storyteller
Veteran
It's good to see this team show off some of their potential against a strong opponent before the first full week of NBA play is up; especially after an example of the opposite a game before. This is the "don't get too high or too low" chunk of the season as teams build identities and it's EASY to freak out and give up on guys after a bad performance, so getting to see what they look like when things gel is a nice reminder that patience might reap benefits. On the team game front; getting a few more stops per quarter meant getting out in transition a few more times because it feels like these dudes look to push off any defensive rebound. The few transition buckets extra are difference makers; helping establish more sharing, creating more mismatches and getting guys more involved as a whole. The danger of that though is the amount of offensive boards they gave up last night; Chicago has some beast rebounders on that end so it was exaggerated but as long as one or two guys is leaking out instead of helping, the rebounding battle will be more difficult. Passing looked much better last night, but I'll expand on that in individual break downs.
Rose: Really nice game in spite of a 6/16 shooting line. He picked his spots pretty well, focusing on the drive and kick instead of looking for whistles or difficult finishes. His defensive effort was visibly improved, hopefully this isn't a case of "it's my old team" and something more sustainable. Early in the game, he tracked down some defensive rebounds that meant an instant foot race with the defense and it created a nightmare first quarter for the Bulls. If he can get that midrange to fall with some more consistency, he can become a real problem.
Lee: 17 points and 4 assists on 10 attempts and no turnovers...just a great offensive contribution. He got out in transition, took advantage when he was open and used dribble penetration to get other guys good looks as well. This was a dude playing his game and getting the bounces. Defensively he did what every game plan has said about defending Wade for his whole career; he went under on screens...and Wade hit three after three, even the contested ones. I thought his defense was solid, but Wade was really on one last night and ate well.
Melo: 25,7,4 from Melo and his percentages took a hit from missing some gimmes on catch and shoot three's (he's been missing that 3 point stroke all season so far, hopefully that changes). He still seems to lose his legs on jumpers by the latter parts of the fourth quarter, but it's not as scary when the supporting cast includes guys who can make things happen on their own. Just like Rose, he picked his spots well and made extra passes often enough to put the Bulls off balance. It's becoming pretty common to see him getting deep post position on an SF without help close enough to stop him from making his move and this one actually had some elbow touches in the pinch post (I'd hesitate to call it triangle) where he can threaten to shoot, drive or dish every time in a face up.
KP: Hornacek said guys needed to find him on mismatches and they really did. The team also found him on a lot of cuts through screens for good looks from three. In the course of the game there's no reason he shouldn't get open behind the line 3 times or more off screen plays like that and on post ups of small guys he really is a nightmare match-up. This is our guy though and I want to see improvement in certain areas. With post mismatches; his go-to move is a fade away that I don't think is necessary. He can draw fouls and should be reliable going into the defender and over him. On the boards he's not consistently boxing out and just doesn't have the strength to hold aggressive players off the blocks. The good news is that those can be fixed for sure and if he can get a more consistent mindset of attacking, running the floor and cutting off the ball hard...he'll single handedly raise the team's ceiling as a unit.
Noah: Dude had a strong game. He was a finisher for a change and continued his excellent passing to boot. He was a presence in the paint but like KP; he had trouble keeping RoLo from getting deep position for boards. Still, he fought and got plenty of boards plus challenged dudes at the rack. His effort is infectious; there was a point where the Knicks gave up two consecutive buckets and on a dead ball he was yelling "let's get this stop" so aggressively that Melo came over and patted dude on the shoulder like "we got you" (yes they got the stop). Just stay healthy breh!
KOQ: Someone must have told this cat to set INSIDE the three point line when he receives passes up top and it really opens him up as a threat to shoot. His passing doesn't leap off the page because the assists numbers are forgettable but he moves the rock well. He's hitting the mid range jumper reliably. His defensive effort has improved. If this is the KOQ we're getting all season, sign me up for that contract value.
Jennings: Only had 4 FGA's but tallied 7 assists and 5 boards to go with a 6 point contribution. He really looked to create first and foremost which was helped by starters being present more often. With the scoring load off his back for big chunks of game, his playmaking ability really shined especially in the open court when he pushed the pace.
Holiday: Quiet game. He stood out early for his effort but for the most part he didn't do too much that jumped out as positive or negative enough to make any big projections. He's a reliable defender every night out...that's fair to say on this one.
Ndour: Dude had 5 fouls in 5 minutes at one point. He did manage a couple of boards and one thing I liked that I saw was when his defender doubled off of him you could see his head on a swivel. He actively looks for the open spots on the floor that he can cut to and it tugs and pulls on the defense a bit plus gives ball handlers an outlet option. Even on short time that stood out.
Sasha: I remember seeing him sitting in front of the scorer's table and I felt myself get frustrated which is unfair to him I suppose. Anyway, he only played one minute which was good for my sanity but somehow he managed to log a missed three point attempt in his only minute out there.
Dexter Hornacek: He did the psycho smile all through the awful performance against Houston and the Knicks responded with 4 starters logging 4 assists or more. That type of ball movement following a trash performance means the film room probably felt like a Dexter murder room; strapped to a cold table and staring at images of your past sins and ish. He relied HEAVY on the starters which is scary because of our guys' injury histories but I think part of that was also letting the Bulls boys ride their emotions. Ndour was his first sub in the game which shows a dedication to getting KP early rest and putting him in a bit early so he can assert himself with the second unit (which he did this time very nicely). The bench is still lacking a scoring punch and he mitigated that by riding starters; which can work with how he managed things but if he wants to try and get more rest for the boys then I'd still like to see Kuz get some opportunities to become that extra scorer off the bench.
Random: What happened to Bobby Portis? I remember seeing real potential in summer league and preseason as a rookie but he faded since then and barely plays now. You know what's annoying about Wade? He didn't need the gift calls when Lee was stripping him early on, he was balling out...but the refs really give that dude any 50/50 call. He was spectacular last night, just let us have the stops that we actually earn instead of gifting him a few extra free points.
Rose: Really nice game in spite of a 6/16 shooting line. He picked his spots pretty well, focusing on the drive and kick instead of looking for whistles or difficult finishes. His defensive effort was visibly improved, hopefully this isn't a case of "it's my old team" and something more sustainable. Early in the game, he tracked down some defensive rebounds that meant an instant foot race with the defense and it created a nightmare first quarter for the Bulls. If he can get that midrange to fall with some more consistency, he can become a real problem.
Lee: 17 points and 4 assists on 10 attempts and no turnovers...just a great offensive contribution. He got out in transition, took advantage when he was open and used dribble penetration to get other guys good looks as well. This was a dude playing his game and getting the bounces. Defensively he did what every game plan has said about defending Wade for his whole career; he went under on screens...and Wade hit three after three, even the contested ones. I thought his defense was solid, but Wade was really on one last night and ate well.
Melo: 25,7,4 from Melo and his percentages took a hit from missing some gimmes on catch and shoot three's (he's been missing that 3 point stroke all season so far, hopefully that changes). He still seems to lose his legs on jumpers by the latter parts of the fourth quarter, but it's not as scary when the supporting cast includes guys who can make things happen on their own. Just like Rose, he picked his spots well and made extra passes often enough to put the Bulls off balance. It's becoming pretty common to see him getting deep post position on an SF without help close enough to stop him from making his move and this one actually had some elbow touches in the pinch post (I'd hesitate to call it triangle) where he can threaten to shoot, drive or dish every time in a face up.
KP: Hornacek said guys needed to find him on mismatches and they really did. The team also found him on a lot of cuts through screens for good looks from three. In the course of the game there's no reason he shouldn't get open behind the line 3 times or more off screen plays like that and on post ups of small guys he really is a nightmare match-up. This is our guy though and I want to see improvement in certain areas. With post mismatches; his go-to move is a fade away that I don't think is necessary. He can draw fouls and should be reliable going into the defender and over him. On the boards he's not consistently boxing out and just doesn't have the strength to hold aggressive players off the blocks. The good news is that those can be fixed for sure and if he can get a more consistent mindset of attacking, running the floor and cutting off the ball hard...he'll single handedly raise the team's ceiling as a unit.
Noah: Dude had a strong game. He was a finisher for a change and continued his excellent passing to boot. He was a presence in the paint but like KP; he had trouble keeping RoLo from getting deep position for boards. Still, he fought and got plenty of boards plus challenged dudes at the rack. His effort is infectious; there was a point where the Knicks gave up two consecutive buckets and on a dead ball he was yelling "let's get this stop" so aggressively that Melo came over and patted dude on the shoulder like "we got you" (yes they got the stop). Just stay healthy breh!
KOQ: Someone must have told this cat to set INSIDE the three point line when he receives passes up top and it really opens him up as a threat to shoot. His passing doesn't leap off the page because the assists numbers are forgettable but he moves the rock well. He's hitting the mid range jumper reliably. His defensive effort has improved. If this is the KOQ we're getting all season, sign me up for that contract value.
Jennings: Only had 4 FGA's but tallied 7 assists and 5 boards to go with a 6 point contribution. He really looked to create first and foremost which was helped by starters being present more often. With the scoring load off his back for big chunks of game, his playmaking ability really shined especially in the open court when he pushed the pace.
Holiday: Quiet game. He stood out early for his effort but for the most part he didn't do too much that jumped out as positive or negative enough to make any big projections. He's a reliable defender every night out...that's fair to say on this one.
Ndour: Dude had 5 fouls in 5 minutes at one point. He did manage a couple of boards and one thing I liked that I saw was when his defender doubled off of him you could see his head on a swivel. He actively looks for the open spots on the floor that he can cut to and it tugs and pulls on the defense a bit plus gives ball handlers an outlet option. Even on short time that stood out.
Sasha: I remember seeing him sitting in front of the scorer's table and I felt myself get frustrated which is unfair to him I suppose. Anyway, he only played one minute which was good for my sanity but somehow he managed to log a missed three point attempt in his only minute out there.
Dexter Hornacek: He did the psycho smile all through the awful performance against Houston and the Knicks responded with 4 starters logging 4 assists or more. That type of ball movement following a trash performance means the film room probably felt like a Dexter murder room; strapped to a cold table and staring at images of your past sins and ish. He relied HEAVY on the starters which is scary because of our guys' injury histories but I think part of that was also letting the Bulls boys ride their emotions. Ndour was his first sub in the game which shows a dedication to getting KP early rest and putting him in a bit early so he can assert himself with the second unit (which he did this time very nicely). The bench is still lacking a scoring punch and he mitigated that by riding starters; which can work with how he managed things but if he wants to try and get more rest for the boys then I'd still like to see Kuz get some opportunities to become that extra scorer off the bench.
Random: What happened to Bobby Portis? I remember seeing real potential in summer league and preseason as a rookie but he faded since then and barely plays now. You know what's annoying about Wade? He didn't need the gift calls when Lee was stripping him early on, he was balling out...but the refs really give that dude any 50/50 call. He was spectacular last night, just let us have the stops that we actually earn instead of gifting him a few extra free points.
Yall still ain't shyt
Cant be reactionary one way.
We should tag them folks
