Has there ever been a player whose star line so hides their real impact as Caruso?

6 minutes ago, bmags said:

Has there ever been a player whose star line so hides their real impact as Caruso?

His steal on Randle really changed the course of this game late. The guy is just such a smart defender. When he didn't play to start the 2nd half the Bulls got outscored by 16 in 7 minutes. It's crazy how big of an impact he has on this team. 

54 minutes ago, chw42 said:

His steal on Randle really changed the course of this game late. The guy is just such a smart defender. When he didn't play to start the 2nd half the Bulls got outscored by 16 in 7 minutes. It's crazy how big of an impact he has on this team. 

Him and DeRozan have been culture changers on this team. AK didn’t miss

I know the Knicks battled back but that was a good road win. All of the big three played real well and Ball had an off night shooting or it would have been a much easier win. 
 

Caruso is my vote for early season defensive player of year. Had a huge steal and pass late that led to Lavine go ahead free throws. 
 

This team is so refreshingly fun to watch. Love them. 

7 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I know the Knicks battled back but that was a good road win. All of the big three played real well and Ball had an off night shooting or it would have been a much easier win. 
 

Caruso is my vote for early season defensive player of year. Had a huge steal and pass late that led to Lavine go ahead free throws. 
 

This team is so refreshingly fun to watch. Love them. 

Good lord man every time they gave Ball that corner three ? 

Saw a tweet from the Hornets game that said Vooch/DeRozan/Lavine was the first trio of teammates to put up 25/5/5 in the same game since 2010......They we're 2 assists a piece from DDR and Vooch away from doing that 2 games in a row... If those 3 guys can gel like that the whole season, there's really no reason this team can't be a title contender. I'm not even sure they really need a big like Christian Wood or KAT that can score, they could really just use a good defensive big with some size..

1 hour ago, Kyyle23 said:

Good lord man every time they gave Ball that corner three ? 

someone tweeted that Ball is incredibly feast or famine on threes. Like he goes either 80% or 20% and it averages to 40%, but you either get good Ball or bad ball.

nice effort by the Thunder last night 

15 minutes ago, fathom said:

nice effort by the Thunder last night 

Back to Seattle with you, OKC!

IMO, the Bulls need to do what it takes to get a guy like Harrison Barnes or Jerami Grant. PWill + Coby + filler + Portland's 1st. I can see them costing more than that. Those dudes make the Bulls serious contenders. 

1 hour ago, scs787 said:

Saw a tweet from the Hornets game that said Vooch/DeRozan/Lavine was the first trio of teammates to put up 25/5/5 in the same game since 2010......They we're 2 assists a piece from DDR and Vooch away from doing that 2 games in a row... If those 3 guys can gel like that the whole season, there's really no reason this team can't be a title contender. I'm not even sure they really need a big like Christian Wood or KAT that can score, they could really just use a good defensive big with some size..

I think you can find a defensive big for peanuts at the deadline or on the buyout market. 

1 hour ago, ron883 said:

IMO, the Bulls need to do what it takes to get a guy like Harrison Barnes or Jerami Grant. PWill + Coby + filler + Portland's 1st. I can see them costing more than that. Those dudes make the Bulls serious contenders. 

I don't think Jerami Grant will cost more than a first. He's expensive and it brings down the value.

 

1 hour ago, ron883 said:

I think you can find a defensive big for peanuts at the deadline or on the buyout market. 

Yeah, exactly. Bulls can win enough regular season games for now to get to buyout season / trade market, where they will finally be an attractive team to sign with.

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

I don't think Jerami Grant will cost more than a first. He's expensive and it brings down the value.

 

Yeah, exactly. Bulls can win enough regular season games for now to get to buyout season / trade market, where they will finally be an attractive team to sign with.

It is so fun to say these things.  But seriously - right now - I'm just enjoying watching how unselfish this group is, how they play defense, how they play basketball. I think they are 1st in the league in assists and they are still figuring things out. I still think Ball will grow significantly this off-season, where he'll learn a lot more about how to finish in the interior (just 1 or 2 moves would be a huge improvement and make his whole game way more diversified) from Derozan and Lavine, two experts at it.  

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

I don't think Jerami Grant will cost more than a first. He's expensive and it brings down the value.

 

Yeah, exactly. Bulls can win enough regular season games for now to get to buyout season / trade market, where they will finally be an attractive team to sign with.

It would be amazing if he only cost a 1st, but we'll see. He's got the size and length to defend the superstar PFs like Durant and Giannis. Adding another playmaker just makes this team more dangerous in every way. Barnes may fit better offensively, but Grant's size is better for defending the PFs I mentioned. Both would make the Bulls legitimate contenders, and favorites in the east IMO. 

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

It is so fun to say these things.  But seriously - right now - I'm just enjoying watching how unselfish this group is, how they play defense, how they play basketball. I think they are 1st in the league in assists and they are still figuring things out. I still think Ball will grow significantly this off-season, where he'll learn a lot more about how to finish in the interior (just 1 or 2 moves would be a huge improvement and make his whole game way more diversified) from Derozan and Lavine, two experts at it.  

Ball is so fast at getting to the rim when he is aggressive. If he learns to finish, it would be so huge. I think he'll definitely get better at it.

I think it's safe to say AK/ME will win exec of the year. 

Just now, ron883 said:

Ball is so fast at getting to the rim when he is aggressive. If he learns to finish, it would be so huge. I think he'll definitely get better at it.

I think it's safe to say AK/ME will win exec of the year. 

Yeah - he needs to learn to initiate body on the finish - to shield out the defender. If he does that, which happens to be a skill two of his teammates are elite at - he will finish so many of those layups that get swatted.  He doesn't put the contact - which means the defenders with long arms go up and have free range to swat that layup away.  

His floater game has improved - but with more practice and confidence should also improve. So between that and learning to better leverage his body in the paint (not play as physical as Zach - just minor tweaks) - I think we'll see another step forward.  Which at that point - you might be talking about a guy who is a top 5 PG in the league (NO guarantees but I have to believe is work ethic is very strong given how much he has improved his shot).  

3 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Ball is so fast at getting to the rim when he is aggressive. If he learns to finish, it would be so huge. I think he'll definitely get better at it.

I think it's safe to say AK/ME will win exec of the year. 

Nah - I think Lakers front office? Lakers could have had Caruso, DDR, and kept Kuzma - and instead went with Westbrook, and some other 35+ year old players.  

 

Seriously though - AK/ME were stellar.  Wizards front office was also really good.  

He's not exactly the player I want, but what do we think about Kevin Love? He's graded pretty well defensively this year, but he's not the rim protector I think they need. Same for Grant and Barnes.

 

Mo Bamba is a guy I'd look in to.

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

Nah - I think Lakers front office? Lakers could have had Caruso, DDR, and kept Kuzma - and instead went with Westbrook, and some other 35+ year old players.  

 

Seriously though - AK/ME were stellar.  Wizards front office was also really good.  

I think the Wiz fall off soon. Theyve had a weaker schedule and had a 0.5+ point differential last time I looked. 

1 minute ago, scs787 said:

He's not exactly the player I want, but what do we think about Kevin Love? He's graded pretty well defensively this year, but he's not the rim protector I think they need. Same for Grant and Barnes.

 

Mo Bamba is a guy I'd look in to.

I don't think Love is the guy you want anymore. They should target a versatile, athletic PF like Barnes/Grant. Love is a slow, lumbering C at this point, and he's really not a good defender. You cant play him and Vuc together. 

43 minutes ago, ron883 said:

I don't think Love is the guy you want anymore. They should target a versatile, athletic PF like Barnes/Grant. Love is a slow, lumbering C at this point, and he's really not a good defender. You cant play him and Vuc together. 

I think maybe I'm looking into his height too much, but is Grant really the guy we want? He's 6'6". I know positionless basketball is very much a thing right now butttt..... 

I could see them trying to get Thad Young back, but it sounds like he was a little pissed at how they handled the trade situation last year. 

1 minute ago, Tony said:

I could see them trying to get Thad Young back, but it sounds like he was a little pissed at how they handled the trade situation last year. 

Didn't Thad and Vucevic not play well together when they were on the court at the same time? 

40 minutes ago, scs787 said:

I think maybe I'm looking into his height too much, but is Grant really the guy we want? He's 6'6". I know positionless basketball is very much a thing right now butttt..... 

Jerami Grant is 6'8 with a 7'3 wingspan. Some places incorrectly list him as 6'6 for some reason. 

2 minutes ago, Tony said:

I could see them trying to get Thad Young back, but it sounds like he was a little pissed at how they handled the trade situation last year. 

I feel like I read a bunch that there are some things that would prevent bulls from re-signing him technically but no idea how long that lasts. But there were definitely some people writing that had he been cut in offseason the bulls would not have been allowed to pick him back up.