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Open Game Thread #62: Bulls at Boston Celtics

Jayhawk_tiny by wjb1492 on

[ed. note: Thanks to wjb1492 for today's game preview. -Matt]

I'm really not sure what to say about tonight after last night's win.  Part of me wants to be all excited and gung ho, but then I remember that the Bulls haven't won three in a row all season and tonight's game is against the Boston Celtics - who are an NBA best 47 and 12 (27-4 at home).  Needless to say, Chicago is not a league best at much of anything, unless you count being the best at shooting poorly as good.  But hey, that's where the league leading 13.5 offensive rebounds per game come in - at least the guys get a lot of their own misses!

The Bulls are a big-time underdog tonight, with accuscore giving Boston an 80.7% chance of winning and a 59.7% chance of winning big.  Needless to say, the guys will need to shoot like the second half last night (23 of 40), rather than the first half (17 of 51), to have a chance.  Maybe adding Sam Cassell to the mix will be just enough of a distraction for the Bulls to grab a win....

Speaking of whom, for those who enjoy this brand of humor:

"We've been eying Sam for a while now, but the idea to sign E.T. didn't come up until over the weekend," said Boston GM Danny Ainge. "We were talking about how to ease Sam into the Boston experience; just to make him feel at home, you know? Somebody suggested bringing in a relative, and - actually this is a little embarrassing, because I actually thought Sam was descended from hammerhead sharks, and I was worried about where we'd put the tank at the Fleet Center. But anyway, we got that all worked out and we're just happy that E.T. was ultimately willing to sign for a lifetime supply of Reese's Pieces. Turns out that doesn't even count against our salary cap number, so it's like a freeroll."

For his part, Cassell seemed grateful for the chance to be around family.

"Me and E, we've always been really close," Cassell told SSNN. "He's technically my cousin, but to me he's more like a brother. We do everything together - like when we were little, we used to scare the hell out of people by levitating, or making our fingers light up. Good times."

Go Bulls!

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GO BULLS
i'm curious to see how we perform against the #1 and #2 seeds in the East on the road. IF we make the playoffs (you never know with Boylan), we're gonna face one of these two teams. are we capable of taking a few games from them in a series?

dare i even suggest the possibility of a golden state-like 1st round upset if we get our shit together and play up to our potential?

first things first obviously. wins would be nice, but i'd just like to see us play well this weekend.

by Orange Juice on Mar 7, 2008 5:49 PM CST   0 recs

Please
don't suggest such things. It makes the losses hurt that much less when we all turn to our biting sarcasm instead of our broken hope.

by ForWhomTheBullTolls on Mar 7, 2008 6:03 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I am relegated to the Wennington crew tonight.
I'll have to imagine Tyrus in his suit.
LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Mar 7, 2008 5:52 PM CST   0 recs

Anything is possible.
If they play hard and smart I will be happy.

by sue369 on Mar 7, 2008 6:04 PM CST   0 recs

I'll say this for Boylan . . .
At least the Bulls haven't been getting blown out as much as they did under Skiles earlier this season.  The game in Boston in December (along with the Rockets game the night after) was the end for Skiles, because it was obvious that the team had quit on him.  With Boylan, they're losing close games instead of blowouts.  Of course, they're losing close games because Boylan is an idiot, but at least they're not getting blown out by 20 every night.  I think that suggests that with a decent coach, this team might not be as far away as their record suggests.

by Big D on Mar 7, 2008 6:08 PM CST   0 recs

this team might not be as far away
Gee...ya think?    :-)
Spring training....FINALLY!!

by Bluelou on Mar 7, 2008 7:25 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

How / when the heck did PJ Brown
end up on the Celtics?
Wasn't he still under contact with the Bulls?
Spring training....FINALLY!!

by Bluelou on Mar 7, 2008 7:11 PM CST   0 recs

obviously not.
He was a free agent who said he didn't want to play anymore. Obviously jumping on the Celtics bandwagon to championship.

When the Spurs when everything again, he'll be sorry.

by KT on Mar 7, 2008 11:08 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

It's one thing to try and beata good team
but to continually have to get past a lop-sided ref crew is a whole other matter....

Celts can't do no wrong - Bulls get hit with ticky tacks...

shyte.

Spring training....FINALLY!!

by Bluelou on Mar 7, 2008 7:19 PM CST   0 recs

The refs
have been under "The mystique" since game #1. And it's even worse at BOS.

by marionette on Mar 7, 2008 7:26 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I can honestly say
that this is the worst they've been all season.

It is absolutely horrible, and the Bulls won't even stand a chance like this....I'm so disgusted I'm about to turn the game off....seriously.

Spring training....FINALLY!!

by Bluelou on Mar 7, 2008 7:30 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

the only complaint i really have
is that boston has set a bunch of illegal screens at the top of the key, obvious ones

by ihatenoce on Mar 7, 2008 7:38 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

How's your complain list now?
I nominate Posey's flop that took a reb away, and House's slap down at Hughes' shot. When the ball still goes up, they're supposed to call it a foul. These are just the last two possessions, and knowing it'll just get worse, I'm thinking of sitting this out w/ Bullish. I can always watch the Suns lose.

by marionette on Mar 7, 2008 7:58 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Tyrus
We could really use him about now

by Option27 on Mar 7, 2008 7:29 PM CST   0 recs

Aaron Gray is just not awesome.
Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Mar 7, 2008 7:30 PM CST   0 recs

Bulls
in no way can win this just shooting tough jump shots.

They gotta get to the line to even have a chance

by Option27 on Mar 7, 2008 7:38 PM CST   0 recs

Or at least
make the ones that weren't so tough. There were quite a few, and Noah missed a couple lay-ins.

by marionette on Mar 7, 2008 7:41 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

noah and gray on the floor at the same time
i must be dreaming!!!!!!!!!!!

by ihatenoce on Mar 7, 2008 7:50 PM CST   0 recs

here comes drew
ugh

by ihatenoce on Mar 7, 2008 7:51 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

wow...hughes sucks...
...just what we needed, another freaking turnover machine to add to noc, bg and hinrich

by bullsfaninbigapple on Mar 7, 2008 8:03 PM CST   0 recs

Hughes is really forcing the action...
...right now.  But at least he is trying to make something happen.  Here we go again languishing on the perimeter shooting jump shot after jump shot.  When is the last time we took a free throw?  We gotta become a more offensively aggressive team, and despite Hughes struggling right now at least he is attempting to get to the basket.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:08 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Turnovers
were hurting even before this BOS run...

by marionette on Mar 7, 2008 8:04 PM CST   0 recs

Gooden isn't hustling
I'd like to see some Cedric Simmons whenever Leon Powe comes in.  Seems like a fair fight.

by YaoPau on Mar 7, 2008 8:06 PM CST   0 recs

whats that smell
oh its that pile of du on the floor

by ihatenoce on Mar 7, 2008 8:06 PM CST   0 recs

Just as I was invoking my last resort:
"At least Duhon hasn't played."

The dream is dead.

by jpx7 on Mar 7, 2008 8:10 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Three Pointers aren't falling 2nite...
... FG percentage is low and we've only taken 7 free throws.  Recipe for disaster!!!!  Who on this team is capable of grabbing the game by the throat and taking over?  Who gets mad when we fall into these lulls?  We ALWAYS go through this and i hate it!!!  This is why we can trade EVERY SINGLE PLAYER on our roster.  Not one of them has a killer instinct!!  I take that back.  Nocioni has one and maybe Gordon.  But no one else even remotely has that championship fire in them.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:13 PM CST   0 recs

Also, let me add....
..Joakim Noah.  He has fire as well and will be an exciting player to watch over the years.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:15 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Way to go, Gooden.
At least we can put Tyrus in.

Oh, wait, the dipshit coach Paxson hired suspended him for two games. For missing one practice.

The Bulls aren't even competitive.

But if we make the playoffs with the vets, I can look forward to four straight games of this! Yes! Awesome. Good strategy.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Mar 7, 2008 8:18 PM CST   0 recs

Fugly
describes it pretty much.

by sue369 on Mar 7, 2008 8:19 PM CST   0 recs

Noah is good...
...the rest of this roster is a ragtag bunch of no-hopers...

by bullsfaninbigapple on Mar 7, 2008 8:19 PM CST   0 recs

Whats up with Fouls
I got a call so missed the entire first half except for gooden being ejected (great timing on my part) i also noticed that the celtics shot what 29 free throws compared to the bulls 9? WTF! Is this star treatment, or are the bulls just sucking on moving thier feet? By the way, that last tip in by gooden looked legit, so gooden has every right to be upset. The officials must have decided that the bulls were way too blue collar, and needed to eject at least one every game or something.
Kirk Hinrich. The Best White American Point Guard in the NBA.

by piccolomair on Mar 7, 2008 8:21 PM CST   0 recs

This isn't star treatment.
I don't know if you have noticed, but all of our scorers are jump shooters.  We don't go to the basket very often and when we do we don't get the benefit of the doubt because we do it so infrequently.  Boston has been attacking the basket (unlike us) and crashing the boards (they are outrebounding us by 10).  The day we decide to become a more aggressive team is the day we'll get more calls and free throw attempts.  Incidentally that will also be when we start to win.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:24 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

{Insert description of feces here}
That's pretty much it.
Drew Gooden beard meter - 6 (Old Amish Carpenter)

by cubbybear on Mar 7, 2008 8:28 PM CST   0 recs

Woah
Steven A Smith just pretty much said the Bulls were the worst team ever except for Noah

LOL

by Option27 on Mar 7, 2008 8:28 PM CST   0 recs

Stephen A. Smith
AMEN to your assessment of the Bulls!!!!!!!!

It's not Boylan and it wasn't Skiles.  We are not very talented and cannot win unless we play balls to the wall and shoot the lights out (like we did against Cleveland for instance).  When Luol Deng is your best player (debatable by the way), then it's trouble.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:30 PM CST   0 recs

I was searching for the word and I think I got it:
Pride.  This team has none of it.  (Again, not talking about you, Joakim.)

by YaoPau on Mar 7, 2008 8:30 PM CST   0 recs

Jim Boylan sounds like a YMCA coach in the huddle
"Keep your heads up, guys!"  "Box out, keep hustling, you'll get 'em!"  Jesus...

by YaoPau on Mar 7, 2008 8:37 PM CST   0 recs

YaoPao, the word you are looking for is talent.
...again, Noah (and maybe Deng) being exceptions

by bullsfaninbigapple on Mar 7, 2008 8:51 PM CST   0 recs

Deng IS NOT an exception.
He is probably the most regular so-called superstar player i've ever seen.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 8:59 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Noah got suspended for bitching at the coaches?
This is the only guy who gives a damn on this pathetic team.

by violentdiarrhea on Mar 7, 2008 8:56 PM CST   0 recs

If Boylan only had a brain....
Jim Boylan as the Scarecrow:

"I could while away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head, I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain."

Ben Wallace as the Tin Man:

"When a man's an empty kettle
He should be on his mettle
And yet I'm torn apart
Just because I'm presumin'
That I could be kind-a human
If I only had a heart."

Luol Deng as the Cowardly Lion:

"But I could show my prowess,
Be a lion not a mowess,
If I only had the nerve
I'm afraid there's no denyin'
I'm just a dandelion
A fate I don't deserve."

With various appearances by Ben Gordon and Chris Duhon as the Lollipop Guild.

And Paxson skipping merrily along singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.

by BullsFanInSeattle on Mar 7, 2008 9:05 PM CST   0 recs

Sounds about right
"As soon as you see the white of their eyes, fire!!" - Jim Boylan

by YaoPau on Mar 7, 2008 9:05 PM CST   0 recs

Pip
Hire Pippen next year at least he could control a team and be respected.

by armstrong2389 on Mar 7, 2008 9:07 PM CST   0 recs

Yuck
But Atlanta lost, and New Jersey looks like its going down barring a miracle in the last minute, which leaves the Bulls still right there just outside the playoffs.  Woo-hoo.  The less than mediocre among these teams is past old.
Maybe I'll take up hockey.

by wjb1492 on Mar 7, 2008 9:14 PM CST   0 recs

A couple of thoughts
  1. We did score 30 in the 3rd quarter
  2. I don't like it, but I can't blame them for letting things go in transition, considering the entire Celtics team is getting the "Dwayne Wade in the finals" treatment where breathing on them gets a whistle.
  3. Does anyone else get the impression we got extra whistles in the third, so the final FTAs would look closer? (f$%&ing Donaghee)

by torch on Mar 7, 2008 9:15 PM CST   0 recs

OMFG!
Is this a 4 guard lineup with Gray.

Matt's head just exploded...

by torch on Mar 7, 2008 9:18 PM CST   0 recs

Seriously
Do you say that Hughes is at the 4 and Kirk at the 3?

by torch on Mar 7, 2008 9:19 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

They're basically out of players
no T2, Gooden, and Noah's played the whole half thus far.  But yes: Boylan's an awful coach.  Just listen to the difference between the way Doc Rivers addressed Rondo vs. the hackneyed rah-rah stuff Boylan was spewing.  What a poor choice by Paxson.  Yech.

by Freethefro on Mar 7, 2008 9:23 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

its not like
T2 would of played anyway.  Maybe in garbage time...
I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Mar 7, 2008 9:30 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

It could be worse
Ben Gordon and Luol Deng could've accepted those contracts in the offseason.

I'm not sure they're worth more than 60% of what they were offered.

by BullsFanInSeattle on Mar 7, 2008 9:24 PM CST   0 recs

Some team will offer Gordon big money!!
Can you imagine him with the Phoenix Suns or Golden State with his ability to shoot and inability to defend (although Golden State will likely keep Ellis and not need a Gordon)?  Or even a team like Atlanta.  He'd fit in perfectly.  One thing that they all have is a point guard who demands attention defensively and that will create several open shot opportunities for Gordon and he will thrive.

Deng, we'll keep him. But it better be at significantly less than the 57 million he was offered last summer.  I'd pay him about what Nocioni is getting.  About 40 million over 5 yrs at the most.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 10:07 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Doc Rivers followed Boylan right into the gutter
Why Rivers wouldn't just leave his big guys in is beyond me.  If Davis and Powe were in the game they would kill the Bulls on the inside.  Instead, he broke out his own 4 guard line-up.  Ha!

PS.  good to know Duh-on still can't shoot.

by danger mouse on Mar 7, 2008 9:28 PM CST   0 recs

3pt shooting
Hughes is 1-5, Noce 0-4, Duhon 0-3.  1-12 between them.  I think they should keep shooting the 3's though.  Its working...

by danger mouse on Mar 7, 2008 9:29 PM CST   0 recs

My wife, looking up from her crossword:
"they're like a semi-pro team."  

(Goes back to her crossword.)

by Freethefro on Mar 7, 2008 9:30 PM CST   0 recs

When Noc is your tallest guy on the court...
This is the point in the game where we used to get the "Free Viktor!" chants going, right?

Maybe this is how you deal with a guard log-jam: play four at once!

by torch on Mar 7, 2008 9:31 PM CST   0 recs

Anyone notice
BG wispering to Tyrus just now?
I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Mar 7, 2008 9:33 PM CST   0 recs

and???

by violentdiarrhea on Mar 7, 2008 9:36 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Can
someone PLEASE start a www.fireboylan.com website?  

by leeac on Mar 7, 2008 9:35 PM CST   0 recs

Anyone else really angry
at this ESPN announcer?  Yeah, they're playing very poorly, but this tongue-lashing is out of control.  No effort, no talent, no blah blah blah.  Who is he, one of the Barrys?  

by Freethefro on Mar 7, 2008 9:38 PM CST   0 recs

Hell, it's the truth...
...to a large degree.  The truth hurts.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 9:42 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

YES!!!!!
I was two steps away from mailing a turd sandwich addressed to Jon "Very poor man's Brent" Barry at the Worldwide Leader. I hate that guy.

by ForWhomTheBullTolls on Mar 8, 2008 9:14 AM CST to parent up   0 recs

My guess is those two Barry boys
still can't beat their dad in a game of 2 on 1...on the court or at the microphone.

by alec on Mar 8, 2008 9:32 AM CST to parent up   0 recs

I didn't expect win from the Bulls
but effortless blowout is just sad.
And when those assholes from espn are laughing
about Bulls I want to crush their talking heads!
"YES,WE CAN!"-B.OBAMA.

by Azabullsfan on Mar 7, 2008 9:39 PM CST   0 recs

did that just happen?
I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Mar 7, 2008 9:40 PM CST   0 recs

what?
"YES,WE CAN!"-B.OBAMA.

by Azabullsfan on Mar 7, 2008 9:43 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Big Baby
diving onto the scorer's table
I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Mar 7, 2008 9:55 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

With tonight's performance
I'm going to have to ask you to be more specific than "that"

by torch on Mar 7, 2008 9:44 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Boylans post game comments
"We played a good team on the second of a back to back but overall i thought that we played good but we just need to shoot a little better."

by eross226 on Mar 7, 2008 9:48 PM CST   0 recs

So who wants to argue that Luol Deng's....
...achilles bothered him tonight?  Once again we see a subpar peformance for this so-called superstar.  True no other Bull had a great game, but no one else is constantly billed as a superstar (or budding superstar) or turns down $57.5 million.  Like I said last night when the Bulls played Cleveland, against a superior small forward or great team, Deng is overmatched (unless we are blowing the other team out then he usually looks good).  I want SO BADLY for this guy to be who a lot of Bulls fans think he can be, but the truth is he isn't and will probably never be.  He just does not possess the ability to impose his will on the game and that's unfortunate.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 9:55 PM CST   0 recs

Shut up.
Or get your facts straight. Being stupid is annoying.
Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Mar 8, 2008 10:44 AM CST to parent up   0 recs

What facts...
... did I mess up tyger?  Hell, if you really cared you'd call Deng out too.  He HAS to be better if the Bulls are gonna be better.  Either that or we need a serious talent overhaul because i will tell you like I tell everyone else.  There are at least 15 small forwards I'd take over Deng!

Quit being overly sensitive about Deng's bum ass anyway until he gives you reason to believe he's gonna be anything more than the 18 pts 7 rbds guy he is!  By the way, those numbers would be fine, IF PEOPLE DIDN'T TOUT HIS AS A BUDDING SUPERSTAR AND HE DIDN'T TURN DOWN THE MONEY!!!  Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups both make about what he was offered and he is nowhere near the competitor that either of them are.

Here is every game he has ever played in his career:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/denglu01.html

Go to game logs and splits.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 8, 2008 3:00 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

There were only two facts there.
How much money did he turn down again? The other fact is too tedious for me to even care, and I doubt you've gone through every game either.

And Deng played well in the first round of the playoffs last year, the most important games of the year up to the point.

Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Mar 8, 2008 6:48 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

And immediately after he played well against.....
...Miami (who in truth was a terrible team and we saw more of that from them this year), he went on to post numbers of 19.5ppg, 8.5rpg (down from his fabulous first round series) which are decent but not GREAT and obviously not enough to lead us past the Pistons.

As for the money, some reports say he got the same offer as Gordon (5 yrs 50 million).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=Deng_Bryant

Other reports say he was made another offer of 5 yrs 57.5 million.

http://nbabeat.com/search/nba%20news/

http://lakers.topbuzz.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-p-82273.html

Bottom line about Deng, we see now that he is just too mentally fragile a player.  He and Gordon both got bad advice in regards to those extensions they rejected.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 8, 2008 8:17 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I believe
that Arenas corroborated the report on the 5/50, since he said that Gordon spoke with him and said that both he and Deng were offered that, with no offers to barter.

by Jaina on Mar 8, 2008 10:54 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

From what i rember reading about on....
...chicagosports.com, there was a second offer made to Deng.  The 5/57.5 offer, which was an indication of sorts that the organization was looking more toward featuring Deng.

I just tried to pull the article up from an old link but it's no longer there.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 8, 2008 11:08 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Boylan: Anime Form
Just watch the first 30 seconds of this clip to see the perfect anime version of Jim Boylan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NBYnK-5Jalw
Kirk Hinrich. The Best White American Point Guard in the NBA.

by piccolomair on Mar 7, 2008 10:02 PM CST   0 recs

That was so bad I kept watching
Hearing Steven A. Smith rip the Bulls at halftime was worth the abomination of the game.  The Celtics were up by 20 for the entire 2nd half, yet they still played balls out, kinda like how this team used to last season.  
Dickey Simpkins>Ben Wallace

by Ozzie Montana on Mar 7, 2008 10:11 PM CST   0 recs

The difference being....
...that in addition to all the effort they put forth, the Celtics also have a little thing called MAJOR LEAGUE NBA TALENT!!!

Something we sorely lack.  We have nice players.  They have great players who make their nice players look pretty damn good.

by lexdiamonds0730 on Mar 7, 2008 10:14 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I had to change the channel
I couldn't take Stephen A. for halftime after being dealt Jon Barry all game.

by ForWhomTheBullTolls on Mar 8, 2008 9:06 AM CST to parent up   0 recs

Ya' know what makes the recent losing even more
intolerable?

All the newbies with their various "theories" [Note: term used very generously] about the Bulls' struggles.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Mar 7, 2008 10:40 PM CST   0 recs