[Thanks to pocketwatch for today's game preview. Game Thread at 2:30 -yfbb]

Finally, we get to play a decent team. We haven't had a game against a team over .500 in more than a week (5 games to be exact), and we've taken advantage of it by setting an NBA record with four straight 20+ point road wins. The blowouts have been nice, but not exactly fun to watch. I will definitely take this back if we win by 20+ at Boston.

We've lost our last 4 games against playoff caliber teams (@Philly, @Miami, Indiana, and @Memphis) and are 5-5 overall against teams above .500 this year. This shouldn't be concerning with the high level we've been playing at, but it's just something to think about. One of those wins did come against the struggling Celtics in mid January though, led by Luol "Luolstar?" Deng's 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Derrick Rose wouldn't commit as to whether or not he would play tomorrow, but I'm going to guess he'll be out there. I think we can all agree that seeing Rose destroy Rondo and in the process lead us to victory over Boston (which would secure Thibs coaching the All-Star team) on national TV would be the best Sunday afternoon.

The Celtics come into Sunday with a 14-12 record (7-3 in their last 10) after consecutive tough losses at Toronto and home against the Lakers. These are not the Celtics we are used to, and I'm sure I'm not the only one taking satisfaction in their mediocrity. They have had trouble scoring the ball this year with an ORtg of 101.6 (21st), and I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it has something to do with their bench. Nobody outside of Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, and Bass getting more than 10 minutes per game has a PER over 13. This is compared to the Bulls who have 10 guys under the same criteria. Advantage - Bulls bench, obviously. I mean...O'Neal, Pietrus, Dooling, and Bradley all average 17+ MPG and have an average PER of 9.1. So, uh, yeah...that's really bad.

Meanwhile, Paul Pierce (18.1), Ray Allen (14.8), and Kevin Garnett (14.0) are all averaging their lowest PPG output since their rookie years. This isn't exactly shocking considering they are a combined 106 years old and trying to survive this crazy lockout schedule. What is shocking is that at 36, Allen is having the most efficient shooting season of his already impressive career. He is hitting a ridiculous 51% of his 5.1 3PA per game and is sporting an eFG% of 60%. Yet he is averaging a career low 10.7 shots per game. Early on in this season, he is quietly having one of the best shooting years ever (and apparently so is Brandon Rush???) and is worth keeping an eye on. Hardwood Paroxysm has a good write up on Allen. GET THIS GUY SOME MORE SHOTS (just not against us).

On the other side of the ball, the Celtics remain as stingy as ever with a DRtg of 97.7 (3rd) and actually play at a slower pace than us. The old guys can still lock it down in the half court it appears. Especially with a little help from their alien friend.

Some more Rondo hate after the jump.

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(just in case anyone dared to mention something fun in my front page post...)

[Thanks to K_yle33 for today's game preview. Game thread up at 6:08. -yfbb]

The Bulls are currently in the midst of a pretty interesting week involving a 9 game road trip, all-star game appearances, injury updates, Will Ferrell introductions, and now ... the Charlotte Bobcats (sarcasm).

Chicago is 5-2 on their current road trip and just broke a NBA record for winning 3 road games by 20+ points. Given the fact that Charlotte is 3-22 and is a -13.7 in point differential, there is probably a good chance that Thib's defensive team (which was featured on NBA's BIG promotion) could make this a 4th straight game of winning by 20+ points. The way that the Bulls have been handling sub .500 opponents, and not playing down to their levels makes me more confident in their performance tonight.

Another reason to be confident is due to Charlotte's injury situation. They will be missing Gerald Henderson (out 2-4 weeks), D.J. Augustin, and Corey Maggette is also day to day with an injury . Henderson was the leading scorer with 22 pts (and 9 rebs) in a 95-89 Bulls win on Jan 21st.

However, Reggie Williams and Derrick Brown have been playing well lately. Then there is always B.J. Mullens...

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[Thanks to paddyfairview for today's game preview. Derrick Rose is a game time decision. Game thread at 7:08. -yfbb.]

First things first: the Hornets are awful. At 4-21, they sit at the bottom of the standings in the West (only Charlotte has a worse record), have lost 6 straight, and only average 88 points per game. The renaissance that the Nuggets experienced after trading their star player has definitely not happened in New Orleans. That's partially because Eric Gordon, the best piece that LA gave up for CP3, has barely played due to injury (he's out till March), and Chris Kaman was sent away from the team to await a trade (he's back now). And, of course, Chris Paul is out with a case of the Sterns. It's a lost season in pretty much every way right now in New Orleans. With Rose expected to play (and even if he doesn't) it would take a pretty serious egg-laying in order for the Bulls to give this one away. Now that I've jinxed it sufficiently, let's get to the matchups:

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I don't know if anyone saw this article about Bogans' release in the Trib earlier today, but I genuinely felt for the guy. Not sure if this has any relevance to the squad as they continue to be one of the most consistently awesome teams in the league (perhaps more so in the beginning of the season), but it was interesting to hear from Bogans after an awkward beginning to the season followed by not thinking about him again.

Those 15 guys I was in the locker room with were all my brothers, I formed a bond with them that I probably haven’t formed with another team that I’ve played on. That was like my family. All those guys reached out to me when I got released. They were genuinely hurt when I didn’t come back. DRose, Joakim (Noah), Luol (Deng), all reached out and asked me what’s going on. I didn’t have an answer for them.

I had one of the best seasons I’ve played and that was one of the best teams I’ve played on. It was a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it. I loved playing for Tom (Thibodeau). He’s a great coach with my style, defense first. I don’t know why they waived me. I get upset every time I talk about it.”

full article

First, I have been wanting to post this since last night, but sbn was acting up for me so i was unable to. Then i finally sign on and find out From the window to luol posted a kick ass trade that beats the crap out of mine...I then decided to just post my trade in his post as to not create multiple trade scenerios, but after i was done writing and i hit preview, well....it was pretty long. So i didnt want to disrespect that awesome trade thread with my own crappy trade that takes up an entire window, so i ended up making this fanpost anyway...

so without further ado, here it is

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=839bf6o

Its Oj Mayo and Sam Young for Cj Watson and Brewer.

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Before the season started, I advocated trading for Andre Iguodala. He was reportedly being shopped at the time, but I doubt that’s true anymore. The Sixers are playing too well to trade their best and most marketable player. So, now that Iggy’s presumably off the table, what can the Bulls do to improve the roster?

The most common response is to trade for Dwight Howard. This intuitively makes a lot of sense. What could be better than pairing an elite young point guard with an elite center in his mid-20s? However, there are two major stumbling blocks: (1) Dwight Howard doesn’t seem to want to play for the Bulls, and (2) the Bulls probably would need to give up two All-Star caliber players in their mid-20s to get him. The first issue is especially important because Howard will be a free agent at the end of the year. If the Bulls traded for him, didn’t win this year, and then lost him in the offseason, it would be a disaster. Also, given the compressed nature of the schedule, the Bulls would more likely take a step back than a step forward this season. There wouldn’t be much practice time to familiarize Howard and Turkoglu with the schemes and the other players’ tendencies. In addition, even if Howard is the best defensive player in the league, there could be an adjustment period in which the team suffers from the loss of the two best defensive starters on the team. The Bulls would be gambling that any adjustment period is short and that the resulting team is better than the previous one.

There’s another trade possibility that isn’t exactly novel but hasn’t generated much discussion in a long time: Pau Gasol. Four years ago, the Bulls attempted to acquire Pau from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies ultimately accepted an offer from the Lakers that appeared worse than whatever the Bulls were reported to have put on the table, but in the end the Grizzlies fared pretty well as a result of their decision. The Lakers also fared well, winning a couple championships with Pau and Kobe leading the way. Now, the Lakers face a bit of a dilemma. They’re structured like the Heat, except that both their Big 3 and their supporting cast are notably worse than Miami’s. In fact, their supporting cast is objectively horrible. The fifth-best PER on the team is 10.6, which is easily exceeded by all 14 players who have suited up for the Bulls this year. Although I don’t believe that Scalabrine, Lucas, or Mike James would merit a substantial role on the Lakers, everyone else probably would.

The Lakers seem to recognize that the current roster is not ideal. They already thought that they had traded Pau prior to the season in the Chris Paul debacle, and they’re frequently rumored to be active in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. After the Chris Paul deal was vetoed by the league, Lamar Odom was so upset by his inclusion that the Lakers traded him at a seemingly discount rate. Pau similarly appears unhappy with his position in the organization. He has already voiced his displeasure with Mike Brown’s Kobe-isolation offense which keeps him on the perimeter, and his numbers are down across the board. He has also been targeted as a scapegoat for the team’s failures in last year’s playoffs and for their early struggles this year. The Lakers have a difficult 10-game stretch before the All-Star game, including games in Oklahoma City, Dallas, Philly, Boston, and New York in addition to hosting the Blazers and Hawks. If they don’t win a majority of those games, the pressure to make some major changes should increase. Kobe isn’t going anywhere, and Bynum would only be moved for Howard. None of the role players have significantly positive trade value. Unless the Lakers can acquire a difference-maker with Odom’s trade exception, dealing Pau is their best option to address the team’s deficiencies.

After that lengthy introduction, I’ll get to the point:

Presuming that Joel Przybilla would sign with the Bulls if playing time were available, I think that the Bulls should offer Boozer, Asik, Brewer, and their first-round pick to the Lakers for Pau and Derrick Caracter.

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Tom Brady can bite me. The Giants are annoying. Screw the NFL! Sure, there are only two basketball games today; one currently going where Rajon Rondo already had 3 turnovers and an ugly face, and the other where NBA fans get to see Jose Calderon try and contain Mario Chalmers and Norris 'This year's Landry Fields/Nico Batum Golden Child' Cole. Honestly, when I'm not watching Bulls' basketball I watch the NBA in order to see the other top players put up bad statistics so that our Derrick Rose can keep moving up in the statistical rankings. So talk it up! I'm sure half of you clowns are drunk anyway. Meanwhile I'm typing on my laptop at almost 2am because my wife is still in her hometown and I am trying to re-adjust to sleeping alone again. It sucks. Someone make me some dumplings, damnit!

Conclusions drawn from very simple statistical analyses are often tempting to believe, yet often questionable as well. One familiar example to readers of this blog would be the almost mythical: Bogans scores six – Bulls win! from last season. It is true that the team did win a high percentage of games in which Bogans was productive offensively, and it's easy to see why that might have been the case. But it is equally obvious that there was nothing magical about that threshold, as in the playoffs against Miami, Bogans scored only three points in the Bulls' blowout at home, six in one loss, and five twice in games in which one additional point would almost certainly not have led to victories.

Now and again last season, and even more so this season, I have been getting the impression that the Bulls' weren't creating enough shot opportunities for their designated sharpshooter, Kyle Korver. I didn't bother to look at actual numbers – it was just a suspicion.

But as Korver has been pressed into many more minutes of late, my earlier impression has been strengthened, and I thought it time to at least take a look at some basic numbers. Those numbers paint an interesting picture, though I suppose it could be argued that the sample size is on the small side.

Of the 26 games that the Bulls have played this season, Korver has shot four or less times in 12, and six or more in the remaining 14. When shooting four times or less, he is hitting at a dismal 24%; when taking six or more shots, his percentage vaults to 50%. Parsed another way, in the former category, he only shot 50% or better in two of 12 games; in the latter, the number was seven of 14 games.

I suppose an argument could be made that Korver was simply out of sync early in the season, and that when he has his stroke down, his numbers are likely to improve markedly even in low-touch games. But I doubt that is more than a contributing factor. I believe that designated shooters – whether Vinnie Johnson, Jason Terry or Kyle Korver – need to shoot more than a couple of times a game in order to really heat up. And in the case of the Bulls, I'd argue that even a superficial statistical analysis like the one above adds fuel to the notion that Thibs would be well-advised to create more shot opportunities for Korver, irrespective of minutes played.

After all, Hot Sauce is really only worth using when it brings (and hopefully later in the season helps to beat) the Heat.

[Thanks to prevenge for today's game preview. Game Thread at 7:30. Luol Deng may play. -yfbb]

I initially wrote an entire game preview around the fact that the Bulls' last five guys were better than the Pistons best five guys. It wasn't entirely correct, but there are points where you can actually see the Bulls pulling out a game against the Pistons with the Lucas/Butler/Scalabrine/Gibson/Asik lineup. (One example: against the Wizards.)

So obviously the Bulls are actually playing against, um, the Bucks. You'd think that this destroys most of the preview that I wrote. And it does, except for one thing:

The Bucks just lost to the Pistons.

So, the Bucks. What to make of them? They're a team that you can't really predict: like most Skiles teams, the defense is usually there [though it wasn't last night!], but the offense comes and goes in spurts.

To put this in perspective: the game before losing to the Pistons [breaking the Pistons' 7-game losing streak: did you know that they have less wins than we have losses?], the Bucks did what (here in Chicago) is considered the impossible: they beat the Heat. How, you ask? I have no idea. It seems ridiculous. More fuel for people who say "Just because team x beat team y doesn't mean team x is better than team y!" Makes unbiased analysis real hard to do when that's the case. Which wouldn't be a problem, except that there's a game preview to do.

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