2024-2025 Bulls Season IGT

knoxville7

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Uh oh…another W

Bulls currently in 3rd place in the east!!

IMG_1426.png
 

Enasic

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I actually watched the first quarter but the Bulls were down by like 20 points and were playing horrendous basketball so I turned it off. Seems like they have a habit of starting off terribly and falling way behind but have been able to dig themselves out of it as of late. That’s not a recipe for success and a trend I don’t expect to continue.
 

Crystallas

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I put them on in the background. If something crazy happens, I'll rewind and replay, catch up skipping the ads. Unless I fall asleep... which is a lot watching the modern 3pt contest NBA.
 

clonetrooper264

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My favorite teams
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  1. Chicago Bulls
  2. Golden State Warriors
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
This is basically how Bulls games go...

They will race up and down the court throwing passes around the perimeter until they can find an open 3. If they can't find an open 3, they will try to find one via drive and kick. Every so often they will run a screen and roll play, but again the intention is to swing the ball for a 3. They will get some layups off of that action because that option makes itself available. Defensively they will gamble for steals to try to get into their transition game (ideally a wide open layup or a transition or trail 3) and most of the time they will give up a 3pt shot or a layup.

If this strategy works well then they can score a lot. If it doesn't work, they look awful, turn the ball over, play terrible defense, or can't make a shot.

The following statements are true:
-The Bulls play much faster than the last several years (#1 in pace so far)
-The Bulls are taking, and making, 3s at a much higher rate than before (currently 3rd in attempts, 4th in makes, 7th in percentage)
-The Bulls offense is still bad by advanced stats (27th in offensive rating)
-The Bulls are actually still not good at generating turnovers, despite all their gambling (25th in steals, 30th in opponent turnover percentage)
-The Bulls are somehow still rated better defensively than offensively (7th in defensive rating)

The following statements are also true:
-This is not just because DeMar is gone (Sacramento is 9th in pace, though they have been shooting 4 less 3s per game which has dropped them to 20th in 3PA so far...I attribute this to other Kings players shooting less 3s compared to last year in addition to the DeMar low volume factor)
-This IS because the offense is not centered around DeMar, or otherwise a single player's iso/PnR ability
-The Bulls have been shooting very hot in their wins (44% 3pt% in wins vs 29% in losses)
-Bulls opponents have shot terribly from 3 (29%)

5 games is a small sample size naturally, so I suspect some of these stats to level out over time. For example, I doubt opponents are going to continue shooting 29% from 3 for the whole season. I also doubt Josh Giddey will be shooting 59% from 3 for much longer.

From what I see, Bulls are playing a fun brand of basketball, if they're able to get in transition and if they're hitting 3s. However when it doesn't work, they look awful. It's high risk, high reward. Very much live or die by the 3.
 

clonetrooper264

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My favorite teams
  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Bulls
  2. Golden State Warriors
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
I put them on in the background. If something crazy happens, I'll rewind and replay, catch up skipping the ads. Unless I fall asleep... which is a lot watching the modern 3pt contest NBA.
Darn those dadgummed analytics!
 

Enasic

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I put them on in the background. If something crazy happens, I'll rewind and replay, catch up skipping the ads. Unless I fall asleep... which is a lot watching the modern 3pt contest NBA.

Pop was right…the 3 pt shot killed the game and he said this way before today’s game. It’s tough to watch
 

knoxville7

I have the stride of a gazelle
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My favorite teams
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  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Tennessee Volunteers
This is basically how Bulls games go...

They will race up and down the court throwing passes around the perimeter until they can find an open 3. If they can't find an open 3, they will try to find one via drive and kick. Every so often they will run a screen and roll play, but again the intention is to swing the ball for a 3. They will get some layups off of that action because that option makes itself available. Defensively they will gamble for steals to try to get into their transition game (ideally a wide open layup or a transition or trail 3) and most of the time they will give up a 3pt shot or a layup.

If this strategy works well then they can score a lot. If it doesn't work, they look awful, turn the ball over, play terrible defense, or can't make a shot.

The following statements are true:
-The Bulls play much faster than the last several years (#1 in pace so far)
-The Bulls are taking, and making, 3s at a much higher rate than before (currently 3rd in attempts, 4th in makes, 7th in percentage)
-The Bulls offense is still bad by advanced stats (27th in offensive rating)
-The Bulls are actually still not good at generating turnovers, despite all their gambling (25th in steals, 30th in opponent turnover percentage)
-The Bulls are somehow still rated better defensively than offensively (7th in defensive rating)

The following statements are also true:
-This is not just because DeMar is gone (Sacramento is 9th in pace, though they have been shooting 4 less 3s per game which has dropped them to 20th in 3PA so far...I attribute this to other Kings players shooting less 3s compared to last year in addition to the DeMar low volume factor)
-This IS because the offense is not centered around DeMar, or otherwise a single player's iso/PnR ability
-The Bulls have been shooting very hot in their wins (44% 3pt% in wins vs 29% in losses)
-Bulls opponents have shot terribly from 3 (29%)

5 games is a small sample size naturally, so I suspect some of these stats to level out over time. For example, I doubt opponents are going to continue shooting 29% from 3 for the whole season. I also doubt Josh Giddey will be shooting 59% from 3 for much longer.

From what I see, Bulls are playing a fun brand of basketball, if they're able to get in transition and if they're hitting 3s. However when it doesn't work, they look awful. It's high risk, high reward. Very much live or die by the 3.
it is a small sample size, so we shall see....but, all the giddy haters that claimed he couldnt possibly become a good shooter are looking a bit foolish now
 

Diehardfan

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i would say i am enjoying winning basketball, but i admit...i havent watched any of the games

thanks Jerry!
Yeah, I watched about a third of the last game. First time this year. Just no interest in a team with such a bleak future outlook. One thing that really jumped out is that Patrick Williams has had little to no improvement. What did they see in this guy? Plus they gave him a new contract....based on what?

More fine work by the Reinsdorf family.....
 

knoxville7

I have the stride of a gazelle
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  1. Tennessee Volunteers
Yeah, I watched about a third of the last game. First time this year. Just no interest in a team with such a bleak future outlook. One thing that really jumped out is that Patrick Williams has had little to no improvement. What did they see in this guy? Plus they gave him a new contract....based on what?

More fine work by the Reinsdorf family.....
agreed on PWill and giving him that new contract. Why? What does tying that kind of $$ up into him accomplish?

that said, im not as down about the current roster as most are.

i think the bulls have good young pieces in Giddy, White, Ayo, and even LaVine(and what he one day brings back in a trade). Even Julian Phillips has some promise, not to be anything amazing...but, he seems like he could turn into a solid rotational piece

like 90% of the teams in the NBA, they need that alpha #1 guy to allow the others to fall into the roles they should be in.

but hey, like clone mentioned...Bulls are #1 in pace so far this year. so, they should at least be entertaining at times this season
 

Crystallas

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Patrick Williams is a guard in the NBA. He plays mostly like a guard, and he positions like a guard. And he's forced to play the 4. I sympathize for him, because he might do great on another team. But once you take that monster contract, you deserve all the criticism for basically being a limp noodle. So the sympathy goes OUT the window once you get a good match-up and screw up or hide.
 

Crystallas

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Here's my early season wishlist.

Giddey is pretty ineffective. But damn son, he's trying so hard to make it work. I'm actually impressed with his play, despite being a wonky shooter and someone who loses their rhythm with the smallest of shifts. He needs to cover the mid-space because that's where he's most effective, and whoever is directing the defense needs to speak up and get him in his position(*cough*, who are we kidding, nobody has picked up that defensive leadership, and Zack sure AF needs to guard the perimeter, because he's useless everywhere else. Thus, he Zack can't see the switches and you have Giddey opening lanes.

So things I'd like to see.

I'd like to see Vuc become an 82-game player and be given the keys to setting up the teams defense. He is a terrible defender at this point in his career, but he knows where everyone needs to be. I guess thats what happens when you are a veteran, you can't just play the same game you played when you peaked. If we need to sift through a major development project, then this team is better off losing games trying the neccessary changes SOONER. And even if Vuc isn't here long, you want part of the system established.

Billy is a fantastic coach, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes on time management and substitutions. But , BIG BUT here....he wont allow his bigs to lead. He didn't let Ibaka dominate matchups and took KD's keys and handed them to a cocky ass Westbrook who turned into the leagues worst stat padder of perhaps, all-time. I'd like to see Billy learn from this mistake.... finally. Bigs.....must.....be.....developed. You don't just draft or sign them and make them into guards. Stop it. Just stop. Your guards know how to dominate a game when they get hot, that's only going make you a 500 team at best. The best teams have bigs that get hot, and dominate. Doesn't matter how, whether they do it mid/low or if they play in the modern outside style. You need to spend a lot of time behind the players you committed to, and build your bigs up first. Patrick Williams should not be this bad!

I'd like to see Dalen Terry become the 2nd unit captain, and use Sunmu as his chess piece, not Sunmu using Terry. Both players are worse, and they both get stuck with rotation players that really are top-tier G-Leaguers.

Matas is Matas. We can see this is a 2 year project. He's simply too thin and weak, but he has the rest of the game figured out. And quick bulking players never works unfortunately. Those guys wind up with tons of injuries. Two years....

I'm glad we got THT. He'll get better as the season progresses. And I'm good with Jalen Smith. If PWill gets hurt, I think Jalen Smith will steal that job. And maybe that's for the best. I have no problem with my projected 2nd unit, I only hate the contract.
 

Crystallas

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Fast break offense for 48 minutes? What on earth was that? Run run run.... all the shitty Jazz players looked like studs going up against a gassed defense. I'm not giving Billy any more compliments. That's just a lot of WTF.
 

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