@ NEW YORK KNICKS (1-0) @ CHICAGO BULLS (0-1) Game 2, Home Game 1 Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013 – 7:00 PM CT United Center TNT / ESPN 1000 AM Game Notes Chicago Bulls (0-1) Home 0-0 Road 0-1 Bulls Season Averages: PPG: 95.0 (Opp: 105.0) RPG: 41.0 (Opp: 40.0) APG: 23.0 (Opp: 26.0) SPG: 11.0 (Opp: 10.0) BPG: 4.0 (Opp: 7.0) TO: 19.0 (Opp: 20.0) FG%: .422 (Opp: .514) FT%: .783 (Opp: .759) 3p%: .269 (Opp: .550) Probable Bulls starters Derrick Rose - PG - Jimmy Butler - SG - Luol Deng - SF - Carlos Boozer - PF - Nazr Mohammed - C - Bulls Stats Leaders Points: Boozer 31.0 Rebounds: Noah 11.0 Assists: Rose & Deng 4.0 Steals: Butler 5.0 Blocks: Noah 2.0 FG%: Boozer .722 FT%: Boozer 1.000 3FG%: Butler, Dunleavy & Hinrich .500 Injury report Derrick Rose (neck) is a game-time decision. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report. New York Knicks (1-0) Home 1-0 Road 0-0 Probable Knicks starters Pablo Prigioni - PG Raymond Felton - SG Carmelo Anthony - SF Iman Shumpert - PF Tyson Chandler - C Injury report - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knicks were impressive enough, even without their 6th man of the year. Ahead by 1 with 5 seconds left, and on the road against an elite team.
Ever since D'Antoni left NYC, the Knicks have been improving on defense. They did a very nice job last night packing the inside to disrupt the Bulls offense. They also hustled back to limit the "easy offense" the Bulls hope will be a consistent part of their overall attack this season. The Knicks dared the Bulls to beat them with 3s, but alas, the Bulls made only 3 of 16. Rose made the contested tear-drop and Anthony was unable to trump it. It certainly wasn't pretty, but if you're a Bulls' fan, you'll take it.
I mentioned Kirk and Dunleavy in the other thread. Those are our 3D guys, along with Snell. We don't expect Snell to be great right away; more of a path like Jimmy's. Teams played zone against us a lot last season, with good effect. Thibs talked about "shooting" (not scoring) all summer. I think because we got beat by zones last season. If our shooters made shots, we had a laugher, no?
A few thoughts so far: 1). It's hard to develop concrete thoughts, given how young this season is. 2). We seem to have this new offensive scheme we're trying to implement that emphasizes greater sharing of the ball, pushing tempo, and creating less predictability about when and where Derrick's going to get the ball. I thought it looked good in preseason, but the going's been a little rough so far in our two regular season games. When things get shaky we seem to resort to letting Derrick do his thing. It reminds me of the days when MJ was always battling the triangle. Perfecting this balance might be one of the larger on-going issues this season. 3). What kind of identity will our bench have this season? So far it's hard to tell. At the very least it looks like the lines between our starters and bench players will be a little more blurred since we don't have a dominant offensive or defensive presence on our bench and we might need to blend our starting five with the bench more often than in year's past. Of course it's early so it's hard to tell for sure. Teague, Snell, or Murphy might pop loose before the end of the season.
So, I'm pissed to the point now of almost being unable to enjoy games by the rotation choices. I just don't understand why Deng needs to play 40 minutes and Butler needs to play 41. Let's say the Bulls lose the game by playing Snell 11 minutes, which is a pretty big if. Would a loss be worth the extra wear and tear on both players?
I don't get the hangup over minutes. Jordan averaged 38 for his career, just 2 less. Over that during the championship years. Over 40 as a younger player. Pippen averaged over 38 during the first 3peat. All 3 seasons.
I think I'm with Denny here. The minutes themselves aren't the issue, it's how injuries are handled once they happen. Is there a presumption of caution or a presumption of "just do it?" But if the guys really are ready to go, then its okay to play them the minutes necessary to win the game.
Yeah, as long as Thibodeau is the head coach, I'm afraid it's going to be a tough ride for you, SST. The problem is that, although there are a lot of fans who agree with you, those same fans seem to be die-hard Thibodeau fans. Good luck with this.
It may be that the front office is going to take the injured player issue away from Thibodeau this season...at least this is what they did in the preseason. I expect more players recovering from injury to simply remain in street clothes until they're completely ready.
Good theory, except Noah wasn't expected to play in the opener but did. Maybe it was gamesmanship to confuse the Heat beforehand. My guess would be that Noah wanted to play come hell or high water.
I remember media types speculating that Noah might not play, but a lead-in of "Noah May Not Play in Opener!!!!" works better for the media than "Noah's game 1 status unknown." I didn't hear anything credible in the week preceding the opener that made me doubt that he'd play. Please don't be so quick to kill my theory. It's young, innocent and hasn't done anything to harm you.
I watched the game even though I was not on with the game thread. Rose has rust. His shooting is down. But he did what stars get paid to do. Hit the game winner when needed. I think Hinrich has been playing solid so far. Dunleavy has not, however, remember Bellinelli took several games into the season last year before he felt comfortable and began clicking. When we are not hitting our threes, we are very easy to defend. Amare is a shell of his former self. Many Bulls fans wanted him over the 'injury prone' Boozer 4 years ago.
God love ya, trueblue. Despite Rose's game winner, he's played poorly. IMO, so have Hinrich and Dunleavy. It's way too early to begin drawing conclusions.
I think this is what's going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a big motivation behind bringing Jen Swanson on board. In addition to helping players rehab injuries, she gives the front office the clout necessary to override Thibs without looking like dicks.
