I think the layoff hurt the Cavs a bit.

 

Is it just me or does LeBron seem a bit sluggish on the court these days? Obviously he is bigger and stronger than most, but I think his athleticism has fallen off a bit. MJ was able to weather that storm for quite a while. Maybe it was just Butler's defense.

"I feel like we're both two NBA players. His name might be more well known than mine, but I'm just here to compete. I'm here to play. Everybody knows that LeBron is a hell of a player, I'm not knocking that. But I think I'm a decent player. I think I can hang with the best of them."

 

Love this quote by Jimmy after last night. He ain't scurred!

I think the layoff hurt the Cavs a bit.

 

Is it just me or does LeBron seem a bit sluggish on the court these days? Obviously he is bigger and stronger than most, but I think his athleticism has fallen off a bit. MJ was able to weather that storm for quite a while. Maybe it was just Butler's defense.

 

There are a ton of miles on those legs and while he is still the best player in the world, he already isn't the same player as peak LeBron and the gap between him and the rest of the NBA isn't near as large as it was just a couple of years ago. He really should work inside more often. There just aren't a lot of players that can stop him when he makes a concerted effort to post up strong and back a guy to the rim.

I think the layoff hurt the Cavs a bit.

 

Is it just me or does LeBron seem a bit sluggish on the court these days? Obviously he is bigger and stronger than most, but I think his athleticism has fallen off a bit. MJ was able to weather that storm for quite a while. Maybe it was just Butler's defense.

I do love the obvious age of LeBron. Last night, with Jimmy and Rose on the court, LeBron guarded Mike Dunleavy on multiple possessions.

There are a ton of miles on those legs and while he is still the best player in the world, he already isn't the same player as peak LeBron and the gap between him and the rest of the NBA isn't near as large as it was just a couple of years ago. He really should work inside more often. There just aren't a lot of players that can stop him when he makes a concerted effort to post up strong and back a guy to the rim.

 

What I don't get is that he can drive on every single play and its a 95% chance he either gets to the rim or gets fouled. If he would just do it 10 trips in a row, they'd win all the time. But he doesn't do that. Maybe i'm being unrealistic and don't appreciate the physical toll that would take, but it seems like he will have a 2-3 trip stretch where he dominates and then he just stops. He starts taking jumpshots instead. And that's exactly what defenses want him to do. When he takes the ball to the hoop and gets in the post he's basically unstoppable.

Did anyone read Woj's article?

What I don't get is that he can drive on every single play and its a 95% chance he either gets to the rim or gets fouled. If he would just do it 10 trips in a row, they'd win all the time. But he doesn't do that. Maybe i'm being unrealistic and don't appreciate the physical toll that would take, but it seems like he will have a 2-3 trip stretch where he dominates and then he just stops. He starts taking jumpshots instead. And that's exactly what defenses want him to do. When he takes the ball to the hoop and gets in the post he's basically unstoppable.

I'm guessing there's your answer. Taking it to the hoop on every possession is too much for a guy that age, even with a freak like him.

I think the layoff hurt the Cavs a bit.

 

Is it just me or does LeBron seem a bit sluggish on the court these days? Obviously he is bigger and stronger than most, but I think his athleticism has fallen off a bit. MJ was able to weather that storm for quite a while. Maybe it was just Butler's defense.

 

With the regular season & playoffs, he's only about 35 games behind MJ's Bulls career, and he didn't get a baseball break.

Did anyone read Woj's article?

 

I turned my fan on before I read it

I turned my fan on before I read it

 

Wasn't that incredible?

 

Man, I'd kind of stopped reading that stuff, didn't want to believe it. Also, I hate bernstein and Cowley.

 

But that was some pretty damning stuff. GarPax are competent if not above average at putting together teams, but they are psychotic egomaniacs.

 

edit: I apologize for not linking, trying to go through twitter feed.

Edited May 5, 201510 yr by bmags

Did anyone read Woj's article?

Wasn't that incredible?

 

Man, I'd kind of stopped reading that stuff, didn't want to believe it. Also, I hate bernstein and Cowley.

 

But that was some pretty damning stuff. GarPax are competent if not above average at putting together teams, but they are psychotic egomaniacs.

 

edit: I apologize for not linking, trying to go through twitter feed.

Thibs is crazy in his own way too, but its not like GarPax.

 

What's so funny about the whole thing is Thibs could not care less that he gets all the credit for turning midgets and late picks into at-worst solid contributors and at best stars, but he's where all the credit goes. OTOH GarPax desperately want that praise but are an afterthought nationally.

Its worth remembering that GarPax were on the verge of trading Niko, Butler, Taj and the picks from '14 for Kevin Love. Only reason that didn't work out was because the Wolves liked Wiggins+ more. So its not like GarPax are some masterful engineers of NBA rosters.

Wasn't that incredible?

 

Man, I'd kind of stopped reading that stuff, didn't want to believe it. Also, I hate bernstein and Cowley.

 

But that was some pretty damning stuff. GarPax are competent if not above average at putting together teams, but they are psychotic egomaniacs.

 

edit: I apologize for not linking, trying to go through twitter feed.

 

I just dont get it. The only thing I have heard about Thibs is that he is stubborn. Not undermining, not mean, not a guy who will smile to your face and stab you in the back, just stubborn. If the story is true and these people feel like they have been bugged, I just dont know what to say, that is insane.

 

it seems like Garpax feel like they should be coaching. f*** it, come down from your perch and coach them if you feel like Thibs isnt good enough. Dont hire someone else to fire later, you have gotten plenty of guys to line up and knock down. Show us how its done

Thibs is crazy in his own way too, but its not like GarPax.

 

What's so funny about the whole thing is Thibs could not care less that he gets all the credit for turning midgets and late picks into at-worst solid contributors and at best stars, but he's where all the credit goes. OTOH GarPax desperately want that praise but are an afterthought nationally.

 

The 1 and only reason that Thibs has a tight locker room is that he has never sold a player out to the media. I've seen him use it as a motivational tactic on Snell a few times, but he'll never take credit for a players success, never throw a single player down for a failure or play.

 

Noah mentioned as much when noah was benched in 2012 I think for swearing at Thibs. Thibs only mentioned coaching decision, never gave up any gossip. Noah was actually the one who volunteered he was out of line.

TT is awesome. The front office can blow it out their asses.

In the most pro-thibs mindset I can get, I choose to believe that he threw out Kirk in game 1 in hopes we could win, saving the secret sauce of Snell!

The 1 and only reason that Thibs has a tight locker room is that he has never sold a player out to the media. I've seen him use it as a motivational tactic on Snell a few times, but he'll never take credit for a players success, never throw a single player down for a failure or play.

 

Noah mentioned as much when noah was benched in 2012 I think for swearing at Thibs. Thibs only mentioned coaching decision, never gave up any gossip. Noah was actually the one who volunteered he was out of line.

I dont think its the only reason the players respect him, but its part of it. The guy works his ass off to an extent that is crazy even for coaches and the track record he has of maximizing every ounce of defense out of every player gets a lot of guys paid. Plus, and Thibs has said this much, there's been a lot of adversity around the Bulls for the last 3 years and he's handled like a pro every step of the way.

I dont think its the only reason the players respect him, but its part of it. The guy works his ass off to an extent that is crazy even for coaches and the track record he has of maximizing every ounce of defense out of every player gets a lot of guys paid. Plus, and Thibs has said this much, there's been a lot of adversity around the Bulls for the last 3 years and he's handled like a pro every step of the way.

I have heard it mentioned many times that Thibs loves his players. When they know that, you will get it right back.

I dont think its the only reason the players respect him, but its part of it. The guy works his ass off to an extent that is crazy even for coaches and the track record he has of maximizing every ounce of defense out of every player gets a lot of guys paid. Plus, and Thibs has said this much, there's been a lot of adversity around the Bulls for the last 3 years and he's handled like a pro every step of the way.

 

Well, yeah, agree with that, but the reason it still works in year 5, to me, is that they know he is going to drive them in practice, but what happens there stays there. If he drove them like crazy and publicly called them out for effort I could see it collapsing pretty easily.

It stinks that we get Derrick healthy for a playoff run but Taj and Noah have been run into the ground. All year they both have looked like they just don't have the athleticism they used to.

Describe "run into the ground". Do you mean, Noah was hurt, had surgery, didn't have a full off-season and as a result has not been the same (cause he certainly hadn't played a lot of minutes this year). And with Taj, do you mean, his ankles, which are a consistent problem, are hurt and he even said himself won't get better this year. Minutes haven't been an issue for the team this year and people still make this comment. If anything, us not playing minutes has been an issue, lol.

 

PS: Taj has been pretty good this post-season, imo.

What's the foul disparity now?

I honestly was puzzled at how the calls went one direction vs. the other. I will admit Cavs were aggressors but they also were me aggressors (vs. passing and getting ball into the paint). I felt Noah / Pau / Butler were fouled numerous times with no call (same goes for Rose but I'm used to Rose never getting the call).

Weber even noticed that Bron Bron's feet were moving.

Weber did a good job last night. Very fair in the calls.

The bad goaltending reversal, a few out-of-bounds plays, the phantom charge... there was some awful officiating in that game. Part of me still freaks out at LeBron's traveling but Jimmy traveled too when he hit that big shot so I'll let it go.

Derrick has played really well tonight. Even on the plays where he isn't scoring or obviously making the big play, he's doing the right stuff.

He also missed some shots where he was aggressive and more often than not he makes. Was very impressed with Rose. Butler was strong late in the game. Fun game to watch, although Cavs are playing without Smith (that said Shumpert had himself a night) and I expect Cavs will have more of an edge (that was a long lay-off). This is going to be a good series. Nice to get the 1st one on the road, but now we need 3 more in this series and the chess match will begin! Lets go Bulls...lets get them in game 2 too!!!