Positives from the season so far......

by BullsAttitude on Dec 20, 2008 11:37 PM CST

OK, I think most of would agree that if someone told us that the Bulls would be 13-14 after 27 games, sitting 8th in the East, we would have taken that in a heartbeat!

Well, looking at the season so far, we have had some positives and negatives, I think the positives outweighing the negatives so far......

Positives

13-14, 8th in the East, played more road games than home games

Derrick Rose is ahead of the curve, playing a lot (maybe too much) but is becoming the leader of this team. Finally a possible All-Star and Superstar in the making.

10-3 at home, 2 of those losses came against the Cavs and Hawks, 2 of the top 4 teams in the East, the other came in OT against the Sixers

3-4 on the West Coast trip, and we had a chance to win a few more

Vinny Del Negro is still making mistakes, but still progressing at the same time. You have to admit this team is slowly coming along, playing better, getting better ball movement and Tyrus & Noah seemed to have woken up after his comments.

Ben Gordon & Nocioni have learned how to play off of Rose, making the game easier for them

10 of our losses have came against teams that our a combined 155-57 (Boston twice, Cleveland twice, Orlando, Atlanta, LA Lakers, Denver, Portland, San Antonio)

The not giving up when falling behind, the constant fight which was not there last year. (Except for the Portland game)

Negatives

The Defense is still horrific, 2nite was the 1st time I believe in 8 games that we held a team under a 100

The losses to the Bobcats, the Grizzlies, the Sixers at home, and the Bucks. Bucks are playing decent but I still believe we have more talent. We had leads over the Bobcats and Grizzlies and let them slip away.

Offense sometimes stalls with too much one-on-one offense.

Too MANY turnovers, must take care of the ball.

We seem to be getting to the line less and less as the season goes on, some of this falls on being a jump shooting team but when we do drive, I'm seeing the refs not as generous to us as some other teams.

Our only 3 wins on the road came during the West Coast trip, have to be better than 3-11 if we want to make the playoffs. You have to learn to win on the road to be successful.

The inconsisent minutes for some of the young players, this is where Del Negro needs to set the rotation better, giving the youngsters an understanding of how and where their minutes will come.

This team is frustrating some times, but this team is still young. I do like they want to win and keep fighting even when they get down. That shows persistance and that is a good thing.

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Comments

I stopped reading at "Positives.. Vinny Del Negro"

by gobulls1124 on Dec 21, 2008 1:03 AM CST reply actions

Then you missed the point of his comment...

Good job!

Boo for thorough reading comprehension!

Yay for slow witted, hair trigger, commentary!

Congratulations, you have made this discourse an even duller place.

Nocioni has an Olympic gold medal, a bronze medal and a EuroLeague MVP, and now… His legs are broken! Coming to an arena near you.

by Khalid El-Amin on Dec 21, 2008 2:34 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs

They seem to feed off from the extra energy they get

when they play at the United Center, 5 straight wins at home, but still, can’t seem to win on the road. D Rose and BG play nice ball together, i think some front court toughness is what we lack so far, if Pax can find a way to get a nice 5 man or 4, we can win more games and definitely be in the playoffs.

when are we going to add a 7th championship?

by broseleay301 on Dec 21, 2008 2:03 AM CST reply actions

I needed this

"If there’s any haters in here right now that don’t have nobody to hate on, feel free to hate on me." - A.P.N.S.

by Belize on Dec 21, 2008 11:14 AM CST reply actions

for the most part i agree

but I think the 1 on 1 stuff is part of the offense. Our offense is based on the pick and roll and there is not enough movement. It seems vdn wants bg and rose to play 1 on 1 to create a shot…for themselves or a kick out. Its frustrating because that doesnt utilize deng, thomas or even noah to the extent that they should be used. All of them are cutters and they also happen to be 3 of our top 6 players. I think a negative is also the lack of playing time for thabo. Although its a flawed statistic, thabos PER is higher than anyone not named Ben Gordon. VDN almost never focuses on our defense and often plays all offensive minded players who dont play good defense. I mean, is it really better to play a decent offensive player who plays no d than to play an offensively inept player that plays good d? I personally would rather play the defensive player, but thats just me. Having said that, our offensive scheme seems to be evolving and thus there has been more movement which explains the improved play of deng, thomas and noah. Also, thabo has played more recently (although its due to injury) and he has really been playing well. He seems to have improved his shooting and is a defensive stud. We are a pretty decent defensive team when thabo, tyrus and noah play…especially because bg has played very good defense as well. Moreover, we shouldnt pay too much attention to points allowed…we play a very fast pace and thus will allow more points. Either way, VDN prefers to play some combination of Gooden, Gray and Nocioni. That explains a lot. Gray is a decent rebounder and sets good screens, but is useless beyond that. Gooden….I dont know what to say…hes terrible. Even when he “plays well” he gives up more points on the defensive end of the floor. Noc has played better recently…still gets abused defensively, but he should play 15 or so minutes a night…its not his fault that he is asked to guard the opposing teams best big. Just watch and see how much better we play when our younger players are on the floor…particularly noah. Noah may not be a very good scorer, but he is good offensively…he sets good screens (although many are illegal), passes well and is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league (unfortunately he still isnt a great defensive rebounder). He gives us so many extra possessions that he makes up for his lack of scoring ability. Also, hes a good team defender and he protects the rim. I have no clue why he still doesnt start.

by rosefromconcrete on Dec 21, 2008 5:52 PM CST reply actions