomas need to be pulled out of the starting lineup in favor of Gordon/Gray asap. Thomas somehow has managed to produce a -0.2 WS. I didn't know that it was possible to have a negative win share until Thomas did it. Sefolosha doesn't belong in the NBA. I'm pretty sure Sefolosha is starting tonight, everything I've heard is that Vinny is going to stick with this lineup a little longer, but maybe after looking at the Cavs game tape (rather than just the post game comments), he is beginning to reconsider.
I'd be a little surprised if they made a change before Hughes comes back, assuming he is only a couple of weeks away. Starting BG effectively takes Thabo out of the rotation, there just aren't any minutes for him then and they could play just fine with three guys splitting the minutes. It also takes the ball out of Rose's hands and forces him to take the tougher defensive matchup right from the start. Do you think that will make them more effective?
Derrick Rose has been a pretty bad defender so far this year. I'm pretty sure Gordon would be taking the shooting guard. Rose would only defend the tougher player if it's a point guard.
I am going to respectfully disagree with both of those statements. But we'll see, tipoff in just a few hours. And they're playing the Suns. Raja Bell is more a placeholder than an offensive shooting guard, so yes, I'd expect BG to be covering him tonight as well.
Ben Gordon has the most MPG for our guards, the highest PER on the team for all players and the best TS% on the team. He's already playing pretty heavy minutes, but there is no reason other than political to not be playing him 35 minutes a game and starting him.
Kirk Hinrich and Aaron Gray moved into the starting lineup. Vinny got it half right. Is it too hard to find a coach with a brain in the NBA? It's not that hard to realize that Gordon is by far better than all the other options.
LOL, poor Ben could lead the team in points, rebounds, assists and drive the team bus and they'd still make him come off the bench. It's getting to the point of silliness. I do prefer Kirk to Thabo however. I'm not at all happy to see Aaron Gray starting, which I'll mention in another thread.
