Cavs vs BULLS Thurs Feb 12th @ 7:00pm on TNT

[Choisauce]

Snell had a wonderful game. He is really coming on. He sort of resembles the progress that Butler made last year doesn't he? I guess if I were Mirotic or McDermott I'd feel some great hope that Thibs has some idea of how to develop his guys, eh?

^This.

This bulls team will be so fucking dangerous if Snell, McBuckets, and Mirotic all develop into solid players. Like Greg Pops, Thibs finds his niche players for his system and they flourish if they do what he asks of them.

Snell was the x-factor, but DAAAAAMMMN Rose looked good last night! He still has that other gear and he showed it when he 5v1 the entire cavs team and sliced through the lane for the ez bucket to close the 3rd.

Less ISO plays overall and more team basketball last 2 games. Hopefully this rolls over after the ASB when we have a full roster.....which is scary to think about. When healthy, the bulls have the talent to beat anyone anywhere.

They have possibly the best overall front court, first or 2nd backcourt (if you have Rose playing like he did tonight), only "weakness" is maybe the wing, but Dunleavy's presence on the court is enough to create spacing because you HAVE to respect his shot. He really doesnt do a whole lot directly, but indirectly, he has a huge effect on the efficiency of the team.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

And for everyone who has been hating on Snell all season, you are going to continue to be eating crow for the rest of it. Tony Snell has officially arrived. Back to back efficient 20+ point performances with excellent defense & a wealth of confidence that you can see oozing from his pores now.

I will gladly eat the crow.

 

[Bear Pride]

I never was one that thought Snell was garbage, I felt like he lacked confidence and therefore had no desire to get the ball. It looks like that has changed. Great to see a player go through what he has and continue to put the work in.

Thibs was forced to give him substantial minutes.

Heck, I loved the Snell pick when we drafted him. I didn't know too much about him, but after I studied him, I began to think he was another great pick. His rep in College was that he hit the big shot when they needed it.

He also was used as a defensive stopper the same way Jimmy was at Marquette. I thought he would be perfect Thib's type of player. However, I find it no coincidence that he is excelling after getting some substantial playing time.

Playing time is what breeds confidence in a young player. This is why I've been screaming to get Niko and McD some minutes. However, at this point, I hope Thib's is realizing that Kirk needs to play less.

I also find it no coincidence that the team is playing better with Kirk on the bench. I find it extremely interesting to watch the Bulls w/o Kirk and Jimmy. This has forced Thib's to rotate his players more, imo.

Thib's has a bad habit of sticking with both Kirk and Jimmy way too much at the end of games. This takes two shooters out of the game in Dunn and Tony. This has been my biggest concern about the Bulls. We need shooters in the lineup at all times.

The Bulls are 100 times better team when they are hitting outside shots. I also think it's no coincidence that Rose had a great game. Rose will continue to drive and dish better when we have threats on the outside.

The bottom line is I hope Thib's realizes that Kirk needs to sit on the bench. He should share some b/u PG minutes with Brooks, and fill the 3rd string SG role, imo. I also think that Jimmy should play about 10 less minutes a game for the 2nd half of the season.

I won't be surprised to see the Bulls have some struggles if Thib's goes right back to playing Jimmy 40 minutes and Kirk 25-30 minutes after the AS break.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

4-0 without Kirk. Hopefully Thibs recognizes that.

 

[Scoot26]

4-0 without Kirk. Hopefully Thibs recognizes that.

Doubtful.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Doubtful.

Well the Thibs thing always stems from his trust in players. Obviously he has a lot of confidence in Kirk to lead the second unit. Now, Kirk can lead that second unit. Meaning, he can get people in the right places both offensively and defensively, and while he's certainly regressed defensively he does provide some help defense. My issue with his playing time is when he is playing at the end of the halves. He shouldn't be out there during crunch time. Now that you're seeing a (hopeful - sample size, people) positive progression from Snell hopefully that takes those minutes away.

 

[Axl Rose]

hinrich comes back and snell goes back to DNP-CD

:derbulls:

 

[Scoot26]

Well the Thibs thing always stems from his trust in players. Obviously he has a lot of confidence in Kirk to lead the second unit. Now, Kirk can lead that second unit. Meaning, he can get people in the right places both offensively and defensively, and while he's certainly regressed defensively he does provide some help defense. My issue with his playing time is when he is playing at the end of the halves. He shouldn't be out there during crunch time. Now that you're seeing a (hopeful - sample size, people) positive progression from Snell hopefully that takes those minutes away.

Hopefully... Lets just say until Thibs proves me otherwise, I just think history will show he'll go right back to Hinrich.

Personally I'd put Hinrich to 3rd PG or perhaps have him and brooks out there but Hinrich runs the point instead of Brook as Brooks plays more of a catch and shoot role.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I personally don't think Hinrich should ever be on the floor with Brooks or Rose.

 

[Scoot26]

I personally don't think Hinrich should ever be on the floor with Brooks or Rose.

Ideally no, but Hinrich isn't just going to disappear, we all know that.

 

[zack54attack]

I personally don't think Hinrich should ever be on the floor.

Fixed.

 

[zack54attack]

The Cavs had no answer for Rose last night.

If they meet in the playoffs and this happens again, I'm interested in seeing if Blatt puts LeBron on Rose. Big difference is now the Bulls have Pau and Jimmy who can score if Rose wont.

 

[Scoot26]

The Cavs had no answer for Rose last night.

If they meet in the playoffs and this happens again, I'm interested in seeing if Blatt puts LeBron on Rose. Big difference is now the Bulls have Pau and Jimmy who can score if Rose wont.

That may be why LeBron doesn't guard Rose. We'd probably see Shumpert guard Rose in the 4th if Shumpert continues to contribute for the Cavs. Shumpert has that long length. JR Smith is a better offensive option, but he may find himself on the bench in the 4th. Cleveland can also go small ball and play Love-LeBron-Smith-Shumpert-Irving.

Honestly though, I think Cleveland is better off playing Timofey than going small ball. He was in foul trouble last night but Timofey seems to be another big that can give Chicago nightmares.

 

[zack54attack]

That may be why LeBron doesn't guard Rose. We'd probably see Shumpert guard Rose in the 4th if Shumpert continues to contribute for the Cavs. Shumpert has that long length. JR Smith is a better offensive option, but he may find himself on the bench in the 4th. Cleveland can also go small ball and play Love-LeBron-Smith-Shumpert-Irving.

Honestly though, I think Cleveland is better off playing Timofey than going small ball. He was in foul trouble last night but Timofey seems to be another big that can give Chicago nightmares.

I agree. Schump is probably their best bet outside of LeBron. Irving can't stay with him, but it depends on what Schumpert can do on the offensive end as well.

 

[Scoot26]

I agree. Schump is probably their best bet outside of LeBron. Irving can't stay with him, but it depends on what Schumpert can do on the offensive end as well.

Yep. There still all kinds of mismatches the Bulls can offer too in regard to that. Irving can't really be hidden, he'll be guarding someone with a large wing span in Snell, Dunleavy, or Butler in most of those cases. Irving can be eaten alive.

 

[zack54attack]

Yep. There still all kinds of mismatches the Bulls can offer too in regard to that. Irving can't really be hidden, he'll be guarding someone with a large wing span in Snell, Dunleavy, or Butler in most of those cases. Irving can be eaten alive.

And people forgot how important Dunleavy is to this Bulls team.

 

[Scoot26]

And people forgot how important Dunleavy is to this Bulls team.

Well, I think the slump shows us how much we miss him.

Dunleavy wasn't great by any means last night offensively (his shot was just not hitting) but he gives us that much needed spacing. Starting Kirk out there, no team respects him.

 

[Axl Rose]

if you want more reason to hate Bron here you go

[video=youtube;37vv2NM9RLU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37vv2NM9RLU[/video]

 

[Scoot26]

if you want more reason to hate Bron here you go

[video=youtube;37vv2NM9RLU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37vv2NM9RLU[/video]

Whatever helps him sleep at night.

 

[clonetrooper264]

if you want more reason to hate Bron here you go

[video=youtube;37vv2NM9RLU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37vv2NM9RLU[/video]

Trap game for what? The ASG? lol