Das Okaaaay....

The Chicago Bulls haven't failed many tests this season. By now you've no doubt heard that the Bulls haven't lost two games in a row since the beginning of February, and they haven't lost three in a row all season. That's all fine and good, but that's the regular season. This is the playoffs, where the game is way more intense, and the pressure is on in every possession of every game. Game 3 was certainly a microcosm of that line of thinking.

While there will certainly be many media members that will use the word "pivotal" to describe the Miami Heat winning game 3, but I will not be one of them. That's not to suggest that Game 3 wasn't important in this series. It was important, but not for the reasons many people will think.

Many people will say that Carlos Boozer's awful defense was to blame for tonight's loss, and overlook his 26 points and 17 boards. Others will point out the awful game Joakim Noah had (1 point, 5 rebounds) as a main factor. Many Heat fans will point out that Chris Bosh was on a mission tonight during his 34 point orgasm, in addition to the Heat playing terrific physical team defense. And where would I be without mentioning that the conspiracy theorists will no doubt point to the inconsistent and, at times, awful officiating as the biggest culprit for the Bulls loss.

They will all have a point to some degree, but that's not the way I see it. The one with the biggest responsibility for this loss, wears #1. Derrick Rose, in short, was not "Derrick Rose, league MVP" tonight, and he is the reason the Bulls did not emerge victorious this evening.

You've seen me write it for quite some time, dear readers. The Bulls formula for success this season, (more or less), has been to wear out their opponents for three quarters, and then Derrick Rose takes over and puts teams away in the fourth quarter. Rose had two fourth quarter points tonight. The Heat continue to double team Rose as they have all series, but made several adjustments which confused Rose and didn't allow him to distribute as he normally has been able to. Statistically, it added up to 21 points, with 8 assists in 41 plus minutes.

When Rose is on his game, he has around 30 points and double digit assists. You can look at his last 7 playoff games numbers to see he's been around these numbers until recently. You can also see in those numbers that shooting 30% from the field is a rare occurrence for Rose as well.

Rose himself said after the game, "I guess I have to be more aggressive. They're closing down the paint. They're a good defensive team and loading up on one side. We have to find a way to get easier baskets." I agree with him.

With all that said however, this series is far from over. Give credit to the Heat and the oft-maligned coach Erik Spoelstra. They adjusted. They had a plan for the Bulls, and it worked. It's now the Bulls, specifically Tom Thibodeau's move. Thibs will need to come up with a new plan, and I have no doubt he will. He has all season when faced with similar situations. The fact that he needed to do that before tonight's game, doesn't bother me.

If the Heat are going to count on Chris Bosh doing this every night, and Derrick Rose being a non-factor from here on out, then that's good news for the Bulls. I have complete confidence in Thibs, Rose, Noah, Deng, and Boozer to rise to the occasion and even this series with a win in game 4.

Now if we can somehow get Noah to stop using gay slurs on camera....

Good Start

Hello fellow readers. I've been away longer than I care to be, and for that I apologize. In between yelling at Chicago Sun-Times hack columnist Joe Cowley via Twitter, and taking extended golf trips with family to New Mexico, some exciting things are happening with the Chicago Bulls.

The aforementioned Bulls have advanced to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 1998. Even though it's not a surprise to me that they've gotten this far, it's still very significant, exciting, and remarkable in terms of appreciating how fascinating this team is.

That being said, this is not the time to wax poetic about them, because the Eastern Conference Finals is not the end of this 2011 Chicago Bulls movie. As I eluded to earlier, this team's goal is to win the NBA Championship. Their victory tonight over the Miami Heat has gotten the Bulls one step closer to reaching that goal.

Tonight's win, was textbook 2011 Bulls. The Bulls won't dominate teams from the opening tip. The won't muscle teams around with big bruising frontcourt play. They won't run up and down the floor or try to finesse teams in any way. The Bulls M.O., is to out-work teams in every facet of the game (offensive rebounding and second chance points in particular) for three quarters, and then league MVP Derrick Rose puts teams away in the 4th quarter.

Some of the most telling stats for me tonight included the following : The score being tied at 48 at the half, and then Heat only putting up 34 second half points, compared to the Bulls 55 second half points speaks volumes to the coaching of NBA Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau. Three point field goal percentage tells part of the story of this one, as the Bulls shot 10-21 beyond the arch, while the Heat were 3-8. Oh and those rebounding totals? That would be the Bulls with 45, to the Heat's 33.

Defensively, the Bulls seem content with allowing Bosh to get his points and rebounds, while focusing on Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. The strategy worked as Wade and James combined for 33 points scored total, while Bosh himself scored 30. They've utilized this approach during all three regular season victories over the Heat, and so far so good.

With all that said however, I don't think the Bulls run away with this series by any means. As a matter of fact I believe the Bulls will drop game 2 on Wednesday, simply because Miami is too good of a team to not adjust to what they saw tonight. Still, that's another blog post, for another time.

Overall, I predict the Bulls win this series in 6 games, and will most likely play Dallas in the NBA Finals. As for right now, this series will be a back and forth affair early on, but I still maintain the Bulls will emerge victorious.

Start The Buses...

I promised myself that I would wait until the playoffs started before I would write about the Bulls this season. Since the regular season will end this week, I might as well post now. One of the reasons I wanted to wait was because I just wasn't sure what the Bulls were as a team. Obviously they were going to be an improved basketball team from the Vinny Del Negro Era, but I wasn't sure how much improvement would be made in one offseason.

We're all aware of the slew of the moves that were made in said offseason, but the one move that didn't get made was signing LeBron James. After "The Decision" fallout and the dust finally settled, the early indications appeared that the Bulls were little more than "Utah Jazz East". A solid regular season team, that would be just good enough to get eliminated in the second or third round of the playoffs, in other words. My, oh my, were we wrong...

The Chicago Bulls are going to win the NBA Championship in two months, there I said it. I know it's almost become fashionable to say, write, or express it among many media constituents, but it's safe to take this one to the bank. This Bulls team might not be the flashiest, experienced, or the most "star powered" team in the league, but none of that will matter in the end. The Bulls will win the championship because they are the best team in the NBA, point blank.

Look, we all know about Derrick Rose this season. The fact that Rose has improved tremendously as an outside shooter, at the foul line, and defensively is not a secret to anyone except Dan LeBatard. It's a foregone conclusion that Derrick Rose will be named MVP this season (deservedly so). Derrick has ascended from promising young player to bona fide superstar in just three NBA seasons, but Derrick alone is not the reason the Bulls will win.

The Bulls will win mainly because they are the best overall defensive team in the NBA. Tom Thibodeau's team defense is one of the most stifling defensive units I've ever seen. The Bulls play such tremendous help defense, in which all 5 players on the floor show the ability to recognize where the play is going, and where each other's responsibilities are, night in and night out. From Joakim Noah becoming arguably the best low post defender in the league, to Luol Deng finally being able to defend small forwards, to Keith Bogan's ability to be physical with opposing shooting guards, the Bulls can match up against any opponent and shut them down.

The statistics reflect it too. The Bulls are second in the league in points allowed per game at 91.2 (only .4 off the Boston Celtics average). They are fourth the league in steals. They are first in three point field goal percentage, and first in three pointers allowed in the league. They are also first in opponent field goal percentage in the league. The best part is however, that despite leading the league as a team in these categories, you won't find any single Bulls player in the top 5 of any defensive category. Truly reflecting the team concept of help defense the Bulls appear to be mastering as the season moves on.

In the end, the Bulls will net the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the MVP (Rose), Coach Of The Year (Thibs), and Executive Of The Year (Gar-Pax), all of which are deserved. They've already locked up the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are one game out from the number 1 seed overall.

LeBron who?

Looking For The Reset Button...

I hate this time of year. It happens every time, and now thanks to the NFL changing when the Pro-Bowl is played, this time of year got here even quicker than normal. The Pro-Bowl is usually the annual symbolic "funeral" for my 2010 Sports Season. I'm used to it being held after the Super Bowl and once it's over, it's pretty much hibernation time for me until baseball starts.

This year though (as it was last year), it's held the week before the Super Bowl. After watching about 10-15 minutes of it yesterday I had to laugh. The "efforts" or lack thereof from the NFL'S best players was comical. The version of Julius Peppers that takes plays off, was on FULL display yesterday as he literally jogged when the ball was snapped-and I DONT' blame him in the least! You can tell that the players are not going to kill themselves and shorten their lifespans for games that don't mean anything, and I believe yesterday's Pro-Bowl reflected that. So now we're left with a Super Bowl with two teams that I absolutely despise. After that, it's a slow burn.

Look I get it, the Chicago Bulls are doing things record wise that they haven't done since 1996-97. That's wonderful, believe me, and I have been watching them regularly even though I haven't written about them. Is it me, or does anyone else get the feeling that despite how well the Bulls have played, they can still go out there and get trounced by 30 on any given night? I just don't see them as a dominant team, but rather a very good team that will more than likely get bounced by Boston, Orlando, or Miami in the postseason. I guess I'm uneasy about a team that 65% of it's offense comes from the point guard.

Then you have the Blackhawks, who won't get interesting until the last month of the season. Lance Armstrong had a big "Expose" in sports illustrated two weeks ago, but it didn't really reveal anything interesting or new. Speaking of steroids, Tiger Woods still sucks at golf without them. College Basketball is still a joke as every year the Player Of The Year will be won by a Freshman, and then off to the NBA he'll go.

I guess what I'm saying is, we've got a long road ahead of us until April, but I promise you my loyal readers, that I'll do everything I can to keep it fun until then. So if my postings suck even more than they usually do for a while, hang in there my friends. I'm looking for the Reset button.

Better...

Scottie Pippen took his rightful place in the NBA Hall Of Fame this weekend. He was a godsend in many ways as a player for the Bulls because of what he was able to do on the court, as well as being able to check his ego about being the focal point in deference to M.J. Pippen not only was a better than average scorer, but also excelled in the position of point-forward and was as hellacious as they come on defense. It is not a stretch to say that Pippen was as vital a component to the Bulls Dynasty of the 1990's as Jordan was, and that there wouldn't be 6 championship banners hanging in the United Center without Scottie Pippen.

As far as Pippen off the court??? Eh...Pippen was known for many years as "No Tippen Pippen" among bars and restaurants in Chicago due to his frugality. He was also no stranger to police blotter as he was investigated over the years for gun charges as well as DUI, but wasn't convicted. The most famous incident Pippen is notorious for (besides his asking out of the last shot play in 1994 Eastern Conference Semi's), was his handling of his long term contract status, and the grief he caused Jerry Krause, despite Krause cautioning Pippen to not sign the long term deal. Eventually Pippen realized over the years that Jerry Krause DID treat him fairly in that situation, and the two of them did kiss and makeup.

As far as his speech? It was far from graceful or eloquent, but compared to Jordan's Hall Of Fame speech, Pippen's was way more enjoyable, simply because Pippen showed humility and gratitude, unlike Jordan who took that opportunity to settle scores of all the people who have "Wronged Him".

So congratulations to Scottie Pippen for taking his well-deserved place among the NBA's All Time Greats! For all the ups and downs, it was a helluva run for the Bulls and us Bulls fans.

Parting Shots

The Beard will be taking his act out on the road starting Thursday. I shall return Monday with fresh thoughts and perspectives, but before I go here are some quick hits:

• I absolutely LOVE that USC is sending Bush's Heisman Trophy from 2005 back! Good luck with Pat Hayden as the new Athletic Director. Not sure what he's going to do? Maybe nothing, or maybe he just needs to be some B.S. Face of Integrity for the university? Either way, I love that USC is being forced to pay the piper. Believe it or not, I'm hearing from these ignorant, arrogant, and self-indulgent USC fans and alumni claiming that they are being "unfairly singled out". If by unfairly singled out, they mean, "It sucks that we got caught cheating" then yes, my hemmorhoids bleed for you Trojan Nation. Go screw yourselves.
• Imagine that, Bobby Jenks blew another win for the White Sox tonight. Jenks gave away the Sox best chance of sweeping the Mariners in Seattle since 1994. So congrats to him on another dubious milestone achieved. I've already shared my thoughts on how much he needs to be removed as the closer post-haste. Hopefully tonight gives Ozzie enough cause to do exactly that as the Sox head into Oakland.
• The rumor mill is circling and candidates Ryne Sandberg, Bob Brenly want to manage the Cubs, and hell even Joe Torre won't rule himself out as a possible candidate. Again, it's going to take more than a good manager to make a winner out of this bunch, and I still don't care what Ricketts said, I don't believe Jim Hendry is back next year.
• The Bulls are supposedly working out Tracy McGrady. YAWN. McGrady is so washed up parents tell their kids to "Tracy McGrady" before they go to bed.

See you guys soon!!!

Brains & Balls

Well the Chicago Bulls decided to turn it up a notch today, and not a moment too soon. The day started ominously for the Bulls with the news that Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will be together in Miami Heat uniforms for the upcoming season. Wade and Bosh also had plans of trying to lure LeBron down to Miami as well.

Not a good start to say the least. It certainly didn't get any better with multiple reports of LeBron heading to the Knicks, which also included little nuggets like MSG stock trading through the roof today with the understanding that LeBron to the Knicks is a done deal. There was also news of the Nets being very close to signing Carlos Boozer in an effort to lure LeBron to signing with the Nets. The Bulls pursuit of LeBron seemed to be on life-support, as well as their plans to at least walk away with one splashy free agent signing. Just when it seemed like it was all over...the Bulls sprang back to life.

They managed to do so by not only indicating that they haven't been told "no" by LeBron and his camp yet, but also by stealing away Carlos Boozer and signing him to a 5 year, $75-$76 million dollar range! Carlos Boozer, in my opinion, is a much better fit for what the Bulls are going to do this year. Tom Thibodeau is a staunch believer in defense, and Boozer is much more committed to defense, aggressive low-post play, and while not the scorer Chris Bosh may be, isn't exactly Joakim Noah with the ball either.

What does this mean for the Bulls signing LeBron? Probably nothing, especially with late word out of Miami that LeBron is meeting with Pat Riley, but at least they've done something smart and gutsy. At worst case scenario, the Bulls got a Two Time All-Star who is a really good player and a really good fit for what they want to do. Boozer has also said he will try to lure his one time teammate to signing with the Bulls as well. So maybe this signing will either directly or indirectly get LeBron to sign? It's still anybodys guess but at least the Bulls showed they are NOT out of the running.  

On a side note, ESPN has really embarrassed themselves by deciding to air this special tomorrow. Think about it, if you are supposed to be one of ESPN's Inside Reporters (say for the sake of argument Rick Bucher) and you get a lock-down-money-in-the-bank confirmation that LeBron is definitely signing with Team X...you cannot report it because ESPN is in the conflict of interest position of trying to drum up television ratings for tomorrow night! Yet another nail in the coffin for the Worldwide Leader's Journalistic Integrity. Shameful...

Weekend Forecast : Soccer-y With A Chance Of Meatball

Busy weekend coming up. My suddenly baseball proficient Chicago White Sox take on the Cubs at the Cell this weekend (good luck to my family and friends attending Saturdays game). It will be interesting to see if they can keep up their dominance over the National League in addition to adding to their 9 game winning streak. Also USA Soccer, fresh off of their exhilarating victory over Algeria, take on Ghana on Saturday. Let's hope that the US Team only has to play the Ghana team rather than the Ghana team AND the refs.  USA! USA! USA!

On the NBA Draft front, I'm ecstatic at what the Bulls did. They freed up more money and dealt a player in Kirk Hinrich that while solid, was never going to be better than what he is. I mean honestly, can you name a moment in Hinrich's Bulls career that made you say "Oh My God!"? I'm having trouble finding one at the moment. Also I had a funny exchange with someone who tried to tell me that Corey  Maggette is a good to great player, until I pointed out that Maggette has never made an all-star team, an all-NBA team, or lead the league in any statistical category EVER. Maggette will always be a guy that could have done anything he wanted to with his ability but immediately stopped caring when he got paid, and essentially is still the same player he was his rookie year.

Apparently a player with that skill set is worth 5 years at $50 million. Bad...

LeBron Update Part III

So after firing Vinny Del Negro and telling everyone that they wanted to hire a Head Coach with previous head coaching experience, they hire Tom Thibodeau...who has NEVER been the head coach at either the Division One college level, or the NBA. Ummmmm....OK? That kind of doesn't seem consistent, but whatever. I can't help but wonder if Tom took a page out of the Vinny Del Negro interview book, and did nothing but talk about how important defense is in the NBA, to sell himself to Gar-Pax? At least with Thibodeau, there is a much bigger body of work to show that he actually means it when he says it.

The only thing that really matters though, is how this will affect LeBron James decision to join the Bulls. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that this coaching hire will really help the Bulls land James. The connection being that, not only William Wesley telling people that LeBron really wants to play for the Bulls, but also that Tom Thibodeau also signed with William Wesley's Creative Artists Agency (CAA). OK. On the surface it seems like a stretch that a middle man having the same agency as a coach would be enough to get the biggest superstar in the NBA to sign with your team. I will not discount however, the power and influence that CAA has, as well as Wesley.

We'll obviously see where this goes, but for the time being I'll raise the LeBron Clock to 40%, and hope like hell it becomes 100% less than a month from now...

LeBron Update Part II

There's been a little more news regarding the possibility of LeBron joining the Bulls. The first piece of news to hit this morning was Michael Jordan's former agent David Faulk going out of his way to say that Chicago is the last place LeBron James should go because "he will always compete with Michael Jordan...He should not play in L.A.; he will always compete with Kobe Bryant. LeBron needs his own identity." Thankfully John Jackson did most of my homework in terms of summarizing my reaction. I'm beginning to wonder if David Faulk has ever watched a sporting event, because that opinion is the most ridiculously illogical thought one could possibly offer about LeBron. Should Larry Bird not have gone to the Celtics because of the 5 MVP's and 11 championships Bill Russell won as a Boston Celtic? Or better yet, should Kevin Garnett not have gone to the Celtics because of the 3 championships, and 3 MVP's Larry Bird won? I won't even get into how many great players the Lakers have had over the last 50 years...

The second piece of news involves James himself being interviewed by Larry King. When asked if the Cleveland Cavaliers have the inside track he said, "Absolutely...Because, you know, this city, these fans, I mean, have given me a lot in these seven years. And, you know, for me, it's comfortable. So I've got a lot of memories here. And so it does have an edge." It's anybody's guess if he really means that, or if he's just trying to give himself an "out" by putting the ownership of the Cavs retaining him directly on the Cavs Front Office.

Either way though, James has tipped his hand one way or another. I still personally believe that the Bulls have a good chance to get him, but since he said what he said, I'm going to lower the LeBron Clock to 35%. Again though, as Doctor Manhattan pointed out in the film Watchmen "I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man."

Go Get Your Shinebox Dwayne!

Speaking of the Bulls, Dwayne Wade decided to open his mouth this week and complain about the Bulls lack of "loyalty" as a reason why he would be wary of signing with them. "I see Michael Jordan is not there, Scottie Pippen is not there. … You know, these guys are not a part..Things like that. So that is probably one of the biggest things for me, because I am a very loyal person." You have got to be friggan KIDDING ME!? That might be the dumbest thing he's ever said in his life right next to "I, do" to that crazy woman he's now divorcing. There's a million things wrong with it, but I'll keep it simple.

First of all, Wade says he's a loyal person, yet he's talking about signing with another team!? How loyal is THAT Dwayne? It seems that Wade has no issue or qualms with the business of professional sports when it allows him to get top dollar from the highest bidder, but he also feels can selectively call somebody else's perceived lack of loyalty into question when it doesn't apply to him? That is inconsistent at best, flat out ignorant at worst. Not to mention, how stupid it is to publicly disparage a potential suitor in negotiation tactics. Even if he really feels that way, his agents and lawyers should have stopped him immediately from sharing that opinion because they know he's sabotaging his own cause with those remarks.

Secondly, and most importantly in my opinion, he is just FLAT OUT WRONG. If anything, the Bulls have been too loyal over the years. Let's start with his feelings about Jordan and Pippen not being "there". Jordan wanted/felt entitled to a piece of ownership with the Bulls. The Bulls (very presciently I might add) said no. He went to Washington D.C., ruined that organization, was seen attending Bulls games in the owners luxury box in 2003-04, became a half-assed GM and now owner/ruiner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Oh and by the way...his silly statue is still outside the north gates at the United Center. Pippen was given a golden parachute of a sign-and-trade contract in 1999, came back in 2003 and retired as a Bull, plus had his number retired. Sounds like they've been treated pretty fairly to The Beard...

Now let's get to the meat and potatoes of how loyal the Bulls have been, particularly to the non-superstar players. Jay Williams certainly feels they were really loyal to him in 2003, especially when they had every right to walk away from him (pun). Bob Love also feels they've not only been loyal to him, but pretty caring and nurturing as well. The Bulls also flew Bill Cartwright around the world looking for the best specialist available when he damaged his larynx in a game years ago(incidentally Cartwright knows who injured him, but he still won't say). Randy Brown was pawning his championship rings because he was flat broke, when the Bulls gave him a job as an assistant - a job which didn't exist until Brown needed one. Pete Myers has been the interim coach twice now, and the Bulls have always taken care of him since he first played for them in 1986. Also, isn't somebody still the Bulls GM even though he's had every reason to be fired? Once again, sounds like the Bulls are pretty loyal to me...

I don't care how nice of a guy Wade supposedly is. I don't care that he backed off his original statement. I don't care that he's going through a horrible and acrimonious divorce. I don't care that he give 10% of his salary to his church, and his other philanthropic works. I don't care that it's most likely Michael Jordan putting these dumb ideas in his head that the Bulls aren't loyal. None of that matters because it doesn't replace the fact that he's not smart enough to see through MJ's B.S., and that he basically doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. So to paraphrase Billy Batts in Goodfellas, "Go Get Your F*cking SHINEBOX!" and stay in Miami you dummy.

Not So Fast My Friend - LeBron Update Part One

There's a certain type of freedom, that comes with being totally screwed. The Chicago White Sox have already let me know that their season is over. The Chicago Cubs have also decided not to be competitive this season either. So there's no real reason to watch either team with any emotional interest other than comedic value. Both Bay Area baseball teams are fine, but that's for another blog. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Bears are more than likely going to be awful next season as well. Were it not for the Blackhawks, I might have to suspend myself from sports for a while.

Since I can't do that, I still need something to occupy my time especially if/when the Hawks win Lord Stanley's Cup. So even though I know better than to get caught up in this, I'm going to cast aside my own personal misgivings on writing about speculation, and join in the circus with my feelings about the upcoming LeBron James Sweepstakes.

One of the main reasons I will be following this story closely is because it does involve the Chicago Bulls at some level. The Cavs season hasn't even been over a week yet, and that still hasn't stopped the endless speculation as to what LeBron wants, where he wants to go, how much money does he want, and what is most important to him. In terms of numbers, the Bulls only have $32 million dollars committed to 6 players for the 2010-2011 season. The only teams with less money committed are the Nets, Knicks, Heat, and the Wizards. Of those teams, the only one that has pieces that would rival the Bulls, is the Nets in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez.

So the Bulls are definitely an option for LeBron. Which means we now have to watch for signs between now and July 1 in terms of how interested LeBron is in becoming a Chicago Bull. Here's what I've heard so far:

• Despite what Deadspin has attempted to debunk here, Dan Bernstein of WSCR-AM has reported that there is truth to the Delonte West-Gloria James tryst and LeBron finding out about it recently. Also, as the rumor goes, this is serving as the final straw that LeBron has made up his mind to leave Cleveland.


• Charles Oakley is claiming to have an inside glimpse into LeBron's thought process and he states "Chicago or Miami, not New York".


• Bernstein has also confirmed that there has been "contact" between the Bulls and Phil Jackson. Obviously whatever contact has been made is limited at best since there are tampering rules in play here, but contact has been made none the less. I'm guessing it's Phil's agent doing all the talking.

So that's what I got so far. I have a feeling if baseball keeps being this bad, these updates will be coming daily...

Bye Bye

I'd like to start off by saying first and foremost, I don't hate Vinny Del Negro. I really don't. I always liked him as a player all the way from when he was at NC State. He seems like a nice enough guy. He's never (to my knowledge) been boorish, or a jerk to anyone. He's been fair with the media, fans, his teammates and players throughout his career. He was put in a pretty unfair situation by a GM who hired Vinny as a bailout for not landing Mike D'Antoni. There were also other things that happened to this Bulls team that were out of his control.

Yet 24 hours later my reaction to the Bulls exit from the postseason is still, "Please for don't let it hit you in the ass on the way out too Vinny." Rick Morrisey had the best line in his column today when he said Vinny was nothing more than a "Point A to Point A" guy. That's absolutely correct because Vinny wasn't ready to be a head coach in the first place, and hasn't done anything with this team that any other coach couldn't have done. Maybe he will be a good head coach someday, but that won't change the fact that he was a bad one with the Bulls.

I've covered the many reasons over the past season for why Vinny should have been let go a long time ago i.e. blowing a 35 point lead at home to the Kings, losing twice to the Nets, etc. There's another ultimate, much more tangible reason though, and that reason is a reason I've heard time and time again. The reason is that basketball Head Coaches ultimately earn their money and reputation one way only, and that's how successful they are at drawing up out of bounds plays to give someone an open look following a time out. Fairly, or unfairly, that is the ultimate measuring stick for coaches in any level of basketball. Vinny was just completely inept when it came to this skill. You only needed to watch this last game, when he was drawing up plays for Flip Murray...FLIP MURRAY!

So while the Del Negro era is soon to be over, a new much more interesting era begins. I haven't the foggiest idea of who the Bulls next head coach will be? What I do know is that there's a WHOLE lot of Cap Space now, and the Bulls are committed to bringing a superstar(s) player into the fold via Free Agency. Whether they hire a coach first before going out and spending money on players remains to be seen. Personally I'm hoping they do hire a coach first and make a firm commitment to him contractually. That way it tells any potential free agent that if you come to the Bulls you are going to play for this guy no matter what happens.

Like I've said before, now the real Bulls season can begin...

Dong-Whipped

If someone would have told The Beard ten years ago, or fifteen years ago, or better yet twenty years ago, that the Bulls would be in the playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers...and the prospect of watching the series would seem like such a chore, that person would have won a lot of money from me.

Nevertheless here we are. The Bulls have made one of the most perfunctory playoff runs which - minus a few exceptions - is playing out the way it is supposed to with the Cavs taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. We've already discussed why this Bulls team has made a playoff appearance completely uninteresting - Vinny will be fired no matter what, the expiring contracts to free up money for free agents next year, blah blah, blah...The only thing left really is to point out the obvious even further.

The obvious being that the Cavs are simply a much better team. You get the sense that they are simply toying with the Bulls the past two games. Tonight's game really summed up this matchup pretty succinctly. The Bulls were down ten, then with superb efforts from Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Flip Murray, and Luol Deng, scratched and clawed their way back into the game, and had a lead in the second half at one point. Then with the score 85-82 Cavs, LeBron decided to be LeBron by dominating the fourth quarter on his way to 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

The one thing that I will point out in terms of things I can look for, is that we're learning something about LeBron that the jury was largely still out on. We're learning just how much of a Killer Instinct he possesses, particularly against guys dumb enough to talk sh*t about him like Joakim Noah. Noah has dug his own verbal grave a couple times in this series with his opinions on Kevin Garnett and the city of Cleveland in general, but in case you don't remember, there was also an incident between LeBron and Noah in December this season and here's the video footage of it. Noah took exception to LeBron's frequent "rug cutting" that he's displayed over his career, and when Noah told him so, LeBron didn't appreciate the criticism.

With 4:30 left in the fourth quarter tonight, LeBron hit a 3 pointer over Noah, glared at the Bulls bench, and started dancing on his way to 11 straight points to close out the game. It's that kind of performance that tells me that LeBron does have the ability to turn on the switch and do what Doug Collins says the truly great players in the NBA know how to do - close out both the FIRST half and the SECOND half.

The Cavs Dong-Whipping of the Bulls will continue on Thursday night where it looks like they will complete the sweep on Sunday. The sooner the better in my odd little world because the sooner this season ends, the more interesting the Bulls will become as a subject.

Apparently You CAN Screw Up A Cup Of Coffee...

The Bulls clinched the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs tonight beating the Charlotte Jordan's 98-89, but that's not what the main news story is.

In case you've been in a coma for the past 24 hours Yahoo Sports once again punked the Chicago Tribune's Bulls Beat Writer KC Johnson and broke the story of John Paxson shoving Vinny Del Negro on March 30 after Del Negro went over the allowable playing time minutes for Joakim Noah and his plantar fasciitis (aka "Carlos Quentin Disease"). Various sources have different takes on who initiated what and how often this sort of thing has happened. Gar Forman also did his perfunctory downplay statement, with a "Da Fiiiire and Da Passion" excuse, which anyone with a pulse knows that's B.S.

There's a million things about this story to be angry about, but I'll try to keep them as focused as I can. The first and most obvious to me, is how is Yahoo Sports breaking this story, and not the damn Chicago Tribune Bulls beat writer?! KC Johnson's official reason for not reporting it was "OUT OF RESPECT FOR VINNY". If I'm KC's boss at the Trib, my first reaction to that would be "WTF?!". My second reaction would be "YOU'RE FIRED!" That is so inexcusable it's almost sickening. "Respecting Vinny" is not KC's job description, it's reporting what he knows to be fact. He knew about it, yet chose to bury it for reasons that have nothing to do with journalism. If your respect for Vinny is too much for you to do your job, then go do something else KC.

As far as what actually happened, I'm of the opinion that John Paxson did in fact initiate the contact by putting his hands on Vinny. I was discussing this with a friend of mine today, John Paxson had already done enough to justify being fired before this incident ever took place. It's my contention that he ceased being able to do what's best for the franchise on December 24, 2007 when he fired Scott Skiles because Skiles was guilty of the crime of telling Paxson the truth - that this team couldn't win as currently constructed. Paxson disagreed and promptly fired him with a 9-16 record, and thus chased away one of the best young coaches in the NBA. Since Paxson's idiotic decision, Skiles has the Bucks in the playoffs this year after they were picked to finish dead last in the East and is being rumored as the Coach Of The Year winner.

Speaking of people who have done enough to be fired, the same thing can be applied to Vinny Del Negro. For people like Charles Barkley who look at the Bulls from 35,000 feet above, they see back to back playoff appearances with a largely mediocre team. For people who have actually paid attention to this team though, they see a team that lost to the Nets TWICE (2 of the Nets 12 wins), as well as a team that blew a 35 point lead and lost to the Kings this season. Why The Beard himself was calling for Vinny to be fired in December, yet it didn't happen. The initial rumor as to why that didn't happen was because the Bulls didn't want to get into a Jim Boylan Interim situation as they did in 2007-08, but the juiciest rumor I heard was that Paxson himself would have been named Head Coach, and he was unwilling to do that.

So factor all of these little things in, plus - according to one account- Paxson saying to Vinnie "I should have fired you a long time ago" and Vinny responding in kind with a "F*CK YOU! DO IT NOW THEN!" and it's pretty much academic that Paxson put his hands on him in my mind.

Bottom line, a house cleaning is order just on principle alone. Don't give me this excuse of "Well who do you hire then?" garbage. There are plenty of candidates that know not to let things escalate to that. Players putting their hands on each other is one thing. Management and front office employees - regardless of who started it - is a completely different issue altogether. It should never be tolerated by any organization worth it's salt, let alone an organization that is poised to make a run at the 2010 Free Agent Class I.E. LeBron James. It's already obvious Vinny is going to be launched after this season anyway. It would be best to launch Paxson too if you are trying to be taken seriously by the available free agents.

Let's hope that Jerry Reinsdorf feels the same way.

Reaaaaaally? Nahhhh....Well?????

Normally I abstain from addressing rumors regarding possible free agent signings or reported trades, etc since 90-95% of them end up not being true. However, I couldn't help but notice this little gem in the New York Daily News, that states that the Bulls could be a "Dark horse" in the upcoming LeBron James Free Agent Sweepstakes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...Again, it's probably B.S., since it's been a foregone conclusion that he wants to go to the Knicks and the Knicks are going to throw everything they have at him. Still, as a Bulls fan, it does make your mind wonder on the possibilities. Not just because LeBron is LeBron, but mainly because this Bulls team is perfectly built as a supporting cast. It's just missing a superstar small forward who can score, pass, defend, make All Star Appearances, and take over games whenever he feels like it, i.e. LeBron.

Per usual whenever The Beard becomes aware of such rumors, they get filed under the "I'll believe it when it happens" label. However, if the unthinkable does happen, and LeBron ends up a Bull, Chicago will go nuts and Bulls games will become the "events" they used to be during the Jordan Era.

Thanks But No Thanks Houston...

So it appears that the Bulls are going to go the safe route during this trading deadline and agreed to trade John Salmons to the Milwaukee Bucks for either Hakeem Warrick and Joe Alexander or Kurt Thomas and The Immortal Francisco Elson, despite the reports that the Bulls were close to a deal to obtain Tracy McGrady. The move eliminates the possibility of Salmons exercising his $5.8 million player option next season, and puts the Bulls in the best possible position to nab a legit superstar free agent for 2010-2011.

The most interesting part of this was Houston's demands in order to trade McGrady to the Bulls. The Rockets supposedly wanted Taj Gibson and multiple first round picks along with Brad Miller and Tyrus Thomas. It's very refreshing to see that GarPax went the "Kiss My Ass" route with Houston and settled for a common sense move like this one.

As Robert Montgomery Knight once said, the Bulls are now in position, to be in position for next season.

Case Of The Mondays

Even on a holiday, Monday's still happen, especially to the Chicago Bulls. They suddenly remembered that Vinny Del Negro is still their coach and promptly lost to the Golden State D-Leaguers, in one of the most perplexing idiotic losses of the season. It's the kind of loss that makes people wonder if Tim Donaghy is far from a "lone wolf" as David Stern once described him. Either way, this Bulls team continues to be, in the words of former MLB pitcher Tommy John, "consistently inconsistent".

Apparently Mike Nolan has been thrust into the discussion for the Bears open Defensive Coordinator position. He ran a 3-4 based scheme with the Bronco's last season, which had some pretty effective results. He also managed to do so without worrying about wearing a suit on the sideline. The Beard cautions his readers to not get their hopes up. Besides the fact that Nolan will be one of the most sought after coaching hires, there exists one large fundamental flaw for him to not want to work for the Bears. That flaw is that the defensive scheme is still dictated by Lovie Smith. Lovie has gone out of his way to say that whomever the Bears hire, will have to commit to his obsolete Tampa 2 based system. Smith has also said that with the addition of Mike Tice as Offensive Line coach, Tice will have a significant say on the structure of the offense. Why?! How the hell is that possible?! It's very difficult to remember a time when a team hired the offensive line coach before the offensive coordinator, and promised the o-line coach that he will have input on what offense is run. If anyone else can name it, please let me know. So far this has all the makings of another self-destructive, lame duck 5-11 season in 2010.

Finally, my uncle sent me an interesting article written a month ago in the Montreal Gazette. Here's the link to it. Jack Todd echos similar sentiments The Beard has expressed regarding Eldrick's self destruction, overall selfish, childish, and ego maniacal behavior that has always existed for those who bothered to pay attention to it prior to his wife catching him cheating. Todd also says some things that are a little goofy/inaccurate as well, namely calling Tony Dungy a "hero", writing that Jesse Helms was a South Carolina Senator (he was a North Carolina Senator), specifically going after Tiger's charitable efforts (Tiger has been plenty charitable with his foundation over his career) and suggesting that Earl Woods being alive would have prevented all this from happening, when Earl CHEATED ON HIS WIFE TOO!Again it's a two way street with Tiger. Yes he saw the opportunity to make as much money as he could by showcasing himself as a wholesome role model...no matter how shady, and exploitative his methods ended up being. He still needed a dance partner to pull it off, (i.e. mostly the myopic middle age male hero worshippers) and they bought his line of B.S. hook, line, and sinker. Sure people can be mad at him, No point in denying one's anger over their hero letting them down, but they better take a look in the mirror at themselves too. They played just as much of a part as he did, in making him the machine he was up until Thanksgiving Weekend...

Contest Part I

It seems as if the Chicago Bears and Chicago Bulls are having a contest to see which front office can be more indecisive, less certain of their long term vision, and look more inept than the other lately. It has now gotten to the point where it's being watched nationally.

Lets start with the Bulls. John Paxson's puppet Gar Forman took a pass when given the chance to give the dreaded vote of confidence to Vinny Del Negro. This is counterproductive in a couple of different ways. The time to fire Del Negro was a month ago. Vinny's length of tenure has been the beneficiary of a supposed "classic" playoff series between the Bulls and Celtics last postseason. Most people who are capable of remembering the circumstances surrounding that series however, will remember that Kevin Garnett was not playing in any of those games. Had Garnett been playing, the Bulls would have most likely been swept under the rug in 4 games post haste, and Vinny might not have survived for this season.

That didn't happen though. What did happen though (besides a record collapse to the Sacramento Kings this year) is that the Bulls have shown that the best basketball they are capable of playing...is when they ditch running Vinny's offense! Del Negro has done plenty of other things to show that firing him would be understood, and the Bulls could at least start going in another direction.

So since that hasn't happened either, you would at the very least expect some combination of Paxson or Forman or both essentially come forward and say, "Vinny is our guy for the rest of the year" and put an end to all speculation, not only for the players and fans sake, but for Del Negro's sake as well. Instead, the Bulls have decided to let everyone continue to urinate into the wind and continue to live in the netherworld of "Is this the day Vinny gets launched?". Oh and by the way, they are also doing this while allowing little rumors of Doug Collins and Lawrence Frank being spoken with by Bulls brass to periodically pop up...If the Bulls are going to go anywhere, they can't be caught in-between like this. They need firm leadership and direction from someone, be it Vinny, or Paxson/Forman, or another coach. Make no mistake about it, this is a "Take your time @ssh*le" moment for the Bulls Brass. Lets hope they make their mind up soon.