I'm disappointed that I did such a poor job of explaining myself. I expected this Bulls team to be good, but I believe that they've shown that they're very good. This makes me happy. When my happiness is met by, "Yeah but the Heat are better and figure to widen this gap over time," I say that how good the Heat may or may not be doesn't affect my positive feelings about the Bulls. Is this any clearer?
And once more to piggy back on your comments: I don't buy the "Miami figure to only get better, while us, no" position. Miami could get it right, or may not. The fact that Boston got it right and may have gotten it again doesn't guarantee Miami does. And the Bulls got it right better than we could have hoped, having missed out on LBJ and Bosh, etc. Is there an upper limit as to how right the Bulls can get it? Is there an upper limit to how right Miami might get it? And is it possible that Miami's upper limit is higher than Chicago's upper limit? I might buy that. I also can't control that (or much else). But I like the fact that Chicago's ceiling seems to be much higher than was thought possible just a few months ago (back in October). And we still haven't seen the full package.
Yeah, but it misses our point. The Bulls magically have a real opportunity to win it all this year, not just be "better than expected." It's like the opportunity to draft Rose - it comes along so rarely in a lifetime, maybe it's worth going for it.
Somewhat. I understand where you're coming from, I just have a different perspective. To me, the only way to measure our progress is against other teams. In my mind, we're on track, and I'm happy about that, but I don't feel like the job is done. But at the same time, it isn't that obvious that they have a one-shot chance this year. I do think it relatively declines, but it's hard to say. I definitely wouldn't trade for an older guy who'll fade and leave us screwed down the road.
Mike/Denny, To avoid coming off as dense, I understand where each of you is coming from. We all want the Bulls to win a championship, and ideally several, and if we're assessing their chances of doing this, the quality of the competition is clearly important. Mike, you're right about it being a matter of differing perspectives. Not surprisingly, I like mine better because when the Bulls win their next championship, we'll all be thrilled...I will just have enjoyed the ride more. And yeah, the Heat are uber-talented, playing well and figure to be the #1 seed in the East. They have the best player on the planet and Dwayne Wade at SG to line up against our Keith Bogans. So yeah, I get all that. As for future years, please remember that I'm the guy who won't even predict a 5-game road trip on a game-by-game-basis. The Heat might be much better next season, but then again James or Wade might get hurt...or Rose's game might progress as much next season as it did last year to this. Lots of things might happen. While it would be great if the Bulls could make a deal now that would up their chances this season, the last thing I want them to do is make a deal based on a "This Season or Bust!" mentality, particularly when there's no reasonable deal to be made that would make them the favorites.
Heh, I wouldn't say you'll enjoy the ride more than me. I'd say we enjoy wins now equally, but I'll enjoy winning the title more than you. So there
I'm curious where anyone got the idea I suggest the Bulls make some bad trade for a near over the hill veteran. The only two guys mentioned as trade potential for the Bulls that I've backed have been Melo and OJ Mayo.
Depends. Which of our key players are out? If we're healthy and get bounced in the first round, you could say that I'd be, um, kinda disappointed...like break-the-TV disappointed. Then after a couple days, I'd buy a new TV and get ready for next season.
Mike, I wrote: The point being that it'd be far more important to overcome the 2.5 game deficit we're in than accepting the team has won a lot of games.
I'm just trying to gauge what's satisfactory. For the record, the Bulls may only need to tinker just a little bit with the lineup and roster to avoid this kind of disappointment. The scenario I see the Bulls losing early in the playoffs is to a team that figures out to exploit the weaknesses in our team as constructed. Golden State was able to take Rose out of his game. We don't fare well against zone defenses. We struggle against teams like the Knicks and Detroit and especially Charlotte. Whoever our playoffs opponents are, they're going to watch those game films. Yeah, we can adjust, but our options for adjustment may not be enough. For example, if we had a really solid player who could handle the ball when Rose was pressured, we might have beaten the Warriors' scheme. CJ Watson is the closest thing to that, and he rarely plays with Rose. I'll put this out there, as well. Atlanta is 34-20. We haven't played them even once this season. They've got a lot of young talent to go with a big SG who pretty much does it all, as well as a volume scorer as 6th man. A second round match against them might be scarier than facing the Celtics or Heat. You do have to look at the other teams.
You want a stone-cold sure thing? Good luck with that. I wouldn't be all that worried about a 7-game series against GSW. Atlanta...yeah they're good and better than I thought they'd be. If we face them in the playoffs, it would probably be a helluva series with lots of anxious moments...and yeah, the Bulls could lose to them. I think the Bulls are better, but that's why they play the games. I could say the same thing in reverse if the Bulls play the Heat in the playoffs. But heck, the top seed has only come out of the East once in the past 8 seasons, so you just never know. There you go again with this right or wrong stuff. Please, please try to understand the context of my earlier remarks. I was pleased with how good the Bulls had become versus how good I thought they'd be...a Bulls then vs. Bulls now comparison. Now we're talking about the Bulls prospects in the postseason. In this context, the quality of the opposition is important.
They do play the games, but you can improve your chances by having a LeBron instead of a Ryan Gomes. When you're in reach, as we seem to be, I would hope management is looking at getting us someone as close to LeBron to replace a guy we have who's closer to Gomes. We can also improve our chances (from 20% to 80%, by my analysis) simply by having an even better record. For the Jordan/Pippen Bulls, the real season started when the playoffs began.
Of course they're trying to make a move that they believe would improve the team. I mean, that's their job, right?
Can I just say something here? I am a mod, but actually, I'm like the low man on the totem pole in this conversation But I'll just call it like I see it. I think you guys need to give Transplant some space. Sometimes, you two are like Dobermans in your tenacity to argue a point. Sometimes, its really educational and enlightening. Sometimes, it's a little pointless, and seems to be almost gratuitous arguing. I mean, you're not really arguing that you feel worse about the team than you did in October, right? And I don't think you can objectively say that you expected even this success. Someone did the research about predictions made on this board, and K4E was the most optimistic at 53 wins. Now, somehow, it seems like you just can't accept that Transplant is pretty happy with how much better the Bulls are than what he thought, and that he's far more content to see how things play out as they are than to insist on filling a "gaping" hole. You don't agree, and that's cool, but can we just leave it at that? Be at peace with the fact that though you're not content, he and others of us are willing to just enjoy how much better the Bulls are than we even imagined. Deciding to enjoy where we are is NOT a statement of commitment to the status quo. It's a celebration that the status quo is pretty darned good.
Yes, you can always say something. As far as I'm concerned, I think the color of our names is irrelevant to what we're talking about here. No offense, but your perception of things irritates me. First, I don't like my opinions lumped in and equated with other folks. Second, it bothers me that you or anyone has the perception I'm ganging up on someone. Honestly, what am I supposed to do to change that perception? It's pretty much impossible, because it's your perception of things. I've pointed out in this thread that I don't even completely agree with Denny. I think I've been respectful in disagreeing with transplant. I haven't even posted to that much of the argument. Would it be sufficient if just agree with everyone? Should I agree with Transplant that he likes the Bulls winning more than I do? Would that be sufficient? What do I have to do to not be part of another "You two..." lecture? Because honestly, that's about as much fun as getting my eyes plucked out.
Good Hope, you've got the edge on me in terms of seniority and # of posts. Low man? I think not. I appreciate your support but I feel the need to make some comments here. I'm still new to this board, so if I shoulda done this by PM, someone please let me know. Just to be clear, I'm not ticked off or anything and I don't feel "ganged-up on." I think everything has been respectful. Mike and I go back a ways, and while I've never posted before with a Denny Crane, his style is familiar (different posting name?). We all have our own set of lenses and that's a good thing. Mike and I have often seen things differently and I'd be shocked if this doesn't continue here. I can see that Denny and I will also lock horns from time to time. They each have their own lenses as evidenced by disagreements I've seen between the two on this and other threads. We're all good here and it's a safe place for perspectives of all sorts.
