SB Nation User Blog: chgobr

Detroit's opinion of Gordon via SBNation - they are not salivating

chgobr — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:12:30 -0000

Detroit's opinion of Gordon via SBNation - they are not salivating

There is ambivalence, not a consensus or an overwhelming desire for Ben in Detroit. They wouldn't mind having him but the price of 11 mil per year seems high for a sixth man.

Are we being fooled again?

chgobr — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:52:05 -0000

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.

If Detroit picks up Boozer will we be better than Detroit?
Will we be better than Washington who will have Arenas, Jamison, Butler and Haywood plus a high first round pick?
Will we be better than a healthy Indiana?
Will we be better than a Philadelphia team attempting to integrate Elton Brand again?
Will we be better than a Charlotte team that has an excellent coach now with players that fit his system?
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?
Atlanta and Miami seem to be improving. Do we feel we can leap over these teams?
Milwaukee played most of the year without Redd and Bogut. Will we be better than Milwaukee?
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?
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.

Game Preview #79: Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers

chgobr — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:51:37 -0000

[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.

Charlotte loses

chgobr — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:26:10 -0000

Charlotte loses

This is huge. Charlotte was up by 16 points and loses 97-92

Bulls on the way to the Playoffs - Charlotte loses 95 - 93 to the Wizards

chgobr — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:33:48 -0000

Bulls on the way to the Playoffs - Charlotte loses 95 - 93 to the Wizards

Unless we totally collapse we are going back to the playoffs.

Game Preview #70: Los Angeles Lakers verses The Chicago Bulls

chgobr — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:21:47 -0000

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

Game Preview #67: The New Orleans Hornets verses the Chicago Bulls

chgobr — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:51:10 -0000

[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.

Game Preview #56: Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers

chgobr — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:43:01 -0000

[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

You think we made a mistake with VDN - take a look a Berman's NYPost blog

chgobr — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:30:52 -0000

You think we made a mistake with VDN - take a look a Berman's NYPost blog

"The Knicks are a joke. Mr. D'Antoni you are the worst coach when it comes to defense. "We couldn't get a stop in the second half," said D’Antoni. Doesn’t he know his team allowed 65 points in the first half."

Reinsdorf considering firing Paxson. It is Peter Vescey; it is a one liner; but sometimes where there is smoke there is fire.

chgobr — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:42:31 -0000

Reinsdorf considering firing Paxson. It is Peter Vescey; it is a one liner; but sometimes where there is smoke there is fire.

"Chicago's correspondents get the distinct feeling Vinny Del Negro may be the NBA's eighth head coach to get vaporized. I'm hearing Bulls managing partner Jerry Reinsdorf may soon varnish GM John Paxson. Toronto ended a seven-game slide Friday with a convincing, 20-point win at Chicago."