SB Nation - Lindsey Hunter

Bulls 92, Pistons 85: Given the current state of the team, a must-win that was won

your friendly BullsBlogger — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:40:41 -0000

"It's not your fault, their minds were poisoned all these years by that blind jackass Neil Funk. "(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Detroit	86.0	98.8	41.0%	26.9	37.0	17.4
Chicago		107.0	50.7%	31.9	34.3	19.8

Ugh, that was a terribly boring night of basketball. Not much of a recap is needed, the Bulls opened up the game huge with a 23-6 lead (credit for coming out strong given they were on a 4 game losing streak) and never trailed. They likely saw a Pistons team missing Hamilton, Prince, and Villenueva and realized they weren't going to be threatened offensively, and played like it.

Not that there weren't some good performances. I don't know how anyone can say any team with John Salmons should be in transition more (does anyone kill fast breaks with such regularity?), but he shot well, hit 3-4 3-pointers and finished with 22 points. Brad Miller had his first solid game in a long while, and his six assists included two lobs to Derrick Rose (shame Rose's one attempt at a lob - this season? - didn't convert). And, of course: Noah rules.

They actually weren't that bad from an efficiency standpoint tonight on offense, but maybe it's just seeing 11 more minutes of Lindsey Hunter (egads, I think VDN thinks he 'found something' here), Hunter-Pargo together, Taj fouling out in under 20 minutes...this team is going to be very bad for the next few games, so it was good they got a team worse (and more banged up) than them tonight, and got the win.

This Pistons team looked really inept, their remaining guards of Gordon, Stuckey, and Bynum each were ballhogging and missing, and any time Chucky Atkins was in there was a disaster. And apparently the renaissance of Ben Wallace took a break tonight (maybe he's just so used to nights off in the UC?).

The big sidestory* in this game was, of course, the return of Gordon. The in-house crowd was split maybe 65/35 boos, which is a pretty pathetic referendum on any hoops sophistication in this town. But I likely should've expected it, and given that they were more enthusiastic seeing Cuppy Coffee win the Dunkin Donuts race on the jumbotron than in booing Gordon, it stopped bothering me. It's not like the crowd at these games is exactly a 'hardcore' sampling of fan. Though they didn't get their free big macs tonight, they did see a game where Gordon (not looking 100% on the ankle) had chances to get his team back into the game (with the Bulls blessing) but instead shot them out of it. He was 2-8 from three and missed a lot of makeable up-close shots, as our vaunted tall guard couldn't really stay with him, and Lindsey Hunter seemed really determined to get into the scoresheet as much as possible through fouling.

But yeah, there was some shaky dribbling, ill-advised leaners, barreling into the lane, outsized on defense....but watching it from the other side, I still missed the guy. At least he'd make these games less excruciating to watch.

*(And as an emerging sidestory, James Johnson again with the DNP-CD)

Bucks 99, Bulls 97: a near ugly-win. By that I mean they were certainly ugly, but lost

your friendly BullsBlogger — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:47:22 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Chicago Bulls' Lindsey Hunter (11) shows off one of his old defensive tricks: laying on top of your opponent and crushing him with your fat. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Chicago	89.0	109.0	43.8%	33.8	40.0	15.7
Milwaukee		111.2	47.8%	12.0	37.7	11.2

Lindsey Hunter played the entire 4th quarter. That's basically all one needs to know when it comes to determining how an NBA game can be lost. The Bulls have major depth issues and it comes to a head when not only Hunter is required to play at all, or significant minutes, but he actually shares a backcourt with Jannero Pargo (0-3 in 11 minutes. As Barney Gumble once said to Lisa Simpson: "Go back to Russia!").

But, overall, Lindsey was an improbable +6 for the night, and though it may not have been old-man tricks but just random chance, his strategy of chucking the ball as hard as he could at the backboard so Joakim Noah could rebound and score was working. In one of the Bulls final possessions, Hunter took an ill-advised (dubbed so by me as it was a field-goal attempt) leaner that wound up back at the 3-point line for Salmons to hit one of the teams two threes of the night.

After the foul shot dance of late-game deficits, in their final possession the Bulls found themselves down two and Derrick Rose passed to a wide-open Brad Miller who front-rimmed a jumper. I guess it was a bit of irony that Miller for once wasn't the old Bull overused in the 2nd half, as that went to Hunter...yet he still didn't seem to have his legs under that shot. Again, Hunter played the entire 4th quarter. I criticize VDN for a lot of things, but failing in a 'ride the hot hand' strategy is not one of them. I think he's mostly done a good job of identifying his best guys and going to them, not who happens to be 'hot' that night. But he definitely stayed with what was working tonight, and the question is then was Hunter actually doing that well? Even if so, it just meant a higher likelihood that he'd return to dust.

But while Hunter was inexplicably on the floor on an offensive lineup substitution in the Bulls final try, another story is Rose passing instead of shooting in that posession. Him doing that doesn't bother me, what did was his complete disappearance in the first half, scoring 2 points in a game where he had to know he'd have to (even moreso than usual) pick up the scoring load for his undermanned team. I don't mind the mindset that brings an occasional deference on a given possession, but Rose seems to drift through entire stints on the floor. (With nobody else being a meanie and taking the ball from him either)

But Rose did recover and had himself a fairly stellar 2nd half, and outperformed Brandon Jennings in that span. In fact, if we're still sticking (and I'm trying to) to the mindset that only Rose/Deng/Noah truly matter anymore on this team, then it was a pretty good night. But the Bucks have 3 point shooting (including slight PFs, as Ilyasova and Warrick must be Skiles dream...though not quite Malik Allen dreamy), as well as a big they can devote possessions to in Andrew Bogut. The Bulls have no such options, and I don't need to go into their designed inefficiency after every single game. I almost feel bad when they came close in this one, that's how bad they look.

BlogABull is (belatedly) on Twitter

your friendly BullsBlogger — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:28:15 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Just a funny picture. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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I know, but it's not too late to get my social networking in order, right?

http://twitter.com/bullsblogger

I feel such great shame being a novice to this, like how I looked down on those who didn't get what my blog was 6 years ago. But I'll get the hang of it.

Yes, this is a way of my distracting you from expecting any Bulls-Wiz analysis responsibilities. I was there but didn't really pay attention to the game much. I don't think the Wizards did either. Lindsey Hunter started, that makes everything involved null and void.

So yeah, start following and annoying me on (in?) a new format!

Morning Briefing: Sometimes You Get the Bulls, Sometimes You Get Horns. Try to guess what we got?

JakeTheSnake — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:24:48 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

about 1 month ago: Chicago Bulls guard Lindsey Hunter, top, battles Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas for a loose ball during the second half their preseason NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, in Chicago. The Bulls won 93-70. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Sure, it was apparent the Wizards weren't too invested in getting a W last night, but can you blame them? After all the talk about being a playoff contender again, I think everyone on the team is chomping at the bit to start showing what this team is made of in the regular season. Not to mention that everyone is paranoid about being the next Wizard to get stricken by the injury bug. Regardless of what the reason was, let's hope a dose of regular season action is what the doctor ordered.

Game Hub | Boxscore

Bulls 93, Wizards 70 - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider

The only positives that can be taken from this game? Nobody else got hurt and the preseason is finally, mercifully, over. If you thought the Wizards couldn't look worse than they did against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, then you missed the entire second half against the Bulls. That's when the Wizards decided that they were ready for the regular season. They were outscored 52-31, missed 25 of 34 field goal attempts, and got outrebounded 29-11. They seriously packed it in.

Bulls end preseason with another win - Mark Deeks, Chicago Bulls Confidential

Of course, tonight didn't really count. They weren't playing anybody. The Wizards completely forgot to turn up; as the final score will have alluded to, they were really, really, really, really, really bad. The Bulls weren't great, despite what the big margin of victory might suggest, but they were good enough to take at least half of what the Wizards gave them. And the Wizards gave them everything. In a bad way.

Fullcourt Press: Bulls' PG mystery solved - K.C. Johnson, Full Court Press

Who needs Derrick Rose when the Bulls have Brad Miller? And, no, that's not meant to be serious. But on a night the Bulls had one healthy point guard as they concluded their preseason schedule against Washington at the United Center, Miller tallied six first-half assists, including three pretty lobs.

Best of Twitterville

Twitter / Michael Lee
Andray Blatche is balling this quarter. He's gone on a personal 8-0 run, hitting Js, rebounding and dunking - all while wearing a headband

Twitter / Bradford Doolittle
1st quarter lesson #1: The Bulls do not want to go into the season with Lindsey Hunter as their starting point guard.

Twitter / Truth_About_It
@MrMichaelLee Looks like Blatche is on his way to a '7 Day Dray' Triple Double: Points, Rebounds & (Turnovers+Fouls) all in double figures.

Twitter / Michael Lee
Where would the Wizards be w/o Blatche & Foye tonight? They've scored 21 of 33 pts on 10-14 shooting. Rest of the team is 5-14.

Twitter / Bradford Doolittle
Arenas made a move to get into the lane against Hunter at the end of the half that looked pretty explosive. He didn't finish, though.

Twitter / George V. Panagakos
Fast paced low scoring game so far, 41-39, Bulls over Wizards at half. Blatche was on fire early, and Arenas is pushing it to the max.

Twitter / Michael Lee
Bulls lead 41-39 in classic battle of inconsistent big men. Tyrus Thomas & 7-Day Dray both have 12 pts. Blatche hit 1st 6 shots

Twitter / Michael Lee
Gilbert has 6 pts, 4 assts and 3 rebs. Not bad, but you'd think he'd dominate with 39-yr-old Lindsey Hunter the only PG playing 4 Bulls

Twitter / Bradford Doolittle
Artis Gilmore is in the house.

Twitter / Kevin Pelton
@bbdoolittle But still not in the Hall of Fame.

Who are the Bulls camp free agents, and should we care?

your friendly BullsBlogger — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:53:14 -0000

With the Bulls going into camp with only 13 guaranteed contracts (as did most NBA teams, though none quite as profitable), and with a few minor injuries already popping up, the unsigned FAs on the roster may be more important than originally planned.

And 'important' could merely mean 'get through these mandatory preseason games', though with Aaron Gray out for 6 weeks, and Lindsey Hunter really only signed to be a high-paid assistant, someone could actually make the team.

SBNation brother site Ridiculous Upside recently went over the Bulls camp-invitees, so here is some more background on each:

Derrick Byars - Byars got a full-length profile earlier this offseason, so I'll just touch on a few highlights: he was a very smart and skilled college player, but since then has mostly spent time in Europe and the D-League in addition to getting a few preseason NBA looks. He doesn't rebound or get to the free-throw line consistently, and he's not the quickest guy, but he can definitely score and he's a decent passer for a swingman, and he generally makes smart decisions. Byars averaged just under 17 points per 36 minutes in Bakersfield last year, and he shot just over 38 percent on three-pointers. He also does a pretty good job of staying out of foul trouble. I think Chicago would do well to sign Byars, in part because Luol Deng's health is still somewhat tenuous, and because he would give them another bench scoring option on nights when Jannero Pargo's shot isn't falling. I'm not confident that will happen, and Byars isn't really the type of guy you bring in when you're trying to emphasize defense (though what team isn't at this time of year), but I think it would be a solid fit.

Chris Richard - I tend to get him confused with Chris Hunter, but Chris Richard injured his back last year and was released by Tulsa before the all-star break. He was solid if unspectacular when he played, though, averaging about 14 points and nine and a half rebounds per 36 minutes. Those numbers are an improvement on what he did in the NBA after being drafted by Minnesota in 2007, where he averaged six points and just under nine rebounds. His eFG and TS percentages have both improved as well, so while he's not a world-beater, he'd be a solid bench option at power forward for an NBA team. Provided his body can handle it, of course.

Both Byars and Richard played significant time in the preseason opener, and while Byars looked a bit better, I wouldn't be surprised if Richard is the one (and only one) the Bulls keep due to his size. Even after the rise of Taj (sigh), it's likely the Bulls feel the need for frontcourt emergency depth with Gray sidelined, James fat, and Miller always prone to miss games here and there.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Byars given a shot to out-play Pargo (not to try to read too much into the preseason game, I just truly think Pargo is replacement-level) for a spot at the fringe of the rotation, but with the Bulls nearly $1m from the luxury tax line, they'll likely sign only one of the two, if none. And while spots 12-15 are not that significant, with the Bulls insistent on not paying the tax and having a lot of dead (if expiring) money already on the books, I wonder if they're regretting their summer signings (or at least the terms) of Gray, Hunter, and Pargo.

Preseason game one reaction, plus the Bulls London report

your friendly BullsBlogger — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:27:27 -0000

More photos » by AJ Mast - AP

Not a jumper. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

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Just watched Friday night's scrimmage against the Pacers, though due to Comcast being Comcast I didn't see a majority of the first quarter. Which actually mattered in a game where the Bulls starting five were healthy and active, yet their two big reserves (Hinrich and Miller) were not. And with Jannero Pargo also out, it meant lots of Lindsey Hunter time, an environment which I don't really think it's fair to evaluate anyone else on the court.

(though remember when Hunter got some burn in the greatest first-round exit of all time?)

It was good to see the Bulls again, especially (for me, anyway) Deng and Thomas. Luol didn't shoot well, but had 9 FTAs and in general looked healthy. It's not as if I was expecting him to add something major to his game, and I'll be happy with just seeing him play without a broken leg for the time being. And him and Salmons (looked exactly the same, which is good) showed for a game that they can at least give Rose help scoring points, which I feel will be a theme of anxiety this season.

And as far as Thomas, it was just good to see from a familiarity standpoint. It was after one ill-advised step-back jumper and then a couple possessions later seeing him power towards the basket for a dunk that had marked the point where I really felt re-immersed in Bulls-watching season.

(It also took about 15 seconds before I was tired of Neil Funk...)

Unfortunately Thomas had to leave the game due to a concussion, though he's practicing in London so there appears to be no long-term issues. It will likely be another trying season when it comes to watching and evaluating Tyrus, but I will just get it out of the way early that I think it's ridiculous when anyone says Tyrus shouldn't shoot jumpers. He has to if he's going to be a big-minute PF on this team, and he can shoot. But he needs to launch quickly and decisively, not making things harder than they have to be with shots of the off-the-dribble or step-back variety.

"Rise of" Taj Gibson was an unlikely contributor on Friday, though maybe even Stacy King feels silly (doubt it...) declaring Taj a possible 'steal of the draft' after a nice outing against a depleted Pacers front line. But for the lowest of low expectations I had for Taj, if he merely looks like he belongs in the league with smart decisions and a decent 15 foot jump shot, that's good enough. Heck, it's been keeping Malik Allen in the league.

James Johnson, on the other hand, didn't meet that benchmark of 'looking like an NBA player'. Looked lazy and sloppy at times, most noticeably in two late close-outs where he fouled jump shooters. I'll have more on the camp-fodder FAs later, but in general they're of little consequence anyway, though perhaps not with the little injuries piling up and the tax line being far to close.

But it's early all-around, obviously. The Bulls are now in London for their preseason game Tuesday, and while there's no updates on Miller or Hinrich's injuries, there's actually been more possibly added to those not going to play on Tuesday. John Salmons didn't make the trip for personal reasons, and Rose is nursing an ankle and achillies injury he suffered in the Pacer game. Rose actually played a bit after that injury, so I doubt it's something that will keep him from showcasing his game on foreign soil, unless the Bulls are being extremely cautious.

What is a Point Guard?

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:10:08 -0000

RamblingSpur hypothesized in a recent Fanpost that Richard Jefferson could be our 3rd point guard behind Tony and George. It got me thinking, "what is a point guard and what do they do for the Spurs?"

Admittedly, the role of the point guard is something I have been thinking about for quite some time. In fact, I believe I had a long discussion about it with Mike Lisboa from BSotS in Las Vegas.

I believe there are three separate roles the Spurs ask of their point guards. Well, three separate roles that they can ask their point guards to fill. In reality, you could have three separate people doing them. But, at any given time, these three things have to be getting done on the court. Sometimes, we ask the point guard to do them.

Point Guard Defense

This is the most boring and obvious one. Somebody has to defend the other team's point guard. Depending on the offensive strengths and weaknesses of the other team's point guard, we can put several different people on him. In the past, we have used Bruce Bowen against point guards for stretches and our PG has had to cover somebody else. I don't think we would have ever considered Bruce our point guard in these situations.

In a matchup with the Lakers this year, we could put Manu on Fisher if George is the other guard and he could spend time on Kobe. Or, in the past, we could have played Brent Barry against Fisher and Manu against Kobe.

My point is: you have to consider the defensive matchup when you talk about your point guard.

Create Offense

Brandon Roy creates offense. As do Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili, and LeBron James. Gilbert Arenas creates offense too, usually for himself. These guys all are used as an offensive catalyst on the perimeter. All of them can dribble. All of them can pass. All of them can shoot. However, this doesn't make them point guards. They are offensive initiators. It is their ability to beat their man and create shots for themselves and others that makes them exceptional.

Many teams use their point guard as the creator of their offense. Chris Paul, Steve Nash, and Jameer Nelson come to mind. This is where the term "point guard" gets mixed in with "scoring guard". However, a point guard doesn't have to create offense to do their job. Derek Fisher is the Lakers point guard and he's effective. Kirk Hinrich is a competent point guard. Jason Kidd is a very good point guard also.

Ball Handler

I believe the primary role of a point guard is to get the ball across half court and to get the team into their half court offense. It sounds simple, but I don't believe it is. The ability to do only that task is what kept Jacque Vaughn in the NBA for 48 years. What happens if you don't have somebody that can get that task done? I'll tell you what happens. Beno Udrih happens.

Yes, our good buddy Beno. Every Spurs fan who was around in 2005 remembers the Finals and what happened to Beno. I'm not here to say Beno folded. I'm not going to say that Beno was a terrible ball handler. I am going to say that it is the best example of the value of having a good ball handler. Ok, not a good ball handler. Beno was a GOOD ball handler. It's an example of NOT having an elite ball handler.

In the 2005 Finals against the Pistons, Detroit had Lindsey Hunter on their bench. Hunter's specialty was his harassing defense. When the Spurs took Tony Parker out of the game and went to Beno, the Pistons put Hunter on Beno for full court pressure, and their defense cranked up the intensity. In short, Hunter was a better defender than Beno was a ball handler. The result was that the Pistons got turnovers and layups, and the Spurs got routed nearly every time Udrih took the court. (This is one of the main reasons that full court pressure is so much more prevalent at lower levels of competition. The ball handlers aren't nearly as good.)

The Spurs were unable to get the ball up court and into their offense successfully. Obviously, a team can't score if they can't do this. How did the Spurs solve this problem? Some people might say they made Brent Barry the point guard. But that's not what they did. Or, at least, is was only part of it. What they did was come up with a rule. That rule was: If Tony Parker is not in the game, then whoever is NOT guarded by Lindsey Hunter has to bring the ball up. Or, to put it another way, our second best ball handler is now our point guard because Hunter is better than our best ball handler when that best ball handler isn't Tony Parker.

Now, to be sure, Lindsey Hunter is an extreme case. However, it's not just individual man-to-man pressure that a point guard has to handle. They also have to handle traps both full court and half court. At times last year, George Hill struggled with all three. Full court man-to-man. Full court traps. Half court traps. When he struggled, we ended up with Bruce bringing the ball up court or a turnover. Neither of which is conducive to the Spurs scoring.

Why don't teams do this against Tony? Well, a couple reasons. One, Tony is a very good dribbler. He is very difficult to trap because of both his handle and quickness. Because of this, he can frequently beat the trap on his own, which puts the Spurs in a 5 on 3 situation. If the other team puts full court man-to-man pressure on Tony, Tony is usually fast enough to blow by his man which leads to a 5 on 4 situation. In short. Tony is dangerous offensively. The Spurs run a lot of very high screens to be able to have him shake his man and attack a big at the free throw line. Why would the other team GIVE them this situation by employing a full court press? The answer is, they don't.

Therefore

So, when you ask "Who is the team's third point guard?" or, "Is Marcus Williams a point-forward?" then I want to know what you expect them to do.

For instance, in RamblingSpur's post about using Richard Jefferson he says that Manu and Roger can play off the ball. My question is, why have Jefferson bringing up the ball when Manu and Roger are better ball handlers? The only reason to have Jefferson getting the ball up court is if Manu and Roger are facing exceptional defenders or traps they can't handle.

In the case of Marcus Williams, who is he covering on defense? Can he handle the ball against Artest or Kobe? Can he handle a trap? I don't know the answer because I haven't seen him try. I'm just saying the point guard has several roles and you have to consider how they fit into each of them and which teammates are on the floor.

Three Hacks At VDN and More Fun With BaB

Steve Weinman — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

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A Daily Babble Production

The home page for Blog a Bull features a tag line that reads "chronicling the odyssey of Vinny Dell Coacho." Earlier in the season, it was something to the effect of "maybe hiring a rookie coach wasn't such a good idea." Said rookie coach just happened to run out of timeouts at the end of regulation and draw the ire of Bulls fans in each of the first two games of their series with the Celtics this week. With all that in mind, I couldn't resist offering site proprietor your friendly BullsBlogger a chance to take out some angst regarding his team's head man when we chatted about the outlook for the Bulls after a split in Beantown...

SW: Give me a feel for the mood among the fans in Chicago right now. How have expectations changed after splitting two games in Boston?

yfBB: The mood is always a bit angst-filled, but expectations are high. Not as much because of seeing what the Bulls can do but what the Celtics can't. Everyone expected them to lose something with Garnett but not this much, and the loss of Leon Powe is huge. And Pierce has not been impressive at all.

SW: Game 2: Demoralizing for the Bulls to come so close but let a five-point lead slip away in the final minutes, or just an added confidence boost knowing that this team could very well be heading home up two games to none?

yfBB: Definitely demoralizing. These games were played so evenly, and the entire series looks to be that close. That part is encouraging. But I think the home games will be close, too, so letting one slip, whether it's game two or game four, is tough.

SW: Just for fun, your top three VDN complaints from the first two games?

yfBB: Fun for you, you mean. I'll keep it to the playoff games. There are general complaints that are well (some would say too well) documented, including spending an entire season calling Kirk Hinrich 'Kurt'.

1. Playing Brad Miller for too long of stretches in the fourth quarter.

2. Running out of timeouts so the ball can't be advanced on the final possession.

3. Odd inclusions of Tim Thomas (game one) and Lindsey Hunter and Linton Johnson (game two) into games when Thomas should only be used in an emergency and the other two in only extreme, team bus accident extreme, emergencies.

(That last one was a reach compared to number one and number two.)

SW: What's the most important adjustment the Bulls need to make on the defensive side going forward in this series?

yfBB: The defensive rebounding has to be better. They won't be a good defensive rebounding team, but they can't get annihilated like they were in game two. I'd also like for some balance to be achieved where the bigs can block shots without being out of position for the loose ball. It seems like while the Bulls shot-blocking has been impressive, sometimes their bigs get too overanxious and completely commit to altering the shot while abandoning their defense and rebounding positions elsewhere on the court. A similar problem is happening with Glen Davis being open for jumpers. Still a shot I don't mind seeing from him, but they have to at least make some effort to close out.

SW: Which of the first two games showed us the closest approximation to the Derrick Rose we should expect to see for the rest of the series? Why?

yfBB: It's somewhere in between. Assuming that he can duplicate his game one performance is a bit unfair, though I expect him to be more aggressive than he was in game two, when some unfortunate fouls had him on the bench earlier than usual. Also, his game two performance was a bit suppressed by (correctly) letting Ben Gordon take over the 4th quarter.

SW: Some quick word association as it's the Daily Babble q-and-a staple - first word, thought or phrase that comes to mind, please.

Ben Gordon: pay the man

Rajon Rondo: very good; Derrick Rose's defense makes him look even better

Derrick Rose: the infallible point god; ignore that comment about defense I just made

Brad Miller: absolutely love what he brings, just wish Vinny used him better

Bennett Salvatore: Celtics fans are huge whiners considering their franchise success.

St. Patrick's Day jerseys: confusing

SW: Score prediction for tonight's game?

yfBB: Bulls 100, Celtics 92.

Thanks to yfBB for coming aboard for the day as it's always a pleasure to chat with him. But here's hoping his prediction winds up more than bit off the mark.

Hawks 129 Bulls 117

Hoopinion — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:59:28 -0000

Boxscore

Gameflow

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
CHI	92.2	1.27	62.0	16.5	24.2	11.9
ATL	92.2	1.40	60.8	22.8	39.4	8.7

Left mostly implicit in my brief comments published in the game thread last night was my expectation of a game not dissimilar to Chicago's 90-77 loss to Miami on Boxing Day. Instead, we got something out of the NBA circa 1986.

In short, there was nothing not to like offensively and nothing to like defensively. In a lengthier examination, there are bullet points.

Re: Offense

Atlanta's scoring by quarter: 32, 36, 30, 31. Not that there weren't some runs (early in the second quarter, the second half of the fourth quarter) but the Hawks scored easily and consistently for 48 minutes.
Joe Johnson's scoring by quarter: 12, 10, 8, 11. That's how you stroll to 41 points.
All five starters had at least 4 assists and they combined, in 185:49, to commit five turnovers.
The bench played well, too. Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points on 7 shots. Maurice Evans scored 5 points on 1 shot (and 2 FTA). Even Flip Murray, who shot the ball like, well, Flip Murray, recorded 2 assists. Doesn't seem like a big deal? It's the first time Atlanta's backup point guard had more than 1 assist in a game since December 10th (or 8 games ago) in San Antonio.

Re: Defense

It was fairly well established in Chicago in November that the Hawks could not guard Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon simultaneously as either one is too quick for Mike Bibby. Last night, the Hawks couldn't manage to guard either of them at all for three quarters except when Rose was at the free throw line.
The Hawks can't guard Rose and Gordon? Fair enough. They're both good-to-excellent offensive players. Allowing the rest of the Bulls (minus Hinrich, Gooden, and Deng) to shoot 61.8 eFG% is the real concern.
Finding the silver lining is (admittedly) not my strong suit. I'm as surprised as anyone to have found a glimmer of hope in the midst of a performance defined by allowing 127 points per 100 possessions to a team that at one (brief) point had a lineup of Lindsey Hunter, Larry Hughes, Thabo Sefolosha, Andres Nocioni, and Joakim Noah on the floor. That glimmer: defensive rebounding. If you're looking for a reason the Hawks won other than, duh, making a lot of shots, their above average (both their own season average and the league's average) performance on the defensive glass played a factor.

Charles Odum's recap for the AP is chock full of people confuses pace of play with good defense:

After holding 14 of their last 15 opponents under 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks expected a low-scoring game against Chicago.

When that plan failed, the Hawks seemed to enjoy a rare opportunity to change their style.

...

The Hawks, who average only 96 points, topped their previous season best by 10 points.

...

Hawks coach Mike Woodson normally complains when his team gives up 100 points. On this night, he followed his team's lead and focused on his team's scoring.

On the season: Atlanta is 7th in the league in offensive efficiency and 17th in defensive efficiency. Their relatively low-scoring games are due to playing at the sixth-slowest pace in the league.

Al Horford:

"We've been a pretty good defensive team. We just had to adjust and play their style of game, and we got it done.''

Josh Smith:

"It shows we are real versatile. It doesn't matter whether we're playing a fast style of basketball or slow, just as long as we win.''

Just to be clear, last night's "fast" style was less than half a possession faster than the league average and two possessions slower than Chicago's season average.

Mike Woodson reacted to Atlanta's offensive explosion with his usual wit and insight:

"Our offense was solid, probably the best it has been all season."

In truly dysfunctional team news, Andres Nocioni:

"It's personal, you know? Everybody needs to take the challenge. If we don't play 'D,' we will be out of the playoffs for sure. Today was terrible, terrible defense. We need to stop the ball one-on-one. hen nobody helps or crowds guys or takes a charge. So everybody can drive the basket or get offensive rebounds. It's energy. It's attitude. And that's it."

versus head coach Vinny Del Negro:

"It's definitely not the effort. Guys are playing hard and giving me what they can."

Okay.

Wait, I think Larry Hughes has something to say:

"I'm not a spot-minute guy. I don't play well in that situation. If you want me to produce, I have to be out there. I can make a difference at both ends if I play."

If that's the alternative, I'll take this kind of nonsense from Woodson all day:

"You’re going to have games like this. And you have to give them credit. This is the first time all year we didn’t hold a team under 33 or 34 percent from the 3-point line."

Or at least the first time since Tuesday when Oklahoma City shot 41.7% from the three-point line. Oh, and opponents are shooting 33.9% on threes on the year.

Forget it, though, this team's 19-10.

Newly Acquired Vet Sets Tone For Hicag

Steve Weinman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:15:05 -0000

A Daily Babble Production

The would-be spark came courtesy of a flurry of aggressive plays by the backup point guard. He began by pick-pocketing the other team's reserve point, who is more than 15 years his junior. He hounded that some point guard on the next play and frustrated him with his full-court pressure, and he ended that opposing possession by stepping in to take a charge from a swingman. Two plays later, he sliced down the left lane to leave a drop pass for his cutting center. That pass turned into a dunk.

If not for the aid of the score box on the bottom portion of the screen, it would have been quite easy for an observer of Lindsey Hunter's performance Wednesday night to forget that his team trailed by approximately 30 points at that point last night.

With the possible exception of Greg Oden, the 37-year-old Hunter was the oldest and most tenured player on the floor, and he was the smallest as well. Most of his 18 minutes came well after this game had already been effectively signed, sealed and delivered to the Chicago loss column. At Hunter's level of tenure, there are plenty of players in this league who would have wanted no part of being on the floor late in the third quarter of a 30-point game. Not only was Hunter out there, but he set an example for his younger teammates with an intensity that belied the score.

From the moment he stepped on the court in his third game as a Bull, Hunter showed off his patented ball hawking skills. He pressured Portland ball-handlers from end-to-end, and he was as active as always defensively. Hunter took the ball away from Sergio Rodriguez once and picked off another one of his passes as part of his three steals. The charge he took from Travis Outlaw came as a direct result of sitting in help, anticipating the play before it happened and sliding to the spot to be in position. There isn't a whole lot of that going on in 84-55 games, especially when it involves a guy getting run over by someone with seven inches and more than 35 pounds on him.

But that's what Lindsey Hunter is about, and that's why this guy is in Chicago. This is a professional, a guy who will set an example for his teammates on a young squad that comes off a year of turmoil and discipline problems. This is a guy who comes to work every day and does whatever the team asks of him to the best of his ability. He could care less about his shots or his point totals and isn't likely to complain about how many minutes he gets or the situations in which he gets them. He is going to provide a needed veteran presence and mentor for Derrick Rose, the present and future of this Bulls team, and his two rings won't exactly hurt his credibility as a winner either.

It was only a matter of time before the man who is perhaps still the league's best at ball pressure caught on somewhere. For as long as he is in Chicago, it is hard to imagine Lindsey Hunter will be anything but the consummate example of the right attitude and approach to bring to the basketball court, particularly on the defensive end.