SB Nation User Blog: BigBenign

Executive of the Year votes

BigBenign — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:45:40 -0000

Executive of the Year votes

"Cleveland's Danny Ferry finished second with seven votes, Orlando's Otis Smith finished third with six votes, the Los Angeles Lakers' Mitch Kupchak and Chicago's John Paxson were tied for fourth with two votes apiece, and Denver's Rex Chapman, Houston's Darryl Morey, Utah's Kevin O'Connor, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti each received one vote."

Megalomaniacal small guard

BigBenign — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 01:11:50 -0000

Megalomaniacal small guard

Originally posted on Truehoop, this chart is arguably without any merit, relevance, or humor. Then, you read the archetype "megalomaniacal small guard" and it all starts to make sense...

Bulls trade chips, updated

BigBenign — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:33:33 -0000

Bulls trade chips, updated

"Something else we touched on a week ago: Chicago showing a willingness to part with guards Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha as well as forward Tyrus Thomas between now and the trade deadline ... and an unwillingness to part with second-year center Joakim Noah.

According to NBA front-office sources, after some progress from Thomas in the past week, we need to move Drew Gooden to the front of the list of Chicago's availables and push Thomas' closer to Noah's status.

Interest in Thomas remains high, though, while Gooden is also considered highly movable with an expiring salary of $7.2 million."

--They should make a weekly update out of this. Hey it could be fun...that is if it weren't the Bulls.

Rose Needs Stitches (WTF??)

BigBenign — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:47:48 -0000

Rose Needs Stitches (WTF??)

"The Bulls said Rose suffered the injury when he rolled over onto a knife he was using to carve an apple while in bed."

Game Preview #17 - Chicago Bulls at Philadelphia 76ers

BigBenign — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:08:36 -0000

[Thanks to BigBenign for today's game preview -ed.]

The essentials:
Game time: 4 PM
Channel: CSN [Note by ed.: it's also on NBATV]

Bulls: 7-9, 2-7 on the road
Sixers: 7-9, 5-3 at home

The lineups:
Bulls: Rose, Gordon, Deng!!, Gooden, Noah.
Sixers: Miller, Iguodala, Young, Brand, Dalembert.

The match-ups:
Deng is back in the starting lineup, which means that somebody had to be bumped back to the bench. Thankfully, despite the obvious mismatch at the 2, VDN has opted to go with BG over Hughes. This could’ve been ugly, but credit Vinny with a good decision here. Though I suspect we’ll still be seeing plenty of Hughes as well. This will be a key match-up, as Iguodala has been struggling mightily so far this season. Will he get in a rhythm against Gordon?

The other obvious headache is Elton Brand. He hasn’t exactly been performing well, shooting a career low 45%, a full 5 points off his average. But there’s nothing like a visit from the Bulls to cure what ails you! Brand will no doubt abuse us down low, though don’t be surprised if it’s the athletic Dalembert who really goes off, taking advantage of our undisciplined bigs’ help D.

The spiel:
Siiiggghhhh, so many possible angles! Do I discuss the battle of Bulls #1 overall picks? The ongoing Deng v. Iguodala debate? Well…I guess I just mentioned them, so on to other matters.

For all practical purposes, the circus trip is over. While 2-4 is hardly a moral victory, especially after the Portland debacle, it’s not exactly a failure either. Rose has proven he can compensate for the often-inconsistent play of his teammates, and his ability to carry the team is already established. What has also been established is the Bulls’ utter lack of production in the frontcourt, and the often-painful substitution patterns VDN has been forced (in my opinion) into as a result.

Enter the Sixers. For some odd reason, of late the Blazers keep being compared to the Bulls. Yes, they both have collections of young, lottery talent. However, that is really where the similarities end. The Sixers, by contrast, have far more in common with our beloved Bulls. In fact, as little as a year ago, the Sixers and Bulls were oft-compared. They both had talented, promising wing players in Iggy and Deng, were athletic, liked to run, had no true star-player, and were both in youth movements.

The Sixers, it seemed, were following the Bulls blueprint to mediocrity success. They even squeezed into the playoffs, but then fizzled, as we’ve seen the Bulls do so many times. The difference, which takes me back to my point, lies in their prized off-season acquisition of Elton Brand. He is the source of all optimism in Philadelphia. Nevermind that he was once a Bull himself; he is what separates the Bulls and the Sixers. He makes 7-9 seem totally surmountable for them, while that same record has already doomed us to mediocrity. With that one off-season move, Sixers GM Ed Stefanski did what Paxson has failed to do in his entire tenure: secure an effective low-post player.

While I could easily devote the rest of this preview to highlighting Paxson’s missteps as GM, I will refrain—it has all been said before. The fact is, with Rose, the Bulls don’t need Elton Brand to walk through the Berto Center doors. We are a mere role-playing big-man away from relevancy. Whether through trade, free agency, or player development, Paxson has before him a multitude of opportunities to succeed.

By all means, bemoan our frontcourt deficiencies until one of those moves materializes. Shake your head in disgust when Brand puts up 20 and 10 with the same ease with which VDN combs his hair. Turn away as Dalembert takes lobs, while Joakim huffs and puffs (and puffs some more). But I urge you, Bulls fans, not to envy the Sixers, or any other team. Because the real difference—the most important difference—between our two teams is that their players limit the Sixers' ceiling. For them it’s Brand or bust. The Bulls, with Derrick Rose in charge, have nearly unlimited potential, and we’re just a few moves away…

Rose's dunk on GSW, per request

BigBenign — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:35:37 -0000

Rose's dunk on GSW, per request

What, CJ Watson, whatchu gonna do? Oh, Biedrins, you wanna come out on the screen? Bye bye. F U too Captain Jack.

Hollinger's early season surprises: 9. Spencer Hawes

BigBenign — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:23:35 -0000

Hollinger's early season surprises: 9. Spencer Hawes

I saw his numbers a week or two ago and thought "my god we blew it again." Tyrus over Aldridge, and now Joakim over Hawes.

I must admit I was as dubious of Hawes' ability as anyone, and quite pleased with our selection of Noah. But that's why I'm not paid to scout NBA prospects. I was under the impression that Paxson's salary covered that sort of thing...

Deng possibly out with groin injury for tonight

BigBenign — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:41:08 -0000

Deng possibly out with groin injury for tonight

[From the FanShots. Good news: some explanation for Deng's poor play last night. Worse news: after blaming the sore achillies last season, here's another injury that likes to 'nag'. -ed.]

Ok Lu, you get a pass this time...

"Worse, the Bulls could be without Luol Deng's services Wednesday in Portland. Deng tweaked his left groin at the morning shootaround and played just 26 minutes after drawing the starting assignment on Bryant."

Vinny for Coach of the Year??

BigBenign — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:31:35 -0000

Vinny for Coach of the Year??

3. Vinny Del Negro, Bulls: Solid contributor Kirk Hinrich is gone for the next three months, but the first-year coach is doing a good job learning on the fly.

The Knicks quickly picked up the system, scoring 106.9 points per game in the preseason, and were even better in the opener.

BigBenign — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:04:41 -0000

The Knicks quickly picked up the system, scoring 106.9 points per game in the preseason, and were even better in the opener.

Here's what I don't get. The Knicks quickly pick up the D'Antoni offense, running and gunning their way to 120, yet the Bulls struggle all through the preseason and look offensively inept at times. Is this a matter of coaching, or is it the skill-sets of our players, or is it that Rose is a rookie, or what? I just don't see how the Knicks should be executing any sort of offense better than the Bulls.