The Happy Discussion: The Positives of the 2012-2013 Season

[LGhost]

Looking back, it was an awesome season.. All the things in the poll we're equally awesome in my opinion

[veji1]

Proud of this team... To think that even without Rose, had Hinrich and Deng stayed healthy this team could have pulled a Pistons 2004.. Truly brave team from which Noah and Butler stand out as the biggest positives.

[kingkirk]

So many highlights this year.

Many may see it as a down type year, but i absolutely loved what the guys on the floor were able to achieve.

We witnessed Jo emerge as a legitimate top fly center in this league, which was justified by his 1st team defense selection and highlighted with his legendary game 7 performance, which will go down as one of the best by a Bulls player in the playoffs.

Buckets. What more can i say? He got....buckets. After all these years of looking for an athletic wing, we found one with a 30th overall pick. Here is a kid that just works, to the point where he has become a fan favourite and someone who bleeds the culture of this organisation. He is the wing version of Noah. A keeper for years to come.

Nate Robinson was incredible. It took me some time to warm to Nate. He isn't a traditional type point guard, which is what i love, but he won me over. I was expecting the idiot and chaotic Nate from years gone past, but he came here and played a lot more controlled and added elements to his game which we hadn't seen before. Regardless if he comes back next season, his performance against Brooklyn will be remembered for decades. He will always have a legacy as a Bulls player. He also provided many quality GIFs which i've abused religiously.

Thibs. He has cemented himself as the best coach outside of Popovich imo. He took a team that was missing their superstar and had quality and important players missing games all season, often in crucial moments. Not only did the team exceed my expectations in the regular season, but we went to the second round and stole a game against the likely NBA champions. This is a credit to Thibs. What an amazing coach he is, and i hope he remains a career coach with our organisation. The culture that is being created here is evident, and its a testament to this man.

Everyone else had their moments. Deng played like a warrior at times with many injuries. Boozer had a huge couple months and had possibly his most consistent year. Belinelli single handedly won us several games on the buzzer. Kirk was back as a Bull, where he belongs. Nazr punked Lebron. Taj....got a nice contract...

All in all, i know some will be down right now, but not me.

Im **** proud of this team, and i couldn't think of another team in this league that could have achieved what we have all year long. As fans, we under appreciate our team at times, but take a seat, sit back and relax and realise what an amazing organisation this is.

[Just_Bullz]

I chose Thibs as all things goes through him, he made the best of what he has and will his team on and on over again despite the injuries and all.

Only downside is he played his players too many minutes.

[Googjob]

I think there are a lot of positives from this team this year. The way they faced adversity, the way they never quit. They had ample opportunities to just pack it up and go home a long time ago.

With that said, Jimmy is the story. He has gone from a guy at the end of the bench to a legitimate NBA starter. Perhaps one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. His 3-point shot has improved immensely and he looks to be the SG the Bulls have been looking for.

[Ralphb07]

The Jimmy Butler thread. He is either our future starting shooting guard or is the starting forward allowing us to take Deng and flip him for some offensive minded guys.

I'd like us to get a scorer at SG and keep Butler at SF. Tyreke Evans is the first person that come to mind, who's available.

That's the problem is thinking of who is available. I know a lot of teams, around 7-10 all have interest in Deng, it's just what is out there.

A lot of people thought if Deng went down or was traded we'd be in trouble but Butler dispelled that and made it a bit easier to deal Deng now. I think Scottie was right with Butler and think he is going to take even a bigger step next year.

Speaking of Pippen, I hope Jimmy works with him this summer, if I was Butler I would make it happen.

[bledredwine]

Funny thing is that Jimmy hasn't even fully developed yet; he's shown us that he can hit hyper-athletic fadeaway a, significantly limit Lebron, hit 3s reliably, play smart and dunk like a madman. And he's just now going into his 3rd season. We know that like rose, he works hard as hell and as he become less gun shu and tries to take over like this last Miami game where he was fantastic btw, this team will be monstrous. So excited for the upcoming years. We are going to be a tour-de-force no matter how you look at it. Btw, not listed but the best part of season is also proposing to Thibs and locking him in. He's the type of hu's and who will get his own ring an rings for the team. It's an exciting marriage

[SSSFreak]

This is Jimmy's thread without a doubt. I think we found our starting SG. A few more complimentary offensive wing players and I think we are set. Whether that is Nate/Marco remains to be seen but I'd like to keep both if its possible at all.

Shout out to Nate and Noah too. Those guys just flat out won us many games by themselves this season. Major props.

[Viatical]

I didn't get past the first option in the poll. The season starts and ends with Jimmy Butler's emergence.

[arjay702]

From henceforth jimmy will only be addressed as Buckets

Noah trolling bosh

Nazr pushing leFlop

Noah pushing meth man

Nate decking CJ into the scorers table

Pastas game winners

Kirk owning dwill

Kirk ripping the ball from bosh

Kirk bringing down lebron like a safety

I forgot the opponent but Teague was just draining 3s that game

Buckets owning melo

Deng owning melo

Noah triple double

Ending streaks and getting coaches fired

Jimmy owning Kobe

[sco]

Jimmy, of course...I also remember Scottie saying Jimmy was going to be an All-Star, and saying to myself...pfft, where's the offense? I also remember JVG saying that Jimmy was going to find his stroke because of his FT form. Needs to change his number to 48!

Noah, the anti-Rose, dude had a monster season, fighting through plantar fasciitus, and getting us into the 2nd round, where we had little reason to deserve it.

Nate, I loved his energy and enthusiasm, he must have won 10 games for us (and lost only a couple). I hope he comes back next year because his game is so similar to Rose, it will allow us to keep Derrick at 110%.

Kirk, I had my mind made-up that he was a terrible signing because he had no offense and would dribble the air out of the ball. I was pleasantly surprised how much he could still do, when healthy. I think he'll be a good back-up at PG/SG next season.

Thibs, if this season wasn't a case of turning lemons into lemonade, I don't know what is. I give him much of the credit for getting more than expected from Nate, Kirk and Belinelli, and keeping team believing.

[Ice Man]

Yah Jimmy of course. Easy winner. Honorary mentions to Nate, Thibs, Marco's fourth quarters, and Noah's Game 7.

It was clear from listening to Scottie's brief telecasting experiment that he is a damn smart basketball mind. His insight on Jimmy shouldn't be a surprise. I hope the Bulls FO isn't just using him for PR purposes only, and is picking his brain.

[BULLHITTER]

+1 to butler; he's better than advertised. hope he has another level to go to. he looks like a rotation guy.

robinson not going rogue for a new contract was a surprise, but i like him; he's got bigger balls than some of the guys who were actually "contributing".

team overall didn't surprise me much; saw this movie in 2007 or so; lots of fight, not enough talent, too many injuries.

[Cliff Levingston]

Cliff Levingston doesn't think it's outside of the realm of possibility for Jimmy to develop into a near all-star caliber player. Didn't get to watch (or care to watch) many of the games, but when you watch Jimmy play, it simply doesn't ever appear the moment is too big for him. He's proven he can defend at an elite level, particular the 2 guard spot where he matches up from a size and strength perspective against most guys in the league. His offense came along a bit, particular his jumper. He's shown an ability to handle the ball, take it into the lane, draw fouls and knock down his FTs. With that confidence, some work and improvement and a bigger chunk of the game plan, he could really shine next season especially with Rose taking the pressure off offensively.

Jimmy doesn't change everything with regard to how you build the team around Rose but you know you've got a guy who could and should be here as a major contributor for a long time.

[Mech Engineer]

If Jimmy can get whatever the good things Joe Johnson does(secondary ball handling, three point shooting) without his bad things, that would be great.

[bentheredengthat]

Excellent thread & great read!

Bottom line for me is when you can rob the Heat of their pre-determined all but in the history books winning streak, and see Jimmy blossom with his "not impressed" face the whole damn time, everything else is just icing on the cake.

And my sweet tooth is still aching from the extra thick icing.

[kdapiton]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHxahoE5HMk[/youtube]

Courtesy of Bulls website

[sco]

Cliff Levingston doesn't think it's outside of the realm of possibility for Jimmy to develop into a near all-star caliber player. Didn't get to watch (or care to watch) many of the games, but when you watch Jimmy play, it simply doesn't ever appear the moment is too big for him. He's proven he can defend at an elite level, particular the 2 guard spot where he matches up from a size and strength perspective against most guys in the league. His offense came along a bit, particular his jumper. He's shown an ability to handle the ball, take it into the lane, draw fouls and knock down his FTs. With that confidence, some work and improvement and a bigger chunk of the game plan, he could really shine next season especially with Rose taking the pressure off offensively.

Jimmy doesn't change everything with regard to how you build the team around Rose but you know you've got a guy who could and should be here as a major contributor for a long time.

Not hard to imagine if we set Luol as the "all star" standard...Jimmy's come a long way in closing the gap this year.

[kodo]

A great season for Royce (and Jimmy).

[Wingy]

This game...has always been...about...Buckets!!!