PG:New York Minute

[kulaz3000]

He will never win 6th Man of the Year because he doesn't score a lot, but he may well be the most important 6th man in the league.

I think he is a lock for first team All nba defense.

If he finish the season remain as Steal leader, he should be one of the frontrunners for DPOY, IMO. I mean c'mon, the impact he's having on our defense is almost Rodman-esque.

Most of the time, high steals total players are usually players that gamble, and a lot of the time they actually happen to be bad defensive players - I never thought it was the ideal way to judge a players defensive ability.

To truly appreciate Alex's defensive prowess and his steals is that a huge chunk of them are on ball steals, just the way he is able to mirror the moves by the offensive player, and perfectly timing when to go for the steal, he is so intelligent in that regard and it's beautiful to watch.

[WindyCityBorn]

It’s concerning how bad everyone outside the top 3 is offensively. Lonzo especially seems to completely disappear late in games.

I would say Coby is the answer but he seems to have regressed into mediocrity.


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Lonzo is just really streaky. Watch him shoot like 6 of 8 from 3 on the next game. Problem is literally does nothing, but shoot 3s. He has got to develop some of offense in the mid-range and at the rim where specifically where might be worst in the league. He is still so I’m sure he will continue to work on improving, but I think he will live and die by 3s for now.

If we can get consistent 20 from Vuc going forward we are in great shape on offense because Zach and DeRozan bring it almost every night.

[WindyCityBorn]

I love Green, but he cannot guard Randle. Should have some sort of upgrade there by the time we play them again.

I might have lost months off my life there. And I don't really have enough to spare, HWhoooo...

I think we are stuck with this dwarf ball until the trade deadline. We really need two more legit bigs. They don’t even need to good. Just competent.

[RSP83]

I think he is a lock for first team All nba defense.

If he finish the season remain as Steal leader, he should be one of the frontrunners for DPOY, IMO. I mean c'mon, the impact he's having on our defense is almost Rodman-esque.

Most of the time, high steals total players are usually players that gamble, and a lot of the time they actually happen to be bad defensive players - I never thought it was the ideal way to judge a players defensive ability.

To truly appreciate Alex's defensive prowess and his steals is that a huge chunk of them are on ball steals, just the way he is able to mirror the moves by the offensive player, and perfectly timing when to go for the steal, he is so intelligent in that regard and it's beautiful to watch.

True but steals was one of the stats guys like MJ and GP also registered. They didn't get selected because of their Steals numbers... but it's part of the calculation. Same thing like Rodman, it's not his rebounds that won him DPOY, but how he impacts the game. I always thought that despite steals, rebounds, blocks do not tell the whole story, DPOY winners typically shows high stats in one of the 3 (big man typically blocks and rebounds, perimeter player steals and high numbers for blocks and rebounds for a guard). Without high steal number of leader predicate it's just one less checkbox for the committee to check for Caruso.

[bearadonisdna]

post game song :

Watch on YouTube

[WindyCityBorn]

I love Green, but he cannot guard Randle. Should have some sort of upgrade there by the time we play them again.

I might have lost months off my life there. And I don't really have enough to spare, HWhoooo...

Green is a 15 minute a night guy. We miss Pat I don't care how bad he looked early.

And those 15 minutes shouldn’t be at PF unless the the other team is playing small too.

[kulaz3000]

If he finish the season remain as Steal leader, he should be one of the frontrunners for DPOY, IMO. I mean c'mon, the impact he's having on our defense is almost Rodman-esque.

Most of the time, high steals total players are usually players that gamble, and a lot of the time they actually happen to be bad defensive players - I never thought it was the ideal way to judge a players defensive ability.

To truly appreciate Alex's defensive prowess and his steals is that a huge chunk of them are on ball steals, just the way he is able to mirror the moves by the offensive player, and perfectly timing when to go for the steal, he is so intelligent in that regard and it's beautiful to watch.

True but steals was one of the stats guys like MJ and GP also registered. They didn't get selected because of their Steals numbers... but it's part of the calculation. Same thing like Rodman, it's not his rebounds that won him DPOY, but how he impacts the game. I always thought that despite steals, rebounds, blocks do not tell the whole story, DPOY winners typically shows high stats in one of the 3 (big man typically blocks and rebounds, perimeter player steals and high numbers for blocks and rebounds for a guard). Without high steal number of leader predicate it's just one less checkbox for the committee to check for Caruso.

But that's my point though, you need to truly watch a player consistently on the defensive end to get a true gauge of how they impact the game on the defensive end. And I think that's why the all defensive teams have been one of the inconsistently voted for All-Defensive teams, because you would have players who were good defensive players at one point, getting voted in for years when they didn't deserve to be, out of reputation and because stats like steals and block averages.

[WindyCityBorn]

somehow I like this pecking order better.

1. Derozan is the primary guy.
2. Vuc is the second scorer because if his shots are falling he's going to get a lot of open looks inside and outside. So naturally he's supposed to be the no. 2 leading scorer.
3. Zach as Silent Assassin scorer, 27 points super efficient, relatively quiet 27 points IMO. Ninja Lavine!

I don’t care who takes the most shots as long as they make them. Vuc does get the easiest shots by far and the last two games he has done what he should do.

[WindyCityBorn]

great competitive game guys. would be an awesome 1st round matchup. something like u guys 3rd seed and us 6th(or 2vs7).

I hope not! Knicks are a bad matchup for the Bulls. Knicks are physical, Bulls have a real tough time with them. Plus we have no PF or big guys besides Vooch to guard Randle.

I think we are good enough that AKME will have to address the frontcourt at the trade deadline.

[AKfanatic]

I love Green, but he cannot guard Randle. Should have some sort of upgrade there by the time we play them again.

I might have lost months off my life there. And I don't really have enough to spare, HWhoooo...

Green is a 15 minute a night guy. We miss Pat I don't care how bad he looked early.

Yeah we do. That injury stinks so bad. As meek as Pat looked early, I truly believe given the time to find his role, he could’ve excelled….. he could’ve also looked overmatched. But his size and athletic gifts could’ve led to the perfect fit at PF with time.

Pat at PF long term really looks like what AK envisioned and if you squint and cross your fingers, you can see it. Really hope he heals well and soaks up everything guys like Derozan and Caruso have to offer.

[WindyCityBorn]

Watching this game, are we a JGrant/HBarnes away from being a contender? A real PF like that, to match up with KD, Giannis, Tatum, Randle in the playoffs and I think we could get to the Finals.
Are we willing to send PWill for that? PWill/CWhite/TBrown for Grant or Barnes?

I would not be in favor of that. I’m just not willing give up on Williams.

[kodo]

Very typical Bulls game. I'm glad we won, but our weaknesses haven't improved lately.

Strengths
- excellent perimeter defense. Held Burks to 1-5 from 3, Quickley 3-9. 4 steals for Caruso. No steals for Lonzo but he was disruptive and got 3 blocks.
- Derozan & Lavine scoring on excellent efficiency

Weaknesses
- Can't stop anybody inside, at all. Swiss Cheese. Randle got 30 on 14-21 shooting. The guy was playing a pickup game it was so easy for him. We just have zero length or strength inside.
- By defending small against their bigs, we foul at an insane rate. 27 free throws for NY. Bulls were in the foul penalty with 9 minutes left in the 2nd and 8 minutes left in the 4th. This is the main reason New York was able to still be in this the entire time. Bulls were very lucky Randle missed 2 important FTs in the closing minutes and went 40% from the FT line. Better stars won't be missing their freebies.

Bulls need bigs who can defend inside without fouling.

[Michael Jackson]

Knicks don’t suck. Stop worrying about a lead that went away. Got a win in MSG. Heart attack teams are Chicago. Heart attack games mean you are playing against real competition. By the way. 2-1 right now. Bring it on.

That's what I'm sayin, these are the games that prepare you for those post season minutes. They're learning how to close out these games that get players tight. I wish they'd learn to come with energy in the 3rd though, too much bench+DDR minutes

I’ve been on the court with a few D1 players and a couple NBA player (well one soon to be in Finley) and and I had no right to be playing with any of them. I have learned playing those games even if 11 by 1 and 2’s rarely if ever does anyone go 11-0. Streaks happen but the best close out the games when it gets tight. Bulls did that tonight and that means something. They were up big and let the Knicks get close and gave up minor leads.. but they never were “losing” even in a hostile environment. Good teams win more often than not. Top 300 players in the world of course in the nba it will never be easy but you have to win in the end and they did and have more often than not the whole season. I call that fun. That’s just me though.

[Michael Jackson]

I love Green, but he cannot guard Randle. Should have some sort of upgrade there by the time we play them again.

I might have lost months off my life there. And I don't really have enough to spare, HWhoooo...

Green is a 15 minute a night guy. We miss Pat I don't care how bad he looked early.

Yeah we do. That injury stinks so bad. As meek as Pat looked early, I truly believe given the time to find his role, he could’ve excelled….. he could’ve also looked overmatched. But his size and athletic gifts could’ve led to the perfect fit at PF with time.

Pat at PF long term really looks like what AK envisioned and if you squint and cross your fingers, you can see it. Really hope he heals well and soaks up everything guys like Derozan and Caruso have to offer.

Pat would have grown with this team too. He was ripe for it. Alas though it wasn’t in the cards.

[WindyCityBorn]

Right now, DeMar is not only the leader of this team, but he is our best player - which I'm at odds with. I mean it's great that we have him on our team, but it's also glaringly clear that Zach isn't ready to be the best player on a winning team, not just yet.

The hope is that by the time that DeMar is on his last season of his contract, Zach has overleapt him as the best player, because it's almost a foregone conclusion now that Zach is going to get the max contract, but as of right now, he would be a max player based on potential of being a max player and eventually being the best player on the court.

With the way that Zach talks about DeMar, it's almost like he has conceded that DeMar is the go-to-player down the stretch and that DeMar is the player the team goes to, to keep things down, stay composed and make the right decisions down the stretch. Again, it's not a bad thing, for a player who has only known losing in the NBA, it's surely going to take some adjustment and experience for Zach to be a winning player and a leader, but it's evident that he isn't quite there yet.

Really, the DeMar signing has been such a huge blessing for this franchise, after much scepticism coming from the signing, it has done wonders for the team, and hopefully Zach in the long run, because there is so much he could learn from him and I don't doubt he does.

Why does a max player have to be best player on the court? Championship teams have at least 2 usually 3 players on max level contracts now. Is Middleton the best player on the Bucks? How about Holiday? Is Devin Booker the best player on Suns. Is Michael Porter Jr the best player on the Nuggets?

[r1terrell23]

I wish his shot was a bit better, but I'm glad the Bulls signed Caruso. What a great defender!

If his shot were better he wouldn't be here.

[Michael Jackson]

great competitive game guys. would be an awesome 1st round matchup. something like u guys 3rd seed and us 6th(or 2vs7).

I hope not! Knicks are a bad matchup for the Bulls. Knicks are physical, Bulls have a real tough time with them. Plus we have no PF or big guys besides Vooch to guard Randle.

I think we are good enough that AKME will have to address the frontcourt at the trade deadline.

And they aren’t GarPax. They know it and they will. I trust that. Will it be the right move or will luck favor us? Not sure but I do believe all options will be considered unlike our recent past.

[FriedRise]

Read on Twitter

I interpreted it as Zach is learning how to close games in a high pressure situation. He’s been in too many games that are meaningless (because team is tanking) where he’d make crucial mistakes at inopportune times that ended up costing the game.

He has at least a full season to learn from a star (or two) and be a part of the experience. You hope he’d pick up a thing or two by the time we sign him to that max contract to be a winning player.

[nomorezorro]

I love Green, but he cannot guard Randle. Should have some sort of upgrade there by the time we play them again.

I might have lost months off my life there. And I don't really have enough to spare, HWhoooo...

I think we are stuck with this dwarf ball until the trade deadline. We really need two more legit bigs. They don’t even need to good. Just competent.

where do you envision two more bigs fitting into the rotation, exactly? if we just wanted bodies we'd be throwing alize and bradley onto the floor. but, as painful as it is when teams are exploiting our lack of size, ~small ball~ has clearly been beneficial on balance for the bulls this season. we're a top 10 defense, top 5 net rating. the schemes are working, even if the aesthetics are atypical.

the way i see it, we could use one (1) guy who is vaguely morris twins-sized to round out our roster. bulky (or long) enough to do a credible job with the rare giannis/davis/randle star PF defensive assignments, but mobile enough to fit into our team defensive scheme.

[Mk0]

great competitive game guys. would be an awesome 1st round matchup. something like u guys 3rd seed and us 6th(or 2vs7).

F#%@ that noise, get grimey and let's meet in the 2nd round!