[jnrjr79]

KC Article

"Like a journeyman outfielder blabbing about an ongoing no-hitter in the dugout, talk about the Bulls' playoff chances and positioning used to be frowned upon.

The ban has been lifted. The "P" word isn't just addressed by coach Scott Skiles upon media prodding, it's openly talked about now between coaches and players.

"There's no reason not to talk about positioning," Skiles said Tuesday. "The guys know where we are anyway. We're right behind Cleveland, which has had some turmoil.

"We have to keep winning. I know I'm not making very colorful comments. But when we play well and play hard, we're as good as anybody. That's what we have to keep in the forefront of our minds."

Cleveland fired coach Paul Silas on Monday and won in interim coach Brendan Malone's debut on Tuesday in Detroit. The victory pushed the Cavaliers one game ahead of the Bulls for the Eastern Conference's fifth seed.

"We'd like to move up," Skiles said."


It's finally sinking in. Feels good.

 

[truebluefan]

it feels really good to talk playoffs in the spring time instead of who we are picking in the draft.

 

[chifaninca]

it feels really good to talk playoffs in the spring time instead of who we are picking in the draft.

What we're not gonna talk draft? Great, I guess there will be no Rlucas sightings, no Euro to long for in a Bulls Uni and, gulp, no talk about missing Dwayne Wade for Yell.......... missing on all that for the playoffs - PRICELESS :cheers:

 

[Krazy!!!]

Well....I'll continue to "ban" myself from saying the "P" word until they CLINCH baby!!!! :biggrin:

 

[mr.ankle20]

what happen to rlucas

 

[bullsville]

what happen to rlucas

I'm not sure, but to sum it up in one sentence my guess would be...

Europeans didn't take over the NBA, in fact Pietrus and Diaw could be considered busts.

 

[L.O.B]

Later in the same beat report,

An MRI performed on Andres Nocioni showed the forward has a bone bruise in his right wrist. He is probable for Wednesday's game in Toronto."He'd have to be very close to death not to play," Skiles said.

Asked if the pain, which is in his shooting hand, affects his shot, Nocioni looked at his questioner as if he were from Mars.

"It's nothing," Nocioni said. "I'm a strong man."

 

[LegoHat]

An MRI performed on Andres Nocioni showed the forward has a bone bruise in his right wrist. He is probable for Wednesday's game in Toronto."He'd have to be very close to death not to play," Skiles said.

Asked if the pain, which is in his shooting hand, affects his shot, Nocioni looked at his questioner as if he were from Mars.

"It's nothing," Nocioni said. "I'm a strong man."

Gotta love Nocioni's work ethic and willingness to play through rough times.

 

[remlover]

what happen to rlucas

No idea, but he did disappear when the Bulls started winning. My guess is ithat he was embarrassed to come around here after calling Skiles a worthless coach as well as a racist. Also, Lucas had nothing but disdain for Paxson after Pax turned his back on his boy Pietrus.

IMO, rlucas couldnt deal w/ the "i told you so's" for a couple of weeks. I hope it was simple as rlucas didnt have thick skin, and wasnt something more serious.

 

[ViciousFlogging]

to be fair, rlucas was very supportive of Pax's draft this year and, I think, got himself taken out of the infamous Fire Paxson club. That said, his venom towards Skiles is well-documented.

also, since I watch Golden State games regularly, I'll chime in and declare that Pietrus is no bust. He's come a long way in his first 2 years on both sides of the ball, and he'd be showing his stuff a lot more if Jason Richardson hadn't blossomed into a genuine star, or if Dunleavy didn't have a huge fan in Chris Mullin. He's still a little wild, but his offensive game is getting better, he's still a ballhawk on defense, and he plays as hard as anyone this side of Nocioni. Maybe he's not living up to the hype that rlucas's reports, rightly or wrongly, created for him, but he's a good player (and incidentally, he'd be a perfect fit as our mythical big 2 guard).

 

[bullsville]

to be fair, rlucas was very supportive of Pax's draft this year and, I think, got himself taken out of the infamous Fire Paxson club. That said, his venom towards Skiles is well-documented.

also, since I watch Golden State games regularly, I'll chime in and declare that Pietrus is no bust. He's come a long way in his first 2 years on both sides of the ball, and he'd be showing his stuff a lot more if Jason Richardson hadn't blossomed into a genuine star, or if Dunleavy didn't have a huge fan in Chris Mullin. He's still a little wild, but his offensive game is getting better, he's still a ballhawk on defense, and he plays as hard as anyone this side of Nocioni. Maybe he's not living up to the hype that rlucas's reports, rightly or wrongly, created for him, but he's a good player (and incidentally, he'd be a perfect fit as our mythical big 2 guard).

Thanks, I haven't really seen Pietrus much this season, I just know he wasn't getting any run earlier in the season. Less than 2 seasons into anyone's career is too early to call them a bust, but with the way rlucas "Gippered" all over Pietrus, he is a bust based on rlucas reports. (But to be fair, Pietrus would have to be 1st-team All-Defense already to live up to rlucas' scouting reports.)

But if he's really a good defender, maybe GS would send us Murphy and Pietrus for Eddy this summer? Murphy would be the outside shooting big man we need, he's not a bad post scorer (though no Curry) and he rebounds. the only problem is that he seems to be injury-prone, although I don't follow GS closely enough to say that for sure.

 

[BG7]

Well, it is really nice to start hearing Skiles talk playoffs. He realizes how close it is, how easy their schedule is, and most importantly that it is best for them to move up to play the Wizards or Caveleirs in a 4 vs. 5 matchup then to play the Celtics. Although if we beat the celtics our path to the finals could be clearer, as Miami is going to be a huge hassel for us and I doubt we beat them, but we could easily take Detroit. We just get the best of them like the Celtics get the best of us. It should be interesting of what the Bulls can do in the playoffs. I think they can do better then the Heat of last year. They had a lot of young stars similiar to our team, but theirs were primarily peremiter players, while we have a top post defender, and a top post scorer in the lane. We have defensive wing players in Nocioni and Deng, Kirk and Du play good defense on the point guards. We also have Ben Gordon on our team. I don't know if he can hit a shot at the buzzer, which he hasn't done yet, but he certainly can score bundles in the 4th quarter all together to get us back in the game or put the other team down. It will be an interesting to see how well we do because of the 7'4" phenom of Tyson Chandler and the 7'1" Eddy Curry. We have lots of length and I hope Skiles opts to use it more then he opts to use the 3 guard lineup come playoff time. Go Bulls, and keep on playing hard, we can ride with any team in the league whilst playing hard.

 

[bullsville]

Just curious, sloth- did you decide to make Eddy and Tyson bigger just to match the theme of the bigger letters in your post?

I agree with most of your post, but I didn't realize that Tyson and Eddy had both grown 3 inches in the last year?

 

[BG7]

Just curious, sloth- did you decide to make Eddy and Tyson bigger just to match the theme of the bigger letters in your post?

I agree with most of your post, but I didn't realize that Tyson and Eddy had both grown 3 inches in the last year?

Those listings on NBA.com, and everywhere else are from those 2's rookie seasons. Eddy has obviously grown a inch or two since his rookie season. He was 6'11" 3/4 when he came into the league. Tyson was a little over 7'1" when he came into the league, and he has grown a few inches. These are all measurements with shoes though.

 

[ViciousFlogging]

But if he's really a good defender, maybe GS would send us Murphy and Pietrus for Eddy this summer? Murphy would be the outside shooting big man we need, he's not a bad post scorer (though no Curry) and he rebounds. the only problem is that he seems to be injury-prone, although I don't follow GS closely enough to say that for sure.

I think GS has to decide what to do with Dunleavy before they'd think of parting with Pietrus. Mullin's supposedly a big fan, but I don't think Monty is. Dunleavy disappears from games too often and isn't the shooter he was billed as being. That said, he has point-forward abilities and has become a pretty smart offensive player when he stays aggressive. Crappy defender, though.

GS has to decide what to do with all the young guys they traded for this year (Zarko, Rodney White, Skita, etc). Obviously they'll build around Baron and Richardson. I think they're still high on Murphy (plus he'd be tough to trade for due to either Poison Pill or BYC complications, pending new CBA). He does have range, but he's only shooting 40% overall. Good rebounder, tough on the inside, mediocre defender, and he's in love with his jumper too much.

Plus, Biedrins has looked like a real player the last couple weeks. I'm not sure if they see him as a PF, or as a defensive/hustle center compliment to Murphy.

Either way, I think they'd be loathe to part with both players for Curry, and to be totally honest, I'd rather keep Curry's offensive presence here and add a different SG via free agency or a different trade.