Monday, February 3, 2014

It's Time for Carlos Boozer to Go

The relationship between Bulls fans and Carlos Boozer has been mostly terrible. Upon arrival, Boozer immediately looked like an overpaid player. He was lazy on defense, making t-rex swats at the ball handler, while falling in love with long jumpers on the other end of the court. Boozer's lost playing time to the much studlier Taj Gibson, and it is clear Boozer has lost a step or two. He no longer has the explosiveness that made him a perennial 20 point scorer in Utah.

Fans have wanted Boozer amnestied since the lockout, and I think it's clear Boozer feels the same way.

Boozer finally complained about his lack of fourth quarter minutes:

"I think I should be out there," said Boozer, who is in the midst of his worst season as a Bull. "But it's [Thibodeau's] choice. He makes the decisions out there, so I play. I don't coach. He coaches. So he decides that.
"But honestly, he's been doing that a lot since I've been here, not putting me in in the fourth quarter. Sometimes we win; more times than not, we don't. But that's his choice."
"Super tough," Boozer said. "It's very frustrating, especially when I've got a great game going or what have you. Obviously as a competitor, you want to be out there to help your team win and especially when the game is close. You can do things that can help your team win. Not being out there, all you could do is really cheer them on. But that's [Thibodeau's] choice."
Ouch. Boozer wants to play, as anyone would in his situation, but it's completely his fault. Defense is [mostly] an effort issue, and Boozer has never showed interest in becoming an elite defender in the same way Gibson has. Boozer has approximately 40 lbs on Gibson, yet Taj does not allow himself to get bullied in the post. Boozer does. 

I was particularly shocked to hear Boozer say more times than not, the Bulls don't win. My quick calculation would suggest that the Bulls have won 68% of their games with Boozer on the roster.

Realistically, I'm sure Boozer is frustrated like everyone else, and more importantly, he wants to get paid an exceptional amount of money to not play for the Bulls next year. Nonsensical commentary like this will ensure that his dream comes true.

Luol Deng Happenings

Just a moment for our lost hero, Luol Deng. He hates the Cavs' culture, which includes Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving bullying coach Mike Brown. There was a great story in the New York Daily News about the Cavs' situation, and if you love Lu, I highly recommend checking it out.  



 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Bulls Are Not Tanking

Get the idea out of your head: The Bulls are not tanking.

Sure, as a gut reaction to Derrick Rose's injury, I assumed it was the right idea to blowup the team and tank. I even came up with a comprehensive plan that would allow it. However, I let my emotions subside, and I realized that my initial reaction was too extreme.

Regardless of whether or not you want the Bulls to tank, it ain't happening.

Admittedly, the Bulls look very crappy at the beginning of the year with Rose on the court. The Bulls offense was static, and often times, the effort was not there defensively. Flash forward to mid-season, and the Bulls of 2013-14 look an awful lot like the Bulls of 2012-13--minus a crazy, streaky scorer. The team stifles opposing offenses and grinds out every single possession. While the Bulls now go into overtime basically every night, OT wins count the same as a regulation win. I'm as baffled as anyone else that the team has played better since losing the heart and soul of the locker room.

The Bulls currently sit as the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference, and the team is 8-2 in its last ten games. The more players the Bulls lose, the more games the Bulls win. Taj Gibson compared it to the team in Major League where the players are stacked up against management. Joakim Noah called out the "true fans" who want the team to lose every game.

I have to agree with Jo. The Bulls have proven that it will require the firing of Thibodeau, the departure of Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, and Jimmy Butler, as well as the release of Cartier Martin to throw this team out of contention. They play too damn hard every night to look back. As fans, we should appreciate this mentality and hope it carries on next year.

The Bulls "surefire" lottery dreams are over, complicating the situation heading into next year. There's no savior coming.

This makes the offseason look drastically different. For one, the Bulls might not amnesty Carlos Boozer. I known this sounds insane, but let's remember that the Bulls ownership group has articulated the importance of the business of basketball. Management would much rather pay Boozer $16.8 million than pay him $11-13 million not to play. Then, of course, the Bulls will not add a free agent.

Ultimately, the roster may look a lot more like it does this year than we all anticipated. With the growth of Tony Snell and DJ Augustin, the Bulls may be a fairly competitive next year. Heck, if Jimmy Butler can turn around his progress, then the Bulls will be a borderline title contender without factoring Mirotic and other potential free agents.

Enjoy the effort and support your Chicago Bulls. They've earned it.




Monday, January 20, 2014

Cartier Martin is Here to Stay

If you know anything about your humble author, it is that he loves random players. Does it matter if that player is good? Not really. It matters that he plays for the Bulls.



Such is how I feel about Cartier Martin. In a former life I did extensive research on the jewelry company, Cartier, so please excuse any sort of diamond joke that I may eventually bust out.

I think it is safe to say that Cartier is a diamond in the rough. Cartier is a fantastic shooter, and he's shown the ability to make the right pass at the right time. He's a little clumsy defensively, often looking like a giant without much agility, but I'm confident Tom Thibodeau and company can assist him.

At 29, it's probably a tad too late to expect Cartier to become more than an end of the rotation player, but he brings much needed wing depth and shooting to the table. I suspect he'll spend the rest of the year with the Bulls out of necessity as much as anything.

In case you've been thrown off by him sitting on the sidelines, Marquis Teague has been traded to the Brooklyn Nets for Tornike Shengelia. Teague was never going to make it in Chicago (mainly because he lacked any skillset), but I'm not sure we'll see much of Shengelia. Thibodeau is hesitant to play new people, and Shegelia did not show much in Brooklyn. Still, he's a big body with some potential. I can't wait to see him hit the court.

Coming later this week: some thoughts on tanking (or not tanking).





Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Bulls Trade Luol Deng to the Cavs for Basically Nothing

So I misworded it. According to the Bulls, the team conveyed the contract of Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers who in turn conveyed the the contract of Andrew Bynum to the Bulls, along with a few picks with a few stipulations. I'm not sure exactly why, but the wording of the press releases really bothers me. I've never seen anyone word a trade press release like that before.



Bynum will be waived immediately, so don't get any dreams of the "Twin Towers" of Bynum and Joakim Noah. Cutting Bynum saves the Bulls $6 million in salary, but more importantly, $15 million in luxury tax money. Fans are always really concerned about saving Jerry Reinsdorf and Co money, but I'd hate to admit that I don't really care. I understand the rules of the salary cap, but the deal doesn't change the Bulls cap position much had the team allowed Deng to walk in free agency.

Why Wouldn't Deng Resign?



Word on Twitter from Bulls' beat reporter KC Johnson is that the Bulls offered 3 years/$30 million and 4 years/$40 million, though Deng is apparently looking for $14-$15 million a year. The Bulls weren't going to pay him what he wanted, and I have little doubt that some GM will come along with the offer Deng's looking for. You should totally understand that if you were in the same situation, you would want to maximize your earnings too.

We also must not forget management's handling of Deng's injury and sickness issues. You may recall that during the 2013 playoffs, Deng received a spinal tap and the poor guy nearly died. However, before that, the Bulls told Deng to get surgery on his injured wrist and not play in the Olympics--a once in a lifetime opportunity for one of professional sports' most global citizens. Deng may even sign for $10 million in the offseason, but it has been made pretty clear that he did not like how he was treated by management.

Deng's been one of my favorite players, and I've loved watching him play. His loss is devastating not only for his on-court efforts, but also because he's genuinely a great person. Character can often be tossed aside in the NBA, but Deng certainly isn't lacking it.

What did the Bulls really Get?

On top of saving the Bulls corporation significant cash payments, the trade netted the Bulls a few picks. The Bulls received a protected first round pick via the Sacramento Kings. The pick is top 12 protected this year, and top 10 protected until 2017. If the Kings remain miserable, then the Bulls will receive a 2017 2nd round pick. The Bulls also received 2 second round picks, one in 2015 and one in 2016 from the Portland Trail Blazers. With the Blazers off to an amazing start and wielding a young core that includes LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard, Nic Batum, and Wesley Matthews, I don't like the odds of that pick being located near the beginning of the 2nd round. Still, things can change rapidly in the NBA, so you never know.

It's tough to speculate, but I don't like the odds of the Bulls ever getting a first rounder out of this. Sacremento is a terrible team in an extremely difficult conference. Demarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay are some of the most selfish players in the history of the NBA, and, in typical NBA fashion, the team didn't allow hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to buy the team to move it to Seattle and ball out. Maybe the Kings will get an unlucky bounce and be out of the top 10 within the next three years, but the odds are not great.

The Bulls can also swap picks with the Cavs after next season, assuming the Cavs don't resign LeBron James and begin stacking championship trophies. Heck, the Cavs might be better than the Bulls next season without LeBron, but this essentially gives the Bulls unlimited upside with no downside risk. 

There's no need to turn this trade into anything other than it is: a money saver. Sure, maybe it helps the Bulls to lose their best player and any chance at winning. Maybe the Bulls fall into the lottery, but even if they do not, the Bulls will have a better pick without Deng than with him.

Ultimately, I cannot help but think that the Bulls could have received something better. I know this post-lockout NBA has become much wiser in terms of signing players to outlandish deals (Drew Gooden) as well as in terms of acquiring assets. Nevertheless, I think the Bulls could have waited and received a guaranteed first round pick or at least a young asset for the future. Aside from the financial gain, this was a very risky trade.

I've loved every moment of Deng's career, and it sucks to see him go. I loved him paired with Ben Gordon, and I loved watching him bust his ass no matter how injured he was. The Bulls are officially in tank mode, but they may also be in "make life so unbearable for Tom Thibodeau that he quits" mode. We'll see what happens, but it will be a long season.







Friday, January 3, 2014

What's it Like to Recover from an Injury?

There are a lot of aspects of sports that I adore but none more than the human aspect of the game. As I wrote not long ago, it's easy to get detached  from athletes and forget that they aren't any different from any of us. In fact, now that I'm in my mid-20's, I fall right in-line with the age of pro athletes across most sports.

Lately, it has been irritating hearing the endless hate for injured Chicago athletes like Derrick Rose and Jay Cutler. We see these athletes simply as a means to championships, but we forget about the psychological aspects of injuries, surgeries, and recoveries that impact these very real human beings. I completely underestimated the psychological impact of recovering from a severe injury...until I had to go through it myself.

I've contemplated whether or not I would share this. I'm not inherently a private person, and if you ask me a question, I'll answer you. But I'm not one to volunteer a bunch of information in a public forum. However, the lack of uniqueness of my experience was so striking, that I think it makes sense to share my story for those who can relate and for those, who, like me, never thought about something like this happening. From talking to others who have experienced similarly debilitating injuries, it doesn't matter if you're me or Derrick Rose, the journey is torture.

A Quick Background

In March of 2012, I was playing basketball in the lovely suburb of Downers Grove when I came viciously crashing down on someone's foot, rolling my ankle. I'd like to share with you a first-hand, amateur account of being injured, going through a major surgery, and a recovery.

The Injury

Believe it or not, the injury isn't the worst part, at least for me. When I came down on my ankle, I had a feeling that it was broken. However, the physical pain was so overwhelming that I didn't really think too much. I drove home (about 45 minutes away) and limped up to my apartment. The pain was excruciating, so I broke my cardinal rule of rolled ankles and made my girlfriend take me to the hospital.

I received an x-ray that revealed no break, so the doctors gave me a pair of crutches and sent me on my way. I went back a few weeks later to have it re-examined at one of the top hospitals in the country. The doctor didn't want to do a follow-up x-ray, and he insisted that I was fine. When I told him that I was still in a tremendous amount of pain, he told me of course it hurts, but I need to suck it up. Having just read Nassim Taleb's Antifragile, I took his advice to heart and assumed I was being soft.

Boy was I wrong.

Pain lingered for the next year. I couldn't run very well, and I literally couldn't jump off of my right foot. As a friend at the gym said to me, "you look like Bo Jackson after he blew out his knee." I struggled to move my feet defensively, and I couldn't get into great shape because I couldn't run. Now, anyone who has played sports with me knows I'm not a great athlete. My game in every sport has always been predicated on hustle and outworking people. So you can imagine how much I sucked now.

While struggling mightily during a Chicago Sport & Social season, I decided to have my ankle re-examined, though perhaps a bit too late. I saw a wonderful orthopedic by the name of Ari Kaz (he'll be my injury doctor from now on) who could see from my inability to move my foot at all that this injury was worse than a sprained ankle. Dr. Kaz immediately spotted a hole in my bone on the x-ray that the previous doctor had missed.  He ordered up an MRI, and voila, I was diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans. Basically, my cartilage was gone, all of my major ankle ligaments were torn, and my tendons from my ankle had slipped down into my foot.

I had two options: run around with a limp forever or have it fixed.

The Surgery



I'm not great at sports, but I do love to play them, so naturally I elected to have surgery. Plus, I was getting fat, and I could hardly walk down the block. Heck, by the time I went under the knife, I struggled to walk at all. 

Surgery, if you haven't had it, is scary as hell. Some nurse shaved my leg, a doctor with a heavy Eastern European accent came to administer drugs to me and tell me how much it was going to hurt. I was then wheeled into surgery, and the last thing I remember is Dr. Kaz looking for a saw. Again, thank God for the drugs. Any sane person would be pretty angry about going to sleep with some guy waiting to slice you up.

I woke up in a crazy amount of pain to the European doctor trying to shove a 6 inch needle in my quad and hamstring--at least it wasn't my ass. I was maybe 60% conscious, but I'm pretty confident he was yelling at someone. I couldn't really talk since my lungs were destroyed from the nitrous gas, but I can tell you that my leg felt like someone had just cut it open with a saw. And I really wanted to know this guy's take on Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci machine, but it didn't seem appropriate. Luckily, that huge needle contained a nerve blocker, so that terrible pain was replaced by numbness.

Heck, on the journey home I thought I was going to be fine in no time. I just wanted a Diet Coke.

The Waiting Game



This is the hardest part of the process, and the one that made me go crazy. For the first two weeks following surgery, I was excused from work and spent my days laid out on painkillers, anti-itch medication, and plenty of books and TV. Two weeks off for someone who hasn't had time of from work in years can seem like an eternity. I had nothing to do but to think and evaluate my life. It was during this stage that I come to a realization that working was really hurting my ability to have fun. I was working for a small financial research company, and I worked long hours with highly variable pay. I had a flexible work schedule since I worked mostly from home, but the amount of time I spent dedicated to working was outrageous, and because I had helped build the company, I cared about it quite a bit.


The pay and hours weren't what I hated. It was the lack of autonomy, management's unethical practices, and a lack of faith in the President that really shook me. For the first time in a few years I slowed down enough to realize that my direction in life was wrong. Crap. I determined then that I would search for new opportunities, but that since I was immobile for another 2 months, I'd grind out work until I could move.

Even that plan proved to be shortsighted. When you're physically incapable of doing anything, you have an abundance of time to think about everything. It became clear to me that the company was losing its largest client and there was undoubtedly some shady activity going on to prevent me from receiving my piece of the pie. In truth, my boss had always been strange and condescending, but with financial rewards on the horizon, I chose to ignore it. Now, after I had been struck by the fragility of life (thanks to my ankle and a timely second stroke from my dad), I realized it was time for me to move on. So I quit.

So here I am, "retired", I can't move, and now I have to find a way to pay the bills. Derrick Rose probably isn't worrying about money right now - I would guess that after taxes Rose is still netting $20 million easily. Thankfully I worked too much so I didn't have time to spend money anyways.

Still, the hardest part of this whole process is isolation and a lack of physical activity. For someone accustomed to daily exercise, inactivity is literally hell. Plus, without the ability to really leave the house much, you become socially isolated. Since I worked at home the lion's share of social activity was driven by going out with friends and going to the gym. That's it. Thankfully several of my friends visited during my recovery, but people have lives, jobs, and other things to do, particularly during the hours of 9 to 5 every day.

In any event, it translates to a lot of solitude and loneliness.

This is the part that kills you. Even the most introverted people need to socialize, and when you're cut off from the world, you don't feel human. You don't expend any energy so you're not tired, and you can't sleep. Instead of 16 hours, your days stretch to 18, 20, 22 hours. I hope Rose has a good crew of people around him because it is far too easy to feel isolated from society, and in his case, his teammates.

Being physically limited sucks, but it is far more difficult mentally than physically. If I'm questioning whether or not I'll ever be the same, mediocre basketball player again, then I can't imagine what is going through Rose's head. Or any athlete faced with a serious injury. I found it impossible to prevent self-doubt from creeping into areas that aren't even impacted by a bum ankle.

You get sick of eating healthy because even eating healthy results in you getting softer. I'd love nothing more than to have eaten stuff like Harold's fried chicken daily, but for the most part, I kept to a diet and only got a little fatter. Rose even admitted that this was a struggle with the ACL, and it only gets more difficult as the process goes on. Delicious food offers the same chemical reaction that can be found in drugs and exercise. When those two are absent, it is tempting to reach for the donuts.

I haven't even mentioned the most obvious part yet: boredom. I lost count of how many books I read, how many movies I watched, and how many games of Madden I played. There just is not much to do. Unlike Rose, I have to worry about money, so I've found ways of generating income online, but with his finances secure, Rose has even more free time than I do. Avoiding boredom isn't easy, and all it leads to is more anxiety and thoughts about the future. The Dixie Chicks said times heals everything, but I've found that too much free time, like any other excess in life, is toxic. The daily mental toll helped me realize why my grandpa didn't retire until he couldn't walk any more and why many people can't deal with retirement at all.

Though I bottomed may times throughout this process, perhaps the funniest moment came when I went through my floor. You can't really use your hands when you're on crutches, and my apartment is too small to use a scooter to get to the kitchen. So I hopped on my healthy leg to get food. Sure, sometimes I spilled a little bit but never much. Then one day, I was carrying some chilli into my living room, hopping along, when I went right through a floor board. I smashed down and spilled the chilli everywhere. It was one of those moments where I couldn't help but laugh it off while at the same time I realized how pathetic I was.

#TheReturn

I'm finally in this stage. I when I say finally, I can't stress how long my the waiting period was. Sure, I was able to walk around on crutches, but during Chicago during the winter, crutches can only take you so far.


My actual rehab program starts next week, but I've begun walking without crutches--and not quickly. I currently move around at less than 2 miles per hour to avoid changing my gait, and several steps cause pain. Not pain the sense that my ankle was shredded like before, bur rather pain in the sense that my heel hasn't touched the ground in several months. My biggest issue, and an issue that I'm sure is prevalent with several hardworking professional athletes, is pushing it. The way I've always overcome my lack of athletic ability is through effort. The more, the better. However, I've reached the point now where the more might mean a more serious injury or something that impairs my recovery.

Even though I feel only marginally better physically now than I did a few weeks ago, the mental difference is monumental. I feel capable, autonomous, and much more optimistic. You wouldn't believe how much you value a walk to 7/11 until you can't walk to 7/11. While the weather is dastardly, it is hard to care when you can finally engage in the most basic of human activities: walking.

I am only a few days into this stage, and the only conclusion I've reached is that it is better than playing the waiting game. It still sucks, and the road to recovery is going to take another couple months. But at least there's an end game in sight. Still, every day is a struggle in its own right to remain positive, and more importantly, keep my eyes on the end goal of returning to physical activity.

If it's hard for a desk dweller, what's it like for people who need their bodies?

As much as I hate ruining my body every day, I am a desk dweller, so I could (theoretically) get by without being great at walking. It would be terrible for my psychological well-being, but at least my livelihood wouldn't be at risk. Pro athletes and physical laborers suffer from my hell PLUS the stress of maybe not making a recovery and joining the ranks of the chronically unemployed. 

The Derrick Roses of the world may be financially secure, but that pales in comparison to the suffering borne from the loss of identity. Since he could walk, Rose has been a basketball player. His whole legacy and life's work is invested in what he does on the court. It defines who he is as a person. His entire life's work is now in jeopardy. At least a bad ankle won't make or break my stock picking ability, even if my CSSL legacy is on the line. For basketball players, fireman, and tow truck drivers, the suffering and insecurity must be crippling. Perhaps it's time to think twice before attacking Derrick Rose.

tl;dr

Having a serious injury sucks, but mainly because of the mental toll. The physical pain comes and goes, but unlimited free time turns you into a crazy person. Don't hurt yourself.