GAME THREAD: Bulls @ Blazers 11/18/2012

Gotcha

 

so three heat players met rose at half court? gimme a break Denny.

 

So, what you're saying is it's a lot easier to shut down a team's offense that relies too heavily on one player, no matter how great that player is - even if he's the MVP?

Too bad the Bulls didn't have a Big 3 to match up better against the Heat.

BNM

 

I don't think Rose is all that, to be honest. He was pretty inefficient before Thibodeau showed up. I think Thibodeau makes him look good the way Larry Brown made Iverson look good. But Thibodeau is a bigger part of their success than Rose is. Hell, Noah might be more important than Rose.

 

It's easier to stop 1 guy than 2. It's easier to stop 2 than 3...

The Blazers Big 3 still have a long way to go, but Lillard and Batum are still very young and even Aldridge is only 27. Will any of them develop into an MVP level player, only time will tell. I think Lillard has the most upside, but also the longest way to go. I do like the fact that they have complimentary scoring abilities and can create offense in several different ways. Aldridge can post up, or he can pick and pop - which opens the middle for Lillard to penetrate Lillard can also draw fouls and he can hit the 3. Batum can hit the 3, he now has a deadly pull-up, step back mid-range jumper that is almost impossible to defend, and he's moving well without the ball. Even if the defense takes away one of those options, you still have multiple other ways to score. That was always the problem with Nate's all-iso-all-the-time offense. It was too limited, relied too much on one player (Brandon Roy - our near MVP level player, before the knees went south) and too easy to shut down - especially in a long series. Now we have three legitimate scoring threats and an offense that uses all of them.

The problem with Rose's Bulls (other than injuries), they don't even have a Big 2, let alone a Big 3. Stop Rose and you beat the Bulls. That's something that's very easy to game plan for in a seven game play-off series. The Bulls have several good to very good players, but no one that can consistently create their own offense without help from Rose.

BNM

 

Well, Carlos Boozer was a 20ppg scorer in Utah, before he came to the Bulls, just like LeBron James was a 30ppg scorer in Cleveland, before he went to Miami.

So, by your definition the Bulls did have a second 20ppg scorer. The problem is, he can't create his own offense. He needs an elite PG to set him up for easy baskets. When other teams force the ball out of Rose's hands, they don't just neutralize Rose, but Boozer as well. Your offense relies too much on a single player.

BNM

 

If your team loses having 4 guys covered by 2 then you suck badly. 2 people open, maybe Rose should try to find one of them?

 

No, Batum will be. He will play the point forward roll. Or, move Lillard to the SG position and add a second PG to the line-up. The Blazers regularly play Lillard at the 2 alongside Ronnie Price at the point for a few short stretches every game. Take the ball out of Lillard's hands and Batum or Price (for now) can feed Aldridge in the post. That option will only get better in the future when the Blazers add a better back-up PG to their roster.

Ironically, I think this is EXACTLY what the Bulls were thinking when they reacquired Kirk Hinrich. They could play him and Rose together. Hinrich is capable of guarding 2s and can help distribute the ball when other teams force it out of Rose's hands. Unfortunately, Rose hasn't been healthy enough to see if this works, or not. Plus, Hinrich isn't as good as he once was. He isn't much of a scoring threat any more, but he can still play defense and pass the ball and would probably look a lot better playing alongside of Rose instead of in place of him.

BNM

 

So, Dame cemented the game with a meaningless dunk? Hey, I don't give a rip if da Bulls are upset, or not. LOVE that 'tude!

 

Wait. What? I thought the season was over?

Go Blazers

 

The dunk was meaningless and didn't effect the outcome of the game one way or the other. It just gave the Bulls something to focus on other than their own ineptitude. If they want to be pissed, they should be pissed about giving up 10 offense rebounds, that they had 19 TOs that lead to a ton of easy Portland points and failed to defend the 3-point line. I guarantee you those are the things Tom Thibodeau is most upset about, not some meaningless dunk by a rookie.

BNM

 

we went through this before

the bulls had not conceded defeat, as evidenced by their numerous fouls in the last 30 seconds. they were trying to extend the game, semi needlessly i might add.

so all of the sudden, dame has to what...look around and ask "hey are you guys good yet? game over yet?" for all he knows they are about to foul off the ball or god knows what, it was a mess at the end there

the bulls cant just flip a switch from "we are still trying to win!" to "we concede the game!" in a matter of 2 seconds and get pissed when everybody doesnt get the memo on time

fuck that shit, dunk the ball and go home

 

Ya, Lillard at first slows down, but sees a Bull player rushing towards him and then he went up for the dunk.

 

In fact, that's pretty much what Thiboeau said: "The defense, the rebounding, the turnovers ... we have to get that part right."

But hey, it's easier to get pissed at some meaningless dunk by a rookie than admit you lost because you just didn't do what you needed to do to win.

BNM