# Game 1: Bulls @ Thunder - Wed, 10/27/10, 7pm



## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

Game 1:
Bulls (0 - 0)









@

Thunder (0 - 0)









Preview: ESPN


ESPN said:


> The Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder were No. 8 seeds in last season's playoffs, where neither proved to be a pushover against their respective conference's top team.
> 
> Sneaking into the postseason isn't the goal this time.
> 
> ...


Gooooooooooooo Bulls!


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

Whew, BBF is a little balky this morning.

Thanks for getting things started, Taco. 

I think I go with a Bulls win. 105-98.

Here's hoping we get VBookie going...

Lu with 30 pts, Rose with 20 -7-5

and Omer and Jo both with 10rbs


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

Good Hope said:


> Whew, BBF is a little balky this morning.
> 
> Thanks for getting things started, Taco.
> 
> ...


You think they can beat the Thunder in OK City? It's going to be a good, tough game.


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

I'm sure we're going to hear this from the announcers tomorrw:

“


> We're friends off the court, but on the court it's, ‘I'm trying to kill you,'” he said of going against Westbrook. “It's just being a basketball player, being an athlete.
> 
> “When you're on the court against someone, you're trying to do better than them. You're trying to have that mentality where I'm going to kill you every time we step on the court.”
> 
> It's not just Westbrook. Rose also is tight with Durant, and all three players spent September with Team USA winning the gold medal at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey.


http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20101026/sports/710279679/


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Should be a great game. I think the Thunder pull out the victory, though. Going to be fun watching Rose this season.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

The Bulls are definitely underdogs, but hopefully they put forth a good effort. They definitely have a shot.

How about Miami 0-1 and the Bulls 1-0? That would be enjoyable (for this fleeting moment).


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

*@*









*
Game 01, Road Game 01
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 – 8:00 PM ET
CSN-Chicago*

Game Notes










*Chicago Bulls (2-4)*
Home 2-1
Road 0-3

*Bulls Preseason Averages:*
PPG: 95.8 (Opp: 94.6)
RPG: 39.9 (Opp: 40.4)
APG: 22.6 (Opp: 20.5)
SPG: 7.88 (Opp: 8.50)
BPG: 5.63 (Opp: 4.00)
TO: 16.6 (Opp: 17.8)
FG%: .446 (Opp: .458)
FT%: .708 (Opp: .728)
3p%: .366 (Opp: .304)

*Probable Bulls starters*






































Derrick Rose - PG
Keith Bogans- SG
Luol Deng - SF
Taj Gibson - PF
Joakim Noah - C


*Bulls Preseason Stats Leaders*
Points: Rose 16.9, Deng 16.0
Rebounds: Noah 9.3, Asik 6.9
Assists: Rose 4.5, Noah 4.2
Steals: Noah 1.33, Deng 1.13
Blocks: Noah 1.17, Asik 1.13

FG%: Asik .519, Bogans .517
FT%: Korver .846, Rose .821
3FG%: Deng .517, Bogans .500

*Injury report*
Out - Carlos Boozer - Fractured right hand

For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report.










*Oklahome City Thunder (0-0)*
Home 0-0
Road 0-0

*Probable Thunder starters*
R. Westbrook - PG
T. Sefolosha - SG
K. Durant - SF
J. Green - PF
N. Krstic - C

*Injury report*


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

It will be a tough game. Hopefully with the first season win for the Bulls!"peace2:


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

Thanks, Bullsger! And don't take my prediction too seriously, I really have no idea how the Thunder are playing, but I just feel good about the Bulls, despite the fact they lost to all good teams and beat the bad teams during preseason....

Hmmm....

Well, anyway, just trying to stay positive to start the season.


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

Some more stuff:



> An upbeat Ronnie Brewer addressed losing his projected Bulls' starting shooting guard spot to Keith Bogans for the first time Wednesday morning.
> 
> "It's not difficult at all," Brewer said. "Whether you're starting or coming off the bench, you still have the same mentality. I want to defend first, make plays offensively, run the floor in transition, rebound. I'm not really worried about starting or coming off the bench.
> 
> "I knew even at media day that my hamstring was hampered. I had to get that healthy before I got back on the court. Now that it's healthy, I have to work to help the team any way I can."


http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/10/brewer-ok-with-not-starting.html


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

> Adams went to Oklahoma City as the lead assistant under Scott Brooks, then returned to the Bulls this season to work with long-time friend Tom Thibodeau.
> 
> This column focuses on the timing of Adams’ arrival in OKC, midway through the 2008-09 season. On the day Adams joined the coaching staff, the Thunder owned a 3-29 record. It went 20-30 the rest of that season, then won 50 games last year.
> 
> So while Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green are clearly responsible for the Thunder’s rise, evidence suggests Adams played a significant role in the team’s success and Brooks winning NBA coach of the year last season.


http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/4809


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

My early fears seem to be a bit validated so far, the Bulls look terrible so far with Rose on the bench. My biggest concern with this team even once Boozer comes back is who scores off the bench and how will they respond when Rose is out of the game. So far not too good.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

WTF is up with Rose's jumper, its just way off. Its been a bit off all pre season even though it looked solid during the worlds.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

He scored 20 in the half. His jumper must be alright...But the defense is still letting them down. And Deng needs to pick up his end of the deal tonight.

Go Bulls!


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Good Hope said:


> He scored 20 in the half. His jumper must be alright...But the defense is still letting them down. And Deng needs to pick up his end of the deal tonight.
> 
> Go Bulls!


Actually I dont think he even made one jumper, hes driving to the hoop at will.

Defensively hes not doing that bad, 2 ticky tack calls on Westbrook got him in foul trouble.

Not to sound insulting but I'm just wondering if you are watching the game or just going by the box score.


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Fresh Rose in the 4th should be good.


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Oh Thabo, how I miss you...


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Rose's jump shot is almost non existent this game.

If he's hitting it consistently tonight we are easily up by 10.


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Thunder at home are gonna end up being just a bit too much, looks like.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

You sneeze on anyone on the Thunder and its a foul.. I'm convinced that Rose will never get to the line more than 4 times a game.


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## ScottVdub (Jul 9, 2002)

Rose is trying to do too much in the 4th. Plus other bad decisions by the Bulls are going to get them a L. Watson does not appear to have a very high basketball IQ.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

The Bulls straight up crapped themselves. 

Stupid play's by everyone. 

Shocked at how bad Rose shot tonight, just way off on his jump shot. Deng cant dribble a basketball to save his life.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

Key points in this game:

- Lack of Boozer. I'm totally convinced we had this one if Boozer is in there.

- Sefolosha dominated us in the 4th. Guy was everywhere.

- And this is nit picky, but that blow goal tend call late in the 4th...that hurt bad.

- Free throws. 45 OKC attempts to Bulls 22. Unbelievable. 

This just simply adds up to a loss. Too bad, b/c we definitely could've had this one.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

I wish Rose had the teammates that Westbrook has... I really really really do.


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Wasn't expecting a win here, but the fact that we could've had this one definitely makes it sting a bit.


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

Bulls lose 95-106 

Thunder 11 fouls Bulls 27 fouls??


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## garnett (May 13, 2003)

That was a terrible last quarter. Rose took a lot of shots but he was the only one who wanted to shoot. Get well soon Boozer.


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

I DVR'ed this to watch tomorrow, and watched the Bucks/Hornets game instead. So the calls are going to drive me nuts?


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## SWIFTSLICK (Aug 22, 2009)

Well, that was a nice opening night disappointment. Up & Down game until OKC got serious in the 4th Q. Bulls just lost focus and composure. They turned into spectators instead of defenders. 

I seriously doubt Boozer's presence would've made this closer. As good as he might be, he's not going to account for the 11-0 run OKC went on. Or those two dunks that Durant and Westbrook performed at will in the closing 3 minutes.


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## caseyrh (Jun 10, 2003)

impossible to win a game when the other team shoots 25 more free throws...


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## TheDarkPrince (May 13, 2006)

Bulls still not getting any respect from the refs. It seems like every game we play the other team always gets to the line twice as much as we do. Also that goal tend on Deng was horrid. Still don't know what the ref was looking at on that play.


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## SWIFTSLICK (Aug 22, 2009)

caseyrh said:


> impossible to win a game when the other team shoots 25 more free throws...


You can also avoid this by not fouling the other team (28 PF in the game). 

Absolute collapse in the 4th Q. Can't blame everything on the refs. That is not a good enough excuse for poor shooting down the stretch. The Bulls jacked up way too many shots from the outside(2 of 14 made) and were sloppy at the FT line(13 of 22). 

They could have won this game despite the FT disparity. This was a big FAIL on the Bulls part. Can't blame the Zebras alone on this one. 


Also, I'd like to note that the Rockets/Warriors game had a lopsided FT disparity: HOU - 42/52, GSW - 22/26. And Golden State WON that game by four points. 

Kings/Wolves did as well (SAC - 47 FTA vs MIN - 28 FTA) and SAC only won by one point.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Tough loss, its hard to break down this loss since so many things went wrong but heck lets give it a shot.

1. Rose's shooting - His jump shot was WAY off and that 3 point shot that he said he perfected in the offseason was non existent. On the bright side he was pretty much the only Bull doing anything on offense, he took the ball to the basket at will but his foul trouble really took him out of long stretches of the game, probably cooling him off by the 4th. 

2. Deng- WTF, why cant this guy improve as a ball handler and finisher? He is absolutely one of the worst athletes at the 3 in the NBA, he did not shoot the ball all to well tonight but I expect his jumper to be back, still one has to wonder if we need a more athletic 3, his un ability to finish in traffic at his size is just sad. Still hes not the biggest problem on this team.

3. The SG situation - Wow, Brewer and Bogans combined for 1-10 shooting. No matter how well they play on defense you are not going to win many games if you get no offensive production from your 2 guards. 

4. The Bench - 6 players came off the bench and scored a combined 17 points... 8 of those by CJ Watson. OKC played 4 guys off the bench and scored 24 points. The biggest issue I have with this team is the bench, where will the points come from?

The Bulls lost to a better team, that much is clear and we did play without Boozer who would have at least made Jeff Green have to guard someone. Taj had a good game with his put backs and dunks, Noah had a very good game statistically with his rebounding and put backs but again we are really missing a legit offensive option in the post not just a put back guy. The Bulls will miss Boozer for sure but on the bright spot they played good D for the majority of the game, they could not keep the other team off the line but I liked what I saw in stretches and if the Bulls could tighten up the offense it will only make opposing teams use more energy on Defense. 

Offense C- 
Defense C+


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## mvP to the Wee (Jul 14, 2007)

There's no shame in losing to OKC, especially on their home opener. That stadium was electric, the same playoff atmosphere in which the Lakers struggled. A lot of miscommunications on the offensive side of the ball, as you could see with Rose having to call the plays several times till everyone was on the same page and then having to force a shot up. As time goes by, that'll be a non issue.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

The bulls lost because Rose has no help in 4th quarter ...same as last year(hopefully boozer changes this somewhat) there was an 8 minute stretch in the 4th where rose scored every point except a hoop he created for korver.

6 different thunder scored.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=301027025&period=4 

during that time they went from up 1 ...to down 13.

its only 1 game , but still guys have to step up whether boozer is there or not


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

SWIFTSLICK said:


> I seriously doubt Boozer's presence would've made this closer. As good as he might be, he's not going to account for the 11-0 run OKC went on. Or those two dunks that Durant and Westbrook performed at will in the closing 3 minutes.


I completely disagree, respectfully.

The lack of post offense turns us into the same team as last year, where the defense overplays the passing lanes and packs defenders at Rose. The Thunder blew this game open with fast break points in the 4th quarter, off of missed shots and turnovers. (A large part caused by Sefolosha)

You throw Boozer in there, the game slows down, we have a 55% scorer on the inside, and suddenly those fast break points go away. You also don't have Rose getting swamped at the top of the key and it opens things up for him.

The bottom line is the Thunder are just a better team than us, until Boozer comes back that is.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

TheDarkPrince said:


> Also that goal tend on Deng was horrid. Still don't know what the ref was looking at on that play.


Yep. I thought this was a big turning point actually. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, but still. It was a 2-pt game at the time and gave OKC a freebee 2 points (expanding lead to 4). 

They just blew the game open after that. Certainly didn't help the energy level.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

narek said:


> I DVR'ed this to watch tomorrow, and watched the Bucks/Hornets game instead. So the calls are going to drive me nuts?



A bit, but the 4th quarter meltdown is more maddening.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

thebizkit69u said:


> 4. The Bench - 6 players came off the bench and scored a combined 17 points... 8 of those by CJ Watson. OKC played 4 guys off the bench and scored 24 points. The biggest issue I have with this team is the bench, where will the points come from?



One would think Korver, but he weirdly only got around 15 minutes of playing time. There were some pretty offensively limited lineups out there and I kept scratching my head wondering why Korver wasn't seeing more action.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

On an unrelated side note, Cleveland is still leading this division.


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

taco_daddy said:


> On an unrelated side note, Cleveland is still leading this division.


Let's give a big hand to Sessions.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

jnrjr79 said:


> One would think Korver, but he weirdly only got around 15 minutes of playing time. There were some pretty offensively limited lineups out there and I kept scratching my head wondering why Korver wasn't seeing more action.


When Korver was first signed I thought he was going to be the offensive spark off the bench but the more I saw this team play, its pretty clear that his role will be that of a 3 point specialist. 15 minutes is too low for a guy who has shown to be the only damn player off the bench that can score.

The Bulls do have depth but there is not one player on that bench that we can rely on to score points. Would be nice to have back a Jamal Crawford or Ben Gordon lol.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

taco_daddy said:


> On an unrelated side note, Cleveland is still leading this division.


Its not surprising to me, I said it before that this was a good team even without Lebron. Obviously the loss of Lebron makes this team a fringe playoff team but its not Toronto or Minnesota.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

thebizkit69u said:


> When Korver was first signed I thought he was going to be the offensive spark off the bench but the more I saw this team play, its pretty clear that his role will be that of a 3 point specialist. 15 minutes is too low for a guy who has shown to be the only damn player off the bench that can score.
> 
> The Bulls do have depth but there is not one player on that bench that we can rely on to score points. Would be nice to have back a Jamal Crawford or Ben Gordon lol.


CJ Watson is (was?) supposed to be an offensive spark plug as well. I consider him a rich man's Pargo. I thought he displayed that somewhat against OKC. Though his shot selection can be horrid too and he doesn't have the great 3-pt range I thought. More of a long distance 2-pt shooter.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

thebizkit69u said:


> Its not surprising to me, I said it before that this was a good team even without Lebron. Obviously the loss of Lebron makes this team a fringe playoff team but its not Toronto or Minnesota.


I agree, Lebron's supporting cast the past few years was always underrated and constantly being degraded as "garbage". Personally I thought they were very good and played their roles well. They did win over 60 games after all.


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## TwinkieTowers (Jul 16, 2002)

> No matter how well they play on defense you are not going to win many games if you get no offensive production from your 2 guards


Ha; tell that to the Thunder (and Sefolosha).


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

TwinkieTowers said:


> Ha; tell that to the Thunder (and Sefolosha).


Maynor and Harden did put up some points and both can play the 2 guard spot so its not like they have nobody to score at the 2. Brewer has looked terrible on offense so far and Bogans is a defensive player first.


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## TwinkieTowers (Jul 16, 2002)

thebizkit69u said:


> Maynor and Harden did put up some points and both can play the 2 guard spot so its not like they have nobody to score at the 2. Brewer has looked terrible on offense so far and Bogans is a defensive player first.


Well, let's look at the scoring stats for the "shooting guards" of both teams.

Bulls: Bogans 3 + Watson 8 + Korver 4 + Brewer 3 = 18
Thunder: Sefolosha 1 + Harden 6 + Maynor 10 = 17

We can say that the 2s of both teams struggled to score.


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## Bulls96 (Jun 25, 2003)

We got what we deserved ...Deng “tried to carry” this team on his shoulders, but team refused to climb ))))))))))

As I predicted, Thomas and Turk - sucked too...but we got an extra $0.8M left from letting Miller go … an “outstanding saving” of team’s budget!!!

BTW, what happened with Kirk ?! Have we traded out best defender for something decent ?!


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Bulls96 said:


> We got what deserved ...Deng tried to carry this team on his shoulders , but team refused to climb.
> 
> As I predicted , Thomas and Turk - sucks too...but we got an extra $0.8M left from letting Miller go.
> 
> BTW, what happened with Kirk ? Have we traded out best defender for something decent ?!


One game does not a season make.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

TwinkieTowers said:


> Well, let's look at the scoring stats for the "shooting guards" of both teams.
> 
> Bulls: Bogans 3 + Watson 8 + Korver 4 + Brewer 3 = 18
> Thunder: Sefolosha 1 + Harden 6 + Maynor 10 = 17
> ...


The point is the Bulls NEED scoring from their 2 guards, the Thunder dont. 

They got Durant scoring 30 a night
They got Westbrook scoring 20 a night
They got Green scoring 20 a night 

Thabo is there to defend but there is no doubt Maynor and Harden can score off the bench, can Watson and Brewer do it?

While Boozer is out we need production out of our 2 guards.


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## Bulls96 (Jun 25, 2003)

King Joseus said:


> One game does not a season make.


We are going down brother...it is the fact !
Damn JR, Pax and all those greedy basters !


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## Firefight (Jul 2, 2010)

Bulls96 said:


> We got what deserved ...Deng tried to carry this team on his shoulders , but team refused to climb.
> 
> 
> BTW, what happened with Kirk ? Have we traded out best defender for something decent ?!



Deng didn't try to carry the team, Rose did...and almost pulled it off. Deng will be a great 3rd option once Boozer comes back.

What happened to Kirk? ... he's over in Washington playing SG getting blown out by Orlando. Did you see him get abused by Vince? Don't miss him... Good player, but not worth the contract.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Firefight said:


> Deng didn't try to carry the team, Rose did...and almost pulled it off. Deng will be a great 3rd option once Boozer comes back.
> 
> What happened to Kirk? ... he's over in Washington playing SG getting blown out by Orlando. Did you see him get abused by Vince? Don't miss him... Good player, but not worth the contract.


Good player not worth the contract perfectly describes Deng. 

The guy is just not athletic enough to play the 3 in the NBA. He's pretty much a spot up shooter and occasional slasher, but his finishing ability considering his size is just bad. This is a guy who I think can be a pretty good offensive PF if he bulk up but that ship has gone, maybe play him at the PF spot until Boozer comes back. Taj off the bench is way better than Scalabrine and Thomas off the bench any day of the week, Deng would at the very least stretch out the opposing PF giving Rose some better driving lanes. 

Kirk is alway's being abused by bigger 2's, hes a good defender but I have no idea why coaches keep putting him against bigger players lol.


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## Bulls96 (Jun 25, 2003)

thebizkit69u said:


> Good player not worth the contract perfectly describes Deng.
> 
> The guy is just not athletic enough to play the 3 in the NBA. He's pretty much a spot up shooter and occasional slasher, but his finishing ability considering his size is just bad. This is a guy who I think can be a pretty good offensive PF if he bulk up but that ship has gone, maybe play him at the PF spot until Boozer comes back. Taj off the bench is way better than Scalabrine and Thomas off the bench any day of the week, Deng would at the very least stretch out the opposing PF giving Rose some better driving lanes.
> 
> Kirk is alway's being abused by bigger 2's, hes a good defender but I have no idea why coaches keep putting him against bigger players lol.


Very good observations and solid assessments !


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