Chicago Bulls 93, Miami Heat 86--Bulls leads series 1-0 (!)
After improbably pulling off a Game Seven victory in Brooklyn Saturday night, the Bulls enter the Eastern Conference Semifinal round playing with house money. With Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both out again, in addition to Derrick Rose's continued absence, expectations are not exactly what they were the last time these two teams squared off in the playoffs.
Nonetheless, the Bulls have played the Heat close, even without Derrick Rose, having split four regular season meetings this season. Of course, the playoffs are a different animal, especially with the Heat being well-rested after easily dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in four, and the Bulls grinding their way through seven trying games against Brooklyn. With this in mind, an enveloping fog of unease pervaded upon the lead-up to Game One, and rightfully so; there are no moral victories in sports, but if the Bulls managed to keep the first game of this series close, then maybe the vague notion of a competitive series could become a reality.
The Bulls gained possession on the opening tip, but neither squad was able to get on the scoreboard in their respective opening trips on the offensive end, starting a combined 0-for-5 from the field. A nice move to the rim from Noah put the Bulls on the board first, however, at the 10:15 mark. Jimmy Butler extended the lead to 4-0 from the line after drawing a blocking call just outside of the restricted area.
Neither team was exceptionally sharp in the opening minutes, but given each team's opening round, this was perhaps not unexpected. The Heat continued to misfire from the field, starting the game 0-for-7 from the field as the Bulls built an early 8-2 lead.
Despite the auspicious start, Nate Robinson began this one 0-for-4 from the field with some questionable feeds to Chicago's big men; this would have to change if the Bulls were going to make this any sort of game. On the bright side, it was a quiet, low usage quarter for Lebron James, who was 1-for-2 from the field for two points well into the first frame. James seemed content to facilitate in the early stages, but Jimmy Butler was also doing his part in forcing that decision-making.
Norris Cole countered a quintessentially Nate spin move into a banked jumper with a buzzer-beating floater of his own, and the Bulls took a 21-15 lead into the second quarter.
Chicago Bulls 79, Brooklyn Nets 76--Bulls lead 2-1
The Bulls and Nets entered the United Center tonight tied at a game apiece on the heels of a pair of vastly different games in Brooklyn. In Game One, the Bulls were simply overwhelmed, but Game Two was a 2012-13 Chicago classic, a symphony of raw exertion and grit.
In this one, the early going resembled Game One, as the Bulls turned it over three times in less than two minutes of play and found themselves down 13-2 by the 7:37 mark. The turnover total for Chicago ballooned to five before the halfway point of the first. Meanwhile, the Bulls couldn't throw it into Lake Michigan, starting the game 2-for-8 from the field.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, Deron Williams had eight points (5/5 from the FT line) through just over six minutes of play after scoring eight all game on Tuesday. Luckily, Williams cooled down and the Bulls rattled off an 14-0 run, taking a two point surplus into the second after having been down 12. All in all, it was a tremendously ugly first quarter, as the Bulls didn't start hitting until the last few minutes and the Nets stuck with the outside shot even as it didn't fall (Brooklyn didn't score a basket in the first quarter's final 6:25). Then again, it's not as if "that was an ugly quarter" will be an infrequent saying during this series.
The Nets continued to lob airball after airball, which negated the fact that the Bulls weren't lighting it up either. However, Taj Gibson absolutely posterized Kris Humphries off of a pick and roll to the put the Bulls up 26-20, a dunk that was basically a way scaled down version of MJ's throw dunk from the end of Space Jam.
Things were getting so bad that I wondered if the Nets might have more luck blindfolding themselves and using the Force when rising to shoot. The Nets were an unbelievably awful 6-for-32 from the field through 18 minutes of play, good for 19%.
The Bulls did very well to recover, generally outworking the Nets and taking shots much closer to the basket. At the same time, the Nets' incompetence was just amazingly comprehensive. A Jimmy Butler interception in the back court led to a wide open layup for Kirk Hinrich, who happened to still be under the basket, a play that capably summarizes the state of affairs for the Nets in the first half.
The Bulls took a 41-34 lead into the break after Gerald Wallace hit a trey at the buzzer. The Nets finished the half just 9-for-40 from the field, or 22.5%. The Bulls weren't exactly covering themselves in glory either, having shot just 41% (1-for-6 from three).
The Bulls entered tonight having squandered any momentum that win against New York could have possibly generated; since then, the Bulls have lost two straight, putting them a game behind Atlanta with two games to go. A Chicago loss and an Atlanta win tomorrow night would seal the Bulls' playoff seed at the 6 spot, meaning a tough first round opponent in the Indiana Pacers.
As such, a game like tonight's, against a quite frankly horrid Orlando Magic squad, was one that a team with even a modicum of hope for any sort of playoff run should win. Jacque Vaughn's Magic team entered tonight with a 20-60 record, second to last in the Eastern Conference and the second worst mark in the entire league (they're only one game better than last place Charlotte).
Fortunately for the Bulls, both Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson made their return, albeit from the bench and under a minutes cap.
Orlando jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but a Hinrich trey from the straight away and a beautiful backdoor dish from Carlos Boozer to Jimmy Butler allowed the Bulls to pull within two; on the next possession, Boozer faced up and hit his patented jumper to tie it at 9 four and a half minutes in.
The Bulls' defense was far from lockdown in the opening quarter, but the Bulls were able to capitalize on some easy buckets in transition situations and off of turnovers. Chicago entered the game tied for second to last in the league in points per game (93.1), but the Magic weren't far ahead, ranked 24th with 94.3 ppg. Of course, this is the NBA, where games aren't won or lost in the first quarter, or even the second or third.
Nonetheless, the Magic finished the first quarter with a shooting percentage of 47.6%; to the Bulls' credit, however, that number was hovering around 55% with just a few minutes left in the first quarter, so the defense tightened up a little bit. Chicago took a two point deficit into the second quarter, but, on the bright side, Noah and Gibson entered the game late in the second, logging their first minutes in some time.
Unfortunately, Noah picked up three quick fouls in just 4-5 minutes of play, with his third coming just over two minutes into the second quarter. A couple of minutes later, Rip Hamilton also picked up his third, putting the Bulls in an awkward situation very early in the game.
Upon an Orlando 24-second violation, Neil Funk mused that sometimes "you just have to wonder what Orlando is doing." An appropriate comment given that particular possession, and yet, the Bulls were still down four.
The offense was much harder to come by early in the second, as both teams combined for just nine points in the second frame's first five minutes. A 5-0 Bulls run gave them a 29-28 lead just past the halfway point in the second.
The Bulls offense start to hum down the stretch in the second, with four buckets from Boozer and Luol Deng from within 10 feet (three of them layups) and two more treys from Hinrich. Deng added another three for good measure, and a foul on a Jimmy Butler alley-oop dunk attempt sent the Bulls into the break up 49-37. Despite a shaky first 18 minutes or so, strong halves from Boozer (12 pts), Deng (14 pts) and Hinrich (3-for-3 from three) gave the Bulls a sizable cushion as the first half drew to a close.
With Michigan's football season having recently ended, it's pretty much going to be all basketball around here (Michigan and Bulls) unless something important and football-related occurs. On that note, there will probably be some "final word" type pieces to officially close the voluminous and complicated legacies of Michigan's senior class...yes, Denard. Obviously.
Chicago Bulls (17-13) @ Miami Heat (22-8)
The Opponent
Anywho, it's been a few games but here I am again. Since I last talked about the Bulls/wrote a preview piece for the Indiana game that was then cancelled, the Bulls picked up an ugly win against Washington, an ugly loss against Charlotte and what should've been a much more convincing looking win on the box score against Orlando.
The Bulls head to Miami tonight to take on the 22-8 Miami Heat, currently a game ahead of New York and first in the Eastern Conference. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season; during last year's shortened campaign, the Bulls went 2-2 against the Heat.
The Heat come in with a two game winning streak,both, strangely, overtime victories against Orlando and Dallas. So, maybe they'll be all tired out come tipoff tonight? Let's hope so.
In any case, despite the season that Carmelo Anthony is having and Kevin Durant being Kevin Durant, LeBron James still leads the league with a hilarious PER of 30.23. Speaking of LeBron, I read this post on The Basketball Jones and thought it to be mostly true:
It would appear that a little more than nine seasons into his
microscopically analyzed professional career, LeBron James has reached a
place few great professional athletes, especially in the NBA, ever
dream of reaching: Being boring. Kobe Bryant has managed to play twice
as long without EVER being boring for an entire month. Even in the few
drama-free moments of his pro hoops tenure, the lack of news was
newsworthy enough that people never went in ignorance of it. But without
a title to chase, a troublesome teammate or coach to battle, or a facet
of his game particularly thriving or lacking, there’s just no drama
left in LeBron. He’s so boring now that he can’t stop listening to Wiz Khalifa.
Pretty much. Perhaps I don't have my finger on the pulse of the NBA zeitgeist, but it would seem that, after winning that championship, the concept of LeBron James has been relieved of any sort of controversy. Now, he's just a guy averaging 26.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 7.1 apg. Indeed, LeBron is just quietly going about his business practically unnoticed, eviscerating defenses and probably dunking on your face.
Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are doing their things as well, averaging 20.6 and 18.0 ppg, respectively. Offseason addition Ray Allen provides the Heat with a fourth double digit averaging scorer (11.6 ppg) while continuing his ways as a frustratingly automatic 3-point shooter (46%).
The rest of the team also reads as a list of "dudes you already know." Shane Battier is still around filling the Bruce Bowen role (i.e. defense and threes); Battier is shooting a nice 42% from three. Even Rashard Lewis, who was sort of just an overpaid albatross in Orlando in the two years after their run to the NBA Finals, is hitting 47% from three, albeit in fewer minutes than anything he's averaged since right around Y2K. Udonis Haslem is not a high usage guy at all but does what he needs to do for an undersized Miami frontcourt.
Point guards Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers are spark plug sorts that can do some damage on nights when Wade or Bosh aren't on. I should stop talking personnel...this is Miami. You know who they are.
Points of Concern
Uh, need it be said? The Bulls had trouble with the Heat in the 2011 playoffs because they only had one star (Rose) to Miami's triumvirate. Well, Derrick Rose isn't walking through that door (but hey, Rip Hamilton is).
Playing on the road isn't so much a concern to me because of: a) Miami's moribund at best home crowd and b) the Bulls handled the Knicks at MSG not too long ago. What does worry me is the fact that the Heat can push the tempo with LeBron and Chalmers, and I don't think the Bulls have the athleticism to keep up. As the minutes continue to pile up for guys like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, you can hear those hinges getting creakier and creakier.
Three-point D is also a worry, as LeBron, Battier, Lewis and Allen all shoot it very well. The Bulls are 6th in the league in 3-point percentage defense, if that is a statistic that means something to you.
Miscellaneous Stats
This is replacing the "What Needs To Happen" heading because I found that it often just reiterated what was said in the previous section. Anyway:
Points. The Heat are fourth in the league in points per game, averaging 103.6 per contest.
Rebounding. If the Bulls can close the massive talent gap somehow, it's by winning the battle on the board a la Game 1 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against Miami. Given the Heat's lack of traditional frontcourt options, they're second to last in the league in rebounding. They're rebounding just 21.3% of their misses their season (to Chicago's 28.8%). The Bulls are no longer the truly elite rebounding lords that they once were, but they are still good enough to be a serious asset.
Useless Prediction Time
Even in victory, the Bulls have looked a little shaky of late. Unfortunately, it seems that the win in New York didn't really give them that much momentum at all, but maybe I'm being a little too demanding.
This feels odd to even think about writing, but Carlos Boozer will need to bring a performance similar to the season-high 31-point game he had against Orlando on Wednesday if the Bulls have any hope of keeping up. Last year's numbers are naturally not encouraging, as the Heat blocked more shots (obviously) and were +13.3 per 48 minutes as opposed to just +5.9 in last year's four matchups.
I don't know that there's really a matchup on the floor that the Bulls win outright. I like Noah on Bosh, but it's sort of hard to compare the two because their games are so different. This is where the Bulls' bench would have made up the difference in the past, but, alas.
Anyway, LeBron is just too good and the Heat have too much firepower for a Bulls team that seems to be on the verge of being compressed into little disk-like things by the intense gravity of Thibodeau's minute meting SOP.
I don't remember the reason, but I didn't actually get to watch the first Bulls-Pacers matchup back on Dec. 4. It's probably better that I didn't, because it was uglier than Ronnie Brewer's jumper.
The Pacers edged the Bulls 80-76 in a defensive struggle worthy of Big Ten basketball lore. Despite the solid defensive effort from the Bulls, Paul George dropped 34 points on 14-25 shooting. Meanwhile, Luol Deng scored 17 on 5-15 shooting and Boozer pitched in 14 on 7-13 from the field.
Needless to say, the Bulls cannot allow another similarly heroic effort from George if they hope to snag a win on the road (which would be nice, as the Pacers are a half game ahead of the Bulls in the Central division).
The same dramatis personae will take the floor for the Pacers. Roy Hibbert mans the middle, averaging 9.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.86 blocks per game. No, Hibbert is not the flashiest or most athletic big man, but he is a serious shot blocking force and can hit the glass with impunity (5th in the league in offensive rebounds).
David West leads the way for Indiana in points, averaging 17.4 per from the power forward spot, also pitching in 8.1 boards per game. The aforementioned Paul George pitches in 16.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg; Kirk Hinrich has gotten torn up by Jeff Teague and Jeremy Lin in back-to-back games, so he'll need to play a solid defensive game this time around if the Bulls are to have a chance.
Rounding out the rest of the rotation, the Pacers also feature such frontcourt pieces as SF Gerald Green, PF Tyler Hansbrough, SF Sam Young and C Ian Mahinmi. The Pacers are obviously a frontcourt-oriented team, with only George, 3-point shooter Lance Stephenson and backup PG D.J. Augustin the only Pacer guards getting meaningful minutes.
If you like low-scoring frontcourt battles, this is the game for you. Here's the player comparison for Noah and Hibbert based on the 2011-12 season numbers:
Again, these comparisons are far from perfect without the context of each individual game situation in mind, but it does provide a general sketch of what went on when both Noah and Hibbert were on the floor at the same time last season.
Points of Concern
Simply put, fatigue is a concern.The Bulls are of course short-handed, what with the absences of Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton, and when I watch the Bulls there is always a morbid, pervading sense that this is a team that is hanging by a thread at all times, an awkward Noah ankle twist or a hard knock to a Deng shoulder away from oblivion (i.e. major minutes for RADMAN).
Other points (isn't Bulls basketball one giant monolithic concern anyway?):
Can the Bulls stop Paul George from experiencing an offensive supernova redux?
Bulls guards (and bigs) finishing at the basket in the face of Hibbert's shot-blocking presence
With the Pacers' rebounding prowess essentially neutralizing the Bulls' biggest asset, can Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich and Marco Belinelli give the Bulls a semblance of consistent scoring? Was the game in Madison Square Garden a mere outlier for Kirk Hinrich?
Can Nate Robinson score in parts of games that actually matter?
What Needs To Happen
Strong first. The Bulls can't afford to fall behind early like they did last night against Houston. If you're looking for a college football equivalent, the Bulls are a triple option team: good with the lead (if you ignore the Milwaukee game), not good at playing from behind.
Guard play. Just like the Memphis game, this is one that will probably be determined by guard play. Kirk Hinrich absolutely needs to bounce back and find some sort of confidence in his shot.
Turnovers. In a game like this, each possession is precious. On average, the Bulls and Pacers are just about equally careless, with the two teams averaging 15.5 and 15.4 turnovers per game, respectively. This won't be a speedy game with lots of transition opportunities, so the Bulls can't afford to pointlessly throw it into the stands too often.
Useless Prediction Time
Neither team hits 90.
Carlos Boozer gets at least three shots blocked and produces the audible sounds to prove it (i.e. AYYYYYY).
On Christmas Day, the Rockets came into the United Center, knocked everything off the shelves and mantle and left the water running on their way out.
Early on, the matchup of the shooting guards, James Harden and Marco Belinelli, was the dominant storyline of the first quarter. As expected, Belinelli couldn't do much to stifle Harden's offensive game; Belinelli was pulled about 7 minutes into the game for Jimmy Butler. Harden was 2-for-3 from the field (4-for-4 from the line) for 8 points by the 2:55 mark.
Luckily, despite looking a little worn down Saturday night in Atlanta, Luol Deng was on his game early, with 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first period. It was a swift first quarter, featuring exactly zero turnovers. The Bulls took a 5-point deficit (27-22) into the second despite shooting 0% from beyond the arc (0-for-5), featuring one pretty macabre airball from Kirk Hinrich.
However, with Noah on the bench in the second, Omer Asik was able to pick up some baskets at the rim. The Bulls offense also slowed down with the reserves in the game, allowing the Rockets to build a sizable 49-32 lead almost eight minutes into the second.
This isn't exactly news, but without Deng and Noah doing their typical iron man act, the Bulls have trouble both scoring and, to a lesser extent, defending. People will continue to complain about the minutes Thibodeau gives these two, but I'm not too sure that an alternative exists.
Jeremy Lin drove by everyone en route to a layup that extended the Houston lead to 21, forcing a Chicago timeout. At this point, Lin was 6-for-8 from the field with 12 points; unlike the last meeting, Lin was not being shut down this time around.
Simply put, when you lose the transition battle (Houston-16 pts, Chicago-4 pts) and allow the opponent to shoot 60% from the field, you probably won't be in the game. The 58 first half points the Bulls allowed in this one tied for the highest total thus far this season (the first being the 58 given up to Boston on Nov. 12).
The Bulls faced the Rockets once before this season, a 93-89 loss in Houston that continued what was already a rough mid-late November for Chicago.
In the loss, their third in a row at the time, the Bulls shot a measly 40% from the field. Nonetheless, the Bulls took an 84-79 lead into the home stretch after Nate Robinson hit a three at the 4:41 mark in the fourth quarter. In what was many quintessential "this is what happens when Derrick Rose is absent" games, the Bulls did not score again until there were 7 seconds left in the game, just over four and a half minutes of being shut out on offense in the most important portion of the game.
Since that defeat in Houston, the Rockets have rattled off a nice stretch of play, going 9-5 and picking up wins against the Knicks (twice), Memphis and the Lakers (if that means anything right now). In any case, the Rockets are definitely trending upward.
PF Patrick Patterson, who really hurt the Bulls last time around (20 pts, 8 rebounds), continues to be out with a foot injury; Marcus Morris (8.9 ppg) takes his place in the starting lineup. As always, the brunt of the offensive burden will fall on James Harden (25.6 ppg, 22.9 PER) and Chandler Parsons (14.7 ppg). Parsons can get up and down the floor, so if Deng is still looking as banged up as he did Saturday night against Atlanta, he might be able to have a game against the Bulls tonight.
Likewise, Belinelli on Harden is another frightening matchup, albeit for different reasons. On the bright side, these are the numbers from last year when Belinelli and Harden were on the floor at the same time (with Belinelli in New Orleans, obviously):
Small sample size, so who knows. Like the Knicks game, I imagine we'll get liberal amounts of Jimmy Butler in this one. Carmelo Anthony and James Harden are different players, obviously, but Butler has proven himself equal to the challenge.
Otherwise, our old friend Omer Asik is busy averaging 10.6 ppg, which is kind of irritating after everyone spent his stint in Chicago bemoaning his lack of any sort of offensive ability. Thanks, Omer!
"you're welcome"
Also, the Rockets have this guy named Jeremy Lin, who you may have heard of; it has been a somewhat up and down season offensively for the former Knick, but he has been playing very weel of late. The month of November has seen a pretty sizable uptick in all the relevant numbers: 13.5 ppg, up from 10.2 in October; 48% from the field, up from 35%; and 35% from 3, up from 26%.
Lin was 2-for-9 for 4 points the last time around, with five turnovers to just three assists; the Bulls' guards will need to duplicate this sort of defensive performance if the Bulls are going to keep pace.
Points of Concern
As always, James Harden provides an offensive threat that is often impossible to defend. The odds of Belinelli being able to hang with Harden with any sort of consistency are not good, which means that the Bulls will have to go with Butler, who doesn't provide much offense himself. Managing this spot in the lineup is kind of like plugging a hole in a dam; another leak will always spring up.
As a team, the Rockets lead the league in points per game (105.4 per). Luckily, they're second to last in points allowed (103.4 per), making them pretty much the complete antithesis of the Bulls. Regardless, a potent offensive attack against this Bulls team, one that can go silent for stretches of four or five minutes at a time, is a little worrisome.
Asik, as we know, is a staunch presence in the middle, and even blocked Joakim Noah dunk attempts twice the last time around. Noah and the rest of the frontcourt will need to finish around the basket against the Turkish Tower.
What Needs To Happen
The Bulls didn't really do anything egregious the last time around other than completely faltering offensively in the last five minutes of the first contest in Houston. Other than that, the Bulls had held Lin in check, took care of the ball relatively well and didn't let Houston shoot an exceptional percentage.
In short, shut down the Lin pick and roll game again with Morris/Asik. Don't let the Rockets get into transition; as always, this means good shots and fewer long rebounds on the offensive end. If this becomes the proverbial track meet, the Bulls will be like that one sad guy trailing in the back of an Olympic 100-meter run.
Useless Prediction Time
Jeremy Lin once again struggles from the field against the Bulls.
The Bulls rebounded 28% of their misses last time against Houston, with Patterson out this time around, I expect that number to go up to about 33-35%.
Jimmy Butler is averaging over 2 minutes per game more than his season average in his last ten games. He logged 30 minutes against Houston the first time around, and I'd imagine that he'll get close to or exceed that number tonight.
Playing at home, the Bulls do just enough to pick off a rising Houston team (I have nothing to based this feeling off of save holiday cheer). Bulls 96, Rockets 94.
After a tumultuous offseason, the 2012-13 season began and Jeremy Lin was not a New York Knick. Instead, the Knicks plunged headlong into the season with 39-year-old Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton, fresh off a catastrophic season in Portland (where he couldn't seem to get back in shape post-lockout), as their top point guards.
And, wouldn't you know it, things have worked out just fine for the Knicks, who are still wanting the services of Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert. The Knicks appear to be a legitimate title contender for the first time since 1999, when they last appeared in the finals against San Antonio. It's been such a charmed season for the Knicks that they have even managed to unearth Rasheed Wallace and put him to good use. Unfortunately for Sheed, a left foot injury has sidelined him for the last three games, and I wouldn't bet on him playing tonight. Laugh if you must, but the Knicks' frontcourt is already sort of thin, so losing Sheed is not an insignificant blow. I guess you could say there's a...need for Sheed. I'll show myself out now.
Despite what at the time seemed like a potentially foolish decision to let Lin walk, the Knicks have soldiered on, playing an exciting and effective brand of ball. Carmelo Anthony has missed a little bit of time due to injury, but he has otherwise been having a MVP-worthy season thus far (28.0 ppg, 26.4 PER).
However, the Knicks haven't gotten to 19-6 by virtue of Anthony's play alone; the Knicks have been at or near the top of the league in 3-point shooting all season, which should provide a depressingly stark contrast with the Bulls' own horrific shooting from beyond the arc. The Knicks are currently third in the league, shooting 40.4% from downtown as a team. Anthony is shooting a sterling 46%, while Jason Kidd, who hasn't exactly been known for his outside shooting throughout his career, is hitting 45% on about 5 attempts per game.
Of course, leading gunner Steve Novak is shooting 44% and is a classic FIND THE SHOOTER guy. The Bulls cannot afford to let him settle into that corner spot he likes so much, or he will kill the Bulls all night. Novak was out the other night against Brooklyn with flu-like symptoms, but I would imagine that he'll be ready to go tonight.
Raymond Felton, who I've always kind of liked for some reason, is having a very nice bounceback season (15.9 ppg, 6.6 apg). Unlike Rajon Rondo, Felton does have an outside shot to threaten his defender with, and so Kirk et al will have to respect that while also keeping the former Tar Heel in front of them.
The Knicks started out the season playing lights out defense, allowing less than 90 points in six of their first nine games. Since the, the Knicks D has loosened up a bit, giving up over 90 in 11 of its last 16 games (100+ in six of those games). New York is currently 10th in the league, giving up 96.2 points per game.
The Knicks were not able to handle Jeremy Lin on Monday and Deron Williams had a solid double-double on Wednesday in a Brooklyn loss (16 pts, 10 assists); unfortunately, the Bulls do not have a point guard of the caliber of either of those guys. Well, they do have a guy better than Lin, Felton and Kidd combined times infinity, but he is busy rehabbing his knee.
Points of Concern
Defensively, it all starts up top for a number of reasons. Penetration by Knicks guards might as well be an actual bell, tolling for thee. With Novak chilling in the corners waiting to blow dart 3-pointers into your neck like a ninja and Tyson Chandler hanging around the basket for lobs, the Bulls cannot afford to let Felton --and, fergodsakes, Kidd-- get into the lane with regularity. Anybody that watched the New York-Brooklyn game the other night saw what a dunkfest it was for Chandler. It wasn't much different for the Bulls against the Clippers, when Lob City reigned supreme in the UC.
Carmelo has been pretty much unstoppable all season, and the Bulls will need Deng/Butler to really bring it. Butler had some success against Carmelo that one time, when Butler basically shut Carmelo down in the fourth quarter in what became a 3-point win. This probably sounds like I'm entering Uncle Rico territory here, but unlike unlike Uncle Rico we have visual proof of Butler being good at something. Just stay with him, don't fly out of the picture when he jabs and challenge the shot as best you can and hope he misses. After going to the game at the Garden this past April, I still have nightmares of Carmelo nailing shots over the outstretched hands of Bulls defenders.
Last season, Carmelo shot 55% from the field and 63% from three with Luol Deng on the floor*. If that happens tonight, well, hamburgers.
With Jimmy Butler on the floor at the same time** as Melo (i.e. ostensibly matched up on him), Melo only shot 29% from the field (sample size caveats, yada yada yada). Butler obviously doesn't give you even a sliver of the offensive capability that Deng does, but maybe Thibs ought to consider playing the youngster a little bit more in this one.
*22-for-41 from 2, 5-for-8 from 3.
**I'm not sure why Marquis Teague's picture is there instead of Butler's on that NBA.com player comparison generator, but whatever.
What Needs To Happen
Kirk Hinrich needs to exist. Please. We need something, anything from our starting point guard. It's getting to the point where I'd suffer Nate Robinson's terrible defense and make him the starter if it were up to me. Of course, this will never happen.
Offensive glass. Simply put, the Bulls probably won't be able to keep up if the Knicks are even somewhat on from outside. The best shot they have is turning this into an ugly Big Ten-esque slugfest. Limiting possessions and more importantly winning battles on the offensive glass will give the Bulls the buckets they won't otherwise get in first chance half court sets. The Knicks are not a good offensive rebounding team but are one of the best in the league on the other end, only allowing 10 offensive rebounds per game and maintaining a defensive rebounding percentage of 74.5% (6th in the league). In short, Joakim Noah needs to win more battles than he loses against Chandler or the Bulls are toast.
FIND. THE. SHOOTER. As always, pace and perimeter defense go a long way toward preventing an opponent's top gunner from getting good lucks. If the Bulls take good shots and don't turn it over, the Knicks won't have many shots at finding Novak for open transition treys. Likewise, Bulls guards need to keep Felton out of the lane, as the lob to Chandler is always an option for them at that juncture of a play.
Useless Prediction Time
The Bulls are better off letting Nate Robinson do his thing; Hinrich simply does not possess the playmaking ability to be an asset, even against a relatively unathletic PG duo like Felton and Kidd. I guess this isn't so much a prediction as it is a hope, dream, aspiration, a raising withering in the sun-like glance of Tom Thibodeau.
Tyson Chandler doesn't quite get 16 boards like he did the last time the Bulls went to MSG, but he will do enough to keep Noah from truly killing the Knicks.
Tyson Chandler will eye laser at least two Bulls players, with Vladimir Radmanovic probably being one of those guys...poor RadMan :(.
It will be close entering the fourth, but if the game is close down the stretch, I don't see this Bulls team outdueling Carmelo in the Garden. Knicks 95, Bulls 86.
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.
The Bulls got off to a bit of a slow start tonight, allowing the Bucks to grab an early 9-4 lead. Insert "this is the NBA and leads don't matter" verbiage here, but when the first quarter ended the Bulls were up 26-19. Powered by 16 combined points from Hinrich and Hamilton, the Bulls were able to jump out to a lead despite shooting poorly. The Bulls grabbed 6 ORB in the first quarter and into the early stages of the second--one from each of the starters save Hinrich and a pair from Butler-- to mitigate the relatively cold start from the field.
However, on the not so bright side the Bucks were doing work on the offensive glass themselves; 15 minutes into the game, they had 7 ORB.They came in averaging just over 11 offensive boards per game.
As the second quarter went along, the Bulls D began to tighten quite a bit. The Bucks had a hard time getting through on the dribble, resulting in some bad shots and turnovers that the Bulls converted into points (e.g. the kickout to Rip off the Milwaukee turnover for an easy breakaway layup).
As expected, Boozer didn't come out with the same shooting touch he had on Saturday, starting 3/9 from the field through almost two quarters of play. He was able to contribute in other ways, with 3 boards, an assist and a steal.
Monta Ellis in particular was pressured and harried on the perimeter throughout the first half, and Brandon Jennings didn't fare much better. Combined, the tandem shot 5-13 in the first half, good for just 11 of Milwaukee's 40 first half points.
I should probably go to a game and acquire some better file photos (i.e. ones other than this one). Chicago Bulls (2-1) vs. Orlando Magic (2-0)
Good times.
The Opponent
After the Dwight Howard saga mercifully came to an end, which saw him getting dealt to Los Angeles in a 3-team deal that got Orlando Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and future picks, the outlook for the 2012-13 season seemed grim to say the least. Where the hopes and dreams of the surely innumerable legions of Magic fans once stood became home to a dusty landscape filled with tumbleweeds and store fronts with signs reading "Be Back NEVER Going to Miami."
However, the Magic have defied all odds en route to a 2-0 start, beating a good Denver team and Phoenix, both at home. Glen Davis has done his best to make everyone forget that Dwight Howard existed, scoring 29 and 22 points against Denver and Phoenix, respectively.
Unfortunately for Orlando, they did lose Hedo Turkoglu after he suffered a broken hand in the opener against Denver. Also, Jameer Nelson didn't play Sunday due to a groin injury (FUN) and also didn't practice Monday (per Rotowire); former Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore took his place at the PG spot Sunday. Moore actually performed quite well after a non-descript run in Boston to start his NBA career. Against Phoenix, he put up 15 points on 6/11 shooting (3/3 from beyond the arc) and 6 assists to three turnovers.
Aside from the whole "two starters already being banged up after two games" thing, things have gone just about as well as the Magic could have possibly hoped for. Davis is filling it up, Moore has performed admirably in Nelson's stead, and J.J. Redick is shooting 75% from 3, which is a good thing for him because he's probably getting traded (that trade value just isn't going to up itself).
It's hard to get a read on a team like this so early in the season, but I feel confident in saying that they're not as good as they have shown. Davis' top 5 PER of 29.6 is in no way sustainable, but I suppose that doesn't matter in the scope of this game in and of itself. In three games against the Bulls last year, Davis averaged a meager 7 ppg, although with Dwight still around then he wasn't getting starter's minutes.
The Magic cracked the 100-point mark in each of their first two games, although that is a debatably impressive accomplishment against those teams. However, in light of Howard's departure and the injuries to Turkoglu and Nelson (as well as the ongoing absence of Al Harrington and Gustavo Ayon), the Magic have gotten some surprisingly balanced scoring, allowing new coach Jacque Vaughn to begin his head coaching career with a pair of wins. As Saturday night showed, the Bulls cannot afford to sleep on any team as long as Derrick Rose is out.
Points of Concern
Many will argue that 3-point defense is "random," and shouldn't necessarily be a cornerstone of an assessment of a team's overall defense. Regardless, the Bulls are about middle of the pack when it comes to 3-point D thus far. The Bulls have allowed some open looks on occasion, usually in transition; luckily for the Bulls, Ryan Anderson had an awful night on Saturday, otherwise the game wouldn't have been close.
As such, the Bulls will need to keep an eye on Redick in transition and coming off of screens in the half court (he's 6/8 from beyond the arc so far). Otherwise, there isn't much about this Magic team on paper that should really scare the Bulls; then again, I thought the same thing leading up to the Hornets game.
What Needs To Happen
FIND THE SHOOTER. Just like I said in the last preview re: Ryan Anderson, the Bulls cannot afford to gift Redick any open looks. However, it should be noted that Redick is not just a 3-point shooter. He has developed a solid game over the years that extends outside of his ability to knock them 'em from outside. He is shooting 59% on 2-pointers.
Immovable object, irresistible force. The Bulls are 2nd in the league in points allowed per game (87.3), whereas the Magic are 1st in points scored. A general rule of thumb: if the opponent scores over 100, this Bulls team as it is currently constituted probably won't win that game. The Bulls only scored over 100 once during the preseason (exactly 100, a game which I was at) and once in its first three games (the blowout in Cleveland). So, something's got to give here.
Boozer/Hinrich/Hamilton: COME ON PLEASE. Let's add another point to the "Ironclad List of Things That Will Make This Rose-less Bulls Team Lose": if the aforementioned trio combine to shoot 4/26 in a given game, the Bulls are probably not going to win that game. I know, this is shocking, but this is why I am here to tell you these things. In all seriousness, the Bulls can barely even afford to have Boozer go as cold as he did on Saturday, let alone him and Hinrich and Hamilton. This is all a roundabout way of me saying "make shots, please."
Useless Prediction Time
Hinrich continues to struggle from the field, but Boozer and Hamilton enjoy respectable shooting performances.
Redick has another great night from the field, but the Bulls' big men give Davis problems all night. Noah and Gibson combine for six blocks.
The Bulls' overall team defense is enough to keep a banged up Orlando team in check; the Magic don't eclipse the 100 point mark for the first time this season. After getting burned re: Saturday night's game, I don't feel as confident about the following as I probably should, but...here it is anyway.
I had this picture all ready to go so that I could make a "can we stop the season and declare this team NBA champions?" joke. Oh well.
Bulls 82, Hornets 89
After starting Friday's game with a 7-0 run, the Bulls got a bit of a taste of their own medicine on Saturday night. The Bulls struggled to score in the early goings, and the Hornets rattled off a 8-2 run to start the game. Greivis Vasquez got the Hornets out in transition and distributed well, as he has shown the ability to do early on in this season.
Al-Farouq Aminu pitched in six points in the opening period, all dunks. Ryan Anderson and Roger Mason also pitched in from outside, the latter pitching in two (including one that was contested by Gibson about as well as you could ask for).
The Bulls offense was sluggish and unable to gain its bearings early on. Boozer was not able to connect on his jumper, starting the game 0/4 from the field. Luckily for the Bulls, Luol Deng and Marco Belinelli--yes, you read that correctly--were able to carry the Bulls through this tough stretch. For all the criticism Deng has received regarding his decision to play in London and to opt out of surgery, he continues to soldier on and deliver tough baskets on determined drives and put backs. Deng almost had a double double halfway through the second quarter (10 points, 7 rebounds).
Belinelli had easily his best stretch of play early on in this one, pitching in eight points in short order, including a dunk (!) on the break, resulting in Stacey King asking for the hot sauce, and a trey. As King made sure to note, Belinelli is "not just a shooter." It's still too early to make any grand declarations regarding Belinelli's game, but he clearly has a more diverse skillset than Korver did. Of course, that does not mean he is a better player overall, as Korver's elite shooting made him an important piece of a team with legitimate title aspirations. However, Belinelli's play in this one was encouraging, whether or not you believe it is a reproducible effort.
He also pitched in a couple nifty assists, helping the Bulls double up on the Hornets in the assist department (a Hornets team that ranked 6th in the league in assists per coming into this game).
It was a shaky start, but the Bulls erased their early 10-point deficit with relative ease. After his early dunkfest, Aminu went scoreless the rest of the half, and the Hornets' transition game that had hurt the Bulls earlier was held in check the rest of the first half. However, after two straight treys from Vasquez to end the half--FIND THE SHOOTER--the Bulls entered the half down 44-46.
The Hornets started the second half with the slowest developing post move to hook shot ever from Lopez over Boozer, a Lopez dunk, and another Aminu dunk. Through a little over five minutes of play, the Hornets lead was once again back to 10.
Unfortunately, this game made it painfully obvious that nothing will come easy for this Bulls team on the offensive end. The transition game can only account for so many points, and when Boozer isn't hitting, the Bulls don't really have anybody to break the defense down (miss you, Derrick). Per Jeff Mangurten, the trio of Hinrich, Boozer and Hamilton were 2/18 through about 2.5 quarters of play. As you all know, the Bench Mob was able to mitigate such things last year, but the Bench Mob is not a thing that exists anymore.
The Bulls had some trouble finishing at the cup on the break, otherwise they would have had a small lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls entered the 4th down 60-66. The two teams traded buckets for most of the quarter until the Bulls pulled to within 4 with a little over a minute to go. A huge call went to the Bulls way, with the refs reversing a call that was originally called Hornets ball. After replay, the ball clearly appeared to go off Jason Smith's hand without touching a Bull on its way out of bounds.
The Bulls had a chance to narrow the deficit to 2 or 1 on their next possession. The Bulls called Belinelli's number, who had a pretty good look on a corner three. He missed. After starting off hot earlier in the game, Belinelli finished 4/10 (2/6 from 3). Gibson was called for a foul on his rebounding attempt over Smith. Smith hit both of his free throws at the other end to put the Bulls down six with 53 seconds left. The rest was a formality, as the Bulls fell for the first time in this young season against a Davis-less Hornets team.
BULLets, Sponsored by "I See What You Did There, Inc.":
Evil Boozer. Evil Boozer reared his head tonight. He went a horrific 1/8 from the field, and it's not like he was getting terrible looks. He just missed. Unfortunately, that is just the game you play when you have Boozer on the floor. He's like Kyle Korver, but bigger, which is sadly not the worst thing that has ever been said about Carlos Boozer.
Transition defense. The Bulls have shown the propensity to lose shooters in transition, which hurt them occasionally in this one. However, Anderson was actually pretty terrible, going 1/7 from beyond the arc. Moreso than transition D vis-a-vis the 3-point line--which is tough to defend for any team, really--the Bulls allowed far too many easy buckets, particularly to Aminu.
A positive! Noah notched a double-double on the night, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards. So that's nice.
Memes, broken. Unfortunately, this sort of throws a wrench into the whole "The Bulls will beat bad teams by virtue of defense and rebounding no matter what" thing. However, it's entirely possible that the Hornets aren't that bad (at least not in the realm of terrible as Cleveland). Still, that doesn't make this loss, at home, any less palatable.
The story: Boozer, Hamilton, and Hinrich shot a combined 4/26 from the field, good for 15%. That+the lack of a Bench Mob=loss almost every time. That's all, folks.
The Bulls return to the friendly confines of the United Center after a trip to Cleveland for a game that might have been the biggest rout of this NBA season thus far. The Bulls out-hustled, out-ran, and out-shot a bad Cavaliers team en route to a 29-point victory, taking the Bulls to 2-0.
The Opponent
On Saturday night, the Bulls take another decidedly mediocre to bad opponent in the New Orleans Hornets, who have actually acquitted themselves somewhat well thus far. The Hornets lost by four at home against San Antonio to start the season but then pulled out a thrilling 2-point win against the Jazz last night. Greivis Vasquez hit a layup with 1.3 seconds to go after Utah's Paul Millsap hit a trey to tie it on the previous possession.
Unfortunately for NOLA, #1 overall pick Anthony Davis went out with a mild concussion in the first half of last night's game, and he is not traveling with the team to Chicago.
Before Davis' injury, NOLA rolled out this starting lineup: SF Al-Farouq Aminu, PG Greivis Vasquez, C Robin Lopez, SG Austin Rivers, and, of course, Davis. With Davis out, former Orlando sharp-shooter Ryan Anderson or the 7'0'' Jason Smith will slide into the lineup at the 4.
Davis boasted a lofty 26.3 PER rating in his less than 1.5 games, and the dropoff after him is not insignificant. (Vasquez comes in second at 17.9).
Small sample size and all, but other than Anderson, the Hornets do not shoot the three particularly well. Anderson is 43% from outside, and he'll probably hit a few tonight as well, whether in transition or on the rare Bulls defensive breakdown (they happen, just not often). Otherwise, nobody else seems to shoot it well, but, then again, Anderson has taken close to half of NOLA's trey do date.
Despite the loss of Davis, the Hornets still boast another solid inside presence in Robin Lopez, acquired from Phoenix via trade. During his four seasons in Phoenix, Lopez was never much of a scoring threat, never averaging double digit points a single time. However, through two games he's averaging 13.5, in addition to 8 boards per (3 of the offensive variety). Again, small sample size caveats apply, but maybe this is the year that Lopez becomes a more well-rounded player on the offensive end.
Of course, the Hornets are still without the services of Eric Gordon, who is out for 4-6 weeks with a knee injury.
Maryland product Greivis Vasquez--who NOLA acquired from Memphis to fill the backup spot behind Gordon--has also had a nice start to his 2012-13 season, dropping a total of 23 dimes through just two games. He is a more than capable distributor, so the Bulls will want to avoid letting Vasquez operate in transition. One way of doing this is by doing what they did last night in Cleveland: forcing turnovers/long rebounds and going on the break themselves for some easy scores.
Points of Concern
With both Davis and Gordon out, the Hornets don't offer much that should put a serious score into the Bulls, even without Rose. However, as mentioned, the Bulls will need to make sure that Vasquez doesn't do his thing in the transition game.
Additionally, Ryan Anderson is always a concern for any team from beyond the arc. He scored 15 of his 19 points last night from downtown, and even the Bulls will leave a guy open on the perimeter from time to time (note: if that guy is Luke Walton, then by all means LEAVE HIM OPEN).
If this were any other team, Robin Lopez doing work on the offensive glass would be a concern; luckily, this is the Bulls we're talking about here.
The rookie shooting guard from Duke, Austin Rivers, has gotten off to a horrific 1-13 start from the field through two games. This isn't so much of a concern as it is me hoping that this isn't the game that Rivers finds his shot.
What Needs To Happen
DO. YOUR. JOB. Pretty simple. If the Bulls do all of the things that the Bulls typically do on defense and the offensive glass, I have a hard time imagining the Hornets cracking 90 points.
Find the shooter. The only way I see the Hornets hanging around late into the fourth quarter is if Anderson catches fire, as he is wont to do. Whoever is on him (Deng?) will need to make sure to go over screens and generally give him the business, without fouling of course.
Dives and cuts. With NOLA lacking Davis' presence in the paint, the Bulls should be able to make hay on hard cuts and dives from whoever the second post player is. Noah made a nice cut through the heart of the paint for a score against Cleveland when Boozer occupied the right block. That will likely be there again. Lopez can swat some shots, but he is not Davis.
Useless Prediction Time
Captain Kirk hits some threes: he goes 2/3 on the day.
Vasquez does not get into double digit assist territory...seven sounds right.
Ryan Anderson starts off hot from 3 but tails off as the game goes on.
Hello, Internet. I am Fouad Egbaria, a Michigan grad ('11) and recent graduate of the MSJ program at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. This is a blog that attempts to analyze the highs and lows of Michigan football and basketball; I'm just trying to capture the spirit of the thing. I will also write about general Big Ten news, as well as Chicago professional sports (from time to time).
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