Open Game Thread # 59: Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers

Go Bulls!

Hoping for lots of Noah, TT and Thabo if he's healthy enough

But not Gooden.

Serously!!

F'ing idiot!

The only solace is that Mike Brown is over there sitting on the other bench, refusing to play Joe Smith and Szerbiac, slowly killing the cavs.

And who really gives a crap about LeBron being the youngest player to hit 10,000 points?
Rather academic when you don't ever play one college game and go straight to the NBA from high school.

The REAL game today will be the Lakers and Mavs.
You know - with that stud player who never got traded to Chicago...

Cle 11/18

Also, every time Tirico opens his mouth, he reaffirms his idiocy.

And Noah is giving you offensive rebounds and D - so of course you take him out.

That pretty much says it.

Which it was...

Remember the saying that "everyone can score in the first 46 minutes, thats why a good supporting cast is so huge, but the stars win the game in the last 2 minutes"....... its the reason why the Lakers are so good now with a good supporting cast and a great star player, its the reason the Heat were so good with a good supporting cast and a great star player, same with mavs, ditto with spurs, and look at the celtics with a solid supporting cast and 3 great star players, they dominate. Same reason the Rockets won 50 plus games the first year with Yao and TMac even though the other 3 starters were Ryan Bowen, Bob Sura, and an old David Wesley.

The big-man is important too that scores inside, but just having that dimension is sufficient as was seen with Shaq last year or Ilguaskas for the Cavs this year or Nenad Krstic for the Nets when they won 50 games in 06 (Krstic averaged 16 and 7 a night on 51% fg and gave em that dimension), or what Lamarcus Aldridge gives the Blazers, etcetera......... that is the other most important thing.

We have alot of talnet, plenty of guys that could be 2nd or 3rd options for great teams. We have a capable post-up scorer now in Gooden to give us that dimension as say our 3rd or even 4th offensive option to keep the defense honest..... we can get to the foul line now so that is no longer an excuse.

You saw it first hand today. Lebron took over.......

I have nothing more to say, we just dont have a star player. The Pistons are the prototype for what Paxson tried to build but you need a Sheed to make that work, and we didnt get our Gasol last year when we should have........ plus Billups is a true star pointguard that closes out games, and is one of the top 3 PG's in the NbA, easily.

So he just pretty much failed to come through on his blueprint.......

I would trade Deng, Gordon, Hinrich, Hughes, Tyrus, and 2 1st round picks right now for Tracy McGrady. Straight up, I REALLY REALLY WOULD. WITHOUT A SECOND OF HESITATION. THAT IS AN HONEST EVALUATION, No frustration. I would take a bad contract or two if thats what it took to get them to do it as well. Just the way I feel this team could and needs to go about succeeding in the long run. If Dirk, TMac, or any player like that becomes available I would go get him ASAP and give up whatever I needed to in order to make it happen.

The two teams we're trying to catch at least have Joe Johnson and Vince Carter with their solid/talented supporting casts, those are two guys that close out games and take and make big shots/drives/plays.

Not to mention Mike Bibby, who LIVES FOR THAT, and Devin Harris

(I think Devin Harris will actually end up being THE STAR player in NJ, I think he will be an elite allstar PG slightly below Chris Paul level and very near Deron Williams level. I think it will happen ALOT sooner than you may think too, now that he's out from under the tightfisted dictator of a coach that is Avery Johnson with his pointguards).

Both those teams have solid supporting casts, the Hawks are STACKED with good young talented players, the Hawks have a better inside presence that improves by the day in Horford but the Nets have Krstic and he is getting healthy (He averaged 17 and 8 a night giving them that dimension last year until he got injured, he was breaking out.)..........

So yeah, can you tell I definitely dont think we can catch those two teams? Unless their 2 terrible coaches screw them up down the stretch, which is possible but doesnt make me feel better because we have a TERRIBLE coach as well.

We could probably catch Philly though. But they have a good coach.

Deng would be a good sidekick because he doesnt do that and moves without the ball and trusts the offense, but I cant even speak of Deng right now because Im so frustrated with the step backward he has taken this year.

Even on the pick and roll the big that is rolling never ever gets the ball for an easy basket, the guard always jacks up a shot......

Terrible.

I also dont see hwo these announcers think the Lakers are the favorites when I watched the Celtics absolutely dismember them both times they played, and the Spurs will dominate them like they do to everybody else come playoff time.

Frustrating.

but he will never be a superstar or franchise player.

The answer is maybe the 78' Blazers but they had Walton.  Or the 79' Sonics if i'm not mistaken with Dennis Johnson as their leader.

Both are better and were more competitive than this junk we have now.  So i'm not advocating a team with a star and no one else.  But we do need one here.  You simply DO NOT win championships in this league without one!!!

LeBron James
Caron Butler
Rashard Lewis
Shawn Marion (if he stays in Miami)
Josh Smith (will be an all-star before Deng)
Richard Jefferson
Gerald Wallace

And that's just small forwards....in the East!!

EVERY guy up there is more tougher and more productive than Deng, and will be around for a while.  At 29, Marion is the oldest of the bunch.

Now having said all that, if we had a great point guard then maybe he'd be better so Hinrich can go to hell too.  But he is what he is and there are at least 15 guys i'd rather have.

To implement an actual system and set rotations. IMHO it should be based on defense and transition offense. Get rid of the players who don't fit that. Don't resign Deng OR Gordon unless in a sign and trade for someone who fits. Try to draft athletes who can defend.