# Game Thread, Bulls at Rockets, Nov 16



## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

@









*Chicago Bulls at Houston Rockets *
7:00 Central on TNT and listen live on WCKG 105.9 FM 

*Bulls Starters*




































Nocioni - Deng - Wallace - Duhon - Hinrich

*Bulls Bench*











































Khryapa - Brown - Allen - Sefolosha - Gordon - Thomas


* Houston Rockets *




































​
From the Sun-Times: *The story line: The Bulls (3-4) make their second consecutive Thursday national TV appearance, hoping to avoid another lopsided road loss such as the 113-94 decision last week against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockets (5-3) are coming off a 92-84 loss Tuesday to the San Antonio Spurs in which they blew a 19-point lead.*


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## King Joseus (May 26, 2003)

Hopefully we can pull a win out of this one - the Deng jersey's going for 2-0...


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## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

hey narek, we're not playing the mavs again!!

lol nice attempt to copy and paste though


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)




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## 7thwatch (Jul 18, 2002)

yoa is gonna be hell in this game . . . we're so damn short and he's so damn tall. gotta hope for an up tempo game i guess . . .


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## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

No chance. They are out of our league as it is and will be pissed after blowing the game against SA the other day.

Houston 96
Bulls 82


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

anorexorcist said:


> hey narek, we're not playing the mavs again!!
> 
> lol nice attempt to copy and paste though


The rest of the stuff was right!!!! Picky, Picky, Picky.

But now it's fixed. When you do things at 6 am ............


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## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

rockets 100
bulls 70

this is going to be a depressing night.

in the words of gilbert arenas in that adidas commercial...

yao is going to "drop 30....40..."

I would go for the upper estimate. as i said before he is going to have a field day with our lack of height. hinrich will be the only one with a bright night. deng and noce will probably play decent as well. that will probably be about it. those 3 are our most consistent players, but we can't get anything from any of our bigs. that = doom.

expect the rookies, malik and co. to get plenty of playing time in the 4th.

in the words of t-mac/garnett/etc:

"don't be fooled"


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## Salvaged Ship (Jul 10, 2002)

Bulls 103
Rockets 88

Jordan scores 35, Pippen has a triple double, Rodman with 18 rebs, Kerr hits 5 from downtown.

This is 1996, yes?

Oh wait, it's 2006.

Rockets 101
Bulls 82


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## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

I'll be really interested to see how the Bulls respond to this one. It's really about as tough a game as they'll play all season -- tough matchups against an excellent opponent that is seething over a bad prior loss, middle of the road trip, national TV, etc.

And my goodness, think about all the jib involved in that small-forward matchup. Deng and Battier? Here's a game you can let the women and children watch without fear.


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

I think we match up against the Rockets rather well. Ming averages 15.3ppg against Wallace the last 2 seasons. Their starting PF is 6'6", their only good backup big is Howard currently averging less than 3ppg. Wells still out. Their biggest threats off the bench are Head and Snyder.

A Bulls fan picking a half court team to beat us by 20, must be harping a tad too much on negativity, no?

Bulls Bench> Rockets Bench
Hinrich>Alston
Bulls fowards>Rockets forwards

Ming and TMac> BG and BW

I predict a W.


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## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

Hustle said:


> I think we match up against the Rockets rather well. Ming averages 15.3ppg against Wallace the last 2 seasons. Their starting PF is 6'6", their only good backup big is Howard currently averging less than 3ppg. Wells still out. Their biggest threats off the bench are Head and Snyder.
> 
> A Bulls fan picking a half court team to beat us by 20, must be harping a tad too much on negativity, no?
> 
> ...


Here's the problem with your argument. I'd love to be in favor of it, but I can't.

Throw out whatever PPG Yao has against anyone in the past. This season he is unstoppable and past records cannot be taken into consideration. Much like it is the case with Dwight Howard. 

if noce starts, our starting PF is 6'7. Big whoop. our starting SG is 6'0, and their starting SG is 6'8. that should be more worrisome.

their bench is not a factor, because the scoring of yao and t-mac combined is enough to offset everything else.

hinrich is better than alston. okay, you win one.

our forwards being better than their forwards again doesn't matter because of yao and mcgrady.

so yeah I still predict an L, SOLELY because of our lack of post presence.


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

So they are going to win by 30? 

And the big whoop is intead of being undersized like he is against every other team Nocioni has size on his man, I consider that a huge matchup in favor of the Bulls

Bulls may also put Deng or Nocioni on TMac and let Battier or Hayes have the height advantage, they won't take advantage of it half as much on the offensive end.

I disagree the bench isn't a factor for obvious reasons. 2 early fouls on Ming or Tmac and it could be huge factor.


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## kirkisgod (Jul 25, 2005)

I think the game will take the form of most of the depressing Bulls games. 

Rockets big early lead. Bulls fight back to within 4-6, Rockets pull away......


Houston Rockets: 96
Bulls, of the Chicago persuasion: 83

Deng, will be the only one to show up again....and scores 21


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## paintingshade (Nov 16, 2006)

we don't have hayes... our glue guy. I think it'll be a good game. a toss up on national tv. hinrich can pull you guys out of alot, and if gordon goes off... well good night. tmac has been playing badly but last game he showed more fire... we'll just have to see. oh and Toyota Center is much loader now. thanks to the Red Rowdies. We finally have a home court.


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

Wow Hayes is out too, super depth advantage for the Bulls.


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## McBulls (Apr 28, 2005)

I have a bad feeling about this game. Maybe Skiles will dust off a zone defense again. Challenge McGrady to beat us from the outside.

Thursday nites my wife makes me go tango, so I can't watch this in real time. I'll peek at the final score to see if it's worth a look on DVR.


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## LeroyJames (Aug 22, 2004)

Better send double team help for Wallace on Yao, or Yao will just shoot over Wallace all game like he did Curry.


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## BenDengGo (Feb 1, 2004)

will this game be on CCTV5 (because of yao) ?


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## PriceIsWright (Oct 11, 2006)

BenDengGo said:


> will this game be on CCTV5 (because of yao) ?


TNT


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## rosenthall (Aug 1, 2002)

It's difficult to wrap my head around how the Bulls are supposed to gameplan for the Rockets. 

Yao looks like he's transitioned into superstar status, and has almost one foot on our best defender, and our smurph backcourt is going to be squaring off against a 6'9 wing player, who's arguably one of the ten best players in the game. Huh. 

You know your team is size deficient when the other team's PG is taller than your starting center, who's going against the tallest player in the league.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

rosenthall said:


> It's difficult to wrap my head around how the Bulls are supposed to gameplan for the Rockets.
> 
> Yao looks like he's transitioned into superstar status, and has almost one foot on our best defender, and our smurph backcourt is going to be squaring off against a 6'9 wing player, who's arguably one of the ten best players in the game. Huh.
> 
> You know your team is size deficient when the other team's PG is taller than your starting center, who's going against the tallest player in the league.


I've got to admit, I don't have a good feeling about this game. I think our best shot at winning this one is going small and running. Pull Duhon pretty quickly to start, put Deng on McGrady, go small at the 3 and 4 (maybe Khryapa can get a little more burn tonight), cross our fingers and hope Wallace can draw a charge or two on Yao in the first quarter...


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I wouldnt be too worried about Houston, I dont think this is going to be the blowout some of you guys predicted. We are missing Hayes, and we came off a horrible loss. Also I can see Ben Wallace putting pressure on Yao. 

I am actually looking forward to this game a lot. Good Luck. I am probably going to chime in once a while here see what you guys are saying or give my comments.


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## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

Just goes to show how so many of the posters are going off the deep edge over a couple bad losses, Bulls fans have us overwhelmingly losing, Rockets fans think it'll be a good game, good god.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Let's get Big Marty's big body up on Yao all night. Oh yeah! That's what the big boy is for.


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## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

Wallace and PJ and whoever else gets the chance to guard Yao will have to do what used to frustrate Yao earlier in his career. Bump him all the way down the floor and make it excruciatingly difficult for him to get position down low early in the shot clock. Then bump him some more. He handles it a lot better now than he used to, but that's the best chance we have to contain the big fella.

McGrady concerns me even more, to be honest. He's too big for our guards and too quick for Luol. Think Thabo and Tyrus will get chances against him? They are physically the best-equipped, but that would turn into a FT parade for Tracy immediately.

nevertheless....and I admit this might be my desire to quiet down the Chicken Littles for a few days talking, but I think this is one of those games where everyone expects the Bulls to lose, but they surprise us and play a really spirited game. They're due for one.

Bulls 96
Rockets 90

Luol with 21 and solid defense on McGrady.
Ben with 18 off the bench, 10 in the 4th.

TMac and Yao get 23 each, but our defense keeps them from running wild.


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## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

The Rockets uniforms are by far the worst in the NBA

They are just so plain and dull.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

UMfan83 said:


> The Rockets uniforms are by far the worst in the NBA
> 
> They are just so plain and dull.


Tell me about it. I want them to go back to the old days. Like the rockets retro ones
like these


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

rockets have won 4 out of the last 5 games


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Deng is really coming on with his game. He is the most consistant of all the players


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

McGrady will be a nice player one day  5-2 Bulls


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Wow. That was a weak foul called on Howard. Bulls 10-5


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

What a move by McGrady. 10-9 bulls. 
three by nocioni. 13-9


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

duhon for three 16-11


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Raining down the threes. Nice start.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

first few mins of the game you guys wouldnt miss.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

We are starting to miss some shots. 16-13 bulls. T/o

Mcgrady 7. Deng and Hinrich 5. 

We look really small compared to Hst. We are small. Out rebounded 8-3.


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## darlets (Jul 31, 2002)

truebluefan said:


> Deng is really coming on with his game. He is the most consistant of all the players


Deng and Wallace at the All star game.


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## Jesus Shuttlesworth (Aug 3, 2005)

International Bulls fans: This game is on Sopcast. WMOE channel


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Deng for 2. 18-13


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Nice steal by Wallace on Yao. Thomas in early.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Someone just called Kirk a combo guard 

-------------

PJ Brown is directing Tyrus around the court.


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## evalam23 (Feb 2, 2004)

Bulls are small period, BW is only 6-8. I thought losing tyson was a good move, but just made the team a lot smaller and BW is probably not going to be as effective without a Rasheed by his side. Plus they have two guards that are 6-3 or smaller. I am hoping thabo gets better so he can play two guard along side hinrich, with Deng at SF. They have BW to play PF but are lacking a center, they need to make a trade.

But hey it is still early and I am still hoping for the best.


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Deng looks great. Wallace is doing well. Kirk also looks good, popping a turnaround jumper rated at a degree of difficulty of 9.9. I like the energy so far.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

Definitely one of the stronger starts we've had this season. Interesting (and encouraging) to see Skiles continue to go to Tyrus Thomas early in games.


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

TMac is retiring in 3 years?!? Wow...


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

sp00k said:


> TMac is retiring in 3 years?!? Wow...


Yeah, I am really starting to get tired of his whining.

Also, we are killing you guys on the boards, but we cant get a shot off to save our life. And when we do, they dont go. Bulls are playing well


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Very good beginning. I was surprised to see Tyrus out there too, but I'm not complaining. I like his energy and rebounding, but he kinda looks lost out there to me, and his jumper was Tyson Chandler-level ugly. The Bulls seem to get confused defensively when he's out there as well, being slow to rotate and stuff, so that's also a concern.

Ben's doing exactly what the Bulls need him to do: come in and start racking up points, and he's doing it by driving the basket, a good sign.

Not much to complain about so far; let's hope for more of the same!


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Wallace giving yao fits! That is nice to see.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

glad to see Gordon scoring!!


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Tyrus blocking Yao is a beautiful sight.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Thomas had good form with that shot. He will hit that shot soon.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Now we got a game


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

jnrjr79 said:


> Tyrus blocking Yao is a beautiful sight.


 Those are the plays that make me think he'll be special.

That TO wasn't special though.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

TMac's comments about his body breaking down are interesting. I do wonder if we might find that some of these younger guys don't have the shelf-life of guys who went to college. Maybe NBA players are like pitchers who only have so many pitches in their arms. Start earlier and finish earlier?


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

28-26 Bulls HST 37% bulls 44%

HST rebounding 21-9!! 


deng Hinrich McGrady 7.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> TMac's comments about his body breaking down are interesting. I do wonder if we might find that some of these younger guys don't have the shelf-life of guys who went to college. Maybe NBA players are like pitchers who only have so many pitches in their arms. Start earlier and finish earlier?


13 years of being on the road a lot of games. It's got to be a mental thing. PJ Brown clearly has games left in him, whether we like it or not


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

MikeDC said:


> TMac's comments about his body breaking down are interesting. I do wonder if we might find that some of these younger guys don't have the shelf-life of guys who went to college. Maybe NBA players are like pitchers who only have so many pitches in their arms. Start earlier and finish earlier?


Seems to be happening with Jermaine O'Neal too.


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## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

Get Deng in the game for Nocioni.


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Wallace is all over the place tonight. I'm not used to seeing our center deflect so many passes and get so many steals. He's also changed several shots.

Too bad the Bulls are getting sloppy now.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

MikeDC said:


> TMac's comments about his body breaking down are interesting. I do wonder if we might find that some of these younger guys don't have the shelf-life of guys who went to college. Maybe NBA players are like pitchers who only have so many pitches in their arms. Start earlier and finish earlier?


McGrady has had back problems for a few years now. You have a good point.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Who is this Scott Padgett guy and why does he look like an all-star?


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

7 offensive rebounds by HST. Bulls have none! And bulls have 9 total.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

yao is a true giant! Wow


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Watching Ben and Yao is pretty entertaining. 

That pass was not entertaining.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

DaBullz said:


> Who is this Scott Padgett guy and why does he look like an all-star?


Rockets fans including myself are wondering the same thing


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Ben, you aren't going to pick off a pass aimed at a 7'5" guy's outstretched arms.

How tall is VeeecTOR?

J - yeah, O'Neal looks like garbage. Well, he's still posting numbers that'd be good for a player without his history, but jeez does he look slow.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

our shooting is so atrocious


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

uh-oh, here we go. Hst on an 8-0 run...


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Man Ben Wallace has put Yao on lock down. He has put the clamps on him for sure


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Krappy snatches a board amidst three rockets. Nice.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

MikeDC said:


> Ben, you aren't going to pick off a pass aimed at a 7'5" guy's outstretched arms.
> 
> How tall is VeeecTOR?
> 
> J - yeah, O'Neal looks like garbage. Well, he's still posting numbers that'd be good for a player without his history, but jeez does he look slow.


Khyrapa is, I believe, a legit 6'9''. I always thought he was a step slow guarding 3's in Portland, I'd like to see him go on the Sweetney diet and play more 4 here. Unlike Noc, who's also a little slow for a 3, he does have okay length for a 4 if he can pack a few pounds onto his frame.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

spongyfungy said:


> our shooting is so atrocious


39%

Veech-tor!!!


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Head is just killing us. What's with Deng turning it over?

I can tell Khryapa is going to help by coming in.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Let's trade for Padgett.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

What a cheapie foul. It's Scott frickin paddgett.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Did I say this out loud already? "Who is this scott padgett guy and how come he looks like an all-star?"


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Nice dish Viktor.


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

I think Gordon should shoot the damn ball when he's open instead of sending up multiple fakes and then settling for the pass or the offbalance jumper.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

DaBullz said:


> Did I say this out loud already? "Who is this scott padgett guy and how come he looks like an all-star?"



I think that is actually Scottie Pippen circa 1993 wearing a Scott Padgett costume.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

DaBullz said:


> Did I say this out loud already? "Who is this scott padgett guy and how come he looks like an all-star?"


I am stunned ...


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Bulls forgot how to score.  They have, what, 6 points through 8 minutes in the 2nd quarter?

Although I agree, that was one of the more entertaining putbacks I've seen in a while from Viktor.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

excellent ball sharing and movement around the perimeter by the Rockets.

Tyrus on the other hand...ugh. for now I'd like to see him get cleanup points and use his athleticism. I don't like him with his back to the basket that far away from the basket.


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Go Illini! Oh wait, we don't want that. 

BTW, has someone figured out who this Padgett kid is?


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

DaBullz said:


> Did I say this out loud already? "Who is this scott padgett guy and how come he looks like an all-star?"


We heard you the first time.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

VincentVega said:


> I think Gordon should shoot the damn ball when he's open instead of sending up multiple fakes and then settling for the pass or the offbalance jumper.


I'd rather see him do what he did to get 4 FTs. Instead of running a play that's designed to have him dribble from the wing into a double or triple team.


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

truebluefan said:


> Let's trade for Padgett.


Hey, that's my guy! I was pining for him when it was rumored we would be sending Mutombo to the Rockets.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

DaBullz said:


> I'd rather see him do what he did to get 4 FTs. Instead of running a play that's designed to have him dribble from the wing into a double or triple team.


Yeah, Skiles has got to ditch the "dribble from the wing into a double/triple team" play. I've always hated that one.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

Sweetney! Way to start with a quick TO.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Sweetney in. Turns it over immediately


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

What was that by Sweetney?


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

sweetey sighting. nt hard to sight


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Can we get better defense around the perimter?


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## Salvaged Ship (Jul 10, 2002)

This franatic dribbling and dishing by the offense is a recipe for disaster. 

Turnover, turnover, turnover, followed by run outd for he other team. Out of control.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Nice move by TT


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## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Wow, Tyrus takes it high off the glass. Sweet!


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## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

Wow, Sweetney. Totally unnaceptable....unbelievable that he is in a contract year, in that shape.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Tyrus using his athleticism going baseline! nice pass by Kirk and nice finish.

Viktor leaving his man open again

nice touch by Viktor.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

LOL, Collins, "Sweetney gives Yao a little shove."


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

I knew that block was coming! 50-39 Rockets.


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

I think Yao just had to reach down to his navel to block Sweetney.

Bench that sucka.


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Sweetney is making his presence felt. No wonder he doesn't leave the bench.


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Doug Collins on the Bulls: "They probably spread the floor, dribble drive, find the open guy better than any team in the league."

Some on this board: "Hinrich overdribbles!"

Sweetney with an atrocious me-first shot attempt that is blocked, leading to the end-of-half Yao layup. Nice job, Sweets.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

ughh. Sweetney, Yao blocked that shot before Sweetney started his postup move.
SLOWWW!!!! and weak.


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Good old Chuck laying into Yao. He's always hated Yao.

TMac getting the criticism he deserves. It's a shame because there was a period of time where I thought he was better than Kobe.


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## CanadianBull (May 6, 2006)

Christ, that 2nd Q was ugly. TO's, bad defense, unbelievably bad offense. Ugh...


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

VincentVega said:


> Doug Collins on the Bulls: "They probably spread the floor, dribble drive, find the open guy better than any team in the league."
> 
> Some on this board: "Hinrich overdribbles!"
> 
> Sweetney with an atrocious me-first shot attempt that is blocked, leading to the end-of-half Yao layup. Nice job, Sweets.


ga ga over 1 play.

6 team assists vs rockets' 12. that spread the floor is good for .400 FG%, too.


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## Frankensteiner (Dec 29, 2004)

Our rotations are terrible, again. 

It seems to me Khryapa shouldn't get any minutes.


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## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

Perhaps Sweetney is trying to play his way out of the NBA and into Europe, the food in France and Italy is excellent. It's shocking how much he's regressed.


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

DaBullz said:


> 6 team assists vs rockets' 12. that spread the floor is good for .400 FG%, too.


ga ga over 1 half.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

jbulls said:


> Perhaps Sweetney is trying to play his way out of the NBA and into Europe, the food in France and Italy is excellent. It's shocking how much he's regressed.


the more viktor plays, the fatter sweets looks


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

VincentVega said:


> ga ga over 1 half.


What's the PER, I mean score?


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## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

This game is going to very ugly in the 3rd qtr. Houston I thought played very mediocre ball in the 1st half and still took a double digit lead.


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## Salvaged Ship (Jul 10, 2002)

Anyone notice how when the other team gets a wide open 3 it is "swish" and when we get a wide open 3 it is "clank". Our "good" shooters can't hit the 3.

Against these good teams on the road you have to play a great all around game, in control, and hit the open shots. We are a dribble into traffic, can't shoot team. 

I expect they will eventually get it together, but looks like a long way to go. Unfortunately it is in the middle of this awful trip. If we had a normal schedule we could probably ride this out.

3-10 or 4-9 is looking very possible.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I want one.


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

First quarter good. Second quarter bad. TNT's Collins notes that the Bulls got off to a great beginning with their starters and then got out of whack when their bench was in. Viktor, Tyrus Thomas, and Sweetney were all on the floor at the same time and that's around when things started to get pretty ugly. I don't know why Deng sat for such a long stretch when he came out looking great or why Kirk wasn't seeing much burn in the 2nd when the Bulls looked disorganized.

I'm kinda hoping Skiles tightens the rotation back up. Starting 5, Gordon, PJ Brown as backup center for the few minutes Wallace is out, and mayyybe Tyrus Thomas are the only ones I trust much right now.


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## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

Why has the addition of Ben Wallace made the Bulls a worse defensive team?


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Cocoa Rice Krispies said:


> First quarter good. Second quarter bad. TNT's Collins notes that the Bulls got off to a great beginning with their starters and then got out of whack when their bench was in. Viktor, Tyrus Thomas, and Sweetney were all on the floor at the same time and that's around when things started to get pretty ugly. I don't know why Deng sat for such a long stretch when he came out looking great or why Kirk wasn't seeing much burn in the 2nd when the Bulls looked disorganized.
> 
> I'm kinda hoping Skiles tightens the rotation back up. Starting 5, Gordon, PJ Brown as backup center for the few minutes Wallace is out, and mayyybe Tyrus Thomas are the only ones I trust much right now.


Deng's facing one of the toughest defenders he'll see all season. Battier.


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## rosenthall (Aug 1, 2002)

Call me crazy, but I have to question the strategic intelligence of running our offense through a slow, overweight, undersized PF who hasn't played all season against Yao Ming to close out the second half. 

Other than that, if we can just tighten up the offensive execution, we should hang in it.

We're giving up a lot of points to their scrubs, but I think that might be a byproduct of paying so much attention to Tracy and Yao.

And speaking of Yao, I was expecting him to go off for 35 and 20 against us. Ben Wallace has done a very good job defending him. He's done a good job of using his quick hands to bother Yao when he's gotten the ball in the post, and has done pretty well of denying him good position under the hoop. In general, he looked out of rhythm for most of the first half.

Interesting that Ben was the guy bringing the ball up the court and inititating the offense throughout most of the second quarter. In general, I don't think he looked too bad doing it, although I didn't notice a whole lot more production out of him as a result of it.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

DaBullz said:


> Deng's facing one of the toughest defenders he'll see all season. Battier.


 Deng managed to light up Ron Ron. I think his benching has more to do with TMac producing than Shane's D.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Interesting about the last two posts.

First play, Yao scores easily over Wallace, and then Battier blocked Deng's shot (though he was fouled by TMac)


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

DaBullz said:


> Interesting about the last two posts.
> 
> First play, Yao scores easily over Wallace, and then Battier blocked Deng's shot (though he was fouled by TMac)


Then Battier takes the ball out of Deng's hands after the offensive board and ends up with a jump ball.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

terrible pass by Kirk. Even worse transition defense. by the Bulls


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

TMac scores after Deng lets him have the shot (Collins' words, not mine)

Then Hinrich gets the ball in the Gordon "dribble into the triple team" play and turns it over.

Man this is getting ugly.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

TMac apparently heard Chuck's criticism. 

This is now ugly.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

uh oh. hot Tracy 

I think someone was watching halftime.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

SPMJ said:


> This game is going to get very ugly in the 3rd qtr. Houston I thought played very mediocre ball in the 1st half and still took a double digit lead.


!!


----------



## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

DaBullz said:


> Deng's facing one of the toughest defenders he'll see all season. Battier.


Fair enough, but was his replacement really going to fare any better?

Speaking of Deng, first play out of the half is him driving and picking up the foul. I love Noci, but I'm officially on the "Deng for future SF" bandwagon now where before I was undecided.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

The starters aren't getting it done. Rockets expand their lead to 21.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Man, you guys just look dead out there. Flat and everything. Deng is the only one showing any hope for you guys


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I hope Big Ben is alright. hope it's not a bicep muscle tear


----------



## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

Somebody tell the Rockets bench its just "another" regular season game...

And the Bulls...mmm...****


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

OneBadLT123 said:


> Man, you guys just look dead out there. Flat and everything. Deng is the only one showing any hope for you guys


There's a reason Y we were ALL predicting an ugly blowout. We know our team.


----------



## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

FIRE SKILES!
FIRE PAXSON!
BLOW UP THE TEAM!

Seriously, this team isn't worth my attention right now.

Last yeah even when we sucked, we were losing close games.

I said nothing would be worse then the devistating losses we had last year. I was wrong, getting pantsed night in and night out is much worse.


----------



## CanadianBull (May 6, 2006)

Everything is such a stuggle on offense for us. That's what happens when you have no go-to guy.

We suck on TNT.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

SPMJ said:


> There's a reason Y we were ALL predicting an ugly blowout. We know our team.


It's fair to say the Rockets are the most improved team in the NBA.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

SPMJ said:


> This game is going to very ugly in the 3rd qtr. Houston I thought played very mediocre ball in the 1st half and still took a double digit lead.


My man, you are looking very smart right now.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Ben and Malik coming in.

nice drive to the basket by Gordon.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Bulls are fighting for every point. Rockets are scoring at will from any position.


----------



## r1terrell23 (Feb 11, 2006)

UMfan83 said:


> FIRE SKILES!
> FIRE PAXSON!
> BLOW UP THE TEAM!
> 
> ...


We are gonna go through tough times until our offense consistently gets the ball in the hoop from the outside and the inside.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I see hope in Hinrich


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Mcgrady is passing like a PG. pretty easy with the way we are playing D.

I think Kirk needs to keep shooting, keep it going. Tracy and Kirk are both very streaky shooters.


----------



## PowerWoofer (Jan 5, 2006)

I love Houston's team, and the Bulls are sucking it up pretty bad tonight. Oh well, better pick it up soon, or get going after the San Antonio game.

The games after that look like easy wins. (knock on wood, because easy wins for the Bulls can never be predicted).

Anyway, GO BULLS!!!

Don't stop fighting now...


----------



## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

r1terrell23 said:


> We are gonna go through tough times until our offense consistently gets the ball in the hoop from the outside and the inside.


Last year we lost our center and focal point of our low post game, and we didn't take as hard of a blow. Last year we'd lose close games, but at least I could hang my hat on their tough performance every night.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

just having his way........ Deng can't really do much more. other than drive on him and make him foul.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Anyone notice who's guarding Gordon?

(Battier)


----------



## girlygirl (Dec 6, 2003)

The effort by the Bulls in games this year has been very disappointing to downright atrocious. They got off to a nice start tonight, but soon reverted to taking quick jumpers, not even trying to take the ball into the paint, making lazy and/or sloppy passes and ignoring any kind of rotations on defense.

I'm tired of the excuse about all the new players. The mistakes this team is making are elementary miscues. How difficult can it be to rotate properly on defense or to make a crisp pass? The other teams -- many of whom have new players on their roster -- don't seem to have these same problems.

Maybe this team will follow the pattern of the last couple years and eventually play well and make a run into the playoffs. But right now, they look as if they haven't got a clue about how to play together as a cohesive unit for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. They have regressed so badly on defense over last season it isn't even funny.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

We just can't catch a break.

Have we won a game yet where we've been out rebounded?


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

The ball is falling in for Houston tonight.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

DaBullz said:


> Anyone notice who's guarding Gordon?
> 
> (Battier)


Gordon's guarding Battier, too.


----------



## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

Maybe we don't need to swap the Knicks pick afterall?


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

The Rockets have created 20+ point leads in the last 5 games. Just the SA game we fell appart. 
The Bulls on the other hand, I have still hope for, you guys are still young and developing. But I know you guys are going to be powerful in the east. Maybe all the hype may have come premature?

Also, good attempt on Deng for the rebound


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Not a great shot by Ben. a turnaround jumper from that far away? Not when he's not hot.

Mcgrady definetely heard Chuck. He's on a mission to make plays AND shoot the lights out.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

UMfan83 said:


> Maybe we don't need to swap the Knicks pick afterall?


:|


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

I miss Darius Songaila.


----------



## UMfan83 (Jan 15, 2003)

OneBadLT123 said:


> The Rockets have created 20+ point leads in the last 5 games. Just the SA game we fell appart.
> The Bulls on the other hand, I have still hope for, you guys are still young and developing. But I knew you guys are going to be powerful in the east. Maybe all the hope may have come premature?
> 
> Also, good attempt on Deng for the rebound


That doesn't matter. Just because you guys are the gods of basketball with your 20 point leads doesn't mean we shouldn't be disapointed with our crappy play.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

That was a close one. I thought Battier was in the circle.

Regardless, Tyrus needs to pull up on those. He's not jumping over Battier and Yao.


----------



## CanadianBull (May 6, 2006)

UMfan83 said:


> Maybe we don't need to swap the Knicks pick afterall?


Depressing thought. Thankfully the season is early.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

"Who wants to sex Mutombo?" 

Good gravy they are going nuts for three. 

Live and die by the jumper...same as last year...


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Tyrus Thomas is trying to guard TMac. That's a good idea. may as well try anything.

Seems to me Gordon has a real advantage with Battier guarding him, if the bulls would run isolation plays for him.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Yikes.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

SPMJ said:


> I miss Darius Songaila.


 I miss fundamentals


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Gordon's now being guarded by Luther Head. Gordon 2 for his last 3.


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

Kirk and Ben, Kirk and Ben, Kirk and Ben. . .


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Gordon has to get going.. I want to see the return of 4th quarter Ben.

lol. Chandler dunk commercial.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Funny. TNT showed a quick highlight "Chandler with the dunk"


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

DaBullz said:


> Funny. TNT showed a quick highlight "Chandler with the dunk"


then it cut off fast


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I say we go completely small

Viktor, Deng, Ben, Kirk.


----------



## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

My prediction seems to be...uh...





a little off.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

OneBadLT123 said:


> then it cut off fast


 That's how they do all their I love this game commercials


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Houston is trying to give us a chance. No TMac or Yao.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

alright..turnover. let's keep this up. ugly shot by Malik but who cares.

Kirk to Deng. another ugly shot by the Bulls and still rattles in.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Wow. Deng with a tough shot, two guys in his face!


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

crap
chicago on 10-3 run


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

nice tip by Malik. good move by Ben but couldn't finish..

I hope we can stop fouling. I'd rather them try to shoot.


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

Wow Ben Wallace with the Tyson Chandler-esque performance.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Gordon's put together a nice game.


----------



## ndistops (Oct 31, 2005)

Bulls hanging around. We haven't seen an appearance of SuperBG yet but the threat is there when you're only down teen-amounts after 3.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

I really hope the media doesn't psyche out Ben Wallace. His first Q stats weren't impressive but the job he did on Yao was fantastic.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

way to go Gordon!

11 pt lead


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Can Gordon bring us back?


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Gordon. you assassin.


----------



## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

BEN!!!!!

Atta boy!


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Not over yet, I guess.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Ok, now I am getting worried

Damn, Head is messing up


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

78-69 after 3.


----------



## ndistops (Oct 31, 2005)

Did I say teen-amounts? I meant 9!!

Ben is heating up!


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

spongyfungy said:


> nice tip by Malik. good move by Ben but couldn't finish..
> 
> I hope we can stop fouling. I'd rather them try to shoot.


I had to rewind the DVR and see that play again. Gordon was wide open the whole time running down court and waving his hands for the ball. They finally hit him and he drove and showed a fake pass to PJ Brown (pretty amazing), but missed the layup in the trees.

Gordon has brought the team back to within 9 from that 21 point deficit. He only had 14 points in the third quarter.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*truebluefan**, *OneBadLT123*, *mizenkay*+, SPMJ+, evalam23+, sp00k*+, *VincentVega*+, The Krakken*+, *jbulls*, *spongyfungy*, ndistops, Frankensteiner, garnett+, Orange Julius Irving, *DaBullz**+, The 6ft Hurdle+, *Yao Mania*, UMfan83+, r1terrell23, victor_vc+, *ViciousFlogging*+, El Chapu, *ScottMay*+, SALO+, Geoshnas2005, CanadianBull


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Let's hope Ben hasn't wasted all his bullets. That comeback was with TMac on the bench. So far we haven't been able to stop him tonite.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Everyone is thinking and bulls fans are hoping for a fourth quarter onslaught by Ben... if we have to live and die by the jumper, Ben is our man.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

LOL.

Who's the bulls' leading rebounder tonight?


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Oh no we(Rockets) suck again


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Collins made a good point about Wallace. In our wins, he averaged 13 rebounds. Losses, he averages 6. Tonight he has 3.


----------



## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

Vintage Gordon. We really need him to be a difference maker like this if we're going anywhere at all. Great stuff.


----------



## rosenthall (Aug 1, 2002)

Loving the way Ben Gordon closed out the 3rd quarter. Had a real nice combination of driving and shooting, and the lead is down to single digits!


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

Let's hope McGrady sits for another couple minutes.


----------



## SALO (Jun 6, 2002)

DaBullz said:


> Seems to me Gordon has a real advantage with Battier guarding him, if the bulls would run isolation plays for him.


I saw Gordon try to take Battier off the dribble and Battier beat him to the spot and drew the charge. Gordon did his damage from the outside that 3rd quarter.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Glad to see Gordon taking it to the rack.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I think it really helps the psyche being down by only so little. knocking that lead to single digits is a big boost.

lol. Chris Duhon = Lindsey Hunter. so true.

alright Ben!!


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Wow what a terrible shot by T Mac


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

no! why take stupid 3s!!!!! BAD KIRK! BAD!


----------



## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

sp00k said:


> I really hope the media doesn't psyche out Ben Wallace. His first Q stats weren't impressive but the job he did on Yao was fantastic.


Yeah, I agree, I thought all in all he's had a pretty good game. His statline is poor and I'm sure he'll be blamed if the Bulls lose (or probably even if they win), but I thought he was pretty good.

I still think the core guys for the Bulls look pretty good. The offense in particular looks surprisingly good, with Deng and/or Gordon cutting to the basket, something we didn't see much of last year. If they can tighten down the bolts on defense, then I have very high hopes.

In the 1st and 3rd quarters, the Bulls mainly played their core guys. They came away with a +6 point advantage in the 1st and a +2 in the 3rd.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Why aren't we pressuring Head? He's not a strong ball handler.

And that was absolute garbage by Kirk. We need to slow down.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Our leading rebounder is Gordon with 5.


----------



## Pain5155 (May 28, 2006)

rockets sending the bulls a message.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

that was a nasty three by the Tracy but that can change in a flash.

Malik is one of the unsung heroes tonight.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

pretty amazing

Wallace is sitting.. I'm sure that makes him happy.

Meanwhile, PJ Brown throws TMac to the ground at the perimeter (what's PJ doing out there?) and they call it a turnover.

Bulls figure gordon's done. He took a bad shot and missed. They haven't gone back to him the last 4 plays, at least.


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

if we win this game, or even lose by 3, tonight will have proved how we wasted 60 million dollars on absolutely nothing. NOTHING.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

anorexorcist said:


> no! why take stupid 3s!!!!! BAD KIRK! BAD!


 if he had made it, we'd be praising him. Kirk's always done transition threes at the top of the key.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Rockets board has gone into panic mode. Deja Vu


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

UGH Gordon


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Ben off the glass. over Yao. wow.


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

this is the most aggressive i have ever seen the bulls play, and without../

HOLY **** BEN!


----------



## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

anorexorcist said:


> if we win this game, or even lose by 3, tonight will have proved how we wasted 60 million dollars on absolutely nothing. NOTHING.


Yep. 4 time defensive player of the year has sub-par game while bothered by knee. Freak out. I'm certainly not encouraged by Wallace's early season play, but let's not go nuts just yet.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

OMG Ben!


----------



## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Ben with an insane layup over Yao!


----------



## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

Wow.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

keep shooting Ben... doesn't matter.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Kirk has been burned too many times times tonite cheating on D. Are they using him to double down?


----------



## Pain5155 (May 28, 2006)

t-mac will turn it on.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

spongyfungy said:


> Ben off the glass. over Yao. wow.


My jaw dropped when I saw that happen


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

The bulls defensive scheme is just bogus. I don't know what they're trying to do, but they constantly have Hinrich out of position. Head and Alston both get lots of open looks, which is not a good idea. I'm not sure if they have Kirk doubleteaming in the post or cheating that way.


----------



## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Bulls going with the dreaded(? for which team?) Wallace+Brown frontcourt duo again. Let's see how it turns out. :\


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

As much as I love seeing Ben's driving, I'm wondering where his 3-ball is.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

T-Mac's not a good clutch/4th qtr player. Don't expect much from him here.

My worry is Yao and all the wide open 3's he creates.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

that was an ugly hook shot by Brown


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Get PJ Brown out of there.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

PJ ****ing Brown :sigh: 

IMO you can't have both Ben and PJ on the floor together in a situation like this.

NOCE, SKILES!!!!


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

ugh no lift is correct. PJ's hook is way left.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Brown has got to hit those wide open shots


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Wide open PJ Brown taking shots in crunch time and missing.


----------



## jbulls (Aug 31, 2005)

Who is this Scott Padgett and how has he managed to pick up 4 fouls in 3 minutes?


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

That's a good call. Should have been a T as well. 

Malik was doing better than PJ. Bring him back in.


----------



## garnett (May 13, 2003)

Why is PJ even in the game?


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I didn't think PJ would suck this bad. an old lady can make that shot.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Nocioni in for Brown. Good.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

spongyfungy said:


> I didn't think PJ would suck this bad. an old lady can make that shot.


Nah . . . he'll be a better player for the Bulls this year than Chandler would have.


----------



## OziBull (Nov 7, 2004)

I just came on then, and see Gordon leads our team in rebounds hmmm..


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Amazingly, Yao is on his way to a 20/10 game after his hellacious first quarter.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

We cant let them get second chance points at this part of the game,


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

nocioni. shot is flat

1 and done. geez.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Noce's been off too. Game looks done. Nobody can score when Ben doesn't touch the ball.

Boy Noce's really SUCKED tonight.


----------



## garnett (May 13, 2003)

This is what 13 points in a quarter gets you.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

truebluefan said:


> Nocioni in for Brown. Good.


 ehh......

at least he drove to the basket. they are already over the limit but Noc has to watch the throwing the hands in the air.

What happened to going to Ben Gordon???


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

they should try duhon and gordon in the backcourt. see if that can't jumpstart the offense.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

spongyfungy said:


> What happened to going to Ben Gordon???


Indeed...


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

garnett said:


> This is what 13 points in a quarter gets you.


 I disagree. This is what giving up 17 points more in a quarter gets you.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Noc with the J.

Padgett misses the three.

Noc takes the three. MISS. wrong person is shooting it.....


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

ok, stop giving Andres the ball. That three was ugly


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Why the **** has Kirk started handling the ball so much? :curse: 

Noce's shot selection today


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Get Gordon back in there.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Hinrich misses a 19 foot jumper frm the left wing
Nocioni misses a 3 pointer
Nocioni hits a 19-foot jumper
Nocioni missed layup
Nocioni misses a 16 foot jumper along the left baseline
B. Gordon hits the 2nd FT
B. Gordon hits the 1st FT
P. Brown misses a 16 foot jumper along the left baseline
P Brown misses a 8-foot hook shot in the lane
B. Wallace hits the 2nd FT
B. Wallace misses the 1st FT
Gordon misses 23 ft. jumpe rfrm the top of the arc
Gordon makes shot

Are the wrong guys shooting lately?)


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

there is Gordon!!


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

There he is..

They are actively looking for him.... please keep going to the well.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Bad call. At least it's not shooting.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Nice put back by Deng!!


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

second chances are hurting us..

Deng with the followup dunk...


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Deng makes up for another putrid shot by Noce.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

We needed kirk to hit that shot


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Gordon SHOULDN'T have passed on that last possession.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

That needed to get back to Gordon. 

Draw one up for Ben, Scott.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Anyone remember the last time Noc passed the ball?


----------



## garnett (May 13, 2003)

Nocioni is a chucker.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Yao cant make a simple lay up to save his life


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Is there anything wrong if Skiles said, "hey guys, stop shooting you suck. except for you Ben" ?


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

if you all have noticed, since wallace has checked back in yao has gone cold.

this is amazing. even though the points are not there, the rebounds also don't seem to be there, big ben seems to have shut down yao defensively. it doesn't show on the paper, but i am proven wrong. now as long as the bulls don't commit a stupid foul, we might be able to pull this back if we keep throwing it to ben, and kirk doesn't take any stupid 3s. Or if we toss it to Deng inside. these are the ways we might win.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

spongyfungy said:


> Is there anything wrong if Skiles said, "hey guys, stop shooting you suck. except for you Ben" ?


 I would hope that is exactly what Scott is saying now. Verbatim.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

OneBadLT123 said:


> Yao cant make a simple lay up to save his life


 Gordon reaching in on Yao caused Ben to turn to his right and he missed the hook. 

I think double teaming isn't really a bad thing. His passing may kill us but right now we cant give him any gimmes.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

ohhh NOC!!!!! sweet.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Noc hits a shot!


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

Noce!


----------



## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

Can they do it?!?!


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Skiles draws up really good plays.

Get PJ in there and set him up!

Noc buries a 3, finally.

The rockets are goughing up this game.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

FINALLY Noc hits a three


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

*Out comes El Chapu*


----------



## anorexorcist (Aug 3, 2005)

wow. ben didn't even TRY to get the rebound. disgusting.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

LOL ty Snyder.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

TMac almost made a shot from near half court. It looked like it was in his range, actually.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Two in-and-outs for Gordon . Man that's unlucky!


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Thank you Snyder.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

tough.. oh well Ben... we'll live with it. 

Snyder over the back.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

JVG just said "just ****ing told you not to foul" lol anyone else hear it?


----------



## garnett (May 13, 2003)

Foul anybody but Yao!


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

quick three here... let's draw one up for Ben.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Doug criticizing Skiles' substitutions. Saying he's playing too many guys.


----------



## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

We need back to back 3's


where are you Pargo


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Deng to inbound. to Gordon. drives and fouls.. 

of course Skiles will go for the two.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

When it counts, they're setting up gordon at the top of the key and he's drawing fouls.


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## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

If Ben makes both I say don't foul


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## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Shoot, I hope Skiles gets tough on himself. That second quarter lost the game for us, letting Yao get hot lost the game for us, and constantly bring Kirk down to double lost the game for us. The Alston/Head combination shouldn't be good for almost 30 ppg.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

BullSoxChicagosFinest said:


> We need back to back 3's
> 
> 
> where are you Pargo


 lol. now I've heard everything.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Gordon all the way and the layup.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Not over yet. We need a steal!!


----------



## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

why the foul? Stupid, IMO.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Gordon is an enigma! He has the tools to be an all star.


----------



## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

spongyfungy said:


> lol. now I've heard everything.


including hinrich being called kirk snyder


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

box out on the rebound please.....


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Gordon for three...


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

sweet Ben... sweet!!!


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## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

Mr. 4th quarter!


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

*WOW*


Ben Gordon is just going nuts

I cant believe this


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Gordon all the way again, pulls up for the 3.

14 Q3 points
16 Q4 points

Where'd the 21 point deficit go?


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

BullSoxChicagosFinest said:


> including hinrich being called kirk snyder


LOL, I couldnt believe he said that


----------



## Geoshnas2005 (Mar 12, 2005)

Skiles better stop messing with Ben G



he is our star player!


----------



## Showtyme (Jun 24, 2002)

Ben Gordon Is The Master


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

BTW

the foul that hinrich commited on Battier was outstanding, even though he made both FTs.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

OMG he did travel.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

absolutely.... wow.


----------



## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Travel!


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## Geoshnas2005 (Mar 12, 2005)

Refs screw us agian!


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## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

CLEAR travel. SHOULD'VE been OUR ball!!! :curse:


----------



## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Get a stop, then get it to Ben.


----------



## ndistops (Oct 31, 2005)

Imagine that, Bulls getting screwed by the refs at the end. That never happens...


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Houston cant imbound the ball for ****. Good job on the D

And rafer got lucky, he moved that foot clearly. Ill admit


----------



## Orange Julius Irving (Jun 28, 2004)

Gordon has been unreal tonight!!!

Collins was right, those 2nd Qtr substitutions were horrible. Having Sweetney in there was a 4 point swing that could have been 8 pts net.

Houston just got away with one that could swing the game. 

How many time out can you take at the end of a game trying to inbound the ball? Last time I saw the Bulls do this they lost possession.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

hey
Skiles made a substitution!

Good move.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

darn....

oh well. nice try Ben.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

Arghhhhhh!!!!!

At least it was entertaining.


----------



## Geoshnas2005 (Mar 12, 2005)

Skiles lost this game!


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Well, we got too far behind. 

I agree with collins, we played to many players in the second quarter. 30-13...


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

In and OUT again. DAMMIT!!

O well, a W tonight could've really changed the trip but...


----------



## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

Oh well, it was worth a shot. Would have liked to not foul with the 3 second differential earlier, with time outs left


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Geoshnas2005 said:


> Skiles lost this game!


Absolutely


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Gordon missed a 3, double teamed, that would have kept us in the game.

It's over.

Gordon 37 points 6 rebounds 2 assists 1 steal and 14-16 FTs


----------



## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

tough to scrap and claw like that and come up short.

this team is too good (on paper anyway) for me to wax poetic about moral victories, but at least they fought. Ben was unbelievable and almost carried us all the way back pretty much by himself.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

lol. this is absolutely so lame.....

I hate losing like this..

Imagine if he had been fouled. it was close.


----------



## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

Holy Crap! Noc doesn't get the call damn, too bad his name isn't Wade


----------



## The 6ft Hurdle (Jan 25, 2003)

Ugh.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Oh my. Houston blew the lead. I cant believe this.


----------



## ndistops (Oct 31, 2005)

WOW great try by Noc but I'll admit, he wasn't fouled. Unreal effort by the Bulls but it still goes down as an L.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Noce cracks me up.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

spongyfungy said:


> lol. this is absolutely so lame.....
> 
> I hate losing like this..
> 
> Imagine if he had been fouled. it was close.


See the replay? Nocioni was doing a big acting job. Funny, actually.


----------



## Showtyme (Jun 24, 2002)

Wow. I mean, wow.

That was no foul on Nocioni, but couldn't they have gotten a shot off faster? Shouldn't Hinrich have just stepped up and taken that shot, hoped that it would go in, then foul again and hope for a miracle? I think he could have shot that ball with 3.5 seconds left on the clock.

Anyway, incredible effort, but they shouldn't have been digging themselves out of that hole to begin with. Too little too late makes me think that there was a coaching mistake, as Doug Collins pretty aptly noted.


----------



## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

DaBullz said:


> See the replay? Nocioni was doing a big acting job. Funny, actually.


It was worth a shot (no pun intended)! :biggrin:


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Ben Gordon has been the man, and owned Houston tonight. Great performance, great game. (Ugly on both sides)


----------



## El Chapu (Oct 23, 2004)

Excitement aside, sometimes I dont know if its better to lose by 20+ or lose games like this. And Im talking about the game we have tomorrow...


----------



## CanadianBull (May 6, 2006)

Ugh, tough loss. Ben was incredible in that 4th Q as was our defense. That's what I hope to see more of in the upcoming games.


----------



## BeZerker2008 (Jun 29, 2006)

This game was lost when they let the lead up to 20, these late game heroics are exciting but I hate the fact that they should claw there way back up. I'd rather have it be a close game all the way thru then to try and come back from a deep deficit.


----------



## kirkisgod (Jul 25, 2005)

The Bulls are outstanding at falling far behind and fighting back to make it a respectable loss. 

I'm so proud of the Bulls.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

Showtyme said:


> Wow. I mean, wow.
> 
> That was no foul on Nocioni, but couldn't they have gotten a shot off faster? Shouldn't Hinrich have just stepped up and taken that shot, hoped that it would go in, then foul again and hope for a miracle? I think he could have shot that ball with 3.5 seconds left on the clock.
> 
> Anyway, incredible effort, but they shouldn't have been digging themselves out of that hole to begin with. Too little too late makes me think that there was a coaching mistake, as Doug Collins pretty aptly noted.


I don't think there's any commentator out there as good as Collins, and I agree with Collins's remarks on Skiles. This wasn't the right kind of game to start testing out rotations in the second quarter.

And Collins's comments throughout the night regarding Ben Wallace were downright scary. Your 32-year-old, $60 million man is in the middle of an existential funk? 

You never want to hear that sort of observation.


----------



## ViciousFlogging (Sep 3, 2003)

Yeah, I think Skiles fudged this one...we started out OK and then lost our momentum and Skiles immediately emptied the bench - we didn't get going again until late in the 3rd, and only got so close because Ben had one of his most memorable outbursts yet and the defense started to show up when Houston went conservative.

Having a deep bench and a coach who's willing to play guys is fine, but it's not always gonna work.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

I'm still imagining Noc getting fouled. I'm playing the OT in my head. There's no doubt in my mind the Bulls win in OT but the Bulls have no one to blame but themselves. We needed Ben and his second chance opportunities he brings us. If Noc showed up earlier like he did later tonight, I believe it would have been a different outcome. He does bring a matchup problem.


----------



## rosenthall (Aug 1, 2002)

Tough game to swallow, especially since we have SA coming right up. With any luck, Ben can carry over some of his fortune tonight. 

If I have any complaints, it'd be Skiles' usage of weird lineups in the 2nd quarter with a bunch of our bench fodder, and I'm going to hold Ben Wallace partly accountable for all the offensive rebounds Houston got in the second half. He looked pretty sluggish after halftime, and didn't really assert himself on the glass like he should have. It would've helped if Noc wasn't brutal the first 43 minutes of the game.


----------



## SecretAgentGuy (Jul 15, 2003)

You just hate losing like this... One fewer 3, one more converted FT, one more rebound - you get the idea. Skiles needs to rip himself a new one after his atrocious second quarter.


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

kirkisgod said:


> The Bulls are outstanding at falling far behind and fighting back to make it a respectable loss.
> 
> I'm so proud of the Bulls.


I would be proud too, you guys faught back to almost take it away. Amazing


----------



## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

Well, if you like your losses exciting, it was an awesome finish. :biggrin:  

I don't really feel the Bulls played as well as the score looked, though. They were lucky just to be in it at the end, and if they require Gordon to get red hot just to have a chance to win, they're in for a long season. Rebounding, the horrible 2nd quarter, and maybe some suspect defensive rotations seemed to be the main culprits for the Bulls. The good news is that several of those things are quite fixable.


----------



## CanadianBull (May 6, 2006)

I don't think it's fair to place the blame on Skiles. The team was playing like utter ****e in the 2nd quarter and he needed to make some changes. I for one was getting tired of TO after TO and sloppy defense and offense. Maybe he went a little too deep into the bench but he did what needed to be done to send a message.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

CanadianBull said:


> I don't think it's fair to place the blame on Skiles. The team was playing like utter ****e in the 2nd quarter and he needed to make some changes. I for one was getting tired of TO after TO and sloppy defense and offense. Maybe he went a little too deep into the bench but he did what needed to be done to send a message.


I agree. At the start of Q3, the starters who did so well to start the game were in and we fell behind 21.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

CanadianBull said:


> I don't think it's fair to place the blame on Skiles. The team was playing like utter ****e in the 2nd quarter and he needed to make some changes. I for one was getting tired of TO after TO and sloppy defense and offense. Maybe he went a little too deep into the bench but he did what needed to be done to send a message.


Well, maybe the players were forewarned at the shootaround or during warmups, but me personally, I almost **** myself when I saw Sweetney come in the game.


----------



## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

See, here's the thing...I'm already seeing some parallels with the 03-04 season.

Alot of new faces (I know that's been beaten into the ground, but still)
Several very close losses
Despite some ugly spurts, there have been some spurts of pure brilliance
A unit of players just itching to gel, and you get the feeling they're close but not quite there

Look at the boxscore, and we had them beat 3 out of 4 quarters. Just a terrible 2nd quarter sunk us (combination of lackluster D and bad shooting). I'm not happy with our squad, but at least there are some signs. Now just to make the next step...


----------



## Like A Breath (Jun 16, 2003)

Rockets did everything to choke the game away, but somehow still won, even though Battier shouldn't have even come close to Nocioni. Reflexes, I guess, but Battier has to know that the refs will call that. Kobe actually chopped a Jazz player on purpose last year and the refs called the foul on the other guy and Kobe won the game at the line.

Yao had a terrible shooting game, but he played well otherwise. T-Mac settled for way too many jumpers in the 2nd half, surprise, surprise.

Also, the battle of whose power forwards could suck more was incredible. The Rockets without Hayes have the worst power forwards in the league. Padgett wasn't even looking to shoot, and that's the only thing he's decent at. My god, they're horrible.


----------



## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

Hard to blame Skiles. Noc was the only guy who didn't get a lot of burn, and for good reason Padgett outplayed him in the first half.

Box

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261116010


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## Orange Julius Irving (Jun 28, 2004)

I have to agree with whomever said Ben Wallace did a great job on Yao. Yao was almost invisible in the 4th Qtr because Ben was using his strength to push Yao out of position.

Even though Wallace didn't have a great stat line, he took Yao out of his game, it was only during the 2nd Qtr when no one was guarding the perimeter and Houston was draining threes tha the Bulls lost.

Of course had the team not lost it's head early in the 1st Qtr when they where shooting over 90% they might have built a 10-20 point lead and been able to sustain the losses when Skiles did the wacky substitions.

Skiles does need to learn to be a little like Phil Jackson and let his guys ride out the bad times once in awhile. Instead of the mass substitions he seems to like so much.

Gordon needs to get 20 plus shots to get a rhythm. Kind of like letting Rex Grossman play through mistakes and dry spells, Ben needs the confidence of his coach that when he is cold, he can stay out there and find it.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Orange Julius Irving said:


> I have to agree with whomever said Ben Wallace did a great job on Yao. Yao was almost invisible in the 4th Qtr because Ben was using his strength to push Yao out of position.
> 
> Even though Wallace didn't have a great stat line, he took Yao out of his game, it was only during the 2nd Qtr when no one was guarding the perimeter and Houston was draining threes tha the Bulls lost.
> 
> ...


You have an awesome user name, and this is a great post!


----------



## TripleDouble (Jul 26, 2002)

It would be nice to see Ben consistantly get double digit rebounds.


----------



## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

Wallace with 5 steals and a block. Would've liked him to grab some more boards but not that bad of a game, he contained Yao.


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

Yeah, count me as one of those who thought Ben Wallace defended Yao really well. Malik Allen also had some really strong minutes.


----------



## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

ScottMay said:


> I don't think there's any commentator out there as good as Collins, and I agree with Collins's remarks on Skiles. This wasn't the right kind of game to start testing out rotations in the second quarter.
> 
> And Collins's comments throughout the night regarding Ben Wallace were downright scary. Your 32-year-old, $60 million man is in the middle of an existential funk?
> 
> You never want to hear that sort of observation.


 Skiles would answer that by saying he wasn't testing out his lineups. He was trying to find a group of guys that could get things done and he would have stuck with it. We all know what he's going to say. He doesn't play favorites, he'll go deep down his bench in order for us to win. If Sweetney played well he'd probably would have kept playing. We all know Skiles won't stick with the starters if they aren't producing and Ben is not exempt. He'll play 48 when he plays well and whatever number he played tonight when he sucks.

I think our depth is more perception than reality. We not only need a star they need to be consistent.


----------



## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

yodurk said:


> See, here's the thing...I'm already seeing some parallels with the 03-04 season.
> 
> Alot of new faces (I know that's been beaten into the ground, but still)
> Several very close losses
> ...


Where did you predict the Bulls to finish prior to season's start?


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

SPMJ said:


> Where did you predict the Bulls to finish prior to season's start?


Who's going to have an easier chance of making 50 wins: Bulls or Utah?


----------



## such sweet thunder (May 30, 2002)

yodurk said:


> See, here's the thing...I'm already seeing some parallels with the 03-04 season.
> 
> Alot of new faces (I know that's been beaten into the ground, but still)
> Several very close losses
> ...


 I agree, this is the type of team that is capable of reeling of ten wins in a row -- unlike last season. We're better -- It's just going to take time to gel and let the rookies come along.


----------



## ScottMay (Jun 15, 2002)

I'm not really buying the "Wallace had a solid game" argument.

Holding Yao to 20 points on 19 shots isn't enough if you're putting up a giant, stinking donut on the other end and the team is getting murdered on the glass.

Granted, it's an extreme matchup, but you can't put this one in the "plus" column for Wallace imo.


----------



## PowerWoofer (Jan 5, 2006)

Sucks bad that we lost, but I loved the end (except the part where we could have won, of course).

It was almost within reach, and a lot of people have stated why we lost this game. Thing is, though, Bulls should be fired up tomorrow to play the Spurs, and the Bulls always play good against San Antonio, for some reason.

I'm thinking the Bulls win a 5-point game or so in SA tomorrow. Bet on it! 


I know it sucks, but hey, at least they're showing this fight NOW instead of in APRIL! Let's see what happens in December, when the opponents aren't stacked with one superstar on top of another! :biggrin:

I'm one of those people who wants wins now, but if they can survive this trip with a decent record and head into December with a small streak going, I'd be really happy with that.



GO BULLS!!! Keep fighting! It will eventually lead us to victory (...in the Finals!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: )


----------



## Like A Breath (Jun 16, 2003)

Ben Wallace did a good job on Yao, but he didn't shut him down. Yao had a lot of shots that he usually makes but he just missed tonight. Those 8-10 foot hooks and jumpers are shots that Yao lives off of. Ben Wallace needs to bring a lot more to the table to earn his paycheck.


----------



## Orange Julius Irving (Jun 28, 2004)

DaBullz said:


> You have an awesome user name, and this is a great post!



Thanks!! Great to be on the board...


----------



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

In regards to Yao's terrible shooting, I think it was a combination of Wallace bullying him around and our mobile PF Hayes being out. Yao has been able to score against Wallace at will in the past, but when you have Juwan Howard and Padgett either doing nothing or running away from the ball, it takes away the space Yao likes to work with. You always expect Gordon to take advantage of a weak perimeter defending team like Houston, but he played sensational tonight. I don't think Skiles can be blamed for the loss either, when you look at how well McGrady played in the first half. 

Houston gets the win, but not before embarrassing themselves on national TV.


----------



## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

Deng over last 6 games

19.5ppg 7.5rpg 3apg 57%FG 77%FT 5 FTA

Hinrich over last 4 games

20.3ppg 3.5rpg 6.5apg 50%FG 1.5SPG


If BG can get into form, this team can start showing flashes of the chemistry we saw the end of last year. I expect Nocioni will follow suit.


----------



## Orange Julius Irving (Jun 28, 2004)

PowerWoofer said:


> Sucks bad that we lost, but I loved the end (except the part where we could have won, of course).


Totally Agree



PowerWoofer said:


> It was almost within reach, and a lot of people have stated why we lost this game. Thing is, though, Bulls should be fired up tomorrow to play the Spurs, and the Bulls always play good against San Antonio, for some reason.
> 
> I'm thinking the Bulls win a 5-point game or so in SA tomorrow. Bet on it!


I hope you are right, but this team has played horribly on back-to-backs so far. True it hasn't been much of trend to bank on at this point...



PowerWoofer said:


> GO BULLS!!! Keep fighting! It will eventually lead us to victory


I think also that Bulls will find their way as they have the past 2 years and if they can avoid a 9 game loosing streak like they have the past 2 years they have a chance to win a playoff game if they can get a 1-4 seed.

This team's lack of size, though, could really hurt. They were getting killed on the boards just on size.


----------



## BullsAttitude (Jun 11, 2002)

After finally calming down after the game, I feel better about the game and the final push that came up short. We played with that fire and desire to win. Ben Gordon finally coming up big and I did get upset when PJ Brown took 2 shots out of 3 possessions. You have to go to the HOT HAND! 

Houston showed that without Yao or T-Mac in the game, they are nothing. They have to have one or the other playing well to win the game. 

Truthfully, I think Houston's 3 point shooting killed us tonight. Not rotating quick enough and letting Head and Alston have 3 after 3. Killed us.

I keep telling myself Patience, Patience.

I sure hope when I come to Chicago in March to watch them against the Cavaliers, things are going alot smoother.


----------



## Hustle (Dec 17, 2003)

16 FTA tonight for BG, if he can do half that every night the offense will be fine.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

BullsAttitude said:



> After finally calming down after the game, I feel better about the game and the final push that came up short. We played with that fire and desire to win. Ben Gordon finally coming up big and I did get upset when PJ Brown took 2 shots out of 3 possessions. You have to go to the HOT HAND!
> 
> Houston showed that without Yao or T-Mac in the game, they are nothing. They have to have one or the other playing well to win the game.
> 
> ...


FWIW, the early part of the game was depressing to me. We got a decent lead and couldn't hold it, and then Houston built a 21 point lead and it looked like a blowout.

This game wasn't over until about :06 left, and it was one of the better games I've seen in a long time (since the playoffs). In spite of the loss, it was still a great 2nd half.


----------



## MikeDC (Jul 16, 2002)

Well, I wore out my laptop battery, but that made it nice to just sit there and watch the game. It was great except for the losing part.


----------



## BullsAttitude (Jun 11, 2002)

Yeah, I missed us getting the lead. Didn't get home until 8:35 after work. I got home and thought, wow a lead, looking good....... and then the 2nd quarter came. 

Then the start of the 3rd killed me even more, they started 9 of 10 from the field. I burn the games to DVD and I think my remote was slung into the couch at least 4 or 5 times during the 3rd.

I still think what would have happened had we not gone away from Gordon for 4 or 5 possessions in the 4th? He had it going, give it to him!


----------



## BullsAttitude (Jun 11, 2002)

Question? 

Why do we always have like 2 long road trips each year?

We are on our 7 game trip now and then we go on a 6 game road trip later in the year.

Houston on the other hand has one 5 game road trip, that is it!

Does the league hate us when it comes to scheduling?


----------



## Like A Breath (Jun 16, 2003)

BullsAttitude said:


> Yeah, I missed us getting the lead. Didn't get home until 8:35 after work. I got home and thought, wow a lead, looking good....... and then the 2nd quarter came.
> 
> Then the start of the 3rd killed me even more, they started 9 of 10 from the field. I burn the games to DVD and I think my remote was slung into the couch at least 4 or 5 times during the 3rd.
> 
> I still think what would have happened had we not gone away from Gordon for 4 or 5 possessions in the 4th? He had it going, give it to him!


Skiles got too cute. He saw that Scott Padgett was in the game and tried to Don Nelson his way to victory by posting PJ Brown against him. Too bad PJ Brown is a jumpshooter and missed the entire rim.

I think Ben Gordon doing anything would've been a better option at that point.


----------



## rwj333 (Aug 10, 2002)

Did anyone else feel that Gordon was bailed out by the officials early on? On some of those drives I'm not sure there was a foul.


----------



## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

BullsAttitude said:


> Question?
> 
> Why do we always have like 2 long road trips each year?
> 
> ...


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...11/14/road.trips/index.html?section=si_latest

*Get the show on the road*

*The league's 10 most treacherous trips this season*

Posted: Wednesday November 15, 2006 10:03AM; Updated: Thursday November 16, 2006 11:21AM

Forgive Bulls center *Ben Wallace* if he's not the biggest fan of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. No, he doesn't have anything against elephants, clowns and high-wire acts (after all, the NBA has featured such characters as *Oliver Miller*, *Dennis Rodman* and *Dominique Wilkins*). It's just that Chicago has just started a seven-game road trip, courtesy of the circus invading the United Center.

"We're not going to let the trip intimidate us," said Wallace, whose Bulls must literally travel across the country (starting in Texas, making their way to Los Angeles, then ending in New York) during the grueling 12-day excursion.

The Bulls can only hope Big Ben delivers on his promise, although a 111-99 loss in Dallas on Tuesday is an ominous beginning. In the past, the annual "circus" trip has been a killer for Chicago -- sort of like the NBA's version of *Hannibal* crossing the Alps or the Bataan Death March. In the past seven seasons, the Bulls have gone 4-41 on the trip, including a 37-game losing streak from 1999-2005.

It was for just such difficult situations that Bulls GM *John Paxson* went out and signed Wallace to a $60 million free-agent contract last offseason. With the reigning Defensive Player of the Year added to their talented young core, the Bulls hope to have the toughness to handle jet lag, hostile crowds and perhaps some less-than-favorable treatment from the referees. But few teams fare well on extended road trips such as the one facing the Bulls this week, so Chicago should brace for the worst.

Of course, the Bulls are hardly alone. Six clubs face road trips of seven or more games this season. (Chicago actually has two such jaunts, with the second coming in late January/early February). Two teams -- the Spurs and Lakers -- will play eight straight on the road.

Here's SI.com's list of the NBA's 10 toughest road trips this season ranked in order of difficulty (a * denotes second night of back-to-back games):

*1. Spurs*

*Dates:* Jan. 28-Feb. 14 (eight games in 18 days)
*Opponents:* LAL, UTA, PHO*, WAS, ORL, MIA, NJ, DET*
*Playoff teams from last season:* 6
*The skinny:* This annual trip, courtesy of the rodeo invading the AT&T Center, is the longest in duration and toughest in terms of competition. The Spurs will need the All-Star break, which follows the conclusion of the trip, just to get reacquainted with their families.

*2. Lakers*

*Dates:* Jan. 30-Feb. 11 (eight games in 13 days)
*Opponents:* NY, BOS*, IND, WAS*, ATL, DET, TOR*, CLE
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 4
*The skinny:* Thanks in part to the Grammys being held at Staples Center, the Lakers will head East on their longest trip in 16 years. Three sets of back-to-backs, with the finales coming against the fast-paced Celtics, Wizards and Raptors, figure to test the Zen calm of coach *Phil Jackson*.

*3. Bulls*

*Dates:* Nov. 14-Nov. 25 (seven games in 12 days)
*Opponents:* DAL, HOU, SA*, LAL, DEN, PHI, NY*
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 4
*The skinny:* The Bulls will take a break in the middle to return home for Thanksgiving dinner, but they might not feel much like eating. After such a brutal recent history on their circus trip, last season's 3-3 mark was a major breakthrough for *Scott Skiles*' young team.



*4. Cavaliers*

*Dates:* Jan. 9-Jan. 20 (seven games in 12 days)
*Opponents:* SAC, PHO, LAC, SEA, POR*, DEN, GS*
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 4
*The skinny:* Thanks to Disney on Ice taking over the Q, *LeBron James *will take his traveling road show West. Last season the Cavs went 1-5 on this trip before coming home and winning six straight.

*5. Bulls*

*Dates:* Jan. 31-Feb. 11 (seven games in 12 days)
*Opponents:* LAC, SEA, POR*, UTA, SAC, GS*, PHO
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 3
*The skinny:* This time it's the Disney ice show that sends the Bulls out West. The bad news is the schedule presents five playoff-caliber foes (including Utah and Golden State). The good news is the Bulls get out of the Windy City winter for nearly two weeks.

*6. 76ers*

*Dates:* Dec. 26-Jan. 5 (seven games in 11 days)
Opponents: GS, SAC*, POR, LAL, DEN, UTA*, MIN
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 3
*The skinny:* Yet another victim of Disney on Ice, the Sixers won't have long to celebrate Christmas at home. The compressed trip, including two sets of back-to-backs, will test the 31-year-old legs of *Allen Iverson*.

*7. Clippers*

*Dates:* Feb. 2-Feb. 12 (seven games in 11 days)
*Opponents:* BOS, TOR, NY, CLE*, PHI, IND, DET*
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 3
*The skinny:* Like the Lakers, their co-tenant at Staples, they have to bug out for the Grammys. With one less game and only two sets of back-to-backs, however, they won't have it quite as bad on their cross-country jaunt.

*8. Nets*

*Dates:* March 4-March 13 (six games in 10 days)
*Opponents:* PHI, DAL, HOU, SA*, MEM, NO*
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 3
*The skinny:* After opening at Philly, they complete the Texas Triangle over a five-day span. Then they get one day to recover before a back-to-back at Memphis and New Orleans/Oklahoma City.

*9. Trail Blazers*

*Dates:* April 6-April 9 (three games in four days)
*Opponents:* HOU, DAL*, SA
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 2
*The skinny:* The Blazers have a brutal six-game trip over nine days in December, but this one might actually be worse. Portland and Chicago are the only teams this season that play all three Texas powers in succession in a four-day span. Yikes!

*10. Celtics*

*Dates:* Feb. 20-26 (five games in seven days)
*Opponents:* SAC, PHO*, LAL, UTA*, HOU
*Playoff teams from a year ago:* 3
*The skinny:* Five playoff-caliber teams in a seven-day stretch? Two back-to-backs with the second games at Phoenix and Utah? If the Celtics can manage to win one game on this cross-country trek, it will be a major accomplishment.


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## Cocoa Rice Krispies (Oct 10, 2004)

DaBullz said:


> At the start of Q3, the starters who did so well to start the game were in and we fell behind 21.


I agree that looks terrible, but you have to remember that they started that quarter already down 11. So the real swing is -10 points, which isn't much bigger than, say, the +8 the Bulls starters got in the 1st, or during one of their later scoring bursts. Plus, they got it fixed pretty quickly, so I'm not really worried about what I saw from the starters this game.



ScottMay said:


> I'm not really buying the "Wallace had a solid game" argument.
> 
> Holding Yao to 20 points on 19 shots isn't enough if you're putting up a giant, stinking donut on the other end and the team is getting murdered on the glass.
> 
> Granted, it's an extreme matchup, but you can't put this one in the "plus" column for Wallace imo.


I don't think Wallace had a great game either, and I certainly wouldn't mark down his head-to-head matchup tonight as a win either. I do think his game was solid and decent, though. At the risk of using a cliche, I think he had a good "floor game," and was a considerable defensive presence by changing shots, knocking away passes, and coming up with 5 steals. We've seen much better, but I don't think he was bad at all.


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## SALO (Jun 6, 2002)

Houston will be scary good once Bonzi Wells returns. He's a guy who would absolutely murder Gordon/Hinrich down on the blocks.


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## BullSoxChicagosFinest (Oct 22, 2005)

This just came to me, what was that idiot thinking even trying to contest Noc's 3, should've been a foul called just for that LOL. 

Damn though, what could have been, would have definately handled the end of that game differently


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## Wynn (Jun 3, 2002)

The Bull will never win another game.


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## DaBullz (Jul 15, 2002)

Wynn said:


> The Bull will never win another game.


You were right last game, and you're right again.

:biggrin:


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## Ron Cey (Dec 27, 2004)

ScottMay said:


> Granted, it's an extreme matchup, but you can't put this one in the "plus" column for Wallace imo.


I agree. But I can put it in the "acceptable" column. I've developed some thoughts on Wallace though, and they aren't flowers and puppy dogs type thoughts either, that I'm going to post later if I get time.


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