PG: That was way too difficult

[Hugi Mancura]

Our 2 supposedly franchise guys are still sub-par. I haven't seen again that "it" factor that I saw in Lauri in that breakout Euro FIBA tournament performance couple of years ago. He's much more mellow on the court now than earlier in his NBA career. While Zach this is THE season where I expect him to make that Jimmy Butler / Victor Oladipo jump into that top tier star, so far I don't see anything close to that becoming reality. I've always questioned his BBall IQ, but he's so talented offensively I thought it's enough to push him over the top despite BBall IQ not on the same level. He seems like a hardworker as well. He's closer to a poor man's Devin Booker right now... Far from a guy you want leading your team.

I'm happy with Wendell and Coby. I don't know what they'll turn into, but I like that they seem like tough guys. I feel like I can trust them.

On Lauri's case. How Bulls use Lauri is completely different compared to Finnish national team. In FNT they use Lauri lot in pick&pop situations, while Bulls rather use centers forcing Lauri to stand in the corner to stretch the floor. And in ISO situations Lauri catched the ball at mid range facing the basket. He rarely played back to the basket. Same way this years World championships Sato was top3 point guard, but now he suddenly is playing much worse. His role changed. He had much more freedom in Czech national team.

All players have their favorite roles where they are the best version of themselves. If you forced to do something else then they are always lousier. Reason player is forced to play in different roles than the one where he shines are different. In some cases it is better to have your superstar to do his thing and rest of the players just move away (Lebron & Harden example). There might be a better player to your top role, so team is trying if you can play the other role. Or the main reason in today's basketball is that your coach is just bad. Coach might only know one way of playing offense (D'Antoni example), so if your strength's don't suit that offense then it's bad luck. Or coach just is bad at reading players strength's and are blindly following what is hip right now (NBA is a copy cat league). Good example is stretch 4's in modern basketball. Every one is forced to become corner standing 3 point shooter, no matter what your skill set was before.

There are only few coaches who somehow bring the best out of almost every one who they coach. Popovitch is a good example, but even he doesn't get along with everyone and even he can't make stars out of everyone.

I feel I have to point out again that the entire country of Finland has a population that is roughly half that of the Chicago metro area. International basketball is largely a joke where the majority of international teams wouldn't beat good NCAA division I teams. Lauri playing with inferior talent against inferior talent is going to look good regardless of what the coach does.

Lauri gets countless pick and pop opportunities in this offense. He also gets the opportunity to effectively play a perimeter creator and drive, call for a pick or shoot once he has the ball. Everything Zach does in this offense, Lauri can do but he chooses not to.

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

[MrSparkle]

On Lauri's case. How Bulls use Lauri is completely different compared to Finnish national team. In FNT they use Lauri lot in pick&pop situations, while Bulls rather use centers forcing Lauri to stand in the corner to stretch the floor. And in ISO situations Lauri catched the ball at mid range facing the basket. He rarely played back to the basket. Same way this years World championships Sato was top3 point guard, but now he suddenly is playing much worse. His role changed. He had much more freedom in Czech national team.

All players have their favorite roles where they are the best version of themselves. If you forced to do something else then they are always lousier. Reason player is forced to play in different roles than the one where he shines are different. In some cases it is better to have your superstar to do his thing and rest of the players just move away (Lebron & Harden example). There might be a better player to your top role, so team is trying if you can play the other role. Or the main reason in today's basketball is that your coach is just bad. Coach might only know one way of playing offense (D'Antoni example), so if your strength's don't suit that offense then it's bad luck. Or coach just is bad at reading players strength's and are blindly following what is hip right now (NBA is a copy cat league). Good example is stretch 4's in modern basketball. Every one is forced to become corner standing 3 point shooter, no matter what your skill set was before.

There are only few coaches who somehow bring the best out of almost every one who they coach. Popovitch is a good example, but even he doesn't get along with everyone and even he can't make stars out of everyone.

I feel I have to point out again that the entire country of Finland has a population that is roughly half that of the Chicago metro area. International basketball is largely a joke where the majority of international teams wouldn't beat good NCAA division I teams. Lauri playing with inferior talent against inferior talent is going to look good regardless of what the coach does.

Lauri gets countless pick and pop opportunities in this offense. He also gets the opportunity to effectively play a perimeter creator and drive, call for a pick or shoot once he has the ball. Everything Zach does in this offense, Lauri can do but he chooses not to.

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

Yep.

It won't take "much" to make Lauri a big net-plus player. Unfortunately for us, all 3 factors are going against him (coaching, system, personnel).

From what I can tell, Arci immediately resonates better with him. He looks comfortable shooting after catching a pass from Arci. Zach and Sato are delivering it in the most awkward places, or LM's left to iso. News flash : there is not one big man in the NBA I'm comfortable iso'ing at the top of the key and having them pull a James Harden impersonation. Not one.

There's a reason Anthony Davis couldn't win jack**** without Rondo/Jrue and Lebron. Griffin's sub-500 without Paul. Embiid is fantastic but I'll still bet on him clanking if he's lured into an iso perimeter 3P play.

Kemp without Payton. Dirk without Nash/Harris/Kidd. Amare without Nash. Malone without Stockton. Webber without Bibby. Garnett and RA/PP without Rondo.

This is simple stuff. And not that Lauri is of these guys' caliber, nor is Arci or Coby, but at least play these guys together or find a PG who can deliver an easy look.

I don't know of wing/PF scorer tandems that really worked without a playmaker. Scoring wings and PFs are kinda redundant. Lebron and Bosh didn't really combine well at all until he just moved to small-ball center (more of a spot-up shooter and hustle center, which clearly isn't working for Lauri right now).

Quick PGs have the mobility, dribble/pass/shoot skills to make it easier for PF scorers. They need good passes delivered in their hot spots. It's that easy. Otherwise if you're not gonna play that offense, then bring in 2-way 3D guys like Thad who can let Zach and Otto put up their shots from similar spots with more speed and finesse.

Lauri doesn't need to try the impossible (and become Durant). Get him active off-the-ball and create easy spot-up shots from the mid-range baselines, cuts to rim and his favorite 3P spots. Everybody has preferred shooting areas. I don't think Boylen is considering this at all. It seems like the players just chuck the first open look they get.

There is no rhythm to this offense at all. Besides for a Zach iso possession, I don't think I can ever guess what the hell will happen on a Bulls possession. The game isn't that complicated. Depending on match-ups, there are sets that are practically un-guardable, so you milk that cow until you have to adjust. Then you might see a double team or traps happening. Right now, the Bulls aren't doing any strategic offense that ever works, so teams don't have to adjust anything. We have a PG who is applying ZERO pressure on the ball, and a little pressure as a 3P spacer. But since nobody is unstoppable in iso, let alone able to create an assist successfully against a trap (Zach), it's quite different than the Rockets or Bucks, who play pretty boring offenses centered around superstars and their 3P options.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

I think the Detroit frontcourt is a terrible matchup for Lauri. Lauri depends on rebounding to ignite his whole game so havong Drummond vacuum them all up makes him less dynamic than he could be. Meanwhile Wendell was holding his own on the boards and Thad was shooting well from outside. If Thad's shot had been off last night I think we might have seen more of Lauri with Boylen making offense/defense subs down the stretch.

In other words, not a big deal. Lauri having back trouble again is a much bigger concern and Jim handled it right.

What do you guys think about Lauri being benched for two straight games? I know there was some injury talk, but that was just a convenience that Boylen could use last night. Without that injury, I still don't think Boylen would've played him either.

I personally think he deserves it. His play has been less than stellar lately, and Thad Young has just been outplaying him on both ends of the court. But man, it does suck when one of your supposed franchise players can't even see the court during crunch time because he's not jiving offensively with your other supposed best player (Zach) and he's below average soft defensively. No entitlement minutes until you figure out how to play better.

Also, I'm done with the Luke Kornet experiment. We immediately blow our lead whenever he checks in.

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[FriedRise]

Just rewatched the last 5m of the game, and I take back my LaVine comment that he isn’t a closer, at least in this game.

While the decision making was still shaky (especially when it comes to making plays), he actually was VERY good defensively against Derrick. The Pistons had Derrick as their primary ball handler and #1 option offensively and Zach was able to keep up with him and contain him. He also hit those two 3s later to give the Bulls the lead, though you can argue those were bad shots. But it’s a make or miss league.

Got me thinking though, if Zach’s downfall on defense is his off ball IQ, why not “hide” it by having him guard the primary ball handler? It’s counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense if it’s gonna keep him engaged as mostly an on-ball defender. Can’t get caught ball-watching when the man you’re guarding has the ball most of the time. Sato can guard the slower 2s.

[MrSparkle]

Just rewatched the last 5m of the game, and I take back my LaVine comment that he isn’t a closer, at least in this game.

While the decision making was still shaky (especially when it comes to making plays), he actually was VERY good defensively against Derrick. The Pistons has Derrick a their primary ball handler and #1 option offensively and Zach was able to keep up with him and contain him. He also hit those two 3s later to give the Bulls the lead, though you can argue those were bad shots. But it’s a make or miss league.

Got me thinking though, if Zach’s downfall on defense is his off ball IQ, why not “hide” it by having him guard the primary ball handler? It’s counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense if it’s gonna keep him engaged as mostly an on-ball defender. Can’t get caught ball-watching when the man you’re guarding has the ball most of the time. Sato can guard the slower 2s.

Worth a shot.

Bit outside the box for Jimmy Boy.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

I like Lauri but in his third year he no longer needs to be coddled or get entitlement minutes. If he's playing poorly and we have a very solid Thad available, play him. It will either make Lauri inspired and improve, or it will expose him sooner rather than later and help us decide on him before it's too late.

It can't be overstated how important it is that Porter stepped up. He can be a leader.

Thad is not very solid and should not be playing in close games over Lauri. Unless the Bulls are trying to lose games? Which i guess is possible. But the truth is that Boylen is a terrible coach who has no idea what he is doing. Its the same BS when he was running plays for Lopez last year that pretty much the worst idea possible.

I don't get this take at all. Thad Young has been a rock solid player his whole career and the starting PF for a playoff team as recently as last season. There were some years I wanted him over Taj. Coming into this year I knew there would be games Thad would finish games over Lauri because 1) Thad is a good player and 2) Lauri's biggest obstacle to strong, consistent play seems to be his stamina.

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[transplant]

Just rewatched the last 5m of the game, and I take back my LaVine comment that he isn’t a closer, at least in this game.

While the decision making was still shaky (especially when it comes to making plays), he actually was VERY good defensively against Derrick. The Pistons has Derrick a their primary ball handler and #1 option offensively and Zach was able to keep up with him and contain him. He also hit those two 3s later to give the Bulls the lead, though you can argue those were bad shots. But it’s a make or miss league.

Got me thinking though, if Zach’s downfall on defense is his off ball IQ, why not “hide” it by having him guard the primary ball handler? It’s counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense if it’s gonna keep him engaged as mostly an on-ball defender. Can’t get caught ball-watching when the man you’re guarding has the ball most of the time. Sato can guard the slower 2s.

Agree with your observation and kudos for your thought process. I don't suppose you have Boylen on speed-dial.

[coldfish]

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

What does this have to do with anything?
As an extreme example, a coach could have played Shaq O'Neal at PG and he would have dominated if the competition was weak enough. Lauri doing fine in a given role against lesser competition is not an indication that he will do it with tougher competition.

I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

Because he doesn't post up, a massive percentage of his looks are out of pick and pops. Right now, he ranks as 47th of 300 qualified players in shots per game. Lauri gets a lot of opportunities.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

Lauri doesn't post and he doesn't create on the perimeter. He also isn't a good passer and is a horrible help defender. I think the picture at this point is that Lauri is a spot up outside shooter. While that might carve out a spot in the NBA, its a much lesser role than what many had hoped for early in his career.

.......

I will say this. I saw Februlauri. That month was more than him just shooting well. He was handling the ball, creating for himself and others, etc. Not sure if that was a fluke but if he can be that player consistently then the Bulls might have something.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

Just rewatched the last 5m of the game, and I take back my LaVine comment that he isn’t a closer, at least in this game.

While the decision making was still shaky (especially when it comes to making plays), he actually was VERY good defensively against Derrick. The Pistons has Derrick a their primary ball handler and #1 option offensively and Zach was able to keep up with him and contain him. He also hit those two 3s later to give the Bulls the lead, though you can argue those were bad shots. But it’s a make or miss league.

Got me thinking though, if Zach’s downfall on defense is his off ball IQ, why not “hide” it by having him guard the primary ball handler? It’s counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense if it’s gonna keep him engaged as mostly an on-ball defender. Can’t get caught ball-watching when the man you’re guarding has the ball most of the time. Sato can guard the slower 2s.

What I liked about those two threes (looking back at them, I screamed at Zach through the tv when it was live) was Sato was the primary ball-handler on both plays. It's so much easier for Zach to find daylight through some minimal offensive set action than when he brings the ball up against a set defense.

Probably a good call playing Zach as primary on-ball defender. He got a lot of help too, Wendell was very good at showing to deny Rose a lane to the basket amd then Zach recovered well. He still needs to pay attention when the ball moves to avoid a repeat of that Sexton back cut.

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[sco]

On Lauri's case. How Bulls use Lauri is completely different compared to Finnish national team. In FNT they use Lauri lot in pick&pop situations, while Bulls rather use centers forcing Lauri to stand in the corner to stretch the floor. And in ISO situations Lauri catched the ball at mid range facing the basket. He rarely played back to the basket. Same way this years World championships Sato was top3 point guard, but now he suddenly is playing much worse. His role changed. He had much more freedom in Czech national team.

All players have their favorite roles where they are the best version of themselves. If you forced to do something else then they are always lousier. Reason player is forced to play in different roles than the one where he shines are different. In some cases it is better to have your superstar to do his thing and rest of the players just move away (Lebron & Harden example). There might be a better player to your top role, so team is trying if you can play the other role. Or the main reason in today's basketball is that your coach is just bad. Coach might only know one way of playing offense (D'Antoni example), so if your strength's don't suit that offense then it's bad luck. Or coach just is bad at reading players strength's and are blindly following what is hip right now (NBA is a copy cat league). Good example is stretch 4's in modern basketball. Every one is forced to become corner standing 3 point shooter, no matter what your skill set was before.

There are only few coaches who somehow bring the best out of almost every one who they coach. Popovitch is a good example, but even he doesn't get along with everyone and even he can't make stars out of everyone.

I feel I have to point out again that the entire country of Finland has a population that is roughly half that of the Chicago metro area. International basketball is largely a joke where the majority of international teams wouldn't beat good NCAA division I teams. Lauri playing with inferior talent against inferior talent is going to look good regardless of what the coach does.

Lauri gets countless pick and pop opportunities in this offense. He also gets the opportunity to effectively play a perimeter creator and drive, call for a pick or shoot once he has the ball. Everything Zach does in this offense, Lauri can do but he chooses not to.

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

I think you put your finger on my "Lauri issue". The reason that having a 7 footer take 3pt shot is at all interesting is the premise that he could get those shots off over most guys, otherwise, what's the big deal if he is 7 feet or 6'9? My issue is that Lauri seems easily bothered by smaller defenders on the perimeter - thus negating his value premise. Being great in the NBA is, IMO, being able to make shots...which usually means through getting separation (by height, speed, strength or craftiness). Dirk's greatness can be simplified down to he made shots over everyone. Unless or until he can do this, Lauri is nothing special.

[PaKii94]

I feel I have to point out again that the entire country of Finland has a population that is roughly half that of the Chicago metro area. International basketball is largely a joke where the majority of international teams wouldn't beat good NCAA division I teams. Lauri playing with inferior talent against inferior talent is going to look good regardless of what the coach does.

Lauri gets countless pick and pop opportunities in this offense. He also gets the opportunity to effectively play a perimeter creator and drive, call for a pick or shoot once he has the ball. Everything Zach does in this offense, Lauri can do but he chooses not to.

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

Yep.

It won't take "much" to make Lauri a big net-plus player. Unfortunately for us, all 3 factors are going against him (coaching, system, personnel).

From what I can tell, Arci immediately resonates better with him. He looks comfortable shooting after catching a pass from Arci. Zach and Sato are delivering it in the most awkward places, or LM's left to iso. News flash : there is not one big man in the NBA I'm comfortable iso'ing at the top of the key and having them pull a James Harden impersonation. Not one.

There's a reason Anthony Davis couldn't win jack**** without Rondo/Jrue and Lebron. Griffin's sub-500 without Paul. Embiid is fantastic but I'll still bet on him clanking if he's lured into an iso perimeter 3P play.

Kemp without Payton. Dirk without Nash/Harris/Kidd. Amare without Nash. Malone without Stockton. Webber without Bibby. Garnett and RA/PP without Rondo.

This is simple stuff. And not that Lauri is of these guys' caliber, nor is Arci or Coby, but at least play these guys together or find a PG who can deliver an easy look.

I don't know of wing/PF scorer tandems that really worked without a playmaker. Scoring wings and PFs are kinda redundant. Lebron and Bosh didn't really combine well at all until he just moved to small-ball center (more of a spot-up shooter and hustle center, which clearly isn't working for Lauri right now).

Quick PGs have the mobility, dribble/pass/shoot skills to make it easier for PF scorers. They need good passes delivered in their hot spots. It's that easy. Otherwise if you're not gonna play that offense, then bring in 2-way 3D guys like Thad who can let Zach and Otto put up their shots from similar spots with more speed and finesse.

Lauri doesn't need to try the impossible (and become Durant). Get him active off-the-ball and create easy spot-up shots from the mid-range baselines, cuts to rim and his favorite 3P spots. Everybody has preferred shooting areas. I don't think Boylen is considering this at all. It seems like the players just chuck the first open look they get.

There is no rhythm to this offense at all. Besides for a Zach iso possession, I don't think I can ever guess what the hell will happen on a Bulls possession. The game isn't that complicated. Depending on match-ups, there are sets that are practically un-guardable, so you milk that cow until you have to adjust. Then you might see a double team or traps happening. Right now, the Bulls aren't doing any strategic offense that ever works, so teams don't have to adjust anything. We have a PG who is applying ZERO pressure on the ball, and a little pressure as a 3P spacer. But since nobody is unstoppable in iso, let alone able to create an assist successfully against a trap (Zach), it's quite different than the Rockets or Bucks, who play pretty boring offenses centered around superstars and their 3P options.

So much this.

[JimmyJammer]

I miss more than half of the game but I was able to see the YouTube condensed version, and here is my thought. Firstly, Otto Porter is the glue guy of the team. When he plays very well, we are a different team. There needs not to be two Porter, one passive like the one in the first couple of games, and one aggressive like in his days at Georgetown. An aggressive Porter is an extremely valuable asset. In the few highlights I watched, I saw him rebounding and pushing the ball with lots of speed and aggressiveness. That was really beautiful and encouraging to see.

The other thing noteworthy is the continuation of the ascension of Wendell Carter. He has put four consecutive strong outings so far this season, which makes him our steadiest player. With the streakiness of Lauri and Lavine's struggle to belong to the elite level, it is nice to have a steady force like Wendell that you can count on night in and night out.

Thirdly, I have never seen a Bulls player get so much hate since Carlos Boozer than the 24yr old Lavine. Yes, he has his flaws but we could do much worse than having Lavine on this team. The young man has an impeccable attitude and personality, in addition to being quite productive. He has acknowledged his flaws and agreed to continue to work on them but that's still not enough. It's like after every game there is a rant about Lavine being a major problem/obstacle to what this team is trying to accomplish. What if we had guys like Wiggins, Harrison Barnes, Aaron Gordon and their contracts?

Lastly, wins are not easy to come by in this competitive league. All the complaints about wins not being pretty enough for your taste are fruitless, because in April you are not going to remember that. So kudos to the young guys for this win, hoping they'll build up on this.

[Hugi Mancura]

What this had to do with anything. How players are used have huge impact on their success on the court. Using Shaq O'Neal as a stretch 4 would have destroyed his career, but from the beginning he was given a change to do where he was good at. Why it is so hard to understand that majority of NBA players don't get this chance. I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

What does this have to do with anything?
As an extreme example, a coach could have played Shaq O'Neal at PG and he would have dominated if the competition was weak enough. Lauri doing fine in a given role against lesser competition is not an indication that he will do it with tougher competition.

What I mean that if Lauri was the best player it is very likely Finnish National team would put Lauri in position where he would have highest chance to have success. They put him in different situations that what Bulls are doing. So Bulls are not putting Lauri in spot's where he have highest chance of success. Sure it makes him grow as a person but you should also expect failures.

I disagree with your claim that Lauri get countless opportunities. Sure Lauri give's lot of screens and pop out of those, but does he get the pass after that? Maybe once or twice in a game.

Because he doesn't post up, a massive percentage of his looks are out of pick and pops. Right now, he ranks as 47th of 300 qualified players in shots per game. Lauri gets a lot of opportunities.

For me giving someone opportunities means you put him situations where he has good change of success. It's not about taking bad shots. So I return to mine first comment for putting Lauri in situation where he is comfortable and thus would have highest change of success. Again why Bulls don't want to do this I don't know. I would think it would be in Bulls interest to have Lauri to have some success. Lot of well coached teams have a habit to run dedicated plays for their 2:nd or 3:rd players just to get them going. Bulls did run some times these in Lauri's rookie year.

And comparing Lauri to a guard. Lauri is a 7 footer. How many 7 footer's creates their own shots in the perimeter? In post some of them do and that is something I really hate about Lauri. It would have been easy for him to learn Dirk lean away shot. Lauri can't do same stuff as Lavine and it is stupid to expect that from him. If Bulls fans really expect Lauri to become next Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving you will be disappointed. He will never be that, but is it Lauri's fault or is it other people's expectations. He is a 7 footer. He needs help to create his shots, but so does 99% of NBA 7 footers.

Lauri doesn't post and he doesn't create on the perimeter. He also isn't a good passer and is a horrible help defender. I think the picture at this point is that Lauri is a spot up outside shooter. While that might carve out a spot in the NBA, its a much lesser role than what many had hoped for early in his career.

He is not the greatest passer, but if he is on same level as Dunn and White I think that's ok for non ball handling player. He can create in perimeter in right situations, but not in ISO play. He is also second in steal's with Bulls this year, so he is doing lot of good things. But he will always be viewed by his offense and his shooting has been down. We probably wouldn't have this conversation if he would have shot 35% from 3 instead of 25%.

I will say this. I saw Februlauri. That month was more than him just shooting well. He was handling the ball, creating for himself and others, etc. Not sure if that was a fluke but if he can be that player consistently then the Bulls might have something.

That was more than just Lauri. Team had better ball movement and that is more familiar to Lauri. He can challenge players who are closing in to disturb his 3 point shot. He is not good at creating on static situations. With ball movement you can create those closing in situation or by pick&pop's with guard who can pass. But these are not situations where you see Lauri with Bulls. And this is what I have trying to say when I say Bulls coaching is not making things easy for Lauri. They don't try to create those situations for him, so it's up to this young team to figure things out for themselves and letting young players trying to figure things by themselves is a fast route to failure.

[Indomitable]

Just rewatched the last 5m of the game, and I take back my LaVine comment that he isn’t a closer, at least in this game.

While the decision making was still shaky (especially when it comes to making plays), he actually was VERY good defensively against Derrick. The Pistons had Derrick as their primary ball handler and #1 option offensively and Zach was able to keep up with him and contain him. He also hit those two 3s later to give the Bulls the lead, though you can argue those were bad shots. But it’s a make or miss league.

Got me thinking though, if Zach’s downfall on defense is his off ball IQ, why not “hide” it by having him guard the primary ball handler? It’s counter intuitive but it makes perfect sense if it’s gonna keep him engaged as mostly an on-ball defender. Can’t get caught ball-watching when the man you’re guarding has the ball most of the time. Sato can guard the slower 2s.

Tomas is very good off ball actually.

[Am2626]

I'll take any win at this point. Maybe this will boost morale and give them some confidence.

Confidence to do what? This organization has no direction and this team isn’t good enough to do anything. What is the end game and plan? What will winning a game here and there against a depleted team do for them? All it does is reinforce to GarPax that there is hope which is false hope. Does anyone outside of Bulls Ownership believe that this rebuild will actually go anywhere? The coach is completely unqualified and there has been no growth and development from the young core players. At least with Thibs he was able to develop his core and was a competent coach. While he had many flaws the state of the team was considerably better than it is now.

[The Box Office]

Fluke win. Pistons played without Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson.

[RastaBull]

Drummond is always gonna get double double against any team, but he's def gonna get 20-20 against our weak front line and that's sad.

There is nothing sad about your team "giving" Drummond a 20/20 game. Last night was his 6th game of the season, and his third 20/20 game. He also has an 18/18 game for good measure.

We 'gave' him 25 and 24, well he's averaging 22 and 19, so we barely 'gave' him above-average numbers for the night. That's not sad, that's expected.

Yeah, he's become a beast.

He is a beast for sure. Sorry if my use of the word "sad" wasn't clear. Certainly don't mean it as in "pathetic." Or so exceedingly far below expectations. It is saddening to me as a fan that we don't have a front line I personally expect to give us much fight in the rebound battle. Yeah, Drummond putting up 20-20 in not conclusive evidence of that; he is a beast (although when I was thinking about it I was going off memory of how he seemed to dominate against Bulls especially going back last year, not just speaking to his beast mode through six game sample this year).

So far team vs. rebounding:
CHA - 41 to 49
TOR - 59 to 45
NYK - 63 to 38
CLE - 47 to 32
DET - 47 to 42

Through six games, we are losing rebounding box score by -7rpg (and that includes us winning reb vs CHA). When you look at close 4th quarter loses to Knicks and Cavs, and think about differential of 15 rpg in each of them, that's a game changer. Against Knicks we gave up 25 OFFENSIVE REB!!!

I hope practice is putting major emphasis on rebounding. I was only writing though to express my curiosity on how much we can expect improvement. Are we just a faulty combination of "small but strong guys" with "tall but soft guys"? Can Wendell and Lauri, this year, develope into a frontcourt duo that can hold its own on the glass against other starting frontcourts? I'm skeptical. But I really do like the eye test with WCJ; it'll be tough though with his young frame vs so many of these big vets.

[NWIBullsFan]

Fluke win. Pistons played without Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson.

Huh, that depleted Pistons team just beat the Nets (and Kyrie's triple-double).

The Nets must be really, really, really, really embarrassed.

And Drummond had another 20/20.

[Dez]

I still find it baffling that people are saying Lauri played poorly.

He had 14 points, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals in 25 minutes and was genuine positive on the court, saying he played poorly is just flat out wrong.

He made an impact in limited minutes.

[Dez]

Fluke win. Pistons played without Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson.

Huh, that depleted Pistons team just beat the Nets (and Kyrie's triple-double).

The Nets must be really, really, really, really embarrassed.

And Drummond had another 20/20.

And Rose was rested.