B-b-b-b-Back From Hiatus

Hi all,

Stormin Normin' has returned from summer vacation!!

Since this is a non-profit blog, I didn't feel the need to pump-out useless content when I could simply better dedicate my efforts to analyzing games/issues during the season. I'll be back with the season preview/off-season review later tonight!

Bull of the Day: Corie Blount

Not surprisingly, Corie Blount was more well-known for his blunts rather than his on the court play. In Chicago, we'd label him the OG Sam Herd.





Yeah...that's his drug sentencing video, or his most viewed on YouTube.

In the meantime, Corie contributed next to nothing on the court. He played 2 seasons for the Bulls before MJ came back and I'm sure told Krause to tell him to take a hike. Blount was your classic mediocre 1st round pick the Bulls were in love with in the 1990's, and was sold to the Lakers before the 95-96 season. He was part of a Nasty Natti team that made the Final Four, so he quickly rose to the ranks of overrated.

The Bulls COULD have had Nick Van Exel, Byron Russell, or even the comically inclined Gheorghe Muresan. But no, they took a player who averaged a robust 11 points and 8 rebounds per game for Cincy.

Blunt returned for 2 more seasons with the Bulls right around when the team was starting to escape the dark ages, but mostly for more money to buy weed.

Interesting reads on the NBA

1. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/05/21/lebron/index.html

Goes into how great LeBron is. I agree, but the best ever? Nahhhh.

He is doing the same thing he thrived at in Cleveland: Carrying a bunch of scrubs to playoff victories.

2. http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/221103/Noah_To_Seek_Tutoring_From_Kareem

Joakim's working with Kareem. And I do think this will work to improve his post game a bit. Jo's on the cusp of being a top-5 center as is (if he isn't already).

3. http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981346591

Nonsense, why would any team take on Boozer's contract?!?

4. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7955050/craig-sager-suits-sideline-sartorial-disasters

Hell yeah, this clown's married to a Luv-a-Bull!!!

Bull of the Day: Dennis Rodman

In the spirit of broke ballers, I wanted to give Dennis Rodman some necessary credit for his tremendous impact and part of several important Bulls' teams.

Rodman came to Chicago, in a trade that was literally the steal of the decade. Will "he's not just chicken" Perdue for Dennis, straight-up. Yes, one for one. Will Perdue. Will Perdue.

Rodman went on to be a crucial member of the most prolific team in NBA history: the 1995-96 Bulls. They stomped on hopeless opponents on their way to a 72-10 record, and Rodman became the "Horace Grant" of the 2nd dynasty (sans goggles).

He averaged 15 boards per game, and played with the defensive intensity the team sorely needed. Mind you, its still somewhat unknown what the hell Dennis did at night, though we know it involved a lot of partying that only he could get away with. Rodman might have flamed out elsewhere, but in Chicago, with the Zen Master and MJ leading things, Rodman was given the perfect atmosphere to flourish.

While his career in Chicago ended with the end of the Bulls dynasty, he ended up playing parts of 2 seasons with the Lakers and Mavericks. His stat line with the Lakers was good (2/11/1) but his antics wore out before the playoffs could begin.

I'll always remember him for the McDonald's cup that changed his hair color with your drink, but I guess he also dressed like a tranny from time to time.

Well that was a pathetic end of the season...

It really was. #freemikejames didn't work at all unfortunately, thus we lost.

We played another hard-fought, grind it out game, that came down to CJ Watson passing to the worst free throw shooter in the league for no reason.

Better luck next year.

Will have an off-season preview coming up shortly.

Tuesday's Game Reinforces Bulls' Chances

With tickets available for about $30 (thirty bucks!), myself and a few friends head over to the UC on Tuesday. The buzz in the crowd was noteworthy; I thought it was the "cool" thing to hate on the Bulls right now. Sam Smith touches on the issue nicely, but it seems to me like the typical negativity and pessimism of Chicago fans.

Perhaps the best part of the game was booing Evan Turner. I've never seen a hometown player garner as much hate, even more than Dwyane Wade post-Heat forming the super villains. I saw his family after the game and was surprised to see them hanging out after the game. Ballsy, but I guess his brother or something was about 6'8.

Nevertheless, the game reinforced what we already knew: Philadelphia is not good at all. We stopped Spencer Hawes and LaVoooooooooy Allen (future Hall-of-famer based on this series), and made their guards beat us. Personally, I enjoy seeing Andre Iguodala taking three's, fadeaways, and, well, anything that isn't a fastbreak dunk. The decimated Bulls are better than this Philly squad, even with Asik not running back on defense.

I suspect tonight will be more of the same suffocating defense and struggling offense. Let's just hope Luol remembers who to play like its 2005 again. As always, #freemikejames, but I think we might also want to #stoplavoy.

Dispair...Nah we got this

I don't mean to be an eternal optimist...okay I admit I'm a permaBull...but I really don't think we're out of this series.

Game 3 shook me literally so badly that I couldn't write about it. I was depressed. I was angry. I haven't seen a team Thibs team lose their fight like that. For a second I thought maybe LeBron had joined us.

Game 4 wasn't much better. Even though we controlled the tempo, you never really got the feeling we would win. Omer Asik filled in valiantly for Joakim, but it didn't matter. CJ and JL3 were...meh. Mike James sat on the bench, and we started the #freemikejames campaign. So far I think we have a follower. Maybe.

I can't help but wonder how differently things would have played out assuming we had Ben Gordon instead of Carlos Boozer (motivated Ben). We'd be able to score easily with BG bombing 3's in the clutch. But instead we have Boozer flailing like Dwyane Wade looking for fouls and brick city from Rip, Ronnie, and co.

Our main hope for game 5 is that Philly is awful. I mean, they are really fucking bad. I don't know if anyone but maybe Jrue Holiday would even get burn on a playoff team. So far we've been destroyed by CJ's poor defense forcing Asik to stay at home to help and leave Spencer Hawes open for 20 footers. Spencer HAWES is killing us. That's not a good thing.

I think we'll be fine, and Philly should eventually beat themselves.

#freemikejames and go Bulls!

My Reactions to Game 2...

Stromin Normin' is not meant to be a summary site, so if you want a summary, go check out BlogaBull. Obviously the game was a huge disappointment, especially to all of us that think we can still win the title without D.Rose. 

In reality, it's one game. So let's take a look at what will propel Los Bulls to win the series. 

1. Mike James (who) MIKE JAMES

Although maybe 2 Bulls fans in the world are upset by his absence, it was clear to me we need to see him out on the court. He brings a veteran presence that CJ and JLIII don't have, and he can still score. No, he might not be able to get across the time-line against Avery Bradley, but like I've said before, he is a much better, reliable true point that either CJ or Lucas. If you thought the guards played well...ok maybe it's your first time watching the NBA. 

2. Stop running the high screen with John Lucas

Thibs will adjust, as we all know he's among the best coaches in the NBA, but really, this play killed us on countless possessions. Sure, it works wonders against an old team that isn't athletic enough to trap, but with Turner, AI, and Jrue Holiday all athletic enough to trap, it doesn't make sense at all. 

Oddly, this play didn't lead to too many turnovers, and, for no reason that I can tell, Philly stopped trapping. However, this play highlights when Lucas' size is a complete liability on the court. 

3. Play defense

I don't know what the hell happened, but the Bulls just stopped playing defense in the 2nd half. No one felt like getting back on d, and Omer looked lost on several occasions. This should be pretty easy. 

4. Stop wasting possessions

This is really common at the gym and also on the Lakers, where the best scorer on the court just pounds the ball for a while and chucks a shot. Unfortunately our best player was sitting in a skybox all alone. This meant CJ Watson and JLIII pounding the ball on the top of the key, running down the shot clock, and then forcing a bad shot. It looks reaaaaaaaaaally bad. 

This great piece from Grantland hightlights exactly what the Bulls should run more often. Mind you it was shut-down a few times, but it's still far better than a high screen with JLIII. Philly's defense looked very good, but I'm confident we can overcome it with better shooting and if we start defending. 

Bull of the Day: Kevin Ollie

Just because my man played for the 76ers. He's best known for being a throw-in for the Jalen Rose trade.

SOMEHOW he was in the NBA until 2010. Mind-blowing.

The Heat are so beatable

Yeah, I said it. So beatable. I don't like focusing on other teams (especially one's we aren't playing), but let's face it, the Heat are the only team in the NBA that can beat us. And if they do, it's not because of Dywane Wade or Chris Bosh. It comes down to King James.

If you've been a long time reader, you know I'm one of one Bulls fans in the world that loves LeBron. I was a little pissed that he didn't join us come "Decision" time, but I got over it, and I like watching him play more than any one player today outside of Derrick Rose. He may not have the best jumpshot, but man can he bully his way to the hoop any time he wants to. So with Rose out, he's the best player in the NBA. How do you beat this man?

Well...there's another reason why I love LeBron, and its because him and I are kindred souls psychologically. This is no compliment to either of us--but it's also why the Heat are beatable. The sort of hyper-sensitive, lack of self-awareness that LeBron fosters can only be understood if you go through the same thing. He always says the wrong things, even though he thinks they're right, and then he cowers from big moments.

Reason #1 why the Heat are beatable: LeBron's Psyche


If you disagree, see last year's NBA finals, the Eastern Conference Finals the year before that, this year's All Star game, and heck, the last time he bricked some free throws against the Bulls. He's a sensitive dude, and sensitive guys (myself included) cower when they aren't 110% confident in their abilities. Clearly, as much as I'm sure he'd never admit it, he isn't. It's why he defers to Wade, and its also why Kobe was the alpha dog on the last Olympic team. Sorry Bron, maybe you'll be better at stockpicking (I am).

Everyone needs to understand their limitations, which brings me to my next point...

Reason #2 why the Heat are beatable: LeBron loves his jump shot


What happens when you're EASILY the best in the NBA at getting to the rim since Michael Jordan?

If you thought, take it to the rim every time you need a bucket, you were totally wrong. LeBron would much rather shoot his very streaky and inconsistent pull-up jumper at the top of the key rather than take it to the rim every time. Why? I don't know, but he does it. And when he does that, the Bulls can rejoice with easy rebounds and transition buckets.

When he takes it to the rim? That's fine, you know, we're just the BEST rotational defense in the league. Joakim will force him to dish it out to Battier or Mike Miller, who will quickly be closed out on, and mess their 3's, leading to a fast-break opportunity and more points.

Which brings me to the third reason...

Reason #3 why the Heat are so beatable...The team sucks outside of LeBron and Wade


Joel Anthony, Mario Chalmers, Juwan Howard, Udonis fricken Haslem...I'm not sure if any of these guys would even make the Bulls roster, let alone see the court. Heck, I don't think Battier or Miller would be rotation guys either. And Norris Cole kind of sucks now.

Chris Bosh you say? Whatever, Bosh has somehow become a worse player than Carlos Boozer, and I'm actually glad we got Boozer over Bosh and Amare. He's no real threat (though he killed us last year). I don't see him bouncing back from a fairly mediocre season in the playoffs.

This comes down to Wade + LeBron vs the Bulls. And, assuming LeBron reverts to his old, nervous self, that leaves us with a Wade vs Bulls match-up. I'm comfortable with that.

No Rose...Now what?

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to Derrick Rose. I can't even imagine what he's dealing with right now.

Being from Chicago, loving the game, and graduating in 2007, I feel a special connection to Rose that I've only felt with a few other athletes ever. It's hard to say he's a role model (he's about 5 months older), but his true passion for the game, competition and success is akin to Howard Rourke in Ayn Rand's classic, The Fountainhead. He is literally everything that is right about basketball, sports, capitalism, and the human spirit. Get well soon, and I hope you come back like so many other athletes have. I think he'll be fine.

Another quick note: there was no outrage like what we've seen against Nike designer Jason Petrie when I posted about how I thought adidas was responsible for Rose's injury woes Is adidas to blame?

His comments were totally inappropriate. I'm a big Nike fan, and I think he's a legendary designer, but wtf bro?

But let's get back to what's going on in this series. We now lead 1-0, with no real competition from Philly in game 1. If you didn't hate Evan Turner before, tweeting nonsense about how he was happy to play the Bulls, how he was "better" than Derrick Rose, and how he was a dick to Mark Titus and the rest of the Ohio State squad: Link to Titus' book, I'm dying to read it... you probably should now. I wouldn't be surprised to see a little scuffle this series.

Anyways, more pertinent, is how can we beat the 76er's without last years MVP. And I think that's fairly easy. Our stable of point guards gives us a bit of everything. CJ's a great 3pt shooter and can facilitate decently. John Lucas III is instant offense when he's hot; we've seen him single handedly swing games thanks to his ability to get great separation and hit clutch jumpers. And my personal favorite: MJ...or Mike James. He is old. He skips when he runs. But the man still has plenty of game. I've never seen anyone so slow cut SO quickly, and take much faster guards off the dribble. Mike has a fairly reliable jumper, and can get to the rack better than any point guard on the team. It baffled me and Bulls Passion contributer Corey Hickman every time they decided not to sign him. Also, why the Heat passed on him, if not to block us from having him, is beyond me, but sae la vie.

Take a look at his stat lines when he ACTUALLY got playing time: Wow, they're pretty good. It'd be ignorant to think that he'll really push CJ for too much playing time, but he is certainly a valuable contributor who's been completely overlooked.

I'll have another post up on why we're still the best team in the NBA...and how we'll go about beating the Heat.

Why Wilbon and Broussard are wrong about Sunday's Loss

Let's get this out of the way... the loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday was easily the worst game the Bulls have played all season. Not only did the defense look mediocre, but the offense showed us what it is in big games without D.Rose....and that is complete shit.

I won't hate on my main man John Lucas or CJ "one of the best back-up points in the leauge" Watson. Both have defined roles on the team. JL3 is a volume scorer in the ilk of Ben Gordon, but the problem is, he can't defend and kills the offense. Once he hits a difficult shot he turns into a chucker and we get the old stand around and watch phenomenon. It reminds me of a few of his friends...Stevie Franchise and Allen Iverson...curious.

CJ didn't play well either, nor did anyone for that matter. Having Korver in the starting line-up against an offensive juggernaut proved to be  poor decision. I'd much rather have Ronnie Brewer in to make switches.

Speaking of switches, the Bulls didn't even try to defend Russell Westbrook on the pick and roll. He had 27 points on 10-18 shooting and didn't even commit a turnover! Westbrook! He was popping wide open jumpers consistently.

The game really got away in the 3rd quarter when Durant and Westbrook scored and set-up their teammates. Unfortunately, the Bulls couldn't even score, let alone counter.

After the game, talking head Chris Broussard was adamant that we shouldn't discount this win. Hell, Magic Johnson said OKC is the best team in the league! Even Wilbon seemed to support this thrashing of his hometown team. All I could think was...WTF is going on?

For one, it's impossible NOT to discount a game where the team with the best record was missing their top scorer and the league's MVP. Would you have discounted the Bulls losing to the Jazz without MJ in the line-up? Hell yes you would have. This team isn't even the same without Rose in the line-up. No one creates like him, nor can anyone else on the team get a bucket whenever he wants. I wouldn't really discount that skill...

Best team in the league? You can't be serious Magic. Everyone likes riding the KD train; he's a great scorer and super fun to watch. But, he still cannot defend, and you have to question if he's seen the Spurs, Heat, and Bulls play. San Antonio could run out of steam, but I can't see OKC hang with Miami or the Bulls in a 7-game series. Not playing defense was an anomaly, and Miami is fricken' good. Don't believe me? Well, they have LeBron James and Dywane Wade...


Bottom line: don't panic about this little loss. We won't remember it in a month when Rose is out there scoring 30 points per game in the playoffs. Also, OKC is likely the 4th best team in the league. Don't count out Kobe!

Is Adidas to blame for Derrick's injury woes?

As recent followers of SN might have realized, this isn't your everyday Bulls blog. I don't need to give you a summary of the game, the Trib does that. I try to provide valuable/funny/stupid insights and posts to enrich your life as Bulls or basketball fan.

That being said, I'm typing this with the Bulls pounding ATL. JL3 is continuing is dominance as the most irrational confidence guy since Jamal Crawford (hey, at least BG's confidence was rational), and Zaza is pissing me off. Such an annoying and dirty player. Luol's dominating, and Boozer looks like the Carlos we all hoped for after he posted such great numbers in Utah.

It's troubling that this game reaffirms the current trend of getting up for big games and then coasting against teams like Toronto. With Rose out, the team doesn't have the killer, MJ-esque attitude where they just want to be the hell out of you for 3 quarters and hit the bench. Ultimately that's not surprising given the way our offense currently functions.

Overall, I'm still really impressed with this team's ability to win when they're tired and don't feel like playing and pick up the slack when Derrick's out of the line-up. But if there's anything that makes me nervous about the playoffs, it's Derrick's health.

It's almost a laundry list at this point, but he told the Trib's KC Johnson the other day that he thinks they're all linked. This makes perfect sense. I recently sprained my ankle (wearing Adidas Rose 2.5's mind you) and can already tell I'm developing some knee issues linked to crutching.

What do I think caused his injuries, you ask?

First and foremost, his style of play. Yeah, guys like LeBron and Kobe also get injured and take it to the rack with no regard for their bodies, but they're also bigger (or, in LeBron's case, fucking huge). But they also don't get slammed to the ground as much as Derrick does, and they continue to own the zebras. You'd see some people on the Knicks fouling out if they did LeBron like they did Derrick.

At the same time, Steve Francis and Penny took the ball to the hole a lot, and they got hurt. Dwyane Wade does the same, and he's also rather injury prone. It's not unheard of that a guy going up all and getting hit all the time get injured, but it is dangerous when that guy is the heart and soul of your team.

But that's a little too easy.

As Mars Blackmon once said, "Its gotta be the shoes."

Stay with me here, and take a look.

Take a look at the midsole (the white area) in the top picture. If you look closely, you'll see that the part of the shoe he's standing on is likely narrower than his foot.

This is the Kobe VII. You can see the midsole is mostly intact with the ground at all times, and that the sides actually flair out on the top part of the sole to provide more stability.

I think this stability issue, along with the inferior cushioning provided, may be the source of Derrick's issues. It'd be interested to see if his injuries still nagged when he's wearing a far superior performance product.

It's not crazy to think footwear can make that much of an impact. I.e. I went 5 years without an injury, and played in Adidas for the first time in nearly 10 years, and now I can't walk. Most of my Nike's have been able to compensate for ankle rolls and limit the damage.

If you want a more in-depth review of either shoe, let me know, but for now...I'm wishing Adidas hadn't thrown D.Rose $200 million...

For basketball success, rock these instead NIKE Jordan Son of Mars Men's Basketball Shoes, White/Black/Purple - 10.0

Too Sick...

Bull of the Day: Tom Boerwinkle

Okay, I'll admit it: I've fallen in love with my Bull of the Day being a random, mediocre role player that I loved in the early-mid 2000's. So how about some history!

How about some TOM BOERWINKLE?

You might know Tom...he's really tall, he's on the opening montage video and he was the Bulls' leading rebounder until some guy name Michael re-wrote the record books.

Tom was, by all accounts, a good rebounder. He played on some bad Bulls teams for about 10 years, where he didn't shoot, but did grab some boards. However, he was overshadowed by the legendary Artis Gilmore, and he didn't really last a long time in the league.

I can't say I've ever seen him play. Ever.

To me, he looks like your quintessential tall white guy who played because he was tall and your every day enforcer.

Maybe an older reader can shed some light?

Bull of the Day: Eric Piatkowski

Though he never got big-time minutes in his two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Eric Piatkowski played a decent role for the 04-05 playoff team and managed to shoot over 40% from three.

I'll best remember him from his years as a mediocre 2 for the Clippers, and also from him somehow stealing minutes from Ben Gordon during his rookie season (where he absolutely lit it up off the bench).

As much as then-coach Scott Skiles hated rookies, he finally came to his senses and cut "Pike's" playing time in half. In fact he only took 2 shots in the playoffs, and then struggled mightily in the next season, playing less than 30 games.

Pike then went to the Suns for a few stints, where he chucked a lot, and even made some too. Sadly, Pike had to retire.

Believe it or not, someone even made a Pike wallpaper. Now, it anyone ACTUALLY  has had/currently as this as their wallpaper, please let me know.

WTF and a YouTube video?!?!?

Talking Knicks and Linsanity, victory over the Heat

There was a great article in the New York Times about the end of Linsanity, and talked a bit with a friend/reader about the Melo- D'antoni feud. As much as I loathe the Knicks, this is a great story, with a bevy of opinions.

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know I've never been a buyer of Jeremy Lin. I watched him play pretty well, lighting up mediocre point guards, and taking more shots than Allen Iverson. The flaws in his game were clear as day: he can't go left, he can't really handle the ball, and he makes a lot of unforced turnovers.

Yet, there's no doubt he can play. Is he a top 5 point guard as many speculated? Not by a long shot..

1. Derrick Rose
2. Deron Williams
3. Chris Paul
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Steve Nash
6. Rajon Rondo
7. Kyrie Irving (I'm going to regret putting him behind Rondo)
8. Tony Parker
9. Ricky Rubio (can't shoot, but neither can Rondo)
10. Kyle Lawry

And you can argue that CJ Watson, Eric Bledsoe, Darren Collison, Andre Miller, Brandon Knight, Ty Lawson, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague and John Wall are on another level above Lin. So, yeah, he's basically a league average guard playing in New York.

So if Linsanity is over, I wouldn't worry about it. There are at least 15-20 better point guards in the league (and a few are back-ups!).

When did Linsanity die for me? Not surprisingly, against Los Bulls, earlier this week. In the 4th quarter we saw Carmelo Anthony, one of the best half-court scorers in the NBA, calling for the ball against a combination of ROOKIE Jimmy Butler and Ronnie Brewer. Now, both are excellent defenders, but still, Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the game. He should be getting the ball in the 4th quarter.

Nope, Lin waves him off. Possession after possession, Lin seems to give the ball to anyone but Carmelo, until he demands the rock within the last 2 minutes (and puts up a few moments of epic chucking).

Frankly, I don't give a damn how good Lin thinks he is. He's still a 2nd year player refusing to defer to one of the best scorers in the game. And D'Antoni didn't care.

This begs the question, who's more important: Carmelo Anthony or Jeremy Lin?

In my eyes, that's a no brainer...it's probably the guy you traded several starters for. Probably one of the best scorers in the game, a guy who is considered the 3rd best small forward in the NBA.

And since D'Antoni has tried to force his run n' gun, open court style of basketball on a team built around a dominant isolation player, we've seen Carmelo go into hiding. New York fans seem to forget that Melo is awesome. He's a fantastic, top 10 NBA player who should be celebrated a  lot more than a league-average point guard. Maybe this is crazy, but I think this team is better without D'Antoni and without a Lin/Melo feud.


Talking Wednesday's game against the Heat...


John Lucas III is one of my favorite players, mainly because he might even be a little shorter than me and posts hilarious shit on Twitter. He came to play, scoring efficiently, lighting up LeBron and not really turning the ball over. I'm so impressed...to the point where I might end up ordering my Lucas jersey.

Of course, Deng is clearly more hurt than he's let on. He played alright, but a healthy Deng doesn't let LeBron score at will.

Boozer looked ineffective, as is the norm for him against the Heat. He had TWO points. I'm not sure what it is, but I'll give him a pass since he's looked like Utah Boozer the last few weeks. We might actually need him in the Eastern Conference Finals, though. So Carlos, come to play.

As for the enemy... I will admit, I still love LeBron. He's one of my favorite players, and as a former headcase athlete, I genuinely feel sorry for him. He's usually the best player on the court, but once that 4th quarter comes, or something throws him off, he's not what he should be. I'd love to beat the Heat with a beasting LeBron, but that might not happen.

Dwyane Wade on the other hand went nuts in the 4th quarter. He almost single-handedly won the game and looked like an MVP out there. Let's rejoice in victory and not think about what could have happened.

And now...

BEAT THE BLA (uh, what the hell did they do at the deadline?)... I guess this is the Blazers!

Bull of the Day: Kornel David

Today we salute you, Kornel David.

In the lockout shortened 1998-1999 season, David put up an impressive 6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on the worst Bulls team ever.

He was known as the Hungarian Jordan, and had the irrational confidence of Monta Ellis and Marcus Fizer. He did end up exploding for 20 points once or twice that season, but he was not really one of Tim Floyd's favorite players.

He played in just 26 games for the Bulls the following season, and then managed to hang on a bit with the Cavs, Raptors, and Pistons.

It seems like the best highlight I can find is of him getting posterized by T-Mac. Enjoy!

Bulls dominate Pacers (in the 2nd half)

I was lucky enough to be in attendance last night for one of the weirdest Bulls' games I've seen in a while. It ended in a 92-72 victory over the Pacers, highlighted by a buzzer beater by Scal with about 25 seconds remaining.

The first half was a sleepy daze. The Bulls came out lethargic and disinterested, but luckily Indiana did the same. Generally the Bulls only take the first half off against crappy teams like the Bucks and Bobcats, but the usual intensity was just not there.

Derrick was 1/9 from the field with just 2 points in the first half after his eruption just a day before against Philly for 35. Boozer and Deng also only hit one shot. Frankly, it was unbelievable the score was so close at half.

On another note, Paul George is a VERY solid NBA player. He's got decent size and strength, plays aggressive d, and can actually get to the rack a bit. Indiana has a great core with him, Granger, and Hibbert. Honestly, they're probably the 3rd best team in the East. They'll give the Bulls or Miami a headache in the playoffs.

Back to the game...The 2nd half was a completely different story. Thibs must have gone nuts in the locker room, and suddenly, the Bulls played like the best defensive team in the NBA; forcing turnovers, running the break, and knocking down lots of open shots. D. Rose exploded, and Deng hit a few bomb three's. Once the newly minted fair weather fans started getting REALLY into the game, the Bulls kept up the intensity and went from trailing to up 20.

Finally, let's give it up to JL3, who actually kept us in the game. He gets a lot of hate for having such unreal confidence, but the guy can really score.

Sleeper Game Again

Don't get me wrong, I love that the Bulls are the best team in the league. But day's like today just make me yawn.

Derrick Rose scored a ferocious 32 points and had 9 assists, but other than that, it was typical, lazy basketball out of the Bulls tonight. Deng played alright, Jo played alright and that was about it.

However, it was good to see Rip out there, clearly making an impact in limited minutes. It seems like teams don't gang up on DRose as much when there is another legitimate threat on the floor. What a revelation!!!!

Hope you enjoyed the All Star Break! Thibs and LeBron yelling at each other made it all worth it.

Why We Don't Need Dwight Howard: One man's plea

After tonight's embarrassing loss to the Sixers, it's time to ask ourselves: should we trade for Dwight Howard?

For one, I'm not sure that trade's very realistic. Are you telling me the Lakers can't offer a more compelling package? 

Bill Simmons came up with a solid deal, Bynum + Matt Barnes + 1st round pick+ trade exception for Howard, former DePaul stud Q Richardson and Jameer Nelson.

The Bulls CAN match that offer by picking up Hedo Turkoglu's horrible contract and giving up Deng, Noah, Asik, and a 1st round pick. The question is: do we want to match that offer?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! I don't particularly care about how good Dwight is, and he is good. He's a very good defender, has tremendous shoulders, and is the best center in the game. Unfortunately, he's a Shaq-lite.

Shaq may have been a little "bigger," but he was also significantly better than Dwight. Shaq would go throw down 35 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks without trying. He was a much more reliable scorer, and about equal as a free-throw shooter. Dwight doesn't seem to have the ability to absolutely abuse anyone in the game. I'd actually be worried that Joel Anthony/LeBron could neutralize him.

The other part that troubles me more, is Dwight's personality similarities to Shaq. He loves to joke around and play with the media, and he's undoubtedly as obsessed with building a brand as LeBron is. I don't think Dwight is as focused at winning as Rose, who seems nearly as obsessed with winning as Michael Jordan. This could end up being Kobe and Shaq part deux, when Dwight is too busy doing interviews while DRose just wants to win. 

Of course, the worst part would be losing the heart of the team, [Ahmad Rashad] my main man [/Amhad Rashad] Luol Deng.  You can really tell how lost this team is without him, and my biggest question is: WHO THE HELL GUARDS LEBRON??

Hate all you want, if you know me, I'm more of a LeBron lover than almost anyone I know, but he's playing out of his mind right now. He's taking no prisoners this season and finally looks to have reclaimed his Cleveland days. AND he has a post game (okay, not really, more like Dwight's post game, but he's 6'8 270 lbs!). Ronnie Brewer got abused, and our best option on him might be DRose, though he's much smaller and will get extremely tired for offense. 

And once Dwight gets into foul trouble for helping in the post, we have... .... ... ... BOOZER? Boozer has been inconsistent this season, but he's not providing any defense ever still. I really don't trust him on Bosh. Or Anthony. Or even Juwann Howard. Or Juwanna Man. 

At least we currently have two guys in Asik and Noah that can bang down low (Asik has quietly become a tremendous on-ball defender and a top 5 help center). 

Let's not ruin this awesome team. If we get nothing from Rip all season, we can always sign Rashad McCants. I love the guy and maybe this is the team he needs. The ONLY way a Dwight deal works out is if we are somehow able to get Wilson Chandler when he comes back from dominating China, but that's not going to happen.

I fully support Deng, Noah, Asik, Gibson, and the rest of the guys that could potentially leave Chicago in a trade.

Rekindling the Flame

So last year, I got a bit busy working two jobs and going to school full-time (pathetic, excuses, excuses). 

So anyways,Stormin Normin' is back at it. I'll be trying to post daily while providing some interesting takes on things I like/dislike. 

First post will be up in a while. Topic: Dwight Howard.