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.