Da Bulls look tough

I think we are in for a test tomorrow night. Rose is the real deal and Deng is back. The Bulls look tough. It will be on TNT and cant wait to hear what they have to say about the Celts. Love that they have McHale on now.

Bulls giving the Spurs a tussle.

Jeb

Spurs lookin old. On D most of all. Bulls look young and dangerous.

The Bulls look tall, fast and deep. Rose was the best player on the court tonite.

We goin to have our hands full boys.

Jeb

My friend, I just asked you about the Bulls in another post and your thread completely answers it. Anyway, I have to agree with you, then again they're coming to the second half of a back to back with 2 elite teams and we @ home. I'm confident with our team. Last year they nagged us to 7 games but there was no KG. Sheed will take Tyrus Thomas out of the paint and KG will toy his way with Noah if his hair let's him see the basket. No Ben Gordon this year. Salmons will be running SG duties and the broadcasters today said that they think he's having a tough time adjusting. I don't know about that, when you're a player you play. No excuses. Anyway, I don't think it will be as carefree as the Bobcat win but we'll win alright.

fiorelladad wrote:
they're coming to the second half of a back to back with 2 elite teams and we @ home. I'm confident with our team.

Noah if his hair let's him see the basket.

No Ben Gordon this year.

Fellas- just on for a minute tonight, but while it's fresh in my mind:

I think the Cs will prob win tomorrow night b/c of the back to back, but the BUlls are so young and athletic, they made the Spurs look really old tonight. Ironically, everyone except Duncan. Granted, the 2nd night of a back to back for SAS, but still. Manu, RJ and Parker looked terible, as did the team D.
Good win for the young BUlls tonight.

Ben Gordon was addition by subtraction. NO D, too many turnovers and he took the ball out of Rose's hands down the stretch. They're much better off without him.

Rose/ Hinrich @ 1, HInrich/ Salmons @ 2, Deng/ Salmons @ 3 is a great rotation at 1-3.

And Noah is improving rapidly. I know you guys probably hate him, with the hair and all, but I'll take guys who are firey like that and who play with a lot of emotion any day. (SOunds like a description of KG, actually.) Anyway, he could always rebound and defend, but he is now becoming a good finisher and developing some low post moves. Lots of upside there. And Rose is obviously ridiculously good.

They are the team most likely, along with Miami, to land a top 3 (LBJ, Wade, Bosh) FA this summer, but I feel like no one ever mentions it. Can you imagine that team with LBJ at the 4 instead of Ty Thomas ? Crazy. Would instantly put them in the Laker, Celtic, Magic tier IMO. Adding Wade or Bosh would get them within spitting distance.

The Bulls athleticism gives the Cs problems, and after that series last year, this feels like a budding rivalry.

I think BUlls will be the # 4 seed in the East. Maybe even 3 if Cavs implode. Either way, I'd love to see a second round rematch vs the Celts. That series was incredible last year, for any fan of the game.

The Bulls are an interesting and exciting young team, but there is no way they are better off without Ben Gordon. They don’t make it to game 5 in the playoffs last season without him – and with him gone they have one less prime time player. We can watch Deng, Thomas, Henirich and whoever else score in the first 3 quarters – but down the stretch they have Rose and Salmons and that’s it.

The Celtics just have too much balance, too much defense, and too much firepower.

Salmons is a mediocre defender, he will never be able to stick with Ray Allen – and if they move him to cover Pierce, he will get overpowered at will. Noah is a good garbage man, but if Perk concentrates on boxing him out – he is a non factor. KG will eat Tyrus Thomas up, no contest there.

So we are left with Rose and Salmons as real factors. Salmons is tough, but so is his counterpart, be it Allen or Pierce – that is a wash as worst for the Celtics. Rose is a superstar – but so is Rondo. I think they match up pretty well.

After that we get into the bench, where the Celtics have the clear advantage. Do you really think Brad Miller is going to be able to cover Rasheed? Who is going to cover Daniels?

The Bulls are a playoff team for sure, but as Doug Collins correctly stated last night – they better work hard to get the 4th or 5th seed – as they are not ready to get past the Celtics, Cavs, or Magic – and having to play them in Round 1 will feature another early exit for the Bulls.

Now if they add Dwayne Wade next year…..watch out – but that is next year.

As usual, I don't think player versus player is nearly as relevant as team styles.

I didn't see the San Antonio game, but I gather the Bulls have a good speed game (which would make sense based on their roster). That means they would feast on long rebounds from missed treys.

So, even if they're shooting a good percentage from the arc, I hope the Celtics will focus on taking the ball into the paint tonight. Noah and Thomas can cause a lot trouble defending the paint. But I'd rather risk a few blocked shots than send them off to the races with building momentum.

I believe the single biggest key to tonight's game will be slowing down the Bulls' uptempo game by limiting the use of the three-ball...and getting back on defense when the inevitable long rebound occurs. (Despite not being the fastest guy around, Sheed seems pretty good at anticipating breaks and getting back. Especially since he's often out at the perimeter anyway.)

Sam

The Spurs looked real old last night. Nothing worked except for The Big Fundamental. I could watch his footwork endlessly. His high school coach should be bronzed. Even if he's still alive. He did an excellent job teaching young Timmy and it pays off every game.

The Bulls are feisty and unafraid. That makes them very dangerous. Unlike babyskyhook, I hope we don't have a sequel to last year's playoff series. I hope someone knocks them off before that.

I agree with babyskyhook when he says Chicago has a very good chance of going from #8 in the east (their playoff seeding last year) to #4. I don't think the Cav's swoon will be big enough to drop to #4, though. If they do, look at NJ to come on strong in the LBJ sweepstakes.

bob

Sam

I think we can run with the Bulls and beat them. The Spurs would have won last night (old and all) if they boxed out. The Bulls were a step quicker and had a ton more desire. The Spurs looked disinterested at times as only and older team on a road back to back can.

I agree with you that we should attack the Bulls inside where we are superior to them in every way. If we box out and dont allow them to offensive rebound I think we can beat them by 10 or so.

Rose is going to be a multi year allstar and was the best player in terms of impact on the floor last night. But Rondo is one of the peskiest defenders in the nba and he will be juiced.

Worried a bit about this one. It will damn sure tell us where we are against young and athletic.

Jeb

mrkleen09 wrote:The Bulls are an interesting and exciting young team, but there is no way they are better off without Ben Gordon. They don’t make it to game 5 in the playoffs last season without him – and with him gone they have one less prime time player. We can watch Deng, Thomas, Henirich and whoever else score in the first 3 quarters – but down the stretch they have Rose and Salmons and that’s it.

The Celtics just have too much balance, too much defense, and too much firepower.

Noah is a good garbage man, but if Perk concentrates on boxing him out – he is a non factor. KG will eat Tyrus Thomas up, no contest there.

Rose is a superstar – but so is Rondo. I think they match up pretty well.

After that we get into the bench, where the Celtics have the clear advantage. Do you really think Brad Miller is going to be able to cover Rasheed? Who is going to cover Daniels?

The Bulls are a playoff team for sure, but as Doug Collins correctly stated last night – they better work hard to get the 4th or 5th seed – as they are not ready to get past the Celtics, Cavs, or Magic – and having to play them in Round 1 will feature another early exit for the Bulls.

Now if they add Dwayne Wade next year…..watch out – but that is next year.

kleen-

I think you're overestimating Ben Gordon and my thoughts on a Bulls-Celtics series, and underestimating the Bulls.

Gordon is a one dimensional player. He gives up almost as many (and sometimes more) points than he scores. Think about Ray's numbers vs Gordon last year. He scored at will. Gordon also has a terrible a/t ratio, as he almost never passes the ball but turns it over regularly. On top of that, in the fourth quarter, he takes the ball and runs off of screens to take contested jumpers with a hand or four in his face, as the second defender doesn't have to worry about Gordon passing the ball. A deadly situation vs when the help defender is someone like KG.

Yes he is fearless and can make some insanely difficult shots. The problem is that he always thinks he will make them so he will take incredibly difficult shots time and again (off balance, guys in his face, falling away from the basket). He's not a good finisher and doesn't get calls at the rim.

With him gone, the Bulls are much better defensively. Salmons is no Artest, but he's not a bad defender, while Hinrich is one of the best defenders at his position in the NBA, so the Bulls give up a lot less points with Gordon gone. They will turn the ball over less, so they'll have more shots.

And in the 4th quarter, the ball will be where it should be- in Rose's hands. We obviously agree that Rose is their best player- I rank him behind only CP3 and DWill in the NBA. But last year, time and again vs the Cs, in the last 5 min, Gordon would take the ball and Rose wouldn't touch it again. This is after Rose spent game after game getting to the rim and either scoring or dishing to a teammate for an easy opportunity. THey get better shots, draw more fouls, keep everyone involved, and play much better as a team with the ball in Rose's hands than in Gordon's.

I also think you're underestimating the rest of the Bulls.

You can say Perk just needs to box out Noah, but that's the thing- it ain't easy. His athleticisim and length give people problems. He and Thomas both get off the floor so quickly they are hard to keep off the glass.

Deng is a very good player who is not afraid of the moment. He was hurt all last year. If he's healthy, he will take, and make, big shots in the 4th quarter.

And I give Rose the advantage vs Rondo. Rondo is a top 10 pt guard and a great fit on the Cs because his freakish speed and athletic ability give them something they don't have with the big 3 and sheed. But Rondo can't carry the Cs offense b/c he doesn't shoot well. Rose can put the Bulls on his back and carry the team, as he did in several of the playoff games last year.

And the Bulls bench actually stacks up pretty well against the Cs. MIller and Sheed have similar games, although MIller is the better passer and Sheed the better defender. The Bulls guard rotation offsets House and Daniels. It's a microcosm of why the Cs bench also won't be as big of an advantage vs the BUlls as it will be against most teams because the BUlls will play their young starters a lot of minutes. They will only go 8 or so deep.


Having said all of that, I don't think the Bulls can beat the Cs in a seven game series. As you said, the Celtics have too much balance and too much defense, plus they have a lot more playoff experience. And that series last year obviously never goes to 7 if KG is paying.

However, for the reasons listed above, I think the Bulls will give the Cs problems, and a Bulls-Celtics series would be great to watch as a fan. I would think it would be 4-2 Cs if everyone is healthy.

And yes, if they get Wade, watch out. Although James (certainly) or Bosh (probably) would help them even more, as they could plug either one into the frontcourt and keep their current guard rotation (which is a strength) intact.

bobheckler wrote:

The Bulls are feisty and unafraid. That makes them very dangerous. Unlike babyskyhook, I hope we don't have a sequel to last year's playoff series. I hope someone knocks them off before that.

I agree with babyskyhook when he says Chicago has a very good chance of going from #8 in the east (their playoff seeding last year) to #4. I don't think the Cav's swoon will be big enough to drop to #4, though. If they do, look at NJ to come on strong in the LBJ sweepstakes.

bob

Bob-

good to see you over here on this board. The troll free world is pretty great, right ?

I think the Cavs have a real chance to implode. Shaq's never exactly been a chemistry guy, and the pressure they are all feeling is only going to increase as they fall further behind the Cs and Magic. And they will fall further behind.

Even if they don't completely self-immolate, I don't see them having any real shot at winning a title, as they would have to beat at least two (and probably all three) of Bos, Orl and LA, none of whom they match up well against and all of whom are better coached.

By the time they get bounced from the playoffs, the Russian billionaire should be in control of the Knicks and the Brooklyn arena project will most likely have cleared it's last legal and financial hurdles.

Given that the Nets already have some good young pieces (Harris, Lopez and Lee), and a ton of capspace, I think the "Russian Mark Cuban" will really make them a player for LBJ, esp if the arena in Brooklyn looks like a done deal (not built, obviously, but approved) by this summer.

Sam wrote:

I didn't see the San Antonio game, but I gather the Bulls have a good speed game (which would make sense based on their roster). That means they would feast on long rebounds from missed treys.

So, even if they're shooting a good percentage from the arc, I hope the Celtics will focus on taking the ball into the paint tonight. Noah and Thomas can cause a lot trouble defending the paint. But I'd rather risk a few blocked shots than send them off to the races with building momentum.

I believe the single biggest key to tonight's game will be slowing down the Bulls' uptempo game by limiting the use of the three-ball...and getting back on defense when the inevitable long rebound occurs.

Sam

Sam-

I think your strategy is right on the money. Bulls will have trouble scoring vs the Cs half court D. If it's a grind it out, half court game, the Cs should definitely win, but if the Cs get too three-happy and the Bulls get out into transition a lot, then it's going to be a close game that could go either way.

Sky

Miller in not a better passer than Sheed. I think it is a draw...though Miller can really pass. SHeed has way better court sense and will beat Miller like a cheap hound in an all around matchup.

I am looking forward to seeing what happens on the glass tonight. Could get chippy. I like what I see on the Bulls bench. They are engaged and upright.
We got to get defensive rebounds.

Got to admit this one makes me nervous.

babyskyhook wrote:kleen-

I think you're overestimating Ben Gordon and my thoughts on a Bulls-Celtics series, and underestimating the Bulls.

Gordon is a one dimensional player. He gives up almost as many (and sometimes more) points than he scores. Think about Ray's numbers vs Gordon last year. He scored at will. Gordon also has a terrible a/t ratio, as he almost never passes the ball but turns it over regularly. On top of that, in the fourth quarter, he takes the ball and runs off of screens to take contested jumpers with a hand or four in his face, as the second defender doesn't have to worry about Gordon passing the ball. A deadly situation vs when the help defender is someone like KG.

Yes he is fearless and can make some insanely difficult shots. The problem is that he always thinks he will make them so he will take incredibly difficult shots time and again (off balance, guys in his face, falling away from the basket). He's not a good finisher and doesn't get calls at the rim.

With him gone, the Bulls are much better defensively. Salmons is no Artest, but he's not a bad defender, while Hinrich is one of the best defenders at his position in the NBA, so the Bulls give up a lot less points with Gordon gone. They will turn the ball over less, so they'll have more shots.

And in the 4th quarter, the ball will be where it should be- in Rose's hands. We obviously agree that Rose is their best player- I rank him behind only CP3 and DWill in the NBA. But last year, time and again vs the Cs, in the last 5 min, Gordon would take the ball and Rose wouldn't touch it again. This is after Rose spent game after game getting to the rim and either scoring or dishing to a teammate for an easy opportunity. THey get better shots, draw more fouls, keep everyone involved, and play much better as a team with the ball in Rose's hands than in Gordon's.

I also think you're underestimating the rest of the Bulls.

You can say Perk just needs to box out Noah, but that's the thing- it ain't easy. His athleticisim and length give people problems. He and Thomas both get off the floor so quickly they are hard to keep off the glass.

Deng is a very good player who is not afraid of the moment. He was hurt all last year. If he's healthy, he will take, and make, big shots in the 4th quarter.

And I give Rose the advantage vs Rondo. Rondo is a top 10 pt guard and a great fit on the Cs because his freakish speed and athletic ability give them something they don't have with the big 3 and sheed. But Rondo can't carry the Cs offense b/c he doesn't shoot well. Rose can put the Bulls on his back and carry the team, as he did in several of the playoff games last year.

And the Bulls bench actually stacks up pretty well against the Cs. MIller and Sheed have similar games, although MIller is the better passer and Sheed the better defender. The Bulls guard rotation offsets House and Daniels. It's a microcosm of why the Cs bench also won't be as big of an advantage vs the BUlls as it will be against most teams because the BUlls will play their young starters a lot of minutes. They will only go 8 or so deep.


Having said all of that, I don't think the Bulls can beat the Cs in a seven game series. As you said, the Celtics have too much balance and too much defense, plus they have a lot more playoff experience. And that series last year obviously never goes to 7 if KG is paying.

However, for the reasons listed above, I think the Bulls will give the Cs problems, and a Bulls-Celtics series would be great to watch as a fan. I would think it would be 4-2 Cs if everyone is healthy.

And yes, if they get Wade, watch out. Although James (certainly) or Bosh (probably) would help them even more, as they could plug either one into the frontcourt and keep their current guard rotation (which is a strength) intact.

I don’t know where you get that Gordon isn’t a good finisher. He hit all kinds of shots from 3 pointers to drives to the hoop and lots of tweeners – all on the biggest stage of his career last year. I agree he isn’t a great defender, but neither is John Salmons. I would take Ben Gordon over John Salmon all day long. But I suppose the market for Salmons wasn’t there and they couldn’t afford to pay everyone.

I think you rate Rose much too high. He is a top 10 PG for sure, but so is Rajon Rondo. In fact, most objective observers have Rondo ranked higher than Rose – especially as a well rounded player. CBS has Rondo at 28 and Rose 45 – while ESPN has Rondo at 35 and Rose at 38. Sure Rose is a better scorer – but we don’t need Rajon to be a scorer. Rondo has him beat in defense, assists, rebounding, and steals. I would say that puts him ahead of Rose in the big picture, but either way Rose is a young, talented and a very strong player…but to say he will stand up as the go to guy for 82 games – I am not so sure yet.

Noah is an every few games kind of player. He disappears for long stretches, and if last night is any indication – he now thinks he has a jumper (good luck with that). I agree he is hard to box out, but with KG, Perk and Sheed in the mix – I think we can more than hold our own.

Deng is a decent player…would not call him very good and he is very injury prone. If he is healthy is the biggest caveat in sports. Staying healthy is part of being a good player, so I would say the jury is out on Deng.

I disagree about Miller vs. Sheed. Wallace is a much better player than Brad Miller…and don’t see anyone the Bulls bench that can guard Daniels.

I think the Bulls are a good young team, but I just don’t see it anywhere near a close as you do. They might show flashes here and there, but they will have to show me over the course of the entire season that they are ready to take it to the next level. One good playoff series (with the best player from that series now gone) and one game against the Spurs doesn’t prove anything IMO.

sky and kleen,

As far as Gordon goes, according to 82games.com, he's a pretty decent clutch player. Clutch play separates the men from the boys in the playoffs.

About halfway down the list on clutch fg% at 46%. This puts him a little ahead of Bryant, Pierce and Allen.

He's 43% from 3 in the clutch. That's really good. Not as good as Posey (we saw what he's like from 3 in the clutch) nor as good as Eddie House (.571) or even Pierce (.467), but better than LBJ, Ray Allen, Bryant, Odom, Fisher, Nash, Nowitski and a lot of other gunners you'd think would be up there.

Actually, his profile looks similar to Eddie House's. Eddie's a better shooter and stealer, Gordon is better at creating his own shot (his "assisted fg" numer is lower, meaning more of his points come from himself and less courtesy of a passer. House's number is 80%). The problem for Detroit is Gordon came off the bench last game, like Eddie does, but Eddie's not getting paid $10M/year like Gordon.

bob



He turns the ball over in the clutch more than a player who is more of a shooter than a ballhandler should.

mrkleen09 wrote:

I don’t know where you get that Gordon isn’t a good finisher.

I would take Ben Gordon over John Salmon all day long. But I suppose the market for Salmons wasn’t there and they couldn’t afford to pay everyone.

I think you rate Rose much too high. He is a top 10 PG for sure, but so is Rajon Rondo.

Sure Rose is a better scorer – but we don’t need Rajon to be a scorer.


Deng is a decent player…would not call him very good and he is very injury prone. If he is healthy is the biggest caveat in sports. Staying healthy is part of being a good player, so I would say the jury is out on Deng.

kleen-

just to clarify a couple of my points.

1- When I use the term "finisher", I am specifically talking about finishing at the rim and either scoring or drawing a foul. Gordon doesn't score or draw fouls at the rim at anywhere near the rate that Rose does.


2- It's not about Gordon vs Salmons. It's Gordon vs Rose, Hinrich and Salmons. Removing Gordon keeps the ball in Rose's hands which is a good thing. It frees up pt for Hinrich, who is a much better all-around player than Gordon. You saw it last year- Hinrich can not only guard guys like Ray, he was the BUlls best defender on Pierce, despite the size difference. Most importantly, in the big picture, allowing Gordon to walk clears enough cap space this summer, once MIller's and Thomas' deals expire, for them to land Wade, Bosh or LBJ. So it's Ben Gordon vs all of those guys, really.

3.- When I am rating players I am always looking at it from the point of view of an owner or GM who was building a team. So I'm looking at productivity, talent, age, cost, and how they perform in crunch time. I rate only CP3 and DWill above Rose because he is so young, and already has such a strong game, but has so much upside as well. He already knows how to score, which is much harder to teach than defense or rebounding. HIs combination of size and athleticism can't be taught either.

None of this is a knock on Rondo, though. I've got Rose at # 3, followed by Nelson and Nash, with Rondo at # 6 because his defense, passing and rebounding are so good. If Rondo had a jumper, I'd have him at # 3. BUt, I agree, and even previously mentioned, that he gives the Cs what they need. I just think Rose is slightly better player because it will be easier for him to develop the weaker parts of his game than for Rondo to improve his, as Rose's weakness are as much about desire and effort as anything else.

4.- Fair enough on Deng, He is a very good player if healthy, but you are right- that is the biggest if in sports. It's the reason Agent Zero isn't in my top 6 pgs, as he hasn't been healthy the last two years. So, I'll apply the same standard to Deng and say we'll wait and see.


Good bantering with you, Kleen. Gotta go. Have a good weekend.

bsh

jeb65 wrote:Sky

Miller in not a better passer than Sheed. I think it is a draw...though Miller can really pass. SHeed has way better court sense and will beat Miller like a cheap hound in an all around matchup.

Hey bro-

wasn't trying to say Miller was a better player- just that they have similar games. Big men who are good passers who operate on the perimeter.

Sheed is a good passer, I just think Miller is probably the best passing 5 in the league. Not a knock on Sheed.

Sheed vs Miller is advantage Cs, but it's a small advantage- not as big of an advantage as it will be against most teams.

bobheckler wrote:sky and kleen,

As far as Gordon goes, according to 82games.com, he's a pretty decent clutch player. Clutch play separates the men from the boys in the playoffs.

About halfway down the list on clutch fg% at 46%. This puts him a little ahead of Bryant, Pierce and Allen.


He turns the ball over in the clutch more than a player who is more of a shooter than a ballhandler should.

Bob-

there's no question he's got the stones for it. What's misleading about that fg% vs someone like KB or PP is that it doesn't account for their ability to draw fouls, which they both do in great numbers, so their true productivity in the clutch is actually much higher, whereas someone like Gordon doesn't draw anywhere near as many fouls, so his true productivity is closer to the percentage you listed above.

And I agree about the turnovers. He's never been good on that front.

PS- Detroit is a mess. Joe Dumars is the most overrated GM in the league. He had all that capspace and signed Gordon and Charlie V ? After giving Rip that extension ? What a joke. BUt at least he was smart enough to pass on Melo, Bosh and Wade to take Darko. Ouch.

Babysky

In a church league. After dark, in an over 30 league. Drunk or sober. Sheed eats Miller for lunch in terms of overall impact.

And I LIKE Miller. He is one of the few guys who was not scared shitless of Shaq back in the day. But for you to rate that one a small advantage is a Reed Richards style stretch. Miller is a vet and a tough guy. A very good passer that contributes to good teams. Sheed is a champion who can beat you inside or out. When it's time and the season is on the line Sheed won't hesitate. Not for a second. He will make the shot or the rebound or the pass when it matters with everything to lose.

So we differ on that one.

Inre Gordon I think I break somewhere in the middle. Again there aint too many guys that will SEEK the ball at the end of not just games but series with the season on the line. But i hear you on the letting Rose grow tip as well. I think both sides of the argument have merit.
Jeb

babyskyhook wrote:

bobheckler wrote:sky and kleen,

As far as Gordon goes, according to 82games.com, he's a pretty decent clutch player. Clutch play separates the men from the boys in the playoffs.

About halfway down the list on clutch fg% at 46%. This puts him a little ahead of Bryant, Pierce and Allen.


He turns the ball over in the clutch more than a player who is more of a shooter than a ballhandler should.

Bob-

there's no question he's got the stones for it. What's misleading about that fg% vs someone like KB or PP is that it doesn't account for their ability to draw fouls, which they both do in great numbers, so their true productivity in the clutch is actually much higher, whereas someone like Gordon doesn't draw anywhere near as many fouls, so his true productivity is closer to the percentage you listed above.

And I agree about the turnovers. He's never been good on that front.

PS- Detroit is a mess. Joe Dumars is the most overrated GM in the league. He had all that capspace and signed Gordon and Charlie V ? After giving Rip that extension ? What a joke. BUt at least he was smart enough to pass on Melo, Bosh and Wade to take Darko. Ouch.

sky,

Gordon averages 10.4 fta/48mins of clutch play. This puts him somewhere in the middle of the league.

Speaking of KB and PP, PP is 6th in the league with 19.0 fta/48mins of clutch and KB is 10th with 18.2fta/48mins of clutch time. I'm surprised. I didn't think Pierce ranked that high and I was sure KB was ahead of Pierce. In fact, I would have expected KB to be in the top 3 or so of clutch fta. He goes to the line A LOT. Part of that is because the ball is usually in his hands.

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Dumars. What a mess Detroit is and they didn't have to be.

I've decided to put a moratorium on calling KB "KoME" out of respect for you. Won't change my opinion of course, I still think he's a conscienceless ballhog whose one-on-asmanyasyouwanttoputonme style undermines the Lakers team triangle offense, but I have no desire to antagonize a valued poster by taunting a key player of his favorite team. I'm not going to spare Sasha though. He's still nothing but an ineffective, one-dimensional Eurobitch to me. Couldn't even make a team for a country with the population of Arkansas. At least, with Bryant, he does a lot of other things very well. He just can't stop shooting and give up the ball when he's cold. Only 15% of Bryant's clutch fgm are assisted. That way down near the bottom of the league.

Hope you don't have "a thing" for the Euro.

bob

So much for that one.

Celtics dominated every aspect of that game from the jump onward.

Kleen

Dig this. When we score we are going to win by 15. WHen we don't score we are going to stay in games with our withering d. Nights like last night the bench is going to play the entire 4th. When we START scoring it's pick your poison and if you decide to double we are going to shoot a layup. When Ray and Paul AND Kevin AND Eddie all had it going last night you could see the Bulls veer towards despair. It is really and truly picking a poison. You may stop one but not all.

86.


Jeb

Hey quiet reader how did you like last night?

Jeb

Defense wins championships. Is there anything more to say? Couple that with a fearsome offense and you get #18. And perhaps 19 and 20.

Hi Worcester. Welcome to the board. It's great to see you here.

Sam