HOOPLOG: Andres Nocioni

The Fatal Flying Elbows Of Andres Nocioni

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 16:47:02 -0800

Much the way the league has been through stages of trying to find The Next Larry Bird, The Next Magic or the Next Magic Jordan, there is somewhat less urgency in trying to identify The Next Danny Fortson. From The Northwest Herald’s David Brown. The NBA issued a $5,000 fine and a flagrant foul to [...]

Isiah Thomas is an Excellent Driver

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:11:28 -0800

Though I enjoyed it very much, the slam dunk contest was a joke. The problems have been written about all over the place, so instead I'll offer a solution. Each of the four contestants get four dunks. The first three rounds are limited to three attempts per dunk with the last round having unlimited attempts. After all dunks are completed a panel of "experts" (as in former players who have at least the cognitive ability of a multi-cellular organism) will pick the four best dunks (one per player to avoid a situation where the fans split the vote between two dunks by the same guy). The public will then pick the winner, in 10 minutes of online and/or text messaging voting.

This prevents the judges' inevitable premature adulation: giving perfect 10s in first round when everyone knows better dunks are coming. Fan involvement is encouraged, likely to increase ratings (and revenue to whatever cell phone company sponsors the text messaging portion). Barkley and crew could banter about which dunk was the best for each player. Leaving the unlimited attempts round to the end will build anticipation on what crazy-ass dunk each player is going to pull out. During the voting period TNT could interview the active players in the arena that didn't participate. You know Iverson, Shaq and company would love to share their opinions on who should win and the crowd would eat that shit up. (Did anyone notice Kobe's reaction when he realized that Robinson had won instead of AI? He looked crushed; I thought he was going to buy some diamond encrusted fronts for Igoudala just to say he's sorry.) They could interview random posse members and celebrities as well. Running voting results could be displayed on the scoreboard. What's not to like?

Call me crazy, but I had absolutely no desire to see four Pistons playing at once in the All Star Game. This has nothing to do with my thoughts on whether they deserved the spot; it was simply boring. If I wanted to watch "Pistons basketball" I would watch a DET game. Do people really want to watch Rip running off staggered screens? And was anyone really surprised that four Pistons plus Pierce outplayed the West? Hell, four Raptors plus Pierce would likely beat the West, too. Virtually any NBA team playing team basketball would beat an All-Star team featuring guys trying lobs from half court. And yeah, I would feel the same way about four Spurs. I know how the Spurs play. I don't know how Manu would play with Nash, Marion, Dirk and Brand. That's what I would want to see.

My favorite part of the latest Isiah trade isn't that the Knicks will be paying $60+ million a year (including luxury tax) for Marbury and Francis. It's not that these two players are incompatible due to both of them being undersized for a shooting guard (not that they play much defense anyway). Nor is it that the combination will drive the lying, sniveling Larry Brown to a premature demise. The best part about this deal is that multiple media outlets are reporting that Isiah is stockpiling assets in order to go after Garnett in the summer.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I can see only one high-quality asset the Knicks have that MIN could possibly want. And that's Channing Frye. They have don't have any premium draft picks over the next two years. Meanwhile a team like CHI could offer some combination of Deng, Gordon, Duhon, Nocioni, Hinrich and Chandler plus multiple premium first round picks.

I didn't get to watch the SA-SEA game because the NBA League Pass channel was blacked out and I didn't notice until the game was already over. I'm beginning to see the early signs of Spurs withdrawal.

Here are my quick midseason player reviews; based on minutes of careful consideration and preseason expectations.

Coach Pop, B

Clearly trying to establish a rotation ASAP but stuck with Finley in the starting lineup way too long. Has successfully kept Manu's minutes down but needs to do the same for Timmeh; props for loosening the reins on Parker.

Mike Budenholzer, A+

I just like saying his name. Boo-din-hol-zer.

Sean Marks, B+

He's played well when given the opportunity and helped spawn a new catch phrase: AND SEAN MARKS FINISHES THE JOB!!!

Beno Udrih, B

Yeah, Van Exel is a better ball-handler, but that's the end of the list in my book.

Fabricio Oberto, C+

He looks less lost every time he plays and always brings the effort.

Brent Barry, D

40.3% from the field and 33.7% from 3 isn't good enough for a guy that's getting $5 million a year to shoot the ball.

Robert Horry, NA

The regular season? We're talking about the regular season?

Nick Van Exel, D

Why do I have the feeling that Spurs fans will blame a key playoff loss on his poor shot selection and total inability to guard anyone with legs?

Nazr Mohammed, B-

I'm seeing improvement, but he needs to up his blocks and cut down on turnovers and the ubiquitous mental errors.

Rasho Nesterovic, B

As solid as ever, but he needs to cut down on his ubiquitous lack of athleticism.

Michael Finley, D-

How bad has Finley played? The lineup of TP/BB/MF/TD/RS has outscored its opponents by a whopping 13 points in 286 minutes. That amounts to 2.2 points per game. For a team with a 6.5 point differential.

The Sickness, B-

Swap Manu for Finley in the above lineup and you have a squad that has outscored its opponents by 113 points in 335 minutes; 16.2 points per game. Certainly not the same guy we saw in the playoffs, but, well, this isn't the playoffs. His regular season numbers from last year are similar and his grade would be higher if not for the injuries.

Bruce Bowen, A-

He's added to his offensive game without adding FGA, but I'll be damned if he hasn't lost a quarter-step on defense. Yeah, I said it.

Tim Duncan, B

Lowest, PPG, FG% and BPG of his career. 59% of his FGA are outside of the lane which is higher than Parker and Ginobili. Still an incredible defensive anchor but, like last year, not capable of offensively carrying this team to a title. His plantar fascia cost him a half-grade or so.

Tony Parker, A

Better shot selection this year and maybe the best guard finisher in the NBA (his eFG% inside is 71.1% compared to 55.3% for Wade, 52.3% for Bryant and 63.7% for LeBron). Still has the undeniable Achilles heel to his game that will be exploited without mercy during the playoffs.

SO many incites in the brain not even coolabah win...

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:58:16 -0800

SO many incites in the brain not even coolabah wine reisling can quiet. (Unless i inject into penis, then the pain reminds me that Im alive)

But meantime when wiz were playing CBullzzz and their coach Skott Skiles aka THE STOUT BITCH the other day. Tragic!
(When the feeling’s gone and you can’t go on its TRagedy)

and I was thinking of when of the best days in my life, that time LBoogie hit ANdres "Dirty SOuth" Nocioni in the NUTS!!!!!

How sweet that was right.

SO that made me think about Andres and the bulls series and thsat made me think of a

WIZZNUTZZ CLASSIC!!!!!

Game Thread #16: Bulls vs. Dallas Mavericks(UPDATED)

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 23:49:35 -0800

First off, thanks to Mike for handling the game threads over the weekend. Bet you didn't even notice, I'll be damned if we're not seamlessly integrated over here at Blogabull.

Dallas is likely the 3rd best team in the NBA, albeit a tier below San Antonio and Detroit (who pummeled the Bulls on Saturday). One of their better players in Josh Howard is out, and Jerry Stackhouse is dealing with his annual leg ailment. This has Dallas pretty thin on the wings, so thin that former Bull Adrian Griffin may start and get major minutes for the Mavs.

The Bulls proved that they can play superior teams well, with 2 strong showings (and one win) against San Antonio. They still have nobody who can guard Dirk Nowitzki, although I'd like to see if Luol Deng can get an extended trial to do so, as I feel he'd have at least a better chance than Nocioni would. Skiles may be forced to given how everyone has been picking up early fouls lately.

Blogging with the Enemy: Rebel Ballin'

I'll be in attendance tonight trying to extend my own streak, of both Bulls wins and hot dogs eaten.

And by the way, it's Hardwood Classics night, with the Bulls sporting the '46-47 road unis of the Chicago Stags. The Bulls have barely changed their uniforms in their own 40 year existence, so a reach like this is acceptable, I guess.

UPDATE: Well, it was all about Dirk. Tyson Chandler, Andres Nocioni and Darius Songaila alternated unsuccessful attempts at guarding Nowitzki, who finished with 35 points despite shooting poorly in the first half. I still think Luol Deng should have gotten more of a shot to guard him. If you remember seeing Tracy McGrady in the playoffs, Nowitzki seems to have more trouble with lengthy players who can stay in front of him.

Dallas had 15 offensive rebounds which perhaps seemed to hurt more watching it in person but still had an effect. Also, I highlighted in the preview the fact that the Mavs were weak at the wing positions, and starting Adrian Griffin was a sign of that weakness. Ole' man Griff showed up his former team with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Tough to fault the effort, although a lot of loose balls and possible defensive boards went to the Mavs. They are simply a hard team for the Bulls to match up with. Kirk Hinrich left very early in the game with a concussion, which made things even worse with Chris Duhon also seeming to have trouble with his ankles during the game. So, for the first time all season, Ben Gordon had to spend extended minutes as the primary ballhandler. He made up for it with his hot first-half shooting (I believe he had 18 in the first half), but overall the offense seemed to stagnate without Kirk or Duhon out there. In the frontcourt, Mike Sweetney played only 22 minutes as the taller Mavericks like Dirk, Eric Dampier, and Keith Van Horn really made it hard for Skiles to find a place for him.

Luol Deng had another strong game, shooting 12-15 for 25 points. Maybe it is time to get him in the starting lineup. I still would have liked to see him have the chance on defense to guard the big German though...

Recap | BoxScore | GameFlow

Game Thread #9: Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers(Update below)

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:29 -0800

Big game tonight before going to Texas.

The Lakers have a front line that even the Bulls can take advantage of, although Kwame Brown always seems to have good games against the Bulls.(EDIT: Kwame is out with a hamstring pull.) NBA journeyman Smush Parker has been a revelation at point guard, but is still prone to turnovers.

But they still have that Kobe guy. and Lamar Odom. Who guards either? Perhaps Eddie Basden gets his defensive reputation tested and can make sure Kirk Hinrich doesn't get worn out (or fouled out) while guarding Kobe. And for Odom (who's usually the ballhandler in the triangle offense), I'm not sure Nocioni can stay with him, unless the refs allow him to clutch and grab his way all game.

Blogging with the Enemy: Forum Blue and Gold

No predictions, its tough to figure which Bulls team I'm going to see on a given night. I expect Mike Sweetney to continue to put up big numbers, and maybe this will be the game Tyson Chandler gets his season going. The Lakers (and most importantly Kobe) are banged up so an actual good effort by the Bulls could work wonders. Haven't seen much of that this road trip though.

UPDATE: I really thought this would be another 2nd half collapse like the game in Seattle, and was pretty disgusted after two turnovers early in the 4th.

But Duhon and Hinrich went on a 3 point barrage that was only partially matched by the Lakers in the closing minutes.

The Bulls front line overpowered the Lakers all game, with Sweetney performing well yet again getting 20pts, 12 rebs, and shooting 50%. Sweetney slowed later in the game, but like the win versus the Warriors a couple weeks ago he had a play drawn for him late and again he drew a foul. Tyson Chandler had a huge block in the final minutes as well, capping his best game of the season with 15 rebounds and 6 points.

The Lakers stayed close on the back of Kobe Bryant, who was making some ridiculous shots on his way to 43 points. They also went to the foul line 32 times as opposed to 18 for the Bulls.

But it was Duhon down the stretch, who literally assumed the Ben Gordon role(who sat during the Bulls final run) and landed 5-7 from 3 to give the Bulls a much needed victory.

A few days off before going to San Antonio on Friday. Too early to say games are must-wins, but it sure feels nice to stop the losing streak before heading to Texas. ::wipes forehead::

Recap | BoxScore | GameFlow

Via Chicago

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 11:04:44 -0800

With a loss last night the Bulls dropped to 3-4, which isn’t terrible but is good enough for last place in the strong Central. But even before the loss last night coach Scott Skiles was talking about shaking up his starting lineup, and he just might follow through with it now. So with the shakeup and the new starting jobs won, there should be some new players with fantasy relevance, right? Not necessarily.

It’s always best for a player’s value if he has a starting job, but you still have to get the minutes. Skiles has shown absolutely no reluctance to start a player and still hold his minutes down. So let’s look at da Bulls. I’ve seen at least a bit of almost all of their games, but perhaps someone in the Windy City … GMTR, looking in your direction … would like to offer some more insight.

The Sure Thing
There’s only one and it’s Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich’s numbers aren’t quite where they should be, but they are close enough to the norm that there’s no reason to expect anything too far off from last year’s. His steals and rebounds are down, his percentages are up, those should all even out. He’s actually averaging less than 33 mpg, but that’s because of three low-minute games, only one of which was due to Skiles. (A sprained ankle and foul trouble – which is a definite problem for Hinrich – caused the other two.) Hinrich is the constant for the Bulls, but Skiles will still bench him for the entire end of a rout, as he did on Monday, for example. Still, his game-to-game performance is consistent enough to leave him in all lineups, no questions asked.

Coming On Strong
Andres Nocioni has started every game so far, but has only come to life in the last three. After seeing less than 25 minutes in each of the first four games, Nocioni has gone 27-31-45 in the last three, and he’s put up a 16.7/5.7/1.3 line. He’s also chipped in five 3s, three blocks and a steal. Nocioni is one of those hustle guys that a coach – especially a guy like Skiles – can get enamored with, and when things are going well it looks like he’s a part of everything. It should be noted that his two best games have come in Bulls losses, but Nocioni should have a lock on his starting job. He seems like he’d make a decent short-term pickup right now, but don’t get too excited. Nocioni played 45 minutes last night and Scott Skiles just doesn’t let that happen too much.

There was probably a run on Mike Sweetney after his 26 and 14 performance last night. Sweetney replacing Darius Songaila would be the most obvious lineup switch, as you could make the argument that Sweetney is one of the Bulls two or three best players. He can be a real fantasy force if given the opportunity, as he is one of the best rebounders in the league on a per minute basis. The knock on him as been his lack of steals and blocks, and while it’s true that he doesn’t offer much there, he’s a career 53% shooter and gets to the foul line a lot and makes a good number. But I’ll believe Skiles gives him that chance when I see it. The problem is that he has to deal with both Songaila and Othella Harrington. Scott Skiles loves to play his whole roster and will routinely give 10 or 11 players at least 10 minutes per game. This makes it tough for anyone to have value, because there’s a huge difference between 29 minutes and 35 minutes. With a few more games like last night Sweetney could force Skiles’ hand, though. I spent my last round pick on Sweetney because I liked his upside and thought it would only be a matter of time before he grabbed a starting job. If you have a roster spot to play with, Sweetney is a nice option. He’s got more upside than Nick Collison, for example, but because Collison is starting, he’s a better short-term option than Sweetney.

Luol Deng is still just 20 years old, so he’s a player that you can expect considerable improvement from. He seems unlikely to crack the starting lineup right now with Nocioni playing so well, but you can’t rule it out at some point in the season. But until Deng shows that he’s capable of a special skill relevant to fantasy players, he won’t be of much value. Sweetney can dominate in boards and FG%; Deng dominates nowhere. He has just three steals, three blocks and two 3s on the season. Deng has shown good scoring ability, but you have to score a whole lot of points to be valuable without other contributions, especially when it’ll be a miracle if you shoot even 44%.

Ben Gordon is the perfect example of a guy who Scott Skiles is keeping down. His minutes this season are up to 29.3 from 24.4 but it’s more of a tease than anything. If he could get to that 33-35 mark, Gordon would be a no-brainer starter. But with fluctuating minutes coming off the bench, it’s a day-to-day guessing game. He went 23/6/4 with three 3s on Nov. 5, but followed that with 13/1/1 on 5-of-17 shooting. He scored 17 with two 3s on 7-of-10 shooting on Nov. 12 and followed that with 6 points on 2-of-12 shooting. This is a perfect example of why bench players are so risky. There’s very little margin for error. The fewer minutes, the fewer chances to rack up stats in all of the categories, so if you don’t come through in your strength, it kills you.

Fading Fast
I thought Tyson Chandler would be a better player to own than Marcus Camby this year. Oops. Camby could still go down, but Chandler may as well be down for how well he’s played so far. The Bulls don’t have any other real options in the middle, so you’d expect Chandler’s starting job to be safe, but Chandler excelled coming off the bench last year and Skiles may think he’s more comfortable there. Othella Harrington is one of those “reliable vets” and I wouldn’t put it against Skiles to start him at center if the matchup presents itself. Chandler has just four blocks on the season, and those were all in the first two games, meaning he’s gone five straight without one. Owners weren’t expecting many points, but were counting on at least 10 boards and 2 blocks per game. Frustrated Chandler owners might be willing to cut bait after he received just 39 minutes total in the last two games. If you can pick him up on the cheap, go for it. The Bulls have been disappointed in their defensive performance, and even though Chandler has been a part of that, he’s still the key to their success there. He’s also the only player that can man the middle and Skiles seems to have little choice but to play him. Perhaps he’s gotten a little content after signing his offseason contract extension, but seven games is still just seven games.

Nobody in their right minds thought Chris Duhon would keep up his pace from the season’s first two games. Since then he’s averaged 6.3/1.8/4 with 0.5 steals and .8 3s. And it’s not like he’s been hurting for playing time, either. Skiles loves the guy, but if he keeps shooting 33%, he’s not going to have much choice but to keep him on the bench more. The chance to sell high on Duhon is passed and it’s unlikely anyone would have taken the bait then anyway. Except for the deepest of leagues, he just doesn’t merit a roster spot.

In the season opener Darius Songaila hit a big three-pointer to force overtime and finished with a respectable 11/5/5, two steals, one 3 performance. He’s barely matched those totals since then. He’s seen just 11 minutes in each of the past three games, and he was never a fantasy factor, but now he’s a complete afterthought. But as previously stated, those 11 minutes could be put to better use elsewhere. Why oh why can’t you just sit him on the bench all game, Skiles? Are you going to miss the 2/4/3 on 1-of-6 shooting that Songaila has totaled in 33 minutes over the last three games?

Bottom Line
So what have we learned? Well, be skeptical is all I’m saying. Guys like Sweetney and Gordon are very tempting, but can be the ultimate frustration. If there’s one thing to drives you crazy, it’s seeing a guy having a great game on your bench, plugging him into the lineup and then seeing him put up a clunker. And the way Skiles runs his rotation in Chicago, there’s always a decent chance of that happening. Guys like Songaila, Harrington, Eric Piatkowski and Jannero Pargo seem to exist only to frustrate fantasy owners. Coaches patterns can’t be ignored, and I’ll actually have a column up over the weekend talking about some of the most frustrating ones, and how to deal with them.

Okur's huge night can't lift Jazz to win

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 21:20:39 -0800

Luol Deng scored 21 points and Kirk Hinrich added 19 points and 11 assists to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz 103-98 Saturday night Mehmet Okur had a career-high 33 points and 17 rebounds for Utah, which played most of the game without Andrei Kirilenko after he injured his left ankle early in the second quarter. Ben Gordon scored 17 points and Andres Nocioni added 15 for Chicago.

2005 Fantasy Tiers by Position: Small Forwards

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:42:59 -0800

It’s nearly impossible to define the “typical” small forward. Some are long-range bombers, some excel at crashing the boards. Others are defensive whizzes. Taken early, your small forward will determine how some of your late picks turn out. Taken late, a small forward can really fill a need – or make a small one even more glaring. Let’s sort through the variety:

Tier One
LeBron James, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko.

The cream of the crop. James is either the first or second pick in any draft. Marion is a top-5 pick, and if he stays healthy, AK-47 has top-5 talent as well. The health is certainly a risk, but we’re huge fans of AK, so we’re putting him in the top tier.

Tier Two
Peja Stojakovic, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Rashard Lewis, Richard Jefferson, Corey Maggette.

These are some of the most valuable players in fantasy basketball. Some are like shooting guards who can rebound. Others are power forwards who can step outside. Each really has unique skill set. You’ll notice we’ve got Ron Artest up here. That’s not a mistake. He’s lined up for a comeback fantasy player of the year award, if such an award existed.

Tier Three
Bobby Simmons, Antoine Walker, Quentin Richardson, Caron Butler, Carmelo Anthony, Jalen Rose, Al Harrington, Tayshaun Prince, Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, Josh Smith.

All of these guys could end up as top-25 players by the end of the year. All of them could also end up being one of the worst players on your team that you just can’t drop. I’m a personal fan of Carmelo this year if you can get him late enough that the risk is low. Meanwhile, Bobby Simmons might end up being overvalued this year in some drafts. He’s just not a 4th round pick – none of these guys are. But by the end of the fifth round, you have to start thinking about this tier.

Tier Four
Grant Hill, Mike Miller, Josh Howard, Darius Miles, Mike Dunleavy, Michael Finley, Gerald Wallace, Marvin Williams, Andres Nocioni, Wally Szczerbiak.

One of the problems with tiering the small forwards is that they have such different strengths, it’s tough to differentiate on an overall level. None of these guys will be fantasy studs this year. However, each has a chance to be a solid contributer to your teams, whether it’s in 3’s (Miller or Finley), boards (Nocioni), or head cases (Miles). These are important players to research for the mid-late rounds of your draft. While they’re never great picks, they’re generally pretty safe in the 10th round of so. Don’t target them necessarily, but if a player you were going to take goes right before you pick, these guys are nice second options.

Tomorrow: Power Forwards.

Central Division Offseason Analysis

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 10:59:17 -0800

While the analysis provided via the link below doesn’t serve up anything revelatory, it can be easily argued that doing so would be somewhat impossible at this stage considering the moratorium (vocabulary word of the day) has not yet ended.

Mr. McGovern does provide the following nugget of advice which I am quick to latch onto and blockquote. Luol Deng is not only a sexy beast, but he’s a great Sleeper Candidate since most people probably don’t realize what a stud he can (and almost certainly will) be.

FANTASY BASKETBALL: Central Division Offseason Analysis

While others overreach on Draft Day for Ben Gordon — he’s a decent scorer but not much else — you’ll wisely turn your attention to Luol Deng. The versatile forward was showing explosive potential late last season before an injury robbed him at the end. Deng should be fully recovered by the start of the season and he actually grew another inch! While Andres Nocioni’s strong showing in the postseason may scare a few people off Deng, the Bulls know Nocioni’s strength lies in his ability wreak havoc off the bench. Deng’s shooting should improve in his sophomore season, and he’s already a healthy contributor in the rebound and assist categories.

s also an article about the Atlantic Division, but I haven’t quite gotten to that one yet. Not that I necessarily ever will.

Multimedia

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 22:03:26 -0800

Check out myself, Matthew from Spursblog, and Dave from Crazy from the Heat on SportsBloggersLive all week (right now you can listen to a streaming realplayer file, the mp3 should be up soon). The show was recorded today, with other (and more prominent) guests including Peter King and Will Carroll. Basically I tried to praise the Bulls' defense as best I can, and answered a question about Nocioni's 'dirty' play. My (and the other the NBA bloggers') time got truncated, the sound was sketchy, and I babbled a bit, but it was still a fun experience and hopefully I'm asked back.

More reaction coming in after the Bulls' playoff victory on Sunday:

Sam Smith: "It was just that hustling show-and-recover defense that enabled the Bulls to accomplish what they did this season. The Bulls are excellent with help defense, coming into the lane and then getting back. The Wizards' excellence—offensive arrogance, really—played to the Bulls' strength. The Wizards believe they can make the play and get to the rim, especially Arenas. But the lanes closed quickly behind Duhon."
Melissa Isaacson: "If the Baby Bulls, as these players often are called, are a faceless bunch, they are also an unselfish one. In any given week, the team might have five different high scorers, as it did the last week of the season."
Greg Couch: "The Bulls' Othella Harrington was yapping at Haywood. Nocioni moved into the path of a driving Larry Hughes to be knocked to the floor for a charge. Nocioni once grabbed a rebound, saw Davis on the floor and looked to help him get up. Davis waved at him to get downcourt, he didn't need a hand. In your face, Washington. What are you going to do about it?"
Rick Morrissey: "The United Center was seeing its first playoff action in seven years, so the building already was a writhing pit of pent-up emotion. Add Nocioni to the mix, and the place threatened to move a foot or two down Madison Street due to seismic activity."
Jay Mariotti: "That's why Ben Gordon is so vital in this series. While Hinrich's shot comes and goes and Nocioni can't be expected to score 25 every game, Gordon must be consistent in every quarter of every game -- not just the fourth quarter."
Rick Telander: "That Bulls general manager John Paxson snagged this guy last summer from the Spanish pro league for a dollar and a doughnut -- actually $8.3 million for three years -- should shame a lot of NBA executives who might have thought Olympic champion Noch was an overachieving joke"
(The Rev.) Lacy J. Banks: "Duhon turned in a defensive masterpiece, helping to disarm the would-be assassin by limiting Arenas to a scoreless first half and nine points for the game on 3-for-19 shooting. Arenas also committed a game-high four turnovers in the Bulls' 103-94 victory."
Marcus Brown: "The voting for executive of the year in the NBA should have ended last evening."
Anthony Roche: "I never thought Duhon could dunk."
Unknown Column: "It was a beautiful thing to be part of as I sat in the clouds of the United Center, literally two rows from the top, to be exact. As happy as I was with the Bulls win, I was equally happy for Bulls fans. After all, these are the same loyal folks who continued to keep the Bulls among the league leaders in attendance no matter how low the Bulls plunged, which was all too often somewhere near the earth's center. (The Rusty LaRue era, anyone?)"

Seeing the pages-upon-pages dedicated to the Bulls in the Trib and Sun-Times, it was like I was warped back into the mid-nineties.

The promised Dr. Jack-style breakdown may have to wait, as I'm gonna be at Wrigley tomorrow. But that'll mean I will have 2 games to analyze, right?
Short version though:

-Keep limiting the turnovers (only 9 in game 1).
-The fast pace doesn't bother me if the Bulls are careful. The Wiz transition defense is a suck-fest, so opportunities are there.
-Gordon's still gotta carry the offense, but expect at least one big game from Hinrich.
-Dropoff from Nocioni expected, but hopefully slack will be picked up by Chandler (who only had 16 minutes in game 1).
-Fear the wrath of Arenas (remember he did average 30 against the Bulls during the season).
-Don't complain about free-throw differential, expect it. (The Wiz lead the NBA in FTA, and the Bulls simply foul a lot) That said, the frontcourt (especially Nocioni and Tyson) need to stay on the floor.
-If it's close at the end, the Bulls need to close it out. The Wiz will have a blowout or two before this is over, so the Bulls would be wise to take advantage when they can.

Nocioni gives Bulls surprise lift

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 15:41:13 -0800

Andres Nocioni brought his Olympic gold medal to the Chicago Bulls' media day in October, his way of saying that he knows how to play and win important basketball games. Nocioni made a similar statement in the opener of the Bulls' playoff series with the Washington Wizards with a performance that still had heads shaking in disbelief Monday. He scored 25 points, three more than his regular-season high. He grabbed 18 rebounds, the most by a rookie in NBA playoff history.

Eastern Conference playoffs - round one: Chicago Bulls(47-35) v. Washington Wizards(45-37)

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 23:28:37 -0800

Game 1: Sunday at Chicago, 4:30 TV: CSN/TNT
Game 2: Wednesday at Chicago, 7:30 TV: CSN/NBATV
Game 3: April 30 at Washington, 2:00 TV: CSN/TNT
Game 4: May 2 at Washington, TBD
Game 5: May 4 at Chicago, TBD*
Game 6: May 6 at Washington, TBD*
Game 7: May 8 at Chicago, TBD*
*if necessary

No need going over what a great season this has been, what it means, who deserves the credit, etc. Because the season aint over. Especially in this series, which will be difficult but winnable.

If Curry and Deng were in the lineup, I'd say it's a no-contest Bulls series win. Obviously losing two of a team's best players will hurt, and as I'm sure most of you have heard: no team that lost it's leading scorer going into the playoffs have won a series.

ESPN.com has a pretty nice preview up, and provides their experts' (and Bill Walton) predictions as well as some key stats:

	WIZARDS	BULLS
PPG	100.5	94.5
RPG	42.8	43.8
APG	19.1	21.3
FG%	.437	.432
FT%	.725	.750
3P%	.343	.357

As we all know, that doesn't tell the whole story, so here are some advanced stats from Knickerblogger's site:

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	WIZARDS	BULLS
Poss	96.6	96
Off Eff	103.9	98.5
Def Eff	103.9	97.4

That's right, as good of an offense as Washington is, they are just as poor on defense. And it's nearly opposite for the Bulls, so needless to say this series will be an interesting clash of styles. The Bulls need to have their defense lock down and keep the game close. What that will essentially come down to is the team defense of the Bulls against Washington's big 3: Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, and Antawn Jamison.

How can the defense accomplish keep this? We all know the Bulls have trouble with whomever in the backcourt isn't guarded by Kirk Hinrich. In this series I'm going to guess Hinrich takes Larry Hughes while Chris Duhon matches up with Gilbert Areanas. This could lead to a huge game or two by Arenas, and with him being one of the league leaders in getting to the foul line, you know that he is not one to be afraid of penetrating to the basket. This goes the same for Hughes, but the Bulls have to hope that Hinrich can put the brakes on at least one of the Wizards' terrific guards.

The Wizards start a small frontcourt of Jamison and Jared (don't call me Chris) Jefferies, which provides a matchup problem. I do think that Nocioni can hassle Jamison enough to keep him off his game, but the loss of Luol Deng really hurts when Noc needs to rest (or gets in foul trouble) or when guarding the other forward spot. The AARP squad of Antonio Davis and Othella Harrington will provide an inside scoring that the Wizards will have to contend with, but I think that it'll be the Wizards' athleticism that will provide even more problems. Defensive stalwart Tyson Chandler will have his hands full watching the basket for the Wiz' big 3, and hopefully will be altering shots left and right. He may need to more than normal.

Will the Bulls score enough points to stay close? Fortunately for the Bulls those same Wizards also give up a lot of points. Larry Hughes is the NBA leader in steals, but that at the same time illustrates the flaws of their defense. Unlike the Bulls who never give up a cheap basket, keep a hand in the face of every jumpshooter, and contend for every rebound, the Wizards are a chance-taking defense that thrive on the steals of Hughes and others. The Bulls are dead-last in the NBA in terms of taking care of the ball, so this could be a huge issue if the Bulls' (especially Gordon, Nocioni, and Chandler) do not play smart. A few costly turnovers and the Bulls won't even have time to set up their defense before they're taking the ball out of their own basket. The Bulls frontcourt, even without Curry, have the ability to score in the post against the Wiz' big men. I know I have already taken a pot-shot at the age of Antonio Davis and Othella Harrington, but it has been their quality play that has soften the blow of losing Eddy's offense. The Wiz' Brendan Haywood averages 2.4blk/40 (almost as good as Chandler [2.6]), so it won't be completely easy. But where they could also get points is through offensive rebounds, where the Wizards are 26th in the league in opponents' OReb%. And we all know that's how Tyson can do damage.

So the game is close, now what? This is where the Bulls have an advantage. While it's true that the Bulls are young and have little playoff experience, the Wizards can say the same. Kirk Hinrich and especially Ben Gordon have shown a closing ability that has won the Bulls many games that they many times had no business winning. But when the games were close, this team found a way. Will that change in the playoffs? perhaps, maybe the young guys will frighten under pressure. But I doubt it. And don't underestimate how much the clutch factor for this team rests on Tyson Chandler. He needs to be in at the end of games, period. It is him who is getting Ben Gordon the ball off of rebounds, and him who is responsible for anchoring a defense that leads the league in defensive fg%. I was thinking of suggesting that Skiles should start Chandler over Antonio Davis, minding that the Bulls could not afford slow starts in playoff games. But if it keeps him out of foul trouble, keep him coming off the bench. Besides, why mess with success??

What about the (gulp) intangibles? Coaching is a draw, as both Skiles and Eddie Jordan are at the top of their profession, although it seems that the Wizards aren't as consistently motivated as this Bulls team is. As I pondered before though, how much of an edge would this give the Bulls in the playoffs, where you can assume all opponents will be as focused as them? This is especially true due to the bad blood these two teams have accumulated over the season. It'll be interesting to see if either playoff-inexperienced team comes unglued due to the animosity (and this will really have me eyeing Nocioni).

Home court advantage will be a bigger deal, as the Wizards were 8th in the conference with a 16-25 road record (the Bulls were 3rd at 20-21). If the Bulls can take the first 2 at the United Center it could be a short series. I think it will go 7 though, with the Bulls putting enough good defensive efforts to make it to the second round. Chandler, Hinrich and Gordon(who will likely become a star after this series) will close these games out, and show the NBA what we've been enjoying all season.

Bulls over Wizards, 4-3.

I welcome your predictions and comments below, I'll have a game 1 report after coming home from the United Center on Sunday!

The missing

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 21:49:54 -0800

First off, Roche has a quick recap of the top stories stemming from the OT loss to the Pistons. Like Nocioni getting suspended 1 game (didn't I tell him to stay on the floor??) and Skiles getting smacked in the head... The suspension will hurt in a big game against fellow-contender-for-home-court Washington Wizards. That game got moved to ESPN by the way, more national TV for the

Bulls Forward Suspended One Game

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 18:03:31 -0800

Chicago Bulls forward Andres Nocioni was suspended for one game for elbowing Detroit Piston Tayshaun Prince, NBA Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced Tuesday.

Sweet Lu(ol)

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:38:30 -0800

Lets pretend that game against the Rockets didn't happen. And especially forget that I paid to go. Besides, if I would've known that Roche had already unknowingly sabotaged the Bulls effort, I wouldn't have gone. (Wear your lucky Bulls hat next time!)

But what I can't disregard was seeing Luol Deng go to the ground right in front of me after spraining his ankle on Yao's big foot. The Bulls have had a lot of things go right this season, and perhaps the biggest factor to their playoff push has been the lack of any significant injury. If Luol misses Friday's game at San Antonio, it will be the only time a Bulls player has missed a game due to injury besides Antonio Davis' 5-game stint on the IR.

Not that Deng's presence would've made much of a difference in the game that shall not ever be mentioned (although maybe he would've given McGrady some relative trouble), but it is hard to overstate the importance to the Bulls season and future.

For the season, just think of the carousel of crappy 3s that revolved in the United Center last season:

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G	Min	eFG%	PSA	Usg	RbR	PER
Eddie Robinson	51	1024	0.483	0.99	15.6	5.5	11.0
Ronald Dupree	47	893	0.401	0.89	17.4	10.2	9.7
Linton Johnson	41	734	0.372	0.79	14.1	13.6	9.6
Scottie Pippen	23	412	0.425	0.9	18.7	9	12.4

(Jerome Williams also played at the 3 (passably), but he is a natural 4 and overpaid and couldn't shoot)

Compare with Deng's rookie season:

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G	Min	eFG%	PSA	Usg	RbR	PER
Luol Deng	54	1510	0.461	1.00	21.0	11.0	14.7

Deng is already an upgrade over last year's fare as a rookie. Not only that, he leads the team in +/- (although Nocioni's limitations help that figure), and of course best of all he's young, cheap, and has a chance to be the starting small forward for the next 12 years.

With all the press going to Ben Gordon this season(not that there's no reason for that), it was cool to see Eric Neel single out Deng as his favorite rookie:

Seriously, 10 years from now he's only 29, and at 19 we're already seeing a complete skill set (top five among rookies in boards, dishes and points). Remember now, he's playing just 28 minutes per night (Okafor plays almost 36). Run his points-per-40 and you get about an 18-point money man, who can run the floor for you and run the floor for you, if you know what I'm saying.

People love Kirk Hinrich, and with good reason, but my guess is we'll be calling the Bulls Luol's team within two years.

(Couple that assessment with his mention of Knickerblogger and the Hollinger Stats (now that he's a colleague it should be happening more and more), and its obvious that Eric Neel rules.)

While looking at the present and pondering the future of a 19 year old who is already a starter on a playoff-caliber team, all I have left to add about Luol is: Get well soon.