Is Chicago being overlooked in the East?

[Roundball_Rock]

It has been interesting to see how lately it has been assumed by many that Cleveland is a lock to win the East. Even the 44-12 Hawks are perceived to be a significant underdog to the Cavs. Chicago seems to be the forgotten contender at the moment. Is Chicago a sleeping giant or a team that is a pretender which will fail to approach preseason expectations?

I think the Bulls are a contender and still my pick to win the East. The Bulls sit at 35-21, only 2.5 games behind 2nd place Toronto and half a game ahead of the mighty Cavaliers. The Wizards, who once led the Bulls by several games, have now slipped to 2 games in arrears. So the Bulls clearly are in a solid position at the 2/3 mark of the season. Does this represent an apex, though?

I don't think so. The Bulls have managed to achieve a healthy record without being a healthy team. The Bulls have had their entire preferred starting lineup on the floor for only 18 games. During those games Chicago is 14-4--a 64 win pace.

The Bulls still are not playing the dominant defense that has been a hallmark of Coach Thib's tenure. It seems that just is not in the cards this year but they surely can still improve from their current 13th place defensive ranking.

The Bulls are loaded with talent. With probably the best big man in the East, a great two-way SG, and a former DPOY in Noah and a former MVP in Rose along with several solid role players like Dunleavy, Gibson, Brooks and Mirotic. The Bulls have three players capable of averaging 20 points per game. What the Bulls lack that Cleveland has is a superstar. In a superstar driven league that is a significant disadvantage. The Bulls, while possessing great collective talent, presently lack a player who can singlehandedly win a series.

This is where Rose is key. Rose can be that player. Indeed, for Chicago to win it all Rose has to be that player. Rose is averaging 19/3/5 on 41% in 31 mpg (22/4/6 per 36) and has shown flashes of brilliance. It has been a season of fits and starts for him, though. He has remained on the court for two months now and while his progress has come with poor stretches mixed in the fact is that Rose's trend line has been moving in a positive direction over the course of the season. It seems his biggest problem is mental rather than physical at this point.

Gasol has continued to play well, which should quell concerns about him being a mirage or wearing down at the end of the season. Butler, viewed as a fluke by some, continues to play at an all-star level. Noah is the one guy who concerns me because he is still not close to the Noah of last year.

If Rose can take his game up another notch with Gasol, Butler playing like all-stars, a potentially improved Noah and very good role players the Bulls have an excellent chance of coming out the East. Don't be surprised if Chicago, not Cleveland or Atlanta, does so.

[navy]

Not dominant defensively. Not dominant offensively. Unreliable Derrick Rose.

No.

They are a good team, but you have to on that ISH to put them over Cleveland or Atlanta right now. Let alone the Western Conference.

[hawksdogsbraves]

It's all 100% on Rose. If he returns to slashing 2011 MVP Rose then yes, the Bulls are contenders. If not, then they're pretenders.

I have my doubts on account of Rose is something of a mental midget.

[atljonesbro]

Always too many "ifs" with the bulls. Not enough they actually do consistently.

[Rooster]

They reminded of Detroit that went under the radar and won it all back in 2004. They were consistently good defensively and they added Rasheed Wallace and all of sudden they got someone they could throw the ball inside and make plays just like Pau is doing right now. The difference is Pau is soft defensively. But I think they go far as Rose takes them.

[T_L_P]

Always too many "ifs" with the bulls. Not enough they actually do consistently.

On the money.

[Smoke117]

No. They don't do anything at a consistent high level to be a serious threat.

[hawksdreamfan44]

They are being overlooked in the sense that there's a feel that they haven't hit their full stride yet, but even not playing up to their full potential, they've still amassed the third best record in the East.

[Lebron23]

They are always been a dangerous team when Pau Gasol is motivated. That's why the Cavalier picked up Kendrick Perkins.

[navy]

They are being overlooked in the sense that there's a feel that they haven't hit their full stride yet, but even not playing up to their full potential, they've still amassed the third best record in the East.
That's not saying much. :lol

[Heavincent]

No. They are a good, but not great team. Nothing more.

I don't hate Rose or anything, but it's time to admit that he has not been good this year. He has not even been a top 20 PG, so you're in trouble if you're banking on him returning to MVP form all of the sudden.

[Roundball_Rock]

No. They are a good, but not great team. Nothing more.

I don't hate Rose or anything, but it's time to admit that he has not been good this year. He has not even been a top 20 PG, so you're in trouble if you're banking on him returning to MVP form all of the sudden.

It is very unlikely that he will return to MVP form this year. What I think is fairly possible is him returning to top 10 player status. If he can attain that level of play and continue to serve as the team's closer, with Butler and Gasol that would be enough. He does not need to carry the offense on his back anymore.


They are being overlooked in the sense that there's a feel that they haven't hit their full stride yet, but even not playing up to their full potential, they've still amassed the third best record in the East.

Agreed. The East is underrated. The East now has 6 solid teams it would have been 7 but for the Bosh injury. It remains inferior to the West but the gap has closed considerably since last year.

A team that is 3rd in their conference usually is a contender, although not always (witness the Raptors last year). I can understand people placing Atlanta and Cleveland above Chicago but would anyone be shocked if Chicago came out the East when the dust settles?


Always too many "ifs" with the bulls.

Can't the same be said about essentially every team, though?

[beastee]

Bulls are 14-3 when their starting 5 has all been on the court this season. People are sleeping on them big time. Health is getting better, and without a setback they will be a tough out for any team.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Yes.

I don't believe Rose is at his peak this season. I have this fear that he will return to 100% form in the playoffs. We've seen glimpses of him this year where he looked great. I can't consider them a legit championship contender because there are too many IFs in the equation

IF Rose is in MVP form
IF Noah is healthy
IF their defense becomes what it used to be
IF Butler plays at an all star level
IF Thibs doesn't run his players into the ground (biggest concern)

I do think that if all of those IF's line up in the right way, they can be eastern conference champions, but I don't see them as a legit threat to beat Memphis, Spurs, or Golden State if they make the finals.

[Pointguard]

Cleveland just got a key part to be the favorites. They got another serviceable big. Two weeks ago I thought Washington gives the Cavs problems. Not anymore. Toronto, not any more. So its down to the Bulls, Clippers and somebody out West I'm not catching now to contend with the Cavs. The Hawks could surprise as I believe the Cavs can be outcoached, and theCav's are new to this, which brings SA back in the picture but they have been looking disjointed like the Bulls.

IF the past means anything, the Bulls and Spurs will hit stride in a week and be in playoff form. Yet to be seen. The Cavs have a big rotation of Thompson, Perkins, Mozgov and Love which is good not great but it does mean they have 4 bigs with different looks. They can go mean, physical, stretch, tall or different types of scoring. At the beginning of the year their front line sucked. Not no more. JR Smith when hot can be a top seven shooting guard. Lebron and Kyrie speak for themselves.

If the Bulls are healthy and on, I give them the advantage. They have had a great number of flat games this year and that has to stop today. Really don't know if Rose can get up for every game. He still can be the best PG in the game for a game or two but then other factors seem to get in the way. Gibson has been off his game for two months. Noah and Gasol haven't figured each other out yet either.

[mehyaM24]

dont think so. chicago has been inconsistent all year, so i'm not gonna make any predictions until i see them at full strength in the postseason.

at their best, i believe they're a souped up version of the 2011 squad, so in that sense they potentially have the best chances of coming out of the east. whether they can beat golden state (my favorite team to come out west) is another story.

[Pointguard]

Yes.

I don't believe Rose is at his peak this season. I have this fear that he will return to 100% form in the playoffs. We've seen glimpses of him this year where he looked great. I can't consider them a legit championship contender because there are too many IFs in the equation

IF Rose is in MVP form
IF Noah is healthy
IF their defense becomes what it used to be
IF Butler plays at an all star level
IF Thibs doesn't run his players into the ground (biggest concern)

I do think that if all of those IF's line up in the right way, they can be eastern conference champions, but I don't see them as a legit threat to beat Memphis, Spurs, or Golden State if they make the finals.
I really think that this year will depend on who is the hungriest and coaching adjustments. If that isn't telling enough how the games are called can be really big in a not so telling who is best scenario - if they call a tight game Memphis and the Bulls won't make it to the finals anyway (the Cavs/OKC and Golden State/SA will win it). If they let them play, Bulls/Atlanta/Memphis/Clippers all have better chances. I think Atlanta and the Warriors are so new to the atmosphere it works against them. A lot of calls throw off young teams and upsets their rhythm.

I think Atlanta has played the best teams better than the rest of the groups. I think Atlanta and the eight teams mentioned above don't have much separation from each other. Only the Cavs and OKC can get by without great coaching because they have star power and numerous good players. We are probably two years away from team ball being the trump card.

[Roundball_Rock]

Noah also is an X factor. If he can up his game that would be huge--I just worry that what we are seeing from him may be the "new normal." Both Noah and Gibson are not playing as well as they could--a big reason for the decline in the team's overall defense.

[Legends66NBA7]

Really ?

I still see posters saying they will go far in the playoffs, ECF bound vs the Cavs.

[poido123]

Yes.

I don't believe Rose is at his peak this season. I have this fear that he will return to 100% form in the playoffs. We've seen glimpses of him this year where he looked great. I can't consider them a legit championship contender because there are too many IFs in the equation

IF Rose is in MVP form
IF Noah is healthy
IF their defense becomes what it used to be
IF Butler plays at an all star level
IF Thibs doesn't run his players into the ground (biggest concern)

I do think that if all of those IF's line up in the right way, they can be eastern conference champions, but I don't see them as a legit threat to beat Memphis, Spurs, or Golden State if they make the finals.



:applause:


Thats pretty spot on. But I wouldnt count them out against those west teams mentioned. None of them have finals experience except the spurs.

[Nikola_]

when the league wasnt 'superstar driven' ?!?

[poido123]

Really ?

I still see posters saying they will go far in the playoffs, ECF bound vs the Cavs.


The last few Weeks?

I haven't seen much of it, no.


With the winning streak of cavs and the dominance of Atlanta, people have been talking those two teams up a lot.

No one is talking about Toronto chances. But I still think they are a slight chance if they get the right matchups.

[salwan]

the east is wide open from where I stand, so yes, the bulls can absolutely win it.

however, I'm more concerned with Noah than rose. I fear that he's had his career year last season. his injuries are a red flag. in addition, he and gasol are not really a great fit

[poido123]

Noah also is an X factor. If he can up his game that would be huge--I just worry that what we are seeing from him may be the "new normal." Both Noah and Gibson are not playing as well as they could--a big reason for the decline in the team's overall defense.


We are not factoring in something here, desperation/desire. When the spurs lost in heartbreaking fashion to the heat in 2013, the spurs were on a mission to avenge that defeat. Realizing time was running out with Duncan and the main core getting old, they threw everything at Miami.

This bulls team has been ravaged with injury over the years, proud guys like Noah and gibson realise this and understand a huge level of urgency if the bulls were to remain healthy going into the playoffs. With rose uncertain future and an injury just around the corner, you can bet that this bulls team will see this as their one and only chance at a title. Then you add in the Cavs who will only get better each year, so the time is now.

We may not be playing consistently like a contender yet, but at the same time you don't want to be hitting best form until just before the playoffs. I still think rose is holding himself back in a lot of games, not that I encourage it but he has something up his sleeve for the playoffs, you'll see.

[KNOW1EDGE]

No, Chicago is not being overlooked in the East.

[Roundball_Rock]

The last few Weeks?

I haven't seen much of it, no.


With the winning streak of cavs and the dominance of Atlanta, people have been talking those two teams up a lot.

No one is talking about Toronto chances. But I still think they are a slight chance if they get the right matchups.

Agreed. The Bulls have fallen under the radar over the past month, which overlapped with Cleveland's hot streak and the Bulls' slump. Good point on Toronto. They have remained consistent all year, even as Washington has faded down the stretch.


This bulls team has been ravaged with injury over the years, proud guys like Noah and gibson realise this and understand a huge level of urgency if the bulls were to remain healthy going into the playoffs. With rose uncertain future and an injury just around the corner, you can bet that this bulls team will see this as their one and only chance at a title. Then you add in the Cavs who will only get better each year, so the time is now.

We may not be playing consistently like a contender yet, but at the same time you don't want to be hitting best form until just before the playoffs. I still think rose is holding himself back in games, not that I encourage it but he has something up his sleeve for the playoffs, you'll see.

:applause: :applause:

Yeah, if the Bulls don't win this year it will be increasingly difficult to do so in the next few years as the Cavs presumably improve and Gasol ages. This likely is the best version of Gasol the Bulls will have.

It was around this time the Bulls went on a roll in 2011 and took control of the East. Hopefully history repeats itself.

[SamuraiSWISH]

No, because we're pretenders. Always have been. Not enough legit playmaking, and scoring threats to win an important 7 game series against a truly talented team.

Thibs is overrated
D. Rose has been inconsistent
Gasol is old, and soft
Butler's play wasn't sustainable
Team is tuning out coach's played out shtick
Thibs ran Noah into the ground
Thibs has run Butler into the ground

[Rose]

No. They're getting the right amount of attention. The team is pretty shitty defensively, lazy like they've won the title and seem to only turn it on when they want when they haven't done anything. The rebounding is good, not great. Offensively the team is good enough to win but there's a lot of question marks for the offense starting and ending with Rose.

He doesn't need to have that ridiculous 6 game streak he had around 20 games in where he was averaging something like 24/5/4 on 53%. Or his recent hot streak of 22/7 on I think it was 48%. (I can't remember exactly what it was) over the course of five or so games. He's shown that he can play well for stretches of games which is what matters. He doesn't need to be MVP Derrick Rose because this team is so much better than his old teams. He doesn't need to be ball dominant every game because Jimmy and Pau are arguably better offensive players night in and night out.

But what he does need to do is get some better conditioning, and bring it every game. The latter of which he's done a better job of as of late. Most of his horrible games come from the back end of a b2b. Which is totally fine because there's no back to backs in the playoffs! But it seems like he hits a wall after around 30 mintues or so, which is all he should be playing but injuries/Thibs have made those sporadically go higher.

A final note about Rose. people don't realize that per 36 his stats are actually pretty close to his MVP year.

Butler's numbers look more and more legit every game, and when he wants too he plays good defense. and offense in the same game. The team is healthy, Noah is looking better every game pretty much. Pau has been reliable offensively, but his lack of boxing out hurts. The team just needs the starters healthy and a little more time to gel, which they hopefully will get.

[LiLharvard]

2015 Bulls remind me of 2010 Celtics.
Being overlooked atm, losses to sub-par teams but always come up money when its a televised game or a heavy weight foe.

[Roundball_Rock]

No, because we're pretenders. Always have been. Not enough legit playmaking, and scoring threats to win an important 7 game series against a truly talented team.

Thibs is overrated
D. Rose has been inconsistent
Gasol is old, and soft
Butler's play wasn't sustainable
Team is tuning out coach's played out shtick
Thibs ran Noah into the ground
Thibs has run Butler into the ground

:kobe:

[poido123]

No, because we're pretenders. Always have been. Not enough legit playmaking, and scoring threats to win an important 7 game series against a truly talented team.

Thibs is overrated
D. Rose has been inconsistent
Gasol is old, and soft
Butler's play wasn't sustainable
Team is tuning out coach's played out shtick
Thibs ran Noah into the ground
Thibs has run Butler into the ground


D rose has been in 2nd gear. Has only really tried against elite teams or point guards to prove something.

Gasol has fit in well and has made an allstar team and has the most double doubles for the year. He's blocking shots and providing a lot more than boozer did.

Butler has recently returned to early season butler. Every player has slumps during the year.

There is truth to Thibs crazy minute distributions. However, he knows what butler can handle and butler had an incredible offseason where he is super fit. The main issue is he has to shoulder a heavy load both ends of the floor.

Thibs didn't run Noah into the ground, Noah is slowly coming back from knee surgery in the offseason. He has looked better over the last month, getting offensive boards and showing confidence with his top of the key passes.

I understand you're pessimistic, but we are right in this. No need to be so negative until the season is over, then we can look at offseason moves etc.

[SamuraiSWISH]

I understand you're pessimistic, but we are right in this. No need to be so negative until the season is over, then we can look at offseason moves etc.
Reality isn't negativity. We have proven what we are time and time again since 2011. Do you want to make a cash bet we don't get out of the East? We don't stand a snow ball's chance in hell against Cleveland. Atlanta can beat us. So could Washington again.

[Roundball_Rock]

Good point on Rose's struggles in back-to-back games.

Rose's numbers by rest

0 days rest: 15/3/6 on 36% (10 games)
1 day rest: 20/3/5 on 41% (21 games)
2 days rest: 18/3/5 on 46% (6 games)
3 days rest: 19/3/4 on 46% (8 games)


We have proven what we are time and time again since 2011.

If Rose did not get hurt the Bulls likely would have won it all in 2012. In 2013 and 2014 the Bulls won 45 and 48 games and won one series. That is hardly underachieving relative to what could reasonably be expected of a mid-pack team.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

No. They are a good, but not great team. Nothing more.

I don't hate Rose or anything, but it's time to admit that he has not been good this year. He has not even been a top 20 PG, so you're in trouble if you're banking on him returning to MVP form all of the sudden.
this

[97 bulls]

It seems to me that the Bulls are just trying to make the playoffs as healthy as possible. Then they will go for broke.

What frustrates me most is them losing to teams they have nooooo business losing to. The Lakers loss was really disheartening.

[Twiens]

Nah, I think most people consider them the #2 contender behind the Cavs. Hawks, Raps, Wiz round out almost everyone's top 5....no one else matters.

[atljonesbro]

Nah, I think most people consider them the #2 contender behind the Cavs. Hawks, Raps, Wiz round out almost everyone's top 5....no one else matters.
The Bulls are in no way better than the Hawks LMAO. Please stop watching so much ESPN. What a joke. It bothers me people overrate the Bulls time and time again for what Jordan did YEARS ago.

[mehyaM24]

No, because we're pretenders. Always have been. Not enough legit playmaking, and scoring threats to win an important 7 game series against a truly talented team.

Thibs is overrated
D. Rose has been inconsistent
Gasol is old, and soft
Butler's play wasn't sustainable
Team is tuning out coach's played out shtick
Thibs ran Noah into the ground
Thibs has run Butler into the ground
your hatred for thibs is unfounded and a bit eccentric tbqh..

these list of things you blame thibs for can be attributed to a number of things (its a poorly constructed offensive team first and foremost). when thibs was a coach (assistant) in new york & boston, these freak injuries never occurred.

[Roundball_Rock]

The Bulls are in no way better than the Hawks LMAO. Please stop watching so much ESPN. What a joke. It bothers me people overrate the Bulls time and time again for what Jordan did YEARS ago.

What does MJ have to do with the Bulls being a contender in 2015? People are rating the Bulls on their current roster, not the gold stripe on their jerseys.

[FLDFSU]

The only teams with a chance to make it to the Finals in the East are the Bulls and the Heat (but without Bosh...that is not going to happened).

The Bulls would be my guess, unless the Hawks surprise, but not likely.

[Roundball_Rock]

Only 1.5 games out of 2nd in the East now. :rockon:

[SamuraiSWISH]

your hatred for thibs is unfounded and a bit eccentric tbqh..
I don't hate Thibs. I said he's overrated.

[chosen_one6]

The only teams with a chance to make it to the Finals in the East are the Bulls and the Heat (but without Bosh...that is not going to happened).

The Bulls would be my guess, unless the Hawks surprise, but not likely.

http://i.imgur.com/41E21OP.gif

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Smoke117]

Are there more fans on ish that are more full of shit than Bulls fans? It's as if they haven't realized their franchise has been pathetic since the turn of the century. :yaohappy: :yaohappy: :yaohappy:

[Velocirap31]

That's cute chosen one6.

[knicksman]

Translation: My favorite team(cle/bran) is now better than the bulls

[kamil]

As a Bulls fan, I gotta say, they've definitely been underwhelming this season. Too many losses to shitty teams only to come back and win against top teams. WTF.

I'm rooting for them, but I really don't think they're going to get as far as some predicted. My prediction: they get to the eastern conference and lose. Even if they get to the finals, theres no way they're going to beat GSW, Memphis or Spurs (my predictions for WC Champs).

[poido123]

Are there more fans on ish that are more full of shit than Bulls fans? It's as if they haven't realized their franchise has been pathetic since the turn of the century. :yaohappy: :yaohappy: :yaohappy:


I know Bosh going down is killing you...

Don't let it get you mad :banghead:

:lol

[J Shuttlesworth]

:applause:


Thats pretty spot on. But I wouldnt count them out against those west teams mentioned. None of them have finals experience except the spurs.
I don't count them out. There's no guarantee the WCF champion will win the chip this year. Cleveland, Chicago, or Atlanta are all contenders if healthy. I just wouldn't put my money on Chicago over those teams, personally.

[Dengness9]

Not dominant defensively. Not dominant offensively. Unreliable Derrick Rose.

No.

They are a good team, but you have to on that ISH to put them over Cleveland or Atlanta right now. Let alone the Western Conference.


Youve been awfully cocky lately.

Slippery slope.

[dunksby]

Only 1.5 games out of 2nd in the East now. :rockon:
Can you tell me why Rose has fallen in love with his own 3pt shooting? It makes me cringe every time I see him pulling up for one.

[Dengness9]

It's awesome to see high and mighty posters with all the answers.

This thread is gold.

A lot can happen the rest of the way out.

Bulls have been mostly shitty this year and can still grab the two seed.

Whatever yo:rolleyes:

[Dengness9]

Can you tell me why Rose has fallen in love with his own 3pt shooting? It makes me cringe every time I see him pulling up for one.


Honestly, dude is saving himself for the playoffs.


He hasn't seen a playoff game in 3 postseasons. It's annoying but true.

I expect to see him attack much more recklessly in the postseason .

I get pissed at him regularly but nothing would be worst then seeing him go down in the regular season.

[All Net]

Maybe they are but they need to finish higher than 4th.

Beating hawks and cavs would likely be too much to ask.

[dunksby]

Honestly, dude is saving himself for the playoffs.


He hasn't seen a playoff game in 3 postseasons. It's annoying but true.

I expect to see him attack much more recklessly in the postseason .

I get pissed at him regularly but nothing would be worst then seeing him go down in the regular season.
He could take a J little closer to his range, or move the ball a bit and make plays, all better options than taking a 29% shot.

[poido123]

Honestly, dude is saving himself for the playoffs.


He hasn't seen a playoff game in 3 postseasons. It's annoying but true.

I expect to see him attack much more recklessly in the postseason .

I get pissed at him regularly but nothing would be worst then seeing him go down in the regular season.


Which would explain the yo yo inconsistency from game to game.

When I see him shoot those 3s and act kind of disinterested, it points me to believe that he is trying to keep away from contact. Only that not playing his game, it causes him to make a lot of turnovers and bad shots.

You can't go from playing like an MVP, to straight up hot garbage for several games unless you are taking it easy.

I agree with you Deng ness, I think rose has something up his sleeve for the playoffs. Those games he's come out and dominated this year was only to reinforce that he can turn it on when he wants to.

[poido123]

He could take a J little closer to his range, or move the ball a bit and make plays, all better options than taking a 29% shot.


Perhaps he views this as his major weakness and is using nba games to gain comfort/confidence for when he might need it later On?

[dunksby]

Perhaps he views this as his major weakness and is using nba games to gain comfort/confidence for when he might need it later On?
You could have been a die hard LeBron fan in another life :lol You say 3pt shooting is not his game and he does it just to avoid contact in RS, then immediately contradict it by claiming he is working on his game for playoffs? So which is it? Taking 3s is not part of his game and he does it to avoid contact and conserve himself, or does he take so many to add the 3pt game to his arsenal? You can't be serious and not serious at the same time, this is not quantum mechanics.

[poido123]

You could have been a die hard LeBron fan in another life :lol You say 3pt shooting is not his game and he does it just to avoid contact in RS, then immediately contradict it by claiming he is working on his game for playoffs? So which is it? Taking 3s is not part of his game and he does it to avoid contact and conserve himself, or does he take so many to add the 3pt game to his arsenal? You can't be serious and not serious at the same time, this is not quantum mechanics.


I didn't say it's not his game, I said he's using games to address his major weakness. Rose has had games where he's shot the 3 well and looked good. I haven't ruled out that he can't shoot the 3.

He needs to preserve his body, he's been selectively choosing which games to go full throttle and play like the old rose. By taking 3s he's practising his weakness, while also preserving his body.

I don't know why that's hard to Understand?

[dunksby]

Which would explain the yo yo inconsistency from game to game.

When I see him shoot those 3s and act kind of disinterested, it points me to believe that he is trying to keep away from contact. Only that not playing his game, it causes him to make a lot of turnovers and bad shots.

You can't go from playing like an MVP, to straight up hot garbage for several games unless you are taking it easy.

I agree with you Deng ness, I think rose has something up his sleeve for the playoffs. Those games he's come out and dominated this year was only to reinforce that he can turn it on when he wants to.
^^^This post says 3pt shooting is not Rose's game, he is taking it easy and not serious during RS.

Perhaps he views this as his major weakness and is using nba games to gain comfort/confidence for when he might need it later On?
This one says, he is taking it seriously and working on his game to improve for postseason.

I didn't say it's not his game, I said he's using games to address his major weakness. Rose has had games where he's shot the 3 well and looked good. I haven't ruled out that he can't shoot the 3.

He needs to preserve his body, he's been selectively choosing which games to go full throttle and play like the old rose. By taking 3s he's practising his weakness, while also preserving his body.

I don't know why that's hard to Understand?
Maybe if you stuck to one point and didn't contradict yourself so much I'd understand you better.

[poido123]

^^^This post says 3pt shooting is not Rose's game, he is taking it easy and not serious during RS.

This one says, he is taking it seriously and working on his game to improve for postseason.

Maybe if you stuck to one point and didn't contradict yourself so much I'd understand you better.


No big deal bro.

I think you're reading too much into what I said. It means the same thing, rose shooting 3s is taking it easy and not banging up his body. The benefit of that is, he gets to practice his weakness, the 3.

In fact, not taking it seriously in the reg season and saving himself for the finals makes perfect sense. Not saying two different things at all. :hammerhead:

[dunksby]

No big deal bro.

I think you're reading too much into what I said. It means the same thing, rose shooting 3s is taking it easy and not banging up his body. The benefit of that is, he gets to practice his weakness, the 3.

In fact, not taking it seriously in the reg season and saving himself for the finals makes perfect sense. Not saying two different things at all. :hammerhead:
I don't mind him saving his body for postseason, I just don't see why he has to take shots out of his range and insist he is what he is not. I sure want to see a different Rose in the playoffs.

[poido123]

I don't mind him saving his body for postseason, I just don't see why he has to take shots out of his range and insist he is what he is not. I sure want to see a different Rose in the playoffs.


Right now, you're obviously seeing rose not give a f.ck

You only have to go back a few games to see what Rose is capable of when he torched the Cavs.

I'd be worried if he was not playing any good games in between all the bad ones. That tells me he's waiting for the playoffs.

Get your popcorn boys, rose is about to cut Loose!

[Roundball_Rock]

Can you tell me why Rose has fallen in love with his own 3pt shooting? It makes me cringe every time I see him pulling up for one.

I agree. He needs to shoot less 3's. He is doing so 1) to conserve himself 2) he is getting wide open looks, he just is not a good enough shooter at this stage of his career to consistently make them. He drives more at the end of games and in "big games" so I suspect that is what we will see more of in the playoffs.

[guy]

Reality isn't negativity. We have proven what we are time and time again since 2011. Do you want to make a cash bet we don't get out of the East? We don't stand a snow ball's chance in hell against Cleveland. Atlanta can beat us. So could Washington again.

Umm really? I'm not exactly sure how you can say that much of the last 3 playoff runs are indicative of anything. Rose missed each of them. Gasol wasn't there. Butler had not emerged.

And really, not a chance against Cleveland? If anything, Lebron has shown that his teams can be beaten. Mainly because you don't necessarily know what Lebron you're going to get. There's the aggressive Lebron that can't be stopped, in which case we would be screwed. There's the Lebron that says "well my teammates suck so we are going to lose, and I don't have the leadership skills to actually push and inspire them so let me throw up some amazing stats so I don't get blamed for it.". Then of course there's ultra choke Lebron.

Nothing scary about Atlanta, Toronto, or Washington. They aren't as built for the playoffs as this Bulls team is. Bulls might not be the favorites to come out of the East. But at worst, they should be second to Cleveland. They are literally one of the most well rounded teams in the league when healthy, if not THE most well rounded team. They just haven't been able to play consistently up to their potential. But they clearly have the pieces, which means they clearly have a shot.

[brooks_thompson]

They are literally one of the most well rounded teams in the league when healthy, if not THE most well rounded team. They just haven't been able to play consistently up to their potential. But they clearly have the pieces, which means they clearly have a shot.

Every other contender (excepting maybe San Antonio, which is a special case) has done so so far this season