Derrick does need to improve his defense and he has had too many turnovers. Derrick also needs to improve his outside shot. I am very happy and pleased with his play at the start of the season. Derrick is only 20 and only played one year at Memphis.
I watched the second half of the recent game against Cleveland. The Bulls did not play badly but they could not stop LeBron in the fourth quarter. LeBron scored 41 points and the Bulls could just not stop him. Ben had another good scoring game with 29 points.
The biggest problem for the Bulls was stated clearly by Kenny Smith on TNT. The Bulls do not have a low post option so they cannot throw the ball down in the low post. This lack of a double option prevents a two man game which most teams can play. The Bulls do not have someone to attack the hoop and then pass the ball back outside for an open shot.
The Bulls are not consistent with their offense. They still take too many jump shots and fail to take the ball to the basket and get to the foul line. Derrick is our only player who can draw the defense to him when he drives to the basket. The Bulls are still one of the worst shooting team in the league. The Bulls miss far too many open shots.
The Bulls have now lost Captain Kirk for up to 3 months which will hurt the team. Kirk is not consistent every night but he can run the offense and hit some outside shots. Our best shooter is clearly Ben Gordon but he is undersized and his defense is not very good.
The Bulls gave Luol Deng a new contract and his play has been inconsistent. I believe that Luol has a lot of skill and he needs to be more aggressive. He can shot the outside jumper and he can drive to the basket. We need more from Luol on the offensive end.
I am happy with the play of Drew Gooden as he plays hard and does a good job on the board. Drew can score but he does not have a good low post game. I am very disappointed with the poor shooting of Tyrus Thomas. He can play good defense and rebound and block some shots but he is inconsistent.
As for the center position we cannot expect to be successful playing an undersized Drew Gooden. We are not getting much out of Joakim Noah and he has no shot. He can play defense and rebound but he is only a decent backup in my opinion. As for Aaron Gray he is just too slow in all aspects of the game.
I am hoping that Larry Hughes can give us some scoring when he returns from his injury. Thabo should go back to the bench as his shooting is very poor. I am happy with the play of Noch off the bench. He can score when he is hot and hit the 3 point shot. He also plays hard and does a good job on defense.
I do not expect the Bulls to make the playoffs this year. I am expecting them to win something in the range of 35 games. The Bulls should be in the draft lottery again next year and we need to draft a post player. I am disappointed that the Bulls have not made a trade.
The Bulls should have made a trade during the off season. It may be difficult to make a deal now but we should still try. The failure to make the Gasol trade last year was a mistake. We know that Jerry rejected the deal because of having to pay a luxury tax. I feel that Jerry has always been more interested in money than in winning and spending some money.
I also place blame on Paxson as most of his picks are a disappointment. The Bulls need to make some changes next year if they want to compete and get back to the playoffs. The upcoming West Coast road trip is likely to be a disaster for the Bulls. I hope I am wrong but I am afraid this will be a long season for Bulls fans.
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