OSS: One of the worst teams in the NBA blew the Bulls out from start to finish.
Nothing But Net
1. Bobby Portis got his first bit of action of the season once this one was out of hand. Portis scored 10 points in 10 minutes (albeit against a team that was playing All-Star Game caliber defense), and looked fairly promising.
2. Jimmy Butler wasn't the problem last night. Jimmy Buckets had 26 points on 16 attempts, which you'll take every single day of the week. The defense was pretty good, too; the only person on the whole team you can really say that for.
3. Cristiano Felicio didn't play and was therefore not a problem.
Airballs
1. Derrick Rose might be the worst player with a starting job in the NBA. Rose isn't even attempting to play defense at this point, and it shows. When Rose can't score, he can't play. He can't score right now.
2. Nikola Mirotic can't play a lick of defense either. Combine that with a 2-11 shooting performance and you have an anchor that weighs down the entire team.
3. Joakim Noah was a turnover machine in this game. When you have 3 more turnovers than shots (4 to 1), you aren't exactly a paragon of offensive efficiency.
It's very possible this is the worst the Bulls will look all season. The really frustrating part, though, is that the Bulls still shot nearly 50% from the floor! No one in the starting 5 can play defense save Jimmy Butler, and he can't do it all. Jimmy himself said it. It isn't just that; the Bulls were -19 in the rebound battle. Basketball reference doesn't allow me to filter exactly the way I want to for this, but I can get close. Over the last 5 seasons, teams that allow 50 or more rebounds while grabbing 35 or less are 21-129. The Bulls were out-rebounded 52 to 33.
Mirotic tries hard, but doesn't really know what he's doing. Rose doesn't even try hard: he has sloppy footwork and doesn't really attempt to keep himself between his man and the basket. Snell is improving defensively and may end up being very good, but he isn't now. Pau Gasol belongs to the Carlos Boozer Leaden Foot Institute. Butler is the only person you can rely on every day to kick ass defensively, and that's not good enough unless you pour it in every night (and something not even that is enough).
Next Game
11/5, home vs. Thunder
7:00 PM CT on TNT
Comments
Honestly, we should be hoping that Pau gets traded. The Bulls could use a better back up PG (though I like E’twaun quite a bit) and an actual two-way player in the front court. Taj Gibson is the closest thing the Bulls have to a two-way player, and he’s not very good on offense.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
JonKneeV,
Plus, Pau has a player option next year that would be nice to get rid of. Next season there are a TON of notable Free Agents that can help this team.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
Not to change the subject, but damn, The Leftovers latest episode was awesome.
dmick89Quote Reply
Ya it was great. This season overall has been great.
Another show that I read a review for on HitFix was a new comedy on Netflix created by Aziz Ansari: Master of None.
I know over the years most of the shows discussed here have been dramas (BB, Justified, Rectify, etc), but I’m looking forward to that show. It’s been awhile since I really got in to a comedy.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bFvb3WKISk
JonKneeVQuote Reply
JonKneeV,
I thought The Leftovers was one of the top 5 shows last year, but it’s been even better this year.
I’m also looking forward to Master of None.
I’m not sure I’d have ever watched it if GW didn’t mention it a few times last year, but Manhattan is also one of my favorite dramas on tv these days. I think he mentioned it before it even aired so I’m not even sure what he thinks of the show. GW?
dmick89Quote Reply
Episodes of the show get reported on in the local paper here (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
I watch less TV than I used to, but my favorite show right now is probably iZombie.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Fargo is also way up there, though I haven’t caught up yet from when I was out of town (and am leaving town again…).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I haven’t gotten caught up on the 2nd season yet, but I really liked the first season. There’s so many comic book shows on tv these days.
dmick89Quote Reply
Hey, everyone who was expected to has declined their player option! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Philadelphia has some garbage unis.
MylesQuote Reply
I like the hornets. But then again I’m from NC and live in NC
NateQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Nice.
mylesQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Could Alex Gordon play CF?
dmick89Quote Reply
All-Star game caliber defense sounds like really good defense, unless you’ve actually watched an All-Star game.
MillertimeQuote Reply
What is iZombie? I think it showed up on Netflix, but I don’t know much about it.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Millertime, The gist of it is that the main character is a doctor who becomes a high-functioning zombie (the mystery surrounding how it happens is a plot thread). She switches to working in the ME office to get a source of brains to keep her sane, and she tends to take on the personalities of whoever she ate, and occasionally some of their memories, which she uses to help solve their murders. The premise is kind of silly, but the writing is fantastic. It's made by the same people who did Party Down and Veronica Mars.
berseliusQuote Reply
Steve Jobs.
mylesQuote Reply
This. I only tuned into the first episode because of the creators. Didn’t expect to like it because the premise is so ridiculous. It’s excellent though.
dmick89Quote Reply
Also, iZombie is based on a comic book like every other show on television today.
dmick89Quote Reply
I watched about 3 episodes, and I thought it was good… promising at least. Then I moved and lost the ones I had on DVR. And as far as I can tell, I can no longer get it because I have regular WGN rather than WGN America, which is just bizarre.
GWQuote Reply
You did talk me into getting back in to Rectify, which I thought was a really strong season.
GWQuote Reply
Really, there’s no wgn America in Chicago area?
There aren’t many us that watch Rectify.
dmick89Quote Reply
Watched the first two episodes of Season 2 and thought they were great. Maybe True Detective should have made Season 2 about Rust Cohle’s dad.
GWQuote Reply
I think the correct answer to all questions of this format (Could player X play position Y?) is “no.”
Unless you are Joe Maddon, in which case the answer is… “sometimes.”
GWQuote Reply
I didn’t bother watching the second season of True Detective. I figured it was going to suck without the stars from the first season. Fargo didn’t have that issue. As good as some of the actors were, they were all replaceable. Tough to replace McConaughey. I’m not sure if the first season would have been very good without him and Harrelson.
dmick89Quote Reply
GW,
Yeah, you’re probably right.
dmick89Quote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
am i the only one who liked the second season of true detective?
it kinda seems like the reasons that people shit all over the second season are the same reasons they give for liking the first one…
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Yes. Jumbled plot. I had to read critic recaps to understand what was going on. Poor character development/too many main characters. Some poor acting (VV, Kirsch). I LOVED the first season. I also don’t normally complain about TV too much either, but it was bad.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
So I didn’t watch the Bulls game last night. No recap: if you want one, go here: http://www.blogabull.com/2015/11/5/9679410/rose-leads-bulls-to-a-win-over-the-thunder
mylesQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
The Cubs are getting Price!
– Twitter, apparently
JonKneeVQuote Reply
JonKneeV,
Just started an article about those rumors. He’s going to cost a shitload of money. I’m all for it, but it’s a lot of money. I’d rather they go after Heyward.
dmick89Quote Reply
So, you are Theo. You have Jake Arrieta through 2017 (two more seasons). Do you:
a) Buy out his arb years and 2 free agents years for 4 years/$80m?
b) Let him play this season and try to extend him next year if he continues performing and pay potentially much more?
JonKneeVQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/are-the-cubs-the-favorites-to-sign-david-price/
dmick89Quote Reply