The Chicago Bulls played 4 games this week against overall solid competition. They experienced two losses & two wins—an outcome that isn’t too shabby. They did lose to the San Antonio Spurs, which should have been one for the win column. There’s a lot the Bulls need to improve on before they can be a good team in a stacked Eastern Conference. Let’s get to this week's segment.
THE GOOD:
Dragic & Drummond. I will sound crazy but those two are looking like Stockton & Malone out there. Their chemistry is phenomenal & the PnR looks near unstoppable plus the lob chemistry. It’s nice to have a skilled veteran point guard in Dragic & arguably one of the best rebounders of the decade in Drummond coming off the bench. Billy Donovan has found a good rotation & runs LaVine as the primary score & it has been working. Drummond, who can probably still start on most teams, is playing roughly 17 minutes per game while averaging nine points & ten rebounds—exceptional numbers. Dragic is also playing roughly 17 minutes while giving the Bulls almost eight points & four assists—solid backup numbers. If they can keep this up, the bench can be lethal & really help keep the Bulls in tight games when the starters need their rest. Hopefully the Drummond shoulder injury isn’t too bad because his presence was missed in the loss against the Sixers.
DeMar DeRozan. Not that he’s been playing lights out this week or anything; DeMar is just looking like his normal veteran self, getting to his spots & doing what needs to be done. I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that he became the 50th player to reach 20,000 career points—a massive feat. He got it against his old squad & coach, the Spurs & Greg Popovich. You can really tell how much of a professional he is & how well respected he is around the league because Coach Pop called a special timeout when Deebo hit the 20K mark & the jumbotron had a little recognition image as well. I personally have always been a fan of DeMar, on & off the court so it was awesome to see this accomplishment.
Shoutout JaVonte Green. That’s it, that’s the tweet.
THE BAD:
Injuries. Now injuries are a part of the game but to have Ayo & Drummond go down along with Zach missing games due to injury management, it’ll be tough to win games. Ayo is arguably the second-best defender on the team & his presence was missed against the Sixers lethal backcourt. Caruso is also dealing with a hamstring issue which is limiting his minutes. Hopefully the Bulls can figure out a way to stay healthy, otherwise this is going to be another long season filled with injuries.
Defense. Story of the Bulls every year, right? Look, they haven’t been playing atrocious defense, but it hasn’t really been good either; teams are somehow always scorching us from deep & easily getting to the rim. The Bulls have this terrible habit of fouling three-point shooters, something that drives Stacey King crazy. Not everyone needs to or can play tough defense but sometimes the lacking effort is what is super noticeable & frustrating. This is generally a bad look for Billy Donovan as well, who came into the organization as a defensive-minded coach. Man, do I miss Lonzo.
THE UGLY:
Slow starts. Outside of the Pacers game, the Bulls started off slow the other three games & had to play catchup the whole time—not the best way to win games. The Bulls played extremely well against the Celtics after being down by 19 to end up winning by 18; it was a very good win but shouldn’t have been that hard fought to begin with, slow starts are inexcusable. The slow starts are a product of the poor defense the Bulls play, allowing teams to just let it fly from deep. They let the Celtics start the game 8-for-9 from deep, the Spurs opened the game 5-for-6 from downtown & the 76ers shot 6-for-10 from downtown. The Bulls are allowing the most first quarter points in the NBA with 33.1 but are in the middle of the pack in scoring with 28.9. It doesn’t help that the Bulls have almost started every game with a different starting lineup due to injuries plus Zach, but it’s really no excuse to just let teams do whatever they want to start the game. I think that Billy Donovan needs to play around with the starting five, maybe start with JaVonte Green over Patrick Williams. Let’s see if any improvements are made this week or if I’ll be ranting about the same thing.
Closing/clutch time. The numbers are straight up astonishing, especially because we have the best fourth quarter scorer from last year on the squad. The Bulls in the “clutch” this season have an 0-3 record, are 0-for-7 from deep with four turnovers. They rank dead last in fourth quarter offense shooting 33.6% from the field overall & a disgusting 28.9% from deep with 33 total turnovers. Zach went 0-for-2 from the field against the 76ers, these are shots he needs to hit especially after sitting the previous game. Zach & DeMar need to figure out how to operate as the 1-2 in tight game situations—something we’ll probably see a lot this season. It is a small sample size with only seven games played but these deficiencies should be identified quickly & resolved as soon as possible.
WEEK 3 PREDICTIONS:
Bulls @ Nets- W
Hornets vs. Bulls- W
Bulls @ Celtics- L
Bulls @ Raptors- L
Monday, October 31, 2022
Around the NBA: Week 2
AROUND THE NBA:
The second week of the NBA has been a little more exciting with the rust wearing off & more games on the schedule. There are still quite a few surprises with teams that should be winning but aren’t, while teams that should be losing, aren’t. The ROTY race looks like it might be a runaway, but this year's draft class is looking very solid. The MVP race is looking kind of slow as of right now but hopefully can get more exciting. Let’s get to my thoughts about week 2.
The defending champs do not look like the defending champs. The Warriors are 3-4 and don’t look like the team that just one a championship. I could sit here & stir up that it can be a product of Green’s sucker punch this summer, but the team just doesn’t look like themselves. If I were a Warriors fan though, I would not be worried. They always tend to figure it out & you do have one of the best players on the planet on your team. They’ll be fine.
The Cleveland Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell is playing exceptional basketball on both ends of the floor & looks way more comfortable with that team than I would’ve imagined. This is without Darius Garland on the floor right now, so we have to wait & see what they look like together. Mitchell is another of the top three MVP candidates in my eyes.
The Lakers finally won their first game of the season. I will be honest, I thought they’d be 0-6 but bringing Russ off the bench might be the catalyst to their win. He looked comfortable & his +/- rating was the best it’s been so far. AD is playing well, even though his jump shooting numbers are atrocious & LeBron is just LeBron. Trade rumors are already flying this early into the season so the Lakers will have another season full of rumors & drama.
The Nets. They look bad. I don’t want to sit here & bash on Ben Simmons since he is returning to the floor after not playing for two years but he still has been passing up open layups & simply doesn’t look like himself. The Nets have the worst defensive rating in the NBA despite having good defenders in Simmons, KD & Claxton. What’s the most surprising is their shooting splits even with two elite offensive weapons in KD & Kyrie. I said this last year & I’ll say it again, Brooklyn needs to can Steve Nash.
Ja is him. He’s arguably the best athlete in the NBA & looks like a top three MVP candidate. The Grizzlies are the best scoring team in the league & one of the most exciting. I have no doubts that they’ll continue to play well & that Ja’s performance is sustainable.
Paolo Banchero is a stud. He reminds me of a young Carmelo Anthony with his three-level scoring. The Magic won’t be good, but they’ll be fun to watch. They mess around with their lineups & recently have ran Bol Bol at point—something he was surprisingly good at. If they end up with another number one pick, Wembenyama will end up on the Magic & they’ll have a starting lineup of only 6’10 & up players. Sheesh.
Benedict Mathurin may not win ROTY but he might end up cashing in on 6MOTY as a rookie. Just a pure & polished scorer who is slowly building a lot of chemistry with Haliburton. Keep an eye on him.
The Suns look good as they usually do. Top five in both offense & defense. Devin Booker is playing tremendous basketball even with Chris Paul experiencing a slump. They are the Suns though after all, so can’t really expect too much or too little out of them.
Luka looks like the early MVP even though his team is struggling. Luka & Wood look amazing together at the expense of defense but Jason Kidd needs to figure out a lineup with those two involved.
Keldon Johnson is ruining the tanking that the Spurs were expected to do. He’s putting up very efficient numbers & looks like a product of the great coaching of Popovich. I don’t really see it continuing at this level & they’ll start losing eventually but the Spurs are kind of fun to watch.
If the Pelicans can stay healthy, they will be a team to watch. Young talent & a lot of energy. Just what they needed coming off last year's strong finish.
The second week of the NBA has been a little more exciting with the rust wearing off & more games on the schedule. There are still quite a few surprises with teams that should be winning but aren’t, while teams that should be losing, aren’t. The ROTY race looks like it might be a runaway, but this year's draft class is looking very solid. The MVP race is looking kind of slow as of right now but hopefully can get more exciting. Let’s get to my thoughts about week 2.
The defending champs do not look like the defending champs. The Warriors are 3-4 and don’t look like the team that just one a championship. I could sit here & stir up that it can be a product of Green’s sucker punch this summer, but the team just doesn’t look like themselves. If I were a Warriors fan though, I would not be worried. They always tend to figure it out & you do have one of the best players on the planet on your team. They’ll be fine.
The Cleveland Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell is playing exceptional basketball on both ends of the floor & looks way more comfortable with that team than I would’ve imagined. This is without Darius Garland on the floor right now, so we have to wait & see what they look like together. Mitchell is another of the top three MVP candidates in my eyes.
The Lakers finally won their first game of the season. I will be honest, I thought they’d be 0-6 but bringing Russ off the bench might be the catalyst to their win. He looked comfortable & his +/- rating was the best it’s been so far. AD is playing well, even though his jump shooting numbers are atrocious & LeBron is just LeBron. Trade rumors are already flying this early into the season so the Lakers will have another season full of rumors & drama.
The Nets. They look bad. I don’t want to sit here & bash on Ben Simmons since he is returning to the floor after not playing for two years but he still has been passing up open layups & simply doesn’t look like himself. The Nets have the worst defensive rating in the NBA despite having good defenders in Simmons, KD & Claxton. What’s the most surprising is their shooting splits even with two elite offensive weapons in KD & Kyrie. I said this last year & I’ll say it again, Brooklyn needs to can Steve Nash.
Ja is him. He’s arguably the best athlete in the NBA & looks like a top three MVP candidate. The Grizzlies are the best scoring team in the league & one of the most exciting. I have no doubts that they’ll continue to play well & that Ja’s performance is sustainable.
Paolo Banchero is a stud. He reminds me of a young Carmelo Anthony with his three-level scoring. The Magic won’t be good, but they’ll be fun to watch. They mess around with their lineups & recently have ran Bol Bol at point—something he was surprisingly good at. If they end up with another number one pick, Wembenyama will end up on the Magic & they’ll have a starting lineup of only 6’10 & up players. Sheesh.
Benedict Mathurin may not win ROTY but he might end up cashing in on 6MOTY as a rookie. Just a pure & polished scorer who is slowly building a lot of chemistry with Haliburton. Keep an eye on him.
The Suns look good as they usually do. Top five in both offense & defense. Devin Booker is playing tremendous basketball even with Chris Paul experiencing a slump. They are the Suns though after all, so can’t really expect too much or too little out of them.
Luka looks like the early MVP even though his team is struggling. Luka & Wood look amazing together at the expense of defense but Jason Kidd needs to figure out a lineup with those two involved.
Keldon Johnson is ruining the tanking that the Spurs were expected to do. He’s putting up very efficient numbers & looks like a product of the great coaching of Popovich. I don’t really see it continuing at this level & they’ll start losing eventually but the Spurs are kind of fun to watch.
If the Pelicans can stay healthy, they will be a team to watch. Young talent & a lot of energy. Just what they needed coming off last year's strong finish.
Monday, October 24, 2022
Around The NBA: Week 1
AROUND THE NBA:
The first week of the NBA has been quite unpredictable. The tanking Utah Jazz started 3-0 behind Markennen & Clarkson, the Lakers look so bad that it’s almost funny, the Sixers haven’t won a game & the reigning NBA champs picked up right where they left off. The rookie class looks solid with Banchero, Smith, Mathurin, Murray & Ivey playing very well. I was big on Banchero & really wanted to see him go first overall, he’s a polished offensive player with defensive upside-- which he’s shown so far. Mathurin might be the story of the year but it’s too early to tell so press the brakes on that.
Let’s talk about the Lakers though, since they are the talk of the season so far—for good reason. Pelinka didn’t make the necessary changes & it’s clear they made Vogel the scapegoat. The shooting on the team is downright ugly as the team is averaging nearly 41% from the field & an abysmal 21% from deep. Beverley has more fouls than points, this decline of Westbrook is so sad & Anthony Davis forgot how to shoot a basketball. I wonder if Bron & co. can figure this out.
The Warriors dropped 89 points in the first half last night. That’s it. That’s my part to say on the reigning champs.
The Sixers don’t look like the team they were last year. I’ve seen so many stats on how many times Harden has dribbled the ball compared to the rest of the team, which is such a funny statistic.
Celtics look good. Jayson Tatum is playing at an MVP level & they are also another team that picked out right where they left off. The addition of Brogdon is already looking great, but it’ll only get better when he eventually takes over the starting PG position. I hope they can get Time Lord back soon & have their complete team.
The Cavaliers are going to be a fun team this year. Mitchell looks like he fits right in & this is without Garland. They’ll only get better.
The Hawks scored with the Murray trade.
If the Pelicans can stay healthy, they may be a problem.
Toronto loves having their 2-5 be like 7 feet tall.
It's good to see Zion Williamson, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard & Jamal Murray back on the floor.
Christian Wood has already cemented himself as the best player Doncic has played with.
Thanks for reading & hope to have you back next week!
The first week of the NBA has been quite unpredictable. The tanking Utah Jazz started 3-0 behind Markennen & Clarkson, the Lakers look so bad that it’s almost funny, the Sixers haven’t won a game & the reigning NBA champs picked up right where they left off. The rookie class looks solid with Banchero, Smith, Mathurin, Murray & Ivey playing very well. I was big on Banchero & really wanted to see him go first overall, he’s a polished offensive player with defensive upside-- which he’s shown so far. Mathurin might be the story of the year but it’s too early to tell so press the brakes on that.
Let’s talk about the Lakers though, since they are the talk of the season so far—for good reason. Pelinka didn’t make the necessary changes & it’s clear they made Vogel the scapegoat. The shooting on the team is downright ugly as the team is averaging nearly 41% from the field & an abysmal 21% from deep. Beverley has more fouls than points, this decline of Westbrook is so sad & Anthony Davis forgot how to shoot a basketball. I wonder if Bron & co. can figure this out.
The Warriors dropped 89 points in the first half last night. That’s it. That’s my part to say on the reigning champs.
The Sixers don’t look like the team they were last year. I’ve seen so many stats on how many times Harden has dribbled the ball compared to the rest of the team, which is such a funny statistic.
Celtics look good. Jayson Tatum is playing at an MVP level & they are also another team that picked out right where they left off. The addition of Brogdon is already looking great, but it’ll only get better when he eventually takes over the starting PG position. I hope they can get Time Lord back soon & have their complete team.
The Cavaliers are going to be a fun team this year. Mitchell looks like he fits right in & this is without Garland. They’ll only get better.
The Hawks scored with the Murray trade.
If the Pelicans can stay healthy, they may be a problem.
Toronto loves having their 2-5 be like 7 feet tall.
It's good to see Zion Williamson, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard & Jamal Murray back on the floor.
Christian Wood has already cemented himself as the best player Doncic has played with.
Thanks for reading & hope to have you back next week!
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Week 1
Hello readers, welcome back to another year of The Fade Away. After a surprisingly overwhelming number of people said to bring the blog back, I have decided to. However, this year I’ll be taking a different approach. I’ll be posting two blog posts weekly, one about the Bulls & one about the league: “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” & “Around The NBA”.
Let’s start with The Bulls:
THE GOOD:
Deebo. Except for the Cleveland game on Saturday night, DeMar looks great; he’s picked up right where he left off. With Zach being out the first two games, he needed to step up. He’s been shooting the ball efficiently, looking surgical in the midrange & getting his free throw attempts. I fully expect him to keep this up even with Zach on the floor but especially more when Zach sits for his “injury management”.
The bench. If there was a section between good & bad, that’s where this truly belongs but this’ll do. Without a doubt the bench looks better than last year; adding Dragic & Drummond was very solid & of course you have the play of Caruso & Green. Defensively, they play well but scoring for the bench was an issue last year & may be an issue this year—unless White figures it out. I would like to see some more Derrick Jones Jr., especially with the way Williams is playing right now. All in all, the bench is deeper & better than last year.
THE BAD:
Patrick Williams. I was debating putting him in the next portion, but I feel like that would be too early. It’s only been three games into the season but to be frank, he hasn’t really looked any better. This is essentially his second season in the NBA & he’s only 21 but he’s still got to be more aggressive, especially when key players are out. Being a 6’7 forward & averaging only two rebounds in his first three games is straight up abysmal. I’m not sure if it’s a mental thing or a coaching thing, but for this team to be good, he’s got to be more aggressive. I do anticipate him being benched for Javonte Green as soon as tonight, but it might be good as he needs to learn from Javonte’s energy & assertiveness. Green is constantly cutting to the basket, hustling for boards & just playing with a lot of energy compared to Williams. The 2020 draft was a relatively weak one but with the emergence of Maxey & Haliburton, the Williams pick isn’t looking too hot. Let’s hope it can get figured out soon.
Defense & rim protection. This was an issue we had last year & knew going into this year but doesn’t seem like it was addressed. Adding Drummond was an underrated move in my opinion but it was not the answer. The defensive rotations look atrocious & at times there just seems to be no effort. The Bulls clearly miss Lonzo, who can guard practically any position, but they have to show more effort & heart on defense. We don’t really have any shot blockers on the team so it’s not surprising that the rim protection has also been disappointing; I do think that if the rotations were a little crispier, then this wouldn’t be as much of a hole in the game as it is.
THE UGLY:
Zach LaVine. Now I'm not talking about his play but his knee issue. He looked solid in season debut, so I understand the confusion. The Chicago Bulls are being strangely vague about his injury & management; it wasn’t expected for him to miss the beginning of the season but somehow, he did. Zach has said there’s no issues while Donovan has said that he felt slight discomfort—who to trust? There should be more transparency when it comes to your max contract player for both fans & stakeholders. Seems like he’ll miss some back-to-backs, which will for sure negatively impact the Bulls record this year. Let’s just hope it is just management & not a real issue.
WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS:
Celtics vs. Bulls- L
Pacers vs. Bulls- W
Bulls @ Spurs- L
Sixers vs. Bulls- W
Let’s start with The Bulls:
THE GOOD:
Deebo. Except for the Cleveland game on Saturday night, DeMar looks great; he’s picked up right where he left off. With Zach being out the first two games, he needed to step up. He’s been shooting the ball efficiently, looking surgical in the midrange & getting his free throw attempts. I fully expect him to keep this up even with Zach on the floor but especially more when Zach sits for his “injury management”.
The bench. If there was a section between good & bad, that’s where this truly belongs but this’ll do. Without a doubt the bench looks better than last year; adding Dragic & Drummond was very solid & of course you have the play of Caruso & Green. Defensively, they play well but scoring for the bench was an issue last year & may be an issue this year—unless White figures it out. I would like to see some more Derrick Jones Jr., especially with the way Williams is playing right now. All in all, the bench is deeper & better than last year.
THE BAD:
Patrick Williams. I was debating putting him in the next portion, but I feel like that would be too early. It’s only been three games into the season but to be frank, he hasn’t really looked any better. This is essentially his second season in the NBA & he’s only 21 but he’s still got to be more aggressive, especially when key players are out. Being a 6’7 forward & averaging only two rebounds in his first three games is straight up abysmal. I’m not sure if it’s a mental thing or a coaching thing, but for this team to be good, he’s got to be more aggressive. I do anticipate him being benched for Javonte Green as soon as tonight, but it might be good as he needs to learn from Javonte’s energy & assertiveness. Green is constantly cutting to the basket, hustling for boards & just playing with a lot of energy compared to Williams. The 2020 draft was a relatively weak one but with the emergence of Maxey & Haliburton, the Williams pick isn’t looking too hot. Let’s hope it can get figured out soon.
Defense & rim protection. This was an issue we had last year & knew going into this year but doesn’t seem like it was addressed. Adding Drummond was an underrated move in my opinion but it was not the answer. The defensive rotations look atrocious & at times there just seems to be no effort. The Bulls clearly miss Lonzo, who can guard practically any position, but they have to show more effort & heart on defense. We don’t really have any shot blockers on the team so it’s not surprising that the rim protection has also been disappointing; I do think that if the rotations were a little crispier, then this wouldn’t be as much of a hole in the game as it is.
THE UGLY:
Zach LaVine. Now I'm not talking about his play but his knee issue. He looked solid in season debut, so I understand the confusion. The Chicago Bulls are being strangely vague about his injury & management; it wasn’t expected for him to miss the beginning of the season but somehow, he did. Zach has said there’s no issues while Donovan has said that he felt slight discomfort—who to trust? There should be more transparency when it comes to your max contract player for both fans & stakeholders. Seems like he’ll miss some back-to-backs, which will for sure negatively impact the Bulls record this year. Let’s just hope it is just management & not a real issue.
WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS:
Celtics vs. Bulls- L
Pacers vs. Bulls- W
Bulls @ Spurs- L
Sixers vs. Bulls- W
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