I figure, due to his performance last night, this would be a very highly debated topic today. The question at hand is, do you start him, or don't you? I've seen criticism today and last night after the game about him because he did not perform well. The people criticizing however, apparently do not realize that he's a rookie. He just had first game jitters in my opinion. He's much better than what he performed last night. I think, if it wasn't for the fact that he might be getting guarded by Artest tonight, that he could have a good game. But, back to topic. Should he start? Yes, I believe he should. Deng had a great game last night off the bench, but, that's the big reason why he should stay there. Now, if you don't understand that thought, just listen. The Bulls need that type of player off the bench. The guy who can come in and get us those 10, 12, or however many points, and get us 6 or 8 rebounds. I think, if we take him and start him, we won't really have that kind of player off the bench. He was a great energy guy last night and he came in and did a great job...off the bench. Therefore, I think he should stay there instead of starting at the SG spot. Also, I believe Ben Gordon still deserves to be the starter because, quite frankly, it's like I said earlier, it's one game. One game is not a season. He can only improve off his performance from last night. I say, give him a few more starts before you begin to criticize his performance and begin to doubt whether or not he should be in the starting lineup. Alright, now that I'm done ranting here, how about other peoples opinions. What do you guys think?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">shouldn't be starting. Hinrich and Duhon at the gaurds for now.</div> Why don't we hear some legit reasons on why he shouldn't be starting? You say he shouldn't, but by giving no reasons, your post is useless. C'mon, you need to give reasons in order to get an intelligent thread going. If you don't agree, state why. And if you do, state why also.
Yeah, It was an extremely poor performance from Ben Gordon last night. And its not that he struggle shooting the ball, its that he forced up alot of bad perimeter shots in that 1st half, which led to easy Jersey points. His shot selection & Andres Nocioni shot selection was a big part of the hole CHi-town dug in the 1st half. Loul Deng didnt shot the ball that well either but he made more plays and looked more NBA ready. He was extremely quick to alot of lose ball and he kept alot of opportunties alive for the Bulls on the offensive end. I think Scott Skiles is probably going to stick with Gordon for a few more games as a starter because you would think Gordon would be the more ready player to play 82 games between him and Deng. So maybe once he gets it going, you'll get to see the real Ben Gordon. But if Deng keeps doing the little things better like the Hustle plays then it would shock me if the change is made in a few games. I like Chris Duhon and Kirk Hinrich in the backcourt together as well, they could really put pressure on teams, by getting the ball up quickly. But Iam not sure how much you can use that lineup against High scoring backcourts.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">shouldn't be starting. Hinrich and Duhon at the gaurds for now.</div> Ben Gordon just had a bad game. Remember when LeBron James came into the league his 1st preseason game he had a bad shooting night and just put up 8 points. Everyone was getting at him because of this. But then he just proved them all wrong having a good season and winning rookie of the year. Ben Gordon had one bad game you can't sit him down because of this! He was the #3 pick in the draft and was invited to dinner by Michael Jordan! Duhon is not good enough to start over Gordon sorry!
Ben Gordon had a bad preason not just a bad game. Personally, I don't even know why we have him. And obviously Duhon is better, did you miss the game last night?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">Ben Gordon had a bad preason not just a bad game. Personally, I don't even know why we have him. And obviously Duhon is better, did you miss the game last night?</div> Duhon is probably more nba ready, coming out of Duke(not that Uconn isnt a strong farm system. But most Duke players with the exception of a few guys like Deng, & Maggette, who left early, have already peaked as basketball players by the time they get to this level after playing 4 years under Coach K, Boozer might be the exception. But most of their players are usually at their best ready for the league right away. And there games dont usually grow much thru their NBa careers because they have already peaked under Coach K. So Duhon is probably more able to succeed in this league right now. But I think Gordon has the bigger upside. And right now the Bulls are trying to develope for the future. So if they lose while Gordon takes his bumps this year. It will probably make him a strong player in the future to work thru them. And thats why Chi-town is keeping him in the starting lineup.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">Ben Gordon had a bad preason not just a bad game. Personally, I don't even know why we have him. And obviously Duhon is better, did you miss the game last night?</div> I saw the game last night. Gordon was really struggling. But Gordon is just adjusting. Duhon if I'm not mistaken was almost cut in camp. Because Duhon might have had a couple of games better than Gordon does not make him considerably better than him. Gordon accomplished more at Connecticut than Duhon did at Duke. Gordon was the #3 pick Duhon was #38 big difference. Let Gordon adjust a bit.
do any of you know anyhting about basketball??? heres a rookie playing in his first nba game at home and he didnt play so well so lets bench him? shut the hell up...fools.
OT: man thats kind of wierd, duhon and deng were teammates last yr at duke and ben gordon played for uconn against those 2 last season in the ncaa championship game...few months later, all teammates in the nba...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">Ben Gordon had a bad preason not just a bad game. Personally, I don't even know why we have him. And obviously Duhon is better, did you miss the game last night?</div> I attribute Gordon's bad performance on nerves. It is his first ever game in the NBA. Gordon is a very solid player, and he is also a ROY canadate. You can't just bench him after one poor performance. Also, he did not get as many minutes as Duhon did in the preseason because Duhon was trying to make the roster, so he is more comfortable with the speed of the NBA game. If after a month Duhon is still outplaying Gordon, then I say make the switch. Also, one game is not a measuring stick for a players talent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting saad:</div><div class="quote_post">do any of you know anyhting about basketball??? heres a rookie playing in his first nba game at home and he didnt play so well so lets bench him? shut the hell up...fools.</div> ..... Anyway, I'm saying duhon should be starting and Gordon coming off the bench, he will be calmer and less "nervous" It will give him time to adjust, alas making him a better player in the future. And may I just say, I will eat my own words, Gordon had a decent game last night.
Well, you people were quick to criticize Ben Gordon for a bad game, now I'm amazed there is no criticizing of Chris Duhon going on right now. But, I'll touch on that momentarily. Anyways, Ben Gordon, last night, did a hell of a job in a Chicago loss. 17 points hitting 6/14 from the floor. Also dished out a couple assists, knocked down a couple threes, and had three steals. That's not a bad stat line in my opinion. I think, last night, he proved that it was just "opening night jitters". He bounced back from a terrible performance and had a great game for Chicago. Now, to look at the people that some of you think should be starting in Chris Duhon. He played the same minutes as Ben Gordon (28), and only produced one point going 0/7 from the field. Now, it's funny that, all you people criticized Ben because he went 0/6 the other night. Now that Duhon had a bad game, you don't criticize him though. Cause, by doing that, you'd be criticizing the one you think should be starting. But, I'm not here to criticize at all. It just shows that rookies, and players in general, are all capable of having a bad game. Ben had one the other night and Chris had one last night. They're human. However, due to last night, I think Ben showed he does deserve to start. He had a good game after starting off his pro career on a bad foot. He bounced back. Just like I thought he would. I think, by doing that, he does prove he is NBA ready and that he is worthy of a starter spot. Now, I'm just curious to see how many people go back on their words because of Duhons bad game last night.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, you people were quick to criticize Ben Gordon for a bad game, now I'm amazed there is no criticizing of Chris Duhon going on right now. But, I'll touch on that momentarily. Anyways, Ben Gordon, last night, did a hell of a job in a Chicago loss. 17 points hitting 6/14 from the floor. Also dished out a couple assists, knocked down a couple threes, and had three steals. That's not a bad stat line in my opinion. I think, last night, he proved that it was just "opening night jitters". He bounced back from a terrible performance and had a great game for Chicago. Now, to look at the people that some of you think should be starting in Chris Duhon. He played the same minutes as Ben Gordon (28), and only produced one point going 0/7 from the field. Now, it's funny that, all you people criticized Ben because he went 0/6 the other night. Now that Duhon had a bad game, you don't criticize him though. Cause, by doing that, you'd be criticizing the one you think should be starting. But, I'm not here to criticize at all. It just shows that rookies, and players in general, are all capable of having a bad game. Ben had one the other night and Chris had one last night. They're human. However, due to last night, I think Ben showed he does deserve to start. He had a good game after starting off his pro career on a bad foot. He bounced back. Just like I thought he would. I think, by doing that, he does prove he is NBA ready and that he is worthy of a starter spot. Now, I'm just curious to see how many people go back on their words because of Duhons bad game last night.</div> I'm not going to go back on my words. And how many people are criticizing Ben? Just me it looks like! lol. Duhon had a better pre season and is more experienced college wise. It would have only been fair to give him the starting job. I also believe Gordon will benefit coming of the bench in the long run. Like I said, Gordon just didn't have one bad game, he had a bad preseason, I believed he shouldn't have started. In the long run, yes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not going to go back on my words. And how many people are criticizing Ben? Just me it looks like! lol. Duhon had a better pre season and is more experienced college wise. It would have only been fair to give him the starting job. I also believe Gordon will benefit coming of the bench in the long run. Like I said, Gordon just didn't have one bad game, he had a bad preseason, I believed he shouldn't have started. In the long run, yes.</div> You should also look at Gordon's preseason minutes. He didn't start in the preseason and he got less minutes that Duhon. And, quite frankly, I don't care that Duhon had one more year of college experience. Gordon came from one of the best systems in the country over at UConn. He had one of the best coaches in the country in Jim Calhoun preparing him for the NBA over the course of the three years he was at UConn. To me, one year means nothing. After the first year, you pretty much figure out the ropes of what it's like in college. The rest of the years are just adding to it. Both were NBA ready in my opinion. I don't know who was more ready, because they each came from one of the top systems in the nation. You may argue that Duhon was more ready, but, you have to relevant facts to prove it. Ben Gordon is more than ready to start in the NBA. And, to me, you don't use your third pick on Gordon, only to go and start Duhon, the guy you got in the 2nd round. Skiles and co. know what they're doing a lot more than what you do. They're doing what they think is best for the team, and quite frankly it is best for the team. By starting Duhon, you essentially have two pure point guards on the court. With two pass first guys out there, where is the scoring gonna come from? Sure, Hinrich is capable of rattling off 30 pts on any given night, but who else? Nocioni has been descent thus far, but inconsistent and takes bad shots. Curry is hurt. Chandler hasn't been consistent his entire career. Duhon, by no means, is a scorer. So tell me, where else are you getting offense if you start Duhon? That's why Gordon is a starter. Cause he can do everything Duhon can do, only difference is, he can shoot the ball. Duhon, on the other hand, has proven to not be a good shooter, in college and thus far in the pros. Gordon has the capability to score, pass, play defense, everything. That's why Gordon is starting over Duhon, that's why he should start over him, and that's why he'll continue to start over him.
You are right "Skiles knows what he is doing better than you do" If he does what he did last night, sure he will continue to start. I just think that he is very unproven. Also, Duhon is a better ball handler and defender. Obviously, in the first game Duhon was the spark that ignited the Bulls once he came off the bench. I just want someone who is capable of doing that. We will see how things go in the up coming weeks. I realize of course that Duhon is nothing more than a back up to Hinrich, and I also realize that Ben Gordon is our future. Though it will be interesting to see how he compares to Deng and Nocioni. One of they do better than Gordon, will he lose his spot?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BBall Guru:</div><div class="quote_post">You are right "Skiles knows what he is doing better than you do" If he does what he did last night, sure he will continue to start. I just think that he is very unproven. Also, Duhon is a better ball handler and defender. Obviously, in the first game Duhon was the spark that ignited the Bulls once he came off the bench. I just want someone who is capable of doing that. We will see how things go in the up coming weeks. I realize of course that Duhon is nothing more than a back up to Hinrich, and I also realize that Ben Gordon is our future. Though it will be interesting to see how he compares to Deng and Nocioni. One of they do better than Gordon, will he lose his spot?</div> Well, consider that Nocioni is already starting. And it is possible, I think, that Ben could lose his starting spot to Deng. However, it's like I stated earlier, I'd keep Deng off the bench. He's doing a phenomenal job and, and if he keeps doing that good, why start him? Sounds dumb, but makes sense. If he thrives off the bench, I'd keep him coming off the bench. It's a lot different starting a game than coming in later. Plus, one thing about Deng, he's not very quick and he'd be playing the SG spot. I think he'd have one hell of a time keeping up with the quicker SGs in the league. So, that's just some food for thought.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, consider that Nocioni is already starting. And it is possible, I think, that Ben could lose his starting spot to Deng. However, it's like I stated earlier, I'd keep Deng off the bench. He's doing a phenomenal job and, and if he keeps doing that good, why start him? Sounds dumb, but makes sense. If he thrives off the bench, I'd keep him coming off the bench. It's a lot different starting a game than coming in later. Plus, one thing about Deng, he's not very quick and he'd be playing the SG spot. I think he'd have one hell of a time keeping up with the quicker SGs in the league. So, that's just some food for thought.</div> I believe they would move Nocioni to SG. He is kind of quick and very aggressive. Plays that kind of old school NBA defense they learn in Europe/South America, though not always well executed in the NBA. hah. Sometimes Skiles has Deng in the "small lineup" and he is the Center sometimes. I believe Deng plays some PF also. He is so versatile, though putting him at SG might slow things down.
It is 2 games into the season. They brought Gordon in to score and to play unselfish basketball, he is still adjusting. Nocioni shoots a terrible percentage and won't get the job done. Just give Gordon time. It should be Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Chandler, Curry; thats the best they can put out IMO.
