I'd like to ask a "what if" kind of question. What if Rose was healthy now and had started the season in MVP form? Do you think this team would be championship contender or a bad team with Rose adding a few wins to the record?
This would be a good team since everyone would be playing hard, motivated to make playoffs/win, playing Thibs style Bulls D and Rose would have likely kept getting better which would have opened things up on offense and given us a closer / shot creator type. This is a flawed roster though. Too many small forwards, not enough guards, not enough guys who can create their own shot. Boozer has taken a step back, likely equal parts decline and attitude since the Rose injury. Would have been a tough slog without that second shot creator (hello nate, hello marco) but the org opted for deng insurance in Dunlevey over those guys. Not liking the Butler at 2, Deng at 3 as the Bulls would have needed another guy to nail the 3 when needed. Butler isn't that guy. He's out of position IMO. Borderline title contender based on Rose's unique ability to get his shot, close out games and tough D, along with strength at the 3/4/5. The team at full strength lacks shot creators and outside shooters and has too many small forwards who like to catch the ball while running / cutting and coming off screens. We could use a Korver and either Marco or Nate back and lose two of Dunlevey/Snell/Butler.
The Bulls were playing .600 ball with a version of DRose who was at best a neutral before the injury. With a superstar version of Rose, they'd be fighting it out with the Heat and the Pacers for the top spot in the conference...just like virtually everyone thought they would.
They were 6-6 including the game he got injured. They went 1-5 on the circus trip that they were in the midst of. FWIW.
They were 6-4 going into the Portland game, the game in which Rose was jnjured. Sent from my GT-P1010 using Tapatalk 2
With superstar Rose we had a punchers chance at a championship. When the team was deciding who to add on to the roster, a lot of it was predicated on Rose's unique ability to create his own shot. Now that he's not here the lack of a shot creator is a gaping chest wound. It's very ironic that yet again the only guy we have who can get his own shot is a smurph we picked up off the scrap heap for the vet min. Think about that. With a good version of Derrick Rose we would've been close to 60 wins. Not quite there though since Miami and Indy would both give us problems, and the team has been more conservative with minutes, costing us a few games. What we're seeing right now is very much a worst-case scenario for the roster. We actually have a shot at getting a top 5 pick this year, which seems incredible.
My take is we're seeing what happens when you ride the same horses too long. They get winded and you need to swap them out for a fresh team or Pony Express doesn't deliver the mail. Lu, for example, is 29. He isn't old in human terms or even necessarily basketball terms, but all the nagging injuries over his career and the fact he started when he was 18 or 19 means he has a lot of wear and tear on him. You have to love Noah, the "engine" of the team. He's battled with plantar fasciitis the past few seasons and seems like he's past his peak, sorry to say. His PER has gone steadily down: 19.6 -> 18.1 -> 17.7. His rebounds per 36 have a similar decline: 11.6 -> 10.9 -> 10.7. The guy is only 28, but I think he's missed 1/5 of the games the Bulls played in his career (I didn't count, it may be a little more or less). Jimmy was a sort of forgotten man last season. Guy off near the end of the bench early on, and then nobody had game film on him (or very little) when he was forced to play 40+ minutes in the playoffs. The guy is a late 1st round pick, and we're lucky if he contributes at all. It's a lot of pressure and maybe unreasonable to expect him to be just a cut below Lu. Boozer is done. Stick a fork in him. I liked him when he was putting up 15/10 in limited minutes and with a per over 20. We're not winning with him, so it's time to start Taj (lots of luck with that!) and play Murphy to see what a stretch 4 can do for us. Maybe all along we were seeing the best case scenario for the roster. What they couldn't do in talent, they made up for in diving for lose balls and expending most of their energy in Thibs' defensive schemes.
Usually before a franchise gives up on a team that at least fire one coach and then try to run it back. What do you think?
You're right, but generally the "fire the coach" card is played when management perceives that their team is underachieving, but they can't quite put their finger on the why. That's not the case here. As for mass "horse-trading," that won't happen, except Boozer being amnestied and maybe a Deng trade (though I think they'll keep Deng).
Everyone looks a lot better when there is a MVP level talent on the floor drawing focus. I agree with Denny for the most part regarding Deng and Noah, and am nervous about how Deng is going to produce for another 4 years. Noah has been on again off again injured for much of his career as well. But, the other options look less palatable to me. (dumping them all for picks). Management needs to make a move for another high level shot creating guy that can play the 2 (its been this way for how long?). They have assets to do this type of thing (Butler, picks, Boozer contract) so they should get on it. Hopefully this season will be a Spurs season for the Bulls and we end up with a Tim Duncan level player and we can move forward with Rose/Deng/Taj/Noah/Mirotic and we can get that second shot creator. The frustrating thing for me is that NBA has become a league where outside shooting is so much more valuable than it used to be and the Bulls let go Korver, Marco and Nate. Also, seeing Asik walk was frustrating. The most talented roster the Rose Bulls might ever have was that Bench Mob year. I still would have liked to see Rose and Nate close out games at times and have a defense try to deal with that, in lieu of a 6'6" sized nate type player.
Thibs repeatedly talked about the team's need for "shooting" (not scoring). Management let 2 shooters walk and singed Dunleavy, who wasn't first choice of the teams contending now. I really hate pass it around the perimeter and hoist up a 3pt shot as the offense. I see it being played far too much. It's one skill emphasized, and it's boring to watch. We had that sort of offense with Skiles. It didn't translate into playoff success. What was missing then was a post up big who could get some easier baskets when teams deny the 3. Jimmy and Lu really have to take and make a lot of 3s to make up for the other 3 guys on the court not being 3pt guys. With a healthy Rose, you have a career .312 guy at PG, and you don't expect Noah, Boozer, Taj, or Nazr to make it rain 3s. Lu is a career .331 guy from 3. Jimmy is a career .359 guy who's taken ~150 3pt shots for his career.
I wonder how much of letting Korver go was to get more time for Butler. Both players are SG-SFs and when it comes to playing young players, you have to force Thibodeau's hand.
Yeah he did, but you couldn't keep him for just the last 5 minutes of games and expect peak performance.
Kover has started 23 games for Atlanta this season. About 13 PPG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and over 50% 3pt Not just Thibs thinks he's good.
I'm not tooting my own horn here, with this post. Without Lu and Jimmy, we played two guys who could make 3pt shots. And DJ had a great game.
