Why would you try up the temp and fall right into Phoenix's hands? If anything, you keep Phoenix in a half court game. The Bulls got 5 fouls on Amare, they should have kept attacking with a normal sized lineup. Would it kill Skiles to try out playing Noah? At least he would know how to play defense and  guard a pick and roll.

::opens frozen envelope::

no surprise, it's miserabull. First class jerk. He will be missed by few.

Typos, I know - but that's so freudian I can't help myself.

38 MILLION DOLLARS!  WTF, mates?

But seriously, Tyrus is going to be a star.  He should play 41min, not Noce, especially against a team like this.  How many players in the NBA can frustrate Amare like he did?  For such a young guy, he showed a lot tonight.  Brought energy and some attitude, which we all agree is lacking at times.

If the Bulls make a few more open shots, but play like this, we can win against both LAs, Phoenix is better than they are.

Besides that Toronto game, it's all about the 4th quarter for us no matter what happened before. Obviously, it's better to have a lead cushion to fall back on. But since we're playing so poorly, most likely we need to win games in the last period.

Tonight, it was 75-75 going into the 4th, 85-85 midway thru, and even 100-106 late under 2 min with the ball back. But then Hinrich with the bad shot -> turnover. Then Gordon with the bad pass -> turnover. And it's over. I also remember Deng missing his last two shots late ... but you can't fault that b/c they were his only shots of the quarter! Go figure. Get him the ball late please!

Everyone is going to question Skiles' rotations, moreso since we lost, but just a couple of comments:

• even against the small Suns, a lineup of Du/Kirk/BG/Deng/Noc SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN in the NBA ... Diaw/Marion do well against centers/PFs respectively b/c of their quickness. that negates the Bulls small advantage
  
• where was Noah in the game? perfect matchup for him the run the floor and defend
  
• where was Big Ben in the 4th? leave him in to guard Amare, especially tonight after he came out with a lot of energy (10 boards in 20 min) ...  when Amare leaves, then take him out
  
• Tyrus should've played the entire 4th quarter, and he should've played more in general (duh)
  
• Duhon stayed just an extra minute or two too long in the 4th. At first, I was wondering where Gordon was during the first 6 minutes of the 4th, but then I realized Duhon was in doing a good job shutting down Barbosa (until that crucial broken play late).
  
• Hinrich minutes about right, glad he found his shot
  
• Noc couldn't play his bench minutes, so Deng played a little too much. would've liked to see Gardner play a little more (guess Thabo still in doghouse)
  
• Joe Smith never got into rhythm this game ... I thought coaches would notice something like that. why Skiles would put him in at a crucial stretch late is beyond me. Joe is old, can't run with Suns, and can't guard Amare b/c he's paper thin

That said I think TT did a good job both offensively as well as defensively.  He impacted Stoudemire and actually played some smart basketball.  He is our most improved player and impacts the game.  I have a good idea, start TT and have Noc come off the bench.

Kirk and BG need to stop with the awful TO's. I hope Kirk has his shot back. It was nice to see him make some last night.

Is it Skiles fault? Since next season is his third year of his contract maybe he won't be asked back.

Also that Hinrich/Duhon/Gordon/Noc/Deng lineup is probably the worst thing ever.  I knew the game was over when that came on the floor.

However, I definitely saw some sparks of the old team.. haven't completely lost hope for the season yet.

Finally Barkley concluded, "I'll bet you if Juanita gets married again, she'll sign a [pre-nup]."

The late foul on Kirk Hinrich was the worst call of the game.  Nash used his arm to push Kirk off his body.  Somehow Kirk was called for the foul.

Later, BG fouled Barbosa in what looked like an intentional foul called from the Bulls bench.  He just wrapped up Barbosa away from the ball.  Nash then shot two freebies at the line.  I have no idea what was called here but it was during a crucial moment of the game.

Barbosa has watched film of Wade and Devin Harris.  He's jumping into defenders initiating contact to get free points at the line.  The refs are giving him these calls despite the fact that jumping into the defender is a point of emphasis for the officials.

Luol was 0-2 with 2FTs in the 4th quarter. Sheesh.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/653459,CST-SPT-bull16.article

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-071115bullsgamer,1,1281997.story?track=rss

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-296/Kelly-Dwyer-Breaks-Down-the-Bulls.html

This is nothing that Hot Sh*t College Student (or anyone that reads his site, Thank you Isiah), or any TrueHoop reader has not already read. So excuse me for the repetition, but this is just too good to not discuss here.

Of particular brilliance is the last phrase in the following passage:

"This is still a damn good basketball team. Should they make the playoffs, I like Chicago's chances with any Eastern team outside of the Nets (whom I loathe, to be candid, but match up well against the Bulls)."

Clearly, this man's a genius, as he has perfectly articulated how loathsome the Nets are, despite seeming to always have the Bulls' number.

As for the first part of that quote, that the Bulls are "still a damn good basketball team", his blog entry comes with the requisite amount of irony: He ends by asking us to excuse him, while he's off to "pretend I believe any of this."

I knew Kelly Dwyer was good, but... day-um...