Denver Nuggets
Chicago Bulls Must Fire Head Coach Vinny Del Negro Now
Friday, December 11th, 2009 | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Portland Trailblazers, Sports, Utah Jazz | 1 Comment
The time is now – Vinny Del Negro – head coach of the hapless Chicago Bulls – must go. Do you hear me Gar Forman (General Manager) and John Paxson (Bulls President)?
The Del Negro experiment has failed. Paxson (and Forman to a lesser extent) must acknowledge the mistake and correct the wrong before the team continues to fall further into the abyss. The Eastern Conference is atrocious, so even a mediocre team like the Bulls should be able to qualify for post-season play each year. Derrick Rose (16.1 points and 5.7 assists) is a star in the making; Joakim Noah hustles like no other player in the NBA and his numbers prove it (10.2 points and 11.6 rebounds); Luol Deng (17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds) still has NBA star potential and is only 25 years old (like Noah); rookie Taj Gibson (8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds) has shown signs of being ready to develop into a quality NBA player; and the Bulls have plenty of cap space available to land a big free agent from the free agent class of 2010. My biggest fears could be realized if the Bulls don’t make a coaching move right now. If you don’t fire Del Negro now, current players might regress, get frustrated or not give 100% night in and night out. Even worse, free agents may look at the team as a team in disarray and fail to consider a bid from the Bulls because of the circumstances. If the club does not land one of the big 2010 free agents, it could be several more years before the team becomes a force to be reckoned with in the weak Eastern Conference.
The time is now to bring in an experienced head coach who could also help pitch one of the big free agents to want to come to Chicago. Vinny is a nice guy, but he never coached at any level in the NBA before Paxson hired him prior to the 2008-9 NBA season. After the Bulls botched the hiring of Mike D’Antoni (who went to the New York Knicks) and Doug Collins, the Bulls settled on Del Negro – the guy his own team – the Phoenix Suns – turned down to be their head coach. His game management is bad. His offensive creativity is even worse. He might be a good head coach some day, but you can’t risk wasting the development of the likes of Deng, Rose, Gibson, Noah, etc. waiting for Del Negro to learn how to coach.
Now granted, somehow, Del Negro got the Bulls to finish the 2008-9 NBA season as the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls even took the Boston Celtics (without Kevin Garnett and Leonard Powe) to 7 games in the 1st round of the playoffs. That being said, the team has taken a major step back in 2009-2010, and you can’t simply blame that on the fact that Ben Gordon left to sign a lucrative free agent contract with the Detroit Pistons. Del Negro has not instilled that killer attitude they displayed against the Celtics in the playoffs last year and the team has been in a tailspin ever since the annual Circus Road Trip. The Bulls have dropped 9 of 10 games after winning the 1st game of the trip in Sacramento. The team now sits at 7-13 – only 1.5 games out of the 8th seed in the playoffs, but moving in the wrong direction. I don’t mind the losses to the Lakers, Nuggets, Trailblazers and Jazz to finish up the west coast portion of the road trip – a lot of teams would have lost those 4 games. But to lose at Milwaukee and then follow that up with lackluster performances in December – there is no excuse. It’s unacceptable to lose to the Toronto Raptors by 32 points at home. It’s unacceptable to lose to the 1-19 New Jersey Nets on your home court. It’s even unacceptable to lose to the Atlanta Hawks by 35 points on the road. The Del Negro ship has sailed and now it’s time for Forman and Paxson to give him one final push off the dock…
Del Negro had this to say about his job security: “I don’t worry about that. I really don’t. I go to work every day, doing the best and trying to develop these guys. Those are questions for Gar, John and Jerry Reinsdorf… We’re fighting with what we have. We’ll keep on fighting. And these decisions aren’t up to me.” Guess what Vinny – you should be worried. Your days are numbered and hopefully we’ll see a different team after you leave…
Chicago Bulls Off to “Good” Start
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Sports, Utah Jazz | No Comments
I guess it’s all relative, but the Chicago Bulls are clearly off to a good start during the 2009-2010 NBA schedule. It looks like the Bulls might be a part of one of the better divisions in the NBA’s Eastern Conference – the Central Division. 4 out of 5 teams in the division have winning record while the Detroit Pistons bring up the rear at .500. The Cleveland Cavaliers – winners of 7 of their last 8 games – lead the Central Division with a 7-3 record.
The Bulls defied the odds by making the playoffs right at the end of the 2008-9 NBA season – earning the 7th seed in the conference. The Bulls proved it wasn’t a fluke either, taking the Boston Celtics all the way to the brink of elimination with an exciting 7-game series in which the home team won each game.
The Bulls have picked up where they left off this season. With the departure of Ben Gordon in the off-season, but the re-emergence of Luol Deng as a legitimate NBA starter (Deng has been hampered by injuries each of the last 2 seasons), the Bulls haven’t missed a beat. The Bulls are 5-4 with a solid 4-1 home record at the United Center in Chicago. Deng leads the club with a 17.6 scoring average – his 9.2 rebounds average per game is impressive as well. Derrick Rose was hampered by a bum ankle during the pre-season, but is slowly getting back into game shape. Rose averages 13.8 points, 5.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
The biggest surprise for the Bulls has been the consistent play of Joakim Noah – 11.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Talk about a huge step-up from his 6.7 and 7.6 averages from last season. Kirk Hinrich has also impressed with his solid play early in the season – 9.9 points and 4.56 assists per game. And Rookie Taj Gibson has showed some brilliant moments in limited play so far. Gibson is averaging 7.3 points per game and his 4.89 rebounding average is 3rd behind Noah and Deng on the team. 20 of his 44 rebounds have been offensive rebounds so he can clearly spark an offensive outburst during his minutes.
If the Bulls are going to make a push for a 2nd consecutive playoff appearance, they are going to need better play from John Salmons (12.6 points and 4.0 rebounds) and Brad Miller (8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds). To date, neither player has played as well as anticipated heading into the season. The Bulls are also going to have to play better on the road.
The Bulls now embark on the grueling “Circus” road trip to the west coast (as the Circus invades the United Center for 2 weeks). As mentioned above, the Bulls tend to play poorly on the road, so it will be important for the team to win at least 2 of the 6 games on the trip. It won’t be easy because trying to against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers or Utah Jazz on the road is highly unlikely. That leaves games against the Kings in Sacramento and the Bucks in Milwaukee to win. The 2 games after the circus road trip are against the Pistons at home and the Cavaliers on the road, so it doesn’t get any easier with 2 intra-division battles. At 5-4, this will be a telling 8-game stretch for the Bulls – they certainly won’t be over .500 at the end of it, but if they can win at least 3 of the games, an 8-9 record isn’t the worst thing in the world this early in the season. Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and his staff will have their work cut out for them over the next 3 weeks of the NBA schedule.
NBA Playoff Teams All Set – Seeds Still To Be Determined
Sunday, April 12th, 2009 | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, General, Houston Rockets, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, Sports, Utah Jazz | No Comments
We know know all of the 16 teams that have qualified for 2008-9 NBA post-season play. While some seeds have been established, there are still a few slots up for grabs.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers – led by Lebron James - have locked up the #1 seed for the 1st time in franchise history. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are still battling for the #2 seed, but the Celtics have a 2-game edge over the Magic. The Atlanta Hawks have locked up the 4th seed in the East. Miami and Philadelphia have each lost 6 of their last 10 games and are currently sitting in the 5th and 6th spots – they each have 3 games to play. The surging Chicago Bulls – winners of 7 of 10 – and the Detroit Pistons are tied for the 7th and 8th seeds right. That race will likely be decided when the Bulls visit Detroit on Monday night with the winner taking at least the 7th seed.
In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers – led by Kobe Bryant – have locked up the #1 seed for a 2nd consecutive year. The 2nd through 5th seeds are up for grabs among the Denver Nuggets (#2 seed), Houston Rockets (1 game behind Denver), Portland Trailblazers (1.5 games behind Denver) and San Antonio Spurs (1.5 games behind Denver). The 6th through 8th seeds are also up for grabs among the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks (tied for 6th and 7th seeds) and the Utah Jazz (8th seed – 1 game behind Hornets and Mavericks). Looking to avoid a 1st round match-up with the Lakers, the Jazz play the Warriors and Clippers before ending the season against the Lakers – will they be able to bump out either of the Hornets or Mavs? Only time will tell.
The NBA playoffs will soon be here in full effect – get ready for some intense playoffs hoops action…
Chicago Bulls – - As Inconsistent As Ever
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Sports | No Comments
What is going on with this frustrating Chicago Bulls NBA Team?
Friday night in Chicago, the Bulls beat the 38-20 Denver Nuggets easily -116-99.
Two nights later in Indianapolis, the Bulls struggle against the 25-35 Pacers and lose 98-91.
On Tuesday night back home in Chicago, the Bulls cruise to a 120-102 win over the 42-15 Orlando Magic.
But the next night, in a battle against a team one game behind them in the Eastern Conference playoff race – the 26-32 New Jersey Nets – the Bulls lay an egg in the 4th quarter (getting outscored 37-21) and lose 111-99.
If the Bulls would have won those 2 games against lesser opponents, they would actually be tied with the Detroit Pistons for the 7th and 8th seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But so it stands that the Bulls continue to lose to teams that they “should beat” and continue to stay on the outside looking in for the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Granted, the Bulls have had to adjust with the addition of 3 new players into the regular rotation – John Salmons, Tim Thomas and Brad Miller. But this isn’t a new occurrence for the Bulls during the 2008-9 NBA season. The Bulls have already lost games to Memphis, Charlotte, Minnesota (twice), Oklahoma City, the New York Knicks and Toronto. Even if the Bulls don’t lose half of those games, that’s 3 more wins that gets them closer to the .500 mark that will probably be good enough to make the playoffs in the East.
More and more collapses in the 4th quarter lead many to believe that 1st year head coach Vinny Del Negro just doesn’t have what it takes to be a consistent head coach at this level. Others feel that the Bulls really don’t have a solid player beyond Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon – who himself has limitations because of his small size as a guard. That being said, it’s probably a combination of both.
The Bulls still have a good shot to make the playoffs in the East, but they will have to buck that trend of losing to teams that are either behind them or just ahead of them in the East. Except for a stretch in March where the Bulls have to play Orlando, New Orleans, Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers in an 11-day stretch, the Bulls schedule features numerous games against teams that are 1-3 games ahead of them and teams that are behind them in the East. This means a recipe for taking care of your own business and having the ability to control your own destiny. That’s all you can ask for, but I’d be willing to bet that the Bulls don’t have what it takes to come out on top in enough of those games to qualify for the post-season for a 2nd straight disappointing season in Chicago.
