ATTENTION ALL READERS: WE HAVE MOVED TO WWW.DABULLSEYE.COM, PLEASE REFER THERE FOR ALL FUTURE UPDATES

Attention all readers.  The site has permanently moved from http://www.dabullseye.wordpress.com to http://www.dabullseye.com .  Previously, http://www.dabullseye.com was directing traffic directly to this site; however, the domains have been separated, we are on a new server, and http://www.dabullseye.com is now the sole home of Da Bulls’ Eye.  Please refer to http://www.dabullseye.com for all future updates.  Thanks for your readership and continued support.

Derrick Rose Talks To Craig Sager in Dallas

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "Derrick Rose Talks To Craig Sager in …", posted with vodpod

Da Bulls’ Eye T-Shirt Shop

I’ve created a Da Bulls’ Eye T-shirt shop with various Tees that I designed on my own.  They pretty much cater to super-fans, and I only expect true Bulls fans to even know what some of them are referring to, but that’s okay.  A few designs are up, with more to come.  Click the pic above to check it out…

Post-Weekend Update: Bulls Beat Heat and Tyrus Thomas Fiasco

Well, the Bulls had a semi-productive weekend.  They took care of business against Miami even though Joakim Noah is injured and Tyrus Thomas was suspended.  The Bulls’ front court was depleted to say the least.  Regardless, the Bulls beat a lackluster Miami team, piggy-backing on great nights from Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.  Rose finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds and Deng finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds.  Both shot nearly identical from the field and had pretty good shooting nights.  Derrick seemed to have found his jumpshot Saturday night, as it had gone MIA for about a week prior.

Amazingly, the Bulls only held Dwyane Wade to 20 points on 7-21 from the field.  Not a great homecoming for D-Wade.  But Kirk did a nice job guarding him, or about as good of a job as you can do.  Even more amazing, the Bulls followed an 0-9 night from three with a 1-8 night from three.  This team is flat out incapable of hitting a three-pointer.  It’s soooooo pathetic.  We need a three-point shooter so bad.  As of right now, that Devin Brown trade was utterly pointless.

Unfortunately, D-Wade didn’t get to see how good Joakim Noah has become, but I think the Bulls put on a pretty good audition for him nonetheless.

The Bulls went on to suspend Tyrus Thomas just prior to Saturday night’s game.  Apparently, he was not pleased with VDN’s use of him the night before where he only played for 15 minutes in a game where he could have been put to good use against the similarly athletic Josh Smith.  Apparently, Vinny weighed the good and the bad, and figured the bad outweighed the good regardless of what Tyrus brought to the table against Atlanta.  In his 15 minutes, Tyrus proved him right by not knowing the difference between a blocked shot and goaltend…twice…and bricking a 18 footer with 22 seconds left on the shot clock.  Either way, Tyrus was not pleased.  I hear he apparently went on a profanity-laced tirade directed at VDN that would have put Latrell Sprewell to shame.  Absolutely no excuse for that kind of behavior, especially after 4 years of being in the league.  Tyrus MUST know better.  Typical knucklehead behavior on his part.  It happens to be his 3rd disciplinary suspension in his 4 years, and that is a poor track record my friends.  No wonder there isn’t a team out there that wants this guy.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Tyrus’s days in the NBA are numbered, in spite of his athleticism. I’ll talk more about Tyrus in future posts coming shortly.

The Bulls are currently 24-25 and are tied with Charlotte for the 6-seed right now.  The Heat are now a game back of the Bulls in the 8-seed, so the win was actually a big one.  The Bucks are also only a game back, so the Bulls are not exactly a lock to make the playoffs as it looks right now.  I have a feeling the seeding is going to go down to the wire, but I remain hopeful, because none of the other teams are really better than the Bulls.  The Bulls play a winnable game against the Pacers tomorrow night, so that should help their position going into the All-Star Break.

Check Out The Great Rabbino’s Feature on Da Bulls’ Eye at www.thegreatrabbino.com as Part of TGR’s Interview Month

Da Bulls’ Eye would like to announce that he is being featured on http://www.thegreatrabbino.com in an exclusive interview with The Great Rabbino himself, Jeremy Fine.  The Great Rabbino is a very well written, and might I add, popular sports blog that runs features on professional Jewish athletes.  It just so happens that TGR sometimes does pieces on Jewish sports bloggers as well, and I was lucky enough to be chosen.  February happens to be interview month at TGR, and my interview was posted today…so please check it out at http://www.thegreatabbino.com and learn more about me and my love for the Bullies.  Sam Fuld of the Chicago Cubs is the next scheduled interview at TGR after mine, so it looks like I’m in pretty good company.  A big thank you to JFine for allowing me to participate in interview month at TGR.  Click the pic above to go directly to http://www.thegreatrabbino.com

Go Bulls.

Check Out The Great Rabbino’s Feature on Da Bulls’ Eye Tomorrow at www.thegreatrabbino.com as Part of TGR’s Interview Month

Da Bulls’ Eye would like to announce that he is being featured on http://www.thegreatrabbino.com in an exclusive interview with The Great Rabbino himself, Jeremy Fine.  The Great Rabbino is a very well written, and might I add, popular sports blog that runs features on professional Jewish athletes.  It just so happens that TGR sometimes does pieces on Jewish sports bloggers as well, and I was lucky enough to be chosen.  February happens to be interview month at TGR, and my interview is going to be posted tomorrow, February 3rd…so please check it out at http://www.thegreatabbino.com and learn more about me and my love for the Bullies.  Sam Fuld of the Chicago Cubs is the next scheduled interview at TGR after mine is posted, so it looks like I’m in pretty good company.  A big thank you to JFine for allowing me to participate in interview month at TGR.  Click the pic above to go directly to http://www.thegreatrabbino.com

Leaving shortly to the game against the Clip-show…

Recap: Bulls Top Rockes 104-97 Thanks to Brad Miller Show

Brad Miller may move in slow motion, but he got to the rim at will against the Rockets Saturday night. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan via espn.com)

I don’t really know what I just witnessed.  Neither do Rockets fans.  They thought they were buying tickets to see the Rockets take care of the Bulls at home, but really they were buying admission to the Brad Miller Sideshow Circus.  It was B-rad’s world tonight, everyone else was just living in it.  I’m not going to lie to you.  I am annoyed every time Brad Miller is in the lineup.  He’s usually terrible.  He tries to make passes that physically can’t be made…or it’s not that they can’t be made, it’s that they physically cannot reach the intended target because there are 2 or 3 opposing players usually in the way.  He does this all the time.  He also bricks 16 footers at a near Tyrus Thomas consistency.  And at this point, he probably runs an 8 second 40.  Stacey King can go out there, not having played since ’97, and still be more spry than Brad Miller.  He literally moves in live-action slow-motion.  It’s almost like an optical illusion.

So can someone please explain to me how he was able to do what he just did?  Ladies and gentlemen, it appears Brad Miller has just opened Brad Miller’s Luis Scola Memorial Basketball Clinic and Variety Show in Houston, Texas.  How many times can a 7 foot center on the bottom end of his NBA career who is also the guaranteed slowest player in the NBA slash down the middle of the lane slower than molasses yet continue to finesse layup after layup after layup.  If it happens once in a game, it’s embarrassing enough.  I feel like it happened at least 7 times tonight.  Luis Scola does a lot of things well, but to let Brad Miller do that to you…I would say it almost warrants a demotion to the far end of the bench.  There is absolutely no excuse for not being able to stay in front of Brad Miller.  Quick first step?  You have to be kidding me.  But I have to hand it to Brad.  On a night where Joakim Noah was out due to a surprise injury (more on that later), Brad Miller stepped up.  In a big big way.  Big layup after big layup.  It was a barrage.  What a sight.  On top of that, he probably had the biggest rebound of the game with 48 seconds left right after Taj missed two free-throws (way to be clutch, Taj) with the score at 99-97.  18 seconds later, Derrick Rose drains an incredibly clutch 11 foot jumpshot to ice the game.  Without that offensive rebound by Brad, the Rockets come down the other way and maybe tie the game.  HUUUUGE board.  Just huge.  Brad finished with 25 points on a very efficient 9-14 from the field, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.  What a game by Brad…once in a blue moon I guess he’ll have one of these, but it could not have come at a better time.

The other big story of the night, the revival of The Captain and Tennille…also known as Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons.  These two are playing exactly how they were supposed to be playing all season.  I’m not sure if the bug they each caught cured whatever illness was hampering their basketball play, but something is definitely clicking now.  Each added 12 points, but why are these 12 points each important you ask?  Because 15 of their combined 24 points came from the three point line.  And we all know how desperately the Bulls need effective three-point threats.  This has probably been their biggest weakness all season.  But not tonight.  Kirk goes 3-5 from downtown and Salmons goes 2-3.  Kirk didn’t have a tremendous shooting game, only going 4-13 total, but the threes were key.  Salmons, on the other hand, has been lights out lately.  Coming off the bench has been the greatest thing to ever happen to the Fish Man.  Likewise, starting has been the greatest thing to ever happen to The Captain.  Big big contributions from both players.

Derrick Rose with another good night.  20 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and a block.  He went 7-14 on the night, mostly choosing to attack the Rockets’ lack of interior defense tonight…something he didn’t do much of last night.  His shot wasn’t going down early so he attacked the basket much more and it worked.  He knew exactly what to do, and he did it right.  On top of that, he had the clutch shot of the night, putting the Bulls up 4 with 30 seconds left after a big Brad Miller offensive rebound, making it a 2 possession ball game and pretty much nailing the coffin shut.  It was a superstar shot by a budding superstar.

Surprisingly, Luol Deng only finished with 12 points.  This is surprising because he was shooting well and there was a stretch in the second quarter where he was totally unconscious…couldn’t miss.  I guess he didn’t get that many touches late in the game since Brad Miller managed to morph into Dirk Nowitzki in the second half.

The Bulls shot 53.4% on the night.  A ridiculously high number for them.  Ludicrous.  And this on the second leg of a back-to-back after they shot 50% last night.  Who is this team?  I thought they would for sure revert to the low 40’s tonight, but they shot even better tonight than they did last night.  Chalk that up to them attacking the rim much more tonight than they did last night.  They really didn’t have to last night, but tonight, it just seemed easier because the Rockets really are weaker in terms of shot-blocking than the Suns…which is hard to do.  They can also thank Taj Gibson for boosting that percentage, as he shot 6-8 from the field, most of his attempts being dunks and layups.  I have to give Taj a lot of credit, he went up strong tonight…nothing weak at the rim, and he used the soft touch to bank in some tough layups.   He had a tremendous night both offensively, defensively and on the glass, finishing with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and a blocked shot.  Those are Joakim Noah numbers…on a night where we needed some Joakim Noah since Joakim wasn’t around.  The Bulls frontcourt really stepped up and played very impressively in his absence.  Nice nice game fellas.

Just a little Tyrus Thomas sidenote…he did the only thing he does well tonight:  block shots.  He had 6 blocks tonight, which ties a career high.  He was swatting everything early on.  Don’t worry, he traveled at least once and also bricked his standard two or three 16-foot jumpers before Vinny pulled him for taking those shots.  A typical Tyrus night…but he did throw a block party.  In fact, every Bull except for John Salmons had at least one block tonight.  The Bulls blocked 10 more shots than the Rockets with 12 total.  A true block party indeed.

As for Joakim Noah, this injury sort of came out of no where.  He was listed on the starting lineup sheets handed out right before the game, but couldn’t go at game time.  He talked about his injury after the game.

“I just couldn’t get going.  I got a massage earlier, I just tried everything I could. The pain is just too much right now. I’m just happy we won the game. Brad played huge.”

He apparently has the same injury as Taj had a week or two ago, plantar fasciitis.  The only thing that helps with that injury is rest, but he said he hopefully will be ready to go Monday.  I understand the precautionary move to sit him out on a back-to-back, which allows for some extended rest before the Bulls’ next game.  They really can’t afford to have Noah miss any extended time at all if they want to squeeze into the playoffs.  Every game really does count when you’re fighting for those lower playoff seeds.  But hey, so much for that 0-7 road trip I thought was imminent.  We’re looking at least going to walk away with a 2-5 record, which I can live with.  But I’ll definitely take a few more road wins if the Bulls have it in them.  We beat the Spurs earlier this season, I suppose we can make another attempt.  More on that Monday.

Derrick’s Dunk on Dragic or Noc’s Dunk on “Stewie”…Which do YOU Prefer?

I know the Rockets game is tonight…and I’ll have a recap after the game.  But everyone I know is still buzzing about Derrick’s dunk.  The dunk reminded me of Noc’s dunk on “Stewie” a few years ago.  One of the most memorable I’ve ever seen, and I was actually in attendance.  And Stacey King’s reaction is just priceless.  So I want to poll some readers on what they think was the better dunk/Stacey King reaction.  I’m sorry, but Stacey’s beleaguering of Stewie was absolutely classic (see below).  So which dunk was more impressive?  And which Stacey King reaction was more amusing?  See both below and Vote at the bottom:

Preview: Bulls @ Suns Tonight at 9:30pm

Tonight the Bulls face the Phoenix Suns.  When I look at the Bulls seven game road trip, the only other winnable game that sticks out to me is this one.  In fact, this is a game where the Bulls match up MUUUCH better than they do against the Clippers.  There was an article published on espn.com earlier today written by ESPN’s stat-geek John Hollinger, where he describes the Bulls and Suns essentially as polar opposites heading in different directions.  The Suns started the season hot and have since cooled, and the Bulls started the season as a disaster and have since come on much stronger.  He also adds that the Suns are ranked 1st in offensive efficiency while the Bulls are ranked 27th.  Yikes.  On the other hand, the Suns are ranked 27th in defensive efficiency and the Bulls are ranked 8th.  Yikes again.  It appears that these teams really are polar opposites.  It’s basically a terrific offensive team that plays no defense against an atrocious offensive team that plays pretty good defense.

You would think that if the Bulls were going to win a game, it would be against a horrible defensive team that allows their horrible offense to get some freebies.  So why do I still think that the Bulls are going to lose this game?  Well, the Golden State Warriors are ranked 29th in defensive efficiency.  That’s second to last.  And they had three D-leaguers and two rookies in what was essentially a 6 man rotation.  How the Bulls lost that game by 17 I really cannot tell you.  That’s how bad this team is offensively.

Based on the above, it appears that the Bulls cannot win tonight.  I mean they lost to a far worse offensive team and the second to worst, if not the worst, defensive team in the league.  How are they going to beat the most efficient offense in the league?  Well Golden State won because of one reason.  Andris Biedrins.  He is a gifted rebounder and a tremendous shot-blocker.  He clogged up the lane in a way that Derrick Rose will probably remember for a long long time.  The Suns absolutely do not have a player who comes close to what Biedrins is capable of defensively and on the glass.  The only reason Golden State is ranked behind Phoenix in defensive efficiency is because Biedrins has only played in 14 games this season due to injury.  He really does impact the game that much.

The Suns, on the other hand, are another story.  Amar’e Stoudemire is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.7 boards a game and Robin Lopez is the team’s leading shot-blocker with 1 block per game.   As a result, the Bulls should absolutely dominate the defensive battle tonight.  Joakim Noah should have a much easier time tonight than he’s had in a long time.  Matching up against the Robin “I’m no Brook” Lopez, I expect Joakim to have an absolutely epic day on the glass.  I also expect a lot of cutting to the basket leading to numerous dunks and layups since Amar’e Stoudemire and Lopez really do not know how to play defense.  Andris Biedrins they are not.

Derrick Rose should not be impeded by anyone this game.  Steve Nash can in no way whatsoever keep up with Derrick AT ALL.  Leandro Barbosa MAAAAYBE can keep up, but not for very long.  Grant Hill, the Suns so-called defensive specialist, is running on E.  There is no monster clogging up the lane.  There is no Marcus Camby, aka one of the greatest shot-blockers of the modern era, waiting for you at the rim.  There is no Andris Biedrins standing there with drool running down his chin.  The lane should be wide open, and the big-men should be able to roam free hopefully waiting and ready to be on the receiving end of several Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich feeds underneath.  In no way am I saying that the Bulls should have lost to Golden State, but I am saying that the reason they lost to Golden State is simply not present in this game.  Thus, one should logically deduce that the Bulls should win this game.

However, often times the Bulls defy logic.  Often times, Tyrus Thomas shoots jumpshots and runs fast breaks.  Often times, Derrick Rose decides he’s not going to attack and doesn’t touch the ball for minutes at a time.  Often times, Vinny runs inbounds plays for Luol Deng to shoot a last-minute unnecessary three with the game on the line.  If only it were as simple as logic.  The good news is that the Bulls are fully healthy tonight.  Salmons is back from his illness, Kirk’s stamina should be back up after his own illness, and everyone should be good to go.  Kirk is really going to have to buckle down tonight to help Derrick stop Steve Nash.  Guarding Leandro Barbosa is no picnic either.  Nash and Amar’e will get there’s…there is no question.  But Tyrus and Taj should each out-rebound Amar’e tonight…he’s just not that good on the glass.  And like I said, the key is for the Bulls big men to cut to the basket so that the guards can find them underneath…because Stoudemire and Lopez are not exactly defensive geniuses.

As long as the Bulls come out and rebound like they’re supposed to as well as attack the basket, they should win this game.  As Stacey King says, “KYP Baby”…know your personnel.  Points in the paint will be there for the taking, but only if you attack.  Defensively…the Bulls should dominate as well…the key is to do what you’re supposed to do on the offensive end against a very weak defensive team with no stoppers.

Prediction:  Bulls lose 111-107.  The key for the Bulls to win is for them to attack, but we all know the Bulls.  I expect a combined million jumpshots from Deng, Rose, Taj, and unfortunately Tyrus when they should be driving to the hoop every time.  And I don’t really expect Vinny to be able to stop them.  Maybe they’ll drain them tonight, but that’s the only way they’ll win this game, since they’re just not disciplined or smart enough to know that they have to attack the rim on nearly every possession.  The 0-7 road trip continues.

Recap: Bulls Weaknesses Continue to be Exploited in 104-97 Loss to Clippers

Baron Davis got the best of Derrick Rose tonight. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill via espn.com)

I take no joy in predicting Bulls losses.  I really don’t.  In fact, in pains me.  But boy was I right on with this one.  With each loss that the Bulls suffer, a new weakness because more glaring.  In this loss, it was just so obvious what the Bulls are lacking.

Look eat Chris Kaman.  Imagine if the Bulls had a player like that.  He’s not the best athlete, and he certainly isn’t the most exciting player in the world, but he’s such a weapon.  He has tremendous footwork in the post and when he puts the ball on the ground and works his way to the basket, he’s almost certainly going to get a foul call because he’s so big.  Compare him to Joakim Noah.  Joakim noah is a tremendous athlete.  A superior one to that of Kaman.  But he has a smaller frame, and he lacks both the ability to push someone around in the post on offense as well as the footwork to be effective in the paint and make your way to the basket.  He just isn’t polished enough.  He can’t do it.  He can rebound with the best of them, but he will never be on Chris Kaman’s level in the post.  Kaman had a very nice game with 20 points and 8 rebounds, both right around his averages.  So while Stacey King was raving about the Bulls doing a nice job of containing him late in the third quarter, they actually did not contain him at all.  Kaman had his way with Noah.

What about Marcus Camby?  Is it me or are big-men always setting records against the Bulls?  Last year, Camby sets a career high with 27 rebounds against the Bulls.  This year, today, he goes off for 25 boards.  It’s not like he’s a young guy…he’s been playing for years.  Imagine if he played the Bulls every game.  He’d average around 25 rebounds a game.  Is it that the Bulls are a bad rebounding team?  Absolutely not.  In fact, they’re a good rebounding team.  A very good one.  Joakim Noah is second in the league in rebounding, just above Marcus Camby.  The reason Marcus Camby, and Brendan Haywood, and Kendrick Perkins, and so many other big-men have such success against the Bulls is because of the amount of defensive rebounding opportunities.  The Bulls are a horrible shooting team.  Bottom five.  It’s a team full of below average 19 foot jumpshooters who collectively shoot %43 from the field.  As a team, that’s awful.  So what happens when you brick 52 shots in a game?  52.  Wow.  What happens is you allow a great rebounder like Camby the opportunity to do what he does best:  REBOUND.  That’s just what he did last year when he set his career high, and that’s just what he did tonight.  Camby also finished with 3 steals and 2 blocks.  He had his hands on just about every ball the Bulls managed to get inside the paint.  I’ve never seen so many stripped balls in my life.  One second you see a Bulls slasher coming into the lane attacking the basket and as soon as he takes off, the ball is already in mid-air on its way to the other end on a pass from Camby.  It just totally exposed how weak the Bulls are in the paint.  No options down low whatsoever, and even Derrick wasn’t quick enough to get the ball past Camby.

Like I predicted, the Kaman and Camby’s good play did not stop Noah from getting his.  He finished with 14 points and 15 boards with 3 blocks.  An excellent effort.  He also had a sick ole behind the back dribble play on Baron Davis where Davis had no idea where the ball went, but Joakim got a little excited about being on Sportscenter so he decided to take it coast-to-coast and try to finish the play.  Ummm…hindsight is 20/20…he was no where close on the layup and it led to a transition bucket on the other end.  But other than that, Joakim came out and did what he’s underpaid to do.  Sure, he really couldn’t stop Kaman that much, but at least he hacked him if he had to (Clippers are a horrible FT shooting team).

Derrick Rose and Baron Davis had a nice little matchup going.  Overall, I would say it was an even matchup, but Baron Davis clearly gets the edge.  Derrick finished with 23 points (10-24), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.  Davis finished with 23 points (8-17), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.  The lines were similar, although Davis scored much more efficiently.  On top of that, Davis scored when it mattered.  At the end of the game, the momentum was shifting in the Bulls’ direction.  The Bulls cut what was a 14 point lead down to 4.  Davis knew what he had to do.  I mean, there was absolutely no question…no hesitation.  With 4:09 left, Joakim cuts to the basket and scores on a dunk off a nice feed from Kirk.  The score is suddenly 90-86 Clippers.  Davis suddenly gets that look in his eyes.  The look that says, everyone get out of the way, ’cause you’re not getting the ball.  He sprints up the court after the inbounds and drains a three in Derrick’s face.  Ice cold.  On the other end, Tyrus Thomas made an ill-advised but patented 19 foot jumper (it’s never gonna stop folks), and Davis grabs the ball dribbles the ball up the court and drains a 19-footer of his own.  No one else has touched the ball now on 2 straight Clippers possessions.  The rest of the way, it was Davis attacking the basket, getting fouled, making layups, draining free throws.  It was the definition of being a team leader.  It was the definition of being a superstar.  It was the definition of what the Bulls lack.  They simply don’t have a guy with the weapons of a Davis to go and take over a game, put the team on your back, and pull it out.  Derrick wants to be that guy.  He’s almost that guy.  But he’s not that guy.  Not yet.  He’s not versatile enough yet.  He doesn’t have the three-point shot that a true scorer so desperately needs to be able to make at the end of close games, just as Davis did.  He doesn’t have the fall away jumper that Davis drained in Rose’s face so many times tonight that it will probably haunt his dreams.  He doesn’t have the post-up game that Davis schooled Rose on how to use tonight and that he used so effectively to score at an efficient rate.  I just hope Derrick took notes tonight, cuz that’s how it’s done folks.

Kirk Hinrich came back to stink up the court, although he did have some nice passes late.  He went 3-14 from the field and a spectacular 0-7 from three.  0-7?  How badly do the Bulls need a 3-point shooter?  That badly.  Although we did see the emergence of James Johnson tonight.  Every game he is starting to grow on me.  It seems to me that he can hit the three if he’s wide open on a fairly consistent rate.  That’s something any other Bull cannot do.  Not Pargo, definitely not Hinrich, maybe Salmons (MAYBE).  No one else.  Pathetic.  But JJ looked good tonight, playing very under control.  He drained a nice open three, and had a terrific power move to the basket with a very very strong finish.  He made no mistakes.  I think it’s time for him to log some more minutes as the Bulls could use him to spread the floor.

Tyrus played OKKKKK.  Nothing special.  He took a gazillion 19-footers, the shot from him I absolutely hate.  He made a number of them, which is bad.  Why is it bad?  Because that means he’s going to shoot them again next game and he’ll miss every one.  I gave up on Tyrus hitting that shot consistently a long time ago.  It’s just not going to happen people.  So just pray, as I do, that he stops taking it because every time he does it, it’s a wasted possession.  And the one play at the end of the 4th with 25 seconds and the Bulls down 6…Derrick choosing to pass it to Tyrus Thomas for an open 20 footer, which he of course bricked…probably not a smart choice on Derrick’s part.  I would say that’s about the last guy you want taking that shot and I don’t get how Derrick would think otherwise.  And Tyrus pretty much proved it by clanking that one, which is the most important shot he took all night.

Which brings me to my next and final point.  Baron Davis just makes a jumper to make it 95-101 Clippers.  You call timeout.  What play do you call?  A drive and kick to Luol?  Apparently yes.  Am I missing something?  Is Luol Deng an outstanding 3-point shooter or something?  That’s the play you call?  Do you even need a three in that situation?  Absolutely not.  Is Luol Deng the guy you want taking it?  Absolutely not.  Who do you want taking a three?  Nobody.  Because you have no good three point shooters.  Just call a play for Derrick Rose.  As Stacey King says, “It’s a simple game.”  Apparently not for VDN and the Bulls.

The Bulls are now 0-2 on this 7 game road trip, which I still maintain they will go 0-7 on.  All these problems and gaping holes in their game spell nothing but trouble for the Bulls in the days to come, and I expect to see these weaknesses both exposed and exploited each and every game.  It’s going to be a rough stretch.