KC Johnson: Bulls looking to add shooter

[Bear Pride]

Normally I'd agree with you on the definition of 'falling short,' but with the expectations this team had I see no reason not to believe the FO is thinking Finals or bust.

I'd add that if the Bulls appear to be tired, and are beat up with injuries, and just don't play well, this could really be a motivating factor for the FO to part with Thib's. Like it or not, Thib's has a rep for overplaying his players in the regular season.

Any sign of fatigue and injuries won't help his cause at all, imo, whether you like it or not. Thib's really needs to show that he can manage a team properly and have his team healthy and clicking on all cylinders going into the playoffs, especially with one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. :dunno:

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I'd add that if the Bulls appear to be tired, and are beat up with injuries, and just don't play well, this could really be a motivating factor for the FO to part with Thib's. Like it or not, Thib's has a rep for overplaying his players in the regular season.

Any sign of fatigue and injuries won't help his cause at all, imo, whether you like it or not. Thib's really needs to show that he can manage a team properly and have his team healthy and clicking on all cylinders going into the playoffs, especially with one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. :dunno:

Injuries need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Rose injuring both knees is not a result of Thibs overplaying him. Jimmy's thumb earlier this year isn't either, but his shoulder....I dunno. Jo's plantar fasciitis.....I'm leaning yes.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Injuries need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Rose injuring both knees is not a result of Thibs overplaying him. Jimmy's thumb earlier this year isn't either, but his shoulder....I dunno. Jo's plantar fasciitis.....I'm leaning yes.

Jimmy's shoulder injury was a result of him trying to get a steal IIRC. He aggravated it by running into Reggie Evans. The only way to avoid those injuries is to never play. Definitely not Thibs's fault. Injuries that require rest to heal properly though, like plantar fascitis, that you could pin more on Thibs. Jo was playing less minutes earlier in the season though and hasn't looked hobbled by that particular injury (at least any more so compared to recovering from knee surgery) so that may be a non issue this season so far.

 

[BNB]

Hahahah typical Bulls. "Bulls look to add player, but don't want to give up much/anything to acquire said player."

 

[Scoot26]

Injuries need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Rose injuring both knees is not a result of Thibs overplaying him. Jimmy's thumb earlier this year isn't either, but his shoulder....I dunno. Jo's plantar fasciitis.....I'm leaning yes.

Jo has had plantar fascitis for years (though didn't seem to have it last year). The only way to fix it is to completely shut him down for the remainder of the season. I'd argue an 80% Noah is better than no Noah.

 

[Scoot26]

Jimmy's shoulder injury was a result of him trying to get a steal IIRC. He aggravated it by running into Reggie Evans. The only way to avoid those injuries is to never play. Definitely not Thibs's fault. Injuries that require rest to heal properly though, like plantar fascitis, that you could pin more on Thibs. Jo was playing less minutes earlier in the season though and hasn't looked hobbled by that particular injury (at least any more so compared to recovering from knee surgery) so that may be a non issue this season so far.

Jimmy's had two injuries this year from steals... His thumb injury in preseason was from getting a steal.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Jimmy's had two injuries this year from steals... His thumb injury in preseason was from getting a steal.

Clearly he's playing too much defense. This is all on Thibs!

 

[knoxville7]

Normally I'd agree with you on the definition of 'falling short,' but with the expectations this team had I see no reason not to believe the FO is thinking Finals or bust.

well if that's the expectations the FO has for the team then the FO should be willing to go out and get Thibs another piece to the puzzle by the trade deadline, but instead they wont make a move and will pick up some "shooter" off the streets. The FO may be thinking finals or bust, but they aren't willing to do everything within their power to make that happen...if they fire thibs for not making the finals, the FO should look in the mirror for partial blame

 

[SweetHomeChicago]

Not that he is a shooter, but what do you guys think about Larry Sanders if he becomes available?

 

[Diddy1122]

Not that he is a shooter, but what do you guys think about Larry Sanders if he becomes available?

Hell no.

 

[Diddy1122]

Injuries need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Rose injuring both knees is not a result of Thibs overplaying him. Jimmy's thumb earlier this year isn't either, but his shoulder....I dunno. Jo's plantar fasciitis.....I'm leaning yes.

Exactly. The only cases I can think of where Thibs "overused" an injured player was Jo (plantar fasciitis) & Jimmy (turf toe) last year. But to be fair, he really had no one else to play. The FO was shedding contracts left and right and leaving Thibs with a bare bones roster just to get under the LT.

Personally I think this "overusing" players idea is a bunch of bull. Not a single player from the heyday of the 80's & 90's, hell even the 00's, complained about minutes or cared about minutes restrictions. They wanted to play all the time & played in a MUCH MORE physical league. Seriously, today's players are extremely pampered when it comes to this.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

well if that's the expectations the FO has for the team then the FO should be willing to go out and get Thibs another piece to the puzzle by the trade deadline, but instead they wont make a move and will pick up some "shooter" off the streets. The FO may be thinking finals or bust, but they aren't willing to do everything within their power to make that happen...if they fire thibs for not making the finals, the FO should look in the mirror for partial blame

I don't disagree with this, and again, I do disagree with firing Thibs.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Exactly. The only cases I can think of where Thibs "overused" an injured player was Jo (plantar fasciitis) & Jimmy (turf toe) last year. But to be fair, he really had no one else to play. The FO was shedding contracts left and right and leaving Thibs with a bare bones roster just to get under the LT.

Personally I think this "overusing" players idea is a bunch of bull. Not a single player from the heyday of the 80's & 90's, hell even the 00's, complained about minutes or cared about minutes restrictions. They wanted to play all the time & played in a MUCH MORE physical league. Seriously, today's players are extremely pampered when it comes to this.

Chamberlain basically did not come off the court. Of the top 16 minutes played in a season, Wilt is in the top 16 9 times, including being in the top 5 himself.

And actually if you look at the top 50 seasons by minutes played, only 4 (Iverson, Payton, and Finley x2) have been in the 2000s.

 

[cjswan232482]

Better off giving McDermott playing time.

 

[knoxville7]

I don't disagree with this, and again, I do disagree with firing Thibs.

word...didn't mean to imply you were on board with firing thibs or anything

 

[Bear Pride]

Injuries need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Rose injuring both knees is not a result of Thibs overplaying him. Jimmy's thumb earlier this year isn't either, but his shoulder....I dunno. Jo's plantar fasciitis.....I'm leaning yes.

I'm not placing blame anywhere on this subject, but it's like the boy who cried wolf, imo. How many times will the Bulls fall short before someone says maybe it's time for a change. All I'm saying is if the Bulls look tired and don't play well, and especially if there beat up with injuries, it could add fuel to the fire.

I'm not saying that injuries are Thib's fault, but it certainly will aid the decision to try something different. The real question is how many times do the Bulls have a decent regular season only to exit the playoffs on any bad note, before it's time to try something different.

Certainly the strained relationship rumors, the heavy minutes controversy, and injuries, could accelerate this decision. Like I said, right or wrong, Thib's needs to have a solid post season, imo, or these things could rear their ugly head.

I remember when people were pissed that Collins was let go in favor of Jackson, but in the end, Phil took the Bulls to the next level. I'll be willing to bet that Pax remembers that. :dunno:

 

[Scoot26]

I'm not placing blame anywhere on this subject, but it's like the boy who cried wolf, imo. How many times will the Bulls fall short before someone says maybe it's time for a change. All I'm saying is if the Bulls look tired and don't play well, and especially if there beat up with injuries, it could add fuel to the fire.

I'm not saying that injuries are Thib's fault, but it certainly will aid the decision to try something different. The real question is how many times do the Bulls have a decent regular season only to exit the playoffs on any bad note, before it's time to try something different.

Certainly the strained relationship rumors, the heavy minutes controversy, and injuries, could accelerate this decision. Like I said, right or wrong, Thib's needs to have a solid post season, imo, or these things could rear their ugly head.

I remember when people were pissed that Collins was let go in favor of Jackson, but in the end, Phil took the Bulls to the next level. I'll be willing to bet that Pax remembers that. :dunno:

Well so far I'd say this regular season is a failure. Its not at all on par with 2010-11 or 2011-12.

 

[Bear Pride]

I'll add that my biggest gripe with Thib's is his stubbornness with his favorite lineups. I thought McD should have gotten some minutes with Dunn out with an injury. I think Kirk needs to sit on the bench, and I think Thib's needs to learn how to rotate his players better, and use his depth. Other than that, I think he's a fantastic defensive coach.

 

[Bear Pride]

Well so far I'd say this regular season is a failure. Its not at all on par with 2010-11 or 2011-12.

And a lot of the reason is Thib's sticking with the wrong lineups during Dunn's injury, imo. It will be interesting to see what happens when Kirk is back. And interesting enough, this is the deepest roster we've had since then as well.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I'll add that my biggest gripe with Thib's is his stubbornness with his favorite lineups. I thought McD should have gotten some minutes with Dunn out with an injury.

He couldn't because he was also injured. There were maybe 3 or 4 games where he was back before Dunleavy, but there's no way you can expect him to jump back into the rotation after injury and do anything useful.