Fred wrote:
But I'll try to write a prescription:
Take 2 aspirin, drink lots of water, get 8 hours of sleep, and read my "Hinrich's Good But Not Great" article (Written BEFORE the Kirk Trainwreck season of 2007-08 and the lucky Kansas victory over Rose's Memphis team).
http://blog.chicagobullseye.com/2007/09/19/hinrichs-good-but-not-great.aspx
Well, I just took a 14 hour sleep. Somehow it seems I get tired after a few weeks of watching NBA games that start at 1 or 2 am. Apparently 4h of sleep per night is not enough. Who'd have thunk ?!
As for Hinrich ... if realgm still had their archives I could show you dozens of posts in which I kept saying that Hinrich is overrated by Bulls' fans, that a team won't get far with him as the primary play-maker, and that his defense (especially on Wade) was overrated.
I'd like to expand a bit the last 2 things:
1. Being a play maker is completely different from being a PG - yes, most of the time the PG is the main play maker, but on teams like the Cavs or Heat the main play makers are Lebron and Wade. This is why I always said the ideal situation for Hinrich would be to play next to such a guy. He wouldn't need to make playes for others and he could focus on D and hitting the open shot, thus maximizing his strengths.
2. A big deal was made about Hinrich "stopping" Wade, but I watched those games and I did not see Hinrich defending Wade 1-1. Unlike Avery Johnson in the 2006 finals, who kept talking about trying to stop Shaq while Wade was killing his team, Skiles understood that Wade was the Heat's best player. As a result when Chicago played the Heat, every time Wade tried to penetrate there'd be 2 or 3 players around him.
As further proof that it was Skiles' D that slowed down Wade and not Hinrich, just check Wade's stats this past season against the Bucks. He had horrible stats against them. Low scoring, low percentages.
Fred wrote:
Kirk had a solid comeback year this year, but I'd take Haslem in a second for him. Miller isn't the youngest guy in the world. Haslem will be 29 in June, and I love the anger and defense he would bring to the frontcourt.
I love Haslem's game. He's tough, he seems like an excellent addition to a lockerroom, he does what he's asked to do. However I don't know if he'd fit well with the Bulls. I want to keep Tyrus and Haslem would just be another undersized PF. I know he plays bigger than he is, but I think he'd fit better next to a C with size. And for the record, Noah may be 7ft, but he's so light that he plays smaller than he is. He gets bullied around and will continue to do so until he puts on some weight - if ever. That's why Perkins was able to grab all those offensive boards over him in the Celtics series.
So I don't think Haslem to the Bulls would work unless ...
Fred wrote:
I posted this on another thread, but everyone seems to be reading this one. And the silence is making me think I'm really crazy.
Call me crazy, but I've begun to think that Tyrus might be better off playing during the 3 one day. Am I crazy? Is it crazier then Jerry Krause telling me that Tyson Chandler could play the 3 on the night he was drafted? Defintely less crazy, but still crazy?
This revelation happened during 3 events:
1. Tyrus played some unbelieveable D on LeBron in our victory over the Cavs at home this year. I attended that game with the Great One, and Doug can confirm this. The Cavs kept playing pick and roll to get LeBron that matchup, and Tyrus did a really fine job on him. He's a much better one on one defender. He's not good fundamentally on the boards defensively, but his athleticism helps to negate athletic 3's.
2. I've seen an improvement in his ballhandling. Can he improve his ballhandling another notch this offseason? I think if you tell him he's going to get some more minutes at the 3, he would try to work on it. I just get the vibe that he would rather play on the perimeter than down low. It's actually kind of obvious on the offensive end. Luol Deng is not a great ballhandler. Can Tyrus catch up to him in one summer?
3. He's kind of undersized against the bigger power forwards, but he's oversized against the vast majority of 3's.
This could be the dumbest idea I've ever had. Please tell me yes or no.
YES (as in "YES, Tyrus can play the 3").
I actually called for the Bulls to play Tyrus at the 3 instead of the damned 3 G line-up. I said that Tyrus could do a nice job on Pierce as long as he'd ignore all the fakes and just stay on his feet.
I think in fact that Tyrus' handles are already better than Dengs. You might think otherwise because Deng rarely loses the ball off the dribble, but that's because Tyrus tries to do more - Deng rarely dribbles. Most of the time he just takes that jumper if he's open. If not he passes back the ball.
I say Tyrus has better handles AND better passing abilities compared to Deng.
I started thinking about Tyrus at the 3 this season, seeing that his jumper improved. And during the Celtics series I thought of it more and more since lack of size was killing the Bulls. One or 2 offseasons of work and he'd be a pretty damn good 3, IMO. He's a 3-4 tweener so this should be used to the Bulls advantage, playing him where they need him instead or trying to pigeonhole him at the 3 or at the 4.
Moving Tyrus at the 3 would make Deng expendable, which for me is great since I've been saying FOR YEARS that the Bulls won't win with Hinrich and Deng as their best players.
