Could be due to the problems with their plane. Their effort has been suspect for several games now. It finally bit them in the ass last night. We miss Noah's energy and drive.
Let's face it, they haven't been playing all that well lately. You can only get away with this for so long, particularly on the road. The Bulls are moderately talented even without Noah, but they aren't good enough to weather so many extended lackadaisical stretches. Like the Nets showed last night, there are lots of bad teams out there who'll be happy to take the win if the Bulls only kinda want to win.
The sad thing is they still would have won if Kris Humphries hadn't come out with a big chip on his shoulder from being moved to the second team for Favors.
Thibs has been fantastic this season, but I worry about his intensity. Every story about him suggests that he's an obsessive compulsive work-a-holic. He obviously has the basketball acumen, but coaches with longevity usually have better people skills than he does. My worst fear for Thibs is that it takes at least one failure to completely 'get it.'
One of the main challenges for Thibbs is the transition to head coach from assistant coach. The guy knows what it takes to win and knows his Xs and Os. But the NBA head coach has to think big picture and massage egos, while still getting the most out of his players. A tricky situation. He is supposedly uncompromising about how D should be played and is 24/7 basketball. A guy like Boozer isn't going to be mr defense, but we still need to get the most out of him obviously. Can Thibbs do this? This is really the first major conundrum he's up against here as a head coach. How he handles it will be a huge factor for how this Bulls season goes and how his early head coaching career looks.
Well said. A team starting Kurt Thomas and Keith Bogans has to execute like clockwork or they're going to lose. Even with a top two combo like Rose and Boozer, with a nice fit 3rd guy in Deng. Even so, the Nets are a team we should have beaten, late flight into NJ or not.
Hey young fella! Nice to see you around over here. Not quite the adrenaline rush that is realgm.... It's the dog days, that's for sure. They were getting away with it, but not now. What'll happen when Boston comes into town?
Eh . . . it looks to me like this one is Doc Rivers' fault. They weren't doubling on Rose all game, which would have been smart if Perkins and Garnett weren't injured. Rivers seemed to be preparing the Celtics for the playoffs: Play Rose like you would if your team was at full strength so they'll get a better feel for it when it really matters. I'm not taking a whole lot away from this game.
Frown. Well, I'm traveling and just tuned in to see the final score. I'll take your word for it. still like the 19 fta's though.
