Does Skiles have Sloan disease?

by Chalkwhite on May 14, 2007 9:49 PM CDT

I am a fan of Scott Skiles, and I think that he is the best coach this team could ask for. He has brought out their grit, their hustle, their energy, all of those words that Matt absolutely despises. Quantitatively, he has made them into the best defensive team in the land even with some serious defensive question marks in the lineup.

But I worry that he might have Jerry Sloan disease.
Remember Greg Ostertag? He was a center for the Jazz teams with Stockton and Malone, and any burn he got was too much, because he might be the worst player to ever play in the NBA. But, because he sucked, he played really hard, and Sloan likes that. Same for John Amaechi: before he came out, he was known as another slow, unathletic, tall guy that Sloan gave too much PT to.

Obviously, PJ Brown isn't Greg Ostertag. But the predilection Skiles has shown for him (and, to a lesser extent, Noc and Du) over Thabo and Tyrus is troubling. The older guys play smarter, because they've been around more often, and make fewer mistakes. But their potential for doing amazing things is infinitesimal compared to Ty and Thabo's, and they aren't going to take over games.

Sloan never won a title in large part because he refused to play those high-risk, high-reward players.

What do you think? Can Skiles break out of this habit?

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Jerry Sloan?

I read something today about Mullin playing center and the Warriors sweeping an Eaton-anchored Utah team, but Eaton was actually a good player. I really don't recall Stockton/Malone Utah teams having better centers than Ostertag, and by Amaechi's account, Jerry Sloan did not like him at all. Amaechi rarely played in his two seasons with Utah.Those teams never had problems scoring points either. Sloan may prefer a more traditional lineup, but he doesn't have that by any stretch of the imagination now.

Brown is playing because he's the only size the Bulls have, and they really do need it against the Pistons. I think you're way off on Nocioni and Duhon being less of a Skiles' security blanket than Peej. The rookies fit in to (more or less) the rotation slots Duhon and Nocioni are currently occupy.

by Paxson Jackson @ Blog a Bull on May 14, 2007 10:05 PM CDT reply actions

Skiles is more willing

to play Noc on Sheed than he is to play Tyrus. You're probably right about Noc and Du. I just would really rather have Ty starting then Peej, especially when he thought he was Tim Duncan early in Game 4.

As long as Skiles outlaws Ty taking shots outside of 3 feet of the basket.

If there are problems in this world that jumping can solve, Tyrus Thomas will solve them. (Truehoop)

by Chalkwhite on May 14, 2007 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Simmons with his usual crud about the Bulls

Yes, we know you hate Ben Wallace.

It's hard to imagine anyone killing their coaching stock quite like Scott Skiles did in this Pistons-Bulls series. Where have Ty Thomas and Chris Duhon been? Why is Ben Wallace playing so much? Why is P.J. Brown playing at all? Completely inexplicable. The Chicago fans are justifiably going crazy right now. If I were a Bulls fan, I'd probably have to be sedated. I'm not kidding.

Is anyone else tired of him asking rhetorical questions in his columns? Would anyone be against him quitting it?

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 14, 2007 10:42 PM CDT reply actions

I love

that he tried to connect with the Bulls fans, but only went halfway. We want Ty- we don't want Du. We want (or I want) less Peej- but we're very happy with the amount of Ben.

Close enough to piss people off, I suppose.

If there are problems in this world that jumping can solve, Tyrus Thomas will solve them. (Truehoop)

by Chalkwhite on May 14, 2007 10:46 PM CDT up reply actions

If I remember his earlier thoughts on the series

it was that Ty and Duh would enable the Bulls to 'go small' against the Pistons. Maybe Duh had a good game against rising superstar Rajon Rondo or something.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 14, 2007 10:48 PM CDT up reply actions

LOL

If there are problems in this world that jumping can solve, Tyrus Thomas will solve them. (Truehoop)

by Chalkwhite on May 14, 2007 10:54 PM CDT up reply actions

not gonna read it,

but I am curious if Sports Dude has broken the 100,000 word barrier no one thought possible in a single 'internet column'.

by Paxson Jackson @ Blog a Bull on May 14, 2007 10:53 PM CDT up reply actions

I wouldn't be against him ever

writing another word on basketball.

He had the nerve to accuse the Bucks of tanking it. This from a Celtics fan. The more I read Simmons, the more I realize he doesn't have a clue.

by KT on May 15, 2007 5:24 AM CDT up reply actions

SG didn't argue with the Celts tanking

In fact, I think he wrote a piece about how celtic fans supported tanking. I am pretty sure SG wants the celtics to clean house after the last few years.

by bullshooter on May 15, 2007 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions

I dont think its the same

I think The biggest reason pj plays is because he complained in the begining of the year and because skiles needed pjs experience in crucial moments, and because pj might be the tallest guy who can actually play for the bulls right now, skiles had to sort of work something out in order to get that done.

Nocioni plays because he IS good. That injury really rattled him though, but i think skiles still believes that if noch gets hot, he will give the bulls that much added push and energy. Tyrus doesnt get played so much due to his rookie-ness, same as sefolosha.

By next year pj will be gone, and sefolosha and Thoamas should be seeing something along 25 min a game (especially tyrus). I dont think skiles is anything like sloan. He is just playing with what he has. Next year should be fun though.

im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on May 14, 2007 10:53 PM CDT reply actions

I agree

on most points, but "their rookie-ness" is an irrational and irresponsible reason for Ty and Thabo to get minimal PT.

If there are problems in this world that jumping can solve, Tyrus Thomas will solve them. (Truehoop)

by Chalkwhite on May 14, 2007 10:56 PM CDT up reply actions

I get you

I guess you might be trying to say somethign like, "talent is talent....skill is skill" which both tyrus and thabo have, and i would agree with that. The rookiness i speak of isnt a given at all, but it is a possibility.
To skiles it must be more about choosing the lesser evil, or the devil you know, or any of those cliche lines. He could go with tyrus, but who knows, maybe tyrus will miss an assignment, forget to stay out of bounds when inbounding the ball (again), or just lose control and cause a succession of turnovers. Maybe he will just be too nervous, or maybe the veterans on detroit will bully around the new guy.

Duhon and pj arent great players in dire moments, but they have a better track record of doing good things.

Heh, i know you get my points (you already agreed with me) i just wanted to explain what i meant by rookie-ness

im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on May 15, 2007 2:51 AM CDT up reply actions