Interesting game. -- A lot of the reason Lebron wasn't successful in Cleveland during his first go around is that his roster was stacked with 3d tier veterans and never developed any talent via the draft. I think the franchise made the same mistake trading for Kevin Love. There's a decent chance Wiggins is the best player in that trade by the time the playoffs roll around. He's going to be special very soon, barring injuries and unknowns. -- It took Anthony Bennett a season, but I think I like him as a stretch four. He carries himself well. For that matter, this Wolves team is stacked. I think you you'll have a legit force in the West, when you consider LaVine, by the playoffs next season. They're so talented it may not matter how young they are. --Do you guys think there's any chance Rubio would be offered a 4yr/56M contract if he wasn't white? I don't think that contract reflects well on Minnesota ownership. -- It was good to see Mirotic cover Taj's minutes and not look terrible. It's going to take some time to figure out what you have with this team.
So far I think the early signs are good for the Bulls. For the most part everyone is doing what you want to see them do. For the few guys that are lagging behind a little bit, it's not a disaster. Doug's had two slow games in a row, but when I watch him I don't get the feeling he's in over his head....just going through an adjustment period. Ditto for Snell. I'm excited for Jimmy's developing offensive identity. There are some guys who look a lot better when they completely remove certain things from their game. When Jimmy just tries to be a bulldog around the basket he's looked unstoppable. If we're lucky that + a good season from Gasol might be enough support for Derrick to win a title.
Bulls look to be a crazy deep team this year. We have a legit Bench Mob 2.0 in Brooks / Hinrich / McDermott / Mirotic / Gibson. Rose looks good when healthy. Hate to see missed time to injury already though. Buckets looks stronger, more confident and more aggressive this year. Noah looks a bit off to me at this point. Gasol is a marked improvement over Boozer to this point. Should be a fun regular season as we watch this team grow / develop / gel. Playoffs should be an interesting run. Heat are still going to be tough.
Jimmy Butler nails two FTs in final second as Bulls edge Wolves Jimmy Butler's surprise return to the Chicago Bulls' starting lineup should really come as no surprise at all. Butler is the embodiment of the Bulls' mind-over-matter mantra, and he returned just in time to teach No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins a hard-to-swallow lesson. Butler coaxed the over-aggressive Wiggins into a foul with 0.2 seconds left. Then Butler calmly knocked down two free throws to help the Bulls weather another absence from Rose in a 106-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400578327
