nomorezorro wrote:baby bulls were fun in a scrappy squad maximizing its potential way. gordon was the only real eye-popping player of the bunch, though, other than when nocioni was doing his thing. ultimately the talent was limited so this was more “feel good” than “fun” imo
rose bulls had rose as a freak of nature obviously, and there were spurts of euphoria from 2009-2011, but the offense could be a bit of a slog because of how much everything depended on him. boozer contract was a drag after the 2010 offseason, bogans’s presence was annoying. plus there were the superheat as an external depressing force that made you question whether there was any point in getting your hopes up. (this turned out to be overblown, but rose’s leg blew up shortly after that became clear, so.)
this year’s bulls team is led by the most captivating scorer the team has had since mj, plus a throwback midrange expert leading the second unit, a fleet of high-energy defensive specialists, a hometown kid and a designated whipping boy for all frustrations(/potential all star center.) we’re trying to push pace, we’re forcing turnovers, we’re doing more cool dunks than i am used to. perfectly tailored to my viewing interests
Yep. I always felt like there was a gimmick to the Pax teams. I had some good times, but mostly was really underwhelmed by the looming flaws (generally athleticism, but also crucially the ball handling and passing skills). We had some brief moments of clarity when Salmons/Miller/Noah/Rose/Gordon/Kirk all got together. Shame we had a bad coach, Tyrus (instead of Taj the following year), and no Deng. That 09 team could've been a really deep run IMO, especially with the timing of Boston losing KG to injury.
There's no gimmick with this team. Obviously we play smaller than anybody would like at times, but that's not really the point of the team. Creation ability, hands, IQ and multi-position players were clearly targeted - 90s Bulls, 80s Celtics/Lakers, early/late 00s Lakers, 15 Warriors... we of course got the B-squad, but it's definitely that mold. Ultimately you can get away with 6'5 PFs if they can touch the top of the backboard, and Lonzo has wing length, so the only positional minutes we really play undersized are Caruso's or Ayo's, and it just so happens both dudes play WAY bigger than their heights. Caruso comfortably switched onto Luka, Porzingis... honestly, what a beast.
I think having an offensive center is a real avenue to being a special offensive team. When you have a guy like Vlade, Sabonis, Gasol Bros, or Brad Miller, even in their decline post-prime, they manage to open up the floor in a way where unlikely defensive specialists start getting space and cuts for easy open baskets (Christie, Bonzi, Ariza, whoever). When you can get away with playing 2 or so elite defensive wings who can still chip in 8-10 PPG on efficient shooting, they can cover so much ground in the midrange and 3P line, you don't have to play any more gimmicks on either end of the floor. You just play smart positional team defense and system offense.
Meanwhile, any NBA caliber defender is going to get more confident with their scoring if they play a routine 20-25 mpg. It just keeps working in your favor. Otherwise, a McDermott or Lauri is never going to defend and hustle as successfully as a guy like Javonte.
