| 16 March 2010
The Bulls face the Memphis Grizzlies tonight on the road. They actually faced this team earlier in the losing streak when things didn't look this bleak. In that game, the Bulls had all their starters in tact, minus of course Joakim Noah. Rose and Deng both scored over 20 points and had very productive games. Even Kirk Hinrich had a solid game adding 13 points of his own. The Bulls led by 4 after 3 quarters and were pretending as if they were actually going to win that game. Sure enough, Zach Randolph came alive in the 4th quarter and the Bulls' offense (I use the word loosely) imploded. The Bulls got outscored 29-16 in the 4th quarter to squander the lead completely only to go down double-digits and eventually lose by 9. It was annoying, and very much expected.
Tonight, we face the same Grizzlies team. But the Grizzlies will not be facing the same Bulls team. Deng...injured. Hinrich...suspended. Rose...probably injured. And we all know Joakim Noah is still injured. So here comes the Bulls C-team. Your starting lineup: Jannero Pargo, Flip Murray, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, and Brad Miller. That leaves Hakim Warrick as the sixth man. Acie Law will be the backup point guard tonight. Chris Richard will play the role of backup center. And Joe Alexander is destined to play at least 12 minutes tonight. And that's all we got. Those are the 9 players that are dressing, unless the Bulls management and coaching decides to get reckless and tell Derrick Rose to dress. That's a starting lineup consisting of 2 D-leaguers, a D-leaguer at backup center, and a D-leaguer at backup 3/4.
Let me explain. Jannero Pargo: not an NBA player. He just isn't. I don't care how many times he can dribble through his legs or how many fadeaway 18 footers he makes in a row. Jannero Pargo has no regard for teammates and when he's out on the floor, his main goal is to fill up a box score. And at 5'11", he will be eaten alive by anyone over 6 feet. The man simply is not an NBA player, in spite of how much the Bulls want him to be.
James Johnson? He definitely can use a stint in the D-league. Sure, he's been thrust into the starter's role with Deng's injury, and he's played alright. He even went off for 20 points in the Bulls' last loss to the Heat. He's playing with more confidence, sure. But let's face it, most of the time he plays out of control and just doesn't know what to do when he's out on the court. He clearly isn't quite ready for the NBA game. Maybe he will be next year, but for now, I see him as a D-leaguer.
And there's Chris Richard and Joe Alexander. Chris Richard is absolutely and totally worthless. The guy is incapable of doing ANYTHING productive on the basketball court. He played 18 minutes last game matching up against a washed up Jermaine O'Neal and a smaller and much older Udonis Haslem. Final stat-line: 0 points on 0-2 from the field, 1 rebound, 3 turnovers, and he fouled out. He has absolutely no business being on this roster, and the fact that the Bulls are trying to pass him off as an NBA center is kind of insulting to the fans. Are you telling me there isn't a single bigger or better option in the D-League right now than Chris Richard? If so, the D-league should be immediately dismantled, because sending up guys like this bum is just a waste of time and money. In terms of Joe Alexander, no need to really explain.
So there you go. We got 4 guys I consider actual pros that are going to play for the Bulls tonight. The rookie Taj Gibson, Brad Miller, Flip Murray, and Hakim Warrick. I'm sure the Grizzlies are shaking in their little boots. Meanwhile, they're sending out a lineup of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol. Every one of those guys is averaging in double figures in scoring. Randolph and Gasol are rebounding machines. The Bulls can't rebound for squat without Joakim Noah. Gibson might be able to contain Randolph, but only for so long. I'm confident that both Gibson and Miller will get into foul trouble early, thereby allowing Chris Richard to come in and foul out real quick and eat up some minutes.
The matchup to really watch is Rudy Gay vs. James Johnson. It'll be interesting to see how James Johnson responds after just having the best game of his young career. He's also bigger and stronger than Gay, so it'd be nice if he could limit Gay's production on the offensive end while taking advantage of his strength on offense. But the thing is, even with Gay's limited production, the Grizzlies have so many weapons on offense that it wouldn't matter if Gay scored 0 points tonight, since the Grizzlies outmatch the Bulls so drastically at every other position to the point where they should still easily score 100 points.
So the Bulls will lose their 8th in a row. But amazingly, while the Bulls have been on a 7-game losing streak, the Raptors have simultaneously fallen into a 5-game skid. You know what that makes the Bulls? Lucky. What are the odds that one of the teams that the Bulls were chasing for a playoff spot ends up having nearly just as severe a losing streak as the Bulls, and could even match the Bulls' own losing streak? I would say not great. But it's happening. As a result, the Bulls are only 1 game back of the 8th playoff spot after losing 7 in a row. Hard to fathom. In the next three games, the Bulls face the Grizz, Mavs, and Cleveland at home. The Raptors face the Hawks, Thunder, and Nets. Best case scenario for the Bulls? Maybe they steal one of the upcoming 3 games miraculously and go 1-2. If they win any game, it'll be tonight. Best case scenario for the Raptors? They can go 2-1. They won't beat the Hawks and the Thunder, but they might win one of those games. They will almost certainly beat the Nets, so if their losing streak is still in tact when that game comes around, that's where it ends. However, it is very likely that both the Bulls and Raptors end up 1-2 in the next three games, and the Bulls remain 1 game back at the point where their schedule gets MUCH easier. If they can even steal one tonight, that would be HUGE. So don't lose hope Bulls fans. As they say, it's always darkest before dawn.
