PG: Streak Busters/ Welcome back, Alex

[HomoSapien]

Speaking of McKinnie, I don't like him and I'm wondering if I'm wrong here because so many of you seem to really like him. Although he's had a few nice moments, for the most part, he seems overwhelmed or invisible out there. Seems like he's been better in his previous stints, but he's 29 and clearly there's a reason non of his past teams have ever brought him back. What am I missing?

[Chi town]

That 4 game losing streak was brutal. The first two games were just hammered dog crap bad. Its defense, obviously. We lost almost all of our best defensive players, including P Will, Caruso and Greene. I think this might be a blessing for us, though. We are getting significant burn for both Coby and Ayo and those guys are growing up. Good win. I don't expect much against the Bucks tomorrow, but I just want them to compete and play hard.

“Hammered dog crap bad.”

That’s sounds pretty bad. Never heard of that type of bad.

[TyrusRose2425]

Speaking of McKinnie, I don't like him and I'm wondering if I'm wrong here because so many of you seem to really like him. Although he's had a few nice moments, for the most part, he seems overwhelmed or invisible out there. Seems like he's been better in his previous stints, but he's 29 and clearly there's a reason non of his past teams have ever brought him back. What am I missing?

He's fine when it comes to him providing us some first half minutes for a few games, but right now he's starting and not playing that temporary 9th man role.

[NecessaryEvil]

It seems like maybe the key to beating the Cavs is to go small... Last night, the bulls closed with:
Aya, Coby, AC, DD, and Vuc. None of their frontcourt players play big enough to completely eat you alive in the paint. And you get a lot of open looks on the other end.

The Cavs are a bunch of kids. I'm not sure why ever one here talks like it's gonna be some issue beating them. I like what they're building but they're not scaring any real contending team.

[BullChit]

No, I can’t. Because it’s not possible as a matter of time, space and the existence of all things. At least based on our current levels of understanding how the universe works.

No i think he might be onto something... replace Zach and Lonzo's usage and role with that of Matt Thomas and McKinnie = Championship... I about 200% positive those number will play out you guys... get Billy D on the phone

Every time Thomas and McKinnie touch the ball they commit negative turnovers. The ones already committed by their hapless teammates retroactively disappear and the present reality re-adjusts itself accordingly.

[Mbrahv0528]

If Caruso is half as valuable as his supporters claim he is, he should be on the supermax. But the truth is, DeMar and Ayo won the game for us yesterday, with support from Vuc and Coby. Caruso was along for the ride, which isn't surprising given that it was his first game back after an injury break.

What? We don't win that game without Caruso. His mere presence seemed to kick the defensive intensity up a notch (or 3 to be quite honest). But yeah, just along for the ride.

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[Red8911]

I think coby has learned a little from demar. He has mixed in a little fake/hesitation move on his drives that gives him just that extra .5 second, sort of a herky jerky thing that demar is exceptional at. but he also is WAY better on straight drives. There are times he doesn't hesitate AT ALL and seems to be able to get to the rim consistently. There's a little nuance there that I think makes him harder to guard. Plus he's just doing it with WAY more confidence.

Yup noticed that too.Coby never made moves like that before, now he’s using all these Derozen moves. Even did a spin drive in a couple of times. He’s just picking things up from playing with Derozen and seeing him score all the time from practice/games.

[Ice Man]

I think coby has learned a little from demar. He has mixed in a little fake/hesitation move on his drives that gives him just that extra .5 second, sort of a herky jerky thing that demar is exceptional at. but he also is WAY better on straight drives. There are times he doesn't hesitate AT ALL and seems to be able to get to the rim consistently. There's a little nuance there that I think makes him harder to guard. Plus he's just doing it with WAY more confidence.

I like Stan van Gundy as an announcer, but he was behind the times in the Memphis game by insisting that Coby's game was as a shooter, not as a scorer, and that he's not very effective near the rim. Actually, he has become quite good at getting to the rim and finishing, although he got stuffed by JJJ in that game.

Stan was describing Coby 2020, not Coby 2021.

[Ice Man]

What? We don't win that game without Caruso.

I knew before the game started that Caruso would be credited for the win if the Bulls won, no matter how he played. The fans were ready to do the same for Lonzo when he returned, but the Bulls lost those games, so then they awaited the next player to return. People want to believe in the talisman -- once we get that guy back, we'll be good again.

And sure enough, that's how the narrative went. I'm old enough to remember when Michael Carter-Williams was the talisman, and fans waited for 2 months for him to come back to injury, because he was the straw that stirred the defensive drink. People like such narratives; they bring hope.

As a side note, I think that Alex is a very good and useful player. He has been a critical part of many Bulls' victories this year. But I would not put the Cleveland game in that category.

[HINrichPolice]

I’m with you in that I don’t exactly understand how Ayo fell so far. I get it. He didn’t grade out as an elite athlete, nor was he considered an elite shooter. He also wasn’t the biggest or strongest player in the draft. But he wasn’t “bad” in any one area and in many respects was one of the most nba ready players if any of the scouts cared to pay attention. To me, it’s a perfect example of when teams and scouts fall in love with potential while ignoring demonstrated ability.

Makes me wonder who in college basketball fits the same sort of profile.

I remember as an Illini fan hearing Arturas' reasoning for drafting Ayo: "his statistical profile"

He didn't mention much about anything. It seemed that they just felt like "well, his stats are too well rounded to ignore, so we should take a chance on him" without really caring much about a certain skill or athletic profile.

I wonder if there are certain advanced metrics that made Ayo stick out like a sort thumb, and here's hoping that we can land another late draft gem in the future.

My guess is AK didn’t say much about why they drafted him because they kind of did it as an afterthought, and it just worked out great. Along the lines of “oh, didn’t think he’d be available, he’s from Chicago and we’re not super excited about any of these other second rounders.”

This pure speculation on my part is supported by Poopmonovic getting a better contract than Ayo.

I can't disagree with you, Duck.

For all of the praise that AKME gets, it wouldn't surprise me if drafting Ayo was due mainly to luck rather than scouting/decision making as Simonovic and to an extent Dotson surely aren't worth putting on their resume. I don't see any NBA talent in Simonovic, and if there is, it's not coming to fruition until he reaches his basketball peak in about 5 years.