GT Play-In #2: Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat - Fri 4/19 @ 6:00pm CT - ESPN

[BloodyQ]

Of course Billy elevated the team and improved the main young players. If it wasn't for the 5-14 start I'm sure the Bulls would be around 7th seed.

But his game planning is so terrible, I mean come the **** on how are you not ready for an elimination game against a team without their 2 main scorers?? Makes no sense.

[SfBull]

At the very least…Gotta move Vuc for a rotten potato, and consider moving to a coach less interested in literal NCAA rotations (6’4 PFs and starters averaging 40 mpg).

First thing to do is to move that little soft bitch.

Should have traded Zach for a rim protecting big who has some decent motor.

Should have drafted a good defensive project like Kessler instead of Terry.He could complement Vuc and split minutes with Drummond.

[SfBull]

Does anyone care anymore?

Is this forum which used to generate tons of discussion and activity basically dead now?
We have threads running for an entire season because nobody starts new topics and post game threads have halted. Game threads are half heartedly thrown up just before tip off.
Even on x the Bulls go semi viral for the wrong reasons mostly.

Bulls fandom is dead.

Just continuity.

[robert76]

Does anyone care anymore?

Is this forum which used to generate tons of discussion and activity basically dead now?
We have threads running for an entire season because nobody starts new topics and post game threads have halted. Game threads are half heartedly thrown up just before tip off.
Even on x the Bulls go semi viral for the wrong reasons mostly.

Bulls fandom is dead.

I think the message that the Bulls fans are sending the Bulls FO is best expressed in the immortal words of Limp Bizkit, "Cause if you don't care then we don't care."

[Stratmaster]

Billy isn't an X and Os mastermind he is more a manager of talent. Being mad at him for not doing better with a team he is ill fitted for isn't understanding his strengths and the teams inherent issues.

Billy's main issue is he doesn't understand the teams strengths and inherent issues. He no longer has Lavine to scapegoat.

He brings out the best in exactly zero players on the roster.

They wanted to see the team without Lavine and wanted him gone. They got their wish.

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I know this was because of a different regime, but we scapegoated Thibs and Butler and both of those have had far more success than the Bulls have had since their departures.

Billy seems like a genuinely good guy and the people who love him seem to especially love him, but I too want a coach that elevates the team and their players.

Yeah. If I hear the "he's a good guy and the players like him" one more time I'm gonna vomit. No offense to what you said. It's just the only positive thing anyone can come up with for him and it is stated over and over again. I bet Bitim is a really nice guy. that doesn't mean you start him at Guard. From all accounts Durant is an ass. But he will help you win titles.

Zach Lavine was scapegoated for "not being a guy that can carry a team to a title". But Billy gets a pass (again, not for you, you just stated you would prefer better) because he's a nice guy. And he is so nice to the media while he talks a lot and says nothing.

If someone is a "we deserve a contender and won't settle for less" guy, then they can't settle for Billy Donovan.

[Stratmaster]

Billy's main issue is he doesn't understand the teams strengths and inherent issues. He no longer has Lavine to scapegoat.

He brings out the best in exactly zero players on the roster.

They wanted to see the team without Lavine and wanted him gone. They got their wish.

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I know this was because of a different regime, but we scapegoated Thibs and Butler and both of those have had far more success than the Bulls have had since their departures.

Billy seems like a genuinely good guy and the people who love him seem to especially love him, but I too want a coach that elevates the team and their players.

With the players that were available to him this year, I’m not convinced Billy did not, in fact, elevate the group.

You may not be. I certainly am. Name one objective thing Billy has done to elevate this team. Name one strategy he has brought to the table that improved the team.

Show me where he has been top tier in identifying matchups from game to game and within the game and exploiting them. He finally played 2 bigs in a couple situations when everyone had been calling for it for over a season. Finally gave Drummond more minutes after everyone had been calling for it for over a season. He had no idea whether Coby or Ayo should be starting next to Lavine and went back and forth over 2 seasons.

Time out usage? I thought he finally had figured that out late this season, only to completely botch it in the 2 most important games of the season.

And even on the "players like him" front. Player handling? How did he handle Lavine (alienated him). Vuc (let him bitch and moan and change what the team was doing). Demar (let him do whatever he wanted). Drummond? Willliams (enabled him with entitlement starts for multiple seasons). Coby (benched him in favor of Ayo last season). Ayo (benched him in favor of Coby this season). Coby and Ayo probably get along great with him because they were still college kids. That is where Billy belongs. Coaching college kids.

He did great with Caruso, because Caruso doesn't need coaching and would likely be a better coach than Billy.

I'm not saying the Bulls should have a couple rings by now or anything. But there is absolutely no reason this team, even after injuries, should be a below .500 team and stuck in the play-ins in this eastern conference.

[Ice Man]

With the players that were available to him this year, I’m not convinced Billy did not, in fact, elevate the group.

Yesterday, you wrote that if the Bulls start Ayo and Coby next year, that means they are tanking. You don't think much of DDR and constantly criticize Billy for relying on him. You surely would agree that Vuc was not good this year and that the Bulls don't have a ture #4. That makes 5 meh-to-average starters, by your own assessment. But you think that the team should have been above .500?

That doesn't compute. If no starter on a team is good and its coach is a negative, that team doesn't get close to 39 wins. It's not possible.

[Stratmaster]

With the players that were available to him this year, I’m not convinced Billy did not, in fact, elevate the group.

Yesterday, you wrote that if the Bulls start Ayo and Coby next year, that means they are tanking. You don't think much of DDR and constantly criticize Billy for relying on him. You surely would agree that Vuc was not good this year and that the Bulls don't have a ture #4. That makes 5 meh-to-average starters, by your own assessment. But you think that the team should have been above .500?

That doesn't compute. If no starter on a team is good and its coach is a negative, that team doesn't get close to 39 wins. It's not possible.

When did I ever say I don't think much of DDR? I have always called Coby a super 6th man and "great insurance" for a starting SG.

Vuc was not great this season but is a guaranteed double double and was responsible for several wins this season.

How about you address what I asked about Billy's actual performance?



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[Shill]

Does anyone care anymore?

Is this forum which used to generate tons of discussion and activity basically dead now?
We have threads running for an entire season because nobody starts new topics and post game threads have halted. Game threads are half heartedly thrown up just before tip off.
Even on x the Bulls go semi viral for the wrong reasons mostly.

Bulls fandom is dead.

Sad to say, but I did not watch one single game from beginning to end.

Not. One.

And I paid for League Pass.

This franchise is in basketball hell.

[Ice Man]

How about you address what I asked about Billy's actual performance?

I've made that case many times. The team started the season very badly, doesn't have much talent to begin with, and lost two of its five starters fairly early in the year. In that light, winning 39 games was a good result.

To put the matter another way, if Billy gets fired by Chicago, he will quickly land another NBA head coaching job.

Finally, I'd like to stop the Chicago Bulls coaching carousel, out of principle. Losing franchises blame their problems on the coach and constantly shuffle them. The Kings have had 8 coaches in the past 12 years. Fire this guy, hire another. Whatever. Let's focus on the problem at hand: the players. Give pretty much any NBA coach a good squad and that team will have a good record. The Bulls don't have a good squad. I want the Bulls organization to recognize that reality and deal with it accordingly, rather than deflect criticism by pretending the team's problems are because of coaching.

[Stratmaster]

How about you address what I asked about Billy's actual performance?

I've made that case many times. The team started the season very badly, doesn't have much talent to begin with, and lost two of its five starters fairly early in the year. In that light, winning 39 games was a good result.

To put the matter another way, if Billy gets fired by Chicago, he will quickly land another NBA head coaching job.

Finally, I'd like to stop the Chicago Bulls coaching carousel, out of principle. Losing franchises blame their problems on the coach and constantly shuffle them. The Kings have had 8 coaches in the past 12 years. Fire this guy, hire another. Whatever. Let's focus on the problem at hand: the players. Give pretty much any NBA coach a good squad and that team will have a good record. The Bulls don't have a good squad. I want the Bulls organization to recognize that reality and deal with it accordingly, rather than deflect criticism by pretending the team's problems are because of coaching.

Funny. Nowhere in there do you defend anything he has done. Just "circumstances". Can we apply that same level of patience to players who are about to enter their 5th season with the Bulls?

As far as pretending. How about you stop pretending a head coach in the NBA gets 4 seasons of a team declining and keeps his job; anywhere other than Chicago.

Obviously the Bulls need more talent. If they ever get it, I would sure as hell would not hand it over to Billy.

As i have said before. 2 things can be true at once.

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[Ice Man]

How about you stop pretending a head coach in the NBA gets 4 seasons of a team declining and keeps his job; anywhere other than Chicago.

[kodo]

^ True.

But if I'm being pedantic, Pops is the President of the Spurs. He's the same position as Michael Reinsdorf. The Reinsdorfs don't fire themselves, although Jerry did step down when he recognized he didn't care about basketball and was doing a bad job.

[Axl Rose]

Spoiler:

That's Pop though. I wouldn't be surprised if Spurs bring in AI hologram Pop after he dies.

[samwana]

How about you address what I asked about Billy's actual performance?

I've made that case many times. The team started the season very badly, doesn't have much talent to begin with, and lost two of its five starters fairly early in the year. In that light, winning 39 games was a good result.

To put the matter another way, if Billy gets fired by Chicago, he will quickly land another NBA head coaching job.

Finally, I'd like to stop the Chicago Bulls coaching carousel, out of principle. Losing franchises blame their problems on the coach and constantly shuffle them. The Kings have had 8 coaches in the past 12 years. Fire this guy, hire another. Whatever. Let's focus on the problem at hand: the players. Give pretty much any NBA coach a good squad and that team will have a good record. The Bulls don't have a good squad. I want the Bulls organization to recognize that reality and deal with it accordingly, rather than deflect criticism by pretending the team's problems are because of coaching.

We have watched BD lose games, let Demar iso with no other offense, we watched Vuc losing games and BD just watching and doing nothing to stop the bleeding. He is a nice guy that can't manage star players, just lets them do whatever they want to. Alienates our max player by throwing him under the bus and make only him accountable for mistakes. Plays rotation players 30 minutes one game and benches them next game so no flow can develop.

He doesn't develop potential players, he just goes through the motions on the bench as if he is a fan with good Sears.

It may not be all on the coach, but he is a big part of the mess we have here. He is in the bottom half of coaches. And there is no reason to keep him, definitely more reason to replace him. (And the FO)

[Stratmaster]

How about you stop pretending a head coach in the NBA gets 4 seasons of a team declining and keeps his job; anywhere other than Chicago.

So... you're comparing Billy Donovan to... oh never mind.

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