Mike Dunleavy last 4 games: 6-21, 17 points in 116 minutes. That's 5.3 Pts/36 minutes. Source: http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1374025&start=120
Thanks for that, I certainly fail to see how giving McDermott some of Dunleavy's minutes is going to hurt the team? McDermott still has plenty of room for improvement over the rest ot the season, which could possibly help us in the playoffs. Dunleavy is 34 years old, he is who he is - if he sat the rest of the regular season, he could pick it up on Day 1 of the post-season and still be the same Dunleavy he is right now.
It was interesting to me to see Dunleavy's name show up at the top of one of these rankings. http://www.sloansportsconference.co...2015/02/SSAC15-RP-Finalist-Counterpoints2.pdf Also, just an interesting paper in general. SportsVU data and how its being used is interesting.
Dunleavy's played 49 games this season and has scored 10+ points 19 times. For an extremely low usage guy (lowest on the team), that's not that bad. This said, there can be little argument that Dunleavy's stock as a Bull was never higher than when he was injured.
I think he takes 7.3 FGA in 29 minutes per game. If he goes 3-7 from 3pt, he's really close to 10 right there. As it is, he averages 5.1 PPG from 3pt. So a little more than 1 every 3 games he makes a couple more baskets. Woot!
Go off, to the injured list. Dunleavy looks hurt, hurt, hurt to me. He can't move East and West at all on defense. It pains me to watch him play. Bullsville ruffled some feathers around here for calling Thibodeau a "Thidiot," or something, because he subbed Dunelavy in for McDermott when Dougie Mcbuckets was on fire in the fourth quarter of a tight game. A part of me wonders if those types of moves are the result of Thibodeau wanting to reward his veterans for giving him minutes even when they're not 100%. If that's the case, I'm on the Thidiot bandwagon. Maybe I am regardless. The Bulls don't need Dunleavy gimping around the court playing abysmal ball. They needs his ass on the bench so that there's a chance he's healthy by the playoffs. It's dangerous assuming you understand somebody's motivations. But how many times have we seen this with Thibodeau. This right here -- Michael Dunleavy getting embarrassed on D, hurting the team while he's hurting himself -- is the reason the Bulls are never healthy when the playoffs roll around. You know, say what you want about Vinny Del Negro, but at least his teams were healthy come playoff time.
I also didn't like the substitution that everyone is up in arms about. The thing is, there is no such thing as a perfect coach. There are going to be moves that you don't agree with. The best hitters strike out. The best shooters miss open shots. Great coaches don't bat 1.000 either. Its utterly ridiculous to expect otherwise. Thibs wins games, is good at managing players, can basically work with any type of NBA player, is great with the Xs and Os and game prep and gets the most out of the guys he's given. That's why he's considered to be one of the best coaches in the NBA. Of all the things to bitch and moan about, Thibs is low on the list in my world. This is the first time since Jordan / Jackson that the Bulls are actually threats to win the NBA championship, and Thibs is a big part of it.
Vinnie's teams weren't healthy. Hinrich and Deng missed 20+ games each, and Gordon wore a massive bandage on his thigh in that awesome playoff series against the championship Celtics (Thibs got a ring). Rose, Gordon, and Salmons each averaged 37 minutes a game, and Lu 34 for 49 games. Noah missed 18 games in Vinnie's last season. Vinnie managed 41 wins both seasons. The Bulls have to go 1-13 to finish that low with Thibs.
And McBuckets was subbed for in the first half. He contributed zilch the rest of the way, and played the last 5 minutes or more of Q4. The substitution some wonder about was Thibs resting Snell for one minute at the 5:00 left in Q4 after he'd played 17 straight minutes. So which is it? He played Snell into the ground (your beef) or that he gave him a short rest so he'd have a little more gas to finish the game?
VDN took teams with "5 talent" and got "5 performance" out of them. Though I hated the hire, VDN did all right. I've already seen Thibodeau take "5 talent" and squeeze out "7 performance." As I see it, there are two questions on Thibodeau: - What kind of performance can he get out of 7 or 8 talent? - Can his team excel in the postseason?
Ben Gordon, healthy DRose, Luol Deng, Kirk with a 13 PER, Noah, Salmons, and Brad Miller are "5 talent?" I don't think this team is that much better.
The one time he's had a team that was a legit team in the playoffs they got to the ECFs and lost to Lebron's Heat, which will go down as one of the greatest teams ever headed up by one of the greatest players ever. All the other times we've been winging it with Nate Robinsons and DJ Augustin types patchwork style and turning seemingly hopeless situations into competitive teams.
I agree with all of this, but it doesn't respond to the point I was trying to make. My problem isn't that Thibodeau may have misplayed his hand in one situation, or two situations or one hundred. Thibodeau is brilliant at maneuvering his team late in in games -- perhaps the best in the business -- so I really don't care about any of that. My issue is that he continually prefers to run the top of his depth chart into the ground even when they are so injured they can't produce. I think it would be nice to have a healthy Dunleavy in the playoffs, but we might as well accept that that isn't going to happen. I don't agree with you that Thibs gets the most out of what he's given. I think his teams do great in the regular season and then usually lose to less talented opponents in the playoffs, because by that point in the season, they're a shell of what they were at the beginning of the season.
Management has bet big on Rose being MVP level. The roster without him isn't ECF worthy. It's just not Thibs' fault.
Thanks, but just to clarify, it was the 2nd quarter of the Charlotte game last Friday. McDermott came in with 1:50 left in the first quarter and the Bulls up 13. After Mirotic hit a 3, McDoug scored the Bulls' next 10 points in a 2:30 span, hitting all three of his shots (including a pair of 3's) and 2 FT. The Bulls were still up by 12, and Thibs pulls him with 8:34 left in the 2nd quarter. I can't imagine any coach anywhere doing that. I've repeatedly asked anyone to explain why that made any sense whatsoever, though I haven't seen one. I certainly don't expect to, the Thibs fan club (a/k/a the Front Office Haters) can continue to use this to say that I think Thibs is an idiot. Which is fine, I'm pretty sure everyone knows not to take them seriously as they obviously have an agenda, but whatever. Like you said SST, we can't assume Thibs' motivations, but common sense dictates that if one of your starters has been struggling for two weeks, on a night when his backup is on fire, you might want to leave the backup in the game for a bit, even if it means a one-game adjustment of your normal rotation.
