Interim direction

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 7, 2008 7:08 PM CST in News Comment 40 comments

Sam Smith regurgitates what's been written the past week about the Boylan regime so far, he's playing his veterans (Wallace, Smith, Hinrich, Deng, Gordon, Duhon) more than Skiles even did.

If the reason behind Skiles firing was that he didn't want to bench Ben Gordon, and that he dared to sit Wallace to end games, then I owe ol' angry-face a big apology. Not that he didn't deserve to be fired for other reasons, but my ire should've been focused at Pax if that was the real reason.

Especially if it had to do with Wallace's play. The Sun-Times buries the lead after the Kings game (well, my fanboy lead) and puts Wallace's free-throw heroics ahead of the unearthing of Tyrus Thomas.

One of the first things Jim Boylan did when he was named coach after Skiles was fired was talk to Wallace.

''I asked him if I could count on him and he said I could,'' Boylan said. ''I took him at his word.''

Wallace, who wasn't thrilled with being benched by Skiles for entire fourth quarters, relished the chance to help the Bulls pull out a 94-93 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. In addition to blocking Brad Miller's last-second shot, Wallace hit the decisive free throw with 3.2 seconds left -- Wallace's lone point of the night.

''That's the reason you play the game, to be out there and do what you can do to help the team,'' Wallace said. ''I was having a little back spasm and couldn't [bend] down as low as I wanted to get down on the free-throw line. When it counted, I was able to get under it and make one for the team. That's what we need; we need everyone to go when their number is called.''

Boylan, who is 4-2 as coach, believes the team needs Wallace to be more involved if the Bulls are going to turn this 13-19 season around.

''He plays the game differently than most NBA players,'' Boylan said. ''He affects the game in a lot of different ways that don't always show up in the stats.''

Unfortunately for Boylan, 'minutes' does appear in the stat sheet. And the number in Wallace's column is too high.

Sure, Wallace never was an offensive force, but at least at his prime he could catch and finish. He's never shot this poorly in his career (33%), and the multiple missed (or unattempted) layups and dunks hurts the offense as much as any cold jumpshooter. That 'clutch' free-throw was Wallace's only point in 33 minutes.

This is a team with plenty of capable frontcourt options, yet the guy who can't finish, rebounding worse each year, and battling back spasms, bone spurs in his foot, and plain old age is getting this much burn.

And why? Because after not getting his 'entitled' minutes he quit on Skiles? Sure, it's a good strategy for the interim coach to get the highest-paid (and still one of the most important) player on his side. I'm resigned to the fate that we're stuck with this guy, but also that he can still help. I'm guessing that the organization feels the same way. But things would've been better for Boylan if instead of asking Wallace if he could handle more minutes, he should've asked if he could 'count on' handling a reduced role without killing another coach.

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Since I didn't want to clutter up the main point

I'll emphasize that playing Duhon so much is almost as big of a problem, and I still hate it.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 7, 2008 7:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Agree Thabo would be better than Dudu

hes a much better option to start he can guard the bigger guard well and provides some sort of offense by driving to the lane.

by eross226 on Jan 7, 2008 7:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

In defense of Duhon

I know he gets pounded on here and I am certainly not a huge fan of his, but the one thing that Duhon is doing that Thabo has not been able to is distribute the ball without turning it over. In order to win minutes, Thabo doesn't have to be a scoring machine, but he needs to be able to hand out more assists than turnovers. I hope that happens with more minutes.

by paxson43 on Jan 7, 2008 9:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Last season Thabo

was fine when he wasn't playing with Duhon. But, the coaches have continued to put him on the floor with Duhon more than any other player. It's one of the examples of coaches setting up players for failure.

by Scotter on Jan 7, 2008 9:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

all those missed shots

while not quite as bad as the turnovers are still really damaging. Especially because the bulls are not a particularly good rebounding team, and even less so with DuDu out there in all his 6'1" glory.

by fundamentallysound on Jan 7, 2008 10:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They aren't bad shots

they are taken in the context of the offense, late in the shot clock and usually pretty wide open. He just needs to hit a few of them. Not turning the ball over is a lot more important.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Jan 7, 2008 10:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The problem is Duhon

is just rounding into mid-season form. Remember when he shot 20.8% during January last year. I agree he has totkae those shots if he's on the floor. So don't put him on the floor.

by Scotter on Jan 7, 2008 11:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Gordon stinks up the beginning of

every season. Duhon turns into an even bigger piece of Duh Duh during the middle of every season.

by Scotter on Jan 7, 2008 11:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He's not in for his shooting

he's in there to take care of the ball. And he's a placeholder until Thabo remembers how to play. He's not there long term.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Jan 8, 2008 8:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Duhon/Boylan video

http://weblogs.wgntv.com/sports/basketball/bulls/blog/2008/01/keeping_the_faith.html

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 8, 2008 10:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

poor word choice

on my part. The shots aren't bad in the context of the offense, you are right about that. However, just about every shot Duhon puts up right now seems bad since he is hitting at such an abysmal rate; hopefully, he can either regain his shooting touch or Boylan will send him to the bench.

by fundamentallysound on Jan 8, 2008 4:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

hey whattaya know

as far as guards go, Sefolosha is a very good rebounder.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 7, 2008 10:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He was one of the best rebounding guards in the

league last year. Hell, he's a better rebounder than Deng when Thabo plays SF.

by Scotter on Jan 7, 2008 11:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Your right on primary and secondary points

As for Wallace. It is just so obvious that he needs to play less minutes. Even if you agree that he does "special" things on the court, why would you not want him fresh at the end. The bottom line is he plays hard only when he feels like it. While he may have "won" a game by hitting one stupid free throw, he "lost" another by wandering all over the place and not guarding his man or jumping on the game winner (Orlando). We have the opportunity to develop some three very good players with completely different strengths and weaknesses in Noah, TT, and Grey, while prolonging the effectiveness of Smith and Wallace. A true strong and creative coach would mix and match the strentghs of the three young guys, get Wallace on board and play his two old guys for the post season.

As for the Du and Sepho argument. Du is shooting in the Teens, Sepho needs confidence. Sepho can effect the game and fill our largest deficiency just by being out there at an athletic 6'7". He can't shoot worse than Du. I agree that Du brings leadership and great backup point guard skills but again, lets mix and match the strength and weaknesses of these players and use the big, long Sepho in those matchups that we need him.

by joemoses on Jan 7, 2008 8:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thabo

continues to impress me with his ability to drive to the basket. I don't think I've ever seen a team so reluctant to do that than ours right now. Thabo might not have his jump shot down, but he is a longer defender with good hands for a steal and the ability to finish his layups. Complete a layup, imagine that!

He should be getting half of Duhon's time, imo. Du is getting his minutes as some kind of default player with Gordon on the bench and he's done nothing this year to deserve it. If anything he has reinforced the notion he does better on the bench if you look at his numbers vs minutes compared to when he seemed useful a month ago.

by cranscape on Jan 7, 2008 11:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm witholding judgement

on how much Wallace is playing until the trade deadline. If the goal is to rebuild his value a bit and ship him out, then I think it's a pretty wise move. I think whether he's playing fairly well or not, he's clearly not going to last if he continues on this pace, and we're not a good enough team otherwise that we should pass up the savings and a potentially younger and more useful asset if we can get those things. And if we can't, at some point they need to ease up the throttle on him and Smith or they're gonna fall apart and we'll be in a free fall.

If they're simply playing the dude 40mpg and aren't going to make a real effort to move him, that'll be counterproductive in the end.

Another question I've got: Skiles wasn't regularly putting Wallace on the bench in the 4th last year. I know we were down more this year, but it seemed like a pretty big about face from how he was used last year.

by Sports2 on Jan 7, 2008 8:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

A recurring theme of a few weeks ago

had it that firing a coach was a lot easier than firing the whole team and that therefore Skiles' days were numbered. In light of what has subsequently surfaced, the actual equation was much simpler: Whose salary would be easier to eat, Skiles' or Wallaces? The answer? Skiles'.

For weeks there had been rumblings about players bending Paxson's ear with tales of Skiles-induced woe. Well, I think now we know who authored those tales.

Wallace's attempted Detroit mutiny failed because his team-mates were too well established and too talented to knuckle under to his passive-aggressive power play.

But in Chicago Wallace sensed he had the advantage against the babyish Bulls' pansies. Our vaunted core cowered before the whining weenie, and let him call his coaching shot.

And this is what we're left with: Huge minutes for the vets; 1st and 2nd year players virtually benched. I have a feeling this doesn't end well.

by alec on Jan 7, 2008 8:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

unearthing of Tyrus

Tyrus helped the team in some ways but clearly hurt it in others. I don't think his play was the real story of the game like you seem to.

by JSlakov on Jan 7, 2008 9:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'd cast my lot with the exhumation

over the free throw heroics. Most definitely.

by alec on Jan 7, 2008 9:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

For non-story of the game

I'd have to go with the absence of Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, and Ron Artest.

by Freethefro on Jan 7, 2008 9:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Linking the team's fate to a prima donna

Never works. Play Ben too few minutes and he'll pout, play him too many and he'll get injured.

At best, both Wallace and Smith are 25-minute players. That should leave plenty of room in the rotation for Tyrus and Noah, but we'll have to wait until Smith's next arthroscopy and whatever ailment Wallace incurs for that to happen.

by vanillablue on Jan 7, 2008 9:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I originally thought

that playing the vets a lot more early was by design. It was intended to be a message to the young guys who were very inconsistent to that point to make sure that they understood that they needed to produce in order to earn minutes, TT in particular, and that firing Skiles wasn't going to guarantee them more minutes. And I'll be disappointed if it turns out that the gradual increase in minutes for the youngsters isn't part of some master plan.

If it turns out to be that playing Wallace more was just to get him to return to something near his old form, I'll be really disappointed. Also, what does this type of thing say about BG's play. I'd like to think that BG's recent good play is more about him having a more clearly defined role and nothing more sinister, but was he influenced by Wallace or worse part of the mutiny? He's certainly another guy whose play has improved dramatically since the change.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Jan 7, 2008 10:26 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

even since the 'resurgence'

Wallace has still turned in a few stinkers.

I'd wonder more about Gordon if he didn't always start a season like crud.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 7, 2008 10:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If I had to say, seriously, what I think

is going on, my thought would be that Skiles really wanted to get to the finals, maybe even win them--that just getting to the second round again would not be good enough. He tried mixing and matching his roster every way he could think of. He didn't care if he created the occasional putrid brew in search of the one golden combination. Eventually, he realized he just needed more horses. When he told this to Paxson, perhaps Paxson felt betrayed. After all, they had worked together intimately on every personnel issue...how could Skiles bail on him now?

Skiles' non-belief bled through to his players. They felt his lack of faith, and they in turn began losing their own faith in themselves. They began playing like the losers they perceived Skiles believed them to be.

Paxson couldn't afford to stand idly by and watch his creation fall back into the NBA oblivion of perpetual mediocrity. He felt they were dangerously close to the tipping point. So he made the change.

In the eyes of the outside world, a number 4 seed will look like Boylan has done a great job, that he's restored the confidence and self-respect of the franchise. But in reality, he will only have taken it back to where Skiles knew it was all along--good enough for an early exit from the play-offs, an unsatisfactory destination, according to Skiles' higher aspirations.

by alec on Jan 7, 2008 11:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

interesting analysis!

by exult463 on Jan 8, 2008 4:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This is why winning an Alec Award was the lowlight

of the season for me!

by snley on Jan 8, 2008 8:16 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

heh

I actually agree with Alec's speculation. It seems like Paxson thinks this bunch is better than Skiles did.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 8, 2008 9:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The strategy over the last six games

has been very confusing to me. The fist couple of games it was all veterans. Then in the next four games first and second year players received much more playing time but not for a discernable reason/pattern. Unless Paxson/Boylan are doing a quick and dirty evaluation/show casing prior to trying to do a trade. There is just no apparent consisency.

by hlac on Jan 7, 2008 10:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What about if the strategy is...

first stop the bleeding and try to establish some base by using the Veterans more. Then, when you have some momentum and a winning attitude back, slowly but surely involve more the 1st and 2nd year players (TT, Thabo, Noah) into the rotation, and then, if everything goes to plan, into the starting 5 (not all of them, but hopefully by the end of the season, TT or Noah will be in the starting 5, Thabo and TT/Noah first off the bench, followed by Noc, and then only Gray, Duhon).

The Game chose him !

by Diabolo on Jan 8, 2008 3:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Looks like your

man Sam has had a change of heart about Tyrus.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080107samsmithjimboylantyrusthoma s,1,250930.column?coll=cs-home-headlines

Win, just win.

by sue369 on Jan 8, 2008 7:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Sam was drunk when he wrote that

Seriously, that was one of the most surreal articles I've ever read. I don't remember him ever packing so many corny jokes in one column before. It was kind of disturbing!

by snley on Jan 8, 2008 8:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sam is kind

of disturbing. Have you seen the way he dresses? ::shudders::

Win, just win.

by sue369 on Jan 8, 2008 10:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

saw it

that deserved it's own post.

http://www.blogabull.com/story/2008/1/8/92910/06361

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 8, 2008 9:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Actual COACHING dare we say?

Pretty interesting comments from Duhon and Noah in the Daily Herald:

As far as what's different about the actual practices, Noah suggested the Bulls are spending more time reviewing game video and working on individual skills.

"We watch a lot more film on the things we could have done better," he said. "We didn't do that a lot before. Instead of just running up and down the whole time (in practice), there's more emphasis on exactly what we're doing."

Chris Duhon, on the other hand, mentioned the length of the workouts as a significant difference between Boylan and former coach Scott Skiles.

"Practice is not as long as it used to be," Duhon said. "We pretty much get in, we get our work done and we get out. Things are, I wouldn't say smoother, but guys are more relaxed knowing that we're not going to be grinding it out for 2½-3 hours."

Sounds like Boylan is doing all he can to make things different from Skiles...uhh which is a good thing...

by ScottieCartwright on Jan 8, 2008 8:39 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Goes with the idea that communication was lacking

It also goes with the idea I've had in my head that this team doesn't look quite as sharp on defense (lack of drilling).

We've still not beaten a good team and we've had close games with bad teams.

by Sports2 on Jan 8, 2008 9:33 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Why can't anyone remember

to wins over Detroit? Or were you just talking about under Boylan?

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Jan 8, 2008 9:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm forgetting those wins

After last season's playoffs, I'm convinced that the Pistons don't give a crap most of the time, and when they do they can outclass the Bulls.

until proven otherwise.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 8, 2008 10:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What?

They didn't watch video before? No wonder they kept doing the same mistakes over and over. Nothing that running up and down the floor at practice can't fix, right? /sarc

by cranscape on Jan 8, 2008 3:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wallace skips practice

"battled back and foot pain".

Ya don't say.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 8, 2008 9:29 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

With all the injuries...

"But when he arrived at the Berto Center in the morning, Boylan found that Luol Deng was still out with Achilles tendinitis, Ben Gordon had a bruised left knee from the victory over Sacramento on Saturday, Andres Nocioni had a fever and Ben Wallace, who has battled back and foot pain, was out."

We had better see more Thabo,TT,Noah and less YMCA rec-league All-star Adrian Griffith.

by RogersPark Kris on Jan 8, 2008 9:36 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs