Game Thread Playoffs - First Round Game 02 - Bucks @ Bulls

Discussion in 'Chicago Bulls' started by bullsger, Apr 20, 2015.

  1. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    I know attorneys hate basic, simple facts because they can fuck up their case, but nobody else is sick of you pointing out all the ways that Niko makes this team better WHEN HE IS PLAYING PF.

    It's comical how fact-ignorers call people "lovers" and "fans" of a player when that player fucks up their case, but I'm assuming that like me, you're not a Niko fan, you're a Bulls fan who wants what is best for the Bulls.

    If the Bulls played better with Taj at PF, and/or if they played better with Niko getting zero minutes, that's what I would be rooting for.

    But basic, simple to understand (but apparently easy to ignore) facts tell anyone with any brains that this team is better when Niko is playing PF. End of story.

    Funny, when Taj limped off the floor after Game 1, nobody on TNT said a word. Niko limping off the floor after Game 2 was noticed and mentioned right away by the national NBA analysts who have noticed the obvious... Taj is a nice fill-in guy off the bench, but not a difference maker. Niko is a difference maker who is very important to this team.

    As all the actual FACTS will tell anyone who cares. Outside of lawyers, who only get pissed off about actual facts that can be proven.

    Or so I've heard................................

    Yes, I know, fuck off troll. Lawyers hate facts.

    :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
     
  2. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Buh bye.

    Go soil someone else's site.
     
  3. kukoc4ever

    kukoc4ever Let's win a ring! Staff Member Moderator

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    Niko creates space, no doubt about it. He'll be a key member of the Bulls for years to come.

    There are 4 players and 2 slots at the 4/5, which makes things tricky. 3 of those guys are established, NBA good to great vets and one is a rookie. The front office has also decided to pay the 3 veteran 4/5s lots of $$$$$$.

    Strange / nice game tonight. Bulls once again dominated the boards and induced a low shot percentage from the other team. AKA Thibs ball.

    Perhaps Butler is the 1a scoring option on this team and Rose is the 1b and generates assists and picks his spots. I trust Butler to take more of a beating at this point than Rose. This team is still figuring out its identity. Butler seems to be ascending. He's the best player on the Bulls right now, right?

    The Bulls have a stacked roster with plenty of guys that are pretty good. Its hard to find minutes for them all. Demon Kirk isn't in the picture anymore so Taj somehow becomes the demon. Was Gibson injured or Thibs just decided to sit him due to foul issues?

    If Gasol would be willing to come off the bench, I'd be willing to give Mirotic / Noah a try in the starting lineup at some point. Still have heavy minutes for Gasol. Gasol is a proud guy and was the starter on the all-star team THIS SEASON though, so I imagine that kind of shift would be somewhat unprecedented.

    Rose had a pretty good floor game and Butler was the best player on the court. Gasol and Noah owned the boards.

    The Bucks have one hell of a defense. They played their arse off tonight. Very aggressive trapping and clearing out on the weak side. Kidd has these guys playing as well as they can, IMO. Jason Kidd is a good NBA coach, who would have thought that?

    13 turnovers for the Bulls. Only 4 for the Bucks. Bizzare.

    The Bulls are a total wildcard at this point. Still no identity really, but perhaps we're settling on Butler as the alpha, Rose as a solid point guard that scores and does point guard things and just owning the boards while playing smart defense. I'm cool with that. Still going to be underdogs to beat the Cavs but they should have a punchers chance if everyone is healthy.

    This is a nice time to be a Bulls fan. We don't have Lebron but we have the 2nd or 3rd best team in the East with a chance to beat him and a really nice team. It will be worse at some point in the not too distant future. Even with Niko getting lots of minutes at the 4.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2015
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  4. rosenthall

    rosenthall Well-Known Member

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    Wow........grimy game.

    This is about how I expected the series to go......ugly, close, with the Bucks playing an annoying but effective style of basketball, but the Bulls pulling away due to the talent differential.

    No need to get complacent now.......
     
  5. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Butler has answered all the questions in only two games...total stud and yes, he's gonna get paid. Rose has answered some of them. Gasol has shown that packed-in defenses can take away most of his offense, but that he'll keep battling. Noah has shown why he was given all those nights off...the all-important question is how long he can last.

    And Mirotic, well, he's no more afraid of the playoff stage than he was the regular season. He's going to be important in these playoffs.
     
  6. rosenthall

    rosenthall Well-Known Member

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    Agreed. This to me has been one of the biggest takeaways of the series so far. The Bulls look like a Thibs team, but this year they have more offensive talent.


    Right now I think it's

    Butler: 1
    Rose: 2a
    Gasol: 2b

    I expect we'll roll through the playoffs with this pecking order.

    Jimmy's game is just really well suited for the playoffs because he's so physical. The arena still holds its breath every time Rose hits the floor and he still has timing/judgment issues. And in my opinion he looks more easily bottled up than he did in his MVP year. I don't think the traps the Bucks put on him would have been nearly as successful in 2011. Teams tried to do that to him all the time back in the day and he still got his.

    I've always thought the ideal big man rotation would be Pau/Taj with Noah/Mirotic. I actually think Noah'd be more willing to come off the bench than Pau anyways. Don't think we're going to see it this year though.

    Denny made a good point in the game thread that watching the Bucks kind of reminds you of what it must have been like for other teams to watch the Bulls. Ugly as hell, scrappy, and they manage to stay in games by grinding things to a halt. If you're a marginally talented team it's a good formula to squeeze out wins. We of all teams oughta know.

    However, I'm encouraged by this game. I mean, I think the Bucks had a clear strategy coming in and they executed it well......and we still won. They didn't shoot the ball well but they're not a good offensive team. They're running into the same problems we have in the playoffs. Grit doesn't beat talent when the talent also plays with grit.
     
  7. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    It seemed to me the Bucks couldn't play with their Q1 intensity for more than Q1. This is a good sign for us. I agree with rosenthall that we shouldn't get complacent. However, game 3 might be tougher than I expected, being on the Bucks' home court.
     
  8. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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  9. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    [​IMG]

    Looks like a guy who's getting paid.
     
  10. kukoc4ever

    kukoc4ever Let's win a ring! Staff Member Moderator

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    What remains to be seen is if Jimmy goes multi year MAX contract this off-season or goes for a 1 year deal and goes for the big score next off-season.

    Could be a nice contract for the Bulls if he opts for security. That, and if he remains good / healthy over the course of the contract.
     
  11. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    I think someone offers him a 1 year ETO and the Bulls have to choose to match that. He'd both get MAX possible pay for a year and the ability to opt out and sign a new bigger deal.
     
  12. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Write what you like.

    I'm not sure why Mirotic makes Butler better as you say. Taj doesn't have to park under the basket or even near it. I've seen him plenty at 15 feet from the basket where he takes plenty of outside shots and is not in the way. Giannis is a SF, he'd have to guard Mirotic at SF at the 3pt line anyway. I'm not sure you're making sense :)

    But that's not why I wanted to respond to this.

    What I saw earlier in the game when the Bucks were playing suffocating swarming defense. The jumbo lineup was in. Thibs designed a play that maybe looked like a cluttered lane on the surface. What I saw was two bigs setting a screen for Rose to drive. Rose took one of the defenders to the basket and kicked backward to Jimmy who followed right down the lane for an easy basket.

    Jimmy was 7-10 on non-3pt attempts last night.

    Taj looked off and only got 11 minutes. It's a nice luxury to have Niko to play PF if one of the other three can't go or are in foul trouble. An expensive luxury, though. Taj had 4 fouls and could have played down the stretch. Can we give Thibs credit for not playing him?
     
  13. bulls_with_booz

    bulls_with_booz We're Selfish

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    Fucking 4/20 kept me from watching the game.
     
  14. bulls_with_booz

    bulls_with_booz We're Selfish

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    Wait did bullsville get banned? What? I mean come on what the hell do I have to do to get banned around here if that guy gets banned? I'll miss the banter. :(

    RIP Bullsville

    Guy was kind of an asshole though so there's the bright side. Onward and upwards.
     
  15. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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  16. rosenthall

    rosenthall Well-Known Member

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    I'd bet money that he opts for a short deal. I think the most he can sign for this offseason is something like 5 years/80 million. That'll be a bargain once the new cap numbers kick in.

    If he waits a year or two the contract value goes up to like 140 million.

    I haven't double checked these, so I'm sure they're not 100% accurate, but I think they're about right.
     
  17. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Nah, you can't get banned here unless you kill multiple people and are stupid enough to admit to it. I'm sure Bullsville can play in this sandbox whenever he wants.
     
  18. bulls_with_booz

    bulls_with_booz We're Selfish

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    His profile is unaccesible so I'm assuming he's banned...is it a temp ban? I hate it when people get banned man. It means we lost another Bulls fan. :(

    but the whole asshole thing makes it easier to cope with lol
     
  19. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    As Denny so aptly pointed out in the roll call thread, being an asshole won't get you banned here. Besides, he wasn't the only asshole.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2015
  20. bulls_with_booz

    bulls_with_booz We're Selfish

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    Then why is he banned?
     

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