Thursday, December 12, 2013

Zach Randolph, Good Guy








I feel like Zach Randolph gets a lot of flack for no reason. People are always saying he's got attitude problems and he's fat and lazy, and blah blah blah. But the truth is that ever since his days in Portland he's been a guy you can count on to get 18 pts and 10 rebounds a game. Sure he shoots a lower percentage than most bigs but he's got the ability to spread the floor more and shoot from further away so his shots aren't always high-percentage layups like some other guys, all the while opening up the paint for other guys to make a play. At the same time he's smart with the ball and always ready to play, and whether you see it or not he wants to win every single game he plays. I just thought this was something cool for him to do, giving away his warm-up to this little G in the the yellow headband with a big smile on his face. Classy move by a guy who really doesn't get enough credit. Just because all of the generous shit he does doesn't make national news it doesn't mean that it's not worth bringing some attention to. Couldn't be happier to make this little kid's day. Sure it's probably drenched in sweat and smells like a locker room, but come on it's the thought that counts.






After Losing to the Knicks, Things Aren't Looking Great for Derrick Rose's Playoff Comeback




What can I say, they showed up. Dunleavy managed 24 shots like a boss, rained in a whopping 7. Everybody else but Boozer was pretty disappointing as well. Dang, that stinks! I sure did want to see Derrick Rose come back in the playoffs so he can hobble out with braces on his glass knees to a team with literally zero chance of making a run. *wink (sarcasm) wink* In reality, that is literally the worst possible thing for the franchise. Squeaking into the playoffs and getting another mid range pick in the draft does absolutely nothing for us. And despite how bad we are, the scary thing is that the East as a whole is so unfathomably shitty that we could probably make the playoffs with 35 wins, that's how bad it is. So considering we're still good enough to win games there's only one thing to do - dump salary and try to get value from our assets (Deng, Hinrich, Boozer, and as much as I hate to say it maybe even Joakim too). We've still got too much invested in Derrick and it's still too early to tell just how bad his injury problem will be. Two freak knee injuries are a terrible fucking sign don't get me wrong, but considering how young he is and how much time he'll have to rehab (again) he still might have a chance to return to being the superstar we all know and love. In the meantime though, he needs to focus on that while management cuts the fat and Thibodeau fights the urge claw out his eyeballs in disbelief of the whole situation.










Good job. Good effort.


Final
Regular Season Series (Game 2 of 4)

Bulls 78

(8-12, 2-9 away)

Knicks 83

(6-15, 3-8 home)
Coverage: ESPN/WatchESPN
8:00 PM ET, December 11, 2013
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
1234T
CHI1715222478
NY1531221583
Top Performers
Chicago: J. Noah 12 Pts, 11 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Blk
New York: C. Anthony 30 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk

Chicago Bulls
STARTERSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPF+/-PTS
Carlos Boozer, PF326-100-00-0391202042-312
Mike Dunleavy, SF457-243-113-326833135+320
Tony Snell, SF341-71-41-211210121-74
Joakim Noah, C373-50-06-8561140353-512
Kirk Hinrich, SG403-112-53-413434033+111
BENCHMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPF+/-PTS
Taj Gibson, PF252-60-08-825700232+612
Erik Murphy, PF50-00-00-000000000-150
Nazr Mohammed, C30-20-00-020200001-80
Marquis Teague, PG202-70-13-402210022+37
Luol Deng, SFDNP SORE LEFT ACHILLES TENDON
Mike James, PGDNP COACH'S DECISION
Jimmy Butler, SGDNP RIGHT TOE
TOTALSFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
24-726-2124-291632481297221978
33.3%28.6%82.8%
Fast break points:   6
Points in the paint:   30
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   24 (24)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
New York Knicks
STARTERSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPF+/-PTS
Kenyon Martin, PF350-30-03-425722425+163
Andrea Bargnani, PF274-100-10-103311111-18
Carmelo Anthony, SF419-211-311-12371043124-230
Pablo Prigioni, PG312-92-70-011224001+16
Iman Shumpert, SG130-20-00-012322010+60
BENCHMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPF+/-PTS
Amar'e Stoudemire, PF307-110-00-036912114+214
Beno Udrih, PG174-50-00-002221041+48
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG183-71-30-001110001-17
J.R. Smith, SG292-81-52-20222102407
Metta World Peace, SFDNP COACH'S DECISION
Cole Aldrich, CDNP COACH'S DECISION
Raymond Felton, PGDNP SORE LEFT HAMSTRING
Toure' Murry, SGDNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALSFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBDREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
31-765-1916-1910293917167132183
40.8%26.3%84.2%










PS - Today we added DJ Augustin, but he's basically only here so we can start to seriously shop Teague and maybe even send out some feelers to see if there's interest in Kirk. History would suggest that he can be a decent backup and provide a little more consistent scoring off the bench, but don't expect him to come in and be Nate Robinson. That is, if you're one of the numbskulls still rooting for this team to win basketball games. I hate the idea of tanking as much as the next guy, but no matter what, this season most likely marks the end for this group of guys (Deng, Noah, Boozer, Rose). Deng and Boozer were going to be too much money for what they are actually worth, Noah we may still try to hang on to. Just don't think of it as tanking, it's just the logical thing to do to expedite the transition process. Sometimes change is for the best and this is one of those times.