Nuggets beat the Bulls. Easily. The scheduling has been very kind to Denver at this point, but, unlike in previous years, they’re capitalizing on it. Here's a long post without any pictures. Enjoy.
NUGGETS QUICK HITS:
AI did his thing, hit some ridiculous shots, got some steals, dribbled too much. Kenyon had a nice game scoring the ball against a Bulls frontcourt that was playing scared. Melo’s jumper was off (reports of a migraine) but he still got his, going inside a lot and finishing pretty well.
Again, the Bulls frontcourt is horrible: all complementary pieces with nothing to complement. No center piece. Elton Brand or Ed Curry would be nice, don’t you think?
Without any semblance of a post threat to worry about, Camby did whatever the fuck he wanted all game long, and ended up with one of those unique statlines that I could pick out of a lineup: 12 pts, 20 rebs, 5 ast, 5 blocks, a steal and two turnovers. Only Camby.
The bench was alright, and they got the whole final period to go nuts in. If JR got big minutes and kept playing with this intensity, he could lead the league in steals. Dude has every skill in the world and now he’s starting to put it together. Kleiza shoots every time he gets the ball, but he’s put in the work and developed a diverse enough offensive arsenal that it’s usually a good shot.
Bob Jones University hustled and got some bad calls. Ed hit back to back threes. That’s a nice skill he’s developed, especially since the wheels are gonna be falling off in the next couple years. Mike Wilks didn’t bring too much to the table, but didn’t take anything away. Khouba played D like he always does.
BULLS BREAKDOWN:
I really have a problem with this Bulls team, mostly because I like nearly all of the players they’ve assembled. But they’re followed this profoundly conservative plan of drafting dudes who stay in college for 3 or 4 years, guys without any attitude problems. But that also means guys without swagger, second banana type guys. This seems to be mostly because of Skiles, who is an old school, hardass coach who demands that everyone avert their eyes in practice and shit. This isn’t college, Scotty, you win with men in this league, can’t treat ‘em like boys.
On the roster, Deng’s the only dude with anything close to superstar ability, and he was out tonight. I also think he may have reached his offensive ceiling. Ben Gordon is a chucker like AI, but he doesn’t get to the rim, he settles for jumpers. I love Hinrich’s defense, and I love a white boy who doesn’t back down, but he’s never been able to finish around the rim or create much for his teammates. His shooting is also overrated (also because of the white boy factor).
Joakim Noah would be great on a good team where he could hustle, play help D, and make timely passes. Here he tries to do too much, cuz who else is doing it? Ben Wallace is an albatross. Tyrus Thomas could be tight, but he totally backed down tonight when Kenyon started muscling up on him. That was funny. Everyone else on this squad is a placeholder.
They could’ve traded for KG, they could’ve trade for Kobe, but they haven’t. They should have. They might still be able to get Kobe. They need to. Because what I see is a team full of pieces, nice pieces, but sort of
They were never gonna be better than a nice playoff test for the team that eventually wins the East. The luxury that Chicago has is that they won’t have to burn it to the ground and suffer through any more rebuilding years (something Nugz fans know all to well). They have enough talent to make a shrewd move and become a real contender. But standing pat is not longer shrewd.
Clipps game tonight. I'ma watch it, if my fragile social life permits it.
HYTOP IS OUT.
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