Flash to the Rescue
Ben Gordon hit a 20-foot buzzer beater tonight to beat the Knicks in overtime by a score of 106-104. This topped off a 14 of 28 performance for 32 points. Not much in sports can compare to hitting a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Nice job.
Now that the Bears' season has been ended so abruptly, it's time to check in on the Chicago Bulls. Frankly, I don't like what I see. After finishing last season with the 3rd best record in the Eastern Conference (and the fourth seed in the playoffs), I was expecting big things. Their offseason moves looked pretty good on paper, and I expected the rookies and second-year players to take a step forward. That's hardly been the case at all as inconsistency has been the Bulls mantra. Their record sits at 16-22, good for last place in the tough Central Division. (Despite their divisional standing, they surprisingly hold the 9th seed in the execrable Eastern Conference.) So what's the problem? Lets take a look.
Last offseason's moves appeared pretty solid. They were forced to trade Eddy Curry, and I thought they got a pretty good return. Mike Sweetney is the only player they have on the roster from the deal, and he's been pretty solid (if inconsistent.) Jermaine Jackson was immediately released and Tim Thomas was asked to stay home till the Bulls found a willing trade partner. I knew Thomas was a career underachiever, but I didn't think he was that bad. I wonder if there's more to that story that we don't know. In any case, the crown jewel of the deal will end up being the draft picks. The Bulls are owed next year's number one and have the right to switch spots with the Knicks in 2007 as well. With the way the Knicks are playing, they'll probably end up with two high lottery picks for Curry. So the deal is definitely a good one for the long term. As for how Eddy has been playing for the Knicks, he' been typical Eddy. Great some nights while invisible on others. The Bulls also lost Antonio Davis in the deal, and while his presence isn't felt on the stat sheet, I think he has been missed in the locker room. (Speaking of, he walked into the stands tonight because some drunk asshole was picking on his wife. He stared him down like Jules drinking his Sprite in Pulp Fiction. Let's just say I wouldn't want to get on Antonio's bad side.
UPDATE - There are differing reports on what really happened here. I'd like to withdraw the “drunk asshole” portion of that statement until the innocent have been proven guilty. Back to the Bulls.)
The Bulls didn't really make any other big moves of note in the offseason. The biggest free agent they signed was Darius Songaila, and he's been alright. The other free agents they signed haven't played enough to warrant analysis. They did resign a few of their own free agents, of course, and here's one of the biggest problems. Tyson Chandler, come on down! The Bulls certainly weren't expecting him to turn into Tim Duncan overnight, but you'd have to think they expected more than 4.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks for 60 million dollars. What a massive, massive disappointment. His numbers are down 30-40% across the board. Did somebody say Contract-itis B? If he doesn't use his time on the DL (where he is now) to pull his head out of his ass, he's going to start getting the Corey Patterson treatment from the United Center faithful. And it won't end as pretty.
He's not the only Bull that's underachieving. Hinrich was having a real rough go of it earlier in the season, although he seems to have snapped out of it these past few weeks. Gordon had a pretty awful start to the season as well, but he's been much better since Skiles put him in the starting lineup. I'll tell you a guy who's legitimately taken a step forward this season, Andres Nocioni. Points, rebounds, and his shooting percentage (especially on threes) are all up. Keep it up.
The Bulls biggest problem has been finding a consistent scorer. They've got six guys averaging between 9.9 and 14.4 points per game. It's nice to see them spread the ball around, but every good team needs a go-to guy. Someone that can put 20 on the board, night in, night out. They could also use some help on the boards. They just don't have anyone that comes close to double-digit rebounds. Chandler has the ability, and he came really close last season. But we've already discussed him and I'll try to refrain from crapping on him any more for the rest of this post. So who can the Bulls get that can help them score and rebound? Hmmmm..... Have you seen what he's been doing this year? He's like Barkley in his prime and a legitimate MVP candidate. 25 and 11. Wow. Who did we trade him for again? Oh yeah.