Hey everyone.

Just want to apologize for the lack of posts on here. I’ve been trying to write some commentary posts for you guys. Unfortunately between working my game grades on Bulls101, trying to cover Clippers games for Clipperholics (website still heavily under construction), and researching, school, studying, and running a tennis club, I have absolutely no free time.

I’ll try to get more going in the playoffs as far as commentary goes. The condensed schedule hasn’t helped since there’s pretty much a game every single day. But the playoffs will be stretched out over time so I should be able to write a bit more.

Again, sorry. Just please bear with me a bit more.

—Avi

I wont be making any more blog posts for the rest of the week (or at least until Friday) because of Finals. That means no game grades for this week or any commentary posts on here. So… yeah

Game Grades are up on Bulls 101. Today was a great win against the Heat. The best part is is that Rose and Hamilton weren’t even playing which just further solidifies that a team is much better than three players.

Here’s the link to grades. Enjoy!

http://www.bulls101.com/2012/03/15/chicago-bulls-106-miami-heat-102-game-grades/

Game Grades are up on Bulls101.Com for tonight’s game against the Knicks.

Here’s the shortlink:

 http://sport-ne.ws/bfi

Hey everyone,

So you all know I write about the Bulls on here and on Bulls101.Com. Well I was actually asked by Phillip Barnett to join him and write for a new Clippers blog (Clipperholics.Com). Right now, the site literally just started and there isn’tmuch going on with it (we’re working on that). But it should be a relatively big site since the guy who founded it is also the founder and owner of the blog LakerNation.

Anyways, I just made my first game recap post. It’s the first one I’ve ever done that isn’t game grades, so bear with it when you read it. I’m still learning. Anyways, the link is below. Check it out and let me know what you think of it.

http://www.clipperholics.com/?p=277

The Richard Hamilton experiment has failed, so it seems. At least, that’s what it seems like many Bulls and NBA fans are saying as of late.

As many of you know by now, Richard Hamilton sustained a right shoulder injury when fighting through Roy Hibbert’s screen a mere 89 seconds into the game against the Pacers back on Monday. Though the injury seemed very serious initially, it was only diagnosed that Hamilton has a slight sprain and a contusion. Currently he’s listed as day-to-day, in actuality, we all know that it’s very likely he’ll be out for a week to week and a half with the likely hood of being eased back into the offense again.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, many are left asking the simple question: Should the Bulls look to trade for another shooting guard? My answer to this question, an emphatic NO!

Look, I wont deny, this recent injury to Hamilton sucks. It’s been a frustrating season as we all thought he’d be the answer to all of Chicago’s problems when it came to the Heat. So far, he’s only disappointed having played in 16 games this season out of a possible 41. But here’s the thing: he’s only played 16 games out of 41! By that I mean, we still dont fully know what this Chicago Bulls team is capable of.

Of those 16 games, only 7 of them were with the other starters. I know it’s a rather small sample size, but looking at those 7 games when all the starters were on the floor, the Chicago offense has never looked better. Floor spacing was phenomenal. Everyone was moving around, the defense was spread around, and EVERYONE (Boozer included) had easy paths to the basket after one or two passes or even had a wide open jumper. To compound that excellent floor spacing, ball movement was better than it’s been all season. I’d like to cite an assist/turnover ratio, but I’m going to avoid that since:

1. I dont have the numbers on me
2. It’s late and I dont really care to do the research for those numbers
3. I think the assist/turnover ratio is a bit flawed since it doesn’t account for missed shots

All this is to say that Hamilton has been good with Chicago when he has played. He still hast 7 weeks of regular season to get healthy and get into the flow of things. I’m fairly certain that’s enough time.

BUT…

Lets just assume the Bulls brass went ahead to look at exploring trade options. To realistically get an upgrade at shooting guard (someone like OJ Mayo or Courtney Lee), the Bulls would have to give up Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. Is it worth it? Not really.

1. The Bulls bench as a unit gives up only 0.67 points per possession (statistic courtesy of @AshesofPot on Twitter). That’s pure defensive dominance. Sure they dont score, but they dont need to do much scoring with that kind of defense.
2. The Bulls would be giving up their dominance inside. Remember, the Heat’s biggest weakness is their lack of an inside presence. Why do you think it burned them so badly when Pryzbilla went to Portland instead of Miami? Because were left hopeless inside.
3. If you give one of those guys up, who do you get to replace them? Fesenko? HELL NO! I do not want Kyrylo Fesenko anywhere near this Chicago Bulls team. Period. The fact of the matter is, there’s no one left on the market. So if Boozer and/or Noah went down with injury (a very likely scenario given their both injury prone), who do you put on the floor?

The price is not worth the product. That’s just the cold hard fact. Even at this point, now that Hamilton is injured again, I’m thoroughly against my own idea of trading for Dorell Wright (but you can read about why in a roundtable on Bulls101.Com that will be coming soon).

———

All in all, Chicago doesn’t need to make a trade for a better shooting guard. They need to stand pat and make sure that everyone gets healthy. No one in this league, the players themselves, have seen what this Chicago team is capable of doing. At this point, the organization and the players need to take a gamble on themselves, and we have to have faith that the professionals know what they’re doing.

Rose still does not smile when he hits game winning buzzer beaters. He only looks at you as if to say, “I will destroy you all… especially you Lebron!”

Could everyone please vote for me if you haven’t already? I want to just win this one round over Curtis. Seriously, I would love you all forever. I’m only down by 2 votes.

http://polldaddy.com/poll/6017341/

Rose’s first game winning buzzer beater in his career. It looked so effortless.

Chicago got their revenge handily today shutting the Pacers up with a blowout win. I wrote my game grades and they’re posted up on Bulls101.Com. I hope you guys continue to enjoy these posts and, as always, I appreciate any feedback you guys have so I can continue to grow and improve.

http://www.bulls101.com/2012/03/05/chicago-bulls-92-indiana-pacers-72-game-grades/

Ric Bucher knows whats up!

I only thought about it because I heard his name mentioned in Sam Smith’s (Writer for the Bulls) weekly mailbag. I’ve thought about it for over a week now and it just makes sense in my opinion.

In terms of being better than Rip, I still think Rip is the better person to start. Rip has been hurt this year, yes, but he’s a solid 14+ point scorer and he makes things easier for everyone else with his movement. Plus, he works best with off ball pick and rolls which play to Boozer’s and his strengths (Boozer has made a career off of PnRs with DWill in Utah which is why Chicago pays him so much and which is why he worked well w/ Mike James).

I think as a team, Rip should stay as the starter (and hopefully he gets back to full strength soon and for the rest of the year) and have Dorell Wright come off the bench for major minutes to rest both him and Deng (if they acquired him of course)

Someone asked me “What has Dorell Wright done this year?” on the answer box to my trade post. Unfortunately, me posting a response wasn’t working so I’m going to have to answer that in a separate post.

To be frank, Dorell Wright has been Dorell Wright this year. He’s a guy who knows how to create his own shot and score relatively consistently, someone who can shoot the three (though only as consistently as Rose, but that’s still better than Brewer), and someone who can grab boards. In just about every category, he’s better than Brewer.

His numbers this year have been in line with his career averages, however, he’s struggling in Marc Jackson’s system. He’s looks lost, not moving as well, and his defense has gotten a little worse. He has come back from his slump a bit, but he’s not playing as well as he could be.

Like I said, the Warriors really have no real reason to trade him other than to get the non-guaranteed contract and a pick so they can be players in the free agency market. But it’s something I’m sure would intrigue them.

Hope that answered your question “FashionandBBallGeek”!

I’m sure that the Bulls management would love to have Mayo since they’ve tried to trade for him many times. But I just dont see it happening.

The thing is, Mayo is in the last year of his contract which means that the Grizzlies will be free of him no matter what, so for them, there is no urgency to get rid of him. But even if they did trade him for Asik, a pick, and cash, Chicago is left screwed.

By giving up Asik, Chicago is screwing themselves at center because they have no one there to back up an injury prone Noah. Had Kurt Thomas still been around, it may have been something to consider, but definitely not anymore. On top of that, even if Asik were gone, Chicago would only have Mayo as a rental since they couldn’t afford to sign him long term. At this point, Chicago is maxed out in terms of money. So ultimately, it’s like Chicago would be giving up a couple of picks and Asik for nothing.

That’s why I propose Chicago should go for someone like Dorell Wright who is locked into a contract, cheap, and wont cost much if they wanted to re-sign him. Plus, they’d get to keep just about every other piece intact.

As for the Howard trade, I just dont see it happening for anyone at this point, ESPECIALLY Chicago. At the end of the day, Dwight wants to be the center of attention for whatever team he plays for. In Chicago, that would never happen as long as Rose is around.

With the trade deadline coming up in 10 days, it’s time for rumors to fly and everyone to weigh in on what they think will happen in terms of trades (aka the Dwight trade) and what roster moves they think their team should make. Here are mine (I’ll focus more on the Chicago move I think should be attempted):

Dwight Howard Trade:
If I had to say anything about this, I dont think it’s happening. I dont think the Magic even get anything done to bring someone to Orlando. At the end of the day, I think they take the gamble and see if Dwight will stay on his own accord (but I dont think he will).

Chicago Should Try To Trade For Dorell Wright:
This is one that a lot of people I’ve talked to seem to really be interested in. I believe Chicago should try to trade for Dorell Wright by giving up Ronnie Brewer and a draft pick (most likely 2nd round). Financially it works, and it benefits both teams greatly. Here’s why:

Benefits For Golden State:
Golden State has a couple of reasons why they’d want to go ahead and do this trade. Firstly, Wright has been struggling in the Marc Jackson’s system. I dont know why, but he is. During this time, we’ve seen his minutes go down significantly (which also hasn’t helped in my opinion) and we’ve seen Klay Thompson get more minutes. During this time, Thompson has really played well and has performed well.

So you’re probably wondering why the Warriors would want to trade him away and give up their depth. The answer is simple: THE WANT TO BE PLAYERS IN THIS YEAR’S BIG FREE AGENCY MARKET. Currently, Wright is making about the same amount of money that Brewer is making. The difference is is that his contract is entirely guaranteed where as Brewer’s is not. By trading for Brewer they free up approximately $4.7 million dollars in cap space to try to attract a major player. Considering they have no shot to win it all this year and the fact that they wont make the playoffs, this seems like a pretty good deal for them.

Benefits For Chicago Bulls:
While financially, this is the worse deal for the Bulls, Chicago gets a HUGE upgrade for several reasons:

1. Chicago gets someone who can give Deng some more rest— Unlike Brewer, Wright is a Sf that can play Sg if necessary, not the other way around (those coule of inches in height and wingspan make a huge difference). Because of this key difference, Deng will be able to cut back his minutes which allows him to rest his wrist more and stay healthy for the long run. It also means that Deng will be more fresh for each game which could prove to be huge as we get later in to the season. Also, it’s not like Chicago would be losing it’s back-up shooting guard since Wright can move to that position as well.

2. Chicago gets more potent scoring on the bench— CJ Watson and Kyle Korver are decent scorers. There’s no denying that. However, whenever these two face off against good teams, they wither away. Now, I’m not saying Dorell Wright will be spectacular against good teams, but he’ll still be able to do damage. Defensively, he might be a bit of a downgrade, however, the second unit is already very strong on defense. But that’s a BIG might. Defensively, both Brewer and Wright were the same caliber defenders outside of Chicago. There’s no saying if Wright would be better after being in the system for a while (he might even be better than Brewer). But there will definitely be a drop-off initially.

3. The Bulls get another perimeter scorer— Chicago could just use more perimeter scoring. Period.

4. Wright creates his own shot— He’s not the best at creating his own shot, but he’s better than Brewer in this regard. And this is a need that every Chicago fan realizes the team needs someone to create a shot since there’s no one outside of Rose who can do this. Actually, let me clarify, there isn’t anyone else on the Bulls that can create their own GOOD shot (I’m looking at you John Lucas). With Dorell Wright, some of the pressure gets taken off of Rose altogether, something that can become invaluable.

5. I just put this 5 here because having a 4 reason list just looks a bit off.

Do I know if this trade can happen? No clue. Do I think it will happen? No clue. I haven’t read of any rumors that Wright could be on the chopping block so it’s up to the Bulls brass to talk and negotiate. If it happened, I feel as if this Bulls team could become that much better.

————————————-

That’s my take on the situation though. I definitely think Wright could be a huge boost but we’ll see what happens. Do you think Wright could end up in a Bulls uniform? If not Wright, who would you like to see the Bulls make a move for?