2014-15 NBA Season

[st.lewis11]

thrill your bball knowledge is way more than mine, so I trust what you say. But can a team really win with a soft mother [expletive] like Gasol? That guy is the biggest [expletive] I have ever seen - literally. If you are 7' you have no excuse to be a whiny little soft b1tch.

And as I typed this I just watched him try to push Mozgov - if he had any strength it would have been such an obvious foul but Mozgov didn't budge.

Absolute last guy in the NBA I'd take to a street fight with me. Seven feet tall and a two inch dick.

Ahem....Lakers won with him.

[jim]

The Bulls don't have Kobe.

[thrill]

thrill your bball knowledge is way more than mine, so I trust what you say. But can a team really win with a soft mother [expletive] like Gasol?

Yeah, but I don't know if a Thibs team can. He blocks shots but he's afraid to body anybody coming at him in the post. Don't let them in the post and there's no shot to block. He is indeed, a total puss. He can get you buckets in the half court, which is what playoff offense is all about though.

It's hard for me to figure because I'm so pissed at the Bulls right now I can't even watch. This crap going around about a divided locker room turning on Thibs because he's pushing them too hard, Derrick Rose calling out people's effort and toughness when dude is afraid to play half the time and I can't even remember the last time he went balls out for a loose ball or really just guarded anybody on the perimeter and I can't help but wonder if Gasol has something to do with the change in effort on D. Boozer was garbage on D too, but I read a stat that the Bulls have been top 10 on pick and roll defense every year that Thibs has been there. That's all about effort, pure and simple. This year they're 22nd. That's on the guards not fighting through picks. Everyone talks about Gasol's leadership and how everyone looks up to him, I can't help but wonder if they're following his lead on defense too.

Derrick Rose shoots threes and if they fall, he runs his mouth about effort and if they don't, he runs his mouth about how he's not going to stop shooting. He doesn't defend, he doesn't attack offensively...he's the biggest problem in my book. Since Jimmy Butler stopped playing like MVP candidate Jimmy Butler and started playing like old Jimmy Butler this past month, they've been a tough watch. I have a soft spot for Kirk Hinrich because he was the first player from the Paxson draft era that has led to the sustained success the Bulls have had since 2005 after the absolute dog [expletive] that was the end of the Jerry Krause era, but he's been horrendous this season too. Niko Mirotic is fun to watch and clearly has a bright future, but he plays like an over confident rookie and Thibs clearly won't let him play through mistakes. Doug McDermott is apparently slower than a glacier and Thibs won't play him. Noah has gone from DPOY and first-team all-NBA to looking like he might be on the back end of his career already with his chronic injury issues.

They still have the most depth and balance in the East and maybe the league and if they let friction with a demanding coach or lack of effort on D derail them from getting a ring this year, they should clean house. It's really hard to tell where this team's floor and ceiling are right now. Could be champs. Could be the end of a run. Really frustrating.

[jim]

I see what you are saying, I guess I'm seeing the glass half empty:

I love Jimmy Butler but he's not an MVP talent, and I just don't think we can count on that type of MVP performance going forward. Regression.

Rose - you nailed it. He shows flashes of being the old Derrick, but he's not the same player and I don't think he ever will be. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the best of DRose has come and gone.

Gasol is another player (like Butler) that has performed at a level higher than I expected, and I'm wondering if he's coming back a little.

Noah I'm just not sure if he can stay on the court, he seems pretty banged up and the way he plays the game I have to think he's aged beyond his NBA years.

Mirotic - now that the memo is out that he's a good player, he seems to be less of an impact.

I dunno', we will see. They looked like champs during that stretch about a month ago but they got beat by some pretty bad teams (at home), struggled against other bad teams, and got buried by some good teams. They have a tough stretch coming up, starting tonight.

[thrill]

I think this is a good run down of the bulls' issues.
http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?stor ... 1562%22%7D

The Noah injuries are a huge factor both in terms of the way Thibs D is designed to funnel traffic to a strong, nasty post defender but also his leadership.

[Jocephus]

SAN ANTONIO -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder in the second half of Wednesday night's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, an MRI exam revealed Thursday.

[BW23]

SAN ANTONIO -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder in the second half of Wednesday night's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, an MRI exam revealed Thursday.

Hard fall from the top. It's like he fell of a cliff, landed hard only to realize he was starting to fall again, rolling and hitting everything possible on the way down. But hey, he passed MJ in scoring.

[MrSaigon]

Aldridge out 6-8 weeks. Sucks, but in this conference it doesn't matter who you're stuck with in the playoffs. Fairly negligible, really, assuming OKC overtakes Phoenix. At least he'll have good legs for it.

[thrill]

Step in the right direction, Bulls.

[thrill]

Bros before foes:

Fresh off an old-fashioned Bulls stampede, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich started his postgame press conference by following up on a pregame question.
“Whoever asked me that question before the game, ‘They’re not listening to Thibs and Thibs has lost them’ and that kind of bulls---, you got your answer,” he said after the Bulls’ dominating 104-81 victory Thursday night. “As I told you before the game, that’s baloney, nothing could be further from the truth. Whoever asked that question hopefully can figure that out.”

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blog ... sJ9Cwix%22}