MVP

MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!

Congrats to DROSE...well deserved MVP.  The youngest MVP ever in the NBA.  He had one hell of a season.  Hopefully there is more to come...

COOL VIDEO

GREAT ARTICLE

There is nothing not to love about this guy (we can disregard the fact he went to Memphis for a year).

Were Talkin Playoffs

What a day for the Blackhawks.

They are in the playoffs again this year...thanks to the Minnesota Wild.  The Hawks lost to the Red Wings today, the last game of the season, and thus had to rely on the Wild beating the Stars to secure the 8 seed in the playoffs.  They didn't get in the way they probably wanted to, but they are in nonetheless.

They open their first round series against Vancouver on Wednesday.  They have ended Vancouver's season the past two years, lets hope for a third.

The Bulls have been in the playoffs for a long time.  Very importantly though, they clinched the #1 seed on Thursday night when they beat the Celtics.  This is huge.  They are lights out at the United Center so that will be big having home court advantage in every series.  They will most likely be opening against the Pacers next weekend.  Today, they beat the Magic, with another dominant performance by Rose, to win their 60th game of the season.  And you know what that means...

The Bulls and Hawks got into the playoffs in two completely different ways but they are both in and thats all that matters.  Its a whole new season now.

I would really enjoy a repeat of this...

And of this (picture Derrick Rose)...

Circus Report

The annual nonsensical Circus road trip that the Bulls and Blackhawks have to go on every year has once again come to a close.  Results were very good for the second year in a row.

BULLS
11/16 @Houston   W95-92
11/17 @San Antonio   L94-103
11/19 @Dallas   W88-83
11/23 @San Antonio   L91-98
11/24 @Phoenix   W123-115
11/26 @Denver   L97-98
11/27 @Sacramento   W96-85
Overall 4-3

This year was the first year that the Bulls have come off the road trip with a record over 500 since the Jordan era (97-98).  They could have easily been 5-2, losing to Denver on a last second shot.  This team is for real.  I am very excited.  Derrick Rose has been absolutely brilliant so far.  The best part is, Boozer returns this week.  I don't think they will fully hit their stride for another week or two but when they do, watch out.  They could become dominant.  They will be a serious contenders.  I agree with Charles Barkley's latest assessment; the Bulls are gonna win the East.

BLACKHAWKS
11/17 @Edmonton   W5-0
11/19 @Calgary   L2-7
11/20 @Vancouver   W7-1
11/24 @San Jose   L2-5
11/26 @Anaheim   W4-1
11/27 @Los Angeles   W 2-1
Overall:  4-2

The Blackhawks had a solid road trip for the second year in a row.  It has taken a while but it looks like they are finally starting to return to their Stanley Cup form of last year.  It's taken a little while to get this team rolling but hopefully they will start to reel off some wins now.  Losing Hossa for a couple weeks is gonna hurt though.

Enough with these Circus trips already.  Who really goes to the Circus anyways, I mean seriously?

Bulls . Season Preview

The NBA season is once again upon us.  I am more excited about the NBA in general this year than I have have been in a long time.  I'm not really sure why to be quite honest.  Probably has a little bit to do with the rise of the Chicago Bulls.  Speaking of, here are my brief thoughts for this year.

A lot changed for the Bulls during the offseason.  While I was fully hoping the Bulls would land LBJ, DWade, or both, I am happy with what they did in Plan B mode.  Their big name pickup was of course Carlos Boozer but I think management did a great job of signing role players and lots of depth.  There are 8 new guys in total and they will all contribute.  Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson, Keith Bogans, Omer Asik, SCAL, Kurt Thomas -- welcome.

Really like the direction that the Bulls went with the new coach as well.  I think Thibodeau is gonna be a very solid coach.  I don't know much about him personally (since he's been an assistant coach for about 12 decades) but from everything I have read he is gonna be a great fit, and the players love him.  I'm sure the Bulls will get off to a pretty slow start with all the new guys getting together and getting comfortable with each other, especially with Boozer being out until after Thanksgiving.  Once Boozer comes back though, they will hit there stride as he will provide some consistent scoring and post help.  Its pretty simple for me this year.  I am excited about the direction the Bulls are headed.  Derrick Rose is a phenomenal PG, Joakim Noah is a monster on the boards, Carlos Boozer will provide some much needed consistency down low, and the rest of the supporting cast will fill in the gaps very nicely.  I am expecting very good things.

My 5 Bold Predictions:
1.  Derrick Rose becomes the best PG in the league this year.  22 PPG, 8 ASG.  Lightning fast.
2.  Joakim Noah continues to be awesome, annoys everyone that he plays against, and average 14 boards per game (bold part).
3.  Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer both average 16+ points and 7+ rebounds.
4.  The Bulls will start slow but will end up winning 52 games.  Topping the Bucks in the Central Division.
5.  They will enter the playoffs as a third seed and will shock someone in the Conference semis to make it to the Conference finals but their season will end there.

NBA Free Agency

Now that the major part of the NBA free agency period is coming to a close, I want to offer my thoughts on what transpired, specifically for the Bulls...

First, 'The Decision' was a complete and utter disaster.  I have no idea what LBJ was thinking going on national TV to stab all the people of Cleveland in the back.  Shows a lot about his character, or that he's just not that smart.  Of course I am disappointed that he didn't go to the Bulls but I thought the whole special was a complete joke.  Narcissism at its finest.

Now, on to the Bulls.  At first, I was not happy that they didn't sign any of the 'big three' that they were going after.  The media convinced me that they were gonna sign at least a couple of them, if not all three, and when they didn't get Wade, LBJ, or Bosh I was pretty let down.  Moving past these guys though, I think the Bulls have done a nice job filling in the holes with all the money that they had prepared for the 'Summer of 2010'.

I think the Boozer signing was a great one.  Fills a significant low post need that the Bulls have needed for years.  Him and Noah together will be a rebounding machine.  Hopefully he can just stay healthy.  A Boozer and LBJ combination with the rest of the Bulls roster would have immediately vaulted them to championship contention but thats water under the bridge now.  I think the Bulls are doing good things with the money they have left after missing on LBJ.  I really like the signings of Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer.  The Bulls have become Utah-east.  Korver brings a huge three point threat that they badly needed.  Brewer will come in and contend for the starting SG spot.  I think he will really excel playing with DRose.  And last night, they signed C.J. Watson (VOLS!) to backup DRose.  Beautiful signing IMO.  The Bulls now have $4.5 to $5 million left to sign one more key component.  I would love to see them to sign another PF/SF type to compliment Boozer/Noah.  I know the Heat are gonna get all the hype this season upcoming but watch out for the Bulls, they have greatly improved.

Derrick Rose

Congrats to Derrick Rose...the first Chicago Bull to make the all-star team since MJ23.  Kid is a stud.

Circus Trip Recap

Well the circus trips are finally over for both the Bulls and the Blackhawks.  Here are the recaps of both teams from the fine people at ESPN.

HAWKS RECAP

BULLS RECAP

For the record:
Bulls finished 1-5, almost as expected.  Yikes.
Hawks finished 4-1-1, better than expected.  This team is good, and Hossa is finally back.  YUP

D-Rose the Actor?

D-Rose and Dwight...the dynamic duo.

The Circus Is In Town

Well it's that time of year again for the Bulls and Blackhawks, the annual Circus Trip.  The Ringling Bros. circus takes over the United Center for the next two weeks so both teams get to go on extended road trips.  I don't know the specifics of the contract that the United Center has with the circus but common sense tells me that both the Bulls and Blackhawks organizations would want to fight it because they rarely fare well.  Update on the teams:

The Blackhawks are playing great this year so far.  They just beat the Sharks, who had the best record in hockey, last night 4-3 in OT.  They have won four games in a row at home and are now 12-5-2 overall tops in the Central divison.  Their road play hasn't been too stellar so far this year though.  They are 10-2-1 at home and 2-3-1 on the road.  They've got 6 games in the next 10 days on the road.  All six games are in conference so they are all big games.  If they come out of the road trip 3-3 it will be a huge momentum boost for the rest of the season.

I like the Hawks chances this year.  If they play up to their potential they should be able to secure the division and hopefully secure a top 2 seed.  The Hawks are solid in all facets of the game as long as Huet can play solid in the goal.  He got off to a slow start after playing poorly last year but has picked up his play in the last couple of weeks.  Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp are studs.  Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Brian Campbell are beasts in the back.  The Blackhawks will be getting a lot more love from me on here from now on.  Stanley Cup or bust IMO.

On to the Bulls...They haven't fared well on this roadtrip since MJ's days.  They are currently 5-4 (4-1 at home and 1-3 on the road).  The Bulls have an extra heavy load on the road trip this year.  Five of the six teams that they have to play are above .500 and have an overall combined record of 36-21.  Ouch.  The Bulls are a better team overall than last last year but this roadtrip could be real tough.  I would like to think they could win 3 out of the 6 but going 0-6 is never out of the question for the Bulls on this trip.  Here's to hoping the Bulls at least win a couple:



Best dance of all time? Absolutely

"Why do they always call it the circus trip?" Noah asked with a straight face after practice at the Berto Center. "What's so circus about it anyway?"     Yup. New favorite player.

Bulls Predictions

Well this week has been a fun one.  Put in about 16 hours days four of the last five days.  Fun.  I don't care to ever see any moulding plaster for the rest of my life but I will discuss that at another time.

The Bulls begin their 2009- 2010 campaign tonight against the Spurs.  I've got high hopes for the 'baby Bulls' this year.  Here are my five bold predictions for the season.

1.  Derrick Rose will be a top 3 point guard in the league and make his first all star appearance.
2.  John Salmons is gonna be a beast.  Averaging 24 points per game.
3.  Taj Gibson and James Johnson will both get significant minutes as rookies and Gibson will make the rookie team for the All Star Challenge.
4.  The Bulls will finish 2nd in the Central and 5th in the East with a record of 48-34 and make an appearance in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
5.  I will be a true Joakim Noah fan by the end of the year. (10+ rebounds per game.  just call him the new Dennis Rodman)

But really, how could I not be after this?