vs Tuesday, April 06, 2010 – 7:00 PM CT United Center WGN-TV / ESPN 1000 AM This is a big game for the Bulls. They are teasing us with being in the playoff push. Granted right now they are on the outside looking in, but, nevertheless they can make the playoffs if the Gods are willing. Bogut is hurt as well which improves our chances.
37 year old Kurt Thomas will be starting at C for the Bucks. Skiles has a way of getting a lot out of elderly big men, but it sure is a big blow to them to lose Bogut. And the injury was scary and sad to see. Perhaps of more interest to us is that this is the first time that John Salmons is back in Chicago to face us. He's done for Milwaukee what he did for us last year - given the team a big shot in the arm after a deadline trade. For the Bucks, he's playing 38 minutes a game (24 games) and averaging 20 PPG (about the same as Derrick Rose).
Bulls up 34-27 in the second. Rose has two fouls and just came back in for the first time in the second quarter with 5 minutes left. Cavs doing a number on Toronto. Bosh has played just 2 minutes.
Amazing how Milwaukee has a good record with such a crappy starting lineup. Bogut makes them a LOT better, though. Look at Q1, our starters handled their starters. But look at the benches - they bury ours. And look at Q2. This just shows how weak the conference is once you get past Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, and Atlanta, there's the Heat and then there's a big dropoff.
Salmons with 2 FTA to ice the game and he goes 1-2. In a high scoring affair like this, every FT counts... Bulls with 13 seconds to hit a 3 to tie. Question is, who takes it? No obvious candidate.
they played scrappy! The way Skiles played. I thought Delphino did a nice job on our guards all night long! Their bench was the difference.
Season is over guys! I would say look to the draft, but we wont have a high pick! So, look towards FA.
Way to lay an egg guys. I'm perplexed by Rose's seeming passivity. Chris Bosh broke his face tonight so it's possible the Raptors don't win another game. Of course, it would have been very possible to say that about the Bucks after Bogut's injury the other night.
The difference between the bucks and Toronto is coaching. Skiles is one of the three or four best out there. People don't give him the credit he deserves. But the bulls really laid an egg. And I'll just go ahead and say it for Denny, Hinrich has to do better than 4-16. He started out 3-5, too. That's just not going to get it done. Even as a reluctant shooter, Hinrich had the second most shots albeit in 43 minutes. Rose does have to be more aggressive. But give Skiles credit, he got his team to execute the plan, make Hinrich beat them.
Salmons has opened our eyes a bit to just how terribly the Bulls are coached. Not that we were completely ignorant before, but it’s revealing to see that our former players look noticeably better on their new teams and our new players looked noticeably better on their old teams. Interesting quote from KC in his postgame article:
I think we can beat the Cavs, but losing Bosh is massive. Someone tell me where the fuck John Salmons gets off. I think this is the second time he has done this, get traded, make himself look amazing than he'll flop in the playoffs. We have Boston today, and tomorrow Chi-town takes on the Cavs. So in turn, we need to win and you guys need to lose. Good luck though, it's an interesting battle of sub-par teams ahah.
I don't think that's entirely true. Salmons would seem to be the exception. Tyrus had a nice start, but he isn't doing anything special in Charlotte, he's just shooting more, and at a worse percentage. Warrick is putting up about the same numbers here that Tyrus was. Flip is doing the same thing he was. Devin Brown does a great Sasquatch imitation on the bench. And then there's BG, who has made Thonus and KC, two of his biggest cheerleaders, admit that the bulls were right to let him go based on his play in Detroit. But Vinny still isn't good, he's a nice guy, but not a good coach.
Salmons was pretty much the same player for Sacto as he was for us last year. Slightly fewer assists for us, but the other numbers almost identical. So he has been the same player, pretty much, for 2 seasons, maybe even better this season, and except for the first 50 games or so of this season. There was one less scorer on the team, and one less 3pt threat. Plus the team just got a lot worse and had no depth. Even a nagging little injury to one of the few decent players on the team meant we had to play a Pargo type. I'm not going to pin this on Vinnie at this point.
