Preseason game one thoughts

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 9, 2007 11:14 PM CDT in News

The surprise start for the night was camp invite Thomas Gardner in with Hinrich/Deng/Thomas/Wallace. Gordon and Sefolosha were both DNPs. Gardner didn't do much to distinguish himself until a fantastic fast break dunk over Yi in the 3rd quarter. Surprising that Gardner got the start over JamesOn 'The Promise' Curry. While Gardner is a slightly bigger guard, Kirk still had the assignment of guarding Desmond Mason. Why bother having him get used to not guarding people bigger than him every night.
The Luol Deng post player experience was a mixed bag, although it's encouraging that it's a bag at all. Showed a nice turnaround jumper on one possession, yet was easily stripped on another. Even while just getting the ball at the elbow the Bucks were quick to bring an extra defender towards Luol, which will make the offense's life much easier. I have nothing on Wallace or Hinrich, they were fine.
Nocioni was the first off the bench, and we got to see the first experiment of the 'big' lineup, with Hinrich/Deng/Noc/Thomas/Wallace. It didn't last very long but didn't look too awful. Deng was assigned to Redd while Noc guarded Desmond Mason. Mason then carved up Noc pretty easily. Speaking of Noc, he was overall his typical self: gunning his way at a high percentage, while still being a spaz on defense. It's frustrating watching him late to close out on shooters, but if he keeps up that efficiency on offense he'll be a great weapon off the bench, especially when Gordon isn't in.
Tyrus was pretty much the same as last season, which is perfectly fine. One potential difference was shown in the 2nd half where he slashed, caught, and leapt towards the rim while getting clobbered...but a stronger-looking Tyrus was able to finish.
Aaron Gray didn't do much for me. He'll always seem a step slow. But Mike Sweetney may have been even slower than that, and that's all he has to replace.
The guy I was really impressed with was Noah. Sure, his first possession was a jumphook chucked off the backboard. He was good at what we were told he was good at: passing, catching, defense, and rebounding. He'll fit in well with the Bulls big men with an uncanny ability to get his hands on loose balls and even pitching in a few steals. He finished strong and above the rim, and showed impressive athleticism when blocking and challenging shots. He's ready to join the frontcourt rotation right away.

0 recs | Comment 45 comments

Comments

Noah

Among many other exiting things about this game (big ben, kirk's D, Deng's Jordenesque fadeway from the block) I realized I am going to love Noah. If they were accurately keeping assists, he should have had at least 5. He gets his hands on loose or stripped balls, he blocks shots, and he is always in position to receive a pass, deliver a pass, screen someone so that another guy gets a rebound. In all, I was very impressed.

by joemoses on Oct 9, 2007 11:57 PM CDT 0 recs

The other thing I liked...

...about Deng in the post was that he got Redd to foul him once just by trying to establish position. We see Kirk get in foul trouble quite a bit when he's trying to fight bigger two guards from getting established in the post, so it'll be nice to be able to turn the tables for once. He also found Gardner once across court for a wide open three when he was doubled. Gardner clanked it, but Gordon won't.

Noah was excellent.

by BenGo07 on Oct 10, 2007 12:26 AM CDT 0 recs

Deep team.

I love the depth of this team already. Some players that stood out to me that should be on the bubble were Gardner and I really like Joseph Blair that guy seems like a work horse. He was really talking alot on defense or out of time outs which I think shows you he he's been well coached in AZ. JamesOn looked so/so but I liked his game. Noah is better than I thought and I think he could start but Im sure Joe Smith will based on experince. They have to be the deepest team in the league.

Not many weak links there so far. I wonder if Sweets had to do any doughnut runs and just shoved them in his face and everyone was like heyyyy where are the doughnuts?

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by joejoeEnglish94bulls4ever on Oct 10, 2007 12:33 AM CDT 0 recs

wait not Blair!

The white guy.Homan.

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by joejoeEnglish94bulls4ever on Oct 10, 2007 12:43 AM CDT up 0 recs

My thoughts

Jameson Curry is to Ben Gordon what Duhon is to Hinrich?

Wallace finally is showing us his famous hustle, but it might be a year later than i would like (on one of his dunks he definetly looked old)

Aaron Gray is a big body with real nice awareness. He didnt seem to athletic or really skilled in anyway, but he at least didnt have that look of confusion that sweetney often had. He can go in there and bang with big centers, at least long enough to secure some boards, and give our other bigs a rest. He might be a good project if pax is bored.

Tyrus Thomas in a trade? Sure he has tremendous upside, but he might go through a tyson chandler sort of thing with skiles. He got stronger for sure, but often it looked liked like noah had a better idea of what was going on or what should be done. Hopefully it was just this game, and the next game ty will show more of his worth.

NOAH!!! Yi really was just garbage (although i can see him as a threat at the 3 eventually) and if Hawes truly is busted (to think i was rooting for him) than Noah really was a steal. He did everything i heard he would, and was it just me or did he get smarter and better during the game. His learning curve seemed high, and his hustle was insane. A bigger ben wallace maybe? Hey, we are going for that pistons look arent we? I think this guy should be a starter right now.

Duhon looked nice, his shot was on, and his defense was great. Despite all the insults, he is still a really good backup guard to have. I could see him and jameson working well together when hinrich and gordon need a break, albeit, it would remain a small guard lineup.

Hinrich, his legs definetly seemed fresh at the pace he was going at the whole game. Defensively he wasnt spectacular, he played the same d we expect. On offense his shot looked the same also, but the way he ran the offense was a thing of beauty, he finally looked like Captain Kirk really taking charge of the offense. Quick thinking and quick moving.

Horman, blair and Gardner had thier moments but...they werent anything to get happy about. Homan reminded me of bill wennington for some reason, Blair seriously looked like a bouncer that just wanted to play some ball, and gardner looked sort of gangsta. Gardner might be the most amusing prospect with his slashing style, plus being a sort of tall(er) guard, him playing alongside thabo could be intresting. I really dont think we need homan or blair

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

by piccolomair on Oct 10, 2007 5:36 AM CDT 0 recs

Yes he was spectacular

Kirk was moving so fast on D it was awsome. Mo Williams is a top notch point guard. Kirk made him turn the ball over once (should have been twice if he got the call) just bringing the ball up. It reminded me of why he was considered one of the best defensive guards in the league. It was always when he could stay in front of the top point guards. On offence he shot great and confortable. Made a great pass on the Curry dunk. My only continuing objection to his game is that he still cannot really effectively penetrate and finish. One final Kirk note. I though he was more vocal as a leader than I have seen in the past. He was talking to everyone on the team, directing them. If he was wearing a 4, I would have thought he was Jerry Sloan.

by joemoses on Oct 10, 2007 9:42 AM CDT up 0 recs

YEA!!!

Kirk hinrich was really being a leader in the game. Everytime there was a break in action he would talk to the rookies and it was wierd, usually he seems a bit sluggish or timid, but he finally looked like a pro baller, like it finally hit him that he was a captain. THE CAPTAIN. I thought his playing style was very point guardish, the way it should be, great deliveries and looks and running the offense.

I watched the rerun again today, and i saw hinrich hit a couple of nice looks and i thought "YES, he is gonna be jason kidd without the flashiness!". I dont think he ever tried to drive the ball inside, and penetration seemed hard since the middle seemed to have alot of traffic going on in it. I espcially liked that one alley oop he was setting up for tyrus, he drove inside and jumped and threw up a floater that was intended for thomas to grab and dunk. the announcers all saw it and said hinrich had been staring at thomas the whole time hoping he would understand. I think that makes me happy, because with hinrichs new leader mentality, i think when all the bulls players get comfortable with hinrichs playing style, theres gonna be alot of looks that will just leave the other team baffled.

YES, the return of the great white american point guard named kirk hinrich is at hand (this coming from a paki guy ;) )

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

by piccolomair on Oct 10, 2007 7:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Noah

I have been trying to tell you guys Noah is ready to play NOW. Ill say again that IMO Noah gets more minutes that TT as long as health isn't an issue. TT needs to stop turning the ball over and get his head in the game. Noah lives with his head in the game.

by haze on Oct 10, 2007 7:26 AM CDT 0 recs

The Game

Must be big. Or else how would that crazy 'do fit?

Get that out of Tyrus' House!!!!

by cubbybear on Oct 10, 2007 1:31 PM CDT up 0 recs

Maybe I misunderstood...

Was that Matt saying something reasonably nice about Noc?

"...if he keeps up that efficiency on offense he'll be a great weapon off the bench..."

-- Happiness is watching Detroit lose.

by Jimslam on Oct 10, 2007 7:57 AM CDT 0 recs

Thoughts

Noce certainly was able to keep a second string offense going with his shooting. That really is a nice thing to bring off of the bench.
Tyrus showed a lot more hustle than Sam Smith would like to give him credit for even if it didn't result in great production last night. One tantalizing portion of his play last night was having him out there with Noah. I loved the fast break that had Curry/Gardner (couldn't tell the difference b/w the two) and Noah and Thomas. Trot those guys out with Lil' Ben, Kirk and Deng and we can run a lot of older teams of the court (I'm looking at you Celtics).
Noah, well he's got the luxury of being a pleasant surprise having been so undervalued in the run-up to the draft(did he look bigger to anybody else?). But, like others, I really enjoyed his game. He seems to fit in very well on both sides of the floor. His first shot attempt made me cringe but that obviously is not his forte. ...As Stephen A Smith made abundantly clear three months ago.
His passing, dribbling, hands and movement were all excellent thought. I particularly enjoyed a gem where he managed to position himself in such a way that he effectively screened two defenders. I don't remember who shot the trey (Noce or Kirk), but they nailed it. As I've said in the past, I see him on the receiving end of many screen and rolls (a play Skiles seems to love). I feel there is a good chance that many writers/talking heads will loudly wondered how the Bulls managed to get their hands on him. Thanks Isiah!!
Big Ben seemed to lack explosiveness whenever he jumped. Looked very active otherwise. I'm a bit concerned that his body might go in the tank this year (I was hoping for another year). I sure hope that he proves me wrong.
Yi was, as I expected, a bit of a disappointment. Seeing his after game comments about dealing with the pressure raised another red flag. I think he'll be a fine player at some point, but he really seemed out of his depth last night. He had a wide open fastbreak, took his time and ended up getting rejected by Noah (I LOVED that play).
All in all, I liked what I saw from the team, especially considering it was the first preseason game. My expectations are pretty high for this season.

"...Keeping 'SlowHand' alive since aught-five"

by CookDing on Oct 10, 2007 8:00 AM CDT 0 recs

Feels good

To see a game thread/wrap up here again. Man, the playoffs feel like forever ago. I didn't get to watch the game but will be watching later this week.

I love seeing the nice press about Noah, let's remember that it's going to take a while with him. No need to start him and kill his confidence if he's eaten alive in the first ten games by the likes of Sheed, Bosh, Amare, Camby/Kmart, Odom, Randolph/Curry(?), - all of whom the Bulls play in their first 10 games.

CookDing - Old School BullsBlog! What's up?!

In Pax we Trust!

by Jobu on Oct 10, 2007 8:40 AM CDT 0 recs

the real kmart?

since when is kevin martin a big man?

by milesgmsu on Oct 10, 2007 9:24 AM CDT up 0 recs

RE:the real Kmart

Miles, it's the first 10 games of the year. Kenyon Martin is like 1993 Shawn Kemp for during those ten games.

After that, not so much...

In Pax we Trust!

by Jobu on Oct 10, 2007 10:30 AM CDT up 0 recs

handle

yeah, I come from BullsBlog. ...it's been so long since those days that I didn't even remember what it was called. I used to go by "Tom" there, though. Makes me a tad misty-eyed to think of how far we've come. ...I will now go purchase and play "Yesterday" by Boys-II-Men.

"...Keeping 'SlowHand' alive since aught-five"

by CookDing on Oct 10, 2007 10:11 AM CDT up 0 recs

Observations

Much like everyone else here, I was pleasantly surprised with Noah's play. He hustled, played with intensity and passion, and he seemed to really do all the things that he was drafted for. I feel a little more at ease now that I've seen what he might be able to do. That being said, I'm not ready to join the "Noah Should Be Starting" bandwagon just yet.

Which brings me to TT. I thought he looked decent on Tuesday. Not real good but not real bad either. Just kinda average. As was mentioned, I definitely liked when he was able to finish the "and-1" play in the second half. Last season, I don't think he finishes that play. For a few moments when he was at the "3", I thought he looked out of sorts. I hope Skiles doesn't tinker with that too much this year. Keep him at the "4" or maybe some "5" if needed. All in all, let's give him some time and see how the rest of his preseason goes.

Kirk, Ben, Lu, Noce - they all looked like they normally do.

I'm not sure why everyone is being so hard on Gray. He actually didn't look too bad to me. He was a big body and he got in there and banged. While a little stiff & robotic-y, he did manage to drop a few small hook shots and grab some boards. He can't be any worse than Sweets was. At the very least, he looked liked he knew where to be at on the floor and during the play.

Gardner really didn't wow me, other than the dunk. I had more "what are you doing?!" moments with him than I had "nice play!" moments. I'll reserve judgement though until I can see more of him in the next few games.

Curry wasn't great, but he looked steady. He looked a lot less nervous than the rest of the rooks, which was good. I can definitely envision him in some kind of role where he gives Ben a breather...or on a night where Thabo or Du is playing horrible.

Speaking of Duhon, he looked decent too. He played decent defense and his offense looked crisp. He didn't hesitate to shoot it.

I can't really envision Horman or Blair sticking around unless the Bulls just want another big body around to take up space and to use fouls. But I thought that's what Gray is for.

by ScottieCartwright on Oct 10, 2007 9:11 AM CDT 0 recs

I'd be very surprised

if the 15th man is a big and not a guard like Gardner or Barrett.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 10, 2007 9:28 AM CDT up 0 recs

lets hope ben didnt look like he normally does

or we have to make up 21.3 ppg

by milesgmsu on Oct 10, 2007 9:28 AM CDT up 0 recs

I was talking about

Big Ben, not BG

by ScottieCartwright on Oct 10, 2007 9:42 AM CDT up 0 recs

Grey curry anyone?

Gray was actually the leading rebounder yesterday, and i dont think (or at least it didnt seem to me) that he played more minutes than anyone else. Gray is unathletic, I didnt seem him sprint up and down the court like noah, or win any fights for position (i saw him fighting for position though), but he has a huge body, and no matter how much of his 270 is muscle, it was clear that it was hard to just get him out of the paint. Alot of his rebounds were due to his reactions, the ball would fall near him and he would snatch it before the other guy did it. They say rebounding is all about desire (actually i think scoring, playing defense, etc...is also about desire), and Gray had a desire to do something. Its not that speedy all over the court hustle, but its hustle.

Curry, i was expecting another Janerro Pargo, a guy who would sit in the corner wait for a pass and shoot tres, but he showed some nice ball handling, cutting through some double team traps and making some nice passes. In the first half he pulled up for his first tre, and the shooting reminded me of Ben Gordon. All in all i think the bulls got real good draft picks. They really added some nice depth to our roster. If all of our rooki/sophmore players pan out to be even decent ballers, we should have no reason not to boast the best bench in the league.

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

by piccolomair on Oct 10, 2007 9:29 AM CDT up 0 recs

Roy for ROY

by hscs on Oct 10, 2007 9:35 AM CDT 0 recs

Last night -

I love Noah! I was very happy to see him play well. I had hoped he would.

I wasn't disappointed in Gray's play. He has good hands and he made his free throws. He was not afraid to mix it up in the middle.

I liked Kirk's leadership he showed last night. On the floor he was directing players and during a time out he was in Curry's ear.

Storey is an asshole. If he plays this season someone will level him.

I was hoping to see more from Curry and he may show more as time goes on. TT did what I thought he would.

The play with a herd of Bulls (it was 4 on 1 I think) running down the floor, not only do they miss the basket but TT gets called for the offensive foul. Just had to laugh.

We'll see how they do at home Friday night.

The floor announcer was horrid. The putrid sound system didn't help either.

by sue369 on Oct 10, 2007 9:38 AM CDT 0 recs

it's generally

used for High School basketball. I don't think the UW-La Crosse team plays there (they have their own small gym, they wouldn't fill 6,000 seats).

So they don't pay much to who-ever's doing it.

by KT on Oct 10, 2007 12:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Ah, thanks.

We were wondering what it was used for.

by sue369 on Oct 10, 2007 12:51 PM CDT up 0 recs

Game highlights

Anybody have a link to some video from last night?

by haze on Oct 10, 2007 10:27 AM CDT 0 recs

They're on the Bulls site

http://www.nba.com/bulls/

In Pax we Trust!

by Jobu on Oct 10, 2007 10:31 AM CDT up 0 recs

here

is a link

by Option27 on Oct 10, 2007 10:31 AM CDT up 0 recs

"My" Last Night

I, like everyone here was very impressed with Noah. I think honestly, there really isn't a reason to start him if this is what he brings every night. The guy just sparks everything up.
Deng is a lot more active on offense. The post up moves and the constant drawing of double teams. I love his passing as well. He really looks to have stepped it up a notch, Not all his post up was spectacular or anything but like Matt said, at least it's there.
Ben Wallace looks a bit more comfortable out there. I know it's only one game but maybe the headband really does help. I loved his recovery block in that 1st quarter.
Tyrus didn't impress me much, which dissapointed me a bit. He did look a lot like he did last year. I was hoping to see an improved jump shot and a more mature player out there.
Horman should stay in Europe.

by Option27 on Oct 10, 2007 10:30 AM CDT 0 recs

No thoughts on Yi?

He had an awful game, but I actually saw enough to get me encouraged long-term. He's not a stiff, and I remember how awful Yao looked for the first 15 games or so before breaking out.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 10, 2007 10:48 AM CDT up 0 recs

The Noah pick just got better

It is being reported that Hawes will have surgery on the same knee repaired when he was 14. After the Yi disaster last night and with Hawes out indefinitely Pax is smelling like a rose.

by chgobr on Oct 10, 2007 11:58 AM CDT up 0 recs

Ha

There was a reason I didn't bring Yi up....

I'm trying to get over the man crush I had on him. As for last night, he didn't look like everything I thought he would look like. Comparing him to Joakim isn't fair either cause everyone knew Joakim was more NBA ready than Yi.

I expect Noah to have a better rookie year but from what I've seen of Yi in Summer League. But there isn't any doubt in my mind that Yi will turn out to be a pick the Bulls could have desperately needed down the line. My whole thing was I didn't mind picking potential because of how deep the Bulls already were.

But now that I seen Noah play, I'll be a man and say I think I was wrong. If the Bulls are looking to win it all now, he's the most logical choice. I also thought the Bulls were in position to win it all if they had picked Yi, but Noah just gives them a little extra umph.

by Option27 on Oct 10, 2007 2:13 PM CDT up 0 recs

Thought this quote was kind of funny...

"Noah wasn't a guy in our top four that we thought was a sixth pick," Krystkowiak said of the former Florida Gators star. "We wanted people (who wanted) to be in Milwaukee. We didn't feel like Yi was saying, 'I don't want to be in Milwaukee.'

"We felt like there were extenuating circumstances, so we didn't hold it against him. But I don't want a guy in training camp that doesn't want to be there. So when he (Noah) said he didn't want to come to the Bucks - I heard it right from his own mouth - I only want 15 guys who want to be there. So, good luck in Chicago, and that's about all I can say."

http://blogs.jsonline.com/bucks/archive/2007/10/09/yi-to-come-off-bench-tonight.aspx

This was up before the game, and obviously I have no idea of how he meant it, but that last line about good luck in Chicago made me laugh.

"They had me do a psychology test and I asked Coach Skiles if that affected his coaching. He laughed and said, `No way.'" (Joakim Noah)

by wjb1492 on Oct 10, 2007 11:58 AM CDT 0 recs

It reads kind of nasty

Score. Or do not score. There is no clutch.

by preverbal on Oct 10, 2007 12:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

and

like idiotic revisionism. What part of "Yi doesn't want to play in Milwaukee" did they not understand? Maybe his handlers couldn't properly translate it to English.
I have nothing against the Bucks, but that quote (if accurate) is pretty stupid. Of all the players in the draft, Yi was undoubtedly the most vocal about not wanting to play in Milwaukee.
Of course, I don't mind as having Noah here (and not in Milwaukee) is working out great for me.

"...Keeping 'SlowHand' alive since aught-five"

by CookDing on Oct 10, 2007 12:54 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think larry's point

was that Yi himself didn't mind Milwaukee as much as his agent and handlers.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 10, 2007 12:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

I definitely

caught that undercurrent, but I don't really buy it. I think that Yi might like Milwaukee now. However, it seemed like he, personally, was all for the idea of landing in Chicago or San Fran at the time of the draft.

"...Keeping 'SlowHand' alive since aught-five"

by CookDing on Oct 10, 2007 1:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

How many people

would choose Milwaukee over Chicago or San Fran given the choice?

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 10, 2007 1:51 PM CDT up 0 recs

Milwaukee

is a pretty nice place to live, easier to get around in than either San Francisco or Chicago, with less crime, good schools, better medical care, and cleaner water.

Plus original theater, the coolest looking art Museum in the world, great restaurants, and beer!

Which is why I live in Madison. :)

by KT on Oct 10, 2007 4:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

'the good land' - alice cooper

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 10, 2007 4:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

Matt....

we're not worthy

"...Keeping 'SlowHand' alive since aught-five"

by CookDing on Oct 11, 2007 7:20 AM CDT up 0 recs

Maybe another

hint for them was that Yi didn't invite them to his private workouts. Maybe he didn't mean that either. lol

I'm so happy we have Joakim.

by sue369 on Oct 10, 2007 12:59 PM CDT up 0 recs

Ha!

The irony is even thicker, because aside from drafting Yi, the Bucks also matched Charlie Bell's offer sheet from Miami even though he said he didn't think he could play his hardest in Milwaukee. But besides those guys, everybody else is totally into Milwaukee. Seriously.

by Petor on Oct 10, 2007 2:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

Wow... I can't see how this team can't be better..

...than last year. They didn't bring in anything huge, but they'll be slightly better at probably every roster spot except backup PG and starting C (Duhon and Wallace). Every other spot either has someone a year older and closer to his prime, or has someone new that will almost certainly be better.

I'd be surprised if they don't win 55 games, and if they have a .500 start to the first couple of weeks, they might 58-60. That would be incredible.

(Yes, this is based off of highlights of one preseason game, but it's more your guys' descriptions backing up the statistical evidence/projections.)

Yes, of course.

by tyger1147 on Oct 10, 2007 2:00 PM CDT 0 recs

My thoughts from the third row.

It was great to sit that close to the game, basically eye level with the players. I was inside as soon as the doors opened and watched most of the shoot-around before the game.

I met Yi, he was greeting people at the door along with the other Bucks rookies. It's going to take him awhile, but watching him in person I can understand the excitement. His jumpshot is solid, and in time I think he'll be able to play from the mid-post like Dirk does now. Milwaukee may end up being the perfect place for Yi. Low expectations with adoring fans.

I have a ton of thoughts on various players. But, I just got my motherboard replaced so I should catch up with what everyone else has said over the last couple of days first.

by Scotter on Oct 10, 2007 3:21 PM CDT 0 recs