Identity Crisis: Bulls Don't Know Who They Are

Did you see the Chicago Bulls win the last 3 games? I thought I did, but then I realized that those might not have been the Bulls. What about the team that lost 5 straight just a week ago? This team cannot seem to find it's identity. For weeks at a time, it looks like this team cannot cover anyone, the big men can't defend the paint, Luol Deng can't get in the flow of the offense, and Vinny seems confused at best. Then all of a sudden, nobody can score on them, they block double digit shots in a game, they get easy dunks and layups all over the place, and Vinny seems confused at best. (Maybe Vinny isn't confused, but I sure am confused by how he "coaches").

The problem is twofold. Not only does this team look different every night, but Vinny goes with different lineups and schemes so there is no way to really tell what's working. For instance, he went with Thabo for long stretches against the Suns, and yet Rose was noticeably absent for most of the 4th quarter with a sore foot. Was one of those things why the Bulls played well? It's different rotations and "strategies" every night, so there is no way to tell.

There is no reason to be all negative, though. Some things are clearly clicking. Hinrich is starting to get comfortable on the court after missing much of the first half of the season. Tyrus and Noah are looking much more active on the glass and in transition. I think Noah finally realized if he hustles a little and sprints out on the fast break, Rose will find him for the easy basket. About time he figured that one out.

Most importantly the re-emergence of Luol Deng has been wonderful to watch. He is clearly in a rhythm right now. Ever since coming back from his brief stint on the IR, he has finally found his shots within the flow of the offense. I don't think anyone had completely turned on Deng yet, but I know my frustrations with him were starting to boil up after the 6 year-$71 million deal he signed.

All in all the Bulls have played well so far on this trip (besides that terrible loss to Minnesota). With the next three games @HOU, @NO, and @DAL, they have a tough stretch, and things don't get much easier after that. With this team we are looking for improvement and signs of great things to come, so if they can steal one win in the next three and play good basketball even if they lose, there's a lot of reason to be positive about this Bulls team.

Assuming it's this Bulls team that comes to play. I hope it's not that other, shitty Bulls team. If it's the shitty one, I'm going to bed early.

If You Were Waiting For That Big Bulls Trade This Season, Don't Hold Your Breath

By now everyone knows about Hinrich's injury that will keep him out until February. Going into this season the Bulls had the most crowded backcourt in the whole league. The problem is that outside of Rose, everyone in the backcourt was ineffective yet had some value as a trade asset. Hughes is a big guard that still is living off the reputation of a good defender he got the season he led the league in steals with the Wizards 5 years ago. Gordon can shoot the lights out and score in bunches. Hinrich is an average point guard in a league starving for point guards. Even Thabo is a big 2 guard that can bring a lot of value to a team looking for a defensive-minded guard.

With no real post presence on the offensive end for the Bulls, everyone expected (or hoped) that Paxson would stop being a pussy and pull the trigger on a big trade; that he would trade one of his "stockpiled assets" for a big man that would fit with Rose and Deng. Well that seems impossible now. A combination of factors ending with the most recent injury to everyone's favorite little white guard will render the likelihood of a trade improbable if not impossible.

There were a few things preventing a trade even before this injury. Hughes getting hurt thinned the backcourt out a bit (even though he sucks). Paxson's unwillingness to trade Hinrich, Hughes, or Thabo for fear of Gordon walking at the end of the year and the Bulls going from guard glut to guardless was also a factor. Now with one of our most tradable assets going down, even the return of Hughes is unlikely to create a scenario where Pax is comfortable dealing a guard. All this assumes that Hinrich cannot be moved since he is injured, which seems logical.

Paxson definitely did not have the spine to make a trade before this, as evidenced by the years of "stockpiling assets" that resulted in nothing (unless you consider Ben Wallace for Larry Hughes something). So if you were hoping for a big trade this season, think again. Maybe around the all-star break something could happen, but definitely not before then. For better or worse, this is your 08-09 Bulls backcourt, so you better get used to it.

Today's Links

• Who's to blame for the late-game meltdown by the Bears? How about special teams coach Taub?
  
• Magic Johnson does not want to hear about how you think he faked AIDS.
• Chi-Ball reports that Mariotti is still in talks with the Tribune to be a print sportswriter. Eww. Whatever, Chi-Ball reports every rumor as news.
• A Kenyan won the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes. That's roughly a 4:50 mile. How do those guys do that?
• Some picture of MJ with a Cigar in his hand looking like the stud that he is.
• Illinois BLEW it. This is one of those sports weekends that really pisses me off.
• I'm so sorry about these annoying Cubs and Sox rumors, but I wouldn't be doing my job not to report them (what's my job exactly?). Apparently the Giants are interested in D-Lee or Paul Konerko.
• Come on Wildcats! You can't go down 17-0 and expect to come back! Even at home. Northwestern loses its first game.
• If Thabo can hit his jumpers, he may be a very valuable piece of the puzzle.
  

Thaboooooooo!!!!!!!!

In case you all didn't know, Thabo is my boy. Now I know mix tapes can make anyone look good (See Barack Obama's Court Vision), but still if Thabo can gain some confidence and do some of the things he does in this mix, he can really become a valuable player. (I'm assuming most of these clips were from the Swiss league). Check it out:

The Dichotomy of The Chicago Bulls

There seems to be a sentiment among fans, media and anyone else who cares about the Chicago Bulls that certain guys need to go and certain need to stay in order for this 08-09 incarnation of the Bulls to have success. I'm not here to suggest that a big move won't be made. In fact, even though I'm a huge Kirk fan as most of you know, I would not be against a move that would ship him and his contract out. I would be fine with sending him or any other number of players to another team in a salary dump. See I have a little theory about the Bulls as they are currently constituted. I call it the "2 generation" theory. The team right now basically consists of 2 generations: the young, potential-filled generation; and the older, already hit their peak generation. Here is a breakdown:

Young Generation
Thabo (24)
Rose (19)
Tyrus (21)
Noah (23)
Deng (23)
Gray(23)

Old Generation
Gooden (26)
Gordon (25)
Hinrich (27)
Hughes (29)
Nocioni (28)

Now some people are going to look at this and say "why is 24-25 the arbitrary cut off point?" Three reasons. The first is that statistically and historically speaking, most players peak is age 26-30 (though there are obvious exceptions). The second reason is contractual. By this I mean to say that most players are coming off their rookie contracts around 24-25, like Deng and Gordon now, so the guys in the "Old" group have bigger contracts. The third reason is purely from my gut, meaning that I feel like the guys in the "Old" group have peaked or just plain suck.

So what's the point? Well the point is that Paxson should be looking to move the people in the old generation and develop the guys in the new generation. No one in that old generation will be better than they are now. And none of the old guys is good enough to be worth their contracts ranging from 6 mil/year-13mil/year. Build around the young generation. Keeping the guys around from the old generation will only hinder our cap flexibility AND hinder the development of the young 'uns.

So in the final analysis, the discussion about whether to move Hughes or Gordon or Hinrich is really not the issue. Personally, I think we should keep BG and move Kirk. But either way I'll be happy. We need to move the older, bigger contract guys and free up minutes for our kids.

*Side Note: Gordon and Deng interestingly enough buck the trend, since Deng has a fat contract and is in the young group; and Gordon has no contract and is in the old group. While this is a discussion for another day, it is important to note that Deng may have a higher ceiling than we've seen. As opposed to BG, who may or may not improve on his defense (I'm guessing not). I'm not a scout, but that's just how it seems.