Jake

You know what, maybe we shouldn't blame the refs. It very well might be the Bulls' fault. Refs are humans and it might be necessary to be on their ass if you want to get the benefit of the doubt on calls. I think talking to the refs non-stop is annoying, but if that evens things out then so be it. The one plus of B1G basketball, though they tend to lean to the home team, is they really get to play ball. I wish the NBA let the guys play a more physical game. I'd rather see actual fouls not get called than non-fouls being called fouls. The NBA refs will sometimes let actual fouls go, but it's pretty hit or miss and depends on the player. Lots of non-contact, little contact plays get called, though. In other news, here's hoping Rose/Noah/Deng figure things out before I start drinking and posting again

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 10:14 PM) Between Parra and Bourjos ? I'd have to go with Parra based on his LH and arm and most recent success. He doesn't hit lefties well at all but against righties he's close to .300. Plus I like guys who hit a lot of doubles, keeps double plays at a minimum. No, I mean Q and Santiago. Q has a very nice track record and looks like a really good bet to be a 4 win player over the next several years at a good price. Hector, on the other hand, may be a guy that just gives you okay overall production in the next year or two...but also has that big, big potential to strike out 200 guys with his stuff. Hector is a tweak or two away from being dominant

I honestly can't decide which player I think is more valuable

I think there are quite a few reasons to be optimistic moving forward. Jimmy looked great as we had hoped. Dunleavy had a bad few minutes but then he started to really contribute. You can see the difference between him and the other bench scorers we've had because he is a far more complete player than any of them. I'm happy to sacrifice a little shooting talent (though I'm not sure we have) for a guy that is smart, big, and plays a little D to go along with a little bit of ball-handling skills and such on the other end. Noah had a very bad game, will be interesting to see what's up with that. Thibs definitely gave up on him. He's a big piece of our usual advantage over the Heat because they don't have anybody like him. I'm not sure what's up with Derrick, other than I now know that the preseason is completely useless. Luol? f*** if I know what was up with him in this game. Shot was completely broke, but he played tough on LeBron so it wasn't as bad on the whole as it will look in the box score. Snell got his first taste of pressure, so let's hope he has a little more poise next time out. We leaned on Hinrich a lot tonight and I hope we don't normally have to do that. The offense runs really well with him in there...but he's just not very good.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 09:39 PM) I just don't know if I can enjoy a league where the refs decide games las often as nba refs do. NCAA refs do a worse job, but it is much more related to them being incompetent and so it can go both ways at random at times.

This has been a nice finish. Pretty much everything has gone wrong tonight and we still made it worth watching by the end. Having four quarters of Jimmy/Luol, any quarters of Joakim, and a Derrick Rose sighting could easily change the outcome here. s***, if we could trade for Mario Chalmers just to get him off their team we'd probably be much better off

There we go - a bad foul call against Wade

It is clear that the league does not intend the Bulls to win this game

I just want to juxtapose Jimmy's take to the rim with the reach-in called on Taj

8 point game! Give them a finish!

Is that Derrick Rose or CJ Watson?

Butler getting an and-one there would have made things super interesting. I guess it is still getting interesting

I'm happy to have Conger, though I'm not sure what price I'm willing to pay. Sign me up for Bourjos+Conger for Santiago though

The last couple seasons have reminded me more and more of the Laker era of not-so-long ago

WOW Hinrich got absolutely cheapshotted by two Heat players and gets a foul called on him Cole drives a shoulder into Hinrich, knocking him into LeBron setting a moving screen. Foul on Hinrich as LeBron begs that it be called a T

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 09:20 PM) Worst part of this is Deng no showing. Expected others could be rusty but expected more from him tonight. Oh well. He's had a weird night with all of the fouls. Definitely hasn't been able to buy a shot while he's been on the floor though

Welcome to Dunleavy

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 09:10 PM) Not saying hurt him, but Butler could've sent a nice message on that Norris lay in. I'd save everything for Andersen or LeBron if I have to send messages

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 08:58 PM) They have Peralta's replacement for next year covered. Yeah, they're going to be really sick of him really quickly. That team may wind up not having a great offense in the near future

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 08:53 PM) Another reason why Parra is a better fit, although he also does not post great OBP numbers either. I imagine he's a significantly more difficult get and isn't going to be the kind of CF that Bourjos is - which would be fine if we weren't chock full of corner OF. Doesn't hit real well either

lol Andersen's dunk was precipitated by him throwing Taj to the ground on the other end

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 29, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) What did the call him for right there? I'm trying not to blame the refs Christ. Looked like Lebron slipped. The "being near LeBron when something goes wrong for him" rule

Taj Gibson is dumb as hell

Derrick is starting to get frustrated with this horses*** officiating He doesn't like it, but it's clear these guys will do whatever you ask them to if you b**** about every call

Next time I apply for a job, I'm going to tell my superiors that my performance will be horrible compared to my peers, but that is all part of the plan. Please wait 3 years to re-evaluate. As I approach that three year mark, I'll let them know that my inferiors are really f***ing things up and I might need an extra 2-3 years. As they start to catch on, I'll spend all of my boss's money so that the results improve a little bit. It may or may not get me some short term success, but it will certainly lead to my firing. That's okay though, because I'll have made plenty of money by then.