Chicago Bulls

Ah man, remember when the Bulls won the lottery? That was awesome. The draft lottery is at 7:30 central tonight on ESPN. For some fun reads, here's Tom Ziller explaining why your stupid conspiracy theory is definitely correct, and Hickory High breaks down the lotto percentages in terms of random player statistics. And no, the Bobcats can't fall behind what their pick protection is from the Bulls this year.

If Everything Goes Right…. the Pacers Can Win Though the Miami praise is running rampant through the sports media world, in part because Bill Simmons happened to attend Game 6 of the Boston-Miami Eastern Conference Finals last year and in part because the Miami Heat absolutely dominated the regular season, and in part because LeBron James had a historically, almost comically-good season, Miami was essentially handed the NBA Finals trophy sometime in early April. Though I understand the chorus of “27-game winning streak!” “LeBron is the greatest athlete in inter-planetary history!” “66 wins!” I’m exhausted by it, and as a Celtics fan, I cringe when I hear it. So…here’s my best-case scenario for this upcoming Pacers-Heat series: 1. Paul George hast to take care of the ball against perhaps the best perimeter defense in the NBA. George needs help from the other George, Mr. Hill. When the Pacers lose, George’s turnover totals are 4, 5, 4 and 7. George Hill needs to stay on the court and provide some ball-handling relief from the intense pressure of Miami. When the Pacers turn it over, Miami’s fast break will annihilate them. For Indiana to have a shot, they have to keep the pace down. (Fans of entertainment may be saddened by this, but fans of basketball will have fun watching Hibbert operate). 2. Roy Hibbert does not get called for fouls at the rim, because he raises his gargantuan arms straight up in the air, keeping dunks from happening on the majority of those LeBron/Wade drives. 3. Roy Hibbert continues to amass an insane amount of offensive rebounds (32 in 6 games vs. NYK, 23 in 6 games vs. ATL) 4. George Hill feels better and hits his three-pointers. In the three games Indiana has lost with Hill this post-season, he has shot 2 of 14 from distance. In the eight wins, he’s connected on 19 of 54. You might say, “19 of 54! That’s only 35%!” You’d be right, but Indiana needs balanced shot distribution to keep from Spoelstra tilting his defense completely onto Paul George and Hibbert. Also, of those 35 missed three-pointers, I bet Roy Hibbert grabbed 8 offensive rebounds. 5. Lance Stephenson gives Indiana a jolt of adrenaline at all the right moments. If there is a weakness to Miami, its still their bench and how they play with Chris Bosh off the court. ThoughChris Anderson has been solid through the first two rounds, the penetration of George and Stephenson have to get Bosh into foul trouble, in order for Indiana to control these games. 6. We can’t forget David West. The consummate professional, West has a consistent 18-foot jumper and rugged, physical play that will wear down his opponent. If the Pacers can get West some open looks, he will be a factor in this series. David West lets the game come to him, which means he is the perfect role player on this very balanced Pacers team. Don’t nap on West. 7. Dwyane Wade’s knee is not right. I don’t mean his left knee, or his right knee. I’m not sure which knee. One of them is wrong, and that may put an insane amount of pressure on LeBron. 8. LeBron has already dealt with the semi-abusive defense of the Chicago Bulls for the last two weeks. I don’t think LeBron wants to have to put the whole team on his shoulders against Indiana’s excellent defense. And I know LeBron doesn’t want to meet Roy Hibbert at the rim. 9. Norris Cole must miss more than 20% of his shots from distance. Against Chicago, Cole shot 9 of 11, that’s right 9 of 11, from long-range. This cannot happen if the Pacers are going to win 4 times in 7 games. In two pivotal games (Game 2 and Game 3) Cole combined to shoot 13 of 16 from the field, scoring 18 points in each game. 36 points on 16 shots in two games? That was one of the biggest reasons Miami survived Games 2 and 3. Meanwhile, the ghost of Ray Allen went 4 of 17 from dista

So, a few things about the draft this year: * The lottery is tonight. Are there any teams that would trade their lottery pick for Deng or the Charlotte pick? I think teams like the Cavs, Suns, Pelicans, Kings, Pistons, TWolves, and Wizards would at least consider it. * Are there players you'd like fro the top of the draft? I'd love Oladipo, who is apparently a Dwyane Wadeesque freak of nature as an athlete, by the way. I'd at least think long and hard about Otto Porter, but haven't come to a real conclusion about him. I think Trey Burke will be good, but obviously he's not a guy the Bulls should trade up for. * Who will be a bust? I'd be scared of taking Noel (a 206lb C with an ACL injury) or McLemore (with coach badmouthing him and plenty of issue). Anthony Bennett strikes me as a guy who will be a very borderline starter/6th man type for a long time. Which is better than a bust, but not really a guy I'd want to spend a top 5 pick on. Alex Len's ankle problems make him look pretty scary to me. * Who will be there when the Bulls pick? Somewhat shockingly, I looked at the Draft Express mock for the day, and they still had Gorgui Dieng available and the Bulls picking him at 20. Sweet. * Measurement curiosities. Rudy Gobert has an absurd wingspan and reach. I'd use a lottery pick on him, but he still looks like a high risk pick because he's slow and doesn't know how to play. Kelly Olynyk. When was the last time anyone from Gonzaga was good? No way. Withey was very slow and stiff compared to the other bigs. Mason Plumlee and especially Cody Zellar have ridiculous athleticism for big guys. Zeller posted the highest No Step Vertical in the entire combine, and the guy is seven feet tall and runs the floor like a guard. Seth Curry and Shabazz Muhamad need to go on diets. So, a few things about the draft this year: * The lottery is tonight. Are there any teams that would trade their lottery pick for Deng or the Charlotte pick? I think teams like the Cavs, Suns, Pelicans, Kings, Pistons, TWolves, and Wizards would at least consider it. * Are there players you'd like fro the top of the draft? I'd love Oladipo, who is apparently a Dwyane Wadeesque freak of nature as an athlete, by the way. I'd at least think long and hard about Otto Porter, but haven't come to a real conclusion about him. I think Trey Burke will be good, but obviously he's not a guy the Bulls should trade up for. * Who will be a bust? I'd be scared of taking Noel (a 206lb C with an ACL injury) or McLemore (with coach badmouthing him and plenty of issue). Anthony Bennett strikes me as a guy who will be a very borderline starter/6th man type for a long time. Which is better than a bust, but not really a guy I'd want to spend a top 5 pick on. Alex Len's ankle problems make him look pretty scary to me. * Who will be there when the Bulls pick? Somewhat shockingly, I looked at the Draft Express mock for the day, and they still had Gorgui Dieng available and the Bulls picking him at 20. Sweet. * Measurement curiosities. Rudy Gobert has an absurd wingspan and reach. I'd use a lottery pick on him, but he still looks like a high risk pick because he's slow and doesn't know how to play. Kelly Olynyk. When was the last time anyone from Gonzaga was good? No way. Withey was very slow and stiff compared to the other bigs. Mason Plumlee and especially Cody Zellar have ridiculous athleticism for big guys. Zeller posted the highest No Step Vertical in the entire combine, and the guy is seven feet tall and runs the floor like a guard. Seth Curry and Shabazz Muhamad need to go on diets.

Chris Broussard and Skip Bayless react to Alonzo Mourning saying that Scottie Pippen said LeBron James would beat Michael Jordan.

Former Heat player Alonzo Mourning was speaking to group of people at the opening of a Microsoft store in Miami when he was asked to comment on the endlessly spinning LeBron James versus Michael Jordan debate. Instead of taking a pass — probably the smartest move he could have made — Mourning said: “You know, Scottie Pippen and I, we were just at Michael’s 50th birthday party, hanging out for a week, and we were talking. I’m going to tell you what Scottie said. I’m going to tell you what Scottie said. Scottie said that LeBron would’ve kicked MJ’s ass.” After the expected cheering and applause, Mourning continued: “I said, I said ‘Scottie, you’re right.’” Following the laughter elicited by that comment, Mourning provided a little clarification: “I said, ‘but because LeBron is my size.’ I mean, he’s 265, so when he’s playing point guard, it’s like a freight train coming. I couldn’t imagine doing the things he’s doing at my size.” Nothing groundbreaking here. This is the standard response by people in the Pro-LeBron camp of this particular debate. Size and strength would be LeBron’s primary advantage in this theoretical one-on-one battle. But it’s all theoretical and not really worth digging into too deeply, even if people will never be able to stop taking about it. Hey, I was a kid once, so I know action figure battles are crazy fun. When you have the toys, you want to see Hulk versus Superman. Snake Eyes versus Storm Shadow. Optimus Prime versus Megatron. Past that, you sort of expect Mourning — who is considered one of the great players in Miami Heat history — to side with LeBron. That said, it was a little surprising that dragged Pippen into it, given that this was probably a private comment Scottie never intended to see in print. He’ll see it now. Of course, Pippen did provide his own public commentary on this debate a couple years back: “Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game. But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved. You have to be on your P’s and Q’s on defense. No guy on the basketball court is a threat to score with LeBron James out there. Not only will LeBron dominate from the offensive end as well, but he’s also doing it on the defensive end, which really makes him the complete package. He’s able to get in those passing lanes, shoot those gaps and create transition opportunities where he is pretty much unstoppable.” Naturally, the Pro-Jordan camp exploded at this seeming betrayal, and even former Bulls player Horace Grant (and good friend of Pippen) spoke up: “Pip is my man, and we will always be close but I totally disagree. LeBron is going to be one of the top players to ever play the game. But Michael Jeffrey Jordan, who we bumped heads with at times, is I think in my era, the best who ever played the game. I’m kind of at a loss for words because Michael Jordan … when you win numerous MVPs and you’ve taken the team to six championships — and probably could have been eight if he didn’t retire those two years — and MVPs in the playoffs … and he made us better. Believe me, he made myself, Scottie, B.J. [Armstrong], even Bill Cartwright who I love, he made us better players. He gave us that confidence. But first we had to earn his trust. And once we earned his trust you saw championship after championship.” Things got ugly enough that Pippen eventually defended himself with the following tweets: “For all of you that don’t know, I played the game you keep watching and cheering.” And: “Don’t get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means

Nick Friedell looks at each player on the Chicago Bulls roster and how they fit in for the future. Taj Gibson 2012-13 salary: $2,155,811 | Age: 27 | Season stats: 8.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg Season recap: Playing without Omer Asik for the first time in two seasons, Gibson struggled to replicate his success over the first couple months of the year. After signing an extension on opening night, the happy-go-lucky forward admitted that he was pressing a little while trying to live up to the new deal.

October 1, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich (12) poses for photos during Chicago Bulls media day at the Berto Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports When Kirk Hinrich’s return to Chicago was first reported, there were a lot of mixed emotions. Some felt it was a great move, as Hinrich would be a great fit to fill in Derrick Rose’s shoes. Others questioned whether or not he would be able to handle that kind of workload nine years into his career, and it was for good reason. Following his departure from the Bulls, Hinrich played for the Washington Wizards for half a season before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he would stay for one and a half seasons. During his tenure with those teams, he experienced several injuries. With the Wizards, there were various minor injuries. In Atlanta,  Hinrich suffered a torn right hamstring during the 2011 playoffs. Then, he dealt with a torn labrum and a cyst in his left shoulder during the lockout. Thinking injuries were behind him heading his way back to Chicago, Hinrich felt confident going into this past season. “This offseason, I’ve been working really hard,” Hinrich said prior to the start of the 2012-13 season. “I haven’t really felt any ill effects. So hopefully, knock on wood, I’m going to stay healthy and be a contributor to a very good team.” Unfortunately, that was not the case. Hinrich ended up suffering a plethora of injuries over the course of the season: a strained right hamstring, a sore big toe on his right foot, a bruised left knee, a strained right hip, a stress reaction in his right foot, an infection in his right elbow due to a burst bursa sac, and finally, the season-ending severely bruised left calf. With all of the injuries, it is safe to say that Hinrich’s season was defined by them. What may be worse is that it did not get much better for him either though when he did get to see playing time. Aside from the never-ending injuries, his shooting is what really hurt. When he took shots, they rarely fell. Somehow, Hinrich actually managed to average over 40% on field goals for December, January, and April, but the other three months of the regular season featured him with a field goal percentage in the 30s. It took him until the end of the season to get into a good offensive rhythm that featured his shots falling and his confidence rising. This is not to say that Hinrich did a bad job when he was not injured though. He still did well running the team and getting shots for his teammates, as every point guard shot. Along with that, Hinrich showed a lot of hustle and remained the tough defensive player he had been known as throughout his career.  He ended the regular season with pretty decent averages of 7.7 points on 37.7% shooting from the field, 2.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists (team high), 1.1 steals. Apr 27, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams (8) dribbles the ball against Chicago Bulls shooting guard Kirk Hinrich (12) in the second half during game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the United Center. Chicago defeats Brooklyn 142-134 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports The best part about Hinrich’s season was that, despite the struggles during the regular season, he stepped up in the time of most need: the playoffs. It may have taken him a game to realize that he needed to be more aggressive on both ends of the court, more of a threat to the Brooklyn Nets, but better late then than never. Hinrich’s increased confidence and level of play had a large impact on the Bulls being able to win the series. Not only did he defend Deron Williams well enough to prevent him from being a game changer in the series, but Hinrich also made sure to take his fair share of shots on the offensive end, something he was reluctant about during the majority of the regular season. This forced Williams to do work on both ends of the

From Mitch and Nillz: We take a quick look back at the Miami series and the season as a whole with the disappointment offset by pride. Given the circumstances, the 2012/13 Bulls were incredibly entertaining and still managed to overachieve. We also dip into some offseason speculation and project next season's roster. Finally, we offer our bold (dumb?) predictions for the remainder of the playoffs. Thank you all for listening and a fun season! You can listen directly at their site or using the embedded player below: Subscribe to The Mitch & Nillz Bulls Show on iTunes, and follow on Twitter (@TheBullsShow). For any questions or comments, you can contact Mitch & Nillz via email at thebullsshowATgmail.com. LIKE BaB on FACEBOOK!, the Bulls Show has been contributing good stuff to the BaB Facebook page, so be sure to give it a 'Like' at http://www.facebook.com/BlogABull.

Now that the season has passed, it’s time to start looking forward. Ironically, to begin doing that, we first need to look back at who did what last season. Derrick Rose: Rose missed the entire season due to recovery from knee surgery. And he lost a little good will along the way. Nonetheless, everybody from Jerry Reinsdorf to the most casual Bulls fan is hoping and praying that Rose returns — and returns to his old MVP form — next season. He is the foundation of this franchise. Joakim Noah: In many ways, Noah had his best season ever. He was selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He made the NBA All-Defensive First Team and was fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He had one of the franchise’s best-ever regular season performances in a road win over the Pistons (30 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots) and one of the greatest playoff performances Game 7 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn (24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 2 assists, 1 steal). Unfortunately, Noah’s season was once again plagued by an injury, this time an ongoing case of plantar faciitis in his left foot. Noah missed 16 regular season games and simply wasn’t himself in several others. He averaged career-highs in minutes (36.8), points (11.9), rebounds (11.1), assists (4.0), blocks (2.1) and steals (1.2), but he also set career-low marks in field goal percentage (.481) and turnovers per game (2.7). And believe it or not, his Offensive Rebounding Rate (12.2) and Total Rebounding Rate (17.3) were lower only during his rookie season. Noah is an elite center — one of the best in the league — and he is the team’s emotional leader. However, he’s missed 70 games over the past four seasons and and the plantar faciitis injury is recurring. When healthy, Noah is among the best there is at his position. Can he stay healthy? We’ll see. Luol Deng: For the second year in a row, Deng led the league in MPG (38.7) and made the All-Star team. He is one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders and provides leadership by example. And, of course, everybody knows that coach Tom Thibodeau believes Deng is absolutely indispensable. That said, there are some concerns. For example, his three-point percentage sunk to its lowest mark since 2006-07 and he accumulated the second-worst field goal percentage of his career. He also had a league average Player Efficiency Rating of 15.1 and ranked sixth on the team in Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (.105). It’s hard to determine whether the heavy minutes and a lingering injury to his left wrist account for his struggles with shooting and overall efficiency, but they probably figure in there somewhere. The good news is Deng will have the entire summer off to get healthy (and have wrist surgery if necessary), which means he might be even better next year than he was the previous two seasons. One thing worth noting: Deng is one of the team’s better trade chips. He is worth less to the Bulls than Rose and Noah. He doesn’t carry the same stigma as Carlos Boozer. And his $14 million salary comes off the books after next season. Therefore, if the Bulls make any kind of major deal, there is at least some likelihood Deng will be involved. Carlos Boozer: Although fans (and even some experts) use him as a lightning rod for abuse whenever the Bulls fail to live up to expectations, Boozer had another steady season. He ranked first on the team in both Points and Rebounds Per 36 Minutes (18.1 and 10.9, respectively), and he was third (behind Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson) in PER (17.1). Despite his previous history of being an injury risk, Boozer has missed only three games the past two seasons, and he has also been a consummate professional on and off the court. Of course, Boozer is still a statue on offense. Despite his reliable productivity — his Per 36 Minute stats have been pretty constant over his enti

Nick Friedell looks at each player on the Chicago Bulls roster and how they fit in for the future. Jimmy Butler 2012-13 salary: $1,066,920 | Age: 23 | Season stats: 8.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg Season recap: After struggling to find a consistent place in Tom Thibodeau's rotation for the first couple months of his second season, Butler flourished toward the middle of January when Luol Deng went down with a hamstring injury. By the end of the season, Butler was being counted on to play 48 minutes a night and be a defensive presence for a Bulls team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs.