2014-15 Chicago Bulls Playoffs Thread - SEE RED

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm really not trying to be some kind of Noah superfan, but I am baffled by how often people here react like he had a nightmare game, figured I blocked out how bad he was the night before and then go and look at the stats and see that nothing of the kind happened.

 

Meanwhile you have people pining for Mirotic, who HAS been garbage except for, like, one game (holy God, he was horrendous last night) and Taj like they're producing so much more. They're not. Taj and Noah are basically neck and neck in terms of productive floor time and Mirotic has been the blurst.

[Sammy Sofa]

Hell, looking at the stats, what really killed the Bulls last night was how completely terrible the bench was last night. Hinrich, Mirotic, Snell and Brooks were all brutally bad, and Mirotic and Hinrich had to see WAY too much time because of foul trouble across the board.

[Guest]

For me the Noah concern is more of a long term thing than anything he does or doesn't do in this series. He's had flashes where he's looked fine and then he has had plays where he's looked awful. But either way, his knees/legs are broken and is barely even a near term asset going forward at this point.

[Sammy Sofa]

For me the Noah concern is more of a long term thing than anything he does or doesn't do in this series. He's had flashes where he's looked fine and then he has had plays where he's looked awful. But either way, his knees/legs are broken and is barely even a near term asset going forward at this point.

 

Like I said, I don't want to come across like a Noah superfan; his injuries have clearly caught up to him and he's not any kind of a long term answer (I seriously doubt anyone is thinking he'll still be here after his deal is up). That said, even as his offensive abilities have noticeably diminished, he's still out there playing as a valuable defensive asset, so he hasn't fallen off the cliff so many seem to think he has. The main change has been that he can't dunk like he used to and he's inexplicably forgotten how to tip in/lay up a ball sometimes. He is still, however, a plus player out there far more often than not.

[ChiCubsFan]

The problem is that Noah is completely useless offensively. In past years he'd at least be a beast on the offensive boards, finish at the rim, and take a midrange shot every once in awhile to keep the defense honest. Now, he doesn't even look at the hoop and the defense pays no attention to him. Him touching the ball on offense is just wasted seconds on the shot clock. The lane gets clogged when he's out there in the high post and Rose and Jimmy have to either drive into traffic or settle for outside shots. At least when Mirotic is out there he spaces the floor. So even when he's not making shots, hes helping the team by just being on the court. Which is part of the reason why his +\- is typically so good.

[ChiCubsFan]

I didn't see the 4th (watched on DVR and after that absurd continuation it was obvious Cleveland would win), but that's why they had to win game 4. LeBron didn't feel like taking Game 4 by the horns at the start and he felt like taking this one. That's what it came down to. That's all it ever comes down to in this dumb [expletive] league - whether the best players want to win.

 

Or Butler hits that 3 or the Bulls grab that rebound and the outcome is different. This has nothing to do with LeBron feeling like taking a game by the horns or whatever the [expletive] and has everything to do with the Cavs pulling out two close games.

 

Exactly this.

[UMFan83]

So it would be very frustrating to lose this series given the Cavs injuries, but damn if this isn't a great series between probably the 2 best teams in the East. The only reason this isn't an ECF matchup is because the Hawks had an incredible regular season somehow. These are the two best teams in the East, so for me it takes a little of the sting knowing we lost to the other top team with the best player in basketball.

 

It's better than if we got the 4 seed and lost to the stupid wizards in the first round.

[Guest]

Definitely a fun series. Obviously better if the Bulls won, but I think their fate was sealed when they lost that 4th game at home. That one put them in a position to win, but LeBron's crazy fall away jumper at the buzzer completely changed everything, IMO. If it goes to overtime, I think the Bulls have a great opportunity to win the game. Winning game 7 in Cleveland is not something I will be very confident about if it makes it to game 7.

 

Dellavadeva or whatever his name is should have gotten the boot before Gibson. What a horrible, horrible instant replay review by the officials. WOW!

[Andy]

So it would be very frustrating to lose this series given the Cavs injuries, but damn if this isn't a great series between probably the 2 best teams in the East. The only reason this isn't an ECF matchup is because the Hawks had an incredible regular season somehow. These are the two best teams in the East, so for me it takes a little of the sting knowing we lost to the other top team with the best player in basketball.

 

It's better than if we got the 4 seed and lost to the stupid wizards in the first round.

Ugh, no, please no. This team is (or should be) too good for 'well, it takes a little of the sting away' or 'what a great series'. This team had a trip to the Finals in their sights and barring 2 straight wins over LeBron (which we've never done in the playoffs), they let it slip away. There's nothing that takes the sting away from that.

[Sammy Sofa]

So it would be very frustrating to lose this series given the Cavs injuries, but damn if this isn't a great series between probably the 2 best teams in the East. The only reason this isn't an ECF matchup is because the Hawks had an incredible regular season somehow. These are the two best teams in the East, so for me it takes a little of the sting knowing we lost to the other top team with the best player in basketball.

 

It's better than if we got the 4 seed and lost to the stupid wizards in the first round.

Ugh, no, please no. This team is (or should be) too good for 'well, it takes a little of the sting away' or 'what a great series'. This team had a trip to the Finals in their sights and barring 2 straight wins over LeBron (which we've never done in the playoffs), they let it slip away. There's nothing that takes the sting away from that.

 

I have no idea why you keep talking about this team like they were destined to make it to the Finals. They were going to have to battle to get there, and this series has been a hell of a fight, and most people get enjoyment out of seeing something like that. You've been talking like you've just assumed they were going to lose it all after losing game 2, so I don't know why you're chastising other people for not being as miserable as you, or even still following in the first place.

[Andy]

A) There was no point at which I said the Bulls were 'destined' to do anything. They had a chance, a really good one, probably the best they've ever had minus maybe the 2012 team that was undone by factors out of their control.

 

B) If the Bulls hadn't gagged away Game 4, I'd have been as high on their chances as anyone on this board. Just because I was too busy actually watching Games 3 and 4 to post on here doesn't mean I wasn't enjoying them (until the end of G4).

 

C) I just dislike the 'moral victory' stuff in general. It was one thing when this team was new on the scene (2011 was fun despite the terrible ending), but they've been relevant for 5 seasons now. 'Oh gee, what fun to be in the final 8 and go down swinging' rings hollow given how many bites at the apple this particular group has already had.

[Sammy Sofa]

Some people just like watching playoff basketball and can handle their team losing without bemoaning it like this is their only shot at being competitive. Contrary to some people's meatball rantings, this isn't some kind of end to their ability to be competitive in the playoffs for the foreseeable future.

 

It just comes back to how Chicago fans are so [expletive] terrified of their teams failing that any kind of defeat in a key game or series has to signal some kind of dramatic failure that's going to haunt them for years. The Bulls have an excellent core to build around going forward and very likely will be right back in it with just as good, if not better, shot at making it to the Finals.

[UMFan83]

So it would be very frustrating to lose this series given the Cavs injuries, but damn if this isn't a great series between probably the 2 best teams in the East. The only reason this isn't an ECF matchup is because the Hawks had an incredible regular season somehow. These are the two best teams in the East, so for me it takes a little of the sting knowing we lost to the other top team with the best player in basketball.

 

It's better than if we got the 4 seed and lost to the stupid wizards in the first round.

Ugh, no, please no. This team is (or should be) too good for 'well, it takes a little of the sting away' or 'what a great series'. This team had a trip to the Finals in their sights and barring 2 straight wins over LeBron (which we've never done in the playoffs), they let it slip away. There's nothing that takes the sting away from that.

 

LeBron is 15-2 in his last 17 playoff series dating back to the 2010 ECF. Beating LeBron is a tremendous accomplishment similar to beating Jordan in the 90s where he went 25-1 in his last 26 playoff series (Jesus that looks sexy typing out). Obviously its a disappointment if we lose the series, we all hope the Bulls can win a championship and I think most at least think we have an outside shot, but its been a great series and 4 of the 5 games so far could have gone either way. This is definitely not the last run for this team...if anything I think they will be better once Niko steps up and we make some moves to improve the role players on this team. LeBron will be 31 next year and has a ton of miles on his legs. I don't care how much of a physical specimen he is, he will wear down sooner than later. The future is bright.

[Andy]

Let's hope. If Rose can be the Rose of most of these playoffs, things could get interesting in the next few years. I just hope we can somehow magic our way into another coach that can help develop Taj Gibsons and Jimmy Butlers into the kind of players they are, since the Bulls are about to run off Thibodeau and we're not going to have any high draft picks anytime soon (hopefully).

[Guest]

B) If the Bulls hadn't gagged away Game 4, I'd have been as high on their chances as anyone on this board. Just because I was too busy actually watching Games 3 and 4 to post on here doesn't mean I wasn't enjoying them (until the end of G4).

 

If the Bulls would have won last night, one could argue that the Cavs would have gagged that game away since they were comfortably leading by more than 10 with 6 minutes to go. Both teams are battling hard. It's a great series. I hope the Bulls win. They've had their chances, but losing game 4 and 5 makes this a very difficult series to win from here on out.

 

Any word on Gasol for the next game?

[KingCubsFan]

Let's hope. If Rose can be the Rose of most of these playoffs, things could get interesting in the next few years. I just hope we can somehow magic our way into another coach that can help develop Taj Gibsons and Jimmy Butlers into the kind of players they are, since the Bulls are about to run off Thibodeau and we're not going to have any high draft picks anytime soon (hopefully).

The Bulls will definitely be in a bit of a transition period. With Jimmy getting the max and Rose untradeable, they'll have to be smart in building the team around Butler and Mirotic without free agency. I have to think they'll look into trading Gasol and Gibson for some younger pieces.

[Guest]

They'll still have some FA room once Noah is up and the cap explodes

[UMFan83]

They'll still have some FA room once Noah is up and the cap explodes

 

After next year we lose Noah's 13.4m and Hinrich's 2.9m (im assuming hes picking up his players option) but will have added $13m from Jimmy going from ~2.1m to 15m a year (I cant remember if thats the max number). So really only 3m saved, possibly more if Pau doesn't exercise his PO after next year, and possibly less if they spend more money to replace guys like Dunleavy.

 

The key though is the fact that the cap will explode over next year so the Bulls can probably get whoever they want if they can outsell 29 other teams.

[Flames24Rulz]

The thing that's frustrating is that this is the perfect opportunity to beat the Cavs. Even if Love's not back next year, I'd assume that Irving is going to be healthier (and probably better altogether) next season. LeBron's not magically going to get worse until the time he hangs it up either. I understand that Gasol is out, but you have no idea if Rose is going to be as healthy as he currently is right now, this late in the season.

 

I'd also venture to say that this is LeBron's worst team that he's been on since the team that lost to Boston in his final year before going to Miami. I don't think Cleveland's going to be worse next year.

 

The Bulls are an aging and relatively unhealthy bunch of players. That doesn't make me too optimistic going forward. If you're going to beat them, this is it. If the Cavs get a real coach after this season, that's just going to make them even tougher to beat.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Nothing is over for the Bulls. Their window for honorable second-round losses to LeBron is at least 4-5 more years.

[Andy]

Dellavedova gets a retroactive technical foul for yesterday's scuffle with Taj Gibson (thanks, NBA, big help to the Bulls now). Taj gets no further punishment.

[Guest]

So a retroactive "T" gives the Bulls a free throw before this game starts, or do they do something else?

[Guest]

So a retroactive "T" gives the Bulls a free throw before this game starts, or do they do something else?

Can we replay the game from the time of the T forward?

[Sammy Sofa]

The Bulls are an aging and relatively unhealthy bunch of players. That doesn't make me too optimistic going forward. If you're going to beat them, this is it. If the Cavs get a real coach after this season, that's just going to make them even tougher to beat.

 

This doesn't make a ton of sense; the Cavs aren't a particularly young team.

 

Here's the Bulls' ages this year: 37, 35, 35, 34, 32, 30, 30, 29, 28, 26, 24, 24, 24, 23

 

Here's the Cavs' ages this year: 37, 34, 34, 34, 30, 30, 29, 26, 26, 25, 24, 24, 23, 23

 

The Cavs aren't immune to injuries and aging, and they're not significantly younger than the Bulls, so it seems odd to present the Bulls as if they're a bunch of hobbled old men and this was their best chance to beat the Cavs for the forseeable future. Sure, Kyrie is only 23, but Rose is just 26, Butler is 25 and Mirotic is 24; we're not talking a team of creaky vets vs. a bunch of young turks.

[SouthSideRyan]

So the Cavs average age is a year younger than the Bulls.