Bulls Lottery Draft Preview

The Chicago Bulls currently have a 1.9% chance of getting the first pick in the NBA Draft tomorrow evening, and I may be the only one in the world who hopes we don't get the first pick. I know many of you are saying I am using the old reverse psychology to get the first pick, but I am not. I honestly don't want the first pick and either Kevin Durant or Greg Oden, well unless we trade the pick away for future picks or a center/post player with some offensive capabilities.
The Bulls were exposed by the Detroit Pistons because they had no offense beyond going small and relying on guard play. Not the best chances for victory especially when you are matched up with one of the better back courts in the league. You can not when many games when you are forced to shoot from the outside, only shoot 33% from the field and then get outrebounded.
So how does this relate to the draft lottery, well look at the first two picks, Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. Oden is a 37 yr old Freshman that the Florida Gators, the NCAA Tournament, the Big 10 Conference Tourney and the half of the season exposed as an underdeveloped big man with at best a minimal offensive presence. Just what the Bulls need another Big Man with limited offensive skills. Put him on the court with Ben Wallace and in effect the Bulls go 3 on 5 on offense. Who is going to teach Oden any offensive skills, PJ Brown (career playoff high of 20 pts?) the only thing PJ Brown will be able to teach him are the places in Chicago that give Senior Citizen Discounts.
Other option, Kevin Durant, a freshman small forward. Sure he can jump out of the gym and do it all, but where does he get his minutes in his first 2 yrs. The Bulls front court is already crowded with Deng, Wallace, and Nocioni (i project to start with PJ Brown gone), and then still trying to get minutes for Tyrus Thomas, Sefolosha and Durant. Thats 6 quality players for 2 spots (3 if go small).
I ran the WWL's mock draft lottery tool about 40 times and not once did the Bulls win the first pick, in fact about 38 of those times the Bulls ended up with Spencer Hawes, a 7 foot Center from UW. A good high post player and a highly developed offensive game who likes playing with his back to the basket. Sounds like a good fit for a young Bulls team. But thats just my opinion, what do I know.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 6 Recap

Howard the Duck is a movie you may remember from way back in 1986. George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic was coming into its own as THE institution for special effects. Howard the Duck was supposed to be an early foray into branching away from Star Wars.

To settle a bet between my sister and myself I forced myself to watch this movie. The major stars in this movie are Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, and Jeffrey Jones. Lea actually looks decent despite her 80's hair and mammary deficiencies. Tim Robbins puts in possibly the lamest performance ever in the history of cinema as a dorky scientist. Jeffrey Jones also plays a scientist who becomes possessed by an evil space overlord which I guess isn't much of a stretch since he was probably already masturbating to pictures of Gary Coleman in his trailer.

What several people do not know is that this movie was actually derived from a comic book of the same name. This movie epitomizes everything that was wrong with comic book movies of the 80's and early 90's and why the formula of today actually works. If you want to make a good comic book movie, don't make it campy.

Fucking Bulls.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 5 Recap

I need to be honest, I missed most of the game due to a business dinner. I did run to the bar periodically to check the score and did cathch the Tyrus Thomas block followed by Ben Gordon 3-pointer which I understand was one of the highlight plays of the game.

As far as my dinner went, it was at a Churrascaria which I think is Portugese for "gluttonous meat engorgement". I ate bacon-wrapped filet, beef, chicken, pork, lamb. I had a Capirinha and a ton of Cabernet. I ate a piece of flourless chocolate-mocha cake followed by a single-malt scotch (don't ask me which kind, I was just following the others). That meal probably shortened my life for about a week.

Somehow, the Bulls are back in this. And my prediction of Pistons in 7 has now been given new life. Wish some of it went to my liver.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 4 Recap

In case you didn't know, teams down 0-3 in the NBA playoffs are 0-81 to win the series. If you didn't know that, then that means you didn't watch any of Game 4 because I think they flashed that stat 81 times during the game.

So the Bulls pulled out a win which apparently is only prolonging the inevitable based on the stats. I don't remember seeing Thabo in at all. When Tyrus was in he made mistakes but was good overall. This all begs the question of what sort of strategy Skiles is planning for Game 5. Unfortunately I have a business dinner to attend so I may not be watching. Maybe one of you can tell me how many teams down 1-3 have won the series after that game. I'm sure TNT will proudly pound the stat in your head.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 3 Recap

This will be short. Game 3 was the biggest letdown since the Super Bowl. The Bulls were on pace at the half to hold Detroit to under 60 points for the game. Instead, they blew a 19 point 3rd quarter lead to send themselves straight to Suckville.

Two thoughts. One, when the Bulls had Sefalosha and Tyrus in the game in the 2nd quarter they extended their lead. When the game began to turn in favor of the Pistons we never saw our bench again until the last minute. Why? What was there to lose?

The other thought is how crazy some of these players make me. One minute Kirk is draining threes, the other he is turning the ball over on a fast break (seriously he has done this like 10 times this series). Duhon is a mess. Nocioni is as cold as the Arctic. Billups can't miss from beyond the arc. We dominated the boards in the first half and looked like the same team from games 1 and 2 in the second half.

If I hadn't committed to these posts already I would not be watching come Sunday.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 2 Recap

What now? For the first time this playoff run I actually had to avert my eyes for part of the game last night. Just plain painful to watch. Perhaps what is most frustrating is that the Bulls went to the free throw line more often, shot better at the line (although missed 15), and won the turnover battle. Why did they lose? They were out-rebounded 15 billion to absolute zero. Also, Detroit has not shown any signs of developing a cold streak in their shooting. Supposedly one of the best defensive teams in the league, Chicago looks like they couldn't stop a high school freshman squad.

Now the series comes back home where the Bulls need to even the series to have a chance (which no one believes they have anymore). They need to win at least one to come away from this series with an ounce of pride. There's already talk on the eBays of how much the team needs to be revamped if a sweep occurs. Just to think that last week we were all so high on our Bulls' chances, proudly stating that they had arrived. Ugh.

Bulls vs. Pistons Game 1 (Plus)

Well it had to happen eventually. The Bulls sucked last night plain and simple. Managed to more than quadruple their turnover number from game 4 against the Heat. It was a blowout. On one hand it causes some fear that the Bulls simply are outmatched in this series. On the other hand, if the Bulls can come back to take game 2 then they still have a great shot in the series having stolen home court advantage. In my opinion, the key is the bench players which was the most lopsided matchup from game 1. I never realized Jason Maxiell was the greatest forward in the game. Maybe as the series progresses he'll go "Antoine Walker" for his hometown.

In other sports news the Jazz made T-Mac cry. I'm picking the Warriors in 6 to take the semifinal series against Utah. Golden State just has so much momentum right now, I think they will take at least 1 of 2 to start the series in Salt Lake.

Finally, I watched the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight which was a decent fight but overall a bit disappointing. No knockdowns and a split decision (which it shouldn't have been) never satisfies. The best part was Floyd Sr. stating after the fight that he felt De La Hoya should have won. Like the majority, I wanted Oscar to win especially after seeing this.

Derby, Bulls and Mayweather

Big day tomorrow for Sports and betting, starting a little after 5 pm with fastest 2 minutes in sports. Then at 7pm is opening game of the Second Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with the Chicago Bulls visiting the Detroit Pistons. Finally the nightcap of the day, with the Mayweather vs De La Hoya fight.

After going 2 for 3 on picks last time its time to make my picks for tomorrow. First I'll start with the easiest one. Mayweather by KO, TKO or DQ at 4:1. With that in mind, I obviously like the under of 11.5 rounds at +190.

In the second sporting event of the day, the Bulls are +5 against the former Bad Boys. Here are some recent trends in the game from Covers.com

Bulls are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Detroit.
Bulls are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

In one of the more wide open Kentucky Derbies in recent memory, with 20 horses entered there are a couple favorites; Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750). Its a tough one to pick and many experts out there would like to pick a middle of the pack horse at about 10-15:1 to put some money on as an attempt to pick the favorite. I would like to recommend a little different strategy, its called boxing the exacta, take 5-6 horses that you like and then bet on them all to finish one two, no matter the order. As long as Curlin and Street Sense don't win and place then you should be in the black and if you can pick one of those 10-15:1 picks then you should be in for a big payday. As for my picks, I'll take 2,7,12,14,16 and for my flier -15 Tiago who is coming off a victory at Santa Anita in which he finished strong, plus he's the half kid brother of Giacomo, and of course he is OJ's pick.

Bulls vs. Heat Game 4 Recap

I guess this photo makes it official.

I'm keeping this one short since I also plan to do a NFL draft post but the most important stat here is the Bulls swept the reigning NBA champions.

Again, the Bulls did not play that well today. Their shooting percentage was way down. The story here, as supported by good ol' Mike Wilbon, was the Bulls only committed 5 turnovers the entire game. Big Ben's FT shooting was also great to see.

So now we go to Detroit who also managed to sweep their series with the Magic. Both teams look good heading into the series but, to be honest, the Pistons look really tough right now. The Bulls are going to have to play like they did in game 1, not games 3 and 4 to beat them. I think the biggest concern is lack of quality playing time and playoff experience for bench players like Thabo and Tyrus. Sefalosha was great in game 1 but has faltered since. Tyrus has been virtually nonexistent. Conversely, Chris Duhon has won me back with both his offense and defense this playoff series.

I'm predicting Pistons in seven but I hope I'm wrong and the Bulls pull this out. Winning a playoff series was a great first step but hopefully the hunger is still there.

Bulls vs. Heat Game 3 Recap

It wasn't pretty and it didn't look good in the second and third quarters but the Bulls pulled it together in the end. Tyrus looked sloppy and his minutes were limited. Gordon got into foul trouble early. Sefalosha wasn't as effective defensively as he had been earlier in the series. As coach Skiles said, they didn't play well and things were not going their way but in the end they overcame.

The key factor no one will mention in this game was Antoine Walker's apparent defection to the nWo. Despite some solid play early, Chicago's own managed to score a basket for the Bulls and create horrible fouls late in the game that swung the momentum in the Bulls' favor. If the Bulls go on to win this series, I fully expect Walker to remove his Heat warmups to reveal a Bulls jersey underneath. Thanks Antoine.

Also a thanks for RDWS' own Jeff Novak for providing us with some multimedia from the game itself. Also, a thank you to Dan Le Batard for looking incredibly stupid on PTI yesterday, predicting the Heat to even up the series at home and saying that Ben Wallace has no ability to defend Shaq. Wrong on both counts retard.

Bulls go for the sweep on Sunday.

Bulls vs. Heat Game 2 Recap

Well this one wasn't close at all was it?

Aside from the lack of a Tyrus Thomas highlight, this was quite an enjoyable game for Bulls fans. Ben Gordon was hot early when Deng was cold. However, when the 4th quarter rolled around and Miami threatened to close the gap, Luol pretty much took over and scored at will.

The Heat looked flat and without any sense of urgency whatsoever. They simply got out-hustled. It was plain embarrassing to be Pat Riley tonight. Nocioni was his usual self prompting Steve Kerr to refer to him as a "Grabowski". In Chicago, that's quite an honor.

The Heat complained about the officiating in the last game. I think, although not perfect, the calls have been decent and fair with neither team really being favored. If the Heat are feeling sorry for themselves then these refs don't appear empathetic.

I really don't have much else to say on this one. Game 3 Friday in Miami. I expect a very physical game in a must win for the Heat.

Bulls vs. Heat Game 1 Recap

Well, the Bulls didn't exactly mop the floor with the Heat but a win's a win, right?

Many will point to Luol Deng's 33 points or Ben Gordon's near triple-double. Admittedly, this game may have been Deng's official playoff "coming-out party" as he finally put together a post-season performance that us Bulls fans knew he was capable of. He and Gordon helped overcome a virtual no-show for the frustrated, foul-plagued Kirk Hinrich.

But the true stars in this contest came off the bench and also in form of a former rival. Andres Nocioni's offense and defense inspired this Bulls team when they were searching for answers. Thabo Sefalosha contained Dwyane Wade in Captain Kirk's absence. And perhaps most importantly of all, the off-season acquisition of Ben Wallace seems to be paying off.

The stat sheet won't tell you the story. Big Ben had 14 rebounds (6 offensive) which is only a small part of the role he played. Tipped balls to teammates which won't count for rebounds as well as some key defensive plays drawing fouls from the opposition helped the Bulls tremendously. No offense to speak of but that's not really what we need from Ben, now is it?

This team certainly did not play a perfect game, nor do they look ready to be the 2007 NBA champions quite yet. But for Game 1, Round 1? I'll take it.

Deadspin Disrespects Bulls

One of my favorite sites, Deadspin disrespected the Bulls today in their daily NBA Roundup. To quote Deadspin, "Jay-Z And The No. 2 Seed. Larry Hughes scored 22 points and LeBron James had 18 points to lead Cleveland to a 98-92 win over Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavaliers can claim the No. 2 seed in the East tonight if they beat Milwaukee and New Jersey beats Chicago (also tonight). Will Nets part-owner Jay-Z give a more stirring pre-game speech than his pal LeBron tonight? We'll see."

As the Bulls hold the tiebreaker over the Cavaliers for the Second Seed in the East it is theres to lose, not the Cavaliers to win. The LeBrons could win 1,231 to 9 and as long as the Bulls win the Bulls are the 2 seed in the East. I can understand that Jay Z vs LeBron is a better headline, but well I can't think of a better headline. At least Will could have used this gay photo.

For you gamblers out there, Covers.com has the Bulls a 4.5 point favorite and the LeBrons are a 14.5 point favorite. I like both teams to cover. This also will start the trend of picks of the week, day, etc. in all sports, including my big Kentucky Derby preview coming up shortly before the Run for the Roses.