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Chicago Bulls Trade Rumors
While the Celtics, Heat, Mavs, and Warriors continue their journey for the Larry O’Brien trophy, the rest of the league is sidelined and resorting to day dreaming about what moves their team might make this off-season. Most of this stuff, especially early on, is just coming out of left field, someone tries to draw connections between what GM’s have done in the past and Instagram or Twitter posts from players. It’s all just a bunch of non-sense but it gives us something to discuss while we wait for our teams to actually do something.
There have been a couple of trade rumors and ideas tossed around on Twitter surrounding the Bulls, so I decided to weigh in on the two that I have seen most recently. One of them, I like a lot better than the other, but whether either of them actually make sense is to be determined. Of course, the biggest question of the Bulls’ off-season still remains: What will happen with Zach Lavine?
Today, tweets have been surfacing regarding Marc Eversley’s (Bulls GM) affection for Matisse Thybule and his connection to the Sixers before coming to Chicago. There hasn’t been (at least that I have seen) any realistic proposed trades surrounding this, but this is a move that really wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to me unless we were giving up some real deep bench guys, which I do not see the Sixers going for. No disrespect to Thybule, I actually like him a lot, but I don’t think he serves a need for this Bulls team. The Bulls are already fairly solid defensively, what they need is better shooting and more of a post presence on defense. Thybule doesn’t fill either of those voids. He is an elite defender, but we need someone to stop (OK, slow down) Giannis and Embiid, he’s not that guy. I don’t see the Bulls shaking up the roster to bring in a fairly one dimensional player. Thybule has shown flashes of offensive relevancy, but it’s very inconsistent and doesn’t seem to be a great fit with the Bulls.
The hypothetical trade that I am more interested in, came from Greg Williams on Twitter:
As much as I want Coby White to stay in Chicago, the keyboard warriors on twitter seem to disagree with me. Truly, I think Coby is going to blossom into a dynamic player when given the right opportunity and for that reason I hope we do hold on to him, but if the Bulls were to ship him off, this would be the type of return I would hope to get.
Ayton is a dependable big who can anchor the defense and slow down the elite bigs in the east – Giannis, Embiid, Bam. He is young enough to continue to develop with this young core of Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu, *Normally Coby would be on this list*, and if Zach Lavine decides to stick around. Dario Saric is a bigger body who can replace the floor spacing that you lose by giving up Vucevic. This would create a lineup that looks something like this:
PG: Lonzo Ball
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Zach Lavine
PF: Patrick Williams
C: Deandre AytonThat would be a pretty elite defensive team assuming Lavine continues his defensive efforts after he gets paid. If Lavine decides to move on, I like to think we would get some sort of return for him in a sign and trade, but for fun let’s say we don’t.
PG: Lonzo Ball
SG: Ayo Dosunmu
SF: DeMar DeRozan
PF: Patrick Williams
C: Deandre AytonThat still looks like a decent lineup to me, but again, I would think we could get a return for Zach via a sign and trade to plug into either the SG or SF slot instead of Ayo being thrust into the starting lineup, if that’s the way things go down this offseason.
I expect the Bulls to have a different look next year, as I have said in previous posts, but whether that all takes place this off season or throughout the beginning of the regular season is yet to be determined. Zach Lavine is the first big domino. Whatever happens with him is going to decide the direction of this team moving forward.
We will see what sort of magic Arturas and company stir up this off-season, for now, we have to stick with the talk around the water cooler until anything official happens. As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to discussing the many trade machine proposals that are thrown out in the coming weeks/months.
Jacob Grenemeier
May 19th 2022Ball, Basketball, Bulls, Chicago, Coby, Dario Saric, Deandre Ayton, DeMar, DeRozan, Giannis, Matisse Thybule, NBA, Sixers, Suns, Vucevic, White -
Should Zach Lavine Get The Max?
The question of the off-season for Bulls fans, should the Bulls max Lavine? The timing of the contract makes it especially tough given that Chicago has laid groundwork for an attempt at a win-now team. This team when healthy has the potential to make a run, but what direction are the Bulls headed? There are some holes in this team that need addressed, and doing so may cause a domino effect, allowing the clouds to pass and the vision for the future to be more clear, but for now there are question marks, and Zach Lavine is a big one.
Looking at this list of players does not make me any more confident in signing Lavine to the max. I have been wracking my brain about this for months and keep coming to the conclusion that he’s not worth max money, but paying him is better than the alternative. It feels like settling. Luka Doncic is up for a contract this year as well, that’s a no-brainer. Pay the man, he’s the cornerstone of your franchise. But what is Zach Lavine to the Bulls? He’s no Luka Doncic, that’s for sure. DeMar isn’t going to be around forever, and Lavine has not shown the ability to be “the guy” on a winning team. He’s planning on having surgery on his knee this off-season which is cause for even more concern. He’s athletically gifted, has a decent 3 point shot, finishes well around the rim, but otherwise he doesn’t do anything to make you believe he can be the leader on the team. He get’s tunnel vision and all season seemed to defer to DeRozan when a clutch shot was needed. All these red flags and yet, what other choice do we have with the way this team is currently constructed?
There are a lot of names on that list that concern me:
John Wall – $47,366,760 – how much value is he bringing that Rockets team? Do you know how many games he played in in 2021-2022? The answer is 0. He’s not injured, he just didn’t play.
Russell Westbrook – $47,063,478 – Do I really need to type anything on these lines? The walking triple-double produced the lowest PER of his career this past season and in UGLY fashion (no not his wardrobe, but that is pretty bad too)
Jimmy Butler – $37,653,300 – Jimmy does plenty to deserve this money, and it’s not really relevant to the Lavine situation but it’s too fun not to add him to the list because Butler’s contract goes until 2025-2026 when he will be making $52,413,394. That is a ton of money for a 36 year old Jimmy Butler.
Tobias Harris – $37,633,050 – Tobias Harris is fine… but he ain’t $37M fine.. He might be the 3rd best player on his team, he makes more than Embiid. It’s not an easy contract to move if you choose to do so. Between Harris and Harden, the Sixers have some tough contracts to work with.
Ben Simmons – $35,448,672 – Speaking of bad Sixers contracts.. Ben Simmons, now with the Nets, did not contribute a single minute to either team this season, and for no real legitimate reason. After last season’s playoffs there was a falling out, but this got blown into absurd proportions. I don’t think the Bulls need to worry about Lavine holding out like that, but it’s still a reason for concern.That’s roughly a quarter of the $35M+ contracts that have some major issues.. OK closer to 20% if we take out Butler, but I didn’t even get into the contracts that guys missed significant time due to injury or other off the court concerns.
I wish it were easier, I wish it was a clear yes, it’s just not for me, but I can’t say it’s a clear no either. At the end of the day, I think situationally, the Bulls have to sign Zach to the max. In a vacuum, without the other factors of aging co-stars, and current roster build, I would say no. Ultimately, I would like to see a sign and trade, for who? I don’t know yet. That will be the next thing to rattle around in my brain but I think I have come to the conclusion that if I have to pick a side, then I’m an anti-maxxer, as beautifully coined by @MKHoops. Lavine is not someone who is going to bring Chicago back to the promise land, and for that reason, I don’t want to bother paying him and risking it unless we can line up a trade in the near future. It may throw off our current structure/trajectory with DeMar and Vuc, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Vuc gets moved this off-season or at least before the deadline, and a core of Ball, DeMar, PWill, and AC is still pretty foundational depending on the return you could get for Vuc, amongst others, and assuming a sign and trade situation for Zach. We wouldn’t have to go full re-build. It’s complicated, it’s probably not going to happen the way I would do it, I am probably in the minority. I hope that I don’t have to say I told you so in a few years, I really don’t.
Where do you stand? Is Zach Lavine going to end up being a top draft pick in Bill Simmons’ “worst contracts draft” in the next few years? Will he prove me wrong and bring the Larry back to the Chi? Or will Arturas make magic happen, and make this all work out heading into next season? I hope he has a plan, I’m sure he does, for every bit of doubt I have about Lavine, I have equal amount of confidence in AK. Let me know your thoughts, you can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ that’s all I have for now, as always thanks for reading, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
May 4th, 2022Photo Credit: https://hoopshype.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2021/10/i_29_f1_b4_zach-lavine.png?w=1000&h=600&crop=1
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What’s Next For Chicago?
After a disappointing set of home playoff games for the Bulls, they head back to Milwaukee for game 5 and the writing is on the wall. Lonzo Ball was ruled out for the season earlier this year, Alex Caruso hurt his face in game 3 that cut his time short in this series, and it was reported today that Zach Lavine will have knee surgery this offseason, he has been playing at about 50% on his knee, and he will sit out tonight as well. Can DeRozan pull off a miracle? If anyone can, DeMarvelous can, but the 3-1 deficit is insurmountable at this point. The Bucks just have too much fire-power even without Khris Middleton. Giannis, Jrue, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, they simply outmatch us from a depth perspective, plain and simple. I don’t anticipate the Bulls having another game this year, and I would almost prefer it given all of the injuries that have been accumulating. Let’s get to the offseason and get healthy, but what is in store for Chicago this offseason? What changes do the Bulls need to make, if any? Should the Bulls sign Lavine to the max?
Let’s first take a look at what Chicago’s roster looks like heading into next season:
- DeMar DeRozan $27,300,000
- Nikola Vucevic $22,000,000 (Expiring)
- Lonzo Ball $19,534,884
- Alex Caruso $9,034,884
- Patrick Williams $7,775,400 (Team Option)
- Coby White $7,413,955 (Team Option)
- Tony Bradley $2,036,318 (Player Option)
- Javonte Green $1,815,677
- Marko Simonovic $1,563,518
- Ayo Dosunmu $1,563,518 (Not fully guaranteed)
A total of $100,038,154 in contracts, the projected salary cap for 2022-2023 is $122MM and a luxury tax of $149MM according to si.com. I am not going to act like I am an expert when it comes to contracts, cap space and luxury tax, but I know a little bit from perusing spotrac.com. If the Bulls were to re-sign Lavine to the standard max, he would make $36,300,000 next season (total contract 5 years $210,540,000) and doing so would put Chicago at a total of $136,338,154. After signing a 1st round pick ($3,148,560) the Bulls are sitting at $139,486,714, roughly $10MM shy of the luxury tax and not leaving a ton of room to add additional pieces. Again, thank you spotrac.com for help with these numbers.
So, is signing Zach Lavine to the max the right move? Does this handcuff us for the future or set us up for success? Personally, I think the right move is to sign Zach. The value is there if the Bulls do decide to trade him down the line and the alternative free agent options are… weak. So I can’t say I love the idea, but it’s the best option we have at this point.
I do expect the Bulls to draft a big man, probably a power forward to pair with Patrick Williams, more on him later. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we make some moves this offseason to shore up our weaknesses and re-evaluate our draft prospects at that time. Vucevic shined in this playoff series for the most part, but he is on an expiring contract in 2022-2023 so I would not be surprised to see his name legitimately thrown around in trade talks, not just in the rumor mill on twitter amongst disgruntled fans. I have heard Lonzo’s name come up in conversations as well, but I honestly think Lonzo is our glue guy. He is the best pure PG that Chicago has had since D-Rose and when he was on the court the team was in sync. His perimeter defense is excellent, his three ball is deadly, and his passing ability is up there with the best in the game today. Caruso is on a valuable contract right now, and the spark that he brings this team is very hard to replace, I think the Lakers are foolish for not keeping him on, and the Bulls would be foolish to let him go as well. AC has the makings of a championship player (proven), he brings leadership and a level of competitiveness that, again, is irreplaceable. If we are in a win-now mode, that leaves Coby White and Patrick Williams as possible pieces that could move. Let’s talk more about Patrick Williams.
Patrick Williams is one of the most hyped Bulls on this roster. Can he live up to it? I struggle with the PAW because I see other young players, first year players, who seem to be excelling, playing unwavering ball, and Williams, to me, just seems so uncertain. There is so much hesitation in his game. Maybe it’s because of the star power around him, but from what I read, they are all encouraging him to unleash his potential. We have seen some flashes when he is the leader on the floor, but rarely do we see the lights come on when Lavine and DeMar are on the court with him. I fear that if he doesn’t make the big leap we have all been talking about for a year and a half now, he is going to lose his trade value, and the Bulls will be left kicking themselves for not acting sooner. I hope I am wrong, I go back and forth on PWill frequently, I just wish he would show me something to make me feel confident in his future. Ayo, the Bulls 2nd round draft pick from last year, has shown me more than Williams has.
Overall, I expect Lavine, DeRozan, Ball, Caruso, and Dosunmu to be safe for all of next year, any of the others would not surprise me if they were moved. Let’s hope our next rookie is as much of a pleasant surprise as Ayo was this year and that we get dealt a better hand when it comes to injuries next season. I hope the Bulls come out and beat the Bucks tonight, but if not, it was a fun season. Plenty of successes, plenty of lessons learned and a new found hope brought to the city of Chicago.
What moves do you think AK and company will make this off season? Should the Bulls re-sign Lavine? You can find me on twitter @GreNBA_ and as always thank for reading, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 27th, 2022Photo Credit: https://s1.ticketm.net/dam/a/172/074c3535-bfcf-49e2-a0f9-03d947862172_1340171_TABLET_LANDSCAPE_LARGE_16_9.jpg
Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, Ball, Basketball, Bulls, Chicago, Coby White, DeMar, DeRozan, Draft, Lavine, Lonzo, NBA, Off Season, Patrick Williams, Playoffs, Vucevic, Zach -
Reflecting and Projecting: The Bulls Big 3
I have waited to write this one to let the fire inside smolder a bit, but I am running out of time. I still am a little frustrated but I’m ready to move on to game 2. Before I hit on tomorrow’s game though, let’s reflect on game 1.
As I said in my previous post, I have no expectations for the Bulls to come out of this series victorious. I am still a fan, and still want to see the Bulls succeed though, and when the Bucks performed so poorly on Sunday I felt like Chicago realllyyyy needed to take advantage. Instead, it was a poor performance all around and we couldn’t find a way to close it out in the end. Our big 3 went 21 of 71 from the field, just shy of 30%. When we came into the series, I thought “Man, if our bench and role players can play halfway decent, we might be able to stick with these guys.” I didn’t realize our 3 key pieces were going to shit the bed. From a shooting perspective, Coby White, who has been highly criticized for his inconsistency, shot great – 5/10 from the field. Overall, Vooch had a pretty decent game doing some of the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but when your team is lacking defensively, the offense needs to be the motor of the team and 86 points just isn’t going to get it done. Had you told me we would hold the Bucks to just 93 points in the first game, I would have chalked that up as a W for the good guys.
It’s just so disappointing because it felt like we were right there, they had a chance if even just one of DeMar, Lavine, or Vooch shows up offensively – it was like there was a lid on the basket. Milwaukee is not going to hand us another opportunity like that. DeMar said there’s no way in hell he’s going 6/25 again, but the thing is, there’s no way the Bucks are going to play as poorly as they did either. The Bulls are going to need to put together a perfect series the rest of the way. Just imagine how hyped the United Center would be if we came back to the CHI tied 1-1. It’s still possible.
Alright, let’s move on from game 1. It’s water under the bridge, so what can we expect from game 2. The Bulls did a great job stopping Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton in game 1, the X-Factor really became Brook Lopez. There is absolutely no reason that Vucevic can’t go toe to toe with Lopez. They are very similar players when you break it down. Vooch needs to buckle down and find a way to out-perform Lopez – and really across the board that is what we need. Let’s breakdown how that might look, a game within the game:
Giannis is going to get his. He’s a perennial MVP candidate for a reason. We need our stars to outshine theirs. I think that our 1-2 punch of Lavine and DeRozan can outscore the Bucks duo of Giannis and Middleton. It’s easier to shut down Middleton than it is to slow down Giannis. We’ve already covered that Vucevic needs to out-perform Lopez. This is going to be key to the Bulls success.
From there, we need what all of Chicago-Land has been waiting for, Patrick Williams to take that leap. He needs to match Jrue Holiday on both ends of the court. We need the defensive prowess that we saw early on when P-Will was healthy, and we need him to score like he did in the season finale and summer league. He has the opportunity to really be the X-Factor for the Bulls, and if Chicago has any chance of making it out of this series alive, The Paw is going to need to make his impact on the game.
That really only leaves Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis, and Greyson Allen for them, and Javonte Green, Alex Caruso, Coby White and Ayo Donsumu for us and I have to say, I like our chances with those guys.
Can Lavine and DeRozan combing for 60 while holding Giannis and Middleton to 50?
Can Vooch give us 15-20 points and 15 boards and make Lopez work for his shots?
Lastly, can Patrick Williams show us why he was the #4 pick – be our lock down defender and blossom offensively right before the nations eyes?
If the Bulls can win the smaller battles offensively, and get back to wreaking havoc on the defensive side of the ball like early in the season (yes I know we are missing Lonzo) then I think Chicago could come back home with an even record and a fighting chance to take the lead in the series and shock the world.
Let me know your thoughts, I’m ready to run through a wall for this team despite trying to simmer my expectations. You can reach me on Twitter @GreNBA_ and as always, thanks for reading, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 19th, 2022 -
What Was KAT Thinking?!
Welcome to the scene Anthony Edwards! Most of the avid NBA fans already knew what Ant Man was all about, but the more casual viewers who may not have watched him all year (The T-Wolves don’t get too much national TV time) got a glimpse of what this kid can do. Twitter exploded with comparisons of MJ after he drove the lane, leaped toward the rim, took the contact, and seemingly hung in the air before releasing his shot. Ant is a bucket, he knows it, Minnesota knows it, and now the rest of the NBA fans know it. He stole the spotlight from Karl Anthony-Towns, who has a reputation of not showing up in games like this, see Jimmy Butler’s comments from their last post-season appearance if you aren’t familiar.
It looked to me as if KAT simply didn’t want to be there. Maybe he did at the jump, but he quickly found himself 0/5 from the field with one rebound and two fouls… entering the second quarter. It got worse from there finishing the first half with four fouls, 0/7 shooting, and still just one rebound. Some of that falls on Chris Finch for leaving him in after picking up two quick fouls, and definitely after he picked up his third foul. Four fouls in the first half is inexcusable for any player, especially your all-star. KAT is not all to blame for that, but even coming into the second half, he was playing irresponsibly. When he picked up his fifth foul, he blatantly lowered his shoulder bowling Nicolas Batum over, which he got away with and instantly went into Marcus Morris basically forcing the referee to make the call. When you have four fouls in the third quarter of a game, you can’t just force your way through the defense. KAT lost his head. His final foul in the game wasn’t any prettier, he aggressively went for a rebound in a cluster of players. Again, when you are in foul trouble, you just see yourself out of that situation, you are more valuable to your team when you’re on the floor than sitting on the bench, let your teammate fight for that rebound, step back and wait for a possible tip out, or position yourself to defend if the rebound goes the other way. His decision making left me scratching my head, it almost came across as intentional. This isn’t a rookie out there getting caught in the moment of a post-season game. KAT is seven years into his career, not a whole lot of playoff experience, but definitely has enough games under his belt that he should know better.
My guess is KAT cracked under the pressure, he wasn’t performing well and flat out lost his head. Luckily his team was able to take care of business and maybe this will be forgotten as they head into a first round playoff matchup against the Grizzlies which should be a lot of fun to watch. Two young teams battling it out. Ant and Ja providing highlight-reel drives, more Pat Beverly fun, hopefully a better showing from KAT. Towns should be sending a personal thank you letter to the glue girl and buying his guy Anthony Edwards a nice gift because I think when we look back at this game, we will remember the time Ant Man became a hero after a lady tried gluing herself to the court, and KAT’s performance will be an afterthought.
Let me know your thoughts about KAT’s performance and what you think about their upcoming matchup with Ja and the Grizzlies, you can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ As always, thanks for reading, This is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 13th, 2022 -
Bulls Have No Answer For Giannis
There were 3 potential first round matchups for the Bulls heading into the final day of the regular season – Bucks, 76ers, and Celtics. At the end of the day, when the dust finally settled, the Celtics jumped the Bucks in the standings, slotting the Bulls against the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.
For most realistic Bulls fans, the end in in sight. This beaten and battered Chicago team just simply doesn’t have what it takes to overcome really any of these playoff teams, but if there was a chance, I think the door slammed shut when Giannis and his crew landed 3rd in the East. The Bulls, like most teams, don’t have an answer for Giannis and beyond that, the playoff experience and team chemistry that Milwaukee boasts is enough on it’s own to make this series look bleak. A matchup against the 76ers could have allowed the Bulls an opportunity to take advantage of Philly’s lack of chemistry among their stars, Harden and Embiid, but Embiid poses many of the same challenges for the Bulls that Giannis does. In my opinion, the best matchup for the Bulls would have been the Celtics, who lost their rising star big, Robert “Timelord” Williams, to injury. The Bulls run small, and always have trouble against the leagues best big men, Chicago could at least match up size wise against this Boston team. Nevertheless, we will have to get through the Bucks if we want to keep this roller coaster of a season alive. Although the odds are stacked against us, what fun would it be to roll over and hand the series to the Bucks, so let’s look at what it would take for the Bulls to have a chance.
First and foremost, the Bulls need the peak performance from DeRozan that we have become accustomed to this season. It’s extremely likely that the Bucks defensive game plan is going to be to scheme against a DeRozan focused offense in which case our other major players are going to need to step up. Zach Lavine may need to be “The Guy” for us in the playoffs as the opposing teams focus in on Deebo. I would also like to see Vucevic get more involved down low, we often are out matched when it comes to our bigs defensively, but Vooch is a more than capable offensive player. The Bulls should look to utilize him more near the rim where he can also distribute the ball, as opposed to constantly on the pick and pop leaving Vucevic out beyond the three point line where he has been fairly inconsistent this season. Our success offensively will also be hinged on the shooting success off the bench. Coby White needs to find his groove and be able to sustain it, Ayo needs to continue to be aggressive, stay smart and not allow his youth and inexperience to be a weakness. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, we need Patrick Williams to play to his ability and continue to grow on offense. Defensively, he is going to need to be the difference maker that he was a year ago, if he can step up and be the primary defender on Giannis, slowing him down enough that the Freaks teammates need to control the game, we MIGHT have a chance.
It’s going to take a full team effort, something that we haven’t seen from the Bulls in the second half of the season. Anything can happen, Giannis can’t beat us on his own, so if we can slow him down, even just a little bit (maybe get him into foul trouble), and limit the Bucks other offensive opportunities, we could put up a fight. Unfortunately, the Bulls have zero, zip, zilch, nada, absolutely NO room for error. It is going to take a perfect series to dethrone the reigning champs. Nothing is impossible, but it’s definitely an uphill, a very very steep uphill, climb for the Bulls heading into round one.
My honest prediction would be Bucks in 5. I’ll obviously be hoping for a better outcome than that, I would gladly be wrong if it meant making it more of a series and especially if we can find a way to win the series. Let me know your thoughts, you can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ As always, thanks for reading, have a great day, enjoy the play-in tournament this week, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 11th, 2022 -
Bulls Clinch Playoff Spot and Avoid Play-In
Heading into the week the Bulls needed just one win to clinch a playoff spot and avoid the play-in tournament. Fortunately, the Bulls were able to clinch a spot on their first night out, but not by their own doing. Chicago also had the opportunity to clinch with a Cleveland loss, and the Cavs happened to fall to the Magic tonight securing the Bulls a spot.
The Bulls currently sit in the 6th seed, which currently pins us up against the competition we just faced tonight in the Bucks. However, the Bucks, Sixers and Celtics all have the same record so there could be some shuffling among those teams as the week progresses. Unfortunately, this Bulls team has gone 0-4 against the Sixers and 0-4 against the Bucks this season, we have split the series 1-1 against the Celtics with another matchup to break the tie tomorrow night.
More bad news for the Bulls came out today regarding Lonzo Ball. It sounds like his recovery is not going as well as planned, and he is still experiencing some discomfort when ramping up to full sprints and making cuts. They haven’t said definitively, but it sounds like they will just be shutting him down for the remainder of the season, which in all honesty, with everything else going on with this team, is probably for the best. Lonzo has a longer-term contract with the Bulls so it’s in the team’s best interest to have him come back 100% rather than risk further injuring the knee.
Zach Lavine also sat out tonight against the Bucks to give his knee a rest. Hopefully this was just precautionary and a rest game, but the fact that he continues to have issues with his knee is not promising heading into the playoffs. We can only hope that with an extended break before the playoffs tip-off he can get back to feeling good, even if it’s not 100%.
Although it was a rough game, DeRozan showed out as he usually does, dropping 40 points through 3 quarters but uncharacteristically did not score in the 4th quarter. Coby white had a better night shooting, starting the game 2-2 from three-point range, finishing with 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Patrick Williams continued his ascent, tallying 18 points on a very efficient 7 of 9 shooting.
These past two games against the Bucks at the United Center have been fun as the fans rain boo’s on Grayson Allen for his antics earlier this season which sidelined Alex Caruso for weeks. Vooch did get a pretty good shot on him, and while I wouldn’t encourage dirty plays meant to harm anyone, this seemed more like a hard foul from the 90’s than a “dirty” play but maybe I’m a little bias. Vucevic was hit with a technical for the play as it came after an offensive foul called just before the action. Again, I would never wish an injury on anyone, but there are certainly some players who could stand to learn a lesson, and Grayson Allen is one of them. Although, if he hasn’t learned yet, I don’t know that he ever will.
One game down, three more to go for the Bulls. With a playoff spot clinched, I would almost rather see the team get healthy and use these games to get some of the youngin’s some more reps, but you also don’t want to come into the playoffs cold, it’s a hard balance to find, but I think we could see some reduced minutes for some of the starters as the week carries on.
It’s unfortunate the Bulls weren’t able to clinch their spot by earning it tonight, but this season has certainly been a major improvement over last season, so I am happy with taking a step in the right direction. I only hope the Bulls can make a splash in the playoffs, the Hawks were that team last year, and despite losing Lonzo, I still wouldn’t count the Bulls out. Get at me on Twitter @GreNBA_ and let me know your thoughts on the Bulls playoff chances and as always thanks for reading, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 5th 2022Photo Credit: https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CC_Express_20220323_2242540-696×392.jpg
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Will Lebron Make an All NBA Team?
With the final week of the NBA regular season upon us, All-NBA votes are due by Sunday. The NBA does not care about my opinion of who should be voted to what team, but I like to put my nominations out there anyway – maybe someday I can have an actual vote. These are subject to change as the week carries on, but will likely remain the same. I am not going to delve into reasoning for each player, but after the actual results are released I’ll do a re-cap and explain my reasoning for any players who I have different from the results. Let’s jump into it:
All NBA 1st Team
G – Devin Booker
G – Luka Dončić
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo
F – Kevin Durant
C – Nikola JokićAll NBA 2nd Team
G – Ja Morant
G – Steph Curry
F – DeMar DeRozan
F – Jayson Tatum
C – Joel EmbiidAll NBA 3rd Team
G – Trae Young
G – Chris Paul
F – Zach Lavine
F – Khris Middleton
C – Karl Anthony-TownsThere you have it, there is a case to place Lebron James on the 3rd team in place of Khris Middleton, but I chose Kris because I value team wins over stat-chasing. Nothing to take away from Lebron here, it truly was neck and neck but when it came down to it, the Bucks have had a successful season, and the Lakers have had one of the most disappointing seasons to date. Lebron will likely win the scoring title, but it really won’t have any significance if his team doesn’t make the playoffs.
You can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ let me know your thoughts on the All-NBA teams, who you would replace and who you would keep, and do you think Lebron deserves All-NBA this year? As always, thanks for reading and have a great rest of your week. This is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 4th, 2022Photo Credit: https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2022/03/giannis-embiid-jokic.jpg
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The Bulls Week Ahead
The Bulls final week of the regular season is upon us. They will play 4 games this week:
– Milwaukee Bucks (48 – 30)
– Boston Celtics (49 – 30)
– Charlotte Hornets (40 – 38)
– @ Minnesota Timberwolves (45 – 34)A three-game home stretch, starting with a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday, and capping off the regular season with a road trip to Minnesota. All four teams have winning records which will be a good test for the Bulls heading into the playoffs. We have not shown up against winning teams, but we have played much better at home than on the road, so ideally, we can come away with at least two wins from this final stretch.
The first game probably poses the biggest challenge, going up against Giannis who has been playing out of his mind, doing his best to make his case for MVP. In three games against the Bulls this year, the Greek Freak has put up 30 – 34 – 25 points on 48%, 55% and 75% FG% respectively. The Bulls, like most teams, simply don’t have an answer for him. Giannis is going to get his, but if we can contain Khris Middleton and company, we may be able to put up a fight.
The second night of the back-to-back may be a preview of the first round of the playoffs depending on where teams end up landing in the final standings. Robert Williams being out for the season definitely helps sway the odds in the Bulls’ favor, but the Tatum/Brown tandem is always a force to be reckoned with. The Bulls do have strong perimeter defense which will help slow down Boston’s offensive attack, but they are strong defensively as well. We will need to be on our game, and will likely need a big game out of Vooch, as well as our bench, if we want to steal a win in this one.
The final home game of the season we will be paired up against the Charlotte Hornets. Lamelo has had a fantastic season, but this is probably the most winnable of all four games. The Bulls will need to win this one and hope to carry that momentum on the road to Minnesota where the season will wrap up. I can only hope that we have our seeding locked up prior to heading to play the T-Wolves. Kat and Ant Man are no joke, and they have been playing very well in the back half of the season – not something I can say about the Bulls.
We are currently sitting in 5th place in the East, with the Raptors right on our heels. We have a tough schedule ahead, but will need to finish strong to maintain our spot in the East. If the season ended today, we would match up against the 76ers – the Raptors would be matching up against the Bucks. If I had my choice of the two, I would rather play the 76ers – they have less team chemistry (just like the Bulls) and having the opportunity to knock Harden out of the playoffs would give me that much more to root for.
You can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ give me your thoughts on ideal playoff matchups for the Bulls or for your team if you aren’t a Bulls fan. As always, thanks for reading, have a great week, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 3rd, 2022Photo Credit: https://s1.ticketm.net/dam/a/172/074c3535-bfcf-49e2-a0f9-03d947862172_1340171_TABLET_LANDSCAPE_LARGE_16_9.jpg
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The Return of Lonzo?
Coach Billy Donovan said yesterday that Lonzo Ball was ramping up his rehab, with no set date to return to the line up. “With the amount of time he had off to kinda let things calm down, he’s not going to go ‘0-to-60, They’ll be each day a little bit more to see how he does. But that process is going to start now just to see how he responds.” This is good news for Bulls fans as we all hope to have a complete line-up by playoff time.
Lonzo is truly an integral part of this team’s success, and that has been apparent in the second half of the season. Getting Ball back along side Caruso really helps to bolster our defense, but his presence is also a massive contribution on the offensive end. The added defense helps lead to getting easy buckets in transition, and we’ve all see his passing ability on the break. The defensive strategy against the Bulls as of late has been to trap DeMar DeRozan, and it has been somewhat successful. Our option when they trap is to get the ball to the open player near the free throw line, generally this is Vucevic, who is a great passer for a big man. In last night’s game against the Lakers, we saw Caruso flash to this spot on the floor to receive the ball, and he found a cutting Patrick Williams, who finished it off with a dunk. My point is, that Lonzo bringing the ball up the court allows DeMar to work more off the ball, but it also allows Lonzo (our best play maker) to be the one receiving the ball and making the right pass if they choose to trap, which is dangerous. Lonzo also adds another 3 point shooter to the floor which we have desperately needed. Getting Lonzo Ball back on the court forces teams to change the way they defend the Bulls. It creates more space for everyone on the court, and Lonzo has the ability to find players and make difficult passes look easy. His vision and playmaking would be a major relief for our offense, and we wouldn’t need to consistently rely on DeMar to put the team on his back late in games. Throw in his defense on top of all of that, and I think the Bulls could really turn some heads and prove some of the doubters wrong. *Cough* Ryen Russillo *Cough*.
In the meantime, the Bulls need Vooch to make good, smart passes from that pocket when DeMar gets doubled, and our shooters need to knock down 3’s and cut to the basket. 5 games left in the regular season, let’s hope to finish strong, secure our spot in the playoffs, and get our lineup back to full strength.
You can find me on Twitter @GreNBA_ let me know if you think Lonzo can be the difference maker for the Bulls. Can the Bulls be a threat to take down the East if they are at full strength? As always, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend, this is All Net!
Jacob Grenemeier
April 1st, 2022
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