Bulls and NBA Update 6/2/17

Nothing much has happened with the Bulls lately, since the off season hasn't officially started yet. However, the NBA draft is coming up in a few weeks on June 22, 2017. Many mock drafts and articles have come out predicting which teams will draft which player. Different sources include different selections, so I'll include all of the predictions.

The Bulls could choose a shooting guard to back up Dwyane Wade, like Donovan Mitchell (Louisville), Luke Kennard (Duke) or Josh Hart (Villanova). They could also select a small forward to back up Jimmy Butler like Justin Jackson (North Carolina). Lastly, they could also select a center to back up Robin Lopez like Justin Patton (Creighton).  The player that appears in the most mock drafts and predictions for the Bulls ins Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is a solid defender and is a great shooter. The Bulls need shooting, as they're one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league currently. He averaged 15.6 points per game at Louisville, so he could be a scorer the Bulls can rely on to come off the bench and provide an offensive spark. I'll provide more details on the Bulls' draft pick as the draft gets closer.

I usually just discuss Bulls news, but the NBA finals is going on right now so I'd like to discuss that too in my next few blogs. The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing the Golden State Warriors for a third season in a row (not a surprise). The first game of their finals series was last night at the Oracle Arena (Golden State's home arena) and  the Warriors blew out the Cavaliers 113-91.

Kevin Durant was the star of that game as he went off for 38 points. Steph Curry contributed 28 points as well. Lebron James scored 38 points, which isn't shocking as he always plays at an exceptionally high level, especially during the playoffs. Durant gives the Warriors an edge over the Cavs, as he provides an incredible amount of scoring, alongside Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.  However, the Cavs are definitely still in it as Lebron James will continue to play exceptionally every night and their point guard Kyrie Irving provides a lot of scoring too. It's only Game 1 so honestly anything can happen, but I'm going to predict that Golden State will win the finals this year.

That's all for this week!

Bulls and NBA Playoffs Update - 5/19/17

The Bulls' season has concluded after being eliminated by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Now the Bulls have a lot of decisions to make over the off season. There are many trade rumors surrounding the Bulls, especially Jimmy Butler. As I've said in my previous blogs, it would be a horrible mistake for the Bulls' front office to trade Butler. He is the sole reason they made it into the playoffs and were in the the middle of the eastern conference instead of the bottom. He is an All-Star who has developed so much since his rookie year, so I doubt they could get worthwhile players in a trade for Butler that would make up for his absence.

I could continue to discuss the Bulls' off season plans, but instead I'm going to discuss how the playoffs have become less interesting due to the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers since it's a huge controversy in the NBA right now.

I was reading about the NBA playoffs and stumbled upon an article that said that the Cavaliers and Warriors are simply using the first few rounds of the playoffs as a warm up to play each other in the finals. Both teams have easily beaten their opponents in their respective conference semi-finals and are on track to do the same with their conference finals. Honestly, despite how good their opponents are, they don't stand a chance. Both the Cavaliers and Warriors are "super teams" since both team has at least 3 All-Stars on their roster. Of course the great coaching staff and chemistry between the players contributes to being an elite team, but having several of the league's best players on your team pretty much guarantees that you'll be a top team.

The NBA playoffs have been become a little boring as of late, since the Cavs and Warriors sweep their opponents and there is not one competitive, interesting series as a result. Earlier in the playoffs, things were exciting, but towards the end of the second round, the question was "who will be swept by Golden State and Cleveland?" I was really hoping the San Antonio Spurs could beat the Warriors so that Golden State wouldn't make a third-straight finals appearance. Unfortunately, after their star Kawhi Leonard got injured the Spurs' chances seem to have gone down the drain. Hopefully, Leonard can return and give his team a fighting chance.

Also, the Boston Celtics are an incredible team with great three point shooting and offensive plays, but they are no match for the Cavs as they got blown out in Game 1 of their series with them. If people already know who's playing in the finals, how can the playoffs remain exciting?

I'll start discussing the NBA more, instead of just the Bulls, since they are out of the playoffs. However, I will continue to provide updates on their off season moves and trade rumors.

That's all for this week!

Bulls Update - 5/12/17

It's been two weeks since my last blog, and a lot has happened since then. In my last blog, I discussed how the Bulls could pull out a win in Game 6 and push for a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in their first round series. Unfortunately, when having the choice to sink or swim, the Bulls sank. They lost to the Celtics 105-83 leading to the Celtics emerging victorious from the series in Game 6. The Celtics moved on to the second round of the playoffs and are currently in the middle of their series against the Washington Wizards.

In the devastating loss,  All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler scored 23 points and the Bulls' starting center Robin Lopez contributed 10 points. However, no one else had a large enough contribution to take the weight off of Butler's shoulders, or knee. Butler was dealing with knee soreness towards the end of the series and was limping occasionally. All NBA players became exhausted and worn down at the end of the season and postseason, but Butler was visibly exhausted. Throughout the season and playoffs, he has had to play almost the entire game with only short breaks, since no other player could seem to become consistent and carry their team. Butler just could not carry the team to a win in Game 6 as all of the Celtics starters had huge games. The Celtics coasted to a win behind All-Star Isaiah Thomas' 12 points, Gerald Green's 16 points and the stellar performances of the starters.

The Bulls started off winning the series 2-0 and then ended up being eliminated from the playoffs by losing 4-2. One main reason for this sudden skid is the loss of Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo. He fractured his thumb in Game 2, and sat out the rest of the series. He also had a lingering wrist injury he was playing through as well, so as hard as he fought to return in the series, it was impossible for him to return within a couple weeks. The team clearly missed Rondo's ability to spark their offense with incredible passes, his ability to set up great plays, his leadership on and off the court, and his steady scoring. It's no coincidence that when Rondo got injured, the Bulls lost four straight games.

However, Rondo's absence was not the only reason the Bulls did not look like a playoff team toward the end of the series. The Bulls' young players needed to step up in the playoffs and they weren't able to. Also, Dwyane Wade, a veteran who won multiple championships in the past, did not elevate his performance like he should have in the playoffs. His lackluster performance in those final games could be attributed to the fact that he is 35 years old and doesn't have the energy he used to. Then, the Bulls' head coach, Fred Hoiberg should be fired after his coaching in this series. His fatal flaws, such as his inability to draw up offensives plays, call timeouts at the right times, and figure out rotations that work were evident throughout the regular season but highlighted even more in the postseason.

The Bulls' front office has a lot to consider during the off season, considering how the series ended. There are trade rumors surrounding Butler once again as his future on the Bulls is apparently unknown. Trading their star player would be a huge mistake, so hopefully the front office does not get rid of him. The Bulls must decide if they want to keep Rondo and Nikola Mirotic and  what free agents they want to try to acquire. I'll provide more updates on their moves as the off season progresses.

That's all for this week!

Bulls Update- 4/28/17

It's been a long time since my last blog post, so I'll just summarize the end of the Bulls' season and primarily discuss their performance again Boston in round 1 of the playoffs.

The Bulls finished out the end of their regular season strong, beating both the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets to clinch the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference allowing them to make the playoffs once again.  Only a few people said the Bulls would win the series against the number 1 seed Boston Celtics as the Bulls barely made the playoffs due to their poor coaching, lack of depth in their roster, and inconsistent players.

These fatal flaws were disguised in Games 1 and 2 of the series, but became evident again in Games 3, 4 , and 5. The series started out in Boston, but the Bulls were able to win both of their first two away games. They were led by their veteran starting point guard, Rajon Rondo.  He set the pace of their offense, set up many plays and was a leader on and off the court. Their All-Star small forward, Jimmy Butler also contributed to their surprising victories with 30 points in the first game and 22 points in the second game. The Celtics did not look like a number 1 seed in those games as they were dominated on the offensive boards and couldn't play solid defense.

However, the Bulls' winning streak was snapped in Game 3 as the Celtics came back and defeated the Bulls 107-84. The question is, what changed between Games 2 and Games 3? The answer is simple, Rondo got injured in Game 2 and didn't play in Game 3. Without Rondo, the Bulls continued to skid and blow their 2-0 lead by losing to the Celtics in Games 4 and 5 of the series as well. Rondo not only provides scoring and assists, but he has experience and leadership on the court that the Bulls desperately need. Rondo broke his thumb in Game 2 and had been previously playing through a wrist injury earlier in the series. With a wrist and thumb injury on his shooting hand, he is not likely return in this series.

In all three of those games, the Bulls completely lost their composure in the fourth quarter. This was especially true in Game 5, as Butler, their leading scorer, practically did nothing in the fourth quarter. Butler has been their finisher all season long, scoring a lot of points and making great plays to help the team pull out a victory. Apparently Butler has been having some knee soreness since he collided with a Celtics player in Game 4. This is very bad news for the Bulls as he is their only hope for winning Game 6 so they have a chance at winning the series in Game 7.

Another factor that has led to the Bulls losing three straight games is their head coach, Fred Hoiberg. He may have been a highly regarded coach at Iowa state, but in the NBA he is viewed as one of the worst coaches in the league.  He got their team into the playoffs somehow, so their front office will decide to keep him. However, his flaws became very clear in this playoff series. He continues to switch up lineups and the majority of the lineups he puts on the court are very ineffective and don't make any sense. Also, his inability to create plays to stimulate the Bulls' offense also has deeply wounded them. The Bulls are not a three point shooting team, since none of their players can consistently hit threes. Dwyane Wade, Rondo and Butler are not great shooters and they all drive to the basket and hit mid range shots.  Nikola Mirotic, their starting power forward is supposed to be a three point shooter, but he is so inconsistent and he cannot seem to hit wide open shots. The Bulls make up for their lack of shooting with rebounding, but they couldn't seem to get enough rebounds in the last couple games.

 It's not Hoiberg's fault that he was stuck with this roster, but having his players shoot threes, when he knows their not good shooters, is terrible coaching. He also doesn't call timeouts to readjust their plays until the Bulls are down by too many points to come back. Their strategy seems to be passing the ball to Butler and having him score himself. No other players have stepped up to assist him which is another flaw.

Dwyane Wade is a veteran and has won many championships like Rondo, so he is expected to step it up in the playoffs and carry the team to a win. Unfortunately this hasn't happened, and it may be attributed to the fact that he's 35 and can't give it all every game like he could when he was younger. Also, no other point guard can seem to step it up in Rondo's absence.

The Bulls have one more chance to redeem themselves and tie the series 3-3 if they can win Game 6 tonight. They have gone from wining the series 2-0 to being down 3-2. Butler is playing even though he has knee pain, so hopefully he isn't hindered too much by his soreness. In order for the Bulls to win tonight and push for a Game 7, Hoiberg needs to figure out his lineups and other players need to step up to assist Butler as Rondo will remain on the sidelines.

I'll provide updates soon on how the Bulls end their series with the Celtics. That's all for this week!

Bulls Update - 3/31/17

Since last Friday, the Bulls got blown out by the Philadelphia 76ers at home, and they beat the
Milwaukee and the Cleveland Cavaliers in easy wins. It would be an understatement to say there has been a huge change over the last week. The biggest change from the loss to the 76ers to the victory over the Bucks was the performance of Nikola Mirotic and All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Butler did not look like an All-Star against Philadelphia as he only scored seven points. He did have 11 assists, which is good for him, but is not good enough to carry the Bulls to a win. However, it was clear that Butler was just having a bad game as he came back on Sunday to score 20 points and get 14 assists against Milwaukee. He also scored 25 points against Cleveland, which was definitely an improvement. He needs to continue to be consistent for the rest of the season, in order for the Bulls to build up a winning streak.

Another factor that will determine whether or not the Bulls can win games and make the playoffs will be the consistency of  Mirotic. In the devastating loss to the 76ers, he scored 15 points, which is good for him, but he could have done more to carry the team to a win. Also, he has been inconsistent throughout the entire season, so it was very unlikely for him to have another game like that. However, he surprised everyone by scoring 28 points against both Milwaukee and Cleveland. He has never had three great games in a row this season. He is playing at a high level currently, just like he was during his rookie season. One of his motives for playing at a high level may be to get a big contract from the Bulls during this off season. He will be will be restricted free agent this off season, so he may be playing like an All-Star so he can get a huge contract. It does not really matter what his motivation is, as long as he continues to play like this throughout the rest of the season.

The Bulls have seven games left in the season and if they want to make the playoffs, they are going to have to win most of them. After the Bucks game, the Bulls had several days off before their game against the Cavaliers. The Cavs games game marked the beginning of their playoff run. The Bulls were losing at halftime, but managed to cut Cleveland's lead and gain a lead of their own for a 99-93 victory at home. Along with Butler and Mirotic' s contributions, big man Robin Lopez scored 10 points, and Denzel Valentine scored 12. Rajon Rondo finished the night with 15 assists. and although he may not be the best scorer, he can make incredible passes and rack up assists.

The Bulls have a relatively easy schedule for the remainder of the regular season and that is both good and bad. It is good because they can easily beat these teams and build up a winning streak to knock the Indiana Pacers out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. However, the Bulls have lost to awful teams and beat great teams, throughout the season, which is very strange. The Bulls need to change their tune and put in the effort to sweep these teams. They are ninth in the East and only one game behind both the Miami Heat and the Pacers. If Mirotic continues to put up great numbers each game and Butler remains consistent, the Bulls could grab the seventh or eighth spot in the east and make it to the postseason. We'll just have to wait and see if they can end their season on a high note.

That's all for this week!

Bulls Update - 3/24/17

The Bulls are coming back. They are ninth in the eastern conference on the cusp of snatching a playoff spot from the Miami Heat. They can definitely push through the rest of their games and make the playoffs, but the question is if they actually will.

The Bulls' young bench players have been having big games respectively where they scored a lot of points and played solid defense, but the problem is that they cannot become consistent. Rookie, Denzel Valentine has been the most consistent bench player. He has been scoring at least ten points games every game. Even though he has had consistent scoring, his shooting percentage is awful. Recently, he has had a shooting percentage of 30%. He is supposed to be a great three point shooter, so this is slightly concerning. However, he is a rookie and barely played the first half of the season, so he will most likely continue to develop and improve as the season goes on.

Other Bulls bench players who have played exceptionally recently are Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic, and Joffrey Lauvergne. They each have had a couple big games lately, but none of them have been consistent every single game. If they play well and generate a lot of offense every game and not just a select few, then the Bulls could generate a winning streak. However, if they don't put effort into some games they will not be able to win.

The Bulls won their last game against the Detroit Pistons, which is a crucial win this late in the season. Also, the Pistons were ahead of the Bulls in the standings prior to that game and now the Bulls are above them after their great victory. Jimmy Butler had a double-double on the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Paul Zipser had 15 points,  Joffrey Lauvergne scored 17, Bobby Portis scored 12, but the player who really carried the team in that game was Nikola Mirotic. He scored 28 points and his field goal percentage was 80%, which is incredible for him. There are rumors that he will be traded over the off season since his three point shooting percentage has been awful this season  and his offense has been progressively getting worse. After that outstanding performance in the Bulls' win, those rumors may disappear. If he continues to play like he did against the Pistons, then the Bulls may want to keep him as a crucial piece of their roster. It's a little surprising that they won, considering they were missing a great scorer as of late, Robin Lopez.

Lopez was handed a one-game suspension after he got into a fight with Toronto Raptors forward, Serge Ibaka. This is said to be one of the worst fights in the NBA, since it was not just a typical player scuffle. Lopez and Ibaka threw actual punches at each other and even though none of them connected, the intent was definitely there. The fight started as Ibaka elbowed Lopez in the back and the fight quickly escalated from there. Ibaka was also suspended for one game as well. There is a photo from their fight below from USA Today.

The Bulls' season is looking up as everyone contributed in their win over the Pistons and they look like a playoff-caliber team. However, their season could go downhill from here as they blew a huge lead in their loss to the Raptors on Tuesday. If they make the playoffs, Dwyane Wade said that he will play, even if his fractured wrist is not entirely healed. Only time will tell if the Bulls will make the playoffs or if they will completely fall apart and hit rock bottom.

That's all for this week!

Bulls Update- 3/17/17

So the Chicago Bulls had a  big chance to get into the playoffs, until now. The Bulls were bouncing between the seventh and eighth spots in the conference until recently when they they've lost game after game, causing them to drop to the tenth spot in the eastern conference. Currently, they will not make the the playoffs. All they'd have to do is get a win streak going to reclaim their playoff spot and I figured they could do that. However, in the last few games the Bulls have been awful. The players don't have good chemistry, the majority of the team doesn't try and a scout reported that Rajon Rondo, Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade have been completely ignoring Coach Fred Hoiberg's plays. They're falling apart at the seams. It may be too late to try and make a playoff run considering how their coach has lost control of the team and their roster that was quickly scrapped together right before the season, just isn't working anymore.

Also, Butler is not playing at the all-star level he was earlier in the season. He carried the team, could score 40 points, hit buzzer beaters and make great plays. Towards the middle of the season, Butler injured his heel and ever since that injury, he hasn't been the same. Now he can barely score twenty points and his shooting percentage is horrible. The Bulls need him to be at his best if they want to their season to end on a high note. Many people are saying he may be injured but is not telling everyone or he didn't fully recover from his heel injury. Whatever it is, he needs to become the all-star Jimmy Butler from the beginning of the season again. He needs to step it up especially after what happened last game.

The Bulls lost their last game against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the game wasn't the only thing they lost. Wade went up for a rebound, got caught between a few guys and hyper-extended his elbow. Coach Hoiberg asked him if he needed to sit and Wade refused, still trying to play. After a little while, he had to sit after the pain became excruciating. According to an MRI, Wade both sprained and fractured his elbow and will be out for the remainder of the season. That's right, they lose him for the rest of the season. He provides them with great offense, scoring, and play making, so this will hurt the team a lot.The Bulls' chance to make the playoffs is very slim and will only increase if Butler carries the team. Also, their young bench players need to step up into their roles and give it their all ever game.

During the off season the Bulls need to make some major changes, but until then we'll see if they sink or swim. They have fourteen games left and that's just enough time to make a playoff run or tank. I really can't predict which one it'll be, so I'll just have to wait and see.

Tonight the Bulls are coming to DC to play the Washington Wizards and I'm going to the game. I'm disappointed I won't get to see Wade play, but at least I get to see Butler and the rest of the team. Despite all of the problems that Rondo has caused for the team I'm still excited to see him play. I just hope the Bulls won't get blown out because I only get to go to one Bulls game a season, and I hope it's not gonna be a loss. Whatever happens, I'll still love to see my favorite team.

That's all for this week!