nitetrain8601

QUOTE (Ron @ Apr 23, 2009 -> 06:11 PM) I like Turner. His game is very fluid, reminds me of Walt "The Wizard" Williams. But you're right, he is most likely returning to Indiana for his junior season. That would probably be a good comparison. He's from OSU though. Normally, I wouldn't correct anyone, but I know some guys here will get on your back.

I think Harvin would be bad for the Bears in the sense that they are still developing Hester into a WR. It's much harder to try and concentrate on two pretty raw WR's. If Hester was almost complete as a WR, I'd say the Bears should go after Harvin and have those two return kickoffs(I still don't get why Hester lost PR duties).

QUOTE (JuiceCruz16 @ Apr 23, 2009 -> 02:35 PM) He does have a nice floater and mid range game, but he does not finish at the rim or create for others. He is not just a shooter to me like some spot up guy in the Craig Hodges/Steve Kerr sense. He creates space and doesen't need much room to get his "j" off. He's great at creating for himself and he has a great sense of the game. He cut the BS turnovers, but people do harp when he does make one. He cannot create for others on a consistent basis which is why he isn't a PG. As an offensive player, he's pretty damn good. His ballhandling has increased. I think his passing is the worst aspect of it. He's not a blackhole on offense like people make it seem like he is. About a month ago, I checked his stats, and 34% of his shots were assisted which was tops on the team IIRC. Salmons is a different story though. I don't know how people can complain about Ben, but not complain about Salmons when it comes to not getting the ball back. It's like night and day. Salmons won't pass you the ball when he doesn't feel like it which is 80% of the time.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Apr 22, 2009 -> 05:36 PM) exact role that Gordon would be perfect for, however I don't think he seems himself as that, or at least wants significant money to fill that role He doesn't mind coming off the bench. He was asked this directly on mouthpiecesports and stated anyway he can help the team is fine with him. He's never complained or b****ed about coming off the bench, it's just another myth that has been created. The thing about bringing him off the bench, is, this team doesn't have anyone nearly enough good enough to keep him on the bench. How do you justify keeping, arguably, your best player, if not, second best player off the bench? Plus, his scoring is way too efficient to be bringing off the bench for any NBA team unless you're putting Kobe out there. Really, it becomes a question of, can the Bulls find a way to dump KH or Deng in a salary dump so they avoid the luxury tax with Ben. I'd say, if it's possible to pull off, you do it because BG + star is going to cost you less than Deng + star. I'd be more inclined to keep Hinrich because he's still a good defensive player, and he's the perfect guard off the bench. Can play either position and is a good enough leader for the second unit. Also, if I were to look to replace either Gordon or Deng, Evan Turner would be the guy I draft if he decides to come out this year, which he probably won't. If not, Terrance Williams. Tyreke Evans is yuck though.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 21, 2009 -> 11:44 PM) No. He's still bad defensively, doesn't know how to work around screens, and gets lazy on defense too often. But like I said, he's improved leaps and bounds the past few seasons. Untrue. I don't get why this statement keeps coming up that he's bad on defense. He holds his position really well, especially given his height. He goes under screens because that's what VDN's defense calls for. All of our guards go under. And the one who gets lazy on defense is Rose. If Rose didn't coast like he does, he would be a dominant player on defense.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Apr 21, 2009 -> 10:02 PM) Gordon being 6'3? That's what they say. I've been at a Bulls game by the tunnel and he's my height and I'm 6'0. But anyways. Ben really doesn't do anything except shoot. He's a fantastic scorer. But he doesn't play defense, give an attempt to rebound, or help other teammates score by finding an open man. I'd love to keep him. But didn't he turn down a 5-55 deal? If he wants more then that, peace out. He plays pretty damn good defense nowadays. The only guy who constantly beasts him is really only Kobe Bryant.

He's not asking for Kobe money. And he turned down one lowball offer at 6 years, 45 million, and he accepted an offer last summer for 6 years for 56 million, but was told the offer was pulled. The reason he didn't originally accept was because he was pissed about the Luol Deng situation in which was the same as his, but was given a high offer from the Bulls and they told Mr. Gordon to find his own deal before they give him an offer. Obviously, you can see what a bad move that was. If anything, they should've just split the offers down the middle, and if they rejected it, then both should've had to find their own offers.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Apr 21, 2009 -> 04:40 PM) Thats the point though, all his "plays" were to pass the ball to Ben Gordon, our players could have figured that out by themselves, id hope. I was pretty much telling everyone I cant believe Vinny wasted our last timeout so early and its going to cost us, and than ofcourse thats exactly what happens. Not to take away from Ray Allen's shot or anything which was great itself. Eh, but finding a way to get Gordon the ball in itself, even after the timeout was pretty difficult. They were double-teaming him the whole way. Rose, if he drove, was not going to get a foul call all game. I'm sure you don't want Noah or Thomas or Miller taking a shot like that unless it's an open dunk. And Salmons has been cold for two games now. If you pass to him, you probably aren't getting it back. Again, I think VDN did a good job with that timeout, making sure Gordon was going to get the ball no matter what.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 21, 2009 -> 08:18 AM) Once again Del Negro shows why he should not be a head coach. He got the free pass not having a time out in his pocket at the end of Game 1. Any head coach I've ever seen ALWAYS has a F*CKING timeout for a last second chance. Del Negro is disinterested in putting his players in the best position to win. QUOTE (JuiceCruz16 @ Apr 21, 2009 -> 10:12 AM) For defense I can see Ben being on the pine, but Boston actually went 3 guards with House, Allen, and Rondo, so Vinny tried to sneak Ben back in but couldn't since no time elapsed from the gameclock since he was removed. Not having a time out left for the second straight game is inexcusable for Vinny though. 2.3 seconds is ample time to get a good look if you can move the ball to half court after a timeout. The priority was stoping the Celtics from scoring, and Ben is not their best option for that, so that part I can see. Can you argue with the timeouts he used? No, you can't. One was to draw a play to get the ball to Gordon to tie the game and it worked, though one could argue how good the actual play was once Gordon got the ball. Another one was to stop the bleeding after a Celtics 9-0 run IIRC. It's better to go out with no timeouts left than to have timeouts at the end of the game and lose IMO. That means you exhausted all possibilities.

I don't get Chicago fans and why they hate every media personality.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 20, 2009 -> 12:54 PM) If you read the articles on this, they point out that the IOC said this after Chicago, and say it after every city visit. I don't know. Every media outlet in Chicago yesterday sounded like Tokyo was the clear favorite at this point.

Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of his, neither did I hate him. He was okay. I guess he liked to have fun. I'm not pissed that he was gone. I wish he worked out so we would have one more position solidified as I want BA to work out for the same reason. With that said, I will go on record stating, I don't think he 'roided up. It's possible, but I just don't think he did. I could see him getting annoying though. Whereever he goes, I hope he works out.

Bumping this because people are doubting Soxfan, but I watched the news and the IOC is very very impressed with Tokyo's bid as they would finance most of it, already have most of the facilities, and almost all events are within a 5 mile radius.

...that they had him do. Also, almost demoted him to AAA. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_leagu...?urn=mlb,157410

QUOTE (JDsDirtySox @ Apr 19, 2009 -> 10:39 PM) I was able to get quite a bit of information on this situation from an insider. Without going into too many details... the entire team, and I mean everyone was tired of Swisher... Ozzie just happens to be the one who will talk about it. I doubt that because there were supporters of the doll incident. There were guys who loved Swisher on the team. I wouldn't be surprised if Konerko was one of the guys who didn't though. I'd like to know what you heard though through PM if you would be comfortable. You don't have to give up your source.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 10:02 PM) Loss against Cleveland? Loss against Arizona? Loss against Philly? Win at Minnesota? Right now, I'm predicting Cleveland to be the worst team next year. They might be in worse shape then Lions. Arizona? They were inconsistent all year last year until the playoffs. I'll take my chances with them coming here, where we play very well, in November in wind/rain/cold. Also, Boldin might be gone. Philly is in bad shape too. They lost Dawkins, McNabb still hasn't gotten his extension, and they still haven't added a WR which McNabb wanted. Look, I'd love for them in win in Minnesota, but they always struggle there. There's always those teams that come out of nowhere and do better each year. I'm putting my money on it being Cleveland. I see all the distractions gone, a better coach and a good enough offensive scheme propelling them to that type of team that comes out of nowhere. Arizona still has Warner, Fitzgerald, a line and a decent defense. If they upgrade at LB, they'll be better off. I see Warner throwing all over the Cover-2 with Fitz and Hightower at his disposal. Philly still has McNabb and I swear that guy has 9 lives. Regardless, Philly is a good enough squad to get the job done. The Bears aren't that good yet. As long as they have that O-Line and defense, they'll be fine. And yes, win at Minny. As long as they can put points on the board, they'll win. Unless Minny somehow ends up with a new QB, they're going to turn the ball over alot again this year.

Bulls have a chance. Rose = Rondo (Rose is the better player, but the inconsistency in his play will play a huge role) Gordon = Allen (Both have different ways of scoring with the 3pointer being the biggest. It's going to be a matter of who blinks first because both could put up points in a hurry. I do think Ben is a better defensive player, but Allen plays in a better defensive system if that makes sense. Either way, I don't see either one stopping each other. I will say that Gordon has a stronger likelihood of taking over games than Allen these days) PP > Salmons (Salmons is hurt and that groin is really bothering him. If the Bulls can get 15-17ppg from Salmons, I'll consider that a blessing) Rest of Bulls > Rest of Celtics (Now it matters how much better the rest of our team could be. I give our bench the edge, but they are tougher inside which means we could get knocked around. Is the rest of our squad good enough to make up for the difference and then some of how good Pierce is over Salmons in their current state? That's the huge question.)

@ GB 7:20 SNF - L PIT 3:15 CBS - L @ SEA 3:05 FOX - W DET 12:00 FOX - W BYE @ ATL 7:20 SNF - W @ CIN 12:00 FOX - W CLE 12:00 CBS - L ARZ 12:00 FOX - L @ SF 7:20 NFLN - W PHI 7:20 SNF - L @ MIN 12:00 FOX - W STL 12:00 FOX - W GB 12:00 FOX - W @ BAL 12:00 FOX - L MIN 7:30 MNF - W @ DET 12:00 FOX - W 10-6.

Why isn't it looking too well? Not doubting you, but I haven't heard any news.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 03:46 PM) You're also the biggest Ben Gordon fan on the planet, so it's taken with a grain of salt. However, I agree with you for the most part. I'm a much bigger Bulls fan and I just am so strong in keeping Ben because of what he's contributed, because he doesn't have a weak mind, and because he has an excellent work ethic. I like your plan and that's what I want. Salmons at full-time SF, re-sign BG, and sign a backup SF. QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 04:07 PM) The reason he has that rep I think is he'll have stretches where he shoots the ball at an incredible rate. Now, he also has stretches where he doesn't shoot much at all which explains that stat, but I can see where people get the false notion he shoots the ball a ton. That is probably true. +1 on analysis.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 03:38 PM) The numbers agree, but you and everyone else knows damn well he forces up a lot of stupid shots in 4th quarters. With that said, I think we really need to re-sign Gordon. Hopefully he doesn't ask for more than he's worth, which is likely though. I really have no faith left in Deng, and watching Rose//Gordon/Salmons together of late has really swayed my opinion. Re-sign Gordon, let Salmons take over at SF full time, and try to deal Deng/picks or Deng/Noah for a legit big man. What wingman in the league doesn't hoist up questionable shots in each game? Kobe hoists up a ton of them, including against 3 or sometimes even 4 a couple of feet from the 3 point line. If you make them, no one says anything which Ben has a knack for hitting a ton of them which is why he was going to be asked for the game of Horse or Geico, but they wanted the young stars of the league. Ben is one of the most efficient scorers in the league. If he takes a 3 with 3 guys in his face like he did in that Miami game earlier this year, and is hitting them, then go ahead. I've seen Ben hit alot more than he misses.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 02:33 PM) Esp. since he's a celtics fan, I think I'm going to highlight this blurb from Bill Simmons. Last time I checked which was about a month ago, Ben Gordon had the second least FGA for anyone in the top 20 in scoring behind Dwight Howard, so I don't get this notion that Ben Gordon is a ballhog or has to hoist up shots with no abandon when in reality, he actually doesn't do so.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 03:47 PM) But he didn't give them that opportunity until Pax traded away all of the pieces of his precious small lineup, such that he basically had no choice any more. It took Gooden getting hurt and traded, Nocioni getting traded, and Deng getting hurt to finally make it so that his rotation had to include Thomas and Noah. Otherwise, I think we'd still be seeing the Gooden at C, Nocioni/Deng at PF, Hinrich, Gordon, and Rose lineups for 25 minutes a game. That's pretty untrue. In fact, he started Tyrus with Gooden at C and played him and Noah significant minutes early on. Then he benched them after Noah admitted he was out of shape and Tyrus wasn't playing smart. He then gave them a chance to redeem themselves, even after Gooden came back for a little bit. The one thing he did do was play Nocioni alot, but that has way more to do with Deng sucking balls, more than Nocioni and us not having any other SF's.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 12:28 AM) For those who wanted VDN run out of town after, I don't know, 20 games or so. What's your opinion of him now? What coach, and please don't say Mike D'Antoni, could've done more with this team than VDN has? And don't give me the ",Well, I just don't think VDN can lead us to a championship" or "I think we just need a more experienced head coach," fluff. When you consider what a disaster last season was, how imbalanced the roster was/is, the injuries, ect - what's your opinion of the job he's done for THIS season? I'll say this, if Thibo was hired and did the same job VDN has done this season, he would get praised endlessly. The stuff he would've done wrong, people would've forgave him and said he just needs experience. With VDN, since he never coached before, there are people who still will not want him on the team until he wins a championship. Look at all the good he has done. Look at what he has done as a whole. He has faults, but he's done an excellent job all year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 9, 2009 -> 03:49 PM) Probably because the scouting report on Soria says his curveball is his dominant pitch. His fastball isn't so much ahead of his curve that you can't adjust the other way...or so at least that's the thinking. Yes, but it is much easier to look fastball and adjust to any other pitch coming then it is to expect breaking ball and then adjust to a fastball. I think even Stone said it the other day in which you always want to look fastball for that reason. Only way you change that approach IMO is when the guy has a 100mph like Bobby used to and a hammer of a curve.