2009 Bulls Offseason Thread

[UMFan83]

I'm rewatching Game 6 of the Bulls/Celtics series on NBA TV. I am obviously biased, but this is the greatest game in NBA history to me. Not in terms of magnitude (but game 6 of a playoff series obviously holds more weight than some game in January), but in terms of how exciting the game was.

 

Pros:

-2 of the more successful franchises in the league, in 2 of the better cities in America

-One team was facing elimination (Bulls)

-Team facing elimination was down double digits with under 5 minutes left

-3 OTs

-Several series (not even game) shifting shots were made by both teams

-Fans of both teams had multiple moments where they felt somewhat secure of a victory

-Superstar performances (Ray Allen mostly)

-Vintage last second shots (by Allen and Gordon)

-Memorable plays (Noahs steal/dunk, Allen's game tying 3, Rose's block)

-The series storyline progresses well (Hinrich gets thrown into the scorers table by game 5 villain (for Bulls fans) Rondo, also Miller after missing the game tying FTs in game 5 hits a huge 3 and a layup with the Bulls down 5 under 90 secs in regulation)

 

Cons:

-First round of series

-Not game 7

-Neither team went past the next round

-Injuries easily would have altered this series (If everyone is healthy, Garnett trumps Deng to a degree that a 7 game series turns into a 4-5 game series, not even considering Boston's other injuries that killed their depth especially in the frontcourt)

-Umm what else am I missing?

 

 

As a Bulls fan though I still can't watch this without remembering how things could have been different had the Bulls pulled out Game 5 in Boston, a game they led by 12 points midway through the 4th quarter, and I think still led the game with under a minute left in regulation. It helps to remember that we probably should have lost Game 4. But then again we could/should have won Game 2. Gaaaah.

[wolf stansson]

I'm rewatching Game 6 of the Bulls/Celtics series on NBA TV. I am obviously biased

I really should have stopped reading here. What the hell.

[UMFan83]

I'm rewatching Game 6 of the Bulls/Celtics series on NBA TV. I am obviously biased

I really should have stopped reading here. What the hell.

 

What the hell what?

 

I don't really think its the greatest game ever. The whole post was full of hyperbole. I am a fan of the Bulls and I think its the greatest game ever with my biased view of things. Then the rest of my post was to explain why the game was great. I wanted to relive the game 6 months later with Bulls fans. Get it now?

[wolf stansson]

It was a fun game. If it's your favorite NBA game ever, then you have god awful taste in NBA games.

 

As a Bulls fan, I can think of 60 Bulls games that were better than that. That's without even trying to rack my brain for non-obvious ones.

[UMFan83]

It was a fun game. If it's your favorite NBA game ever, then you have god awful taste in NBA games.

 

As a Bulls fan, I can think of 60 Bulls games that were better than that. That's without even trying to rack my brain for non-obvious ones.

 

Did I mention that I was there and I have never experienced a UC crowd even 1/4 as great as that game?

 

Post-Jordan I can't think of a better game. I know it was sloppy game, and neither team was at their best the whole series. The Bulls offensive game plan was horrible throughout the whole season in general, especially this series. Del Negro could have won the series 100 times with adjustments. In that respect, yeah the game wasn't the best basketball. But I have never enjoyed a game that much in my life (obviously I enjoyed the championships much more than winning the 6th game of a playoff series, but expectations come into play too. I expected the Bulls to win titles, I expected last years Bulls to fall in 5 games at most). Sometimes you just enjoy basketball for its pure entertainment, not for its technical aspects. But I guess you and I might be different in that way.

[Flames24Rulz]

I think Game 4 was better than Game 6, but that's just me.

[chuckywang]

It was a fun game. If it's your favorite NBA game ever, then you have god awful taste in NBA games.

 

As a Bulls fan, I can think of 60 Bulls games that were better than that. That's without even trying to rack my brain for non-obvious ones.

 

Did I mention that I was there and I have never experienced a UC crowd even 1/4 as great as that game?

 

Post-Jordan I can't think of a better game. I know it was sloppy game, and neither team was at their best the whole series. The Bulls offensive game plan was horrible throughout the whole season in general, especially this series. Del Negro could have won the series 100 times with adjustments. In that respect, yeah the game wasn't the best basketball. But I have never enjoyed a game that much in my life (obviously I enjoyed the championships much more than winning the 6th game of a playoff series, but expectations come into play too. I expected the Bulls to win titles, I expected last years Bulls to fall in 5 games at most). Sometimes you just enjoy basketball for its pure entertainment, not for its technical aspects. But I guess you and I might be different in that way.

 

There's this rare amazing feeling that I get after watching incredible games live in which the team I am cheering for wins in epic fashion. You guys all know what I'm talking about. This game produced that feeling. Other times that come to mind when I felt that way were the 2005 Elite 8 Illinois game and the 2007 Boise State Fiesta Bowl.

[wolf stansson]

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/33169/summertime_is_no_vacation_for_players_taking_on_new_roles#page_break

 

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Bulls guard Derrick Rose may have been last season's rookie of the year, but he was well aware of two shortcomings in his game. First, he struggled with his jump shot, which allowed defenders to sag off him, especially on pick-and-roll plays. Second, he didn't perform well in clutch situations because he couldn't hit those 15- to 18-footers. With Ben Gordon gone to Detroit, Rose has worked on changing that, putting up 700 to 800 jumpers daily during workouts in Chicago and Los Angeles.

 

"That's been something I have focused on," he says. "I know that I need to get better when the game is on the line. So I have been focused on working on my midrange game, on getting as many shots up as I can."

 

700 to 800 jumpers a day seems like a lot.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/33169/summertime_is_no_vacation_for_players_taking_on_new_roles#page_break

 

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Bulls guard Derrick Rose may have been last season's rookie of the year, but he was well aware of two shortcomings in his game. First, he struggled with his jump shot, which allowed defenders to sag off him, especially on pick-and-roll plays. Second, he didn't perform well in clutch situations because he couldn't hit those 15- to 18-footers. With Ben Gordon gone to Detroit, Rose has worked on changing that, putting up 700 to 800 jumpers daily during workouts in Chicago and Los Angeles.

 

"That's been something I have focused on," he says. "I know that I need to get better when the game is on the line. So I have been focused on working on my midrange game, on getting as many shots up as I can."

 

700 to 800 jumpers a day seems like a lot.

 

I don't really think it is. With the machine automating ball-retrieval, you can probably get up 10 shots a minute if you want to, and 700-800 easily in under 2 hours.

[Jon]

CSN will air five of Michael Jordan's most memorable games during this week's 23 Hours of MJ: A Hall of Fame Celebration.

 

All this week, CSNChicago.com will be sharing five reasons to watch each of these five classic games.

 

2/26/87 - Bulls vs. Nets (Thursday, September 10th at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, September 11th at 3:00 a.m.)

 

3/28/90 - Bulls at Cavaliers (Thursday, September 10th at 11:00 p.m.)

 

6/12/91 - Bulls at Lakers (Friday, September 11th at 9:00 a.m.)

 

3/28/95 - Bulls at Knicks (Friday, September 11th at 12:00 p.m.)

 

6/14/98 - Bulls at Jazz (Friday, September 11th at 3:00 p.m.)

[Flames24Rulz]

The upcoming season for the Bulls will be very boring. Rose will be fun to watch, but I don't see how this team's going to finish any better than 7th in the East.

 

I wish we could just fast forward to the offseason.

[SpongeWorthy]

The upcoming season for the Bulls will be very boring. Rose will be fun to watch, but I don't see how this team's going to finish any better than 7th in the East.

 

I wish we could just fast forward to the offseason.

 

I'll enjoy Rose entering superstardom (or near it). Haven't seen that in 10+ years.

[David]

DRose did a commercial with Kobe for 2K sports

 

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs221.snc1/6818_284131150304_221292025304_8662174_3333807_n.jpg

 

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs221.snc1/6818_284131155304_221292025304_8662175_7453635_n.jpg

 

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs221.snc1/6818_284131160304_221292025304_8662176_3186291_n.jpg

 

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs221.snc1/6818_284131165304_221292025304_8662177_2349444_n.jpg

[Soul]

The upcoming season for the Bulls will be very boring. Rose will be fun to watch, but I don't see how this team's going to finish any better than 7th in the East.

 

I wish we could just fast forward to the offseason.

 

I'll enjoy Rose entering superstardom (or near it). Haven't seen that in 10+ years.

 

And I'll believe the Bulls will pull off that big 2nd superstar acquisition only when I see it, in the following offseason.

 

Show me.

[SpongeWorthy]

So camp is in full swing with the first preseason game against the Pacers on Friday. Not too much news to report out of camp so far besides vague reports of so-and-so added muscle and an organizational focus on defense.

 

Hollinger predicts we'll miss the playoffs which would be a huge bummer going into 2010 free agency: http://www.blogabull.com/2009/9/28/1059213/john-hollinger-optimistic-about

 

For those haven't followed the differences between the 12 guys on the roster aganist Boston and the current one are that Gordon, Anthony Roberson, and Tim Thomas are gone while Jannero Pargo, James Johnson, and Taj Gibson have been added. Deng's looking healthy so it's incumbent on him not to suck because we'll need him if we're going to make any noise this year.

 

Goals for the season:

 

Continued development from Rose and Noah

Improve the defensive rebounding

Get Deng back to 2006-2007 levels or at least something approaching it

Determine whether Tyrus will ever be anything more than a tease

Keep the cornerstone pieces healthy going into the summer FA sweepstakes or trade market

Either jettison VDN or see if he continues his modest improvement from the 2nd half of last season

[Derwood]

while I'm interested to see if this team can take another step, my enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that the team basically did nothing to improve in the off season

[SpongeWorthy]

while I'm interested to see if this team can take another step, my enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that the team basically did nothing to improve in the off season

 

I'm still semi-optimistic. Because of the Bulls cap situation and the economy they'll be one of the few teams that can add a big piece at the deadline or sign one of the big fish in the offseason.

 

After years and years of KG, Kobe, and Amare (among others) rumors they better get another star.

[RedFlash]

The upcoming season for the Bulls will be very boring. Rose will be fun to watch, but I don't see how this team's going to finish any better than 7th in the East.

 

I wish we could just fast forward to the offseason.

 

I don't know if the season will be quite as "boring" as you put, but outside of watching Rose continue his ascension to the next level of stardom, I'm interested in seeing Salmons was a fluke, and see i James Johnson is going to be a player in this league. On that basis, I don't know if the season will be boring.

[SpongeWorthy]

Salmons shooting ability is real and he's a nice defender. But with Gordon gone I think we're going to see a lot of crossover-hesitation-crossover-hesitation-bad jumpshot this season. The guy loves to get his. On the other hand, we're going to need him to create his own shot and carry the team in stretches without BG.

[SpongeWorthy]

The Bulls won their 1st preseason game tonight. Rose had 17, Deng had 15, Gibson had 19 and 9. Apparently Tyrus left the game with a concussion--shouldn't be a big deal, it's not like it's possible for him to play dumber basketball.

 

Weeeee.

[wolf stansson]

Who's psyched for a 6-8 seed? This guy.

[Keener98]

That stat line from Gibson will be the best he puts up in his entire career.

[UMFan83]

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090928/capt.8ec1064086804507915d2f04d3aef90a.new_look_pistons_basketball_mico103.jpg?x=316&y=345&q=85&sig=CPDPVNZ.4NS4zbn14eUfNQ--

 

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090928/capt.f670c20b0cc74879af5bd66b39d1fc28.new_look_pistons_basketball_mico101.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=u5cVsiYkryGnmuY5azRtJQ--

 

http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ben_gordon_pistons.jpg

 

Weird to see

[Flames24Rulz]

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090928/capt.8ec1064086804507915d2f04d3aef90a.new_look_pistons_basketball_mico103.jpg?x=316&y=345&q=85&sig=CPDPVNZ.4NS4zbn14eUfNQ--

 

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090928/capt.f670c20b0cc74879af5bd66b39d1fc28.new_look_pistons_basketball_mico101.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=u5cVsiYkryGnmuY5azRtJQ--

 

http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ben_gordon_pistons.jpg

 

Weird to see

 

I've made peace with it. It's going to hurt us this year but it shouldn't have any long-term ramifications.

[Derwood]

this 2010 FA class is the most overrated story in a long time. My guess is most of these guys re-sign with their own teams