NBA Playoffs Approaching

With the 2016 NBA playoffs approaching, the Chicago Bulls are in trouble of meshing with the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards for the 8th seed. If the Bulls are successful of holding onto the 8th seed, they will meet the Cleveland Cavaliers who are having chemistry issues with Lebron James and Kyrie Irving not clicking on all cylinders and not on the same page playing basketball. Things will get tough for Chicago in the off-season, trying to trade these star Bulls and their massive salaries such as Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose.

Bulls searching for team identity?

This Bulls team, coached by former-NCAA coach Fred Holberg, is busy trying to find a leader within its core system of players. Is it Derrick Rose? Is it Jimmy Butler? Is it Pau Gasol? Is it Joakim Noah? Usually, the most vocal player is the leader. Since we’ve heard from the Chicago Bulls, it’s usually Butler who has shown signs of leadership. Since Butler’s improvements over the last two NBA seasons, Butler wants to show he can lead a team.

If Jimmy Butler is the leader, he must decide how to integrate the players on his team into the flow of the offense and decide how they must play defence as one team.

2015-2016 NBA Basketball Season

Hey guys, I’m back for writing a blog on the NBA season. Fred Hoiberg is the new Chicago Bulls basketball coach and he has made a change to the Bulls squad. Joakim Noah, Chicago’s starting center is coming off the bench and Hoiberg has put in Nikola Mirotic as the center. A sharpshooting big, Mirotic will create mismatches on the perimeter and because he is a running big, he will sprint up and down the court fast enough so that opposing centers can’t match him up for the paint area around the basket. Derrick Rose is having his way being the point guard for Hoiberg and there aren’t any pressing issues being addressed here.

The Golden State Warriors are wired for a repeat championship season. Can they do it and handle it again? Everybody is back for the Dubs, and they get Jason Thompson from Sacramento joining them. What becomes of the new recruit joining the Warriors?

All this and more exciting news around the NBA. Stay tuned because it’s another basketball season around the corner!

First round exits

The Atlanta Hawks have knocked off the Brooklyn Nets in six games, behind NBA Coach of the Year winner Mike Budenholzer who has effortlessly led these Hawks, who has heard of DeMarre Carroll and Mike Scott and Dennis Schroder, to a winning record. The Chicago Bulls have outlasted these feisty and long-armed Milwaukee Bucks with their size and half court offense with Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. The Bulls have gotten under the Bucks’ skin late in Game 6, and I would expect a rematch between these two teams in the future. The Golden State Warriors dispatch of the New Orleans Pelicans was no contest. The Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies who got rid of the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. The Clippers outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 as they win 111-109 and will face the Houston Rockets in the second round, Kevin McHale’s squad playing outstanding with the play of James Harden and Dwight Howard were too much for the older, aging Dirk Nowitzki and these Dallas Mavericks.

NBA Playoffs 2015 First Round Recap

The Golden State Warriors are up 3-0 over the New Orleans Pelicans, because they have a never-say-die attitude behind Steve Kerr’s coaching. Kerr has let Draymond Green regain hold of his basketball position and has let Green rebound and shoot three pointers and holding his intangibles to help the Warriors reach the second round of the playoffs. The Chicago Bulls are also up 3-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks, because Tom Thibodeau’s squad refuse to say don’t lose and they are able to retain what they know about fundamental basketball on the court with their big front court of Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, and Mike Dunleavy. Fundamentals and the long wingspan of the front court has let the Bulls dangle and win three games in a row.

NBA Playoffs 2014 First Round Recap

No surprise for the San Antonio Spurs who did have a game plan, but managed to ride the coattails of Tim Duncan down the stretch as they win their Game 1 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks, 90-85. The Mavericks shut down the Spurs’ perimeter shooters, but did not contain Duncan. That was a crucial point. The Golden State Warriors stole Game 1 from the L.A. Clippers, but the Clips took back Game 2 in dramatic fashion. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were factors in the Clippers’ win over Golden State. The defending NBA champions Miami Heat win Game 1 of their first round series against the Charlotte Bobcats, 99-88. Or at least that’s what the score is. Dwyane Wade came back from his injury to contribute in the Heat win. The Washington Wizards won the first game of their playoff series against the Chicago Bulls 102-93 and boy, did Nene, the power forward for the Wizards come up big. Knowing Joakim Noah was going to have a huge game for the Bulls, Nene prepared to defend him with all he has got. Brooklyn won Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors, because Paul Pierce showed up to play. This is the primary reason why the Nets signed Pierce and Kevin Garnett. So they could hit their big shots and their veteran leadership was shown in light of that. Oklahoma City won Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, but Tony Allen’s perimeter d on Kevin Durant keyed the Grizzlies’ Game 2 victory. The Atlanta Hawks stole Game 1 from Indiana in Indianapolis, which was a big shock. Portland wins in overtime against the Houston Rockets 122-120 which was an exciting game. LaMarcus Aldridge scored a playoff career high 46 points on 17-for-31 shooting in that game. I am surprised by the Bulls’ loss, because I expected Joakim Noah to have a big game and I also expected Indiana to bring their ‘A’ game as well. I expect both Chicago and Indiana to bounce back. Expect the scoring champ Kevin Durant to bring his ‘A’ game in Game 3 in Memphis.

Bulls make late push

Tom Thibodeau’s squad of fearless and relentless and determined players are heading to the NBA playoffs and they want to surprise the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. Out is Luol Deng traded to Cleveland. What becomes of the Bulls’ band of soldiers led by Joakim Noah? They have not accepted that this Bulls team isn’t the dynasty that had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and had role players who knew what they needed to do. This is a band of Bulls who don’t have a role in the NBA and are surprisingly giving us a few nods and shakes because of Noah’s physical activity and Taj Gibson’s energy. Joakim Noah is rallying up the team with his spirit and fearlessness. If anything, I don’t think anybody would like to face the Chicago Bulls in the first round, because they are scrappy and hate to lose a basketball game.

Overall recap of NBA Playoffs

The Knicks are clawing back against a balanced Indiana Pacers squad. New York is down 3-2 against Indiana and are forcing the Pacers to play a Game 6. What gives? Why are the New York Knicks giving the Indiana Pacers a fight in their playoff series? The Pacers haven’t exactly solved containing Carmelo Anthony’s scoring neither have they played solid defense against New York’s streaky perimeter shooters. Indiana has allowed New York to shoot as many jumpers and three pointers as much as they can.

I saw clearly that Scott Brooks’ Oklahoma City squad had a tough time trying to handle the grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies. These aren’t the Houston Rockets that the Thunder faced in round one. This is a Memphis team that is willing to back you to the basket and make you play their style of basketball. Oklahoma City tried to look comfortable playing basketball against Memphis, but it didn’t really show. We didn’t really see Serge Ibaka’s shot-blocking brilliance or Kevin Durant finding his way to the hole with easy dunks and baskets and shooting open jumpers. The Grizzlies’ best perimeter defender, Tony Allen found a way to get inside Kevin Durant’s head and Durant let it show to the referees that he wasn’t getting calls when he was getting hit by Tony Allen.

San Antonio showed Golden State what playoff basketball is all about. The Spurs played their brand of basketball as Tim Duncan showed an array of post moves as Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, Andris Biedrins, and Carl Landry all were trying to deny Duncan’s points. Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker had their way around the paint as they got their points. The Warriors backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson couldn’t contain Ginobli and Parker.

In the Miami-Chicago series, I see that the Heat weren’t quite prepared for Game 1, despite the layoff they had between series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and the Chicago Bulls in their semi finals. Despite losing Game 1, the Heat recovered and beat the Bulls four games straight. Miami beat Chicago on talent alone. Chicago doesn’t have anyone in Lebron James’ caliber star power or Dwyane Wade’s athleticism or Chris Bosh’s shooting. The Bulls are clearly missing Derrick Rose and they do not have anyone who can replace Rose with Carlos Boozer’s whose solid combination of perimeter shooting and rebounding are invaluable and Joakim Noah’s rebounding and defense are key to Chicago’s success.

Bulls End Heat’s Winning Streak/Brooklyn Nets

The Bulls finally put an end to the Miami Heat’s 27-game winning streak. The Bulls beat the Heat 101-97 behind balanced team play and overall team defense and hustle and smarts. Kudos to the Chicago Bulls basketball team and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau for their work against the Miami Heat. The Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets are two NBA basketball teams I would not want to see in the first round of the Playoffs as it starts. I would like to see the Nets really battle it out with the Bulls in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It’s an interesting matchup to see. The Bulls have an outstanding and menacing frontcourt in Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng while the Nets rely on the strengths of overall court smarts and basketball play of Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, and a bunch of role players.

Bulls-Spurs on ESPN

I watched the Chicago Bulls play the San Antonio Spurs last night and boy, were they hammered like I suspected. Not immediately were Chicago dispatched by San Antonio’s offensive plays, but gradually did the Spurs methodically run their plays around Joakim Noah and the paint by the basket. Paint by the basket. That’s not basketball terminology. Oh well. Nobody can rattle Tim Duncan or the game Duncan plays. He was his usual self, impacting the game on both ends of the court offensively and defensively. He really determined the game. The talented team usually wins basketball games. It was the San Antonio Spurs.