AROUND THE NBA:
The Utah Jazz are the number one seed in the West led by Lauri Markkanen—tough for us Bulls fans. Just a tremendous story to start the year.
The Boston Celtics are on a nine-game win streak & are now the number one seed in the NBA. Ime Udoka who? Tatum is playing like he will win MVP & Brown is the perfect complement as both young stars are taking over games together. What’s scarier is that they are still waiting for their defensive anchor, Rob Williams, to return from his injury. Just scary stuff.
Kevin Durant is losing games but does have 17 straight games with 25+ points to start the season, the fifth longest streak in history. Ben Simmons has had THREE consecutive games with double-digit scoring, if he can continue this then it’ll be huge for the Nets. Also welcome back, Kyrie Irving.
The Warriors are having some difficulties out there even though Steph is playing at a level that no words can explain. He needs help & hopefully this recent 41-point outburst from Klay Thompson gets him going & help Steph. Poole needs to come alive as well, but it seems like players just forget how to play basketball after receiving a bag.
Did you think I would talk about the Sacramento Kings? I sure as heck didn’t. They are on a SIX-GAME win streak & lighting up the beam. De'Aaron Fox is playing at an all-star level with the help of Sabonis & Huerter. If they keep this up, Mike Brown might land himself a COTY award.
The Portland Trailblazers look good, man. They might have their own big three with Lillard, Grant & Simons all playing at high levels. Dame is injured though, so let’s see if Simons can step up again & play big time ball.
Who would’ve thought the Pacers would seem like a solid team this year? Did the rebuild go as planned? Haliburton & Turner are looking like a solid duo & Mathurin might actually win ROTY & 6MOTY. Shoutout Carlisle.
The Atlanta Hawks are slowly figuring it out. Murray & Young are beginning to look like the backcourt we all envisioned them to be.
Someone please call Dallas & get Luka some help or at least start Christian Wood.
Paul George is him. I will not stand any PG13 slander. Kawhi needs to stay healthy for this team to be elite, though.
Monday, November 21, 2022
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Week 5
THE GOOD:
Nothing. The Bulls are on a four-game losing streak in which they look straight up awful. The offense looks lethargic & stagnant while the defense is almost nonexistent & the coaching has been abysmal.
THE BAD:
Adjustments. Losing to the Pelicans after playing them the week prior is something that shouldn’t happen—especially without Zion playing. This has to do with both coaching & team effort. The same mistakes are made when it comes to rebounding & defense while the offense looks shotty. Is the team just not watching film? Do they not care anymore? Is there something greater going on within the organization that’s having this impact? Maybe I’m being dramatic, but these are all viable questions.
Rotations & lineups. At what point will Billy Donovan decide to change the starting lineup? It’s early in the season & clearly there are some issues, maybe take out Patrick Williams & start DJJ or Javonte—they come in with more energy. I understand saving it for the bench but it’s clearly not working right now. There must be a better way to run the offense through LaVine or DeMar rather than iso midrange jumpers & step back jumpers.
Schedule. The Bulls have a very tough schedule coming up for the next couple of weeks. Playing either playoff teams or teams that are coming in hot; if the Bulls cannot figure something out, they’ll just get embarrassed out there. They play Boston at home tonight & then proceed to a seven-game road trip—yikes.
THE UGLY:
Billy Donovan benching Zach LaVine. Now this is ugly in two ways: Donovan making that decision & Zach’s response. Now according to recent interviews, all is good & Zach doesn’t want to “blow this out of proportion” which is fine but there is no doubt that this’ll have some sort of impact on their relationship & the game. I understand why Donovan benched LaVine at the end of the game against the Magic, he was 1-for-14 from the floor & his one shot came from a goaltend. His defense wasn’t there & he just didn’t look like himself but that does not mean you don’t put your max contract player on the floor during crunch time—especially in a free throw situation.
WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS:
Celtics vs. Bulls - W
Bulls @ Bucks - L
Bulls @ Thunder - W
Nothing. The Bulls are on a four-game losing streak in which they look straight up awful. The offense looks lethargic & stagnant while the defense is almost nonexistent & the coaching has been abysmal.
THE BAD:
Adjustments. Losing to the Pelicans after playing them the week prior is something that shouldn’t happen—especially without Zion playing. This has to do with both coaching & team effort. The same mistakes are made when it comes to rebounding & defense while the offense looks shotty. Is the team just not watching film? Do they not care anymore? Is there something greater going on within the organization that’s having this impact? Maybe I’m being dramatic, but these are all viable questions.
Rotations & lineups. At what point will Billy Donovan decide to change the starting lineup? It’s early in the season & clearly there are some issues, maybe take out Patrick Williams & start DJJ or Javonte—they come in with more energy. I understand saving it for the bench but it’s clearly not working right now. There must be a better way to run the offense through LaVine or DeMar rather than iso midrange jumpers & step back jumpers.
Schedule. The Bulls have a very tough schedule coming up for the next couple of weeks. Playing either playoff teams or teams that are coming in hot; if the Bulls cannot figure something out, they’ll just get embarrassed out there. They play Boston at home tonight & then proceed to a seven-game road trip—yikes.
THE UGLY:
Billy Donovan benching Zach LaVine. Now this is ugly in two ways: Donovan making that decision & Zach’s response. Now according to recent interviews, all is good & Zach doesn’t want to “blow this out of proportion” which is fine but there is no doubt that this’ll have some sort of impact on their relationship & the game. I understand why Donovan benched LaVine at the end of the game against the Magic, he was 1-for-14 from the floor & his one shot came from a goaltend. His defense wasn’t there & he just didn’t look like himself but that does not mean you don’t put your max contract player on the floor during crunch time—especially in a free throw situation.
WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS:
Celtics vs. Bulls - W
Bulls @ Bucks - L
Bulls @ Thunder - W
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Week 4
THE GOOD:
Honestly, not much. It was only a three-game week where the Bulls went 1-2. They made the needed adjustments against the Raptors along with LaVine playing to snag that only win of the week.
Maybe just Dragic. Dude is hooping out there.
THE BAD:
Energy. The Bulls are lacking a lot of energy on the floor. This has been an issue since the beginning of the year & it seems like other teams are capitalizing on it. They just look lethargic & frankly don’t look like they care—it's hard to win games when you are constantly digging yourself out of a hole. Imagine having a pretty young team but playing with no energy—doesn’t make sense. At what point do you start blaming the coaching staff?
Billy Donovan. I personally feel like Donovan just doesn’t make the adjustments that are necessary. For example, it doesn’t really matter how bad Patrick Williams is playing but when you need a lengthy defender on a player like Brandon Ingram, you put them in. Ingram was cooking us in the fourth quarter of the Bulls loss, all while Williams was chilling on the bench. There have been instances where a team will get going & Donovan takes a timeout a little too late. Look, he’s not bad, I just would like to see him with more fire & different coaching style.
The roster? Does AKME begin to get any blame? There aren’t any shooters on the team & no added defensive-minded players. This roster had visible holes that frankly weren’t filled. Just something to keep an eye on.
THE UGLY:
Offense. The Bulls with talented scorers like DeMar, Zach & Vucevic are struggling to score. Their offensive rating is 22nd in the NBA—just bad. The Bulls often than not cannot identify a mismatch & if they do, it’s too late. Vucevic isn’t utilized correctly & the offense in the fourth quarter gets atrocious with what seems like Billy Donovan just handing over the keys to DeMar to go iso every possession—doesn’t win you ball games. Although Coby isn’t the greatest bench piece, his spark & bucket-getting ability is sorely missed. I would like to see Donovan make some adjustments to the offense to see if it can help everyone get going.
WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS:
Bulls @ Pelicans- W
Magic vs. Bulls- W
Honestly, not much. It was only a three-game week where the Bulls went 1-2. They made the needed adjustments against the Raptors along with LaVine playing to snag that only win of the week.
Maybe just Dragic. Dude is hooping out there.
THE BAD:
Energy. The Bulls are lacking a lot of energy on the floor. This has been an issue since the beginning of the year & it seems like other teams are capitalizing on it. They just look lethargic & frankly don’t look like they care—it's hard to win games when you are constantly digging yourself out of a hole. Imagine having a pretty young team but playing with no energy—doesn’t make sense. At what point do you start blaming the coaching staff?
Billy Donovan. I personally feel like Donovan just doesn’t make the adjustments that are necessary. For example, it doesn’t really matter how bad Patrick Williams is playing but when you need a lengthy defender on a player like Brandon Ingram, you put them in. Ingram was cooking us in the fourth quarter of the Bulls loss, all while Williams was chilling on the bench. There have been instances where a team will get going & Donovan takes a timeout a little too late. Look, he’s not bad, I just would like to see him with more fire & different coaching style.
The roster? Does AKME begin to get any blame? There aren’t any shooters on the team & no added defensive-minded players. This roster had visible holes that frankly weren’t filled. Just something to keep an eye on.
THE UGLY:
Offense. The Bulls with talented scorers like DeMar, Zach & Vucevic are struggling to score. Their offensive rating is 22nd in the NBA—just bad. The Bulls often than not cannot identify a mismatch & if they do, it’s too late. Vucevic isn’t utilized correctly & the offense in the fourth quarter gets atrocious with what seems like Billy Donovan just handing over the keys to DeMar to go iso every possession—doesn’t win you ball games. Although Coby isn’t the greatest bench piece, his spark & bucket-getting ability is sorely missed. I would like to see Donovan make some adjustments to the offense to see if it can help everyone get going.
WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS:
Bulls @ Pelicans- W
Magic vs. Bulls- W
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Around The NBA: Week 3
AROUND THE NBA:
The “tanking” Jazz are now sitting atop the West with a 9-3 record. They’re playing tremendous team basketball being led by a Bulls legend, Lauri Markkanen (is it me or do all Bulls players take off after leaving?). The team is in the top ten in both offensive & defensive rating against good competition—Coach Will Hardy is really rallying this team. Danny Ainge must be in shambles, owning a supposedly tanking team that’s absolutely taking off. Fun stuff, man.
The Milwaukee Bucks are just doing their thing, man. Not many are talking about them—me included. They started off scorching hot going undefeated their first nine games, experiencing their first loss of the season last night to the Young-less Hawks. Remember, they’re doing all of this without Khris Middleton—absurd stuff. Giannis is playing at an MVP level but somehow took another leap as a defender, with an absurd defensive rating of 97.0. The Bucks have three players on the MVP ladder with Giannis leading the way followed by Holiday & Lopez. With Middleton on the way, the Bucks will only get scarier.
I know I talked about the Cavaliers last week, but they deserve to be continuously talked about. Now that Garland is back, we were able to look at what the Cavs look like at full health & boy, do they look mean. Mitchell is still playing great basketball along with Garland, who hasn’t lost a beat. Bickerstaff is coaching this team exceptionally well leading them to an overall first net rating with defensive rating being second & offensive rating being fourth—who would’ve thought? Also, shoutout Kevin Love for having the highest plus-minus this season at +108.
I want to take a short moment to talk about the Indiana Pacers as well. The Kings are definitely regretting their decision to trade a franchise point guard like Tyrese Haliburton—the kid is hooping. If Myles Turner can stay healthy, they’ll be a fun team to watch, especially with the emergence of Benedict Mathurin off the bench.
The Warriors might be in trouble. Steph is playing unworldly, but the team just doesn’t look right. I mean the guy is shooting at ridiculous numbers with a 68.5 true shooting percentage—just unfair. He’s leading the team in the major three categories, but the Warriors can’t figure it out with a net rating of negative 3.2, 22nd in the league.
Luka Magic, baby. He’s leading the Mavericks once again this season with no game under 30 points yet. He’s playing a whole different game than pretty much everyone averaging 36/8/8 on 52% shooting. He’s the isolation king averaging 1.05 points per possession on isolations—simply ruthless. Turn on the TV & watch this guy cook.
Everyone knew the Memphis Grizzlies would be good but man, are they good. Honestly statsiticis wise, they’re sort of middle in the pack, but they benefit from having arguably the most electrifying playing in Ja Morant. They shoot the three really well & have great depth—all without another young star in Jaren Jackson Jr. Morant practically owns the paint as he leads the league in points per game on drives yet again.
I always say I won’t talk about the Lakers but it’s always right there. They’re not playing well but got to give Russ a shoutout for absolutely hooping off the bench. I’m sure it’s not something he wants to do but he’s rolling with it & is looking good.
Jamal Murray is returning to his old self & it’ll be scary for the league. Murray is averaging 19 points on nearly 48% shooting the past four games, really helping out Jokic. MPJ is slowly picking up where he left off, let’s just hope he can stay healthy. Jokic is Jokic—not much else to say to be very honest.
Paolo Banchero. I’ve talked about him in the past two posts & he simply deserves another one. He’s looking so comfortable out there averaging 23.5 points per game to go along with 8 rebounds on 46% shooting—incredible stuff for a rookie. Only Kevin Durant has more 20-point games this season than him as well. The Magic found their guy & I really hope they can build around him.
The “tanking” Jazz are now sitting atop the West with a 9-3 record. They’re playing tremendous team basketball being led by a Bulls legend, Lauri Markkanen (is it me or do all Bulls players take off after leaving?). The team is in the top ten in both offensive & defensive rating against good competition—Coach Will Hardy is really rallying this team. Danny Ainge must be in shambles, owning a supposedly tanking team that’s absolutely taking off. Fun stuff, man.
The Milwaukee Bucks are just doing their thing, man. Not many are talking about them—me included. They started off scorching hot going undefeated their first nine games, experiencing their first loss of the season last night to the Young-less Hawks. Remember, they’re doing all of this without Khris Middleton—absurd stuff. Giannis is playing at an MVP level but somehow took another leap as a defender, with an absurd defensive rating of 97.0. The Bucks have three players on the MVP ladder with Giannis leading the way followed by Holiday & Lopez. With Middleton on the way, the Bucks will only get scarier.
I know I talked about the Cavaliers last week, but they deserve to be continuously talked about. Now that Garland is back, we were able to look at what the Cavs look like at full health & boy, do they look mean. Mitchell is still playing great basketball along with Garland, who hasn’t lost a beat. Bickerstaff is coaching this team exceptionally well leading them to an overall first net rating with defensive rating being second & offensive rating being fourth—who would’ve thought? Also, shoutout Kevin Love for having the highest plus-minus this season at +108.
I want to take a short moment to talk about the Indiana Pacers as well. The Kings are definitely regretting their decision to trade a franchise point guard like Tyrese Haliburton—the kid is hooping. If Myles Turner can stay healthy, they’ll be a fun team to watch, especially with the emergence of Benedict Mathurin off the bench.
The Warriors might be in trouble. Steph is playing unworldly, but the team just doesn’t look right. I mean the guy is shooting at ridiculous numbers with a 68.5 true shooting percentage—just unfair. He’s leading the team in the major three categories, but the Warriors can’t figure it out with a net rating of negative 3.2, 22nd in the league.
Luka Magic, baby. He’s leading the Mavericks once again this season with no game under 30 points yet. He’s playing a whole different game than pretty much everyone averaging 36/8/8 on 52% shooting. He’s the isolation king averaging 1.05 points per possession on isolations—simply ruthless. Turn on the TV & watch this guy cook.
Everyone knew the Memphis Grizzlies would be good but man, are they good. Honestly statsiticis wise, they’re sort of middle in the pack, but they benefit from having arguably the most electrifying playing in Ja Morant. They shoot the three really well & have great depth—all without another young star in Jaren Jackson Jr. Morant practically owns the paint as he leads the league in points per game on drives yet again.
I always say I won’t talk about the Lakers but it’s always right there. They’re not playing well but got to give Russ a shoutout for absolutely hooping off the bench. I’m sure it’s not something he wants to do but he’s rolling with it & is looking good.
Jamal Murray is returning to his old self & it’ll be scary for the league. Murray is averaging 19 points on nearly 48% shooting the past four games, really helping out Jokic. MPJ is slowly picking up where he left off, let’s just hope he can stay healthy. Jokic is Jokic—not much else to say to be very honest.
Paolo Banchero. I’ve talked about him in the past two posts & he simply deserves another one. He’s looking so comfortable out there averaging 23.5 points per game to go along with 8 rebounds on 46% shooting—incredible stuff for a rookie. Only Kevin Durant has more 20-point games this season than him as well. The Magic found their guy & I really hope they can build around him.
Monday, November 7, 2022
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Week 3
THE GOOD:
Patrick Williams. A lot of Bulls fans have high expectations for PWill but they may be too high. You must remember that although it’s his third season, it’s essentially his second season in the league due to missing the majority of last year with a broken wrist. His season started off slow & everyone is always quick to notate the bad however, both he & his game have looked a little different recently. He is playing far more aggressively on both sides of the floor & looks a little more comfortable. Yes, he made some major mistakes against Boston & also missed that three that could have tied the game but he’s still a young player & hasn’t really been put in those types of situations. I personally really like the way he’s come out, especially with the injuries & his role sort of increasing. Let’s see if he can keep building on some of this momentum.
Bench. Honestly, this is basically another Dragic piece. Dragic is playing almost flawless basketball out there with smart decisions, smart shots & poise. The bench did play amazing against the Hornets on Wednesday, which was needed due to the game being on the second leg of a back-to-back. Javonte & Dragic are always coming in ready to play & propel that second unit. In just 18 minutes a game, Dragic is averaging almost ten points on 44/52/71 percent splits—just outstanding. It’s nice to see the Bulls having some talented depth, especially compared to last year.
Dalen Terry. The rookie. He finally got some real playing time yesterday against the Raptors & he really made it count. I was excited when we drafted the kid, especially with the way the league is being played; he’s got length, can guard multiple positions & has tons of energy—basically a taller Javonte Green. In ten minutes, Terry finished with four points, a block, steal, assist & rebound. He played with a lot of energy & looked comfortable out there. Hopefully we get to see more development & more playing time out of him.
THE BAD:
Injuries. This will probably be something I talk about almost weekly. Drummond’s presence is being missed far more than anyone had probably imagined. The Bulls struggle rebounding & it was particularly shown against the lengthy Raptors team. We miss the offensive spark, although inconsistent, of Coby White as well. Zach playing some back-to-back games & missing others will mess with the team, but it is probably something they’ll just have to figure out & work around.
Adjustments. Okay, I’ve always had mixed opinions about Billy Donovan, especially because I’ve always found his rotations horrendous. He got outcoached by Nick Nurse big time last night by not making adjustments to combat both the length that was on the floor & the double team/trap that was coming at DeMar. The lineups tend to struggle & he’ll keep them on the floor letting the game slip away. I would like to see him make more adjustments in the game—not the game after.
THE UGLY:
Three-point fouls. Not much to say about this. The Bulls always seem to foul three-point shooters multiple times in a game; it’s just a terrible & unnecessary mistake. Just contest the shot & move on with the game. Sigh.
WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS:
Raptors vs. Bulls- W
Pelicans vs. Bulls- L
Nuggets vs. Bulls- W
Patrick Williams. A lot of Bulls fans have high expectations for PWill but they may be too high. You must remember that although it’s his third season, it’s essentially his second season in the league due to missing the majority of last year with a broken wrist. His season started off slow & everyone is always quick to notate the bad however, both he & his game have looked a little different recently. He is playing far more aggressively on both sides of the floor & looks a little more comfortable. Yes, he made some major mistakes against Boston & also missed that three that could have tied the game but he’s still a young player & hasn’t really been put in those types of situations. I personally really like the way he’s come out, especially with the injuries & his role sort of increasing. Let’s see if he can keep building on some of this momentum.
Bench. Honestly, this is basically another Dragic piece. Dragic is playing almost flawless basketball out there with smart decisions, smart shots & poise. The bench did play amazing against the Hornets on Wednesday, which was needed due to the game being on the second leg of a back-to-back. Javonte & Dragic are always coming in ready to play & propel that second unit. In just 18 minutes a game, Dragic is averaging almost ten points on 44/52/71 percent splits—just outstanding. It’s nice to see the Bulls having some talented depth, especially compared to last year.
Dalen Terry. The rookie. He finally got some real playing time yesterday against the Raptors & he really made it count. I was excited when we drafted the kid, especially with the way the league is being played; he’s got length, can guard multiple positions & has tons of energy—basically a taller Javonte Green. In ten minutes, Terry finished with four points, a block, steal, assist & rebound. He played with a lot of energy & looked comfortable out there. Hopefully we get to see more development & more playing time out of him.
THE BAD:
Injuries. This will probably be something I talk about almost weekly. Drummond’s presence is being missed far more than anyone had probably imagined. The Bulls struggle rebounding & it was particularly shown against the lengthy Raptors team. We miss the offensive spark, although inconsistent, of Coby White as well. Zach playing some back-to-back games & missing others will mess with the team, but it is probably something they’ll just have to figure out & work around.
Adjustments. Okay, I’ve always had mixed opinions about Billy Donovan, especially because I’ve always found his rotations horrendous. He got outcoached by Nick Nurse big time last night by not making adjustments to combat both the length that was on the floor & the double team/trap that was coming at DeMar. The lineups tend to struggle & he’ll keep them on the floor letting the game slip away. I would like to see him make more adjustments in the game—not the game after.
THE UGLY:
Three-point fouls. Not much to say about this. The Bulls always seem to foul three-point shooters multiple times in a game; it’s just a terrible & unnecessary mistake. Just contest the shot & move on with the game. Sigh.
WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS:
Raptors vs. Bulls- W
Pelicans vs. Bulls- L
Nuggets vs. Bulls- W
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