SB Nation User Blog: bullhockey

Allegations May Tarnish Derrick Rose's Academic Achievements

bullhockey — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:03:07 -0000

Allegations May Tarnish Derrick Rose's Academic Achievements

Reinsdorf's Seven Categories of People

bullhockey — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:18:00 -0000

T-Boogie recently put up a post breaking down the current roster with various awards. This led me to ask, what awards matter the most? Then, moving beyond the concept of awards, I realized that really, the only thing that matters is what one person thinks--the Chairman. I've ranked pretty much every significant Bull according to the following categories of Chairman Reinsdorf's Opinion (feel free to add or edit):

Category I: Most likely to be adopted as son:

1. John Paxson

2. Kirk Hinrich

3. Pete Myers

4. Doug Collins

5. Steve Schanwald

6. Gar Forman

Category II: Always welcome as a houseguest at the Reinsdorf estate:

1. Luol Deng

2. Derrick Rose

3. Brad Miller

4. Andres Nocioni

5. Jerry Krause

6. Toni Kukoc

Category III: "What's your name again? Yeah, can you get me a glass of water from the kitchen?"

1. Ben Gordon

2. Tim Thomas

3. Tyrus Thomas

4. Joakim Noah

5. John Salmons

6. Kendall Gill

Category IV: "What, you're still here? What can I do for you (to make you go away)?"

1. Norm Van Lier

2. Scott Skiles

3. Horace Grant

4. Phil Jackson

5. PJ Brown

6. BJ Armstrong

7. Elton Brand

8. Tyson Chandler

9. Eddie Curry

10. Adrian Griffin

Category V: "Security... ? Someone call security!"

1. Larry Hughes

2. Lonny Baxter

3. Ron Artest

4. Dennis Rodman

5. Ben Wallace

Category VI: "Sorry, son, but I don't know you. You know what, ...can someone get me security?"

1. Ron Mercer

2. Viktor Khryapa

3. Marcus Fizer

4. Eddy Robinson

Category VII: "The public loves you, and therefore I am obligated to publicly show my lukewarm appreciation for you, as well."

1. Greatest of all time

2. Scottie Pippen

3. Jerry Sloan

4. Bill Cartwright

5. Chet Walker

6. Artis Gilmore

7. Steve Kerr

Email Stu Jackson / NBA about Rondo here:

bullhockey — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:10:41 -0000

Email Stu Jackson / NBA about Rondo here:

Here's mine:
Dear Stu Jackson and the NBA:

When players throughout the league start defending layups by taking a fist to the shooter's head, you will be to blame.

Your explanation regarding why the Rondo call stands as called is utterly dissatisfactory.

Your reasoning was that there was no windup and no follow-through. But the only reason there was no follow-through was that Brad Miller's face absorbed all of the impact of the strike.

And on the contrary, there was a windup--sufficient windup to make contact hard enough to draw blood and make Miller woozy.

Bottom line, it simply wasn't a play on the ball--it was vicious blow to the player's head.

Your erroneous ruling creates a horrible precedent, because it creates a bright-line rule as to how far players can go in terms of fouling a shooter, with no fear of punishment whatsoever, not even a flagrant 1.

Congratulations. You've given the green light to every defensive player to defend layups with closed-fist punches to the shooter's head, from behind the shooter.

Noc: 19 and 9 with 3 blocks, 7/11 in 32 min.

bullhockey — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:30:51 -0000

Noc: 19 and 9 with 3 blocks, 7/11 in 32 min.

Just happy to see this.

Still a great trade for the Bulls, of course....

Bulls are in the Playoffs, Say Most Recent Hollinger's Playoff Odds

bullhockey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:11:31 -0000

Bulls are in the Playoffs, Say Most Recent Hollinger's Playoff Odds

Today must be the day we thank our lucky stars that all of those problematic personalities from '07-'08 are gone--Wallace, Hughes, and Skiles. And that other guy, Skiles' assistant. I've already posted another fanshot about Wallace and mentioning Hughes. And now this.

Hollinger's odds have the Bulls making it and the Bucks not making it, and it doesn't seem close (67.6% to 46.9%). The thought of this team making the playoffs and Skiles and that one assistant guy missing out makes me happy.

Ben Wallace #1 on 'Most Overpaid' List

bullhockey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:01:31 -0000

Ben Wallace #1 on 'Most Overpaid' List

Yes, this was an easy one. But it still feels good to know he's not bogging down our salary cap or team... WOOHOOOO!!!

Still, the list is not complete--no Larry Hughes for example.

Did Obama Awe Lead to Loss at Washington?

bullhockey — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:16:36 -0000

Did Obama Awe Lead to Loss at Washington?

Just thought I'd put that out there.

Rose said all of the right things about being in awe of Obama, but he may have still been in a daze at game time. That, plus Vinny only played him 30 minutes.

Hey, check out the picture with the Prez--did anyone notice that Obama's taller than Ben? What the...

Lack of Skilled Bigs Means No Phoenix-Like Results - Derrick Rose Eight Games In

bullhockey — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:19:17 -0000

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-44/Derrick-Rose-Eight-Games-In.html

Chicago is struggling offensively under head coach Vinny Del Negro. The Bulls are 3-5 and they rank 17th in offensive efficiency. Del Negro is employing a D'Antoni-style offense in Chicago, albeit without the full range of personnel Phoenix had at its disposal during its salad days.

The recent Frontcourt Fiasco is the kind of game that puts an exclamation point on the thought that a lot of us are having, namely, that the lack of ability of Bulls' bigs has gone from the weakness we are hoping the Bulls will overcome together, to the insurmountable obstacle.

I believe that the writer of this article is being kind when he describes the Bulls as bing "without the full range of personnel Phoenix had". The elephant in the room just can't be ignored anymore--I'm now hearing guys on the radio talk about whether Pax gets fired.

One of the Chicago radio personalities was saying that if either Vinnie del Negro or Tyrus Thomas does not work out for the Bulls, Pax is gone. It was probably Buffone, which means I know the statement will be taken with a grain of salt, but still.

Now, with Rose injured that calls into question the fact that the Bulls seem to be burdening him with so much scoring instead of drawing and dishing. Because he has no faith in the bigs' ability to capitalize off of his penetration, he has to force the issue by actually finishing on those drives to the hoop that comparable PG's would have a big to finish the play--Chris Paul or a Deron Williams would drop a pass off to West or Boozer for a swish. And because of this lack of scoring, the Bulls are having him log some pretty heavy minutes, as well.

I wonder if the answer is employing Gooden and Deng in pick-and-pops, as both have a mid-range jumper. I just don't see the Bulls going to this that often, though. Other than that, it's a matter of waiting 'til the cows come home for Tyrus and Noah to learn basic pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop basketball.

Sometimes it takes an article like this to remind us what the Bulls' offense is supposed to look like. When you remember the D'Antoni-style offense of the last few years in Phoenix, you realize how far off we are.

Pax, are you watching this? Younger Gasol: 27 and 16

bullhockey — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:25:39 -0000

I have no doubt that being an NBA general manager is a very tough job. Pax at least cleaned up the mess that Jerry Krause left behind, getting us into the playoffs and into the second round.

But one of the recurring criticisms is that he has never been able to secure a low post scorer. In 2006 he drafted Tyrus Thomas and in 2007 he drafted Joakim Noah. They've shown us glimpses, but seldom have they put together a number of impressive games as starters, and they have certainly never put up the kinds of big numbers that Marc Gasol put up yesterday.

27 points and 16 rebounds! He also tallied 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocks. Forget about the first couple of games in their rookie seasons--can you imagine Tyrus or Joakim ever doing this in the league??

In Paxson's defense, Marc was drafted well into the 2nd round of the draft, #48 in 2007 (the Bulls picked Aaron Gray with #49, and Gray is a horribly, horribly slow oaf of an NBA big man). So Pax certainly was not alone in thinking that Marc was not a top-shelf talent. But the reality of the situation is that Pax is being paid to spot talent where other GM's don't. Krause's big claim to fame was the swindling of Pippen from the Sonics, who failed to see what kind of special player he could be. RC Buford has time and time again selected future stars from the draft that other GM's passed on. Dumars has built a perennial contender by taking the castoffs of other teams.

So Pax shouldn't be judged according to what other GM's also failed to see. He should be judged on his ability to assemble a competitive team, which includes filling certain needs.

Pax has now had over 5 and a half years to find one decent low post presence. And it looks like the best he can do is Aaron Gray. Oh and by the way, your team is in disarray, your big stud small forward is playing like he's never been on a basketball court before, and if not for the sheer dumb luck of #1 overall, this team would still be looking for its first win.

Paxson: WTF?

Reader asks Sam Smith about Blogabull: I really like your new gig and will be reading and...

bullhockey — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:03:04 -0000

Reader asks Sam Smith about Blogabull:

I really like your new gig and will be reading and interacting regularly. Anyway, my question has to do with, "Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose" at the start of your prediction for the Bulls season. Any chance that was a nod to blogabull.com? I'm asking because that's on their masthead and, if your new role plays out the way it's described in your press release, you will very much be in competition with that website. I think it will be very interesting to follow. Blogabull already has this type of interactive community/following going while you have the experience as well as access to the team and it's resources. I'm not a big fan of Blogabull so I'll clearly be focusing on Bulls.com now. I have long been hoping the Bulls would grant someone access to do this kind of work, much like the Portland Trail Blazers have.

Cameron Watkins

Sam: As my longtime readers know, I have been slow to adapt to the internet culture. But here I come. I always considered myself more a conversational writer, and it was one big philosophical sticking point I always had with the Tribune. I still see it today and fought with them the last few years about it. I've long felt the game story outdated and the need to have a more direct, conversational writing relationship with readers. But too many newspapers continue to play by the rules of 50 years ago. Having a college-aged son helped. He is well read and a sports fan, but never reads newspapers. He is a big baseball fan and said he'd get the game coverage after the game on MLB.com and then seek out information and discussion. So if your newspaper product the next day is a game recap, what are you doing? Clearly, I lost the argument. My pitch to the Bulls was given my experience and history with the league and the team, let's see if we can make the Bulls site the destination for readers. Given the flexibility of a web site, I can concentrate on columns, conversation, observations and opinion, which is more difficult with a newspaper with deadlines due to circulation, which I understand and sympathize with. Being on the web, that disappears. I love the newspaper product and will always read newspapers. I cannot go out to breakfast or lunch without a newspaper. Perhaps if I had some friends, but… I am apparently in the last generation of people who will read newspaper. The newspapers seem headed in the wrong direction because my era has 40 years left of reading. So newspapers aren't going anywhere. Why they are trying to gear the papers for people under 30 or 40 who are not going to read them doesn't make any sense. Again, I lost all the arguments, so I left. My expertise is knowledge, connections and relationships. There's no competition with other fan sites and other sites because there are a variety of opinions, and as it's said, everyone has one. I expect to be interactive in my "Ask Sam" and other devices like live chats. At least as soon as I learn to work a computer.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/asksam_081030.html