Before responding, please read the following post in entirety. One of the biggest trades this year, was the Toronto/Chicago deal that sent Jalen Rose, Lonny Baxter, and Donyell Marshall to Toronto for Chris Jeffries, Jerome Williams, and Antonio Davis. One of the most heard responses to that trade was "Chicago got gipped." But is that really true? Let's take a further glance. Before the trade, Chicago was a dismal 4-12. Since the trade, Chicago has gone 5-8. Thats an improvement, even if both are losing records. Since Chicago was going for defense in the trade, let's see if they improved: Opponents PPG Before the trade: 101.0625 Opponents PPG After the trade: 89.2307 Notice anything? Many of you are probably scoffing, noting that neither record is worth mentioning. But what do you expect when you lose 2 starters from your lineup, both a big part of your team. That has happened to Chicago. Chandler and Curry are both out. If you are Toronto fans, imagine taking Rose and Bosh out of your lineup now. How far would you get? This is a problem Chicago has been dealing with since the trade. Add to that Pippen being out(imagine Mo Pete out), a new coach(imagine Toronto under a new coach, trying to learn a whole new system), and you are seeing some of the problems that are becoming every day experiences for the Bulls. Now, for those Toronto fans that are screaming about how great there team is now. Take a look at this: Record before the trade: 8-8 Record after the trade: 6-6 Change: n/a Toronto hasn't improved since the trade. They still remain at .500 Yes, their offense has improved, their ppg has been upped, etc. But there record still remains the same throughout that. I am not saying Chicago got the better end of the deal, or that Toronto did. The whole point in this thread was to get your attention to the fact that perhaps both sides improved. And perhaps, that on second glance, that Chicago didn't get gipped, but knew what they were doing. There are always two sides to every story. But often times, one side is overlooked. Hopefully this side will not further overlooked.
Great write. I agree with you 100%. Everyone made the trade sound like it was such a rip off. And, boy were they wrong. The trade has done numerous things for Chicago. One, is free up the ball for Jamal Crawford. We all knew he had it in him, but he just needed the ball. Now he has it. Another thing, is it made are defense worlds better than it was before. Maybe even to a good defense. Thirdly, it got us into a team basketball mode. No more fastbreak pull up threes from Jalen Rose, no more fade away jumpers when two people are gaurding you. But rather the team will do anything to win, and not get stats. They all rely on each other, not one player. Great trade Bulls.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Prophecy:</div><div class="quote_post">Great write. I agree with you 100%. Everyone made the trade sound like it was such a rip off. And, boy were they wrong. The trade has done numerous things for Chicago. One, is free up the ball for Jamal Crawford. We all knew he had it in him, but he just needed the ball. Now he has it. Another thing, is it made are defense worlds better than it was before. Maybe even to a good defense. Thirdly, it got us into a team basketball mode. No more fastbreak pull up threes from Jalen Rose, no more fade away jumpers when two people are gaurding you. But rather the team will do anything to win, and not get stats. They all rely on each other, not one player. Great trade Bulls.</div> I forgot to add: Jalen Rose shooting before the trade: 37.5% After the trade: 35.8% WE DIDN'T LOSE ANY SHOOTING. --------------------------------------- In reference to your comment about Crawford......I am not sure if him shooting more is a good thing, or a bad thing. He hasn't had a stellar December shooting the ball.
Well, he did jave a 4 game stetch were he couldn't buy a bucket. But these last two games have told me a lot. Maybe taking more shots isn't a good thing... but I think having the ball in Jamal's hands more is. He has shown as of late, that he can create his own shots off the dribble, and penitrate threw the defense. That is an important attribute. With Jalen running up the floor shooting the basketball right away, it didn't give time for any offense to be run, or a chance to drive to the basket. Another point, is offensive rebounds. Half the time before, the Bulls wouldn't even be set, before Jalen would take a shot. So they would not have position at all. But now, with a complete offense, the big men can possibly get better position, and get more offensive rebounds. Where as before, they couldn't.
Nice assesment Vintage. I didnt realize the raptors had the same record as they did before the trade...
