GT#75: Bulls vs Nets |4/4| 7:00pm | TNT

[enetric]

I really dont have a problem with what you just said or why you wanted a play with JJ. But there are some things that you are over looking. And it comes down to hindsight.

1- Lopez may have gone cold...JJ was bad all game.

2- Percentages from spots on the floor are not broken down by open looks or covered by a defender. So yes, not Brook's best shot...but you forget, the play worked. One of Deron or Lopez was left unguarded and that was the guy who got the shot. Clearly an NBA player's fg% is HIGHER on a wide open look. The ball was in and out. So while I agree, ideally I prefer a play for JJ at the end of a game and yes Lopez was cold...I cant rip on the coach, the PG or the guy who missed. Play worked, PG made the best choice...pass to the open man rather than force a shot on a double team with a big waiting at the rim, and the open man took a good set shot look. Sucks that he missed. I just cant get worked up about it when we got destroyed all game in rebounds the way we did. A life time of NBA observation has taught me...that the big screw up in that game was that we blew the lead as a result of crap rebounding. Easy to blame the missed shot and be coaches from our couches and say...NO!! THIS is the play you should have run!!! But can you at least see that if that play was run and JJ misses we are sitting here reading from at least a couple of people about how ice cold JJ was in this game and we shouldnt be so predictable?

I dont love PJ. Its just that I cant scapegoat him for everything either.

I don't know if you're attributing someone else's attitude about PJ to me but I don't "scapegoat him for everything".

Not only have I spent less time watching games over the last 6 weeks (and therefore I don't comment in the GTs as much as I used to), but I've been telling people that everything CAN'T be his fault.

In fact, I just wrote a long post talking about why I DON'T put a lot of blame on PJ for the lack of identity this team has.

I called out Lopez for his turnovers and miscues at the end of the 4th and I criticized PJ for the play call, but just because I say "we could have done this better", it doesn't mean that I'm blaming him for losing the game. I don't think that was even portrayed from the original comment that I made about the play.

Here is what I wrote:

If you take the play out of its context and in a vacuum, in itself the play is not bad. We've seen Lopez hit that set shot quite a few times before. If that shot happens anytime other than the last 2 minutes of last night's game, it'd be perfectly fine.

However, when we add the context back to it, while the play is not an inherently bad one, the decision to go with that specific play at that time is questionable.

JJ might not have been feeling overall that last night but he was hotter than Lopez was in the 4th quarter.

After going 8/9 FG in the first quarter, Lopez is 2/9 for the remaining 3 quarters up until that point.

JJ was 3/6 FG in the 4th quarter and 3/4 from 3 in the 4th.

Given the context, it should have been an ISO for JJ or D-will considering the fact that both were hotter than Lopez at the time. Add to it the fact that JJ has had GW-shots this season even on nights where he wasn't tearing it up indicates to me that he thrives in and really concentrates during those moments.

The play call is not a bad one, but in comparison to what should've been run, it wasn't a better option than a D-Will or JJ ISO.

Maybe I'm missing something but it does not have the vitriol or any anger that you are portraying me to have had. No exclamation points, no "NOOO", nothing bad.

All I said was that a better play could have been run. In fact, my earlier post about Lopez had more blame than this one had on PJ (and I didn't even say that either of those single plays lost us the game).

I never meant to portray or imply that you were angry or assigning specific blame. I was stating that there was a difference between the play run and the shot taken. My issue wasnt with you...so I apologize NYC if you thought that. Perhaps my anger at the low level douchery I have been reading of late gave you the impression that I was lumping you into that. I wasnt...no worries.

[enetric]

Am I arguing with Skip Bayless?

What advanced metrics negative the value of defense? All I said was rebounding is overrated. Reggie grabs 20 rebounds and hurts us consistently. If you throw an average PF in there for Reggie, he'll grab at least 7-8 boards, Lopez'll grab a couple more and Wallace might grab some more. SOMEONE will grab them. Is that too complicated for you to understand or should I use fewer numbers?

If you're blaming Deron Williams for not turning Reggie Evans into a competent offensive player - yes, you are defending the quality of Evans. Deron isn't Jesus - he's not going to make Evans play well because Evans couldn't play well if he was alone in a gym. CP3 couldn't make this clown play better last year either.

We can ignore the sidekicks when they aren't allowing our stars to get double and triple teamed without repercussion. You know, Skip, basketball is more than just stars - especially when teams are evenly matched. Notice how we dominate weaker teams?

Skip Bayless? Funny...I was thinking the exact same thing about you! When you say foolish things like Rebounding is overrated...there is no way to take you serious. And please stop acting like you could explain anything to ME when you have yet to learn anything yet about this sport.

I love adolescent arrogant kiddy's distorting every point made thinking they have magically discovered everything they encounter for the first time and think...hey I GOT IT! Boy...you dont have squat!

I NEVER defended Evans. He is what he is. A low level one skill bench guy being asked to start because we dont have better. Yes, on that we agree. But you making extreme statements of exaggeration...thinking that rebounding will just happen...and hey it doesnt matter because look at the differential on OTHER teams? Foolish dribble. I dont care about Brook's rebounding totals. But I do care about a starting 5 that puts up 10 rebounds total on a night beyond the 4 spot. I do care if I see a lack of hustle...or positioning for boards!

Deron isnt going to make Evans a star. But that doesnt mean he cant get MORE out of him or Wallace. That he couldnt get a few high percentage shots FOR them by setting them up in better spots. That he cant see NOT to drive into the teeth of the D without an angle to pass off to open man as he does too often.

That he didnt need as many "bail out" passes that put his less skilled offensive players in positions of failure more than they need to be. This isnt rocket science....although I can understand how it must seem like it to a guy who learned the game sitting on the couch with a controller in his hand. Yes...great PG's will orchestrate their offense better by better execution. Can you change tempo when looking for your shot? Can you draw a defender at the spot you need him to come to you rather than put yourself in spots that nothing good can possibly happen?

Not all of this is Deron's fault...so please stop acting like because I am criticizing Deron or Lopez that I think Evans, Crash and the bench are all that!!! I dont! Never said it. Just stating the reality that in a cap structure superstar driven league...a minor change from this 3 mil guy to that one...and this 1mil guy to that one...you arent going to suddenly get....WOW! Look...see?

Two things will make major improvements on this team.

1- Time to build chemistry
2- THE STAR PLAYERS PLAY AT A HIGHER LEVEL!!!!!!

My reason for spending more time of late going after the stars is that there is more than enough anal dribble thread after thread on this board whining about the coach and the support players that I really dont see the point in simply going yeah...those guys make these mistakes and boo on PJ.

I mean come on kid! Wake up and learn the damn sport. Its OK TO HOLD YOUR STARS TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF EXPECTATION!!!!!!!!!!!!

And THAT is my goal of late to say to all the cry babies...point the finger EVERYWHERE!!! Not just a the guys who do the least in the box score! Great stars, great systems get more from their low level guys. That is a fact of this sport that if you are unwilling to accept...you might as well go back to your parent's basement and keep playing video games because you are never going to get it.

But in the mean time...I cant simply read page after page of delusion about this team!!! Its a good team that has had about to be expected year one results. The majority of our team salary is tied up in 3 superstars and one out of rotation low level role guy. That means like most NBA teams....major improvement will come from THE TOP or not at all. Sure, we can tweak one low level guy for another. We can pray that this Euro is better than that one or we luck out in the draft with a late pick. Maybe we get another Joe Johnson type of trade out Hump's expiring contract and land some other over paid more talented guy. Or...we can be honest. Our stars leave a lot to be desired. Either with consistency or in execution...or intensity on any given day. When they make the adjustments...others will adjust around them. THAT IS THE NBA.

If you have no ability to acknowledge even one point I am making to you...then dont waste my time with a reply. But if you can understand ANYTHING I am trying to explain to you...then by all means, happy to have a conversation with you.

[PetroNet]

Reggie's hate is justified.

However, he deserves the hate he gets now. I could careless if he's on pace to shatter rebound records since Rodman, he is a cancer on the floor offensively and defensively.

Offensively: He cares so much about rebounds, he has now racked up 35 3 second violations in 75 games which is #1 in the league or worst...Whichever way you want to look at it. 35 3 sec violations = 35 wasted offensive possessions in 75 games.

You're leaving points on the floor and bailing team's out. We went up by 13 early on Chicago, he picked up 3 violations within a span of 5 minutes which is 3 chances to score that could have been the deciding factor of us going up by 20 instead of giving the Bulls extra chances to make a shot.

It doesnt work that way. you cant single out his 3 second violations as and saying they are "possesion he gives away" while completely ignoring all the offensive rebounds he gets, which gain us extra posessions. that has to be a 2 way street.

He averages 3 offensive rebounds a game, and 1 turnover per game. So for every possesion he "gives away" he is getting us 3 extra ones.

the 3 second violations can be frustrating, but at the end of the day a dead ball turnover isnt the end of the world, especially when him getting position and camping out in the paint leads to a ton of offensive rebounds.

[enetric]

And with all the exaggerated hate for a low level role guy who has been asked to do way more than he should have to? He is by far the hottest player on the team per any reasonable measure of expectation.

Not saying he is beyond criticism but sheesh! The guy is playing extremely well right now.

[PetroNet]

We need to get some guys who can run in the offseason. it was as apearant earlier in the year when dwill was fat slow and injured... but now that he is back to his top form and playing at ahigh level again its so obvious that he is the only one who can push it up the floor.

so many times he either gets the rebound, gets an outlet pass, or gets it off a turnover, goes full steam up court and has no one running with him and has to pull it back out.

if you look at the prior 1.5 years he had hear, we had so many more transition points with having guys with him who would run more.