Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Eastern Michigan Recap

Despite some very minuscule worries that Michigan might meander through this game on a wave of apathy after a relatively long layoff, the Wolverines smashed those concerns. Michigan rained threes and transition buckets on the hapless Eagles like fiery apocalyptic comets (okay, I promise that's the last one). The Wolverines came out the victors in the BATTLE FOR WASHTENAW COUNTY, which is totally a rivalry because

In case you missed it, I put my recap up night over at Maize n Brew. One day, the following will be the official trophy awarded for this game:

Until that day, we'll just have to accept the 39-point victory and pretend.

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: EMU Preview

 I should probably try to make it to a game at the Crisler Arena Center Building so I don't have to keep using this picture

I haven't put anything up over at Maize n Brew since The Game, so I figured I would get back into the swing of things over there:

After handling West Virginia with relative ease in Brooklyn on Saturday, Michigan enjoyed a nice long break, which ends tonight as the Wolverines take on their intra-county friends, the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

Michigan enters the contest at 11-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country; to say that the season has been a success thus far would is like gently intimating that everyone involved in the NHL lockout negotiations is engaged in an act of extended self-flagellation. No, yeah, that's an understatement.

Anyway, the Wolverines have swagged their way through the requisite slate of awful teams while generally handling the teams with a pulse (N.C. State, Pitt, Kansas State). The underlying concern through it all has been thus: What happens when the shots stop falling and the freshman --namely Stauskas-- start to play like freshmen?

You can read the rest here. Let the mythical Washtenaw County Cup trophy be ours! This trophy is definitely not just  replica of this made out of hamburger meat:

p.s. Miss you that Big Boy that used to be by the Meijer on Ann Arbor-Saline. This win's for you.

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 12/19/12

So, it's been of a bit of a slow time, hence all the Bulls stuff. Bowl season has only just started and Michigan basketball only plays two more times before the new year. Here are some links to tide you over. 

Oh, they mad. I'm not sure what to say about this fairly insane brawl footage from the Pioneer-Huron game on Oct. 12, released yesterday (HT: annarbor.com):

If this story is new to you, you should know that each team's head coach resigned as a result.

Ain't got time for this. This was a thing that somebody asked Barrett Jones, apparently: 

I'm sorry, reporter guy, but Nick Saban does not have time for your theological conflicts of interest. Besides, moran, why would the Bear mind if Nick Saban brought the Tide another title? Do you even lift do any research?

Speaking of Saban...it's only a matter of time before Saban and the rest of the SEC takes advantage of this technology:

Creating implants that improve cognitive capabilities, such as an enhanced vision “gadget” that can be taken from a shelf and plugged into our brain, or implants that can restore or enhance brain function is understandably a much tougher task. But some research groups are being to make some inroads.

CYBERTYDE. INITIATE 28YARDGAMEWINNINGSCREENPASS.EXE. ATTACK SUCCESSFUL. ROLL TIDE ROLL.

Dear science, please don't let this fall into the wrong person's hands, and by "wrong person" I definitely don't not mean Nick Saban.

From Logan to Madison. I admittedly have not been paying too much attention to the Wisconsin head coaching search, but after reading rumblings about Mike Riley last week, I was surprised to see that Wisconsin had ultimately tapped Utah State's Gary Andersen.

Like Dave Brandon re: Hoke, Athletic Director Barry Alvarez says that Anderson was his top choice. Is that true? Who knows, but I don't think it matters much.

This is an interesting hire to say the least. Andersen was 27-24 in four seasons in Logan, Utah; the Aggies recently finished up an 11-2 season with a drubbing of Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday.

At 48, Andersen is six years Bielema's senior. All of his prior coaching stops in the last 15 years have been in the state of Utah. Standard "can he recruit the type of guy that goes to Wisconsin" point goes here.

USU runs a spread, which is what makes this a seemingly incongruent hire. Then again, the Badgers did hire Matt Canada as their offensive coordinator to take Paul Chryst's place; Canada is also a spread guy, formerly at Northern Illinois. With that said, I'm not sure what difference Canada made vis-a-vis Wisconsin's playcalling, and hiring a head coach who will run the show is far different than hiring a coordinator who may or may not even be calling the plays that end up being executed.

As always, quarterback will be an issue. Sophomore USU QB Chuckie Keeton passed for 3,373 yards (27 TDs, 9 INTs) and rushed for 619 on 4.9 YPC (8 TDs) this season. He was the team's second-leading rusher. Keeton led the Aggies to that almost-upset of Auburn last season on opening weekend. With Keeton only becoming a junior next season, it would have been interesting to see if Utah State would have had a shot at supplanting Boise State and Utah (although not so much them now that they're in a major conference) as the team that challenges for a BCS spot from the ranks of the forgotten non-AQ conferences.

Curt Phillips is a senior and Joel Stave, who broke his collar bone in October after taking the reins from the ineffective Danny O'Brien, does not seem to fit the mold of a run-based spread QB. With that said, it is a run-based spread, which should put Wisconsin fans at ease. Some opinions on the hire, starting with Dave Miller of the National Football Post:

While his offense will change at Wisconsin, as the run-oriented Power O will remain in Madison, Andersen helped develop dynamic dual-threat signal-caller Chuckie Keeton over the last two seasons at Utah State. He also oversaw a stout defense that helped the Aggies to their 11 wins. And keep in mind that Andersen, who posted a 26-24 mark in four seasons in Logan, was the defensive coordinator at Utah under Kyle Whittingham when the Utes knocked off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl following the 2008 season.

While the brands of football may differ a bit, Utah State has played a physical style of football like Wisconsin, ranking No. 25 in the nation in rushing in 2012 while the defense ranked No. 15 in the nation in yards per game.

 Land-Grant Holy Land:

While some might be inclined to think this wasn't the sexy, splashy hire they would've assumed Alvarez would've targeted, Andersen's done great work and has been coveted from fan bases ranging from Texas to USC. By going 18-8 in two seasons in Logan, Utah, where previously wins were certainly hard to come by, Andersen's shown he's game for stout rebuilding jobs.

 Tom Fornelli at CBS's Eye on College Football: 

Considering that Wisconsin was somewhat late to the game thanks to Bielema's sudden departure, this is a solid hire by the Badgers. Andersen took over a Utah State program that hadn't accomplished much in the past and after only four seasons he not only led the Aggies to that 11-2 record and first conference title since it won the Big West in 1997, but into both the AP and Coaches polls. 

 Bucky's 5th Quarter is also compiling a running list of reactions from all over.

Personally, my gut feeling is that this is a good hire. Andersen has proven that he can when at places where winning isn't the norm, like Hoke, and Utah State ended the year with the #15 total defense and the #25 rushing offense, two quick and easy facts that should assuage any oh my gawd spread offense concerns.

More? Michigan basketball takes on EMU Thursday (I'll have a preview up over at Maize n Brew)...for now, I just want to note how there are almost as many suited up folks in their team picture as there are players. I guess Embracing the Process also involves JoS. A. Bank.

If you want a cool vintage Michigan calendar, go to Maize n Brew and relate a Christmas shopping story (remember that one time? oh man! definitely tell that story).

Game 24 Recap, Bulls-Celtics: Strange Things Happening

Bulls 100 (14-10), Celtics 89 (12-12)

Last night's performance in Memphis was one that makes players and fans alike eager for the playing of the next game. Fortunately, that next game was just 24 hours away. The Celtics, not exactly at their championship form of four years ago, visited the United Center for the second time this season; things went a little differently this time.

Play in the first quarter did not feature the most imposing defense, which in a way was a nice change of pace after last night's abomination of a game. The Bulls managed 6 layups through 7 or 8 minutes of play. Belinelli even passed up an open three to take it to the rim, where his shot was goaltended. The Celtics weren't exactly playing vigilant defense, but it was encouraging to see the Bulls picking up some easy buckets in the early stages of the game.

The later stages of the first eventually turned into a Luol Deng free throw-palooza; Deng attempted --and made-- 8 free throws in the first quarter alone. That is certainly one way to get your offense.

After scoring 71 against Memphis, the Bulls dropped 28 in the first quarter alone, albeit largely on the back of free throws and layups. There was still room for serious concern about what would happen once the Bulls had to start hitting jump shots. 

In an M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist of a coaching maneuver, Thibodeau opted to start the second quarter with both Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague out on the floor. During this 4-minute stint, Teague pitched in 2 assists and a block (0-for-1 from the field, though). I'll take that. While this analogy doesn't work since the Bulls don't have a Trey Burke at the point, but if Teague can be the Bulls' Spike Albrecht, I'd be just fine with that. 

The Bulls went into a Boston timeout with a 40-29 lead almost halfway through the second quarter.It almost felt as if the Bulls had decided to save all of their offense for the back end of the back-to-back. Well, guys, I'm not sure that's how this works. 

Nonetheless, it was a tremendous half of basketball. The Bulls went into the break up 55-48; if you're keeping track, that means they had more points at the half than they did through three quarters in Memphis. Okay, that's enough "remember how bad the Memphis game was?" points. 

Halftime Stats (Bulls 55, Celtics 48)

-Bulls: 1.31 PPP

• Deng: 4-for-7, 16 pts (8-for-8 from the line)
• Boozer: 6-for-10, 12 pts
• Noah:3-for-5, 7 pts, 7 rebounds

-Celtics: 1.14 PPP

• Rondo: 5-for-8, 13 pts, 5 assists
• Pierce:  5-for-7, 11 pts, 4 assists
• Garnett: 5-for-5*, 10 pts, 7 rebounds

*Q: Kevin Garnett...is he a cyborg? A: Probably.

Game #24 Preview, Bulls-Celtics: Take Two

Chicago Bulls (13-10) vs. Boston Celtics (12-11)

The Opponent

After going to Memphis and apparently playing a basketball game while under the influence of Southern BBQ, the ever-prescient schedule makers allowed the Bulls a chance to avenge themselves tonight against Boston. 

The Bulls have faced Boston once before, a 101-95 loss on Nov. 12 at the UC. During that game, the Bulls took a 12-point deficit into the halftime break and heading into the fourth quarter. They cut the Boston lead to as low as two after a Luol Deng layup made it 95-93 with 49 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, the Bulls could not get a stop thereafter, and the requisite free throw-fest went as it usually does. 

Even without Ray Allen, the Celtics are still a formidable team. However, they're only 12-11, and are coming off two straight defeats in the state of Texas (a 12-point loss at Houston on Friday and a 15-point loss at San Antonio on Saturday). The Celtics couldn't handle Houston's transition game on Friday (not unlike the Knicks last night), giving up 25 fast break points compared with only 11 of their own, which just about accounts for the difference in the final score. 

On Saturday in San Antonio, the Celtics only allowed four fast break points but couldn't defend the 3-point line, where the Spurs shot 48% (12-for-25), good for a team eFG% of 54%. This point does not benefit the Bulls, as they are: a) not the Spurs and b) still an atrocious 3-point shooting team, even with Belinelli sort of starting to pick it up a bit. 

The lineup is the same as it has been: Garnett-Rondo-Pierce-Lee-Bass. It's not as if the Bulls are playing the Bobcats or something; you know who all of these guys are. Rondo is averaging almost quite literally the same number of assists per game as he is points (12.9 ppg, 12.7 apg). 

The Celtics got their standard amount of scoring from their three big name players, but Brandon Bass, who is averaging a shade under 9 ppg, only scored two points in each of the aforementioned games in the Lone Star State. He had a key dunk late in the first matchup against the Bulls that helped to seal the win for Boston; if the Bulls limit Bass, they should be able to keep the Celtics within striking distance. Bass scored 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting the last time these two teams met.   

Points of Concern 
As always, Rondo doing Rondo things against the creaky, unathletic Bulls roster remains a concern. For all of his faults, Kirk Hinrich is supposedly a solid defensive player, but Mike Conley, typically offensive option No. 4 for Memphis, scored 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting last night, with 4 assists and 2 turnovers. Hinrich looked completely out of sorts, and who knows if he is even 100% from whatever the injury du jour happens to be.

Basically, the Bulls guards (Hinrich and Robinson) vs. Rondo translates to:

(HT: Parks and Meth)

Also, as already stated: don't let Brandon Bass scored almost double his season average on you. You will not win if you do that.

What Needs To Happen 

• SURVIVAL.  At this point, I'm not sure there are many point guard matchups in the league that I can look at on paper and say that the Bulls have any sort of advantage. Am I being hyperbolic? Maybe, but also maybe not. In any case, the Bulls guards can mitigate the Rondo Factor by, as always, getting the Bulls into solid halfcourt sets, avoiding long rebounds (which to Rondo is sort of like getting the golden mushroom item in Mario Kart) and pushing the ball only when it is completely obvious to do so. This might not sound like "fun" basketball to a lot of people, but you would be surprised how fun this thing called "winning" can be. 

• Something's gotta give. On the bright side, Boston is an absolutely atrocious offensive rebounding team. With an offensive rebounding percentage of 19.1%, the Celtics are literally the worst in the league. On the other hand, the Celtics clean up on the defensive boards better than the Bulls do, with a percentage of 74.5% to the Bulls' 72.7%. So, both teams clean up their own boards pretty well but only the Bulls excel on the offensive glass. The Bulls can mitigate the terrifying Rondo Factor by getting tons of second chance opportunities. By the same token, if the Bulls let a team like this offensive rebound on them, well, they're just not going to win this game.

• Teague? Many were calling for Teague last night, which is fine even though I doubt he would have been a net positive for the Bulls. However, he did play 18 minutes the last time the Bulls faced the Celtics (with Hinrich out with a right hip injury). He was 1-for-4 from the field, scoring 5 points and notching 2 assists in a +9 night for the rookie. Simply put, if Hinrich cannot get it done once again, Thibodeau needs to have a much shorter leash in going from him to Robinson and then to Teague. If Teague gets another DNP, I'd be a little disappointed. Teague showed some frustrating hesitancy with the ball in his hands late in the shot clock last time against Boston, but I think everyone will agree that he's grown a decent bit as a player since then. In the end, however, the sad thing is that this bullet speaks more to the state of the Bulls' point guard depth chart at the top than it does Teague.

Useless Prediction Time

• The Bulls gave up 58 first half points against the Celtics in the first meeting over a month ago, which I believe still stands as a season high for the Bulls. I envision a much grittier defensive effort from Chicago this time around. The Bulls will hold Boston under 100. 
• The Booze cruise sailed across choppy waters last time against Boston; he went 7-for-14 for 16 points, but was as mercurially inconsistent as he's ever been. Also of note, he was not on the floor when the Bulls made their fourth quarter push to make it a game. Actually, I think neither Evil Boozer nor Good Boozer shows it up in this one; the forgotten family member, Just Fine Boozer will take the stage tonight. It will be just fine. 
•  Kevin Garnett will glower at somebody at some point for no particular reason. 
• Bulls 90, Celtics 88. 

Game 23 Recap, Bulls-Grizzlies: Sound and Fury

(HT: @CowhideGlobe)

Bulls 71 (13-10), Grizzlies 80 (16-6)

The Bulls took a trip down south for the front end of a back-to-back (they play Boston tomorrow night at the UC) against one of the league's best teams. I'm not much for moral victories, but a close result, even in a losing effort, would have constituted a decent performance given the Bulls ongoing Rose-less-ness and the fact that the Grizzlies are pretty good. 

I remember watching the Jordan Bulls dominate the then Vancouver Grizzlies as a good, who then had the 7 foot tall Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. Now, the Grizzlies traded British Columbia for West Tennessee but now boast two very good frontcourt threats in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol (three if you include SF Rudy Gay). 

However, the Grizz looked nothing like the top four team in the Western Conference that they are in the first quarter. It was a disjointed, strange period of 12 minutes, in which Grizzlies players jacked up horrible shots and threw the ball out of bounds to no one in particular. Gasol and Randolph started the game 0/9 from the field, and the Grizz were 3-for-16 as a team through about 10 minutes of play. 

It was a lively first quarter for the Bulls, who appeared to be riding high after a big win Saturday night. Most importantly, despite cynically expecting an appearance from Evil Boozer in the preview, Good Boozer showed up in the first. Boozer dropped 8 points on 4-for-5 shooting, beating Gasol in the process. Meanwhile, Randolph was a complete non-factor early, with zero points in the opening period. 

The Bulls went into the second up 20-11 seemingly in spite of Kirk Hinrich, who return from injury seemed to produce no immediately perceptible positive effect. He was 0-for-2 in only six first quarter minutes. 

Unfortunately, the Bulls' lead was perhaps not as sizable as it could have been. The Bulls were up just 22-19 despite Memphis shooting just 28% from the field and having racked up 8 turnovers as of the 8:45 mark in the second. How did the Grizz do this? Of course, by the great equalizer that is the three, in addition to some less than solid defense from Belinelli. Memphis started the game 5-for-7 from three, and former Tar Heel Wayne Ellington was particularly bothersome to the Bulls (3-for-3 from three, on three straight possessions...ALL THE THREES). 

The first half of the second quarter was all Memphis, with the Grizz outscoring the Bulls 20-8 through 6:25 of play. The Bulls offense lost the swaggering verve it seemed to have earlier (if an offense can lay claim to such a thing in lieu of a 20-point quarter) as jumpers from Boozer, Noah and others started not to fall. 

The Bulls went into the half down five despite the Grizzlies' frontcourt trio of Gay-Gasol-Randolph contributing just a combined six points. As has been the case many times before, the Bulls got a bit of their own medicine thrown back their away; after spending the last couple of seasons winning games with its bench, the Bulls are the ones coming out on the negative side of the proceedings once the reserves come in. 

Halftime Stats (Bulls 34, Grizzlies 39)

-Bulls: 0.76 PPP

• Boozer: 5-9, 12 pts, 8 rebounds
• Noah: 2-5, 4 pts, 5 rebounds
• Belinelli: 2-6, 6 pts, 3 turnovers

-Grizzlies: 0.88 PPP

• Randolph: 1-5, 2 pts, 6 rebounds
• Gay: 0-6, 0 pts, 1 rebound
• Ellington: 4-5 (3-3 from 3), 11 pts

Game #23 Preview, Bulls-Grizzlies: Feel So Good

  
The Opponent 

Even the most cynical Bulls fan needs to take a second to give Thibodeau's Bulls some credit: since the epic collapse against Milwaukee on Nov. 26, the Bulls have gone 7-2, only suffering a Big Ten-esque loss against Indiana and putting up a solid fight against a Clippers team is the Bulls' athletic superior like Usain Bolt is athletically superior to a turtle.

Along the way, the Bulls have picked up nice wins against Philadelphia (x2), the Knicks (albeit 'Melo-less) and the Nets on Saturday night at the UC. The Bulls have not been an attractive team to watch, but even when Rose was around running the show, would you have put the Bulls alongside teams like the Thunder or even the title-winning Mavs vis-a-vis playing "attractive" basketball? I don't think so; it was always more of a singularly consistent ray of exceptionally exciting play than a team-wide characteristic.

The point is, who cares how they win. After the Bulls lost the aforementioned Bucks game --at that point, Chicago had lost four of their last five-- things were not nearly so cheery. The song remains the same with this team. On some nights, they'll manufacture wins against good teams like Brooklyn, and on other nights they'll get out-athleted (e.g. Clippers) or simply put up an aesthetically abominable by (by any standards) clunker like the Pacers B1G-fest.

Anyway, enough about the Bulls. The Memphis Grizzlies come into this contest at 15-6, which would tie them for second in the Eastern Conference with Miami but is good for only fourth place in the West.

Luckily for the Bulls, they appear to be catching the Hollingerized Grizz at the right time. Memphis lost three in a row to Atlanta, Phoenix and Denver before finally getting back on the winning track on Saturday with a 99-86 win at Utah.

Of course, the Grizz have most likely the best frontcourt in the entire NBA, paced by Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay. Gay leads the way with 19.0 ppg, while Gasol pitches in 15.4 and Randolph 17.6.

As far as eFG% goes, Gay is at 45%, Randolph at 51% and Gasol at 50% (and the latter two have managed this with zero treys made between them). The entire stat of eFG% has kind of been completely altered for me due to the existence of Nik Stauskas, but I'm pretty sure an eFG% in the neighborhood of those figures is still pretty good. 

Former Buckeye Mike Conley is no slouch as a fourth option; he's averaging 13.9 ppg and 6.3 assists per game thus far this season. The Grizz are in Chicago's neighborhood with respect to their assist-to-turnover ration; Memphis sits at 1.40 compared to the Bulls' 1.46. Conley has maintained a very nice eFG% of 52%, shooting a freakily similar percentage from in front of and behind the arc (44.4% from 2, 43.6% from 3).

The Grizz are averaging 97.1 ppg (Bulls--93.5) and are giving up the same average as the Bulls on the defensive end (90.0 ppg).

Otherwise, Tony Allen is around for his defense. Backup PG Jerryd Bayless, whom some asked to be signed by Chicago on the heels of the Great Bench Mob Jettisoning,

Points of Concern 
Although the Bulls' advantage in the frontcourt against most teams isn't as strong post-Asik, this Memphis team is definitely one of the teams that can beat the Bulls' frontcourt, straight up. The Grizzlies boast a better offensive rebounding percentage than the Bulls (31.9%) but aren't quite as good as Chicago on the defensive glass (71.9% to Chicago's 73.3%). Regardless, the Grizzlies will give the Bulls arguably their toughest challenge on the glass of any team in the league.

However, for all of the attention that will be given to the frontcourt trimvirate, Mike Conley is a pretty good player. During his one season at Ohio State, he shot just 30% from three; now, he's a pretty real threat from beyond the arc, complementing the rest of his game. He can also get into the lane and hit that little tear drop shot or distribute to one of several Memphis bigs.

Who knows what Kirk Hinrich's status is for tonight, but we all know how lackluster Nate Robinson's defense is. Rookie Marquis Teague came up big late when matched up on Deron Williams, but: a) sample size and b) expecting rookies to do anything consistently well is an exercise in futility. 

What Needs To Happen 

• Tell new Memphis VP of Basketball Operations John Hollinger that a lecture titled "Analytics in Sports: A Terrible Thing By My Calculations" is being held somewhere in Chicago that is not the United Center. Can't have him Inception-ing mind bullets of statistical genius into Lionel Hollins' head throughout the game. 

• Transition D. As always, the Bulls cannot afford to let teams get easy buckets in transition. Conley can hit the three, as mentioned, so Nate/Kirk/Marquis will need to keep up once the Grizzlies have secured a long rebound on the other end. Speaking of three-point, shooting, another statistic of note: the Grizzlies attempt the second fewest number of threes per game. They are second to only, of course, the Bulls. If the Bulls are going to get beat, let's not let it be because of open looks offered Conley and guys like Quincy Pondexter. 

• Salsa piccante, Marco (this has been Italian brought to you by Google). With Rip Hamilton out and Hinrich seemingly injuring a different part of his body every other day, the Bulls have relied on Marco Belinelli to provide some offensive pop. Belinelli is averaging just 22 minutes per game this season, but is averaging 39 per in his last six outings. In that span, he's shot a Korver-esque 43% from three and has averaged 19 ppg. No, he is not Kyle Korver, but his play of late has been pretty encouraging, especially after Thibs used him only sparingly earlier in the season. Belinelli will draw a tough matchup in Tony Allen; he'll need to put up at least 13 or 14 if the Bulls are going to have a shot.

Useless Prediction Time  

•  Evil Boozer shows up in this one. 
• After averaging just 13.4 mpg for a 4-game stretch, Taj Gibson got 25 against Philadelphia; however, he only got 15 against Brooklyn on Saturday. If Boozer's jumper is not falling early, I expect him to have a much shorter leash this game. Gibson should get 20+ minutes. 
• Despite Boozer, Gibson and Noah will do a decent job of neutralizing the Memphis frontcourt, and so I think this game will come down to guard play. Can Belinelli get away from the airtight D of Allen and can Nate Robinson stay in front of Conley? I'm leaning toward no on both accounts. 
• Bulls 81, Grizzlies 93.