The Bulls and The Inability To Create Shots(Long)

[OldSchoolNoBull]

We can complain about rotations or who's getting what minutes or what Pax should be doing tradewise/goalwise/etc forever, but ultimately both of these things are going to depend on if and how we can utilize what we have. As I watched the game vs Portland, the thing that stuck out to me - and this isn't something I just realized, but since I don't watch that many games(I don't live in Chicago and I don't have LP) it sort of hit home tonight - is that as a team, we are completely incapable of creating shots. There is not a single player on this roster who can create his own shots on any kind of consistant basis, nor is there a player on this roster who can create shots for others on any kind of consistant basis.

This is the fifth year now that we have tried to force Kirk into being a PG, and he's not getting any better at it. He is a score-first guard, and while he's not neccessarily bad at passing and getting assists, that is not the same thing as creating shots for others. You can rack up assists by making no-brainer passes on fastbreaks or by dishing to an open man. That's not creating shots. And Kirk is not even 'racking up' assists(6apg - good but not great). He is an undersized 2 that has been asked to play the 1. And the fact is, Kirk is an average guard regardless of which position he plays. The only aspect of his game that is above average is his one-on-one man defense(which is quite good). The point is, if anybody still thinks he can create shots consistantly, they haven't been paying any attention at all, imo.

And Duhon just isn't that good, I'm afraid. He has the mentality of creating shots(as opposed to Kirk who has always been shoot-first), but he just isn't that good at it. Furthermore, the offense we run doesn't even really try to utilize what shot-creating ability he may have. On a short tangent, I think in a way Duhon and Tyrus are sort of the opposite of each other. Duhon has high basketball IQ but he doesn't have a lot of skill. Tyrus has a lot of skill but no basketball IQ, so he has no idea how to use his skill. Tangent over. Onwards.

Our young bigs(Tyrus and Noah)...You don't really expect big guys like that to be able to create shots unless they're back-to-basket, so that's not really a disappointment with them. However, their offensive skills could be utilized in a MUCH more productive and fruitful fashion if we had a real PG who could create (close, high percentage) shots for the two of them on a consistant basis. Think Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, except that both Tyrus and Noah have more raw offensive skill than Chandler. Kirk doesn't do that, Duhon doesn't do that, Gordon certainly doesn't do that. I'm not saying we need to get someone as good as Paul(that would mean either Kidd, Deron Williams, Nash, or Paul himself, and the only that has a chance in hell of happening is Kidd), but we need to get someone who can create shots for those guys on a consistant basis, as well as the perimiter guys(Gordon/Deng/Hinrich).

As for guys that can create shots for themselves....ultimately, guys that are consistantly offensively productive and that can create shots for themselves are more often than not stars, imo, and that subject has been talked about ad nauseum. But there is a reason for it. The scorers we have(Gordon, Deng) need to get their shots off a pass or a screen nine times out of ten. Neither Gordon nor Deng is ever going to carry any team anywhere if they can't create their own shots. You can't take over a game if you're depending on somebody else to create opportunities for you. I think Gordon probably has the instincts to improve his shot-creating skills(for himself, that is), but his height and ballhandling skills are really holding him back in that respect. Deng doesn't have the shot-creating instinct at all. He's tremendously skilled, but he doesn't drive the lane, he doesn't have great ballhandling skills, he's not a great penetrater, and for the most part he's content to wait for the ball to get to him. So you have our two most offensively-skilled guys, and neither one is good at creating shots for themselves.

We have offensively skilled players who can't create their own shots(Gordon, Deng, Hinrich to a lesser extent), players who NEED shot-creators in order to be productive on offense at all(Tyrus, Noah, even Big Ben), and NO floor general shot creators. It's an awful combination.

Specific problems that are created as a result are talked about about a lot(Gordon and Hinrich not complimenting each other, Gordon going to the bench so Duhon can start, Duhon's lack of productivity, Tyrus's lack of offensive production/consistancy in the limited minutes he gets, Deng's relative inconsistancy, the need for a post scorer, the need for a 'star', etc), but I feel like the overarching problem isn't directly stated enough: Nobody on this team can create shots for anybody and, as long as that's true, we're not winning anything.

When we're on the court, we just dribble the ball around and move/pass the ball hoping to do it faster than the other team's defenders can move so that somebody can get open. That's what the whole dribbling in and passing back out thing that this team has been doing for the last three years is all about - just moving the ball around at a fast pace trying to get at least one defender to be late getting back to his man resulting in an open shot. That's our offense. And it's ugly to watch.

That about concludes this long-winded (and probably not too original) observation.

[nubeerski]

This team composition is very flawed like you state, but this board cannot come to admit that Paxson has not done that great of a job of being GM. This team would really thrive if we had one of the elite centers or power forwards of the game in order to draw defenders away from the 3 point line. Also, an elite point guard to help the very raw "Bigs" we have in Tyrus and Noah would be of huge help.

This Bulls team is only fun to watch when this strategy to keep passing and utilizing screens works and it only works when the streaky shooters (Gordon, Hinrich and ilk) make their shots. In the long run, opponents have and will figure out how to defeat this system. It seems pretty hopeless in the near term.

I am sick of the hustle and gritty players from great programs that Pax is drafting. Watching the Bulls games lately is like watching a losing men's college basketball team. I think by employing these passing and screen gimmicks by the coaching staff basically says that we are offensively challenged and this is the only solution to generate points.

[Rerisen]

Very solid post OldSchoolNoBull. Not really anything that we haven't known but still spelled out the team's problems well.

This team does not come out to more than the sum of their parts. They just don't have that great of chemistry on court as far as how their talents fit together. Now we used to be able to somewhat overcome that by playing with a lot of sound and fury, 110% every night, but the ability to do that for 4 straight years in a ever improving conference, is starting to hit the swampy ground of diminishing returns.

To the extent we do have players whose talents somewhat go together (Duhon with Noah, Gray, TT) we refuse to play those players together, but instead start our best pure PG along with the players that he can help the least (Wallace, because he can't be helped) and Joe Smith, who is actually our most self sufficient big. Then we bring the Hinrich and Gordon tandem together often with those other guys, but Hinrich and Gordon are better suited to both have the scoring focus around them rather than getting shots for unskilled bigs.

Deng is very valuable in that he is so well rounded he doesn't really need specific lineups to work for him. But it is also a curse because his well roundedness limits his flexibility. When he gets in offensively weak lineups, he just can't up the ante and fill a bigger role (like Gordon can) because Deng just isn't a big enough 1v1 threat.

The most disappointing player might just be Nocioni. Because he really does have some creating ability. He might be our best big post player and he can actually attack the basket as well. But he has kind of let himself evolve into most nights, just a chucker who overplays on defense and gives up as many or more wide open shots as he actually converts himself. He still plays with passion, but sometimes more toward the refs and the crowd than the opponents.

[antemiogordon]

Very solid post OldSchoolNoBull. Not really anything that we haven't known but still spelled out the team's problems well.

This team does not come out to more than the sum of their parts. They just don't have that great of chemistry on court as far as how their talents fit together. Now we used to be able to somewhat overcome that by playing with a lot of sound and fury, 110% every night, but the ability to do that for 4 straight years in a ever improving conference, is starting to hit the swampy ground of diminishing returns.

To the extent we do have players whose talents somewhat go together (Duhon with Noah, Gray, TT) we refuse to play those players together, but instead start our best pure PG along with the players that he can help the least (Wallace, because he can't be helped) and Joe Smith, who is actually our most self sufficient big. Then we bring the Hinrich and Gordon tandem together often with those other guys, but Hinrich and Gordon are better suited to both have the scoring focus around them rather than getting shots for unskilled bigs.

Deng is very valuable in that he is so well rounded he doesn't really need specific lineups to work for him. But it is also a curse because his well roundedness limits his flexibility. When he gets in offensively weak lineups, he just can't up the ante and fill a bigger role (like Gordon can) because Deng just isn't a big enough 1v1 threat.

The most disappointing player might just be Nocioni. Because he really does have some creating ability. He might be our best big post player and he can actually attack the basket as well. But he has kind of let himself evolve into most nights, just a chucker who overplays on defense and gives up as many or more wide open shots as he actually converts himself. He still plays with passion, but sometimes more toward the refs and the crowd than the opponents.

We are forcing player to play in position that aren't natural to them, facing players that are natural in their position.

Kirck will never be the point guart of a cahmpionship team caliber, LD & BG are shooters, no defenders, Wallace is defense no offense; Nocioni got a two time MVP in spanish league not playing in the position BUlls make him play, so what?

End of story!

look at the last nigth's box score ...Blazers went 11-22 in 3PM an Bulls got 4-24, come on Bulls are playing in the best league in planet!? with that average you won't win a single game in FIBA's world.

Big teams, and chicago got many, have their personality, style and what Chicago shows all the time is desperation.

Rotation and consistency is another key factor; Noah got a good game so why not keep going with him; Joe Smith was great last night I hope he continue playing.

[OldSchoolNoBull]

The most disappointing player might just be Nocioni. Because he really does have some creating ability. He might be our best big post player and he can actually attack the basket as well. But he has kind of let himself evolve into most nights, just a chucker who overplays on defense and gives up as many or more wide open shots as he actually converts himself. He still plays with passion, but sometimes more toward the refs and the crowd than the opponents.

And you know, I think it's percisely because Noc has "some creating ability" that he has regressed this year. I think the fact that he has a little tiny bit of creating ability as opposed to everyone else who doesn't have any, put a lot of self-imposed pressure on him to create opportunities for himself and for others and to sort of be the guy everyone can turn to. And he's just not cut out for that role.

[antemiogordon]

Noc's ability <<<<<<<<< LD + BG

LD and BG should be and must be THE GUYS to go in 4th I'd add Joe, Kirk an Noah if they are in their nites, but Noc isn't the guy.

A real question IMHO is that we got the players we got, so a decent PG would treat them as assets knowing who to go thru in certain situation, KH and Duhon do that in very few moments.

There aren't many PG that are stars beyond Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd the rest are IMO very far ...

Steve Nash loves to fly and got a team that allows him that, Tony Parker run around Tim Duncan, Ginobili, etc., Jason could make play better my grandma's team.

My point is that your ideas and game plan must fit with players you have.