Shut Him Down: Derrick Rose is Out for the Year

This was a traumatic weekend as a Bulls fan, and even worse for a Chicago sports fan. I couldn't bring myself to write until we had solid clarity on what's going to happen to the Bulls' fallen superstar, Derrick Rose.

The loss against the Portland Trailblazers: terrible.

The loss against the Los Angels Clippers: pathetic.

The loss of Derrick Rose: heartbreaking.

Rose is more than just your everyday player, and he should be to all Bulls fans. He's a poor kid from Englewood who had a meteoric rise from amazing high school talent to become the first overall pick for his hometown team. He came into the league just as the Miami Heat were on the cusp of creating the greatest NBA villain since the 90's New York Knicks, and the selfless, all-about-basketball Derrick Rose was the perfect foil to the "I'm taking my talents down to South Beach" LeBron James.

Instead of becoming our generation's Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the Rose/James rivalry has been more of a Kobe Bryant/Tracy McGrady. And it saddens me. Believe it or not, as great as a team Miami is, this Bulls team had a 2-year window where they could have taken them down. That time is over.

Derrick Rose's torn meniscus in his right knee should be fully repaired if it needs to be, and that means he will be out for the entire season. That means another lost year. But more importantly, it means it's time to break-up this beloved Bulls team.

It pains me to say this, because I really do love Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Carlos Boozer like family. I respect and cherish every bit of effort we have received from these wonderful players, and I'm incredibly grateful that I was able to experience the second greatest era in Chicago Bulls basketball. Unfortunately, the Bulls only have one real superstar, and with the status of his health a question mark in perpetuity going forward, it is time for the Bulls to be bold and acquire another.

#1: Trade Luol Deng

I love Deng, and he is a one of a kind person. I love his effort, and I've really loved watching him grow into a perennial all-star. He's a fantastic third star on a team that has three third stars. 

Now is the time to strike. Luol does literally everything well, and he never slacks off. However, the Bulls need to lose games to receive a better draft pick, and Deng's will to win would not work towards that goal.

Deng is an expiring contract, so moving him shouldn't be a problem, especially since it would give a team that might want to sign him in the off-season a leg up on the competition. Still, he somehow earns more than both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Why this trade works: Memphis, run by a true sabermetrics guy, picks up 4 wins while dumping Tayshaun Prince's fairly terrible contract. The Bulls depart with Marquis Teague while picking up a wonderful chucker in Jerryd Bayless, who would love to put up 20+ shots a game running the show for the Bulls. Ed Davis can fill in for Boozer when we trade him (just wait a minute for that), and Memphis receives a player in Deng who is a perfect fit for their system

#2: Trade Carlos Boozer

Boozer is playing the best basketball of his Bulls career, so he's too good, and must be traded. Why not trade him for Nene's horrendous contract? The Wizards could use a versatile 4 like Boozer while the Bulls could start Nene until they amnesty him in the offseason.


#3: Trade Taj Gibson

Taj Gibson has performed his own #TheReturn this season, but he must go for a player with less offensive talent. Drumroll...

Why this trade works: Houston receives a player who can come in and start at power forward right away, while ridding themselves of Omer Asik and his bad attitude. The deal provides Houston with reasonably priced power forward for the next four seasons. Asik comes back to Chicago where he will get playing time because...

#4: Trade Joakim Noah

It pains me to say this because I absolutely love Joakim, but with Asik back on the roster, he becomes expendable. Noah is quite injury prone, and he's the heart and soul of this Bulls team. What better way to crush a team's spirits than to trade its emotional leader. I really do not think the Bulls will part with Noah, but hey, it could happen.

Why this trade works: The Charlotte almost Hornets really want to compete, and Noah gives them a premier defensive center to pair with Al Jefferson. The Bulls receive a capable scorer, and, I assume, a decent draft pick. Ben Gordon can be resigned for a quickly rebuilt Bulls in the offseason for a reasonable deal, but in the meantime, he becomes an extremely good salary match.  

Our Starting 5:

PG: Bayless
SG: Gordon
SF: Butler
PF: Nene
C: Asik

That is a team that's poised to tank.

Good luck to Derrick Rose on his surgery. He will come back as great as ever, and I will reveal the next step in my plan later this week...

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Game Preview: Chicago Bulls (6-4) vs Portland Trail Blazers (10-2)

The Portland Trail Blazers are a bit of a sore spot for me. Yes, I have a massive, unabashed man crush on Ben Gordon, but my love of LaMarcus Aldridge is up there with anyone in the league. You might even recall that the Bulls once drafted LaMarcus Aldridge and traded him for *drum roll* TYRUS THOMAS.

The only positive from that trade was that Thomas was so horrible that the Bulls weren't any good, so David Stern fixed the draft happened to pull the lottery ball for the Bulls to win the first overall pick in the draft, and thus Derrick Rose.

Think of Aldridge as a really, really good Carlos Boozer: he can bang down low with a variety of post moves, and he can hit the 20 footer with ease. The entire NBA (including Aldridge) knows that he would be a perfect fit for the Bulls, and trade rumors persist. GarPax won't do a deal for him, nor would the Trail Blazers wan the older Boozer, so I doubt a trade ever gets done. He's the best thing in Portland this side of Portlandia.



Damian Lillard

On top of Aldridge, the Blazers have a wonderful point guard by the name of Damian Lillard. There is almost always an East Coast bias in national sports coverage, so the Lillard doesn't receive as much attention as he deserves, but he is a wonderful compliment to Aldridge in the Blazers' offense. Lillard is taking 7 3's per game (wow), but managing to connect on 39% of them. Lillard is also quite quick, and he can get to the rack on occasion in spite of his small stature.

Three Point Shooting

The Blazers are a team tailor-made to 21st century basketball sabermetrics. Three point shooting is incredibly valuable, so in addition to Lillard, the Blazers have Wesley Matthews and Nic Batum drilling three pointers at will. About 50% of both players' shot attempts are three pointers, and the Blazers have trigger happy Mo Williams coming off the bench to pour in even more points. The Blazers are second in the NBA in scoring at 110.7 PPG, and their offense could really thrive with Jimmy Butler sitting out and Lillard penetrating.

I'm really worried about this game. I thought the Bulls would show-up for last night's game (and they did-- for a half). This is another long trip from Denver to Portland, and I think it's safe to say the Bulls will not be adjusted for this late night affair.

For the first time this year, I am expecting the Bulls to lose, in spite of a valiant effort from Kirk Hinrich. The Blazers fire power, and the lack of Butler and

Final Score: Blazers 105 Bulls 92

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Game Recap: The Bulls fall to the Nuggets

There are things I hate doing in life, and then there is addressing the issue of a Bulls' loss. This marks the 7th consecutive time the Bulls have fallen to the Nuggets in Denver, though for 2 3/4 quarters this game looked like it was in hand.

What went wrong?

It wasn't rebounding. The Bulls out rebounded Denver 58-48 while grabbing a whopping 22 offensive boards. Unfortunately, these second chance opportunities didn't matter as the Bulls shot just 38.8% from the field. The Nuggets' defensive wasn't necessarily lockdown, but the Bulls simply aren't a great shooting team, and the Nuggets' limited the Bulls post game in the second half, making scoring nearly impossible.

Carlos Boozer got off to a great start in the first quarter, but he couldn't help himself from broadcasting his shot. Thus, he finished with just 15 points on 7/18 shooting.

Deng was horrible offensively. He also began the game with a corner snipe, but he missed nearly every shot thereafter, shooting 3/18 on the night for 6 points. If you didn't notice there's a trend developing here--the Bulls can't score.

How about Derrick Rose? The star point guard scored 17 points in the first half, and for the first time all season, he looked comfortable every time he took the ball to the rim. Rose only had 2 turnovers, one of which was inexplicably thrown up the court and easily intercepted by Kenneth Faried.

In the second half, Rose mostly settled for jumpers, and things got ugly quickly. It's easy to see that Rose's jumper looks NOTHING like should. For some reason, not only are his feet staggered, but he is clearly not shooting at the peak of his jump, making him push the ball towards the rim. It was my understanding that Rose spent his time off honing his jumper, but as of right now, it looks uglier than it did in high school. He seems able to take threes, but any other jumper is a huge concern. I expect teams will start to sag off until he proves he can shoot.

Nasty Nate

Nate Robinson ignited a crucial 7-0 rally by himself last night, and Bulls fans across the world collectively cursed GarPax for not keeping him. Even in his post-game interview with Rachel Nichols, Robinson sounded devastated about his departure. Robinson only shot 3/13 from the field, but it was enough to spark solid play from Darrell Arthur and 17 points from Jordan Hamilton.

It hurts to see Nate do what he did best for the Bulls for the Nuggets, but it pains me even more to know that the Bulls do not have a comparable presence off the bench. Yes, Tom Thibodeau coined the good Nate/bad Nate moniker, and we know he hates players who don't play great defense (Nate tries!). However, it is easy for me to see the value of a high volume, irrational confidence scorer who can come off the bench and spark the offense. And Nate did just that for the Nuggets: Wilson Chandler was scoreless, Randy Foye and Ty Lawson weren't scoring much either.

Nate came in off the bench, took a lot of shots and gave the Nuggets are comfortable lead that boosted the confidence of everyone around him. The Bulls could use a guy like that, but they simply do not have one at this juncture. My hope is a Ben Gordon reunion next season but that seems like a pipe dream at best.

The Nuggets game was difficult, but I'm more upset from seeing the value of Nate Robinson than anything else. Perhaps the Bulls will find an irrational confidence guy at some point, but it probably will not happen this season.  

As a side note, I loved watching Taj Gibson and Thibs show emotion, even if it resulted in technical fouls. I do not like to see the Bulls go down silently.

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Game Preview Chicago Bulls (6-3) Vs. Denver Nuggets (4-6)

And the Circus Trip begins! Tonight, your Chicago Bulls will take on the struggling Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Bulls are coming off a very lackluster home victory against the Bobcats that likely induced more incidental naps than any game in recent memory.

A quick side note: doesn't the idea of the Circus Trip feel antiquated? Boers and Bernstein briefly touched on the issue during their afternoon program on the Score, and I couldn't agree more. I've never been to a circus, nor do I know anyone who goes to circuses, though I did meet a bartender who runs a nonprofit focused on getting funding for small circuses. Go figure.

Regardless of whether you enjoy circuses, it will cause the Bulls to take a 6 game road trip. From the interviews I've heard and read, the players seem to like the road trip since they don't have any distractions (family) and get to hang out with each other. The Nuggets are certainly a great opponent to kick off a long road trip. 

New coach Brian Shaw, who replaced very solid long-time Nuggets head coach George Karl, is doing something you don't see often in the NBA: damn near every player is averaging at least 15 minutes per game. True, the number is slightly skewed by injuries to Javalle McGee (stress fracture in his left tibia) and the recently recovered Wilson Chandler, but it suggest that Denver doesn't have too many players worth playing outside of Ty Lawson.

Key Players

Ty Lawson 

Speaking of Lawson, the former UNC star is averaging 22 points, 9 assists, and 4 boards per game--all career highs as he becomes the focal point of the Denver offense. Lawson is quick, but takes too many three balls. Nevertheless, he will pose a problem when he penetrates the lane. The Bulls have to respect the willingness and ability of Wilson Chandler to launch threes, so the team may not be able to collapse on Lawson, assuming he beats Derrick Rose off the dribble at least a few times.

Wilson Chandler

Wilson Chandler in a sexy, oversized candy cane number

Meanwhile, Chandler's three point shooting has been terrific this year. He's knocking down 43.5% of his 6 attempts PER GAME. Confidence isn't an issue with Chandler, who can pretty much do everything well. Chandler may experience some modest mean reversion (he's a career 33.7% 3 point shooter), but I think his game is much better after he dominated the Chinese professional league 2 years ago.

Still, I'll keep beating a dead horse here: the Bulls have fantastic perimeter defenders. Even if Jimmy Butler doesn't play, Luol Deng can handle Chandler by himself.

Kenneth Faried

Kenneth Faried might be the unhappiest player in the NBA. He was a perfect fit for George Karl's uptempo offense, but he has floundered in Brian Shaw's system. He will undoubtedly be traded this season.  Faried can treat every game going forward as an audition for his future team. With Faried looking for a blockbuster extension and the Nuggets looking for a juicy bid, do not be surprised to see Faried showcased a little more than someone of his offensive skill set should be showcased.

Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah will no doubt try to contain Faried and JJ Hickson on the boards, but it will be difficult. Though neither is as tall as Noah, both Nuggets are intense rebounders who will outwork opposing teams on the offensive glass. If the Bulls offense doesn't come to play tonight, the second chance opportunities created by Faried and co. may be difficult to overcome.

Overall, Denver is a middle of the road offensive team with a poor defense. The Bulls need all the help they can get after an aggressive Bobcats team nearly forced an upset.

Obviously I would love to see some of Derrick Rose's aggressiveness from the fourth quarter of Monday night's game carryover to tonight, but that may be a bit too much to ask. Boozer should return to normal tonight, meaning the Bulls will have to rely less on the offensive prowess of bench players to pickup the slack. Mike Dunleavy will get lots of open looks, so he will have a shot at a breakout performance.

Bulls 100 Nuggets 91

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Bull of the Day: Craig Hodges

Craig Hodges remains one of the few Chicago Bulls this side of Dennis Rodman is known more for his off the court personality rather than his on-court performance. Unlike Rodman, Hodges focused on many civil rights issued, which led him to believe that he was "blackballed" from the NBA.

Whether or not such is true, Hodges was a knockdown three point shooter in an era that came up without a three point line, making his ability even more unique for the time period. Hodges also won three consecutive three point championships and played a small roll on the 1990-91 NBA Champion team. The following year, Hodges played in just 56 games during the regular season and averaging only 8.1 minutes per game in the playoffs. He was cut in the offseason.

Hodges' three point prowess would be even more appreciated today in an NBA that values efficient shots and three point shooting more than it ever has before.

This video was uploaded by him, and it is too sick.



* Note: You can also watch a video of MJ bricking threes on his channel.

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