Bulls @ Heat Postgame Thread: Battle of the underachievers..

[DuckIII]

Hinrich/Sefolosha/Gordon/Duhon
Gordon/Sefolosha/Hinrich
Deng/Nocioni
Smith/Thomas
Noah/Gray/my penis/Walace

We've got enough undersized players in the rotation as it is.

[sporadiclee]

Boylan just said "Ben Wallace really came through for us"


Was it Ben's 7 & 7 that impressed Boylan or was ti the fact that Ben allowed Shaq to double his season average that got Boylan moist?


We've got an idiot for a coach - again.

Wallace actually did have a solid game. But to highlight him as a guy who "really came through" when:

(a) Deng has 21 pts and 8 assists,

(b) Gordon has 24 points and gets to the line,

(c) Joe Smith has 23 pts and shoots 90% from the floor,

(d) Chapu puts up 20 and shoots 80% from 3pt range, and

(e) Thabo has a breakout game on 17/6/3 and 1 turnover -

is more than a little bit ridiculous. This type of thing speaks to two issues: (1) the Bulls are doing everything they can to publicly pump his value for a trade; and/or (2) the organization is terrified of Wallace like ScottMay suggests, and is blatantly trying to pump his ego.

I hope it's the first option, but I fear it's the second. If Ben Worthless is this bad now, what will he be doing in 2 years? At some point, it will become transparently ridiculous to start him. Unfortunately, that point was 20 games ago.

[DuckIII]

How do I hate Jim Boylan? Let me count the ways..

Bulls win by 30:
Tyrus 7 minutes
Gray 6 minutes

Agree. But in fairness to Jimmy, Tyrus and Gray both got run in the first half and both of them sucked gonads.

[ikeziskash]

Duck, I share your frustration...check that FURY...with the ass backwards rotations.

This teams priorities are out of whack as Boylan is auditioning not only for a job here but elsewhere by trying to "win now." He may be a decent guy but he's putting his own career ahead of the growth of this franchise if you ask me.

[TB#1]

Hinrich/Sefolosha/Gordon/Duhon
Gordon/Sefolosha/Hinrich
Deng/Nocioni
Smith/Thomas
Noah/Gray/my penis/Walace

-= original quote snipped =-



We've got enough undersized players in the rotation as it is.

Ba-ZING!

[DuckIII]

Duck, I share your frustration...check that FURY...with the ass backwards rotations.

This teams priorities are out of whack as Boylan is auditioning not only for a job here but elsewhere by trying to "win now." He may be a decent guy but he's putting his own career ahead of the growth of this franchise if you ask me.

Skiles was no better and Paxson doesn't appear to be asserting himself with either of them on this issue. Its a collective incompetence with regard to this important issue.

[Bulls69]

-= original quote snipped =-



Skiles was no better and Paxson doesn't appear to be asserting himself with either of them on this issue. Its a collective incompetence with regard to this important issue.

Fire the bums just jk but I give Pax's a pass only because no one seen the Bulls being this bad especially after a 49 win season last year but Pax's has his work cut out this offseason.

[TB#1]

Sam Smith

"There were a lot of things said before the game in the locker room by players that I'll keep to myself that show me we really do have a good group of guys. Even though we've been struggling this year I truly do believe in them."

And then Boylan offered a rare smile if not a song of cheer.

"Shooting," he said, "is a beautiful thing."

Thabo Sefolosha, starting again for Kirk Hinrich because of Hinrich's back spasms, had 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. The past two games the supposedly poor shooting guard has made 10 of 13 shots, suggesting his eventual movement to the starting lineup as that long elusive big, defensive guard.

"We wanted to come out and get some type of momentum going back home," Smith said. "There's a lot of pride in this locker room, be aggressive and get back to defending."

It was that and more for arguably the best all-around effort the Bulls have had this season.

Perhaps all they needed was a bit more distress.

It came first with the outburst and suspension of Joakim Noah, who was active with eight rebounds in 16 minutes, and then an alleged dispute in the locker room Tuesday night after players were a little too jaunty on the bench during the loss to the Magic.

Bulls players again were whooping it up on the bench in the fourth quarter, but for the right reasons this time.

"Everybody gets frustrated, coaches, GM, owners, fans, everybody," center Ben Wallace said. "It's up to us in this locker room to get this thing turned around. You got 12-15 guys here with different personalities., Sometimes when that comes together there's going to be frustration. We're not asking anyone not to be frustrated. Our approach tonight was determined."

Cares and troubles gone? No more from now on?

"Our guys are a good group and they wanted to make all these distractions go away," said Boylan. "A lot of people were talking about us in negative ways and no one likes that. I think it spoke to the character of our team how we responded. That's great, but we need to play with that kind of enthusiasm and drive every night."

Mike McGraw
Bulls turn off the Heat
By Mike McGraw | Daily Herald Staff

MIAMI -- In many ways, this result is a welcome respite from recent turmoil and a much-needed victory for the Bulls.
But their emphatic 126-96 victory over the hapless Miami Heat on Wednesday should be taken as a learning experience and a critical look in the mirror.
In other words, this is what happens in the NBA when a team plays uninspired defense.
The Bulls got a chance to knock down open shots the way their opponents have done so many times this season. The visitors produced their highest point total this year, shot a season-high 57.3 percent against Miami and were above 60 percent in three of the four quarters.
"It felt real good to be on the other end of that tonight," Ben Gordon said. "The last few games we've been struggling on the defensive end."
"When you're shooting the ball the way we were, it's really a simple, easy game," coach Jim Boylan added. "We shared the ball, got good looks with our ball movement, and the (faster) tempo that we played with is exactly what we needed."
The Bulls had four players score at least 20 points, led by Gordon with 24. Joe Smith hit 9 of 10 shots for 23 points. Gordon and Andres Nocioni combined to hit 8 of 12 attempts from 3-point range.
"They can't guard anyone right now," Miami coach Pat Riley said of his players. "The team didn't quit. It's just bad."
Thabo Sefolosha, starting his second game in place of Kirk Hinrich (back spasms), scored a season-high 17 points and appears to be finding the confidence that mysteriously disappeared early this season. He has hit 10 of 13 shots in the past two games.
Beating Miami is one thing the Bulls (15-22) have managed to do consistently well. Including last season's playoff sweep, the Bulls have won eight of the last nine games against the Heat. Miami (8-29) lost its 11th straight game.
Heat center Shaquille O'Neal returned from eight games off with a hip injury to score 24 points, but he seemed to be a liability on defense and fouled out after 33 minutes of action.
"It's been a tough week for us, a tough road trip," Boylan said. "This is nice for the guys. I think it relieves a little bit of the pressure. But at the same time we can't relax now."

[JackFinn]

-= original quote snipped =-



Ba-ZING!

What my Boerwinkle lacks in size, it more than makes up for in sneakiness.

.

[DuckIII]

Thabo Sefolosha, starting again for Kirk Hinrich because of Hinrich's back spasms, had 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. The past two games the supposedly poor shooting guard has made 10 of 13 shots, suggesting his eventual movement to the starting lineup as that long elusive big, defensive guard.

From your keyboard to God's ears, Sam. But I'll believe it when I see it. Our team opts for the counter-intuitive choice 19 times out of 20 when it comes to rotations and playing time.

[DuckIII]

I forgot to do a Good/Bad.

Good:

The Bulls.

Bad:

The Heat.

Really, really, spectularly bad:

Ricky Davis. 27 minutes, 5 points on 33% shooting, 3 turnovers, 5 personal fouls, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 assists and absolutely atrocious man defense on Luol Deng. It might be the worst individual performance in meaningful minutes I've seen all season. Even worse than Eddy Curry's 0-for-everthing in Chicago.

[Johnston797]

I think Thabo may catch a break on the stupid rotations.

one - this is a real feather in Boylan's cap if he turn Thabo around
two - Du ain't Wallace, he is a FA at the end of the year and I don't think Bulls are going to want to pay him as well as Gordon and Deng

[bre9]

I noticed a thing with Gordon. When the team play's well from the start and playing like they want to win he comes in having that same mentality. It's like he feeds off the team after they set the tone. He's not much of a leader he needs others to play well for him to play well. In the Atlanta and Orlando games the team didn't set a good tone and was getting beat from the start and I noticed Gordon came in playing scared and uninterested he had 6 pts in both games. But against Miami he saw the team was playing hard so he played good.

[molepharmer]

How do I hate Jim Boylan? Let me count the ways..

Bulls win by 30:
Tyrus 7 minutes
Gray 6 minutes

The lack of playing time by the younguns when one team has a comfortable lead is really mind boggling. I'd have thought that the way they finished the Orlando game would have accounted for some more earned minutes.

The vets play more to try and right the ship.
The vets play more because its a close game.
The vets play more to build their confidence.
The vets play more 'cause they need to close out games.
The vets play more cause the Bulls are only 3 games out of the 8th seed (big whoop).

There's endless excuses for playing the vets and it's getting old.

[fuzion]

I don't understand what was the point of winning this game. No veterans should be playing more than 20 minues, because this season is already down the toilet. Play all the young guys 30+ minutes. Not only we won, but we gave Miami another loss. This game just hurt our draft position nothing else.

[Wingy]

What the hell was BG doing in at the end of that debacle??

I was thinking "Boylan, if he gets hurt in THIS !@#$ing game...."

[Mr. Tibbs]

much like skiles...i swear boylan reads these boards so he can do every counterintuitive move possible. This win was fun but all it did...same with every miami game i see nowadays..is make me wonder how lucky they are to have won a title when they did. I'm not sure i can remember such a rapid fall from grace with the main players being the same.

[Bullsmaniac]

much like skiles...i swear boylan reads these boards so he can do every counterintuitive move possible. This win was fun but all it did...same with every miami game i see nowadays..is make me wonder how lucky they are to have won a title when they did. I'm not sure i can remember such a rapid fall from grace with the main players being the same.

Well I'm not shock at how bad Miami is. They traded Kapono, Posey (as much as we all hate him here), Zo retired, Walker is gone, Payton is retired. We all know Shaq is not the same as before.
That to me is enough of a change to a team for them to drop.

Now what's the Bulls excuse? Aside from this game, they played REALLY BAD WITH THE SAME PLAYERS and an upgrade in Smith, Noah, Gray.