Acually, Jalen. I think he's injured.</p> Bulls' Win Can't Overshadow Bigger Concerns</p> Finally, some good news for the Chicago Bulls in Thursday night's game with the Detroit Pistons. Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas, the second-year player already giving them great energy and shot-blocking, showed how badly he wanted to hold his ground against Rasheed Wallace with the Bulls the leading 95-93 and 13 seconds left. Wallace already had 36 points and was aiming for two more in the post. And it missed. It's always good D when they miss. The Bulls hung on for a 97-93 win, their first win in five tries. It was Detroit's first loss in four games. Thomas had 19 points and 14 rebounds as a starter. That was big. I'm also excited about what I saw in Chicago's bench play. Joe Smith (13 points) gave big-time contribution, same for Chris Duhon. That's the thing that got them over a top.</p> <div class="io"> <div class="clearfix"></div> </div> But what I still see as one Chicago problem, is that they don't have a defined leader. It's great to have a young team where a coach like Scott Skiles is that leader. But that doesn't matter in the last two minutes of the game when you need a guy on the court who shows the way. Another thing that I see as one of their issues -- this game ended with Thomas and Smith in the game. That's fine, too, but when you've got a guy with championship experience in Ben Wallace on your bench, something's not right. Of course, it's understandable in that he's not a great free throw shooter, not a great offensive threat. He's still your big centerpiece free agent. I wonder how Wallace and Ben Gordon handle becoming situational players in a game. You don't want Duhon having to come in for you at the end. Many times, there's an explanation for some moves on the court the average NBA fan doesn't see. When you're inside, you know decisions are made for other reasons. For example, maybe the Bulls want to see how the team handles itself without Wallace. Why? Because his contract could be one dealt in a package deal for Kobe Bryant. As it stands now, it would be hard for Chicago to get past Detroit, a team that has the best starting five in the NBA. It's a team that's smart enough to invert their offense against the Bulls, posting up against Gordon and Kirk Hinrich with their guards, and often moving Rasheed outside. It basically comes down to this: Detroit is a post-up team that can't shoot jumpers, and Chicago is a jump-shooting team that can't post up. Perhaps Thomas and Joakim Noah will eventually develop into post threats Chicago needs. But as it stands now, and in the playoffs, when the game slows down, that kind of style favors Detroit.</p> * * * * *</p> </p> <div class="io"> <div class="clearfix"> In my opinion, we shouldn't know that Gordon and Luol Deng both turned down $50 million-plus contracts. If the team leaked that information, there's a reason for that. The team wants to show that the players didn't want to be here. The organizations can justify making a trade for Kobe, by saying "we tried to sign these guys but they wouldn't accept."</p> If a trade happens, it seems more justifiable to the average fan. So when people says "why did we trade Ben, he's a clutch shooter?" they can say they tried to sign him. Chicago, meanwhile, has its leading players hearing they might be dealt. Deng and Gordon have long heard they are part of the Baby Bulls, the team that's on the cusp of being the next team coming out of East. Now, that's up in the air. When you walk down the aisle on draft night, you actually feel that this team loves me, this team won't trade me. But then you realize the top players in game -- Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Allen Iverson -- get traded. You see the business of basketball is bigger than game. That can hit people hard. -- Jalen Rose</p> </div> </div>
Re: Jalen Rose: The Bulls may want to see how the team handles itself without Wa... I agree with Jalen in the sense that Wallace hasn't really done much for the Bulls since coming. They were a great defensive team without him, and either the same or worse offensive team with him.</p> I don't really see any need for him on the Bulls, especially with the new young guys coming in and making an impact.</p> Really, has Wallace done anything good since coming to Chicago?</p>
Re: Jalen Rose: The Bulls may want to see how the team handles itself without Wa... <font color="#000080">It's always good D when they miss.</font></p> Heh. I agree Jalen makes some good points here. Which is sort of baffling when I consider it's Jalen, but he clearly knows the business side of the NBA.</p>
Re: Jalen Rose: The Bulls may want to see how the team handles itself without Wa... It was a very good read, IMO.</p> Wallace, in theory, is supposed to fill AD's role on the team for the full 4 years. They wouldn't be the same team without him, defensively. They're not the team we expect, tho, and it sure looks like Wallace is barely a shadow of his normal self. He did get 5 boards in 18 minutes, but the D doesn't seem to be there.</p>
