K4E wrote this in the Heat Game thread and I happen to agree with him: However, it brings me to a dilemma I've had ever since the Rose injury. Should I root for the Bulls to make the playoffs or not? I'm all for maintaining the fighting spirit of this team, but the truth is we are absolutely not going anywhere this year, and I think everyone knows it. The 9th seed in the east would get the 9th pick in this draft, which could be pretty darn useful. And I'm not sure missing the playoffs would sink everyone's spirits given the situation. Like Denny said, this team is a wounded animal. Dangerous if you come close, but unable to go far enough to concern anyone. Personally, I'm still going to root for the Bulls to win every game. I can't do any different. But a small part of me is going to hope the stars somehow align so that in some way or another, the Bulls somehow find themselves in possession of a lottery pick, either from themselves or from Charlotte.
Except there are really bad record teams in the West (Utah) that will get 9th seed, maybe. If you want to assume the worst and not making the playoffs, assume 14th pick.
Yah, its hard to not root for these guys to win. And they will as long as they keep at it. Our 3-4-5 is better than most other teams and the defense will be tough. If the plan is to win with Rose next year, you have to keep this core pretty much intact and the dynamic of the team must remain as it is. If somehow that can be accomplished and we still get some lotto ball, then great. But, people forget, these guys are human and competitors. Noah was interviewed after the Heat game and you can tell it was important to him that Rose said be might be back for the playoffs. When you are doing the NBA regular season grind, you need something to motivate yourself and making the playoffs and maybe Rose coming back might do it for the players. Thibs is a marvel at getting millionaires with guaranteed contracts to play hard pretty much every night. I don't want to mess with that dynamic since its pretty rare in the NBA. If we assume Rose comes back a high level all-star, the rest of the core plus the picks plus the Euro can field a passable contender. Wade is fading.
I want Rose coming back to the playoffs and the Bulls winning the championship. At least I have a dream. ;-)
I want the Bulls to play their guts out and for Rose to get 100% healthy, remain fearless and become open to adjusting the mechanics of his quick step foot work so he decreases the chance of further injuries to his lower extremities. And I want the Bulls to donate a car to me so big, fast, powerful and ecologically unfriendly that it runs on harp seal blood and orphan tears. But mostly the first paragraph.
Tank not. Not now. Not ever. For what it may gain it defies any notion of competitive sportsmanship and as a fan I would just feelvdirty. Out! Out damned spot!
So I posted that tank video in jest because I still don't see how the Bulls can possibly play bad enough to make the lottery. But I find myself rooting for them to lose when push comes to shove at the end of games. Go figure.
We just lost to a team that's 4-16. That's how you compete for a top draft pick. No need to "envision" it, we saw it for real. Amazingly, we are doing it without trading away our guys who might help us win just a little too much, but nowhere near enough. Add MVP Rose to last night's lineup, and we still don't look like a contender. The fact that we're down to one starter, our Amnesty Candidate in the offseason, should make every player questionable. Like, Lu is great. When he plays. If he can only survive being #1 option for a handful of games before breaking, make the case for paying him big bucks. I'm not picking on him.... Noah has been nowhere near his typical level of play, either. It's hard to pin this on Thibs. He's not been playing guys as ironmen most of the season.
I was talking DMD this evening. He suggested: Noah for Perkins/Lamb/Adams Bulls get a young stud center, financial relief in a season and a guard whose showing some early signs of success. Increased chances at ping pong balls and more young talent. Thunder get a win now center that would be a terror alongside Serge Ibaka. Who says no?
There are still games being played, and I'm not being 100% precise here. Bulls are even with the Cavs at 9-13. Brooklyn is 8-15. If they go 1-0 and the Bulls go 0-2, they're tied. We're simply not that much better than teams in the East, record-wise. Orlando is 7-16. Philly is 7-17. Knicks are 6-16 Bucks are 5-18 Beating the Bucks wasn't good. For the Bulls to catch up with the worst record in the East, Milwaukee would have to go like 4-5 and the Bulls would have to go 0-11. Only Sacramento and Utah at 6-15 and 6-19 are worse than us in the West. We're in the bottom 8. Bottom 5 or even better (worse record) is the goal.
