I feel compelled to implore you to please stop encouraging Rose isolations at the end of close games. We have several players that can make plays and shots under pressure: Korver, Deng, Watson, Brewer, Hamilton, Noah, etc. If Thibs and Rose are influenced by all those other commentators and fans who yearn for Jordan-era buzzer beaters (which, by the looks of it, they are) I can't help but fear that we'll end up losing to Heat in the playoffs the same way we did last year, with a tired Rose trying to split a double team or forcing up shots over a former MVP who's twice his size (the so-called "King" whose name I dare not speak). I think your argument about taking Rose over anyone when the game is on the line functions as double curse: it puts too much pressure on Rose and it undermines all of Thibs' efforts to build the confidence of other players. What's more, it contradicts your commendable praise for our uniquely dangerous "versatility" in articles like the one you posted today. At the risk of romanticizing the novelty of Thibs' Bulls, I think I speak for a lot of fans in calling for a concerted effort to move beyond the Jordan-era philosophy of give-the-last-shot-to-the-MVP-no-matter-what. As your posts during the current Rose-less period have indicated, we've entered the Thibs-Deng-Rose-unselfish-teamwork era. Our strength lies in our depth, not only in the playmaking ability of one or two All-Stars. Our role players have proven themselves over and over. We have too many weapons to revert to the isolate-for-the-MVP strategy. Let the Heat try (and fail) with that endgame. The time has come for us to rise above the NBA's anti-team, isolation fray.
Mark Hoffman
Just wondering if you remember another time two championship contenders played each other and the home team’s fans were begging for the backups to get in the game?
Christopher Prince
Sam: That is the strength of the Bulls we’ve talked about for two years and why I felt even last season they could beat Miami, the depth and size up front. Last season as it turned out the Miami mystique was too much. That’s now gone. But let’s not get too carried away. I’m getting all sorts of mail now that Rose has to change his game, that Watson and Brewer have to play more. No, that’s exactly not the point. The reserves should be a support group and not asked to do more than they are capable. It is huge for the team that guys like Watson or Asik can come in big moments and not be overwhelmed. But I don’t want to rely on them. I want to rely on my starters because they have gotten the best record over two years. And that guys can step in off the bench and produce at a high level is a bonus, not a substitute.
Looking at the current standings, it seems as though the first seed might have a tougher road to the Conference Finals than the second seed would. As the #1 seed, the Bulls would face Carmelo, Amare, (and possibly Lin) and the Knicks in the first round, followed by the winner of Boston/Atlanta in the 2nd. Meanwhile, the #2 seeded Miami would face the starless 76'ers in the opening round, followed by the winner of Indiana/Orlando. I see a potential sweep to the Conference Finals for the Heat if the brackets remain the same.
Mike Burgher
I know that Tom Thibodeau threw himself on the sword for the OKC loss. However, even though we have had some horrific games on the defensive end of the game and some key mistakes that caught up with us I think that a major issue is that when Rose is playing the team tends to stand around and watch him! I am wondering why Coach Thibs has not jumped down their throats about this yet. You remember when they did it with MJ but the good part about that is both teams where standing around watching MJ. Why is it that no one has corrected this issue of standing around waiting for Rose to bail the team out instead of playing like they did last night?
Marshall E. Shelley
If the Bulls win it all this year will it put Rip Hamilton in the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Jerome Greenwald
I have to question [Derrick] Rose's toughness. I saw the game in NY and he never appeared hurt at any time, not even a limp so for him to have a "bad ankle" is not believable. Ever since he signed that big deal he became soft, MJ would have been out there. I say since the [Bulls] can win without him, trade him.
Jeff Skellenger
I'm 38 and might trip trying to jump over a sheet of notebook paper so I'm not one to question athleticism but if Derrick Rose's injuries affect his athleticism what else does he have to rely on?
Terrence Wells
Well if there were any doubters about Rose's importance, the last few games have proved it (Houston and Oklahoma City). Both backups have played poorly. Regarding the playoffs, I'd rather see JLIII as the 8-10 minute point backup. Against Boston Watson played a little less worse than he has lately, but still had 6 turnovers, and 5-16 shooting. I also realize you can’t go strictly by the numbers, but going into the game, his +/- was the worst on the team with a +9, despite playing all the minutes he has on the team with the best record.
Mark Wehren
Are the Bulls still limiting Rip's playing time due to his shoulder injury? Given his performance against the Knicks, seems like Rip should be playing more than just 1st and 3rd quarter. Hopefully Rip's playing time will continue to increase as playoffs gets closer and have similar output like in 3rd quarter against the Knicks!
Alex Fung
After watching both games against the Knicks, it has become pretty clear to me that we don't have enough athletes on our team to win the championship this season, I mean even if we do edge out Miami in the conference (although Boston is looking pretty good as of late) there's no way in my mind we can beat OKC in a seven game series, more so now with D-Rose having all this injuries. With that said, I feel like we missed out on getting a better wing player with an Asik trade, I mean seems like he has regressed an awful lot lately and doesn't have nearly the same trade value he once had. Did management hold on too long to Asik?
Alberto Guzman
I know the most likely answer is "He is who he is now", but is there any hope Joakim Noah can develop just one offensive move? I'm a big fan of his, but whenever I see him on the block I get nervous (unless he passes, because he's so good at that as a big man). I'll never expect him to be KG or The Mailman on the offensive end, but just a little more than what he does now?
Rahul Chatterjee
It is not clear to me whether the Bulls, even if they tried, can get another All-Star in the off-season, like Howard or Anthony. Assuming they are stuck with the current team (or maybe a somewhat different team if they amnesty Boozer to try to pick up someone like Allen and/or KG), with only one true superstar, they seem to be facing not very good odds on winning an NBA championship. Dallas somehow found a way miraculously to do it last year after years of trying. Other than that, the only "modern" team I can think of that won with only one superstar was the late 80s Pistons. There are certain analogies, Chicago kid at the point (Isiah and Rose), rich kid at center (Lambeer and Noah), and great team defense (unfortunately, Korver is not quite the Microwave). But there is one big difference, the Pistons had a mean streak I don't see in the Bulls. Boozer at least looks soft and so does Noah, and there clearly is no enforcer. Someone should have been in Chandler's face on Sunday and bated him into a second technical. Can the Bulls really get past Miami, with three big time players, or Oklahoma, with two superstars and some very good role players (like Ibaka and Harden), unless they change their mentality?
Brad Erens
D-Rose had no restriction in his first game back after 12 games off. He was overplayed and I read today that he tweeked his ankle. There was no reason that D-Rose should have been out there pretty much the whole 2nd half. D-R was tired and it showed when he missed the 2 free throws at the end of 4th quarter. This is why I [would] wait to sign Thibodeau to an extension, no matter how good he is with the x and o's, he needs to learn how to play his players. He overplays Deng and it is showing in his defense, he is getting beat more than he did in the beginning of the season. If Thibodeau keeps playing D-Rose the way he did in his first game back the Bulls will not make it out of the first round.
Dan Mallen
The consensus that I have heard and read from the various media outlets seems to be that the Coach of the Year is between Thibodeau and Greg Popovich. Being that the COTY is regular season award, I don’t see how Popovich can get it when he has tanked some games by taking guys out of the lineup. One should not win COTY when you potential wins are left on the table like that. I think Popovich is the best coach in the NBA today, and I understand his concern is the playoffs. Looking at it from the Spurs perspective I agree with his strategy but I struggle with it as fan believing in the integrity of the game. I am not one of these folks that thinks a Bull should win every award, in fact I would have no problem with Kevin McHale winning the COTY this year, as the Rockets clearly have overachieved. Who do you see winning the COTY and what do think of the Spurs resting players as far as the integrity of the game goes? That Spurs vs. Jazz game had playoff implications for teams trying to get in.
John Swank
Now I'll admit that last year I was a boozer hater, not on his game but because he was living up to his reputation of being injury prone. This year I have actually been able to appreciate his game and actually become one of his biggest fans. I'm such a big fan of his game (offensive game that is because his defense is offensive), that I honestly think he is the most skilled big man in the game. What other big man has better foot work, the ability to finish with their off hand just as good as their strong hand, and has a reliable mid range jumper?
Brandon Revering
Why isn't Thibs running more plays for Boozer? He rarely posts these days as most of his points are from jumpshots. Knicks had Carmelo playing the PF position yesterday yet Thibs really did not run any post plays for Boozer. Is it up to Boozer to create his own offense or does Thibs have to call the plays for him?
Bambi Choy
I've been watching a lot of dunk highlights recently and have seen a lot of "posterizing" contact dunks. One of the big things I noticed is that the dunker has their off hand down when they make contact. Blake Griffin however seems to differ from the norm as he seems to physically stiff arm other players and drop elbows into Pau Gasol's head. Shouldn't this be an offensive foul? Do the refs simply not call it because of his popularity and it would be bad for the team's revenue?
Trevor Bode
What are some other options for the Bulls at shooting guard around the league and in this upcoming draft? Any prospects you like or upcoming free agents that are intriguing?
Chris Arceo
As a Bulls fan I have to say that I'm beginning to dread these words more than any other, this season at least: "It's a day game." It feels like whenever we play a day game, on the weekend or on a holiday, we get blown out, or just play discombobulated from the opening whistle. Is this something you've been noticing too? And are you worried about this trend continuing in the playoffs?
Marcus Nikokiris
I worry that the Bulls are among the worst teams in free throw percentage, we have seen have failure in the final seconds to secure important shots in a game. I wonder if this is a problem in the mechanics of our guys shot or simply [that they can't] shoot with more consistency and this will be a failure that will have throughout your career, or perhaps be some psychological problem? A doctor could help relieve some kind of emotional pressure in these circumstances the game.
Piero Paguaga
I was looking at the Boston-Miami box score from Tuesday night and trying to figure out how Miami got 16 more shots than Boston (87-71) when they got out-rebounded 40-34 and had only a small edge in turnovers (Miami-7, Boston-12). I'm guessing there was a big edge to Miami in "Team Rebounds" which didn't appear on the SI box score. I have always assumed 'team rebounds' are rebounds that involve more than one player touching the ball, like when Noah tips the ball out to a guard. What is a team rebound?