SB Nation - Kirk Hinrich

Chicago Bulls 101, Atlanta Hawks 98 or Joe Johnson tries his hat at 06-07 Kobe Bryant

hawksdawgs — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:58:44 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

2 days ago: Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah, left, and James Johnson (16) try to stop the Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson (2) from scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

Browse more photos »

boxscore

recap

Oddly enough, Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson were the difference in this game. That and four horrible jump shots by Josh Smith.

Now I understand the desire to go crazy over the Joe Johnson show. There was way too much Joe Johnson. Especially when Al Horford was having a perfectly fine game and Joakim Noah had five fouls for what felt like the last 20 minutes of the game. I get that feeling. The Hawks probably could have used some more ball movement and diversity. And despite what Nique says, a fade away two point jump shot with a hand at your chin is not a good shot. I understand all this.

But with all that said, Joe really did have the advantage. Outside a few forced shots (and you are going to have a few when you shoot 32 of them), Joe could have made near every one of those looks. That last missed layup was so good my buddy and I were talking about how he went too soon in the game clock. Joe got his looks. He passed to open shooters. But Bibby missed open shots, Marvin missed open shots. And Josh took open shots.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulls did what we wanted them to do, only they succeeded. Rose, Taj, and Kirk hit jump shot after jump shot. Hats off to them. They deserved to win.

On a night when our defense forced them into jump shots, they hit them. VDN played one on one defense knowing Joe could get his shot and banking on the fact that he would not always hit it. Del Negro was right. And without any real help for Joe, every possession mattered for the Hawks and we wasted too many.

A lot of what ifs were left on the table, but I am going to answer the ones with blame toward the guys that did not score 40 points on 50% shooting.

The Hawks won't win them all. And that includes the ones they should. But anger tonight. Perspective tomorrow. Go Hawks!

Bulls 98, Knicks 89

Seth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:39:41 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Browse more photos »

At a certain point, it's time to change up your game. Sticking with what works works, until what works stops working, you feel me? When the three-pointers keep bricking, it might be time to stop attempting them. When your 6-man rotation is getting tired, it might be time to find minutes for men 7-12. When your team stops attacking the basket and rebounding, it might be time to play your guard that attacks the basket and your big men who can board. Sorry for being snide, but the Knicks' faults in tonight's loss to the Bulls were deafeningly obvious. The Knicks shot too many threes and played too few players (and the wrong ones), and it doesn't take an expert to see that.

Notes, after the jump.

- New York started unreasonably hot from downtown. Al Harrington and Chris Duhon were gunning from the outset, and we were looking at a 17-point lead in a matter of minutes. If you thought an edifice built out of Harrington and Duhon threes was going to stand tall, you haven't watched Knicks basketball. That lead evaporated faster than you can say "Checking into the game for the Knicks, number 34, Eddy Curry".

- And that was the first major hiccup of the night. Curry checked in alongside Danilo Gallinari with 2 minutes left in the first, and things went downhill from there. Eddy called for touches impressively, but swallowed the ball as soon as it came his way. He would take too long to make his move, invite the Bulls' double, turn into the double, and then either mishandle the ball or throw up a blind hook shot. I like the idea of allowing bringing in Curry and Gallo as a tandem so one can free up shots for the other, but it won't work until Eddy's confident and oriented enough to pass competently.

- Speaking of Gallo, he and the Knicks completely neglected the two-point shot this evening, and paid the price. Even after the first quarter heat had dissipated, the Knicks kept shooting early and often. Ballhandlers kept missing cutters, so the cutters stopped cutting, then everything went to shit. Though nearly every Knick had a hand, Gallinari was the most disappointing of the perpetrators. Some late-game buckets helped his overall numbers, but Danilo's 6-17 from the field on 6-16 from three was inexcusable. Gallo's far too versatile to limit himself like that, particularly when he can't get his legs under those jumpers. Particularly on the multiple occasions he was marked by an undersized Bull, it would have behooved Danilo to drive and pull-up from the midrange or back his way down for some close buckets. We all know he can do it. Word has it the Bulls' announcers were talking smack about our prized youngster, and they had every right to do so this evening.

- As for the team's three-point shooting as a whole, there isn't much to say past the numbers themselves. They shot 16-47 (.340) from three and 31-86 (.360) total. Those 47 three-point takes broke the Knick record for attempts. They were one short of the NBA record. The 29 attempts in the first half were an NBA record. It was as laughable on television as it is on paper.

- Regarding the missing of cutters, some of the best stretches in those wins over Phoenix and Atlanta came when Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington got hit for open looks off of backdoor cuts. Tonight, like I said, the passes didn't arrive, so the cutters eventually saved their energy. After 11 first quarter assists, the Knicks finished with 21 on the game.

- Taj Gibson should have goggles.

- At one point in the third quarter, Chris Duhon hit a three-pointer, then stared down the Chicago bench with maybe the grimiest, most perverted look I've ever seen on a human being's face, all while leaving David Lee hanging on a high-five. He went 1-5 for the rest of the game. This sequence, to me, sums up Chris Duhon's entire existence.

- I was happy to see Toney Douglas get some minutes, but Ghostface failed to impress in his time against Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose. Toney's a defender by trade, but he's outside his mind if he thinks playing close on Hinrich 35 feet from the basket is going to end well. Toney's got the agility to stay in front of people, but he compromises that by face-guarding everybody all the time. Gotta pick your spots.

- Somebody needs to keep a list of the NBA names to which Clyde adds and extra "r" or two. Tonight's victim was Joakim "No-er" ("Knower"?).

- It was nice to see Wilson Chandler back down Kirk Hinrich a few times in the second half. That doesn't come close to compensating for his 1-6 from downtown, though.

- David Lee got his chin cut open in the fourth quarter, undoubtedly because Joakim Noah hasn't clipped his nails since July, and got just about the ghettoest tape job I've ever seen. It looked like his jaw fell off and somebody tried to stick it back on with bandaids.

- I got a little sassy in the intro paragraph about the rotation, so I guess I should explain. The Knicks look tired tonight, and Mike D'Antoni gave significant minutes to only 6 guys. Even with Jared Jeffries and David Lee in foul trouble, he stuck with the same 6 dog-tired players. Energy and activity were lacking. If you're hampered by injuries, this is excusable. If you've got Nate Robinson, Jordan Hill, and Marcus Landry- all of whom fit the description of "energetic" and "active"- riding the pine, you look silly. I know D'Antoni sticks to his guns, but he's got to see the signs. Everybody else watching the game saw the obvious. Nate gets the picture and the youngsters deserve more of a shot, and tonight was the night to break the trend. You stick with what works until it stops working.

- 5-18 on the night for Al Harrington. Somebody ought to start up some trade rumors again.

Again, tonight's loss was maddeningly simple. The Knicks are flying back to New York now and playing the Clippers tomorrow night. If D'Antoni sticks to his six and those six keep this up, we'll be in for another long night.

NBA Eastern Conference: Taking Stock

tenaciousT — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:04:32 -0000

NBA –arama

After making my preseason predictions, I said I'd check how things were going from time to time. It's time. Let's take a look around the east, see what’s going on, and fess up to a few big misses. A number of predictions are on target...so far. Preseason predictions are in parentheses followed by current record

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (63-19) - 20-4
Thought they were going gently into their assisted living facilities, eh? Tut tut, my skeptical friends. The ‘assisted living’ comes courtesy of one Rajon Rondo, point guard extraordinaire. Rondo plays one gear higher than the rest of his starting unit.

11 game win streak says they are rounding into shape after starting strong, stumbling, then slowly righting the ship. The only major surprise was/is the lack of 48 minute intensity, and rebounding woes. They still look like one of the best teams in the NBA to challenge the Lakers. Back with a vengeance? They are back. Vengeance comes later.

Toronto (35-47) - 11-17
International crisis or communication breakdown?
Some expected more, but they are about where I expected and for the same reason – defense. Bargnani is part of the dilemma. He is a skilled big, but not an interior presence. With a domestic vs. international player rift surfacing recently, the Raps played their best defensive game of the season afterwards. Hedo’s not fitting in like they hoped…yet.

Jose Calderon has disappointed so far in what was supposed to be his big year. The rebuilt roster should be better later in the season, but aren’t built for prolonged defense. They are giving up 103.5 over their last 5 games, which 5 points better than before.

New York (31-51) - 8-16
After a 3-14 start, the ‘D’Antonies’ are 5-2 in their last 7 games. Another team without interior defense. They looked under every rock for a bona fide PG but the right one – the draft. Biggest current embarrassment is choosing Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings in the draft. This was going to be a learning year anyway, right? Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague were also still out there. Any of those better than Chris Duhon? Maybe some are already.

D’Antoni, frankly, has disappointed as well. I’ll confess, I thought Darko Milicic was a good risk for a team starved for bigs that block shots and play defense. Go figure. Jordan Hill may end up being a good player some day, too. Winning started by benching Nate Robinson. Coincidence? Sharp shooter Gallinari continues to impress, adds some board work.

76ers (41-41) – 6-19
Okay, this is one that’s not going as I thought it would. Oye.
Injuries are only part of the problem. Is Brand a lesser player now? Or is he just on the wrong team? Maybe it’s all bad karma for Elton leaving a good situation in Clipperland. (Yes, I did just say that.) Louis Williams (injured), Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young give hope for the future. It’s so bad that Iverson is back. Yeah, I know.

New Jersey (26-56) – 2-24
Say no more. Accident on the Jersey Turnpike. Tie up for miles, but not for years. No, they are not this bad. Bad luck continues with Yi Jianlian getting 50 stitches (yes 50) in his mouth courtesy of a Sean Williams elbow in a recent practice. The sooner this team can exit the swamp the better. Still, Brook Lopez will become an even better player if this season doesn’t kill him first. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts are all good young talent.

Central Division

Cleveland (58-24) – 19-7
They are much better after starting 0-2 and 3-3. Not dominating like last season, but still a force. Shaq shooting a career low 49%, though they are now winning with him. Most lopsided team scoring distribution I have ever seen for a top team. Only three players in double digits and one of them is Shaq at 10.8 per.

Second best FG% defense and 4th best points allowed means they are still dangerous and in the hunt. Though Shaq is mostly a sideways or backwards move, if they get to the finals he helps against Lakers’ frontline. Shaq can’t slow down an already very slow team…can he? I feared this team more last year. Stop LeBron and you stop the Cavs. Am I wrong?

Stat of note: Cavs lead league in points in paint defense (34.1)

Milwaukee (35-47) – 11-12
Early season surprise coming back to earth lately. Many thought I had them too high. But Skiles always seems to get players to overachieve for a few years, until his tough guy ways get tired. Brandon Jennings makes a big splash with 55 point game but is tailing off since then. Still, he is the real deal and will figure things out.

Bucks are first in shot attempts and dead last in free throw attempts, which pretty much goes hand in hand. No one on this team gets to the line, except Jennings and Hakim Warrick.

Side Note: Toronto is known as the international team. But even they can’t compete with Milwaukee. Current starters are from 5 different countries: Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, and U.S. Positively cosmopolitan for a city Shlitz beer made famous.

Detroit (36-46) - 11-14
I guess they are a bit better than I thought. Will this last? Even with key players injured, they put together a recent 5 game winning streak. They are still working a new system with a new coach. Loss of Tayshaun Prince hurts, Gordon is playing hurt, and Rip Hamilton is still in and out.

Still, the biggest surprise is the renaissance of "I’m retiring" Ben Wallace. Back up to 30 minutes and 10 rebounds a game, he can still defend, too. Detroit is 2nd best in points in paint defense. Can he do it all year and where is his help?

Pistons have the 3rd best total rebounding and 3rd best offensive rebounding differential in the league. Rodney Stuckey’s career year (19.3 pts) is offset by lower shooting %. He should stop taking three pointers altogether (21.4%)

Indiana (30-52) – 9-14
Danny Granger’s team is without Danny Granger for a while. With mediocre stats everywhere, just what do they do better than most NBA teams? Foul. They are 3rd in league with 2.2 foul differential.

Mike Dunleavy returns to a system that uses him to his best advantage and not a minute too soon. If the Pacers win 36 games, and that’s possible, that means O’Brien would have coached three straight 36-46 records here. Hey I have to find something interesting, don’t I? T.J. Ford is underwhelming again.

How are they doing attracting more fans? The past three years they went from 30th to 28th to 27th this season in attendance. They are a team with more integrity, but a few more wins wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Chicago (41-41) - 8-15 No one expected this meltdown. The loss of Ben Gordon’s 4th quarter points, Tyrus Thomas’ injury, Kirk Hinrich playing hurt, John Salmons’ underachieving season are all contributors, but all are secondary to Derrick Rose’s lack of noticeable improvement.

The chant for Vinny Del Negro’s head grows louder and I’m not against it. But I’d ask…who hired a rookie head coach for this team in the first place? That is where the blame should lie. Del Negro did reasonably well last season, but the wheels are falling off the wagon now.

Deng is playing well and Joakim Noah is continuing his rise up the food chain, but it’s nowhere near enough. I am fast becoming a Joakim Noah fan. Plays with passion, toughness, and heart.

Southeast Division

Orlando (60-22) -19-6
Fools go where wise men fear to tread – the paint against the Magic. They are crazy deep and probably Boston’s biggest problem in the East. Jameer Nelson returns soon and that’s not good news for opponents. Right now they are better offensively (5th rated) but worse defensively (9th rated) than last season, while giving up 2.2 more points.

This is a great situation for Vince Carter, who is playing 5 minutes less, but leads the team in scoring (19), while still hoisting up 17 shots per and will be a solid 4th quarter option for the Magic.

D. Howard is getting one less block a game, but shooting a career high in FG% (63.4%) While they probably over paid a bit for Mickael Pietrus ($5.3 mil), he continues to be a valuable piece to this team. Ryan Andersen has quietly been a nice addition. Marcin Gortat – the unhappy multi-millionaire.

Atlanta (48-34) - 18-6
This team is playing even better than I thought….and I thought this would be a good team. Woodson said the next thing is to learn how to win on the road. The Hawks are 7-4 so far this season and that is a huge step forward. Three of those road wins were against very tough home teams - Dallas, Boston and Portland.

For a team that could lose their leader (Joe Johnson) and their coach next season, they are moving from pretender to contender. Their youthful exuberance could make up for whatever they are missing. Al Horford and Josh Smith are unique young players and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the veteran leadership. They are pasting the lesser teams and are 3rd in the league in average winning margin at +8.4 points. Just behind the Celtics and Lakers. Hmm…

Miami (38-44) – 12-11
Dwayne Wade is to this team what LeBron is to the Cavs. Probably more so. Jermaine O’Neal is actually playing pretty well, but is a shell of his earlier self. We knew going in that the Heat go as Wade goes. Michael Beasley is improving and Haslem is solid.

They stretched the Lakers to a (lucky) Kobe Bryant banked buzzer beating 3 pointer over Wade’s outstretched hand. That probably defines their season as well as anything. With $50 million coming off the books in 2010, this team (hopefully) gets a complete rebuild. With a player option for $17 million, whether Wade stays or not remains to be seen.

Charlotte (33-49) - 10-14
Solid defensive team (2nd in points allowed) that has trouble scoring (27th). Deliberate offense (pace: 28th in NBA) helps keep opponents’ numbers down. 5-5 over the last ten, they added controversial, but multi-talented Stephen Jackson. It gives the team a focal point (and… gulp…leader) Larry Brown has great experience handling prima donna players and Raymond Felton is playing better since Jackson’s arrival.

Gerald Wallace, the last original Bobcat, was plucked from deep on Sacramento’s bench. Time to test him for HRH (Human Rebound Hormone). He has gone crazy boarding, up from 7.8 last season to 12.2 this year. I’d like to know the last time an established player made that kind of jump. He continues to ply his game for a team going nowhere.

Talented DJ Augustine has perplexingly gone backwards this season. Tyson Chandler, who could have been an earlier version of Joakim Noah, is showing how much Chris Paul helped his game.

But we forget just how bad this team was before Larry Brown arrived.

Washington (41-41) - 7-16
In preseason I wrote…. "everyone’s favorite ‘move up’ team." What I didn’t write was that it would take some doing to keep all these scorers happy with shots and minutes. Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. And things aren’t getting better. They are on a 6 game losing streak as I write this.

I never saw a happier, more hopeful team in the losers’ locker room than the one that ended its season against the Celtics last year. They all knew a much better year was coming. They had their version of a big three returning. But ubuntu doesn’t live here. Tragic because there is a lot of talent here. Flip Saunders has to sort this out, but I’m not sure where he starts.

I’ll end by (again) making my pitch for an unsung role player buried on the Wizards bench. Dominic McGuire would make a great (and cheap) Celtic.

There you have it. I apparently thought way too much of the Sixers. Comments welcome on all teams.

Lakers 96, Bulls 87: Effort slumps, talent doesn't

your friendly BullsBlogger — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:04:41 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Kobe Bryant reminds Derrick Rose that he'll be a free agent eventually, and L.A. is indeed sunny. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

Browse more photos »

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
LA Lakers	93.0	103.2	48.1%	25.3	17.1	14.0
Chicago		93.5	39.6%	11.5	41.5	12.9

Before firing up the DVR for this one, I checked ShouldIWatch?com, and figured the 20 point loss. Nope. And it wasn't a 15, nor 10 point loss either. It was a 9 point loss after Luol Deng hit a meaningless three as the clock expired. If only the algorithms could've been tweaked to account for such things...

Though I'm actually glad it didn't. Not that I wouldn't watch it anyway, but watching and knowing the result would've made this certainly less enjoyable, as even though it never really felt like the Bulls were going to beat the Lakers Tuesday night, it shockingly didn't feel like an impossibility either.

The Bulls certainly dished their best opening blow, shooting a crazy percentage and 31 points (the Bulls!). But Kobe Bryant had 20 on his own and the Lakers scored 31 too. Right then it was correct to be worried, and over the course of the game the Bulls reverted to their cruddy shooting percentage and offensive inefficiency.

But they did certainly bring more effort than they had against much worse opponents, most evident on the offensive glass, headlined by Noah's incredible 14 rebounds on that end (20 overall). Noah was all over the Lakers less-mobile frontcourt tonight, another achievement in his season, possibly the lone undeniable bright spot for the Bulls in the year so far.

Other solid nights from Brad Miller, Derrick Rose (who came back from an early rib(?) injury and exploited the Lakers poor defensive PGs) and Kirk Hinrich, who managed to make me think of his defense as simultaneously underrated for the way he guarded Kobe Bryant, yet overrated because it didn't matter. Bryant's game is so refined, and any further praise is better left to those watching him more, as I'm guessing we only got a sample. And while the Bulls would try help, the passes and movement (real 'ball movement', not the wing-it-around-the-perimeter-hot-potato-until-the-clock-runs-out stuff the Bulls do) would also make them pay, though an awful shooting night from Ron Artest and a fairly passive (though give Noah credit for this) night from Pau Gasol made the pain much less than the usual Lakers dominance.

And sure, if the Bulls played like this every night they may have won more games up until now. But while they (I dunno, someone's said it somewhere) say shooting can slump but effort doesn't, effort undoubtedly isn't there for all 82 games. It can't be, and the franchise's unreasonable reliance on it for success keeps them from being as good as the teams the rely on talent.

It does indicate that the Bulls haven't completely given up on VDN. They're still a professional group, and while it means they're not tanking games before they step on the court, they also know within a game when they don't have it. Tonight they started hot and stayed close. But we can't expect any trend to come of it, as the effort wouldn't always need to be there if they were a better assembled and coached team.

A couple random things that bugged me:

I'm going over old territory, but why does Neil Funk insist on ripping players from opposing teams? I'm all for making fun of the less fortunate or able (in basketball, and in life!), but the Bulls are one of the worst teams in the league. Pau Gasol is miles better than any player the team has had in 10 years. Yet they spent the whole game ripping his play. Can't they instead laud Joakim Noah for doing what he did against great players like Gasol? Neil Funk sucks and he's blind. (alright, I did like him and King using Kobe's performance to further rip dancin' Lebron)
Shannon Brown had a nice game, giving token pressure to Rose and shooting perfect from the field, ranging from a 3-pointer to a thunderous breakaway dunk. I won't fully commit a 'why couldn't my favorite sports team keep that guy they once had who is now good on another team!' rant, but it is a bit annoying that the Bulls couldn't even give him (even though he was an impending free agent) more than a 22 minute tryout during a completely lost season. A real Org. during such a year tells bozo interim coaches to play guys like this over Larry Hughes.

Big 12 All Decade Team

Evan Pfaff — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

With almost a full year yet to play, Kansas center Cole Aldrich muscled his way onto the Big12Hoops.com First Team All Big 12 Decade Team (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

In the first full calendar decade of the Big 12 conference, one thing was apparent: there were two schools that produced a good majority of the talent. And while the best individual players may not have come from Kansas or Texas, a look at the Big12Hoops.com All Decade team reveals that a majority were either Jayhawks or Longhorns.

Don't see your favorite? The Honorable Mention list is after The Jump

First Team All Big 12

PG – Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa St
SG – Tony Allen, Oklahoma St
SF – Kevin Durant, Texas
PF – Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
C – Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Second Team All Big 12

PG – Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
SG – Acie Law, Texas A&M
SF – Michael Beasely, Kansas St
PF – Marcus Fizer, Iowa St
C – Chris Mihm, Texas

Third Team All Big 12

PG – TJ Ford, Texas
SG – Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
SF – PJ Tucker, Texas
PF – Drew Gooden, Kansas
C – Nick Collison, Kansas

[UPDATE: Lots of good suggestions and opinions in the comments section. Lemme give a little insight into how I compiled this list.

I started with a list of Big 12 Players of the Year. My rationale was that if someone was good enough to be the best in the league, even for one year, he warranted entry into this exclusive club. 9 of the 10 Big 12 Players of the Year made the top three teams. The only one who didn’t was Wayne Simien, and that is because he played a PF position that, if you look at the past decade, was just STACKED. Blake Griffin, Marcus Fizer, Drew Gooden. Really you could put Simien in there, but who gets bumped off?

As for PG, Tinsley over TJ Ford and Kirk Hinirich has also garnered a lot of attention. Tinsley’s place as the 2000-01 POY got him on the first team. But you really cant go wrong with any of them.

Lastly, there is this question on what to do with Durant and Beasley. Each only played one year, but they dominated the league (and the country). Durant was a Naismith winner as the best player in the country and Beasley was a finalist for the award. Both were league POYs. Because they didn’t play a full 4 years, they didn’t accumulate career stats that some others players did, but my list was based on selecting the best players, during their time in the Big 12, at each position.]

All Big 12 - Honorable Mention

Baylor Bears
LaceDarius Dunn
Lawrence Roberts

Colorado Buffaloes
Reggie Roby
David Harrison

Iowa St Cyclones
Craig Brackins

Kansas Jayhawks
Wayne Simien
Aaron Miles

Kansas St. Wildcats
Cartier Martin

Missouri Tigers
DeMarre Carroll
Clarence Gilbert
Arthur Johnson
Kareem Rush

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Aleks Maric

Oklahoma Sooners
Taj Gray
Hollis Price

Oklahoma St Cowboys
Byron Eaton
Joey Graham

Texas Longhorns
DJ Augustine
LaMarcus Aldridge

Texas Tech Red Raiders
Jarrius Jackson

Texas A&M Aggies
Bernard King

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Beating the Beatable

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

It was the kind of night where Jarrett Jack could spend time at the top of the arc to tie his shoe while in the middle of the game and in possession of the ball.

Browse more photos »

Back-to-back solid efforts have led to back-to-back wins for the Toronto Raptors as they continue to work on the defensive side of the court. Two games into their new-found commitment, Vicious D takes a look at where the tangible changes are.

Are you impressed?

The Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls yesterday 110-78 in what could be called a rout from the first quarter to the end. Against a team that was missing a few key people in Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas, the Raptors put up some impressive defensive numbers for once and even managed to keep a team under 90 pts for only the second time this year (the first being a win against the hapless Clippers). For three of four quarters, the Raptors held the Bulls to 20 points or below and managed to run up the score thanks to their hot offense.

One of the greatest surprises of the night was how DeMar DeRozan put together another strong performance. As I remarked about in the Washinton game, it seems as though DeRozan's limiters have come off. He's attacking the basket in the way we all expected him to thanks to his tweets, and he continues to impress on both ends of the floor. From taking it to the rack multiple times for dunks or fouls to drawing the charge, DeRozan was a momentum establisher throughout the game. Of course Bosh had his usual strong night but this time he had help from Belinelli, Wright, and Nesterovic as well. However I felt that it was DeRozan who was particularly impressive with another recent night of unmitigated aggression.

For the second night, I witnessed the Raptors providing aggressive help when needed, while other players would rotate to cover lost defensive assignments. For yet another night, I found the Raptors closing down the paint to make a bad shooting club try and make shots in order to get back in the game. And yet again, for another night, Jay Triano used his full club to try and get short but hard working minutes from his starters and bench.

However, the game was won on the inside as the Raptors relentlessly attacked the Bulls in the interior. By trying to get on the inside, Toronto got to the offensive glass more as their players were in position to at least try for a rebound. Chris Bosh set the stage with seven offensive rebounds, but the Raptors as a whole out rebounded Chicago on the offensive glass by seven. With the Raptors shooting a very respectable 48% for the game, the rebounding numbers were even more impressive. In several sequences, the Raptors managed to capture multiple offensive rebounds on one possession; something I've seldom seen in the past two years.

In fact, I'd say the Bulls were looking positively Raptors-esque at times.

Which is why while I'm extremely happy that the Dinos sustained their commitment and nailed down their offense in the second game of their back-to-back, I am still waiting to watch this team get challenged yet again. This kind of win against a beatable team is one that the Raptors needed, but more importantly shouldn't lose because it would damage their psyche. They pulled in the right effort to get themselves the blowout win and put down a team that was struggling. However Toronto had had the Bulls' number for several seasons now. Derrick Rose has always had some trouble with Jose Calderon and last night was no different. Calderon finished the game playing only 18 minutes thanks to a tweak in his leg but had very comparable numbers to Rose.

And if you're also wondering why the Raptors managed to grab 21 more rebounds than the Bulls, all you had to do was look at Joakim Noah who was in foul trouble all game before getting ejected in the second half, and Tyrus Thomas couldn't even play because he was out with an injury.

So for now, Toronto has beaten two teams that they hope to finish above in the standings. These are teams that are beatable. No, it's not right that we expect the Raptors to beat these teams, but they have to expect it of themselves. They have to step on these kinds of teams if they hope to make a serious push for a good playoff position. It's against these teams that the Raps need to establish their momentum. They need to build it so that when they go up against the tougher teams of the league, and afterward, hopefully will be brimming with confidence that they can make the defensive stop when needed, or make the right decision to take it to the inside, or communicate properly so that rotations still happen even in the face of vocal crowds.

And to think, all it took was one meeting.

If only meetings were always that productive in everyday life...

No need to panic: everything is going according to the Bulls plan

your friendly BullsBlogger — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:21:02 -0000

As I said after the Bulls loss in Utah, it does matter that the Bulls are getting blown out on this road trip in addition to merely losing. It matters in that it follows that this Bulls team is not likely to perform up to a .500 record the rest of the way at this current level.

But even with Thomas and Hinrich's absence bringing this team's performance down to far below average, their record is still 6-8, and the games they've lost so far on the trip were games they wouldn't have been favored in preseason anyway. At least if you figured they'd be at or near 41-41 at the end of this season and tempered the game-by-game expectations accordingly.

They may sign a fringe player at guard to a nonguaranteed deal if Hinrich's out for an extended period, but with little room under the tax they likely can't even give a prorated vet minimum as it'd completely close their options later in the year if another signing is necessary. It's a testament to poor planning and cap mismanagement on the Bulls part that they assembled such nonexistent-to-poor depth, as D-Leaguers could likely give the Bulls more than what Hunter/Gray/Pargo currently provide, and at half the cost. The fact that they're counting on spots 10-13 on the roster means that the season already hasn't worked out for the best, but it doesn't mean you throw away guaranteed money, especially with such a tight budget going into the offseason. It similarly makes any trades very difficult to complete.

But while depth has become a real issue, and though they are boring to watch (and really hard to blog about), the Bulls aren't in a dire situation. Not yet. The early part of every Bulls season is always the toughest, and then they surge towards mediocrity and an early playoff exit. With more games against their eastern peers (and the Nets) as well as Tyrus Thomas returning, it will likely happen again this year. There may be cries here for an Iverson (or anyone) signing to help 'save' this season, but there's nothing to save. A meaningful season was punted on July 1st, and the narrative surrounding the Bulls is acknowledging more by the loss that they may have been just blowing smoke when saying they'd make a step up this season due to...I don't know, 'ball movement' or something.

The idea that a full season of Salmons ('fluke rule') and Miller ('old and out of shape rule') would make a big difference has proven false. Hinrich was supposed to be a better complement to Rose (he can't be if the skills he provides are overshadowed by general suckage) and Rose himself was to be an All-Star now that nobody would be getting in his way on offense (wha?). The defense certainly looks ordinary again after a fast start, and that was one realistic hope for actual improvement.

But team improvement wasn't necessary in this grand franchise plan. In fact, the plan is not really a plan at all: it's to be lucky. The Bulls may be positioning (and not there yet, depending on some cap variables) to acquire a max free-agent, and it'll be tough for me to call it an achievement of the team if they're able to pull it off: it'll mostly just be a fortunate occurrence.

And if you look throughout NBA history for how teams become championship contenders, a lot of it is indeed luck. The Bulls already had more than their share given their improbable lottery victory two summers ago. But now, though seeing improvement from Noah and a bounce-back year from Deng is a big help, they need another massive stroke of luck to be relevant again. Whether they get that or not, it stinks that it's not only what the franchise could use, but what they're absolutely banking on. Their front office is certainly not making their way back to the top by being good at their jobs.

Preview: Bulls at Kings

Ziller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Browse more photos »

" HAHA! And then the Hamburglar was like, 'Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?' HA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh my god, it was hilarious. ... You had to be there."

THE OPPONENT

The Bulls are doing it wrong. Whereas the Kings thrive on offense and pull through (sorta) on defense, Chicago does the opposite: good boring defense, bad boring offense. That is not the way to win hearts and minds! Ask San Antonio! Ask Detroit!

Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich deserve the defensive credit. Noah is second in the league in total rebound rate, and eighth in blocks per game. Deng is averaging 18/9 as a combo forward, and playing the stout man defense he is reputed for. Hinrich is a gnat, as you well know. I have no idea how John Salmons's defense has been, but I do know that it was wildly overrated in Sacramento, and I know that Salmons is still trying to find his offense. (His True Shooting is 41.3 percent. Seriously.)

Still, the Bulls are 5-4, just like the Kings. The team's only road win happened to come in Cleveland, which tends to count for a lot. The other road games have been losses in Boston, Miami and Toronto. This will be the first game of the Bulls' annual circus road trip, which stinks, because theoretically you'd like to catch them at the end, when they have tired mind and cold brain stems. I have a feeling their brain stems might be warmish to steamy. As it were, this is probably the "easiest" stop on the tour (which also visits the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers, Bucks and Jazz), and as such could either be Vinny Del Negro's Alamo or his Waterloo. Let's find out.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Luol Deng	9	38.6	7.0	15.6	45.0	0.3	0.6	60.0	3.2	4.2	76.3	3.0	6.2	9.2	1.7	1.6	0.8	0.8	1.6	17.6
Derrick Rose	9	32.6	6.0	12.9	46.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.8	2.4	72.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.3	3.0	0.9	0.4	1.3	13.8
John Salmons	9	38.0	4.3	13.7	31.7	1.3	5.0	26.7	2.6	3.4	74.2	0.6	3.4	4.0	2.7	1.7	2.0	0.7	2.2	12.6
Joakim Noah	9	32.7	4.9	8.8	55.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	2.8	72.0	4.3	7.9	12.2	2.2	1.8	0.3	2.0	2.9	11.8
Kirk Hinrich	9	29.4	3.7	9.8	37.5	0.9	3.3	26.7	1.7	2.4	68.2	0.4	2.8	3.2	4.6	2.6	0.9	0.3	2.7	9.9
Tyrus Thomas	4	20.8	3.0	6.8	44.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.3	4.0	56.3	1.3	4.0	5.3	0.3	0.8	0.8	1.8	1.8	8.3
Brad Miller	9	22.6	2.8	6.4	43.1	0.2	1.0	22.2	2.4	3.2	75.9	0.9	3.8	4.7	2.0	1.4	0.3	0.2	2.6	8.2
Taj Gibson	9	23.1	3.2	6.8	47.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.7	53.3	2.2	2.7	4.9	0.7	1.0	0.9	1.0	2.9	7.3
Jannero Pargo	8	10.5	1.6	4.6	35.1	0.4	1.4	27.3	0.1	0.1	100.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.8	3.8
James Johnson	5	5.6	0.8	2.8	28.6	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	100.0	1.0	0.2	1.2	0.0	0.6	0.0	0.0	1.8	2.0
Lindsey Hunter	1	7.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0

THE KEY BATTLE

Rose and Salmons vs. Udrih and Evans. Tyreke Evans took turns guarding Trevor Ariza (not well) and Aaron Brooks (well) on Friday, and I imagine the same will be true here. I assume Salmons will continue his pattern of shooting jumpers (a career-high five threes per game this season -- I know Ben Gordon, sir, and you, sir, are no Ben Gordon), though if he has a steamy brain stem in lieu of a warmish brain stem, he may remember Beno Udrih is not adept at defending the drive, and if he has the opportunity to line up across from Udrih may attempt to drive a little bit. We know firsthand Salmons is a fairly skilled finisher, and while Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson have improved as defenders at the rim there is no proof they can deny crafty finishers, of which John Salmons qualifies as such.

At the other end, Evans should be able to drive around or through either Bulls guard. You wonder if The Notorious VDN will opt to stick the long Deng (T.W.S.S.) on 'Reke, but then you realize that makes sense, which is something The N. VDN rarely does, so you stop wondering about that and begin wondering if Jarlsberg is a good choice for a grilled cheese sandwich. (Is it? If not, I have some Swiss, so let me know.)

As for Rose, I will say this: he is pretty good.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

OK, so, in case you don't know, the Kings are opening up a buffet from 6-7 for any fan with a ticket. (The promotion is currently the splash page of Kings.com. Seriously.) If this game sells out, I predict that the Kings will immediately move to the Silver Legacy casino in Reno. I will be watching the attendance figures with baited (by roast beef and tiny cobs of corn) breath. The only hurdle is accounting for the notoriously healthy Brad Miller Reunion bump. Half of Loomis might come out!

BOLD PROCLAMATION

John Salmons will pass the ball to Kevin Martin exactly as many times as he did all of last season.

DETAILS

The game begins at 7 PM, though the tip may be late if Scott Moak is allowed into the buffet. ("Please rise from your seats as we prepare to salute the ham smothered in au jus and garlic mashed potatoes and ranch dressing.") Game thread at 7, Game Thread II at 8, post-game thread at 9:45, recap in South Dakota.

Heat 95, Bulls 87: Derrick Rose needs to be better, or the Bulls need bigger leads through 3 quarters

your friendly BullsBlogger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:43:14 -0000

	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Chicago	92.0	94.6	42.0%	14.8	28.9	14.1
Miami		103.3	51.4%	29.2	22.9	19.6

(more on the 4 factors box score)

These two teams were expected to be evenly matched, and they proved to be. That is, until the fourth quarter, when the Heat had Dwyane Wade and the Bulls have nothing of the sort.

They do have Derrick Rose, who should be somewhat similar to the sort, at the very least in terms of a late-game role, but Rose didn't look right all game and he certainly wasn't taking over possessions late. His defense was also quite poor, and Carlos Arroyo lit him up so bad in the 1st half VDN used Pargo for a 5 minute stretch when the situation arose in the 2nd(I think that was the reason anyway...). Those were crucial stretches as the Bulls should've been padding their lead with Wade on the bench. When it got to the 4th quarter the Bulls only scored 17 points, with the set offense not doing much made worse by nobody really stepping up in isolation.

But such late-game impotence could be expected: If it wasn't coming from Rose, who can really be counted on to generate shots late? That may be a theme all season (hopefully with the happy ending of Rose maturing and taking charge) but what is something that could be changed is how the minutes were distributed in that 4th quarter and much of the game. Tyrus Thomas came off the court with 3 minutes left in the 3rd, and never returned. He wound up with 21 minutes (and fairly pedestrian production), including a stint with him at SF (should those even count anymore? It's not a good role for him). Taj Gibson somehow played 17 minutes, and for the centers, Noah had 30 with Brad Miller at 24. It's crazy that Taj is cutting into the supposedly Vinny-proof 7 man unit, but apparently Taj has been elevated to another toy for Vinny to play with. It's bad: Noah and Thomas need to play more.

What has been especially concerning in VDN's use of Tyrus in both this game and the Spurs game, is that he feels his best unit late is Rose/Hinrich/Salmons/Deng and alternating Miller and Noah. I can see why Vinny feels this is getting his best players on the floor, but I wouldn't say that the wings are so far above Thomas that it implores that you go in with a small lineup (unlike the Spurs, the Heat did not oblige and kept two bigs on the floor) making Noah do almost entirely handle the rebounding role. Luckily Noah is fairly awesome, and doing his best at just that...in fact the Bulls once again did alright overall on the defensive glass, so that's a promising sign. I can understand Vinny wanting Hinrich out there late, but he shouldn't be caught in scenarios where it's keeping Thomas on the bench for an entire quarter. I wonder if that's always the plan, or will it be on a game-by-game basis of sitting who's struggling, with Hinrich replacing Deng or Salmons (never Rose, no matter how bad he may look in a particular game) at times.

(And there's always the long-term effect of this minutes cut meaning losing Thomas mentally for the season, only to make it official by letting him walk in the offseason. But I don't think there's some conspiracy to make Thomas look unimportant in order to have fans accept his already-decided departure. That'd imply some organizational forethought and planning (albeit evil). I think it's just a case of VDN trying to win every game he can, and he genuinely feels that Tyrus isn't his best option.)

There were good signs before that 4th quarter though, a good offensive game from the trio of Salmons/Deng/Hinrich, shooting 21-46. Deng even showed an impressive post game (and more importantly, recognition of when to use it) when the smaller Quentin Richardson was matched on him. Though with Richardson in the game late (he hit a huge three), why was that matchup never exploited in the 4th? Hinrich once again did his best to frustrate Wade all night, and Salmons had his best game of the season shooting the ball.

But, a problem with this trio remains: no 3 point shooting. The Bulls were 2 of 12 from beyond the arc, and one of those makes was from Brad Miller. It was a major question going into this season as to whether Hinrich and Salmons could compensate for the loss of 3-point shooting with Gordon's departure, and so far they haven't delivered. Doug Thonus nails it at ChicagoNow: if they're not increasing their efficiency through 3-pointers or getting to the line (an area where Rose HAS to get better), how can this team have an above-average offense this season?

And if our shooters aren't shooting well enough to space the floor (and they're not really much of a running unit either with Hinrich/Salmons/Miller), what is the big advantage of going small to close out games?

Orlando Magic 101, Chicago Bulls 98

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:25:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Browse more photos »

In a surprisingly entertaining game that featured 23 lead changes and 11 ties, the Orlando Magic held off the Chicago Bulls, 101-98, to improve their preseason record to 6-0. Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard scored 18 points apiece to lead 7 Magic players in double-figures. And Anderson hit the Magic's biggest shots of the night: a driving layup in traffic to bring the Magic to within a point at 92-91, then a three-pointer from the left wing on the Magic's next possession to give them a 2-point lead they would not relinquish.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	93	108.3	52.1%	38.0	25.0	19.3
Bulls	93	105.4	52.0%	28.4	15.6	15.1

But the Bulls made the game real interesting after Anderson's heroics, as Kirk Hinrich's jumpers continued to keep their hopes alive as they turned the game into a free-throw-shooting contest. Orlando did its part to ice the game, but the Bulls' persistence until the final horn, and the game's competitive nature throughout, made this one about as fantastic as it gets, at least in the preseason.

Tonight, I was most impressed with the way the Magic's newcomers performed. Yes, Anderson tied for the team lead in scoring, and shot an efficient 5-of-9 from the field, but he continues to struggle on the glass, grabbing only 2 rebounds tonight; reserve guards Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick were the only Magic players to grab fewer rebounds. Matt Barnes did his all-around thing again, with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and just 1 turnover in 24 minutes. He's defending a bit better than advertised, which is a plus. And although Brandon Bass struggled to stay in the game--he fouled out after 18 minutes--he displayed his range (3 midrange jumpers made), tenacity (one wicked dunk in traffic), and handle (he drove past the defense for the aforementioned dunk) on offense. And snaring 4 rebounds, as he did, is impressive given his relatively brief period on the floor.

I've somehow managed to omit Vince Carter's name from the discussion. He played reasonably well, with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, but struggled on the defensive end; his matchup, John Salmons, scored a game-high 19 points and left him in the dust after at least one crossover dribble move.

Indeed, it's defense, coupled with the persistent turnover bug, that will likely be the focus during the Magic's practices this week. They have just two exhibition games left before opening the regular season a week from Wednesday against Philadelphia, which is also excelling in the preseason.

Odds and ends:

Rashard Lewis sat out as coach Stan Van Gundy wants to get a better feel for how his team will perform without him during his 10-game suspension to start the season. Anderson started at power forward in Lewis' stead.
Jason Williams also got the night off, as Van Gundy gave Anthony Johnson another opportunity to make his case for winning the Magic's backup point guard job. He did not acquit himself, missing all 3 of his field goals and both of his free throws in 16 minutes; to his credit, he did grab 1 board, record 2 assists, and play well on defense, though. Still, it looks like Williams has all but locked-up the right to back-up Jameer Nelson.
Nelson quietly had a good game, with 12 points on 8 shots to go with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers. He shot just one three-pointer preferring instead to work on driving to the basket and on the pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop games. It was a pick-and-pop set with Anderson which led to his crucial trey, and Nelson showed great patience in running it.
Redick tallied 1 blocked shot tonight, a nasty swat of Luol Deng from behind in the lane. He recovered the ball, raced down the court on a 3-on-2 break, and badly missed a pull-up three-pointer in transition.
Incidentally, Redick's block of Deng gave him more blocks tonight than Howard, who earned a donut in that category, while fouling out. Not that there's cause for concern, or anything.

The Magic will face the Indiana Pacers this Wednesday.