Hinrich was on the floor for 13:31, the Bulls scored 22 points, 78.2 per 48 minutes. Hinrich was off the floor for 34:29, the Bulls scored 69 points, 96.0 per 48 minutes. When I pointed out the "fire Thidiot now" when he took out a white-hot McDermott and left Hinrich at PG instead of trying Moore, the Bulls had scored 43 points in 14:22. Like I said, that totally killed the team's momentum, and they scored 53 points in 33:38 seconds the rest of the way. ============================================================================= If anyone can come up with even a stupid reason to take out a white-hot shooter who has just given you 10 points on 3/3 FG, 2/2 3's and 2/2 FT in 5:16, I'd love to hear it. That might have been one of the dumbest coaching moves I have ever seen in my life. Dunleavy had 3 points on one shot in his 10:10, maybe Thibs was afraid people would see that he's been holding McDoug back if he played him any more while he's having the best game of his short career? If anyone can come up with even a stupid reason to not at least TRY Moore at PG instead of Hinrich, I'd love to hear that, too. I keep reading how GarPax screwed up our season by "wasting" 4.3% of the Salary Cap on Hinrich when they could have signed another PG instead... they DID sign another combo guard, who has played PG in all 3 previous seasons for two different teams. But it doesn't do any good to have a player on the roster if Thidiot refuses to play him there. (Obviously, these are rhetorical questions, I don't expect an actual answer, obviously)
It's comical how you can see Gasol - an All-Star who leads the league in double-doubles and had an "off" night of 18/8 with 3 ast and 2 blk in 36 minutes - PLUS BEING THE ONLY PLAYER ON THE ROSTER WHO HAD A POSITIVE +/- - get blame for "showing his age". And you can see Mirotic - who had an off shooting night but still gave us 15/9 with 3 ast, 2 blk and a stl in 35 minutes - get blame. Even though he was Rookie of the Month the one month he actually got minutes, and is at it again giving us 20/9 in 31 minutes with a .560 TS% in 10 games this month. Thibs refuses to play him no matter how good he is (until his pet Taj gets injured), but they're all here for his off shooting night. You can see it pointed out that McDoug played five minutes and didn't get a shot and that's made into a negative, but no mention of why he was pulled when he was white-hot after FIVE MINUTES. The excuses made for Thibs, and the attempt to put blame on GarPax is just comical, it's what keeps me reading. Funny, funny stuff.
Any analysis of this game that does not begin and end with the Bulls being outrebounded 55-36 is simply not trying to take an honest look at what happened out there.
Both teams tonight had 4 players each play 30+ minutes and the Hornets had the two guys with the most minutes played. Crazy, crazy Thibs. Niko is getting serious burn. McDermott played quite a lot tonight and closed out the 4th. Hinrich played only 13:30. I realize that the old narrative is completely disrupted now and we're on to the new talking points, but its just funny how quickly they shift and how the old ones are abandoned. Now the losses just suck. Hard to win with rookies getting heavy minutes.
No blame for Mirotic, but he didn't come close to carrying the team. The blame is on injuries to our two all star guards and Noah's long string of injuries and playing hurt, and no Taj. But as GarPaxDorf says, "no excuses." The only funny thing is defending GarPaxDorf when they are the constant. Players and coaches have come and gone. A slew of early first round picks. And here we are, not close to championship caliber. Still. Again. Notinyourlifetimesucker.
This is what its like to be a Cubs fan. Except I remember seeing the Bulls and White Sox win championships, so maybe not quite that bad. But its getting bad. Young adults don't remember seeing the Bulls win a championship at this point.
Since 1984, the fans of only 8 NBA teams have seen their team hoist the O'Brien trophy. This takes us well beyond young adults. Assuming kids become real NBA fans at around age 8 or so, a Knicks fan would need to be about 50 to remember a NBA title for their team (this thought has warmed many a cold night for me). Us poor, poor Bulls' fans, woe is us. The tough part about being a Bulls fan in recent seasons is all about injuries...mostly Rose's. Even with the team's superstar out, the Bulls have made the playoffs every year. I blame Michael Jordan. He spoiled a generation of Bulls fans. Spoiled 'em rotten. When the Bulls do win their next title, I just hope that generation Jordan ruined doesn't respond with an entitled group "It's about fuckin' time!" refrain.
That's a nice post transplant, but cold comfort when trying to convince a young adult that the Bulls are a great organization.
