I got my wisdom teeth out today. So before I launch into a preview that may or may not be coherent I urge you to check out Blog-a-Bull. Okay from here on out proceed at your own risk.
It's funny (more ironic than haha) when a player has won four Defensive Player of the Year Awards, makes around $15 million a year and I desperately want him TO PLAY against the Celtics. Of course I'm talking about Ben Wallace. And if it were not for Shaq's much talked about decline this season, Big Ben's struggles would be even more of a story. As it is the Wallace's Bulls are 9-14 and to make matters worse the man he effectively replaced, Tyson Chandler, is becoming a star. To be fair I have only seen the Bulls once and Wallace actually played okay. Maybe I'm overreacting here or relying too heavily on the Internet grapevine. But there is no doubt that I would rather see Wallace out there instead of Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah.
How about something fact based or witty about the rest of the Bulls?
JamesOn Curry - Maybe my favorite first name in the entire league. Hey I like Bostjan too. But if you look at the list no other name comes close. Allright you got me. DeShawn is awesome too.
Luol Deng - He plays awesome defense on Paul Pierce, has long arms, can be explosive on offense, is playing for a new contract, blah, blah, blah. He's good. But how good?
Chris Duhon - Seems destined to get moved in a trade this season. And then some media outlet will run a headline about "Insert team name" getting a four year vet from Duke. Then for a brief moment members of that fan base will think they got Deng. But it will really be Duhon. Okay that's not going to happen. But I just wanted to revisit the time the Red Sox got Maddux. Mike Maddux. Still bitter.
Ben Gordon - I am not a fan of the Bulls. This is pretty well documented on Green Bandwagon. But I admire Gordon's game when he is feeling it. The guy can score. Ultimately I want Gordon to play well and the Bulls to struggle. I'm not sure both can happen. So here is the plan. Gordon continues to shoot 33% from the field, gets a ridiculous contract from a bad team and then wows the league for years as a scorer on an atrocious team. And in his free time he cooks.
Aaron Gray - Seems to be getting some burn of late. I'm okay with that development. What does that tell you?
Adrian Griffin - Next.
Kirk Hinrich - Do you realize there was a time when signing him to a lucrative contract extension and making him a captain made sense? There might not be a player in the entire league that is more fun to mock than Hinrich when he is struggling. In fact I'm somewhat scared that Paul Pierce will breakdown because of their Kansas connection, grab Hinrich and pull a Godfather, straightening him out in the process. "YOU CAN ACT LIKE A MAN!" All kidding aside Hinrich is by no means a lost cause. But he also has no excuse for sucking.
Viktor Khryapa - Perhaps at some point in my life I won't mess around with his last name and laugh hysterically. Just don't bet on it.
Demetris Nichols - ?
Joakim Noah - I didn't realize his offensive game needed so much work to make it on the pro level. But everything else is there already.
Andres Nocioni - I'm still not quite over the time Kevin Garnett seemed to levitate to block Nocioni's shot. That said I still like Nocioni's game.
Thabo Sefolosha - He's got something in common with Tyrus Thomas. I like both of their games a lot more than Scott Skiles does.
Joe Smith - For some reason I would pay $30 for his Beyond the Glory. I just think it would be interesting.
Tyrus Thomas - I'll be happy if I don't see him play with Gordon, Hinrich, Deng and Noah. In fact that lineup scares the hell out of me.
Three Reasons Why it is a Must Win Game:
- They're keeping score.
- No one wants the first losing streak of the season to come on back-to-back nationally televised games.
- The Bulls are now 9-14 on the year (6-4 this month). Teams around the league have no interest in seeing them right the ship. A win at Boston, on national TV could do just that.