The 2006-2007 Chicago Bulls Thread

[Mark_R]

Thank god its BULLS SEASON. Since my pro football teams are pretty awful, all I have left are the Buckeyes and the Bulls. plz don't let me down, either of you.

[TruffleShuffle]

Thank god its BULLS SEASON. Since my pro football teams are pretty awful, all I have left are the Buckeyes and the Bulls. plz don't let me down, either of you.

 

you're lucky. i'm left hoping for an alamo bowl appearance, and hoping that the sixers don't embarass everyone by finishing behind the knicks.

[Mark_R]

Definitely embarrassing that would be, but very very likely. The Sixers play probably the worst D in basketball, especially if Kyle Korver gets 25 minutes a night.

[TruffleShuffle]

Definitely embarrassing that would be, but very very likely. The Sixers play probably the worst D in basketball, especially if Kyle Korver gets 25 minutes a night.

 

No kidding. Korver does bring outside shooting, which the team desperately needed, but his defense is awful. And it's not like he's dogging it - he really tries hard, which is pretty sad if you think about it.

 

On the other hand, the Knicks won 23 games last year, which was 15 fewer than the Sixers, and that was with a very good head coach. Now Isiah Thomas, perhaps the most incompetent man I've ever seen in coaching/management, has the reins for basically the entire Knicks organization. He apparently has seen it fit to build a team of shoot-first, pass-second guards, with absolutely nothing in the way of defensive or rebounding ability.

 

I just don't see the Sixers being as bad as the Knicks. The Knicks are built completely wrong, don't have much talent, and have Isiah at the helm. I seriously could see that team winning less than ten games.

[USSoccer]

Definitely embarrassing that would be, but very very likely. The Sixers play probably the worst D in basketball, especially if Kyle Korver gets 25 minutes a night.

 

No kidding. Korver does bring outside shooting, which the team desperately needed, but his defense is awful. And it's not like he's dogging it - he really tries hard, which is pretty sad if you think about it.

 

On the other hand, the Knicks won 23 games last year, which was 15 fewer than the Sixers, and that was with a very good head coach. Now Isiah Thomas, perhaps the most incompetent man I've ever seen in coaching/management, has the reins for basically the entire Knicks organization. He apparently has seen it fit to build a team of shoot-first, pass-second guards, with absolutely nothing in the way of defensive or rebounding ability.

 

I just don't see the Sixers being as bad as the Knicks. The Knicks are built completely wrong, don't have much talent, and have Isiah at the helm. I seriously could see that team winning less than ten games.

 

I've got the Knicks for 31 wins.

[Andy]

I'm more excited for the Bulls than any season since...well, September. But I'm REALLY pumped about Tuesday.

[snoodmonger]

go bulls

[Big Fergie J]

The NBA pre-season is too long. Let the games begin already.

[ctcf]

Thank God baseball is finally done. Time for the Bears, Bulls and Flyers to all kick ass. (Ok maybe not the Flyers but I can hope.)

[rawaction]

Very excited about this Bulls team. No reason why they shouldn't lead the league in rebounds and defense this year. They were 3rd in the league last year, before Wallace and PJ. They were solid defensively last year with the 3rd best mark in FG% against and the 6th best mark in forced turnovers. They were middle of the pack in points allowed and blocked shots. And that's before adding Wallace who was top 10 in rebounds, blocks, and steals, including a huge margin over any other front court player in the league.

 

I'm sure Ben and PJ have lost a step from last year. But they are not being added to a group consisting of Marcus Fizer, Jalen Rose, and Jamal Crawford. They are being added to a team that was over .500 with a bunch of 1-2 year players two years ago, and .500 last year in, by far, the toughest division in the league. I'm very encouraged that the core of this team has stayed together and all should be hitting their stride this year as a group. I also love the fact that they didn't just go out and get old guys for veteran leadership. I love that they brought in more young players that can be a part of this thing for a long time.

[USSoccer]

It will be interesting to see how Skiles manages his roster. There is a logjam at a couple different positions, and only a finite number of minutes to give.

[rawaction]

It will be interesting to see how Skiles manages his roster. There is a logjam at a couple different positions, and only a finite number of minutes to give.

 

Yeah, it will be. Have to divide of time for 2 spots for Deng, Brown, Noc, Tyrus, and Khryapa. I think last night's game is a pretty good indication of what it will be like early on, and it looks a lot like last year. Gonna see a lot of Hinrich and Gordon in the backcourt together. Hinrich may average 40 minutes this year, with Gordon easily getting 32 minutes/game. Griffin will play a lot in certain matchups (Lebron comes to mind). Gonna see a lot of Noc/Deng at the 3-4 together. I don't expect much more than 15-18 mins/game for PJ Brown. Tyrus and Thabo won't play too awful much, but should get in most games for 4-5 minutes apiece. Wallace will play more minutes up front than Chandler, simply because he's better at staying out of foul trouble. And that's a win-win, because it cuts down Sweetney's time! I don't expect Duhon to get nearly 30 mins/game again.

 

If I had a guess, it would be:

 

PG- Hinrich 30-32 mins/Duhon 15-18, with the rest going to Barrett in mopup or injury duty.

SG- Gordon 32-35 mins/Hinrich 8-10/Griffin 8-10, with the rest going to Thabo

SF- Deng 30-32/ Nocioni 10-15/ Khryapa/Griffin 8-10 depending on the matchups, with the rest going to Tyrus.

PF- Brown 15-20 mins/Nocioni 15-20 mins, with Sweets getting most of the rest with occasional Thomas and Khryapa depending on size of other team.

C- Wallace 35 mins, with PJ, Sweets and Andruiskevicius getting the backup minutes.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Thank God baseball is finally done. Time for the Bears, Bulls and Flyers to all kick ass. (Ok maybe not the Flyers but I can hope.)

 

The Flyers?

[Andy]

Wallace will play more minutes up front than Chandler, simply because he's better at staying out of foul trouble.

Hard enough to divvy up the minutes without giving them to guys that aren't on the team, eh? :wink:

[wolf stansson]

Best part about Gordon last night was 12-12 from the line. We need guys to drive the lane and get to the line.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Wallace will play more minutes up front than Chandler, simply because he's better at staying out of foul trouble.

Hard enough to divvy up the minutes without giving them to guys that aren't on the team, eh? :wink:

 

I think he meant that Ben will get more minutes than Chandler did last year so that's few minutes to spread around the team than last yaer.

[ctcf]

Thank God baseball is finally done. Time for the Bears, Bulls and Flyers to all kick ass. (Ok maybe not the Flyers but I can hope.)

 

The Flyers?

 

I figured I needed a Philly team, so why not hockey.

[da bears]

Does anyone have ESPN Insider? Why does it say King Jong Il is a Bulls fan?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Does anyone have ESPN Insider? Why does it say King Jong Il is a Bulls fan?

 

Yeah, I saw that at work today. My co-worker and I were so perplexed.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Opening day! Bulls @ Heat at 7 pm CT on TNT tomorrow (Tuesday).

[Andy]

17 hours, 20 minutes.

 

I couldn't BE more pumped.

[Jon]

ChicagoSports.com[/url]"]MIAMI -- Choosing security over stubbornness, Kirk Hinrich has accepted the Bulls' final offer on a long-term contract extension, according to league sources.

 

With the deadline for the negotiating window expiring at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Hinrich decided to sign the five-year deal rather than become a restricted free agent next off-season.

 

League sources said the deal is worth $47.5 million and starts in the 2007-08 season at roughly $7.8 million. The deal will pay Hinrich approximately $11.42 million during its final season in 2011-2012.

 

The final numbers fall far short of Hinrich's initial goal of seeking to be compensated like Tony Parker, who averages more than $11 million per season in his five-year deal with San Antonio.

 

But in a recent interview, Hinrich perhaps tipped his hand that he'd eventually take what he described in another more casual conversation as "more money than I'll ever need in my lifetime."

 

"I'm comfortable financially right now," he said. "I don't spend a lot. ... And when you're talking numbers like we're talking, it's almost surreal."

 

The Bulls are believed to have raised their final offer from a starting point of $43 million.

[Andy]

Wow, if Kirk keeps improving that deal will be a freaking steal down the line. Way to get it done, Pax. (As if I had any doubt.)

[USSoccer]

John Paxson is the best GM in this city by a wide, wide margin.

[da bears]

That is exciting. Good job Paxson and Hinrich. Go Bulls!