Written by Dave Pustilnik
| 19 February 2010
Welcome to the Joe Alexander Era also known as the Post-Tyrus Thomas Era. The same era where most fans on other blogs will have absolutely nothing to talk about now that Tyrus is gone. I have never been more thrilled. He really was nothing but a nuisance and constant distraction. His flashes of brilliance every now and then got Bulls fans so freakin' excited that most of them wanted Vinny's head on a pike when he opted to continue to start Taj Gibson. But Vinny knew the deal. Tyrus just doesn't have the basketbal IQ to stay out there and play at a high level for long stretches of minutes. He thinks he's capable of more than he is actually capable of. Like putting the ball on the floor, shooting jumpshots, running fast breaks. But in reality, all he's capable of is dunking, putbacks, sometimes rebounding, and blocking shots/goaltending. And I've been saying it for years. Now, I no longer have to listen to Bulls fans who have consistently turned a blind eye on Tyrus's constant turnovers and lack of mental toughness and discipline complain about Tyrus's playing time, and whether Taj Gibson is starting.
Hakim Warrick is taking Tyrus's place. And he'll be playing tonight. What Warrick can do is a lot of what Tyrus can't. Shoot jumpers and post-up. You won't see any running hooks from the free-throw line from Hakim Warrick. You also won't see the occasional spectacular block, but you won't see any ridiculous goaltends either. I much rather prefer the polished offense to the occasional blocked shot mixed in with multiple turnovers.
Flip Murray should also play tonight, taking over John Salmons's minutes. Murray is a smaller version of Salmons, but a truly better shooter. He really hasn't shown it this season, but he's proven it in his eight year career. The guy can hit any shot on the court. He's also a solid perimeter defender a la Kirk Hinrich. The nonsense about the Bulls tanking the season after these trades is nothing but just that, nonsense. Flip Murray, will without question, provide anything and everything that John Salmons provided, if not more. Hakim Warrick will undoubtedly offer much more offense than Tyrus Thomas could ever dream of providing. What these trades did was make the Bulls better. It's amazing to me that there are people out there, including ESPN, who suspect that the Bulls sacrificed this season by making these trades. These statements just prove that ESPN beat writers have watched approximately 0 minutes of Tyrus Thomas playing this season. If they had, they'd know that they are overvaluing Tyrus, as well as John Salmons, ability tremendously. Great trades by the Bulls, for both this season and next.
That being said, we have a game tonight. The Bulls face the T-Wolves, who are awful. The only threats on this team are Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, and maybe Jonnie Flynn. Al Jefferson can be a beast, although he hasn't been lately. I believe he's averaging only 16 and 6 in the few games since the All-Star break. But still, he is a force to be reckoned with and can easily go for 20 and 10 on any given night. Kevin Love is also a double-double machine. This could create somewhat of a problem for the Bulls with Joakim Noah still being out. But the way Taj was rebounding last game against the Knicks, I'm not really that worried. Plus Brad Miller has been playing fantastic. I expect the Bulls to take care of the Wolves handily tonight, with the Wolves having no answer for Derrick Rose and Luol Deng offensively. Those two will go off tonight, as usual, mark my words.
Prediction: Bulls win 104-88. They'll come into Minny basking in their post-trade glow, and take care of business and run the Wolves out of their own building.
