| 23 February 2011
Wow. It's been a while. I may not have been posting recently, but I've been paying as close attention to what's going on in Bull-dom as ever. I would say the first half of the season exceeded anyone's expectations. By far. I mean this roster, on paper, isn't really that much better than last season's. If everyone was healthy, that'd be one thing. But with Boozer and Noah missing as many games as they have, it's a comparable roster to last year. Obviously, the difference has been the MVP play of one Derrick Rose. 42 points against the NBA's best anyone?
And certainly, Carlos Boozer's post-presence has been an understated factor in elevating the Bulls to elite status. Yes, he's missed 16 games, but his success on the offensive end has flown under the radar because of him being overshadowed by D-Rose. Believe me when I say we are a .500 team at best without Carlos Boozer.
Of course, there are other factors that have pushed the Bulls into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. C.J. Watson? Incredibly under-rated. Offensively, in my opinion, he's been outstanding. He can light it up, and he's fairly good at taking care of the basektball. Remember the Denver game early on, anyone? Jannero Pargo he is not. And guess what...defensively, he's been outstanding. Watch him on the other end of the court. He reads passing lanes and knows how to run a fast break. Bottom line, he's been huge.
Speaking of reading passing lanes...Ronnie Brewer has been nothing short of outstanding as well. He struggled early on figuring out his role. As soon as he bought into what Thibs was selling, it was like something clicked. Honestly, he's one of the craftiest players I've seen in a Bulls uniform. Watching him, you can just tell his basketball IQ is off the charts. And after watching Tyrus Thomas come off the bench for years, that's something of a siight for sore eyes. Ronnie rarely makes a mistake, works the baseline with perfection, never has taken an ill-advised shot, hustles like none other on defense...I can go on. What else can you ask for in a player? He's the perfect role player and in my opinion, a true 6th man of the year candidate.
Taj has been Taj. Solid on defense, solid on offense, solid on the glass. Sure, I close my eyes every time I see him take a jump shot, but he makes up for it in other ways. Truth be told, I'd rather see Bill Wennington out there taking that 15 footer, but I digress. As long as he's out there blocking shots and cleaning up the offensive glass, I'm content with his role. That's as long as Boozer isn't injured as well.
Omer Asik has been a nice surprise. Incredibly efficient on the glass, and I would go as far as to call him a force in the lane on the defensive end. Slashers should be on alert when he's in there. I think they'll start hesitating taking it to the hole soon enough as he continues to swat away. As soon as he develops some footwork in the post on the offensive end, I think he'll develop into a solid roleplayer.
Kurt Thomas has been a godsend. I feel like it's his last hurrah and he's just leaving it all out there. Joakim went down, and because of Kurt, the Bulls really didn't miss a beat. Starting tomorrow, the Bulls, by far, have the deepest front court in the league. It's formidable, and teams have to be terrified.
Some other bits:
-Bulls just traded James Johnson for the Raptors' 2011 1st round draft pick, which is actually the Heat's first round pick that the Raptors got from the Chris Bosh sign-and-trade. That gives the Bulls 2 first round draft picks in 2011. Not bad. They all save $1.7 mill in salary. They are now in position to do 1 of 2 things. 1) Offer a solid veteran player who is bought out of his contract for whatever reason an opportunity to become part of a playoff contender (think Tayshaun Prince, Troy Murphy, T.J. Ford, Rasaul Butler, Anthony Parker, etc.). 2) Use their collection of draft picks, including the post 2012 1st round draft pick they acquired from the Bobcats in the Tyrus Thomas trade, as pieces to upgrade at shooting guard. I don't think it's a necessity to upgrade at SG, but it certainly wouldn't hurt...so long as we're not sacrificing the chemistry that's developed on this squad. In any trade though, that's a risk you take. If we can acquire a solid vet post-buyout, I think that's the way to go. Fingers crossed.
-Derrick's performance in the All-Star game...meh. Left a lot to be desired. You can tell he still feels like he needs to defer to the "bigger stars." He seemed scared of how they would react if he was more assertive than them. I didn't like it and it made for a poor showing on Derrick's part. Also, he half-assed the Skills Competition. Future All-Star weekends will certainly be kinder to Derrick.
-Joakim Noah is returning tomorrow. The Bulls are finally whole. Now we just have to hope it doesn't disrupt the chemistry that they've successfully built and implemented over the last 2 months. While I will almost be sad to see Kurt Thomas lose playing time, you gotta be excited for the return of Joakim's energy and defense. And rebounding hasn't been a guarantee each night...now it will be. Should be fun to see Booze and Noah do their thing.
-Thibodeau remains entrenched at the top of the Coach of the Year list. As long as the Bulls continue their winning ways and win something like 55 games, I think he has a tremendous shot at winning.
We're not aiming for awards though Bulls fans, we're aiming for a playoff run. I will be updating much more as the season continues and as the Bulls make a run for the 1 or 2 seed. You can feel the excitement building amongst Bulls fans. It's nostalgic and surreal at the same time. I don't think the reality of how good this team really is has set in yet. For any of us.
