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Official 2008-2009 NBA Thread


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QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Mar 27, 2009 -> 06:42 PM)
I think he's also referring to Rose missing FT's during last year's championship game. He actually was a pretty mediocre FT shooter for a guard prior to this year.

 

I don't see the Bobcats hopping the Pistons, but it very well could happen with the way they're playing now. As far as Mike North, I don't like him, but giving VDN an extension might be bad. There's a discussion on the Bulls forum at RealGM, but basically, lemme post what sums up my feelings on it.

 

And that was from someone who wants VDN fired. They do need to develop defensively, but offensively, I think you're only seeing the beginning for a reason I posted:

 

Also keep in mind, VDN was hired rather late and had to deal with Joakim coming into camp out of shape, and Larry Hughes, our guard glut in general, and Deng sucking amongst all of our injuries.

 

I have really been open and optimistic about VDN as much as possible this year. I understand that he probably has had some big playbook growing pains in his time here, but there have been some insane gaps of concentration on his part with his gameday coaching and preparing the team for certain events(defenses, offensive looks, etc).

 

Strange as it may seem, I think the fact that he is a rookie head coach has cut him way more slack than a seasoned veteran coach would get. If any other veteran coach had made some of the decisions he has made, I think he would have been canned by now.

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QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Mar 28, 2009 -> 09:35 AM)
I have really been open and optimistic about VDN as much as possible this year. I understand that he probably has had some big playbook growing pains in his time here, but there have been some insane gaps of concentration on his part with his gameday coaching and preparing the team for certain events(defenses, offensive looks, etc).

 

Strange as it may seem, I think the fact that he is a rookie head coach has cut him way more slack than a seasoned veteran coach would get. If any other veteran coach had made some of the decisions he has made, I think he would have been canned by now.

 

I disagree. VDN, while he has flaws, gets too much of the blame, but never any of the credit. If it were a vet coach, even like a Greg Popovich who came here, and the Bulls won 30 games, all Bulls fans would say they expected such production and that it's something wrong with the team. But since VDN is a rookie coach, people are ready to pull the trigger even though he has a shot at going .500 with the team, has done a good job in developing Tyrus and Noah, getting Rose proper playing time(remember, Paxson stated over last summer he didn't want to rush Rose and they would bring him along like Deron in Utah), and he's integrated the new guys perfectly while also dealing with a bunch of injuries this year and again, Larry Hughes.

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.... I think Joakim Noah might just be a player in this league. He's been playing so well since Miller got here (even before that really). Joakim might just be a keeper if he spends this next summer in the weight room.

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QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Mar 28, 2009 -> 02:47 PM)
Ben Gordon has just been dominating today:

 

25 pts

11-17 Shooting

5 Reb

5 Ast -- 1 TO

3 Stls

 

through 3 qtrs

 

Gordon was great today on offense, but another guy who was dominating in this game was the guy Ben Gordon was "guarding", Brandon Rush. Rush, who averages 6.6 points per game, had 29 on 13-19 shooting and no turnovers in 39 minutes. Ben had a great offensive game (25 points, 5 boards, 5 dimes, 11-18 shooting), but his defense on Rush (who had I think 17 points in the 1st quarter, where Indiana outscored Chicago 35-21) was a big reason the Bulls had to climb out of a 14 point hole today.

 

Now, with that all said, today was another big win for the Bulls, who seem to struggle with Indiana for some reason. Hopefully they had some legs left tomorrow and can get a win in Toronto.

Edited by whitesoxfan101
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QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Mar 28, 2009 -> 03:27 PM)
Tyrus had 18 pts 8rebs and 7blks today... a bunch of good performances today.

 

Yeah, and although I had to get that little rant out about Ben's defense today, I think overall the Bulls played very good defense after the 1st quarter. It was unfortunate they had a big hole to dig out of, but the last 3 quarters were pretty much played very well by the Bulls. Brad Miller was FANTASTIC off the bench (17, 6, 3 dimes, 3 steals.)

Edited by whitesoxfan101
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QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Mar 29, 2009 -> 05:43 PM)
Bulls had no business making that comeback and sending it into OT. With that being said, why did Salmons sit? Why does Tyrus take that damn jumper in crunch time? My love/hate relationship with this team continues...

 

Gotta agree on all these points. Being down so much by the end of the game, why not have Salmons come in and drain some 3s? For Christ's sakes the man was NBA player of the month and you have him sit in favor of Kirk Hinrich? Seriously Marion ate up Rose on offense. Marion got at least 4 points off of Rose late in the game because of the mismatch, it was disgusting to see.

 

This team has the talent to compete with the higher ups with the NBA, but they make stupid ass mistakes against bad teams like Toronto. Plus, they let the Raptors shoot the s*** out of the ball. Bargnani should not be open half the time. You should not let the Pops whatever his last name was dunk on you for about 5 times and fire up their crowd. You can't let Rose get schooled by Calderon. I think the only reason why Vinnie left Hinrich in the game was so that he can guard Calderon, because Rose sure as hell couldn't do it and Gordon can't either. Somebody also needs to tell Tyrus Thomas he can't make 20 foot jumpshots. Stacy King said he could be like Shawn Marion, NO HE CAN'T! Marion can actually shoot long range jumpers with some accuracy. Tyrus can't hit open 18 footers. They need to tell him to play like a PF instead of a SF, because a PF is what he should be.

 

The game was fun to watch near the end, but damn, too many stupid mistakes. I felt like I was watching a Sox game from last year on one of those days they couldn't hit.

Edited by chw42
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per rotoworld

 

John Salmons did not play during the fourth quarter and overtime on Sunday because of nagging soreness in his groin. "It just didn't feel right," Salmons said. He had played 39+ minutes in seven consecutive games before finishing with 31 minutes on Sunday. We'll keep a close eye on his status for Tuesday's game vs. the Pacers, so check back soon for updates. Mar. 30 - 10:19 am et
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QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 06:49 PM)
How quick people are to jump on Vinny, but not absolve or say, "I'm sorry" or "I jumped the gun". Instead, they just ignore it.

 

I know, It's pretty funny.

 

A lot of VDN bashers are people who read a newspaper article on why he should get fired or is someone who recieved their information from a buddy who did.

 

 

What I see:

 

A former PG handling and teaching a rookie PG

-PG is arguably the hardest position to learn/teach in the NBA

-Rose is on his way to a ROY season. (aka he's on the track he's supossed to be.) Don't be too quick to assume VDN did not have a role in his development.

-We could have had Scott Skiles help develop Rose. That thought makes me cringe. (even though skiles was a good pg). Bill cartwright anyone?

 

 

A coach with roster changes,young players,Distractions and injuries

-Ben Gordon Contract situation

-Luol Deng was slated by the organization to be a primary weapon.

-8 man rotation plans and playbooks to showcase Hughes and Kirk were cut short due to injuries in November.

-Remember the clutterf*** we had when most players were healthy at the same time? The Nocioni/Gooden Days?

-Should we forget that the likely future core (luol,rose,tyrus and Noah) started the season at an average age of 22 years old?

 

A coach in his 1st season

-Will likely make the playoffs

-Good chance to finish .500

- A team playing it's best basketball late in the season.

 

 

 

 

My wishes before the season started were:

1. Develop the youngsters

Tyrus,Noah and Rose have all played well this year. I could not have asked for more.

 

2. Make the Playoffs

Well, I was hoping to make the playoffs in any form, to be be striking distance at #5 this late in the season is pretty remarkable.

 

 

 

I'm getting what I wanted. Why fix and complain about something that is not broken?

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I dont want VDN fired. I thought he was close to getting fired a few months ago, but I dont and did not want him fired. Im glad there was a reason that Salmons wasnt playing, but the reason I said what I said was because there have been times this season when certain players(Rose, Gordon, Deng) have sat for long periods during games where their scoring and floor presence was required at that certain time. Those times have certainly started to disappear, and VDN is starting to put together a normal rotation which is really nice to see.

 

 

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