I was reading Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and saw comments that looked all too familiar.  John Salmons not the same player he was last year and it is time to fire Scott Skiles.  Here are some highlights from the Milwaukee paper.  Does this remind you of the 2007-8 season?

Well Milwaukee Buck's fans I personally think its time we sent Mr Skiles packing. I just do not think he has what it takes to get the most out of this young Buck's team. Time to bring in a coach who is going to drag some kind of offense outta these over paid slugs. Scotty ain't the one!!

Redd is not the answer, a TRUE scorer, a REAL Coach is what this team needs...

Milwaukee Bucks' main logo and selling point:
"Work Hard, Play Hard".
What a joke and inappropriate logo for a pathetic and underacheiving team like this!!!
I saw the game on the NBA Leauge Pass. The two main stars of the team (AB and BJ) were the lazyest and the worst players on the court! JS and EI are not even shadows of what they were last season! ............ BJ complained all summer about not being selected for the olympic team (what a joke there!), and constantly talked about how he is going to be an all star this year (sure!!), having double-double average (yeb!!!), ...., etc. TALK ..... TALK ..... TALK ..... TALK ..... TALK .....PATHETIC!!
Trust and professional respect do not come by cheap talks, THEY ARE EARNED ON THE COURT!  Has anyone watched Chicago games this season? As much as I hate to say it, they are playing excellent team basketball, and are deservingly on the top of the Centeral Division. ............."Fear The Deer" should be put in rest, at least for the time being, until the team truly deserves such an emotional and heroic logo.

Cleveland most of the country, except Miami is with you.  This is the real "The Decision" video.  LeBron has exposed himself as one of the most self-serving, selfish sports figures of all-time.  Yes, topless bars are really good for his family.  Cleveland we are with you and please enjoy the video.  The next sign at the Miami AA Arena will be "The Quittnesss" instead of "Witness".  I am looking forward to the December 2nd game at the Q.  I hope the crowd chants, "the Quitter".

David Aldridge rates how teams did in the off-season. 

The Top 10 (Heat, Bulls, Lakers, Jazz, Celtics, Spurs, Bucks, Mavs, Knicks, Hawks)

The Middle 10
(Suns, Wizards, Warriors, Nets, Thunder, Sixers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Kings, Wolves)

The Bottom 10
(Blazers, Clippers, Nuggets, Raptors, Magic, Bobcats, Pistons, Hornets, Pacers, Cavs)

Specifically he says of the Bulls

Now, Rose can have the rock in his hands all he wants, with legit scoring options in the paint and behind the 3-point line (Brewer could really shine in this offense), and Joakim Noah will be even harder to keep off the glass. Great value in getting Watson to replace Kirk Hinrich; that sealed Chicago's excellent summer.

I am curious to see if there is a consensus among BaB contributors on who is the best choice for the next Bulls coach.  Another Afflicted Chicago Fan completed a great summary that you can agree or disagree with.  Sam Smith has a huge list with his thoughts.  I truly hope the Bulls don't interview 75% of the candidates listed in the poll.  If they do the decision will not be made until September.

As we approach the decision on Vinny Doug Thonus weighs in.  Thonus warns us regarding the next coach, buyer be aware

...... but I tell you now Bulls fans, be careful what you wish for.   It can be a lot worse than Vinny Del Negro.  He's no where near as bad as you think and given his experience when starting this job, I think he greatly overachieved.

I would not be heartbroken if Vinny was fired but he has improved.  As Doug Thonus states

I know people will come back and complain about his timeouts, plays out of timeouts, overall offensive strategy and a million other things, but he hasn't run himself out of timeouts that I recall since the 2009 playoffs, fans always view rotations via hindsight, and the pick and roll is a good overall strategy to teach Rose.

There likely is a coach who would be better than Vinny.  I just do not know who that is.  I also believe we could be pining for Vinny next February as the next coach messes with the progress this team has made.  The Bulls did play hard all season,  Thonus again

The number one thing any coach can do for a ball club is to make the team play hard.    That's the first thing every successful coach needs to do, and it's something Vinny has accomplished.   The Bulls played hard all season.

Thonus also believes Vinny did impact player development in a very positive way.

However, other than myself, I don't think many people had Joakim Noah ahead of Tyrus as a player, and few people (certainly I wasn't one of them though I blogged that management thought he was based on some inside sources) had Taj Gibson anywhere being a starting caliber talent.

I was screaming my head off for Gibson to be benched and Tyrus to be played more early in the season, but how stupid does that look now?   Gibson became a quality third big man and at least a guy who can be a 4th or 5th starter on a team who's primary talent is at other positions.   He did that largely because Del Negro kept playing him even when things weren't going well.

Gibson made himself, but Del Negro gave him the chance to do it.   He did what we always want a coach to do.  He played the guys who were important to the future (Johnson excluded) and gave them more opportunities.   Whether he genuinely had more faith in them or had some management direction, his season wide rotation helped the Bulls considerably when preparing for the future.

In the next few hours to days we should know Vinny's fate.  Most likely he will be fired.  Who, who, who is obviously better than Vinny?

[Update by your friendly BullsBlogger, 04/29/10 12:14 PM CDT: From Wade himself: "My heart is here and anybody who knows me, I'm mostly heart more so than anything. My heart is in Miami. If everything works out, I will be in Miami." So that's not good. (ht: PBT)]

We are entering anything can happen free agency season.  I remember when Baron Davis decided to go the LA Clippers to join Elton Brand.  Well before the dust settled Elton was in Philly.  The Miami Herald is reporting that the Bulls still have a shot at Wade.  Our lucky 1.7% Rose gift impacts Wade I believe more than our coach chaos.

The biggest threat, it would appear, to snagging Wade away from the Heat is his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls.

Reason being, they have a superstar in place to play beside him and a supporting cast already better than the Heat figures it can afford to put around him in Miami next year. The most aggravating part about that if you're a Heat fan is just how close the Heat was to having Derrick Rose and Wade as teammates in Miami.

Rather than benefiting from a miserable 15-win season by getting the top pick and Rose in 2008, the franchise's awful luck landed it the second pick. Had those ping-pong balls bounced Miami's way, not only would this gut-wrenching summer be a non-issue (Wade would never leave if Rose were his backcourt mate) but this season probably wouldn't be close to over.

Instead, the Heat has Beasley and a ton of questions.

WE'D RATHER FORGET

Wade has done his best to settle some of those concerns about his possible exit, telling people his heart is in Miami, a thought he reiterated after Tuesday's loss.

But he also said, ``I can't predict the future'' and ``I don't take losing well,'' and ``there is no pressure on me.''

Perhaps his most telling statement was when he boldly proclaimed, ``This will be my last first-round exit for a while.''

It was painful watching Tyrus last night.  He was pumped and was jumping like a pogo stick blocking shots and impacting the game.  He became an instant Charlotte fan favorite.  I wish we could have seen him develop or not develop here.  I also like Salmons and despite many deriding comments about the Fish he was a solid contributor for us.  He had a big game last night hitting the key 3 to get Milwaukee the win.  Despite the Bulls win last night Tyrus and Salmons not being here pained me.

HOWEVER, let's not lose our perspective.  If we did not trade both Salmons and Tyrus we would have lost them for nothing.  At least we get a 1st rounder from Charlotte and a look at Warrick for two months.  Not making these moves could have jeopardized the opportunity to get a FA and resulted in losing them for nothing.

Make no mistake it does pain me that we have lost the hope that we had a diamond in the ruff with Tyrus.  I feel different about Tyrus than I did about Ben Gordon leaving.  Despite loving Ben's contributions I thought his contract would be an albatross undermining our future.  As of now, the outcome data supports the ORG made the right decision about Gordon.  I just posted Gordon's contribution to the Pistons-Milwaukee game and Detroit's regret to the signing via the SB Nation Detroit blog.  At least with Gordon it appears the short-term pain is going to be exceeded by the long-term gain.  I am hopeful we will feel the same about the Tyrus/Salmons deals.  Unfortunately we are are in the short-term pain phase.  We need to wait until the summer to begin to assess the long-term fun piece.

Trade number two seems to be taking place.  Wojo via Yahoo is reporting the Knicks are close to acquiring Tracy McGrady.  Here are the specifics.  I cannot believe the Knicks giving up first round picks again.

The Knicks and Rockets have designed the framework of a deal that would unload New York’s Jared Jeffries(notes), Jordan Hill(notes) and either Al Harrington(notes) or Larry Hughes(notes) for McGrady, Joey Dorsey(notes) and Brian Cook(notes).

As talks stood on Monday, the price of dumping the burdensome contract of Jeffries – who is owed $6.9 million next season – comes with the Knicks and Rockets exchanging 2011 first-round picks and the Knicks’ 2012 first-round choice going to Houston. New York also might include a 2010 second-round pick.

ESPN is reporting the Wizards and Mavericks are finalizing a deal sending Caron Butler, Hayward and Stevenson from Washington to Dallas for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden and filler. 

Sources told ESPN.com that the teams' negotiations only grew more serious and, barring an unexpected late snag, will result in the trade that will serve as the first major domino to fall to loosen things up in advance of Thursday's annual trading deadline.

Several sources with direct knowledge of the teams' discussions said Friday that the teams were closing in on a final trade construction that will enable Washington to truly launch its rebuilding efforts, realize significant financial relief in the midst of a disastrous season and achieve all those aims without giving up forward Antawn Jamison, which is the Wizards' preference.

If this happens and it is being reported as almost done then what does it say about our ability to move Hinrich.  I think Butler is a better player than Hinrich and has a better contract and Washington appears to be receiving garbage in return.  Expiring contracts have never been more valued than this trading season.  It is not going to be easy to move Hinrich.

I cannot think of a more contentious issue on this blog than Ben Gordon.  For those with short memories we spent approximately two years, maybe even longer debating what to do with Ben.  Bulls management has been skewered.  BaBullers have at times ripped each other apart.  The passion over the issue at times turned ugly.  My intent is to follow-up with an issue that has haunted us for years, not to resurrect the ugliness.  I have learned that everyone on this blog is a passionate Bulls fan.  We have different opinions but are united in our passion for this team. 

After all the energy and time we spent over this issue I am interested in your opinion.  I understand we will not know whether Ben Gordon's leaving was the right or wrong thing for the Bulls for years to come, and maybe we will never know for sure.  We need to wait until we see if we get a free agent and if we do does the free agent transform this team into a legitimate contender.  However the debate over the outcome does continue.  I would agree with you if you accuse me of cherry picking a time to create this fan post.  However, we are over half-way through the season and I am interested in the opinion on BaB.  I am sure there will be other follow-ups as time reveals more on this issue.  A poll is attached.  First let me attempt to list some pros and cons to Ben not being here.  I assume you already know them but I listed them to have a more informed opinion when you vote.  We know each other too well on the blog to hide my bias but I will try to present both sides of the issue.  I'm sure others will correct my omissions.

The team would be better today if Ben Gordon were here

1. Ben would have increased Rose's development by spreading the floor opening up the middle for Rose
2. The Bulls would be fighting for the second seed in the East now with Gordon
3. Since signing Gordon would have ruled out going for a top free agent Ben is better than anything we could get in 2010
4. We could have traded Hinrich for expiring contracts and still gone after a Free Agent in 2010 and kept Gordon
   
5. Ben Gordon's explosiveness combined with Rose's development would have made this team unstoppable

The team is better without Gordon

1. Rose has been forced to be the go-to guy and has developed quicker without Gordon
2. We are a better defensive team without Gordon and defense wins championships
3. We are in an ideal position of being good and having the opportunity via cap space to get a top free agent 2010
4. The Bulls are playing more team basketball not relying on or waiting for Ben to explode and take over a game
5. Ball movement is better without Ben
6. We have not risked the next five years being strangled by a huge contract for a role player

T-Mac is a goner. The AP is reporting Monday night that McGrady is requesting a trade.  Houston is not going to play him the rest of the season. They need a Center. Brad Miller plus Salmons or Jerome James works on the trade machine.

Pluses:
              1- Lose Salmon’s uncertainty re opting out
              2- If, a big if, T-Mac regains his ability to play we could make a nice run to end the season and go into the playoff with momentum
              3- T-Mac can open up the floor for Rose

Negatives:
              1- Losing Miller makes us vulnerable if Noah goes down.
              2- I think Rose is really progressing and having T-Mac want to dominate the ball can mess up his development
              3- The team could collapse if T-Mac cannot play which  is definitely a possibility based on his history.

Does this make sense for us?

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

As the Bulls face Philadelphia, we have completed over 10% of the season. Teams' true selves are emerging.

The 76ers'

The Brand experiment has quickly gone from hype to heartburn.The Philly Daily News reports

Now, the situation has been thrown fully into a blender, as new coach Eddie Jordan doesn't appear to have enough confidence in Brand to have him on the floor in key situations. Brand has not played in the fourth quarter in four of the past five games. In those games, he has averaged only 24 minutes, 7 points and 5.2 rebounds.

A bad move by Stefanski to sign the Duke product? Perhaps.

Too early to tell? Again, perhaps.

This much is obvious: Brand is not the player who came to the Sixers with an average of 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in nine NBA seasons. He probably isn't as unproductive as the player who has averaged only 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game this season. But he is now 30. And maybe finding his old form after the injuries and at his age just isn't possible.

Brand has not finished games despite being paid almost $15 million. Brand's long-term cancer runs through 2012-13 and is over $18 million dollars 2013. The consequences are a team that likely will struggle until after 2013 with more empty seats in Philly.  Iguodala has been a contributor but Lou Williams and Thadeus Young have not played to the high expectations.  Dalembert is a bust who appears to be impossible to trade.

The Bulls

We have our own issues.  A new Bulls team has begun to emerge.

The good

There is a lot to like. This team plays like professionals. Most of them want to win and are good team players. Except for minor Tyrus issues the culture of this team has gone professional. Points against has gone to 92.9 from 102.5 2008-9.  This is a remarkable improvement. Ball movement seems improved. Noah seems to be the real deal.  Players that really want to win, young talent and an inability to take over games makes Chicago ideal for one of the free 2010 agents.

The bad

Hitting shots! We move the ball; find the open man who is excellent at firing up bricks. The main culprits are Hinrich, Pargo and Salmons shooting .346, 351 and .306. This makes you yearn for BG. Despite the urge I still believe we are and will be better off in the long run not signing BG.

The Ugly

Thankfully we do not have the Steven Jackson, Don Nelson, Allen Iverson, New York Knick lunacy going on. With Deng performing up to his contract and with Hinrich's contract contracting, we really have no long-term horrible deals we need to dump to be competitive. No ugly here - a plus for the franchise.

For those of us who

1. thought Kerr was the dumbest Manger in the NBA,

2. who thought Miami would struggle to make the playoffs,

3. who thought Houston would struggle to win 20 games

4. who thought Sacramento would struggle to win 15 games

We appear way off.

The Philly perspective for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers can be found at Liberty Ballers.  This is a back-to-back for Philly as they got mauled 112 - 90 at home by a Deron Williams less Utah Jazz.  It really would be nice to go on the road 5 -4.

We are young, we took the World Champs to 7 games in a wonderful series, and hopes are high.  We even have a diary that is a Tribute to the 2008-9 Bulls.  We heard this before.  After the 2006-7 49 - 33 season we beat Miami, who were the world champs 4 - 0 and then took a strong Detroit team to 6 games.  Perception for the 2007-8 team did not meet reality.  The reality for 2007-8 was we were were not a good team.  In retrospect, Miami wasn't as good as we thought.  Deng fizzled.  Gordon was an easy target to stop at the end of games.  The great coach Skiles was not as great as we thought.  We finished the 2007-8 season 33 - 49. 

Let me say that I am excited about Rose and loved the way we played against Boston.  However, we were burned in 2007-8 and I am wondering how good we will be 2009-10.  Do I see the Bulls through the tunnel vision of a Bulls fan or objectively?  Here is what I am wondering.

1. If Detroit picks up Boozer will we be better than Detroit?
2. Will we be better than Washington who will have Arenas, Jamison, Butler and Haywood plus a high first round pick? 
3. Will we be better than a healthy Indiana? 
4. Will we be better than a Philadelphia team attempting to integrate Elton Brand again?
5. Will we be better than a Charlotte team that has an excellent coach now with players that fit his system?
6. Will we be better than a Toronto team that played with Calderon injured a significant part of the season and seemed to improve when he returned at the end of the season?  Will Toronto rebound in 2009-10 like the Bulls did this year?
7. Atlanta and Miami seem to be improving.  Do we feel we can leap over these teams?
8. Milwaukee played most of the year without Redd and Bogut.  Will we be better than Milwaukee?
9. How good is the Boston team we played toe-toe?  Are we being fooled by a mediocre Boston team without Garnett like we were against Miami?
10. Unless I am totally off we should be better than NJ and the Knicks.

I remain very hopeful and am really looking forward to next year.  We may be better than the teams listed above.  Rose should improve and if we retain Gordon and Deng returns to the pre- 2007 Deng this could be fun.  However this is a tough league and we will not be the only team that appears on the rise next year.

[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 04/09/09 12:50 PM CDT : Thanks to chgobr for today's game preview. -ed.]

How sweet it is - April 9th and we are playing a meaningful game.

TONIGHT'S GAME OUTCOMES

We win tonight-

Philadelphia - We are 1 1/2 games behind Philadephia.  We have an outside chance to overtake Philadelphia.  Here is the kicker.  Philly plays Boston and Cleveland at home, at Cleveland and at Toronto.  Philadelphia will have the tie-breaker because they have the better conference record after the first tie-breaker, head-to-head competition is tied 2-2.  Assuming Philly loses 3 of 4 of their remaining games the Bulls would have to win all 3 remaining games to get the 6th position.  Remote but possible.  Philly falls 1 game behind Miami for the 5th seed.

Detroit - We are 1/2 game ahead of Detroit.  The key game will be Monday at Detroit.  If we win that game the only way we do not make the 7th seed is we lose to both Charlotte and Toronto at home and Detroit wins against NJ at home and Ind and Mia on the road.

Charlotte - Any Charlotte loss or Chicago win we are in.

We lose tonight-

Philadelphia - We have no chance to catch Philly.  Philly is tied with Miami for the 5th seed.

Detroit - We are 1/2 game behind Detroit.  A win Monday at Detroit and winning against Charlotte and Toronto and we are in the 7th seed.  We lose Monday and Detroit must lose there other 3 games and we have to win our other 2 games for us to get the 7th seed..

Charlotte - If Charlotte beats OK tomorrow and the Bulls on Saturday we are at risk of not making the playoffs.  Assuming the above, if Charlotte splits their last two games at NJ and Orl and we split our last two games at Det and Tor then Charlotte makes the playoffs and we go fishing.  This is a real concern.

To me tonight's game has it's main importance to insure we make the playoffs.  That last Charlotte scenario concerns me the most.  We have not played well in our last two games against NJ and the Knicks.  Hopefully being on national TV helps motivate us to play better and win this game.

Keys to Philly tonight -

The 76ers are focused on getting the 5th seed via Philly.com. 

They knew they had an achievable goal to shoot for - a higher seed that would steer them away from the Eastern Conference Bermuda Triangle of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.

And on Saturday, after a victory over the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers were a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat for the fifth seed in the East and a playoff matchup with the Atlanta Hawks.

Instead of stepping up to the occasion, they sank into a hole.

On Sunday, it was a pathetic trip up the Jersey Turnpike and an embarrassing 96-67 loss to the New Jersey Nets, and on Tuesday, the Sixers fell behind by 20 points before losing at Charlotte, 101-98. ........

That's unacceptable.

In our last game with Philly at the old Spectrum 3/13/2009 Thaddeus Young went off for 31 points and Iguodala had 25 in Philly's 104 - 101 win.  Thaddeus Young is out with a right ankle sprain but Willie Green has played well in his place.  Courtesy of Liberty Ballers Tuesday against Charlotte

Bill Green played the best basketball game I've ever seen him play. The Sixers came out of the locker room down 14 points and in the blink of an eye, the lead was cut to three. And It was all thanks to Bill Green. He hustled for loose balls, he hit open shots, including three threes. He played tenacious defense, he gave the team an energy boost, and he set up his teammates beautifully. What? Are we talking about the same Bill Green? Yes. Bill Green played out of his mind tonight, and was mostly responsible for the Sixers furious comeback.

All 3 games against Philly have been close.  We split a back-to-back in 11/30 and 12/2/2008.  We won in overtime at Philly 11/30 103 - 95 and lost at home 12/2 97 - 90.  The 12/2 game is remembered for Rose's 24 points and his crippling crossover on Andre Miller. Andre Miller got revenge 12/2 torching us with 28 points. 

For those having a Passover Seder - they have to sneak peaks at the score while we get out of Egypt.

Blogging with the enemy - Liberty Ballers

TV/radio: 7 p.m. Thursday; TNT, WMVP-AM 1000.

The week that was - out of the muck into the 8th seed:  I'm still basking in our tough, important three game win streak as we prepare to face the Lakers tonight.  Paxson appears to have hit a home run with the Miller - Salmons trade.  Noah, Hinrich, Gordon an all are contributing. The rotation has solidified. 

I had to add this:  After an unbelievable blowout loss at home 121 - 94 to Sacramento the Knicks are reeling.  In today's New York Daily News there is a comment that made me feel we didn't totally get screwed with VDN verses D'Antoni.

Remember911 Mar 21, 2009 7:18:43 AM
Once again, we have the worst coach in the league. No defense and running so much that the team is tired in the 4th quarter. The Knicks are pathetic and so is Donnie Walsh for hiring Mike D'Antoni.

The weeks ahead:  The odds favor the Lakers winning tonight by 4 to 5.5 points via the Vegas Insider.  Assuming Charlotte wins at home against Indiana tonight and we lose, the Bulls will fall to the 9th seed because Charlotte has the tie-breaker.  Monday and Tuesday we are in Washington and Detroit at home. Charlotte plays on Wednesday at Washington.  That gives us a chance to be in the 8th spot even if Charlotte wins Wednesday.  I know many ifs here but I'm just thinking ahead.  Starting next Thursday March 26th we have a big advantage.  Of the last 11 games for Charlotte 7 are on the road with only one easy game, a home game March 28th against the Knicks.  The Bulls finish the last 10 games beginning with Miami at home March 26th.  Of the 10 games 7 are at home and 3 on the road.  All 10 are winnable games. 

Tonight's game:   The last time we defeated the Lakers was December 19th 2006 at home 94 - 89.  Deng scored 23 points on 9 - 16 and BG had 22.  Kobe had 19 points on 6 - 19.  December 18th 2007 we lost at home 103 - 91 in a 4th quarter collapse after being blown out November 17th 2007 in LA 106 - 78.  We lost this year November 18th 2008 in LA 116 - 109.  Rose scored 25 and had 9 assists but it was Gasol with 34 ponts who man-handled the Bulls inside.  Kobe added 21 and Bynum had 18.  It was Gasol who exposed how terrible we were guarding or scoring in the paint.  We are playing possibly the best team in the NBA tonight with, I believe, the best coach in the NBA.  I know we will be out-coached.  The Los Angeles Lakers are ranked 3 on offense, averaging 108.1 points per game. They start a seven game, 13 day road trip with rumblings that despite winning games they are not playing as well as they should be playing.

I believe we last won 4 games in a row March 29th 2007 at home with a 83 - 81 win against Detroit.  It is unlikely it happens tonight but I did not expect them to win 3 straight against NO, Celtics and away at the Thunder.  

Blogging with the enemy:  I may have missed something but the only blog that I could find for the Lakers is Lakers Blog at the LA Times

Game time:  7:30, WGN TV, 1000 espn radio

[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 03/14/09 12:05 PM CDT: Thanks to chgobr for today's game preview -ed. ]

Stuck in the muck:  Last night's repeat of the "Bulls Break your Heart" show triggers the myriad of reasons to fire VDN.  Can we have an end-of-game play beyond giving the ball to Rose and letting him drive into Dalambert?  Oh yes we cannot leave out Vinny's ability to stymie the opposition with creative miss-matches.  Where is the adjustments to stop opponents layup parade?  Where is our scheme for an end-of-game lock-down defense?   Where are the creative plays after time outs?  But who replaces VDN?  The only coach I would be confident could make this team better would be Phil Jackson.  Maybe another coach could do the trick but I'm skeptical.  This would be our 4th coach in two years.  To combat my Bulls-induced depression I ruminate about trades. Our resident cap guru Sports2 shows us  how to get under the cap as well as a radical version of a way to succeed.  My hope is Toronto decides they are going no-where with Chris Bosh and is open to a trade.  I think they like Deng.

The silver lining:  We need to get out of our funk and look at the positives.  Noah seems to becoming a player.  Rose is hanging in there and learning.  Salmons has been solid.  In the East the first team to win 31 games makes the payoffs.  NJ and Milwaukee both lost last night.  If we keep losing we are only 1 1/2 games behind to catch indiana for a possible 8th seed in the 2009 draft.  A win tonight and we go ahead of Milwaukee for the last playoff spot.  It is a win-win.

Tonight's game:  The Hornets come to town attempting to revenge a 107-93 Bulls win at New Orleans.  A minor asterick in the Bulls win in New Orleans is that Chris Paul did not play.  We all hope watching Paul is a fast foward of Rose.  The Hornets are getting excited about a possible 3 seed in the West.  So tonight we see another version of a team salivating to play our pathetic Bulls.  We can hope they are overlooking tonight in anticipation of a key game against Houston on Monday.  Hollinger's playoff odds have New Orleans finishing 3rd in the West and the Bulls still in the 8th spot.

Blogging with the enemy:  At the hive is a well done site

TV/radio: 7:30 p.m., Saturday; WGN-Ch. 9, WMVP-AM 1000.

[thanks to chgobr for the game preview -ed.]

Today's 11 AM game:   I'm pumped.  We looked great against Denver.  TT (see update below) was a force and brought a big smile to my face.  I particularly liked his huge rebound and 3 point play that sealed the deal in the 4th.  We are young.  We have Derrick Rose.  TT is improving by the day.  Paxson seems to have a good plan.  We're playing well and today my Bulls play a depleted Indiana team.  Milwaukee plays Denver at home.  We win, Milwaukee loses we are in the 8th spot.  Over the next few weeks it is possible for us to overtake Detroit and Philly and finish in the 6th spot with an outside chance of finishing higher.  Hollinger's playoff odds have us in the 7th seed ahead of Detroit.  Yes today is the perfect scenario for the Bulls to get blown out and rip my heart out!

TT update: KC in the Trib is reporting "After logging more than 44 minutes Friday night against Denver, Tyrus Thomas sat with a strained right hamstring. Del Negro said he wouldn't hesitate starting either Miller or Tim Thomas if Tyrus Thomas can't play. …"  The Sun-Times is listing him as questionable because of a hamstring.

 Indiana I thought was going to make the playoffs or be right in mix.  They play with a great deal of energy.  A number of heart-breaking losses and injuries have killed them.  Two of their top players Dunleavy and Granger are out.  They have one of the NBA's great hoodlums, Jamal Tinsley spending time in Marbury-land.  Defense is the Pacer's Achilles-heel.  They average 106.8 points-against.  This is exceeded only by the three defensive gems of New York 107.5, Sacramento 108.8 and Golden State at the amazing number of 111.4.  Indiana as a small market team has contract challenges beyond Tinsley.  Troy Murphy is at $12 million 2010-11.  T.J Ford has a player option through 2010-11 of $8.5 million and Dunleavy is at $10.5 million through 2010-11.  Indy comes off a win against a Jeffersonless Timberwolve team.  Marquis Daniels had a big game getting more minutes in Granger's absence.  From the Indianapolis Star "Josh McRoberts, whose playing time might increase during the final 26 games, returned to the team after missing two games earlier this week with the flu . . . Foster missed his fifth straight with a sore lower back."  The Bulls won the only game against Indiana this year November 15th at home 104-91.

Trade week:  I'm still reeling from trade week.  I have never seen so many posts as the trades unfolded.  Wednesday' Noc/Gooden deal has 680 comments.  Most within an hour.  Then on Thursday we were able to jettison Hughes. That generated 456 comments.  Matt did a great job organizing this for us.  Thank God for the help of Sports2 and Doughthonous for trying to explain the James salary issues and the Ben Gordon salary cap challenges.  I am certain quantum physics is easier to understand.  I feel bad for Amare, but we mistakenly worried about his knees instead of his retinas.  See the excellent BaB diary on retinas by T Thomas.  Paxson had this figured all along.  Paxson rocks! 

Blogging with the enemy: Indy Cornrows and the Mike Wells blog in the Indianpolis Star

Remember - game starts at 11AM on WGN

Today's Knick game is the half-way mark providing more questions/strong opinions than answers.  Our lucky 1.7% turns out to be REAL lucky adding intensity on how to build around Rose.  We watch the game today with many questions.  Is Hinrich a key to help Rose or a key trade piece to get someone else to help Rose?  Is Gordon a great fit with Rose, a great 6th man or not necessary?  Can any more can be written about TT's minutes?  I anticipate today's game will trigger a new nuance to the TT debate.  Will Noah develop into a serviceable center?  The other side of the trade debate is who do we want?  Who is the piece Rose needs?  Boozer, Jermaine O'Neal, David Lee, Brad Miller, etc?  Do we do a salary dump hoping for 2010?  There is one issue that we all agree.  We just don't agree on how to do it.  How do we best get rid of Larry Hughes?  Sam Smith 1/ 16/2009 thinks Hughes will not be traded until next year because it provides the Bulls leverage to maximize return. Note the highly intelligent question from you know who.

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[Thanks to chgobr for today's game preview. Last night proved that the Bulls can look alright against no defense whatsoever -ed.]

Last night Bulls recap:  You had to smile a bit watching the game last night.  Good ball movement, 29 assists on 38 field goals, decent defense despite being against the terrible Wizards.  With that said, Tyrus Thomas' 16 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks (he should of had 3 but Violet blew a call), 2 assists and 10 rebounds was almost overshadowed by his steady, smart basketball.  He played around the hoop.  I can remember only one jump shot and most important, he didn't play stupid.  He had only 1 TO.  You have to like Drew Gooden.  I realize signing him is a challenge given our cap issues but we appear to be a better team when he is playing.  He is playing for a contract; he can be lax on defense; he can sleep-walk through some games; but his 16 points, 1 block, 1 steal 2 assists and 11 rebounds impacted last night's game.  We have won two in a row with him back, but more importantly we seem to play better as a team with him on the floor.  Can we get him at the mid-level exemption for next year?  He probably will be able to sign more than a one year deal making it hard for us to keep him.  He is making $7.1 mil this year.  Despite his flaws who else can we get at a reasonable price who does better than Gooden?

Last night's other recap:  Boston falls to 3rd in the East.  Is this the sign of the end for the Celtic run?  James is a beast and I don't see anyone stopping him.  Beast #2 is in Orlando.  Orlando's 121 - 87 massacre of Atlanta last night doesn't do justice to how lopsided the game was.  Orlando was up by 50 before Gortat took over.  It makes me feel a bit better (only a bit) about being victimized by Orlando 10 days ago.  Yahoo reports that Darius Miles has been signed by Memphis to a 10-day contract probably costing Portland $18 mil.  Portland's inappropriate threat to sue teams if they play Darius 2 games, documented in the Yahoo article is just plain weird. 

Tonight's game:  Knowing I was doing tonight's game preview I watched as the Thunder almost beat Houston last night.  The final was 98-96 Houston.  Westbrook looks like the real deal ( at least when I watched).  He is lightening quick, made big shots down the stretch and seemed to out-play Durant at crunch-time.  Durant blamed himself for last night's loss.  His two turnovers and missed open shots at the end of the game did seal the deal for Houston.  Durant's 27 was on 11-22 shooting.  He got them back from a 13 point half-time deficit before his end of game collapse.  Jeff Green also looks like a player that they can build around.  You remember Joe Smith, now with the Thunder, he made a huge block on Yao with about 1 minute in the game left that gave them an opportunity to win.   I felt the Thunder looked better than Washington last night.  I wouldn't get too cocky against this team.  We have not won three in a row since April 15, 2007.  We beat the Wizards April 15 2007 101-68 after consecutive wins against the Knicks and Bobcats.  We feasted on the lower echelon teams in 2006-7.  Three in a row still would be nice. Can we ever beat a good NBA team?  Another opportunity presents itself Monday against Portland.

Blogging with the enemy: Unbelievable as it is Kelly Dwyer reviewed the Oklahoma City Blogs for me September 14 2008.  There is the Oklahoma City Thunder News, Oklahoma City BBall and the Bend it Like Bennett site.  These sites do seem to express the uniqueness of Oklahoma culture making me very happy I live in Chicagoland. [ed. note: Since then, a few good OKC blogs have popped up, namely The Thunderworld and Thunderguru]

TV/radio: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; WGN-Ch. 9, WMVP-AM 1000.

[Thanks to chgobr for today's preview. Better than KC's preview, where he mentions 3 players potentially guarding LeBron while not including Tyrus Thomas in that group. -ed.]

I hope to write previews that have a positive spin.  Being positive today is a real challenge.  I was at the Orlando game and was a witness to the effortless, painful to watch massacre.  The pain and anger, as usual, are well-documented in the game thread and Matt's post mortim.  This team has made me into a cynic.  I assume even Gordon's politically correct post-game comment  documented in the Trib is done to facilitate him getting a contract verses really being upset by the lack of effort.  

"We didn't play hard," guard Ben Gordon said. "We weren't ready, so it really didn't matter who was out there. I'm not going to make excuses. I wasn't ready. My teammates weren't ready. It's not acceptable."

The BaB frustration for wanting change can be seen in a diary posted by  Nextgen.  Nextgen proposed a trade that normally would have generated some discussion.   The reaction was emphatic, no more talk, post after a trade is made.  It is painful watching us outmatched time and again.

The good (which there was very little):  I was fortunate to have been close to the floor and I really thought Noah was trying and was somewhat effective.  And,  .... please do not kill the messenger, but Nocioni was really trying and despite being outmatched by talent and height was somewhat effective.

Tonight's game:  After the Orlando embarrassment I anticipate we will try harder, keep the game close at half-time, be down 5-10 after three and lose by 15-20.  Ilgauskas is out with a left ankle injury to be replaced by Varejeo.  Drew Gooden is a game-time decision.  Wally Sczcerbiak returns after missing two games with a knee problem.  Cleveland 26-5, 16-0 at home, is one game behind Boston 28-5.  It is hard seeing Cleveland losing to us tonight.   KC Johnson matches my pessimism by the goal trying to avoid a blow-out in anticipation of maybe beating some of the upcoming putrid teams in the NBA.

The Bulls need to avoid another blowout loss for their psyche in advance of, on paper, a winnable stretch.

Cleveland is improved this year and Maurice Williams may be an important addition supplementing you know who.  He can hit big shots down the stretch and adds a dimension not there last year.

The future:  Is this terrible stretch emblematic of dysfunctional Reinsdorf-Paxson management or are we at the precipice of a new golden era led by Derrick Rose?  I thought Sam Smith did a great job documenting the thoughtfulness that Pat Riley used to groom Erik Spoelstra as the coach.  Compare this to the dysfunctional process Paxson had hiring VDN.

"Birds of a feather flock together," Riley joked, though adding, "Every time I hire someone in some part of them they think like me."

The old story about Riley when he makes a hire is that he first checks the trunk of the applicant's car. If there are golf clubs in there, they're not hired. With Riley it's about work.

Though it's way more, an understanding of the system, a belief in the philosophy, a patience. When things go wrong, Heat owner Mickey Arison doesn't begin looking for successors.

"I won 15 games," noted Riley. "There never was anything written I'd be fired. You take the good with the bad with a franchise and stay with it until you get back on track. In the league now, there's a chasm (too often) between the coach and GM. You have to be tied in some way. I feel it's important that me and Erik are almost one person.

"He's old school and new school," said Riley. "He's in tune with me and the whole computer terminology, the internet, the statistical innovations. One thing that stands out in all the years was he's someone you converse with about what you've done, who to trade, someone who has a lot of thoughts and not your typical thinking. He's someone who respectfully disagrees but after that we can unite on a situation.

"He's one of those guys who apply their trade and don't look for recognition early, just work and learn," said Riley. "He wanted to learn before being recognized. You teach them and they take some of the culture and learn from a lot of people. I thought he was a guy ready a couple of years ago. You watch them grow, groom them to take your spot and that's the position I'm in."

I remember the Danny Ainge bashing here which I was a participant before the Garnett trade.  There is hope.

Blogging with the enemy:  The Cleveland Plain-Dealer is a good site.

TV/radio: 6:30 p.m. Friday; Comcast SportsNet, WMVP-AM 1000.