SBNation.com User Blog: Kunaal

(UPDATE: Rose likely OUT) Bulls vs. Dakota Wizards: Game Preview #12

Kunaal — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:38:21 -0000

[Thanks to Kunaal for today's game preview. Sadly, it may be all for naught as Derrick Rose may be out tonight. Former Wizard (among many other things) Mike James has been signed from the DLeague. I'll be at the game! Crud. Preview after the jump -ed.]

No, I'm not a complete idiot and I do know how to spell. But with the way the Washington Wizards have started the season I just figured they belong in the D-League. The Wizards got their first win of the season against the pretty terrible Toronto Raptors. but they have begun the season 1-8 and don't even belong on the same court as the 9-2 Bulls.

The Wizards will be playing their third game in four nights and have a confusing/awful roster that consists of overpaid players, ball hogs, and players who will never reach their potential in Washington (primarily John Wall). They have Nick Young who believes that you get points just for shot attempts, Jordan Crawford who has the same mindset with the additional belief that one day he can be better than Michael Jordan, and the triple double whore Andray Blatche. If you have not seen that Youtube video of Blatche, I urge you to watch it below and thank me later.

The Bulls will try to become the second team this year (Thunder) to win their back-back-back after wins over both Detroit and Minnesota. Fatigue may be a factor after the starters played heavy minutes last night, but both teams will be tired so fatigue shouldn't make a huge difference. Rose and Deng both looked good last night so hopefully that continues, while Noah and Boozer will look to turn it around after both were again benched in favor of Asik and Gibson during the fourth quarter. On to the individual matchups.

PG: D Rose vs His Supposed Heir. As I said in an earlier preview, Rose will win every PG matchup and today is no different as long as his ankle is fine. Rose usually saves his best play for top notch guards like CP3 and Deron Williams, but if this game is close then I expect him to dominate John Wall and show him that hard work earns you the MVP, not doing the dougie. I don't know Rose personally, but I assume that he got annoyed of the John Wall hype and every writer predicting that Wall would become better than Rose. When John Wall declared for the draft, one executive went so far as to say that Derrick Rose was John Wall's floor which is obviously absurd. I don't mean to be overly critical of Wall because he is still very young, physically gifted, and has shown some brilliant flashes but the excessive hype was annoying even though it's not his fault. I almost feel bad for Wall because he may never reach his full potential playing alongside those knuckle heads in Washington. Advantage Rose.

SG: Brewer (possibly Hamilton) vs Nick Young. Not sure what the official word on Hamilton is but I expect Brewer to start. Nick Young is a pretty polarizing player because on one hand he is a gifted scorer who can single-handedly win a game. But on the other, much bigger hand, he is a guy who can shoot you right out of a game. Young is a poor defender and a seemingly awful teammate. Brewer has shot the ball much better this year while keeping up his good defense. All Ronnie needs to do tonight is keep Young from driving and let Young take long 2's which he falls in love with. Because of Young's ability to take over a game on occasion I'll call it a push.

SF: Lieutenant Deng vs Chris Singleton. To be honest, I don't know too much about Singleton and how his rookie season is going. He was a pretty popular guy in the draft out of Florida St who was known for his defense but he hasn't had a seamless transition to the NBA. Deng meanwhile is playing at an All Star level and had a terrific night last night. If he continues hitting his outside shot then he may be the second best two way SF in the league outside of Lebron James. Advantage Deng.

PF: Carlos Boozer vs Andray Blatche/Trevor Booker. The Wizards have started both these guys at the PF position and both are nothing to worry about. Though Boozer struggled last night, he should be able to have his way offensively on these weak defenders, especially Blatche who doesn't give a shit about anything besides triple doubles and money. Boozer will have to put in some effort on the defensive end because even though Blatche is an idiot, he does have some scoring ability. Advantage Boozer.

C: Joakim Noah vs Javale Mcgee. Noah has gotten off to a somewhat rocky start, but the WIzards are the type of team he can turn it around against. His help D will be valuable, Mcgee isn't much of a 1 on 1 player, and he'll be able to grab lots of boards. Mcgee on the other hand is a talented and supremely athletic big man who has yet to figure it out. He is a good shot blocker, I believe he had 12 blocks against us last time, but he also goes for the flashy blocks where he hits it out of bounds rather than to a teammate. He rebounds decently but Noah is still a better overall center and teammate. Advantage Noah.

Bench: This is a joke right? The bench mob gets to go up against a bench headlined by Rashard Lewis, Jordan Crawford, and Jan Vesely. Lewis is the most overpaid player in the league, Crawford is a worse Nick Young, and Vesely has shown nothing. He was the #5 pick in the NBA draft, but even Wizards fans seem kind of hopeless regarding this kid. It looks like his career defining moment will be his draft day kiss with his girlfriend. Advantage Bulls.

Coach: The reigning coach of the year Tom Thibodeau takes on a guy who will likely be fired midway through the season in Flip Saunders. He is the only coach I've ever seen who looks more disinterested than his Washington counterpart Mike Shanahan. Advantage Thibs.

Prediction: Bulls should get an easy win over a team that they are ten times better than. Anything other than a big win would be a shock and a disappointment.

Andray Blatche - The Man Who Just Wanted A Triple-Double... (via BasketballFail)

Bulls at Detroit Pistons: 2011-12 Game Preview #7

Kunaal — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:19:30 -0000

[thanks to kunaal for today's game preview. Early start tonight, first open thread at 6:37 -ed.]

The Bulls are off to a good and somewhat lucky 5-1 start with the unpredictable Pistons coming up. The Pistons have looked terrible at times, but have also had wins over the Pacers and the Magic, so they shouldn't be taken lightly. A little background on this Pistons team...

After a great start to his executive career, culminating in an Exec of the Year Award and a NBA Championship, Joe Dumars has done a complete 180 and put together one of the most illogical rosters in the league. As of now, Dumars deserves an invite to Bill SImmons's annual atrocious GM summit. The Pistons are actually a deep team with plenty of young talent, but none of it fits. People constantly make fun of David Kahn for having 16 point guards on a 13 man roster, but Dumars has 4 combo guards on his, while not having any true point guards. Rookie Brandon Knight, Ben Gordon, 50 Cent (Rodney Stuckey), and Will Bynum are all scoring guards who aren't great distributors. Heading into this offseason, why the hell would you pay Rodney Stuckey 25 million just to block Brandon Knight's development? At SF the Pistons have Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye, who are the exact same player, yet Dumars shelled out 27 million for a 31 year old Prince. At PF, the Pistons have the massively overpaid Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, and Jonas Jerebko. Jerebko is a fine player but once again Dumars paid him 18 million when no team would even go close to that figure. At C the Pistons have the promising Greg Monroe and Bulls favorite, Ben Wallace.

Enough venting on a stupid and high salary roster, on to the game matchups.

[thanks to kunaal for today's game preview. Early start tonight, first open thread at 6:37 -ed.]

Enough venting on a stupid and high salary roster, on to the game matchups.

PG: MVP vs Rodney Stuckey. Not much to be said here, massive advantage to the Bulls.

SG: Rip Hamilton or Ronnie Brewer vs Ben Gordon. I assume Rip will play because of his Piston history, but it's likely a game time decision. Although Ben Gordon has struggled mightily since joining the Pistons, he dropped 26 the other night in a win over the Magic and I'm sure he'd like to bring his A game against the Bulls. In the Bulls home opener last year Gordon dominated for stretches of time before Rose took over and won that game. Brewer has played well and shot well this year, although last night against the Hawks his shooting resembled last year. Regardless of who starts for the Bulls, I'm giving the Pistons a slight advantage.

SF: Luol Deng vs Tayshaun Prince. Two similar players, except Deng is playing more like Prince in his prime, while Prince has clearly regressed due to age. I'm still questioning why the Pistons even signed Prince and didn't just give his minutes to Austin Daye, but I'm guessing Dumars did it for nostalgic purposes and depth. Deng has been off to a terrific start this year outside of his 3 point shooting, and he is still playing ironman minutes. Pretty clear advantage here for the Bulls.

PF: Carlos Boozer vs Jonas Jerebko. Jerebko is the type of player that may give Boozer problems because of his energy, somewhat like Tyler Hansborough, but Boozer should have his way on offense considering he has about a 35 pound size advantage. Boozer had an off night against the Hawks, but I expect a good game out of him tonight so advantage Bulls.

C: Noah vs Greg Monroe. Greg Monroe is one of the best young centers in the league. He is well rounded and passes extremely well. Noah's description is pretty similar and this should be a good battle. However because Noah is coming off a back to back, and has struggled to start the season, I'm going to call this a push.

Bench: Bulls bench mob beats just about anyone, but with CJ Watson out and Rip Hamilton possibly out, the advantage actually goes to the surprisingly deep Pistons.

Coach: Tom Thibodeau vs Lawrence Frank. Frank is a good coach and certainly an improvement over John Kuester whom the team boycotted, but the reigning coach of the year is going to win just about every matchup so advantage Bulls.

Prediction: Normally I would go with a Bulls blowout against the Pistons, but the Bulls are coming off a back to back where Deng and Rose both played around 44 minutes. I still think the Bulls will win, but on the road it may be closer than some anticipate.

Shouldn't the Bulls be the frontrunners for Dwight Howard?

Kunaal — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:08:22 -0000

Nice to have the NBA back (unofficially) and nice to do my first fanpost in months.

Anyways, before I get to the main part of the post, I just wanted to throw a few things out there...

1. I like Noah and Deng, any upcoming trade hypotheticals are not a knock on their game.

2. You guys are sick of reading about stupid hypotheticals like Boozer and Bogans for Howard, so I will try to make my trades logical.

3. This is all contigent on Howard agreeing to an extension with Chicago. But if he would go to the Nets or Clippers, then why not Chicago. It's a big market, he's friends with Rose, chance for a championship, etc.

With all that being said, Chicago has to do anything possible outside of trading D Rose to get Howard. That duo would set the franchise up for multiple positions, and having 2 of the top 5 players in the NBA is a no brainer. Now that's not brilliant anaylsis, I think most people would agree with that, so the question is why isn't Chicago the frontuunner?

ESPN reported the other day that the Nets are preparing an offer of Brook Lopez and two first rounders for Dwight Howard, plus they will take back Turkoglu's contract. Now this is by no means a done deal, but if this is a leading offer, than the Bulls could blow it out of the water. A lot of people are speculating that the Lakers will offer something like Bynum and Odom for Howard and Turkoglu, but I still think the Bulls could make a better offer. I'm biased, but tell me if I'm wrong.

Trade 1: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Taj Gibson for Howard and Turkoglu. The Bulls can also throw in 2 or 3 first rounders, including the Charlotte one that will be good in about 2 years. This trade is about a million dollars off in the ESPN trade machine, but tha trade machine doesn't reflect the new trade rules.

-Orlando would get two good pieces in Noah and Deng, a promising/cheap player in Gibson, and draft picks for the future. Thats better than Brook Lopez who is a slightly above average scorer, but a weak rebounder and defender. I also think it's better than Bynum/Odom becuase Bynum is injury prone and Odom is starting to get old. Plus the Charlotte pick the Bulls could include would be good, and the Bulls could throw in a guy like Nikola Mirotic if necessary. Additionally, after the Magic amnesty Arenas and get rid of Turkoglu here they would have no horrible contracts on their team.

Trade 2: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Kyle Korver for Howard, Turkoglu, Redick, and Quentin Richardson. Bulls also include some first rounders mentioned above.

-Orlando immediately gets 3 starters to go along with Jameer Nelson, they get some pieces for the future, and is a playoff team. The problem with this deal for Orlando is they are taking back a lot of cap, but except that Boozer deal, none of them are bad contracts. Plus Otis Smith has traditionally paid tons of money for his team.

Trade 3: Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, and Ronnie Brewer for Howard. Bulls would also include the first rounders I mentioned above earlier. -This one is unlikely, but if Orlando doesn't want Deng or Boozer's contract then they may want do this.

I sincerely believe that deals 1 and 2 specifically are better than any other offer that the Magic will get for Howard from the Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Mavericks, Clippers. I only mention those teams because those are the realistic places that Howard would consider signing an extension, but if the Clippers offer Griffin then all bets are off.

For any fans that think the Bulls are offering too much in deals 1 and 2, all I can say is that the opportunities to trade for once in a generation Centers like Dwight Howard are pretty rare. As for how the Bulls would look after lets say deal 1 because that is the best offer in my opinion, they would be great.

PG: Rose, Watson

SG: Brewer, Korver, Jimmy Butler

SF: (Richardson, Prince, Caron Butler), Turkoglu

PF: Boozer, Thomas

C: Howard, Asik

The Bulls could still get a scorer with the MLE, and then they could sign another big man for a little more depth. I think that right there is a title team though. This may all be an unrealistic dream, but I'm not sure why. Let me know what you guys think.

Nice to have the NBA back (unofficially) and nice to do my first fanpost in months.

Anyways, before I get to the main part of the post, I just wanted to throw a few things out there...

1. I like Noah and Deng, any upcoming trade hypotheticals are not a knock on their game.

2. You guys are sick of reading about stupid hypotheticals like Boozer and Bogans for Howard, so I will try to make my trades logical.

Trade 2: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Kyle Korver for Howard, Turkoglu, Redick, and Quentin Richardson. Bulls also include some first rounders mentioned above.

PG: Rose, Watson

SG: Brewer, Korver, Jimmy Butler

SF: (Richardson, Prince, Caron Butler), Turkoglu

PF: Boozer, Thomas

C: Howard, Asik

Poll

Do the Bulls have the best offer for Dwight Howard?

Yes

309 votes

No

40 votes

Doesn't matter, Dwight won't sign an extension here

111 votes

Doesn't matter, Scalabrine will be back from Italy soon

116 votes

576 votes | Poll has closed

2010-2011 Game Preview #82: Bulls vs New Jersey Nets

Kunaal — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:34:55 -0000

[Thanks to Kunaal for today's game preview. And as a special note, thanks to everyone who did the game previews this year, I think it's working better every season and I've enjoyed reading different voices for the games. Plus it was free for me.

Per the Bulls (and they'd know!), Brewer is out and Noah is questionable. Game is at 7 on CSNChicago-PLUS -ed.]

First preview so give me a little slack. Ironically, first preview, last game.

Last game of the season folks. The Bulls have exceeded everyone's expectations and achieved a 61-20 record thus far in what has been the best season since the Jordan years. Bulls will try to finish on a high note against the New Jersey Nets, who will be without their star PG Deron Williams. The presumptive MVP Derrick Rose may put a final stamp on his resume while Thibs will look to make history. (Not for standing during an entire season)

Per the Bulls (and they'd know!), Brewer is out and Noah is questionable. Game is at 7 on CSNChicago-PLUS -ed.]

The Bulls already have the 1 seed locked up in the East, but they are fighting for the 1 seed overall, and they are currently tied with the Spurs at 61-20. San Antonio interestingly rested their starters against the Lakers last night and will face off against the Phoenix Suns tonight. Popovich indicated that the starters will play, and only rested them last night because he did not want them playing a back-to-back. If both teams win tonight and if both make it to the finals (a big if) then a coin toss will decide home court.

(Side note: Really, a coin toss to determine home court in the most important games of the season, can't we have a Scalabrine v. Bonner 1 on 1 match or something?)

Focusing on tonight's game, the Bulls should come away with an easy win. The Nets have nothing to play for and are just an awful team seeing as their starting backcourt will be Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. Besides fighting for the 1 seed, a Bulls win tonight will put Tom Thibodeau in the record books as he will tie Paul Westphal for best record by a rookie head coach. Thibodeau seems like the type of a coach who doesn't give a crap about that kind of stuff, but interesting nonetheless. Also, every fan keeps focusing on how fatigued Deng and Rose must be, but what about Thibs? The guy is much older, in worse shape, and plays hard defense the whole game; talk about fulfilling Norm Van Lier's pregame demand for "48 minutes of intensity". On to the game matchups.

PG: Derrick Rose vs Does It Matter?

-Derrick Rose has established himself as the best PG in the NBA and consistently dominated Deron Williams this season. Williams shot 1-11 in the last game and then blamed it on his wrist, which begs the question of why would you shoot 11 jumpshots with a messed up wrist? With Williams out tonight, Jordan Farmar will get the nod as the starter. Farmar is a half decent PG who was overpaid by the Nets and Rose should tear him up, although Rose may come out relaxed tonight and get Boozer the ball down low. Additionally, it's a great feeling to watch competitors dramatically overpay for decent players during free agency. Ex: Nets pay Farmar 12 million and Travis Outlaw 35 million. Great to see competitors just ruin their team, although the salary cap doesn't mattter for the Nets since Mikhail Prokhorov just promises them hundreds of gold bars after retirement. Advantage: If you don't know you should probably leave this blog and terminate your membership on the way out.

SG: Keith Bogans vs The Only Starter In The League Who I Prefer Less Than Bogans.

I have actually come around to Keith Bogans lately, atleast more than before. The guy has knocked down 3's at a pretty solid rate lately and plays good defense which culminated in him getting a defensive player of the year vote by Dr Jack Ramsay of ESPN, and that guy coached championship teams?? While I wouldn't go that far, he did a great job on Ray Allen the other day and does provide some leadership. The main focus here though is Sasha Vujacic, or as my friends and I have brilliantly nicknamed him, Douchacic. Clever, I know. Earlier this season when Sasha (ridiculous name) dropped 25 points in a game he said he could EASILY score over 20 a game if he wanted to, but he didn't think it would help the team. RIght, and Rondo can hit free throws. The guy plays bad D, has terrible shot selection, and the only reason I like watching the Bulls play against him is that I can hear Neil Funk blast him for a solid 30 to 35 minutes. Advantage: Bogans, is that the first time this season? Can someone look that up?

SF: Luol Deng vs Not Sure

Typically the Nets will have Travis Outlaw at the SF and play Humphries at the PF. However, Humphries is out for the rest of the year and Stephen Graham started here last game. Anyways it doesn't really matter because Deng has a massive edge here no matter who starts. Deng has been terrific all season and deserves some recognition on at least an All Defensive team. Advantage: Deng

PF: Carlos Boozer vs Not Sure Again

Last game, Dan Gadzuric started here however, Outlaw has played here before. Once again it doesn't matter because Boozer is much better than either of those guys. I won't rant about Boozer's play recently, but suffice to say I haven't been a huge fan. Hopefully he starts scoring more consistently and gets it going tonight. Advantage: Boozer

C: Joakim Noah? vs Brook Lopez

Joakim Noah is questionable heading into this game. It seems like he will play, but nothing is certain right now. I understand he needs the reps to get back to being the monster he was at the beginning of the year, but I would sit him and not risk further injury to the ankle. Normally this advantage would go to the Bulls but with a hobbled Noah or Kurt Thomas the Nets will avoid the sweep. Advantage: Lopez

Bench: The bench mob of the Bulls basically beats everyone other bench in the league, although Brewer will be out with a sprained thumb. He should be back for the playoffs though.

Prediction: Bulls should roll to their 62nd victory of the year. The game is at the United Center and the Bulls have been excellent at home, I'm predicting an easy and relaxed win. BIG MACS FOR EVERYONE, at least everyone who attends, which leads right into...

Quick Note: Normally I would kill for courtside seats or anything that close, however if you're sitting by Avery Johnson then sell your ticket this instant. Maybe it is just me but the man? has the most annoying voice and I have no idea why the hell ESPN ever hired him. Anyways, good luck to the Bulls though they definitely shouldn't need it.