with a rough start to the season, have to get all the wins that can be gotten.

I have no problem with Thabo starting. It ensures he gets the playing time he needs to develop because you’re going to need what he presumably can bring you, otherwise you’ll have to seek it from Hughes. Thabo starting and playing 15 MPG while Kirk and BG get their 25-30 MPG is fine. BG will be on the floor at the end of games, Kirk can be the 6th-7th inning guy to get Rose to the 8th-9th.

I was encouraged by Tyrus Thomas at times. Maybe he’ll deliver this year. The 4 slot looks like it’s his because Gooden and Noah appear to have played exclusively at the 5 all night.

I like the 29-19 or similar MPG split at the 5 between Gooden and Noah.

Richard Jefferson was really off and Bogut is getting no shots with RJ and Redd firing away. Bogut had a stretch last year where he put up strong numbers and now it will be interesting to see how many opportunities he gets.

I missed the game :-(

However, one painfully obvious stat simply from glancing at the box score: not one starter ATTEMPTED a three.

Please Vinny, just, give BG a chance.

Oh also, how was VDN’s demeanor during the game? Was he in control? Vocal? Or clueless and holding Harris’ hand?

We totally out athleticized the Bucks, and to be honest the Bucks with Redd and RJ and the very quick Lue and crew I thought would have been a nice athletic matchup, but when we play like we did, we’re tough. God I hope it continues.

It’s a far cry from last year’s opener, which was the first ever opener of any team I had ever been to, and was very excited about….by the 3rd quarter the no energy Bulls were getting a solid Kobe chant that continued throughout the game….

THis game, we hustled….

Tyrus Thomas the star tonight. I know he made a couple of stupid goal tending plays and I know he also had a charge or two that looked dumb (the offensive interference call was complete BS from this television viewer)….but Tyrus was all over the place and the Bucks and Skiles/Boylan couldn’t stop him….bet they mis Adrian Griffin now huh :). If Tyrus keeps this up look out.

Deng played his ususal good game. He looked incredible in the first quarter and like always disappeared in the 2nd half especially in the 4th….but nonetheless a good Luol game no less.

Rose looked a bit like the rookie he is tonight….his passes weren’t too crisp, and his D was pretty weak, despite very solid transition D. Ridnour at times out veteraned Rose. But Rose’s instincts were solid and that athleticism was a boost.

Hinrich again was the man. He really played well, lead the team in pivotal spots. He should start, or Gordon should start (Thabo’s not ready).

Gordon looked rusty at first, but thankfully Vinny kept BG out there for most of the 2nd to get his legs (Skiles would have pulled him), and it paid off in the 2nd half when Gordon and Redd put some of their usual shows. I know Redd had solid pts tonight, but from this viewer, it didn’t look at all like he outplayed Gordon either. BG’s defense was good. In the first half, the slow and Rusty Gordon mad emore of the normal BG mistakes, but int he 2nd half, Gordon proved again why he’s valuable. I agree would like to see more o fhim with Rose, but with BG and Hinrich playing so well tonight, it’s hard to complain.

Noah, was awesome, all energy and really came through when we needed him.

Gooden too played very good D, although I am one of hte few that seems to remember that Bogut’s huge contract is a bit of a pipe dream as he hasn’t proven himself at all yet…..Gooden played good D, seemed to grab a bunch of boards, and his shots when he looked to shoot went down (I haven’t read or studied the stats, I’m just getting done watching the game—I DVRd it—and am taking my initial thoughts.

As for the bad:
Thabo. Redd destroyed him tonight. Thabo has done well in the past against some of hte elite offensive players, and to be fair Redd is an elite offensive player for a reason….but Thabo really looked slow and his instincts were all off. Basically he proved to me at least that he’s got a while to go before he’s the pick over Hinrich and BG to start. Though I don’t want to yet bury him…..still its ridiculous not to play or honor our best guards first….they deserve it, even after a rough year.

And that’s about it. Nocioni didn’t do a hole lot, but he seemed to annoy RJ which is enough for me.

The Bucks didn’t look very good, yet they somehow stayed in the game for most of the first 3 quarters….the Bulls seemed to outplay them but yet the stats were similar. The Bucks can come on, they have some talent, but they look a ways away.

Chalk it up to Vinny and crew, the team played loose…..Ran (I know Boylan talked of having them run run run, but then they’d stand stand stand and shoot shoot shoot)….Vinny had them running. It wasn’t just with Rose on the court either. Hinrich for the 2nd game in a row (both against Skiles) seemed to morph into former Kirk, but smarter former Kirk. He made some “oh wow” passes in there….really good game.

Oh well I gotta go “wife’s a-calling”. Good game.

instead of Gordon (whose defensive lapses will be forgotten as he explodes playing alongside the Chosen One). Kirk should come off the bench to give Derrick a breather and let Ben rest his arm after nailing open jump shots with DR. Thabo can be rewarded with garbage minutes at the 2 and 3 while filling in where he can use his length to his advantage. He has demonstrated a lack of quickness and poor shooting touch which can weaken our offensive sets, but is still a vast upgrade over Larry the upchucker, just because he doesn’t have a hair shooting trigger everytime he touches the ball. Can we send Hughes to Washington who is riddled with injuries and may still have distant memories of his one memorable season. Can the Bulls eat most of his salary without kicking in the luxury tax?

Finally, I mistakenly posted this earlier as the last entry on a thread that was already dead but I still have a strong urge in my loins to profess my Tyrus love to the multitudes.

41 MINUTES!!!!!!
—-15 points, 10 boards (not counting those he kept alive by skying over everyone else with his leaps and quickness like an all-American vollyball dude)
—— provided solid help defense with some rotation failures (like everyone else) by altering many shots
——3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block (+2 goal tends…If his name was LeBron or Kobe, it would have been at least 2)
——only 2 turnovers, both on offensive fouls resulting from his aggressive moves attacking the basket. one dubious charge called against him. maybe he is too quick for the referees to notice he had established position?

If his alley oop wasn’t taken away (sorry his first name isn’t Kobe or LB) and hit free throws as he did in the pre-season, he would have had at least 20 points. OK, my mancrush has once again sent a tingle up my leg and if he ever learns how to finish, it will send fearful shivers down the backs of the opposing coaches and players.

As Matt said (roflol), Skiles probably tried to pull him just out of habit…..Just think of what his stat line would have been if the bald dome and his Lilliputian bird-brained assistant were still in charge of the Bulls……probably something like this:

3 1/2 minutes, FGA 0 FTA 0 Rebounds 2, ONE TURNOVER.
and thus a seat on the end of the bench as they fume at his inability to run the floor at light speed and not run Skiles precision offensive sets.

I hope they both enjoy reading my proposed upcoming book.
"The Stuck On Stupid Twins"
An epic tale of 2 stubborn asswipes, one whose mind was like a steel trap, always closed, while the other, his almost mindless loyal lapdog spends the season staring vacantly into space, like the open space between his ears, trying to remember where he saw that number 24 who just made the all star team, play before.

The most obvious and disconcerting thing about opening night is that Gooden started at center. First, he is absolutely not a center. Second, it is obvious when he is the center we become a bad rebounding team, and our overall team defense suffers, and he cannot guard anyone in the post. Noah should start, and Gray should get the substitute minutes.

Now for all you Gordon fans. Just stop looking at the box score, and for one game take your eyes off the ball, and just follow Gordon around. You will puke or die laughing within minutes. When he is not shooting he is simply jaking it at all times. He doesn’t even make an effort to look like he is trying on defense, he makes half hearted attempts to run out on shooters and contest their shots while ducking his head and vearing off. At best he is faking at looking like he is trying. No way a guy like this should ever start an NBA game. He is acceptable as a third guard in limited minutes for instant offense. Actually it is not instant offense, since he is does not have a single offensive abililty other than shooting when wide open and not defended, which is worthless in the playoffs when even bad teams actually try to play defense. His body language is absolutely disgusting and reflective of his brain dead attitude. We simply cannot afford to play double midgets in the backcourt. Since Rose and Hinrich are going to have to split the point guard minutes, Thabo has to start unless you want to see more of Hughes. Thabo played well last season when he got regular extended minutes, and along with Noah is our best team defender. Considering that Rose is a rookie and defense is not a strength and Deng is not a defender, and Hinrich and Gordon are unathletic midget stiffs and Thomas is still walking around in a puppy dogs body and mind, we need somebody on the court to focus on defense and rebounding, Noah and Thabo are our best options and starting with Rose Deng and Thomas or Gooden give us our most balanced lineup. Hinrich and Gordon’s deficiencies don’t look as obvious as backups as they do as starters. Scoring, or should I say shooting is not everything, remember MJ and Pippen were all defense NBA and even defensive player of the year. Open your eyes people, Thabo may not be the answer, but Gordon and Hinrich never have been or never will be. And niether is Gooden, particlular as a center.

“Jefferson in the back-court, pressured by Thomas who tips away the pass, it’s tracked-down by Rose, who lobs to Tyrus Thomas for the dunk.”

Athleticism, defense, transition, good decisions, and FINISH!

This is the future man!

Wow, that was the S*H**T man!
:-)

P.S. Less Thabo, More Ben Gordon.

Just sayin’……

.. Kirk Did Awesome, BG proved why he’s only half of a shooting guard.

Luol actually surprised me, he’s startin to go up STRONG. I woulda liked to see Gray match up with Bogut sometime during the game, but other than that.. It looks like the bulls are going to be damn fun to watch this year

BG is a great player and should start beside Rose. Especially now with Hinrich returning to good form. BG struggles, let him take some air. And TT… man! And he is just a kid. He will be great. Charles Barkley style.
Hughes has no place and Thabo has potential but it doesn’t make sense having him playing so much with the Rose/BG/Kirk trio. Maybe he too should be traded or used to sweeten Larry’s trade

Tyrus was fantastic. It was a pleasure to see him play so well with all those minutes – but that was a lot of minutes. A great start, hopefully he’ll evolve into a 20 & 10 guy if he’s going to avg 40mpg.

Gordon had me shaking my head in the first half when he wasn’t playing well. I was surprised he was not the 1st guard off the bench, and feared his poor play was a sign he wouldn’t get much burn in the 2nd half (or even the rest of the season!).
But Gordon got his touch back in the second, and looked like the guy I remember. It will be interesting to see how he’s used as the season progresses.

I think the most promising trend I noticed last night was that Vinny will let these guys play through their mistakes. He let everyone play through and get the feel of the game (with the exception of Thabo and his 2 fouls in 6 seconds). This was true especially with the way Kirk & Gordon started out.

What a refreshing trend that is! I liked Skiles as a coach, and missed him when Boylan was running things. But it appears that Vinny has a lighter touch with the players which is needed right now. We’ll see if can hold them accountable (privately or publicly) when that time comes.