Totally Unreadable

[BH]

Headline in the Sun-Times sport section:

"Kirk Hinrich tweaks his groin"

Isn't anything private anymore?

Somehow that's news. I gotta say though that I admire the way GarPax has Thibs-proofed this roster so that no matter how grindy and scrappy and courageous they may seem, they're still going to be in the lottery - which is where they need to be so they can get D. Rose a second scorer.

Remind me of this when you look at the standings in January and they're somehow the 4 seed.

Exactly. In the NBA you can win most nights just showing up, trying hard and actually playing defense, even against top teams.  Thibs is too smart on defense, even with scrubs, to finish lower than fifth or sixth i'm guessing.

You do have to score every once in awhile. Who is going to lead this team offensively? Deng? If he's healthy? Which he's not. Boozer - good luck with that. He can make baskets when unguarded but are you running your offense through that? Rip will break down again. Hinrich? I don't see it. I think you guys are over-estimating what Thibs can do with a group that is even more bum-laden than last year's Rose-less collection. That said I'll imagine your best case scenario: These stiffs enjoy rude health, your formula for showing up, grinding out wins against shitty teams or teams coming off a rough trip or game etc can net like 30+ victories. Maybe you get Rose back in February or March and he's somewhat close to his former self. Grind out 41 wins, nab that elusive 7th seed and avoid Miami in the first round. Profit.

No seriously - your sarcasm is more accurate than you think. That's probably exactly what's going to happen. I'm not championing it. I'd like to see them be bad. It won't happen.

New York, Milwaukee and Brooklyn aren't great teams. Thibs will out coach all of them. Unfortunately.

You really believe in that dude, don't you?

He's a good coach, the players play hard for him. The other teams aren't that good. So yes?

[Internet Apex]

Headline in the Sun-Times sport section:

"Kirk Hinrich tweaks his groin"

Isn't anything private anymore?

Somehow that's news. I gotta say though that I admire the way GarPax has Thibs-proofed this roster so that no matter how grindy and scrappy and courageous they may seem, they're still going to be in the lottery - which is where they need to be so they can get D. Rose a second scorer.

Remind me of this when you look at the standings in January and they're somehow the 4 seed.

Exactly. In the NBA you can win most nights just showing up, trying hard and actually playing defense, even against top teams.  Thibs is too smart on defense, even with scrubs, to finish lower than fifth or sixth i'm guessing.

You do have to score every once in awhile. Who is going to lead this team offensively? Deng? If he's healthy? Which he's not. Boozer - good luck with that. He can make baskets when unguarded but are you running your offense through that? Rip will break down again. Hinrich? I don't see it. I think you guys are over-estimating what Thibs can do with a group that is even more bum-laden than last year's Rose-less collection. That said I'll imagine your best case scenario: These stiffs enjoy rude health, your formula for showing up, grinding out wins against shitty teams or teams coming off a rough trip or game etc can net like 30+ victories. Maybe you get Rose back in February or March and he's somewhat close to his former self. Grind out 41 wins, nab that elusive 7th seed and avoid Miami in the first round. Profit.

No seriously - your sarcasm is more accurate than you think. That's probably exactly what's going to happen. I'm not championing it. I'd like to see them be bad. It won't happen.

New York, Milwaukee and Brooklyn aren't great teams. Thibs will out coach all of them. Unfortunately.

You really believe in that dude, don't you?

His regular season record is hard to argue against. We'll see.

He had Derrick Damn Rose. People are looking at their relative success in his absence last year and blowing it out of proportion. It was a lockout-shortened year so the conditions were perfect to catch teams sluggish, tired, apathetic etc. It was a league-wide problem. When the playoffs arrived, how'd that work out for you? It happened once. It didn't mean what you think it means.

[BH]

Headline in the Sun-Times sport section:

"Kirk Hinrich tweaks his groin"

Isn't anything private anymore?

Somehow that's news. I gotta say though that I admire the way GarPax has Thibs-proofed this roster so that no matter how grindy and scrappy and courageous they may seem, they're still going to be in the lottery - which is where they need to be so they can get D. Rose a second scorer.

Remind me of this when you look at the standings in January and they're somehow the 4 seed.

Exactly. In the NBA you can win most nights just showing up, trying hard and actually playing defense, even against top teams.  Thibs is too smart on defense, even with scrubs, to finish lower than fifth or sixth i'm guessing.

You do have to score every once in awhile. Who is going to lead this team offensively? Deng? If he's healthy? Which he's not. Boozer - good luck with that. He can make baskets when unguarded but are you running your offense through that? Rip will break down again. Hinrich? I don't see it. I think you guys are over-estimating what Thibs can do with a group that is even more bum-laden than last year's Rose-less collection. That said I'll imagine your best case scenario: These stiffs enjoy rude health, your formula for showing up, grinding out wins against shitty teams or teams coming off a rough trip or game etc can net like 30+ victories. Maybe you get Rose back in February or March and he's somewhat close to his former self. Grind out 41 wins, nab that elusive 7th seed and avoid Miami in the first round. Profit.

No seriously - your sarcasm is more accurate than you think. That's probably exactly what's going to happen. I'm not championing it. I'd like to see them be bad. It won't happen.

New York, Milwaukee and Brooklyn aren't great teams. Thibs will out coach all of them. Unfortunately.

You really believe in that dude, don't you?

His regular season record is hard to argue against. We'll see.

He had Derrick Damn Rose. People are looking at their relative success in his absence last year and blowing it out of proportion. It was a lockout-shortened year so the conditions were perfect to catch teams sluggish, tired, apathetic etc. It was a league-wide problem. When the playoffs arrived, how'd that work out for you? It happened once. It didn't mean what you think it means.

Do you actually watch the bulls? They have had a ton of injuries the last 2 seasons.

[Internet Apex]

Headline in the Sun-Times sport section:

"Kirk Hinrich tweaks his groin"

Isn't anything private anymore?

Somehow that's news. I gotta say though that I admire the way GarPax has Thibs-proofed this roster so that no matter how grindy and scrappy and courageous they may seem, they're still going to be in the lottery - which is where they need to be so they can get D. Rose a second scorer.

Remind me of this when you look at the standings in January and they're somehow the 4 seed.

Exactly. In the NBA you can win most nights just showing up, trying hard and actually playing defense, even against top teams.  Thibs is too smart on defense, even with scrubs, to finish lower than fifth or sixth i'm guessing.

You do have to score every once in awhile. Who is going to lead this team offensively? Deng? If he's healthy? Which he's not. Boozer - good luck with that. He can make baskets when unguarded but are you running your offense through that? Rip will break down again. Hinrich? I don't see it. I think you guys are over-estimating what Thibs can do with a group that is even more bum-laden than last year's Rose-less collection. That said I'll imagine your best case scenario: These stiffs enjoy rude health, your formula for showing up, grinding out wins against shitty teams or teams coming off a rough trip or game etc can net like 30+ victories. Maybe you get Rose back in February or March and he's somewhat close to his former self. Grind out 41 wins, nab that elusive 7th seed and avoid Miami in the first round. Profit.

No seriously - your sarcasm is more accurate than you think. That's probably exactly what's going to happen. I'm not championing it. I'd like to see them be bad. It won't happen.

New York, Milwaukee and Brooklyn aren't great teams. Thibs will out coach all of them. Unfortunately.

You really believe in that dude, don't you?

His regular season record is hard to argue against. We'll see.

He had Derrick Damn Rose. People are looking at their relative success in his absence last year and blowing it out of proportion. It was a lockout-shortened year so the conditions were perfect to catch teams sluggish, tired, apathetic etc. It was a league-wide problem. When the playoffs arrived, how'd that work out for you? It happened once. It didn't mean what you think it means.

Do you actually watch the bulls? They have had a ton of injuries the last 2 seasons.

Most teams do every year. They still had more talent on the roster than they do now. And what happens when the injuries pile up this year? The guys who were filling in for short stints last year asked to carry the load for the long haul this time. It won't work.

[Eli]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

[BH]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

[Internet Apex]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

I understand that he's an outstanding coach. And his defensive system is a proven winner. I guess I need to repeat that, without anyone to carry the load for Rose offensively, that defensive system won't equate to very many victories. Unless you can point to that roster and tell me where the scoring is coming from, I am not going to change my mind.

[Internet Apex]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting basketball discussion.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

[Internet Apex]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

Go ahead.

[CBStew]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

My fault.  I thought that I was making a cute comment on a dumb headline.  Didn't think that it would lead to this.

[Slaky]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

My fault.  I thought that I was making a cute comment on a dumb headline.  Didn't think that it would lead to this.

There's no butthurt here. Just a good sportz conversation like the good old days. It's refreshing and I want to dip my balls in it.

Pex, I agree with you that the scoring will be an issue. But I didn't say the Bulls are going to pile up 55 wins and a division title without Rose. They are going to allow a lot less points than most other teams meaning they won't have to score as much as other teams which will lead to enough wins to get them around or near the playoffs.

Perhaps my comment about being 4th in the conference was a little bit of hyperbole but it certainly wouldn't shock me if it happened. You may need to take a look at the overall records of the teams that generally finish in that 7-10 slot in the East. They are sometimes not even sniffing .500.

[Internet Apex]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

My fault.  I thought that I was making a cute comment on a dumb headline.  Didn't think that it would lead to this.

There's no butthurt here. Just a good sportz conversation like the good old days. It's refreshing and I want to dip my balls in it.

Pex, I agree with you that the scoring will be an issue. But I didn't say the Bulls are going to pile up 55 wins and a division title without Rose. They are going to allow a lot less points than most other teams meaning they won't have to score as much as other teams which will lead to enough wins to get them around or near the playoffs.

Perhaps my comment about being 4th in the conference was a little bit of hyperbole but it certainly wouldn't shock me if it happened. You may need to take a look at the overall records of the teams that generally finish in that 7-10 slot in the East. They are sometimes not even sniffing .500.

Unless Rose comes back sooner and better than expected, I believe they'll finish closer to 10th than 4th. Miami, Boston and Indiana are very good teams. I think Philly and New York are banging on the door of very good and then that clusterfuck below the middle tier is all you can eat ass. I believe that the Thibs fanboy exuberance on display in this thread borders on the lunacy that I pumped out in the Hester thread(s) and is predicated on past performance under conditions that no longer exist.

Bulls to finish 9th. See you in the Insignificant thread.

[Slaky]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

My fault.  I thought that I was making a cute comment on a dumb headline.  Didn't think that it would lead to this.

There's no butthurt here. Just a good sportz conversation like the good old days. It's refreshing and I want to dip my balls in it.

Pex, I agree with you that the scoring will be an issue. But I didn't say the Bulls are going to pile up 55 wins and a division title without Rose. They are going to allow a lot less points than most other teams meaning they won't have to score as much as other teams which will lead to enough wins to get them around or near the playoffs.

Perhaps my comment about being 4th in the conference was a little bit of hyperbole but it certainly wouldn't shock me if it happened. You may need to take a look at the overall records of the teams that generally finish in that 7-10 slot in the East. They are sometimes not even sniffing .500.

Unless Rose comes back sooner and better than expected, I believe they'll finish closer to 10th than 4th. Miami, Boston and Indiana are very good teams. I think Philly and New York are banging on the door of very good and then that clusterfuck below the middle tier is all you can eat ass. I believe that the Thibs fanboy exuberance on display in this thread borders on the lunacy that I pumped out in the Hester thread(s) and is predicated on past performance under conditions that no longer exist.

Bulls to finish 9th. See you in the Insignificant thread.

He'll drag them into the top 8. And you mentioned earlier that his regular season witchcraft fell apart in the playoffs (how'd that work out for you is what you said). That's not the discussion. They would get rightly pounded in the playoffs. They will gain entry to them.

[Internet Apex]

He had Derrick Damn Rose.

Whoa. Hold on. Thibs has had major, major success with that defense wherever he's been -- Chicago, Boston, Houston, New York, etc. The guy can clearly coach. It's not like he's some mediocre coach who inherited a bunch of superstars and people suddenly thought he was a good coach.

Since Apex's predictions are always spot on (see Devin Hester), slaky, yourself and i should reassess.

I was waiting for you to do that. Now that you've gotten out of your system you can show me where the scoring is going to come from and we can continue our interesting Gil-like basketball discussion.

Yawn'd.

Also, can we move this to the Hoops thread so as to be more readily ignorable by the rest of us?

My fault.  I thought that I was making a cute comment on a dumb headline.  Didn't think that it would lead to this.

There's no butthurt here. Just a good sportz conversation like the good old days. It's refreshing and I want to dip my balls in it.

Pex, I agree with you that the scoring will be an issue. But I didn't say the Bulls are going to pile up 55 wins and a division title without Rose. They are going to allow a lot less points than most other teams meaning they won't have to score as much as other teams which will lead to enough wins to get them around or near the playoffs.

Perhaps my comment about being 4th in the conference was a little bit of hyperbole but it certainly wouldn't shock me if it happened. You may need to take a look at the overall records of the teams that generally finish in that 7-10 slot in the East. They are sometimes not even sniffing .500.

Unless Rose comes back sooner and better than expected, I believe they'll finish closer to 10th than 4th. Miami, Boston and Indiana are very good teams. I think Philly and New York are banging on the door of very good and then that clusterfuck below the middle tier is all you can eat ass. I believe that the Thibs fanboy exuberance on display in this thread borders on the lunacy that I pumped out in the Hester thread(s) and is predicated on past performance under conditions that no longer exist.

Bulls to finish 9th. See you in the Insignificant thread.

He'll drag them into the top 8. And you mentioned earlier that his regular season witchcraft fell apart in the playoffs (how'd that work out for you is what you said). That's not the discussion. They would get rightly pounded in the playoffs. They will gain entry to them.

My point in saying that is that his rag-tag bunch had success in one-off situations where teams had little time to prepare and practice for them. Without Rose, it became even more of a guessing game for opponents to figure out what the Bulls were trying to do offensively. As soon as there was a chance to see it and prepare for it, the wheels came off against a tomato can opponent, which has since improved its roster. This situation will still be viable for a while but soon there will be plenty of tape on this team, time to devour and gameplan against it, multiple meetings - especially within the division - and extensive buttexplosions on the Froblogs about how awful Thibs and this whole team is.