Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:55 PM) You do know Popovich (whom I consider one of the 2 best coaches) employed this strategy last season pretty successfully. It may be ludicrous, but when arguably the best coach in the NBA is doing in the playoffs, you have to at least recognize at as a strategy. The strategy was used briefly, it ultimately wasn't the reason that they won. And yes, I'm fully aware and I'm also fully aware that by and large, it isn't going to help you. That strategy wasn't the difference in them winning or losing that series. And mathematically, the strategy is garbage. Sometimes it might make sense as an adjustment to throw a team off, but long term, it is a garbage strategy.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:51 PM) I believe that when you sign a contract there is no bad faith in not renegotiating it early. Thibs signed the agreement, the fact is, not many other teams wanted him as a Head Coach. So you would think he may have some loyalty to the Bulls, being the team who gave him the break in the first place. Why does the team always have to show faith to the Coach? Thibs signed an agreement, the Bulls are paying him. If he didnt like it, he shouldnt have signed in the first place. I just think the Bulls should keep their options open. This is a great season to really see what Thibs can do as a coach. Lets see what offense he can run without Rose. Many coaches have looked amazing because theyve had a MVP player. Because if Thibs were a FA, you'd have a ton of teams bidding major money to land him. He'd feel the Bulls weren't loyal and very well might leave, which means the Bulls are looking to hire from anew. The dude has done a hell of a job and is one of the best basketball minds in the league and one of the best head coaches in the league. Probably the 2nd or 3rd best current coach in the NBA. Personally I think he's better then Doc, but thats just me. I guarantee the Lakers would have offered a fortune to Thibs if he was a FA a year ago when they instead hired Mike Brown. You are living in your own world when it comes to Thibs. Your evaluation doesn't compare to most in the games evaluation. Lets also add in the fact that the players have fully bought into him. Basketball expert after expert has commented on how well the Bulls play the game. Do you think that has nothing to do with how excellent our coach is? I'm sorry he didn't win a title in his 1st year as coach with a 22 year old point guard and largely a new team when he went up against an experienced team which included LBJ, Bosh, and Wade (3 of which are better then any other player on the Bulls not named Rose).

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:34 PM) I assume this your admission you have no clue about the NBA or the rules. You simply stated something thats not true, Asik can be fouled without the ball. Popovich has done this in games, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1201339...on-and-analysis Player includes both offense and defense. In my opinion Taj is a better player than Boozer. He already is going to be asking for a fortune, there is also the chance that no one offers him more money than what the Bulls are currently offering. No way to tell his value unless its on the open market. I never said I wanted him fired, because I never wanted him fired. Next year will be his 3rd year, I will be giving Thibs 3 years to prove himself. How is that no room for error? And in the 1st two years he's been phenomenal.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:38 PM) There are 12 minutes in a quarter. 24 seconds per possession. Lets say 30 seconds per 2 (as we are fouling). That is 48 possessions per quarter, 24 being on defense. You would need 96 fouls to accomplish fouling Asik every time down the court. If you have a team of 10 players that is 60 fouls to use. Hence why Popovich, the smartest coach in the game, came up with the strategy. Its mathematically brilliant. My math was wrong, it cant be done every possession if they are averaging 4 possessions per minute. If they are averaging 2-3 possessions per minute it can be done. Ya. And you aren't sending him to the line until you go over the limit. So instead, you are proposing that you immediately put your team in the bonus position and then if you want to, as a team, you could counter and pull Asik (if you really think they are going to keep fouling you and even then I'd argue, let em keep fouling cause pretty soon they won't have anyone on the roster) and play in the bonus for the rest of the quarter (knowing you are going to get to the line a lot if you play aggressive. Pretty sure Wade or LBJ or Rose or those type of players would have any issues getting to the line 30 times a night if you are essentially guaranteeing they are in the bonus for the majority of every quarter. To be frank, this is a ludicrous strategy. If that was the case, why weren't teams fouling Shaq the whole game consistently. In fact, I think there were a lot of statisticians who said the hack a shaq was a horrible mathematical/statistic approach (even though he was an awful foul shooter too).

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:24 PM) Why would you extend Thibs early? Hes under contract, no real incentive. To prevent distractions. To show him you are committed to him being our guy. To ensure that he doesn't leave when he is a FA. Thibs is one of the best coaches in the league and the Bulls would be crazy not to keep him around.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 02:17 PM) Getting rid of Asik, Korver, Boozer, Deng is not blowing up the Bulls. Its reformulating the Bulls into a team that can win a Championship. Blowing up the Bulls would be trading Derrick Rose/Noah and Taj, and quite frankly I really dont see anyone arguing the Bulls should do that. Its not panic, I believe the Bulls should be on a 3 year plan. That is the exact opposite of panic, that is patience. Deng is a better player then you give him credit to and a huge part of the core. I'm all for making moves, but they have to be designed to put the Bulls in a better spot.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 01:59 PM) You dont watch basketball then, You can foul away from the ball up until 2 minutes left. Watch the Spurs with Popovich. This is why no one should take you seriously, you dont watch NBA basketball. Okay. So the team is in foul trouble early on. The early fouls don't even put Asik to the line, but the team gets in the bonus, and the team is going to get to the line a lot and the other team is going to have a hard time putting out a roster.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 01:58 PM) The chemistry offensively between boozer and noah was vastly improved this year. The playcalling for boozer was way way way better. Rose got hurt. That's what happened. Sorry! I know it sucks! but things happen in life! Bulls win the title at 100%. I can't guarantee that but I'm confident that would have been the case this year.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 12:29 PM) I just hope they have a plan. I totally understand the 2012-2013 season. They know its lost, and they don't want to spend the money on veterans for nothing. That makes sense to me. BUT, what do you do with the team when Rose does come back? If you expect him to be superman and carry the entire team, with the Heat, Nets, and whoever else, that isn't going to work Meh, Nets aren't that good. The reality is, the Bulls (with a healthy Rose) are still the 2nd best team in the East.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 12:27 PM) Celtics got Greg Stiemsma for basically 0. His per was 13.62 last year (Asik's was 13.44) The problem with the NBA is that if the guy isnt well scouted in college, many NBA teams just wont even look at them. With Asik's lack of improvement on the offensive end, there is just no way to justify this contract. There are a handful of NCAA players each year who are 7 feet or so that arent even drafted, who can just be a body in the middle. And none of those guys are the elite defensive center/rebounder that Asik is. If Asik was on the Heat, wow, they'd dominate. He's a solid starter on the right team.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 12:23 PM) I get the notion that the Bulls feel like they have invested so much time into him, that they don't want to see him blossum somewhere else, but it just doesn't make sense to me, especially with Taj coming up for a contract. You can still trade Asik 6 months from now to a team that wants a big. Yes, the cap hit is bad in that final year, but a team still gets him for on average about 8-9M per year, which isn't horrible.

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 11:58 AM) Rose did not play well in any game besides the 1st game in that Heat series. So to paraphrase his struggles as "putting Lebron on him" is a vast oversimplification and gives far too much credit to Lebron. Look at his series stats, he went 7-23 in game 2. He went 8-27 in game 4. He went 9 for 29 in game 5. Lebron was on him, what, maybe 3 or 4 minutes TOTAL in the whole series? And only at the end of games? Rose's struggles had more to do with him playing on a bum ankle in that series (and being physically exhausted from carrying the squad) then LBJ's defense. And this isn't a knock on LBJ's defense, more pointing out the facts related to Rose's struggles in that series.

Wow. I would love to get Forte to a fair deal (for both sides).

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 07:19 AM) I don't understand having Chris Beck waaay ahead of Heidenreich. Same age, one a second rounder, the other a fourth, Beck getting pretty much lit up at Great Falls, Heidenreich solid now at High A (combined 101 innings/3.38 ERA/.244 BAA/pitching against older players). Seems like Beck is annoited hhis status. Beck was a consensus top 10 pick prior to bulking up and losing a bit of mobility, which cost him some velocity and ultimately his overall draft status. Lot of upside with this pick. Heiden is young, has put up good numbers, however, his overall stuff is relatively fringy. He is a lefty and he has seen some increases in velocity since joining the system (which is a plus). I tend to think FS as a whole thinks lesser of Heiden than it probably should, however, I can easily see why it is hard to get excited about him when you consider his stuff (he does possess a good sinking fastball).

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 04:56 AM) I agree with you, as I am also a ceiling guy when evaluating upside in the system, but I don't have Danks and Axelrod on my personal list cause they are just too old to be considered legitimate prospects in my eyes. Obviously I have bias on guys I've watched or know (Dan Black.. ) but I'm also a realist. I feel that way about Axelrod, but not about Danks. Danks has made a lot of strides and has a lot of tools. Yes, he's old, but he's done a nice job off the bench and part of me thinks we'd be pleasantly surprised if he ever became a starter.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 04:03 PM) How the hell are you going to do anything in the 2014 off-season if you're paying $45 mil to Rose, Noah and Asik? The Bulls can always trade Asik a year from now.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 11:32 AM) No, the exception can't be combined with other salaries. It can only be combined with cash or picks, neither of which have a salary value for trading purposes. Jake - The exception was recently used by the Lakers to get Steve Nash. The Lakers received the exception when they traded Odom to the Mavericks. The only way you can get an exception is if the other team is under the cap (or if the other team has an exception). So in the case of the Wolves, the difference in salary between what the Bulls give up and get in return, would be the exception. They have an expiration period, which I believe to be a 1 year (maybe it is 2 years).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) Although various varieties of kettle chips are excellent...this is my winner. I will admit, those are literally like crack.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:06 AM) Sure sounds like a reliever based on those two things, not that I'm complaining. The Sox have adopted a draft philosophy regarding pitchers that I absolutely love. Take starters with big fastballs. If they can learn a change up and develop the offspeed stuff they can stay a starter. If they can't, that big fastball puts you half way to being a big league reliever. With a guy like Johnson who already has a good slider, you already have something for the pen as a backup plan. Look at Jones and Santiago. Jones had the stuff and just needed to control it. Santiago had the fastball and just needed a secondary pitch (which he got last year). It's a lot of fun to see the Sox draft and develop pitchers currently. Position players, well that's a different story. I keep hoping they'll finally hit a crop of position players that pan out/develop. The key with Johnson is whether he can improve his change-up. If he can, great, if he doesn't, like you said, he settles into the bullpen as a power reliever. Given the way the league is going, you can never have too many good, power relievers. Biggest thing that has hard the Sox system has been its inability to develop position players, its lack of spending, and trades. As a whole though, they've actually done quite well in the draft (in comparison to how they've spent, etc).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 06:53 AM) http://www.csnchicago.com/07/10/12/Another...amp;feedID=9973 Interesting. I don't think a team would do good in Sacremento, but what do I know. Additionally, I thought the main team they've been trying to lure is an exciting California team (the A's).

QUOTE (balfanman @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 05:46 AM) Well, if you institute the dh everywhere, you could always use the 1 or 2 pitchers on a team that can handle a bat at least somewhat competently for pinch hitters. If they happen to be extremely good hitters, like Zambrano, they can be your dh. This concept actually gives a manger much more flexibility with their rosters and gives pitchers who like to hit a chance to hit once in a while. Wasn't one of Peavys issues of coming to the American league was that he liked to hit. Peavy is probably a better option than half of our bench right now. Lets also remember, that If the NL added the DH, the overall quality of the position would be drastically reduced. It isn't like there are 15 really good hitters rotting away on major league benches/minor leagues.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 09:29 PM) Since the difference in the leagues is the DH, I don't get this sentence. Correct. Get this "pure baseball" s*** out of here. Pitchers don't practice hitting, don't give a s*** about hitting, and it's a joke at bat 99% of the time. Oh yay, he can bunt since there is a guy on! What great baseball strategy this is. How entertaining. It's just an automatic out and the strategy is working around everyone in front to get to the dead spot to end the inning and get out of a jam. That's just not quality baseball. Basically put, despite my favorite team playing in the AL, I prefer the rules of the NL (e.g., the pitcher hitting and the strategy that comes along with it).

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 09:40 AM) Couple years too late on OJ. He won't end up starting here (at least not this year) and we've seen how ineffective he is when he doesn't get starter's minutes. I refuse to give up on him. I still think he's a valuable player who can be productive in this league. Plus, while he isn't a true point, he could log some minutes there while Teague is developing (and if Kirk/Teague get hurt). Plus he can knock down the outside shot and play the 2, which is a position of need for the Bulls anyway. I still think Mayo is a really good fit on this squad.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 09:17 AM) I also like their New York Cheddar chips. I know a bunch of people that are borderline addicted to the Spicy Thai ones. I'll have to try those. As a whole, Kettle makes some delicious chips.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 09:33 AM) God i hope you are wrong I'm hoping its a trade exemption and a pick. Bulls might then be able to use that exemption to ink OJ Mayo.