Who's the most disappointing Bull?

It's obvious what the problem is in Chicago. Skiles has got to go until he's gone it doesn't matter who comes to the team Kobe or Pau or m.j. The team is fed up with his games. Wake up !! Chicago!!

The list is long as far as the most disappointing bulls player,but I would have to pick Hinrich.I thought he would play a lot better after he signed his new contract.After every loss they always have some lame excuse.I hope the fans let them know that they wont continue to support the team until they improve.

Still think Tyrus should start?

Told ya, you CANNOT teach will.

Noc creates shots and disrupts the other offense, Noah finishes the junk and plays hard 24/7.

All this said, my vote goes to Skiles. If you can't figure out how to put the puzzle together, walk away from the table and let someone capable resume.

Sure is a real team effort at sucking this year. It's probably too late to trade for Kobe now, because our guys are all exposed. Everyone had more value before they started playing.

The Bull who has shown the least fire is Capt. Kirk Hinrich. The guy can't find his shooting touch to save his lfe and even worse the 2nd team All-Defensive player is getting torched worse then Johnny Blaze on defense. His turnovers and fouls per minte are up and his field goal percentage is down. This from the Guy who Coach Skiles fondly has called the teams best player! The teams floor leader has shown no passion up to this point and seems to have reached his peak as a decent NBA starter. The Bulls should change their name to the Dulls. This poor start is putting the fans to sleep.

Unfortunately, I have two.

Kirk Heinrich, who can't shoot, or hit a wide open jump shot, and is always whining to refs for his over-aggressive play. Unfortunately, he doesn't possess the athletic ability to overcome his shortcomings. Kirk, if anyone noticed, was totally out of his league at he Olympic tryouts. Durant played better than him, and didn't make the team because of his inexperience....NOT HIS TALENT.

John Paxson.

He paid a non-shooting hack (Kirk Heinrich) $60 million dollars.
He paid a non-rebounding, non-impact player (Ben Wallace) 60 million dollars.
Traded away J.R. Smith for nothing (stupid).
Offered your BEST PLAYER less money than the non-shooting hack.
Failed to pull Garnett, Gasol, or Kobe Bryant trade.
Didn't acquire a low post threat.
Failed to acquire a "pure shooter".

Hey Pax, I would trade Ben Wallace and Ben Gordon for NeNe and JR Smith. A young athletic low post threat and rebounder plus a lethal outside shooter/scorer that can defend.

well let's start with Ben Wallace... except for the game in L A against the clippers he's either been ineffective or on the bench. grade through 10 games F

Ben Gordon....although he is at his career average scoring his TO's are up, AST's are down, shooting percentage is down (drastically from 3pt range)while his MPG is up.
grade through 10 games D-

Kirk Hinrich....TO's up,AST's down, shooting percentage evaporated,MPG down mostly due to foul trouble.
grade through 10 games F

Luol Deng...TO's up, AST's down, shooting percentage up,FT% down
grade through 8 games C-

Andres Nocioni...TO's down,AST's down, shooting % up, FT% up,
grade through 10 games B+

Scott Skiles...allows Gordon and Hinrich to continue to put up long jump shots in transition without numbers (ie. 1 on 3) when they should be backing off and waiting to set up the offense. last shot opportunities at the end of a quarter as predictable as the sunrise with results as unpredictable as Chicago's weather in March but more often than not a forced shot by Gordon with less odds of scoring than hitting a slot machine pot. now in this mornings paper he critisizes Tyrus's effort when through the first six games he was one of three bright spots on the team along with Joe Smith and Nocioni.
grade through 10 games F-

Roman responds: Good post.

Small non athletic guards, no power forward and an aging defensive center. Not one go to guy or one who can play with his back to the basket and not one defensive stopper. Is there one player on the Bulls who would be a starter anywhere else. This is a team of bench players.

Skiles. He has a personality disorder...too unlikeable...is lost in his own mind.

Wallace...when he is not happy he pouts like there is no tomorrow=does not try...should have seen it coming with the Pistons/Saunders debacle.

Hinrich...bill lambeer reincarnated as a PG...no wonder Skiles likes him because no one likes Hinrichs personality either!

Tim Little and Eric Fraser said it ALL.

The 07' Bulls have been a collective team let down which is a surprise considering that this was supposed to be a balanced, experienced, and deep team.I believe the blame can be spread in many ways. Here we go in order of importance.

1. Scott Skiles. The head coach is supposed to be a calming influence that brings the team together through the tough times, a teacher and developer to the younger players, and most importantly a motivator to bring out the energy and hustle.

Instead we see a coach making knee-jerk, desperate decisions with his bone-head lineup changes causing the Bulls to instantly tail spin in games. The other teams have been very quick to feed off the mismatches that have been caused, especially by Skiles favorite "small lineup" which pretty much destroys any chance of the Bulls coming back. I believe the players are starting to feed off of Skiles indecisiveness and panic. And what happened to Skiles the player developer as Thabo Sefolosha has taken huge steps backward in his development. Top it all off with a petty, grudge match of wills with him and Tyrus Thomas. Whatever their problem with each other, they best rememdy it quickly. This is turningout out ten times worse then "head-band gate".

2. Kirk Hinrich

No one expected Kirk to light it up offensively, but this is rediculous. He is shooting 34 percent and averaging 10 points per game. Not good enough, and he has no excuses. Last year Kirk played in the summer games and didn't look near this bad. Memo to Kirk, stop blaming the refs for every foul you get/not get and start playing smarter. Kirk is arguably the engine that runs this offense and is critical to any future Bulls success.

3. Ben Gordon

Ben has been puzzling. I know from the past, no one works harder at perfecting his jump shot then Ben Gordon. At his height, he has no choice but to be an elite jump shooter. Perhaps Ben is coasting this year, feeling he doesn't need to take the extra effort in the gym. Puzzling since this is a contract year for Ben.

4. Ben Wallace

Defensively he's not there. His rebounding is way down, and he doesn't look to have the lift off the ground when he jumps. He is supposed to be a defensive leader and rebounding machine but it hasn't been there.

5. Luol Deng

Luol has had a terrible start to this season. Looking like all that work on his low post game has been waisted. Luckily in his last few starts he has looked better and I believe he will turn it around after his return from the injury.

The rest of team hasn't been playing that well either, but if these 5 guys don't get it together, it will be a long season.

Why are we blaming Skiles? He's the same Skiles that people were saying "turned this team around".

The blame falls primarily on Kirk Hinrich, the teams 2nd best player, who is probably only the 20th best starting point guard in the NBA. The Bulls seem to come and go with his performance.

Kirk Hinrich is by far the worst Bull. Why you ask? How many missed open jumpers and layups can we tolerate from the starting point guard / captain.

He is the weakest link on the team. I've heard enough retoric about him "having to guard the toughest scorer on the opponents team"; as if the toughest scorer on the other teams only suit up against the bulls.

So this year, not only is he still an offensive liability, but it appears that he is a step slower as he has gotten a year older.

However, I am not confident in Skiles/Paxton getting rid of him. This is because he is a "good character guy" as well as being made in their image...a mediocre guard that can run the offense. He is not an NBA championship caliber player and NEVER WILL BE.

Keeping this un(guard) on the team will prevent us from going any further than we have in the previous few years.

In fact, this front office is a sham until they get rid of him. Give me a player that can play the position. As long as he stays out of legal trouble, I could care less about his attitude or character. I don't look towards professional athletes as examples of how to live personal lives or as role models.

I am angry!

First of all it all falls on john paxson the GM if he would have drafted Bradon Roy Instead of an unproven, one hot run in the NCAA tournament player named Tyrus Thomas,the bulls would be a little better. Second he should have traded for kobe when he had a chance to. He should have seen the bulls were not going to get better how long could you live with a 6'2" jump shooter who cant take you off the dribble or dunk (Ben Gordon).Third,WHY IN THE HELL DID WE TRADE Tyson CHANDLER and PICK up a washed up bomb name BEN WALLACE. HE can't score ,can't hit a freethrow if his life depend on it,and dont bring any energy to the team and gave him a BIG ASS Contract THANKS Pax. One More thing when in the world are the bulls going to grow some balls,theres no type of toughness on the team they just let other team beat their teammates up like the clippers did to andreas and all the bulls did was run and pick him up instead of running into tim thomas face and standing up for their teammate THANK YOU AGAIN Pax!

I have always wondered why Hinrich has received so much praise from both Skiles and Paxon. They have called him the heart and soul of the team and their best player. They have even made Steve Nash comparisons. I'm sorry he's not even Steve Kerr. It is obvious they see much of themselves in Hinrich. They remind me of the Dad at the little league game who is trying to live thru his sons accomplishments. Hoping that he will excel where they did not. So they give him a captains C and try to make him the focal point of their offense. Granted he is a nice player but he is a second option at best. So if he is the great floor general they promote him to be, why does he continually run down the court and shoot threes with no one set? I do not see him creating opportunities for his teammates either. This player has peaked, and guess what he is a C+ at best. So either reign this guy in and change his role, or trade him away for someone who can do the job.

There are many disappointing Bulls players. I guess so far this year Hinrich and Thomas would be the two most disappointing. Although I personally am not surprised that Thomas is a bust. He has no basketball skills. All he can do is jump high and do an occasional highlight film dunk. The fans who have said that Thomas is going to be good are the fans who have been "athleticized". By that I mean they don't know the fine points of the game so when they see the big slam dunk, they think "wow, he's a great player". Also, I said in the summer of 2006 that it was a huge mistake to sign an offensive stiff and headcase like Wallace. Wallace, Thomas & Noah are all "energy" guys. And being called an "energy" guy is the kiss of death because being called that really means you are an offensive liability with little or no basketball skills. Since the Bryant trade is dead they should offer Gordon for Pau Gasol. And if Memphis won't bite then throw in Thomas & Noah in the deal.

I think Scott Skiles is the worst coach in the nba. He is constantly being out coached by teams with less talent. He sit on the bench looking smug and then he blames players who would run through a brick wall for him. He put an old vetran on Kobe when he clearly should have started Thabo. He has an ego the size of Lake michigan. He isnt the only problem the bulls keep promoting Kirk Hinrich as he is the next Steve Nash. He isnt the next spud weeb. He hasnt learned to penetrate he has not learned how to run a team. His name should appear in every trade rumor announced. The coaches who are in charge of teaching the big men drop steps around the basket. Scott needs to look in the mirror and take more technical fouls from the refs instead crtizising his young players who are abused by older players and star strut refs.

Paxson:

Deserves most of the blame. He just won't do anything to make the team better when everyone knows our weakness. We have no post player, and no real offensive threat who can create his own shot or create a shot for somebody else... Skiles's offense revolves around the perimeter, it creates gaps for a quick pentrating guard or small forward with handle to score or create an open shot for Ben or Kirk.... By having NO POST threat we suffer long droughts during the game at critical points. When the team misses three or four shots in a row from outside they are doomed, look at the third quarter last night, they got the lead down and then took five consecutivw missed jumpers, not one time did they go to the post to try to draw a foul or get a good shot.....Paxson its time to make a move, someone must be brought in that can take away one of these weaknesses, until then this team will continue to lose, and maybe not even make the playoffs!

The Bulls will have to decide if the problem is Talent or Coaching or a mixture of both. I've never been convinced that Skiles can take the Bulls to the next level. He is a great starter coach but not sure he is a "closer". He is a great hustle and fundamentals coach but I'm not sure he can help someone imporve their "Talent". Skiles was not fired with the PHX Suns because they didn't win games. He just rubbed the players the wrong way.

Its going to be hard dealing with a declining Ben Wallace for the next 2 years. The age and injuries will continue to increase :(. Ben Gordon is a good player (6th man) but he is a Luxury for a "good" team. Ben G., because of his height, forces Kirk to play the 2 guard which is usually more athletic that he can handle. Kirk needs to play the opposing point guard.

it should be the coach...he sucks....he can't coach a lick...tyrus thomas should be starting and getting over 30 minutes everygame.....he's pressing because of the coach....get skiles out

The biggest Bull's disappointments in order:
1) John (Jim) Paxson: Let's remember, his biggest accomplishment was being lucky enough to play with Michael Jordan. That's it. He was a spot-up shooter, who filled a non-traditional point guard role that 20 other players could have filled satisfactorily. Now, he and Steve Kerr are billed as geniuses or something 10 years later?? Look, Paxson has made misstep after misstep in hirings, drafts, free agent signings and talent evaluation. Paxon gets an F.
2) Kirk Hinrich: I hate to pour it on the kid, but he sucks, point blank. Hinrich sucks. First off, he's a two guard, not a point guard, he doesn't resemble a point guard in the least, he has no court awareness, no court vision, cannot make long passes up the floor, jumps without having someone to pass to, cannot beat his man off the dribble, does not get the ball to Luol, Gordon or Thomas WHEN THEY NEED THE ROCK IN THEIR HANDS, and has no defense. what.so.ever. He got torched on the Olympic tryouts last summer, plays more defense on his rear end than on his feet, whines, complains, and always throws the ball away with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. And to finish, he would be the 31st ranked two guard in the league. Sorry Kirk.
3) Scott Skiles: He killed Gordon's morale by benching him every time he made a mistake, called him out to the media, and refused to start him for his first 2 years. He is now doing the same thing to Tyrus Thomas, he did the same thing to Tyson Chandler and Curry as well. Get rid of this guy, send him to the college game where he belongs, he's no NBA coach, he's a babysitter, but the Bulls are grown men, not kids. He cannot coach, he cannot make players better. Tyrus thomas will be an all-star when he leaves the Bulls, so will Curry, Chandler and Deng, oh yeah, Deng's out of here buddy.

SCOTT SKILES- HE IS THE "CHEMISTRY KILLER". IT TAKES HIM UNTIL JANUARY EVERY SEASON TO GET A SOLID STARTING LINING UP AND BENCH ROTATION. THE STARTING LINEUP SHOULD BE YOUR BEST PLAYERS. SO WHAT TYRUS DOESN'T BEAT BIG MEN DOWN THE FLOOR, HE'S THE BEST BIG MAN ON THE TEAM WITH THE BIGGEST UPSIDE. BEN WALLACE HAS NOT COME CLOSE TO PLAYING AS GOOD AS JOE SMITH.
SKILES IS CLUELESS WHEN IT COMES TO MATCHUPS WITH OTHER TEAMS. LAST YEAR, NEW JERSEY KILLED US BECAUSE HE STUCK WITH HIS SMALL LINEUP THE 'WHOLE GAME'!!!
HINRICH IS GARBAGE AND HAS REACHED HIS PEAK. I WAS UPSET HIS NAME WAS NEVER MENTIONED IN THE TRADE FOR KOBE.

wake up chicago its 2007 and since jordan and pippen left the biggest star the cheap bulls have given us is ron mercer when are chicago fans gonna stand up and say enough why are these games being sold out so reinsdorf the guy that broke up the dynasty gets rich hey kobe why would you wanna come play in chicago anyway

Scott Skiles would have to be my pick for the worst Bull. Scott Skiles is an egomaniac, and has been that way since his days as a player. He has always, always had a problem with star players. When Big Ben came to the Bulls what was the first thing he did? He pulled a power move by banning a functional piece of gear.. The head Band! Give me a break! He wanted to show Ben who the boss is. Scott Skiles is not a pro player developer, he causes to much tension. At best he would be a good college coach, more of a disciplinary type guy.

My second pick would have to be Pax. Come on, we all know who really should be running this franchise. The same person who built it.. Mike, period. Pax has killed how many deals now? Last year we made a run, but we fell short, why? because we didn't have a go to guy in the post. We shot our way out of the play-offs. Secondly how do you offer Deng a smaller extension offer than Kirk? Deng was absolutely brilliant in the play-offs, and Kirk was a role player at best and you offer him $60 mil. It would also be hard for me to focus if I were in their place. Scott and Pax has mentally destroyed these young players which now are probably second guessing where they fit in a team that they thought was loyal to them.

Hinrich is a head case, plain and simple. His problems are similar to Steve Sax when, all of a sudden, he could not make a throw from second to first base to save his life.

It took Sax 5 years to straighten himself out. Needless to say Hinrich doesn't have that luxury.

Those calling for Skiles scalp need to understand that the core guys who had no problem responding to his style and personality last year, have come out and played like dunces so far.

Gordon is certainly not a complete player but he is definitely one of the best outside shooters in the league.

Deng is a potential star, a guy who can average 22/8 with an very good FG%.

Hinrich is a MUCH better player than he is showing.

A lot of fans like Duhon at PG but his FG% is even more pitiful than Kirk's.

The next two games will very likely tell whether or not the Bulls will pull out of this tailspin. If they don't beat the terrible Knicks and AT LEAST play the Raptors tough and stay in the game all the way, I think you can relegate the Bulls to the same scrapheap that the Sox and Bears are lounging in.

I never thought I'd say it again, but it looks like the Blackhawks may be the only successfull team in Chicago.

Paxson for not making a move for Garnett. The Celts gave up Al Jefferson and a few stiffs. Then they passed on Kobe and now they are stuck with a bunch of un-athletic overachievers. Gonna be a long Season.

Bennie the Bull.

Please stop with this hating on Skiles and Paxson. Paxson made stellar deals with the Knicks to get lottery picks for Curry and Crawford. Overall, he has done rather well in the draft. He got rid of Chandler because he would not work in Skiles' system, which leads me to my point. He has assembled a group of players that have played well in Skiles' system, and for the last few years, they have. And let's face it, Skiles has milked everything out of these players. If you are one of the many who are calling these players mediocre, then they played over their heads the last two years. That would be thanks to Skiles.

No, the most disappointing Bulls are Hinrich and Ben Wallace. I have been a staunch defender of "Captain Kirk" and do believe that if he had a legit scoring big man and taller, more consistent shooting guard, that he could average 18 and 10 a game. But in reality, he has played horrendous basketball. The summer off has done what for him, exactly?

As for Ben, I see Paxson signing him as a Catch-22 situation. If he didn't sign him, he would have been blamed for not picking up the top free agent on the market. Now that he has, Ben Wallace himself has been exposed as a me-first player with injury problems who has yet to seem integrated into the team.

Overall, though, everyone is to blame. I've been watching the Bulls the last few years, and the fact that we've endured the likes of Jalen Rose, Brent Barry, John Starks, Chris Carr, and Kornel David all for this is beyond frustrating.

The Bulls will have to decide if the problem is Talent or Coaching or a mixture of both. I've never been convinced that Skiles can take the Bulls to the next level. He is a great starter coach but not sure he is a "closer". He is a great hustle and fundamentals coach but I'm not sure he can help someone imporve their "Talent". Skiles was not fired with the PHX Suns because they didn't win games. He just rubbed the players the wrong way.

Its going to be hard dealing with a declining Ben Wallace for the next 2 years. The age and injuries will continue to increase :(. Ben Gordon is a good player (6th man) but he is a Luxury for a "good" team. Ben G., because of his height, forces Kirk to play the 2 guard which is usually more athletic that he can handle. Kirk needs to play the opposing point guard.

Close your eyes and remember Artis Gilmore....I discovered this therapy during last nights game...its fun...and it works....especially if you remember him....

I think a change of scenery being good for most everyone is apparent....looks more like a 'sky is falling' scenario everyday..

all these kids are from Duke, Kansas, and Uconn...and they blow

Go Hoosiers

Corey wrote that about paxson not YgGftBlk Could You please get it right because I Cant Give My Credit To Someone Else Thank You The Next Stephen A. Smith

Whoever watched last night's game or the Laker's game witnessed that the Bulls are NOT A PLAYOFF CALIBER TEAM!!!!!! THE KOBE TRADE IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Why would Kobe leave all that good young talent for lesser talent in Chicago????? Someone made a very good point about not having any leadership on this team. If YOU SUCK, the crowd IS SUPPOSED TO BOO YOU not not playing with any fire. Another thing is that these Bulls are too sensitive, talking about their feelings getting hurt, and all kind of BS. Are other teams and the home crowd supposed to have mercy on you because you fail to perform????? THIS AIN'T FLAG BASKETBALL, GIRLY-BOYS....IT'S NBA!!!!!!

I guess the REAL question is whether these Bulls continue crying, whining, and pouting OR WILL THEY WILL PULL THE OPPONENT'S NIKE OUT THEIR BUTTS AND PLAY WITH SOME HEART?????!!!!

With out a MAJOR trade, I think we already know the answer.

Aldridge sure would look a lot better in a Bulls uniform than Thomas right now. I blame Paxson, he could have had Aldridge the low post scoring threat we need to give our jump shooters open looks.

finally! bulls fans have seen the light. skiles and hinrich. what a duo! what a fantasy! what is paxson thinking? this is the biggest scam since john konkack ripped of atlanta. overpay for hinrich hoping that that'll boost his confidence, didn't work. so now what do you do? nothing, thats what. you reap what you sow. hinrich is a bum,bust,never will be, sorry,whining,brickshooting,figment of paxson/skiles imagination. back up the truck. start with paxson, follow him immediatly with skiles,hinrich,duhon,nocioni,griffin. replace these guys with anyone thats taller than 6'5 and you start winning immediatly. stop attempting to lump the entire team into kirk hinrich's slump. thats his normal game. he is the definition of slump. the only time he comes out of a slump is on groundhogs day! i think the players are boycotting skiles in order to get rid of him. and they have all of the rights to do so. he is not fair as to who plays and who doesn't. this thing where he tries to motivate young players by holding back playing time does not work. maybe if he tried this trick with hinrich, it would have made hinrich a better scorer. but, he never pulled this stunt with hinrich. why? don't you think that players notice this type of favoritism?

The Bulls have two main problems: 1. John Paxon and 2. Scott Skiles

Additionally, Ben Gordon's offense doesn't make up for his lack of defense (he's probably wishing he would have signed that contract). Ben Wallace was over the hill when they got him - so what do you expect.

Who wrote your headline saying that "Skiles rips Thomas for laziness." I am sure the headline writer did not hear the comments first hand. Your competitive newspaper reported the story more accurately. They report he did not give the comments "out of anger" and Skiles offered the comments "calmly and seemingly without rancor." No wonder athletes and coaches do not like the media. Your headline is an example of oversensationalizing. It was an observation about a young athlete who needs to work harder if he is going to succeed as a professional.
Roman responds: Interesting point. But I will tell you this, Scott Skiles knew exactly how the story was going to be played. He had a problem with how his quotes about Joakim Noah were portrayed by the media and said so. He didn't say so about this. When a coach, no matter how calmly, rips his player, he knows it's a headline. In fact, I'll bet you $1 he was expecting an even bigger headline.

Simply put the Bulls team is awful. Paxson has done a decent job with the draft picks... other then that, i think no one is doing a good job on this team. However, to me the biggest disappointment is Tyrus Thomas. Teams can stink, have bad chemistry and can completely underachieve. Teams can fall apart and have horrible seasons.... BUT, I expect effort all the time. this is what you are paid for. I expect that as a youngin in this league you bust your butt up and down the court day in and day out. Never take a play off, never give up. It should be all about hustle and determination. To watch Thomas, its clear he really doesnt care. That to me is more disappionting then a 6-1 guard that thinks he is better then he is, a point guard that is having a mental melt down and an aging veteran we should have never paid $60 Million for.
Come on kid wake up and play in the NBA. This is a dream and you should be challeging it every day.

Scott Skiles. When you have as many players on a team performing as poorly as the Bulls are performing then you have to blame the coach. Skiles says he can't get Tyrus Thomas to sprint down court during a game. Makes one wonder what goes on during Bulls' practice sessions.

Terry T.....THAT WAS TRULY AMUSING....The definition of "slump"....LLLLLOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

All jokes aside, I have a quick solution for some of this madness that's going on.

Bench the Bens'........Start Joakim or Joe Smith at center and have Thabo replace Gordon. Teams don't respect the Bulls defensively anymore. This will add a little more athleticism to the starting lineup.

Pax,

You HAVE to get some better people in the mix. Baron Davis is a free agent, Shaun Marion probably won't be with the Suns, and of course NeNe and JR Smith for "The Bens". Hell, throw in Thomas to make sure that this trade happens and not rumored. I do thank you for getting rid of all the dead weight and knuckleheads, but IT'S TIME TO GO TO PLAN B, MAN!!!!!

its easy....Pax......hes the one who has drafted player after player who cant shoot...starting with Hinrich.who shot bad in college..the last 2 years we get Tyrus Thomas who couldnt shoot in college either....next we get Noah...same thing....you all talk about a low post presence..maybe but give me some one who can shooooot.......

What a bunch of "EXPERTS" we have here.
You all sound like Mariotti and we all know he only pipes up when there's something negative to say.

I've read everything from it's Paxsons' fault to it's Skiles' fault.
Then I read that it's Hinrich, Big Ben, Little Ben.
Enough "PERCEPTION" let me dish out some "REALITY" for all you "EXPERTS" out there:

Name one season, since "His Airness" left, that the Bulls got off to a fast start. EXACTLY. At the end of the season, the Bulls will have somewhere around 50 wins, be in the Playoffs, and all you "EXPERTS" will be saying what a great GM Pax is and what a good coach Skiles is and how Kirk is a good PG and how Ben has picked it up and how glad you are that Pax didn't trade for Kobe.

If at the end of the season this isn't the case, (as it has been for the last 3 or 4 years in a row now) then I'm the dummy who didn't know what he's talking about. OK?

We all knew at the beginning of the season the Bulls had no low post threat. We knew Big Ben was a year older. We knew that teams would be looking for ways to shut down Deng & Gordon after their performances against Miami in the Playoffs. Yet we all, including the Bulls, bought into the "EXPERTS" saying that the Bulls were the team to beat in the East this year. It's called an adjustment period people. You put your finger on what the opposition is doing to beat you, you make adjustments and you move on. Everybody knows what Chicago is about on offense and defense. It's no secret. Drive and kick / swing the ball from side to side / jump shots on offense. Tough, hustling, team effort on defense.

Here's my solution for how to fix yet another problematic slow start. Just go play. It's comical for me to read the quotes from Hinrich, Nocioni, Gordon and Deng and the rest saying "We don't know what's wrong." It's like a bird standing around saying it doesn't know why it's not flying. Flap your wings dummy! Don't worry about the Kobe rumors. Don't worry about your contract or lack thereof. Quit waiting for someone else to make a play. Go out and play like a team, T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R. Don't try to force your shot to go in. Just stroke it and listen to the sweet string music the ball makes as it goes through the hoop. Quit trying to re-invent the wheel. Play together, unselfishly, with energy on both ends of the floor like you always do, take care of the ball and everything else will take care of itself.

How many times so far this season have we seen the ball come down, one pass and it's either a turnover or a contested, long-range jump shot heaved at the basket? Or on the defensive end we see someone get beat one-on one and there is no help or the help comes too late resulting in an AND 1 for the other team? That's not the Chicago Bulls! That's the New York Knicks! I think it's more than coincidence that they have the same record as the Knicks. As Bill Parcells says, you are what you are. The WON-LOST record never lies. Right now, the Bulls are 2-8, tied with the Knicks for worst record in the East.

I can't even count how many times over the last 3-4 years I've heard Skiles or the players say "We don't worry about the opposition. If we play our game, the wins will come." They need to heed their own advice. Start playing like the Chicago Bulls instead of the Knicks and wins will come. Last year, the Bulls got out of their early season slump after Headband Gate, which just so happened to be in NY against the Knicks. Who do they play next? The Knicks, in NY. Is that daylight I see at the end of the tunnel?

in defense of Tyrus Thomas, I have seen at least 3 or 4 times during the first 8 games when Tyrus set a screen for Hinrich and rolled to the rim wide open and Hinrich rather than making the pass backed off and dribble back out to the 3 pont line. on the other hand when he set the pick for Duhon he got the ball back for a posterizer. and with Hinrich and Gordon chucking up 3 point bricks with 3 defensive players back and little chance of getting a rebound instead of a little hesitation dribble to the block and dumping the ball inside to a trailer can you blame him? instead of critisizing Tyrus's lack of running he should be ripping Kirk and Gordon for poor shot selection. get the ball iside to Tyrus when he sets a pick and you'll be surprised what else he'll do in transition.
and for everything Aaron Gray showed in the preseason Skiles is wasting him by not giving him quality time. bottom line is the majority of blame belongs to the motivationally challenged Skiles.

John Paxson. You need low post offence to win in the NBA. Perimeter shooting only gets you so far and like beauty it fades away with time. Paxson should have known we were winning on barrowed time..... Forget about Kobe.

I don't care what type of talent or injury you have on your team, because not everyone stays healthy year round or has the luxury of any one of three stars to get the ball to, but the Bulls are flat out not playing ANY BALL AT ALL.

Kirk hasn't been much of anything since his first year (easily his best), so no surprise there, other than the fact his shot has gone WAY SOUTH this year.

Wallace is recovering from his ankle injury and his numbers are slowly going up---- relax! Besides did anyone really think he was getting BETTER as a role player.

Gordon will always be a sixth man in my eyes. Minuses totally outweigh the plusses.

The weak link here is Scott Skiles. How does a collective group of decent players gel so poorly, but even worse, play with no DEFENSIVE HUSTLE for a coach who breathes DEFENSIVE HUSTLE. Certain guys are playing solid but have not been allowed enough minutes to attempt to make a difference. Finding the right combos during a game is a matter of open eye-open mind awareness and Skiles hasn't a clue. That's why we're such a terrible closing team. Duhon and Noc should starting along side Deng, Wallace, and Kirk, and Gray, Griffin, Noah and even Khryapa deserve more minutes. Defensive hustle and turnover ratio are keys with the second group and these players regard both.

We're not even contending in games, and the Clippers type game happens in high school gyms everywhere. It's the overall effectiveness of the team that's bothering me and Skiles is the Key-Master with no idea of which door to use when, or how to maintain them.

Will somebody please put this guy in the real janitorial position he should be assuming.

Hey Hitman; Artis was the ONLY center the Bulls have ever had! Good call!

Well i think we are forgetting that the season is only 10 games old and that there are 72 games left. Yes the Bulls suck right now and we shouldn't get our hopes shattered so soon. I understand the frustration because of the slow start but a REAL BULLS FAN KEEPS HOPE ALIVE. There is no ONE Bull to blame. As a team ALL of them are disappointing right now and and pointing the finger is not the solution. We need to be patient right now and show the same support as if they were winning and maybe WE can help pull them out of their funk and maybe start playing like the team we expect them to be. We should keep our frustration in check til All-Star break and then evaluate their play. If the Bulls have not performed to the level that WE expect, THEN we should voice our dissatisfaction and state what changes should be made. Since the Bulls draft players they feel fit Skiles style of play, then maybe we should start there.

jesus... stop crying. we have had bad starts every year and theres 70 more games to go. we are not even around the all-star break and you guys are complaining like we are not going to make the playoffs... we are going to make the playoffs because the east is a joke. hinrich, gordon, deng will all step up. the only person to blame here is scott skiles. Christ, he makes mike brown @ cleveland look good. and whoever said hinrich can't defend is a total tool.

You have to blame the man at the top, Paxson. Everyone knows this team has had a problem with a low post scorer since Curry was traded. The team has'nt been the same in my book. Im not saying Curry was going to be the next shaq but he alleviated a lot of unnecessary jumpers from Gordon and Hinrich. This team has been without a low post scorer for over 2 years now and Paxson failed to make a deal for one. And why sign Joe Smith? I would have rather resigned old man PJ Brown. He is more of an inside threat than Joe Smith and thats not saying much. Paxson gets an F. Skiles can only work wih what he has.

Eric Frazier, please tell me that you are related to JR Smith and I'll understand why to love him enough to post not once, but twice, suggesting that a trade to bring him back could remotely be the answer to the Bulls' woes. Are you kidding me? A "lethal outside shooter that can defend"? Which JR Smith are you watching?

The one that has career shooting of 35% from 3pt and 40% overall? The one with a career 2 RPG despite supposedly being an athletic 6'6"? The one with approx the same TOs per game as assists? Must be the same guy.

I'm live in Denver and have had the painful misfortune of watching this joker play for the Nuggets. Fortunately, JR's frequent on-court brain cramps kept him in George Karl's dog house much of last year so the fans were granted several DNP-CDs as treats.

And let's not forget the high bar that Mr. Smith has set regarding leadership and character: 1) suspended first three games of this season for "conduct detrimental to the team" following his arrest for a fight at a bar where he allegedly spit on a women, spilled champagne on her and tore her dress, 2) 10-game suspension for his role in the Nuggets-Knicks fight/debacle, 3) running a stop sign this past summer and causing the accident that cost his friend his life, etc.

There's a reason nobody offered more than the two second rounders that the Bulls received for him. Yeah, he's exactly the cure for what ails the Bulls. You should call an exorcist and have him expel your inner McHale.

Coach Scott Skiles Because he is not able to communicate with his young players.

GM.John Paxson.Because he has not put together a mixture of young and mature players.this team as is is going no place fast.
Gave good money to the wrong players.
Now Gordon and Deng wants big Pay days,Gordon reminds me of Travis Best.Remember him?

I also say Pax...

- passed up Lamarcus Aldridge in favor of Thomas
- refused to give up Donyell Marshall to move up in draft in order to get Dwayne Wade
- drafted a mini-me guard rotation which just doesn't work in the NBA
- has no b@lls to make a trade

last year enroute to a 3-9 start the Bulls looked like they were just coming up short but the effort was always there and they showed confidence that it was coming together and they would be fine. this year they look dis-jointed at best, lethargic too often on defense and inept too often on offense. trade talks are no longer an excuse, Kobe isn't going anywhere. Gordon and Deng turned down their respective extension offers so if they are distracted by that who's fault is it? Gordon appears to be pressing in an attempt prove he should have been offered more. in Deng's case he was the more prominent figure involved in all the trade talks dating back to the Gasol speculations last year but he seemed to have moved past most of it after the first couple games then hurt his back. Joe Smith and Noce have been the most consistant players to this point. when Tyrus Thomas has been included in the offense (used for more than just setting a pick)as he was against the Piston's and sixers he has come up with double doubles. rather than sitting Tyrus down for Noce, Gordon should be coming off the bench with Thabo starting giving the Bulls Gordon Noce and Smith a solid bench rotation. with Deng out start Noce leaving Gordon, Smith and Gray or Noah as the first 3 off the bench. one more comment here, Skiles said that with Noce on the floor it creates better spacing for more open jump shots, well it also opens up the middle for easier shots from the bigs.

Paxson is the MOST dissapointing Bull.

he can't pull the trigger. he sucks.

if gordons minuses outweigh his pluses, what is hinrich? what is his pluses? does he have a plus? can someone dissect his game for me? what is it that makes in of any value? i need an evaluation of his talent please!

Roman responds: He always hustles and plays defense. When he's playing well, he's good at running the offense and has a decent shot.

Some one earlier refered to Paxson and Skiles as red-necks from Indiana. Paxson is from Ohio not Indiana, he just happened to have played his college ball in Indiana. Anyway back to the current topic. Considering the mixed messages that Skiles has given the media: i.e. Noah shouldn't be speaking for the team...then ...I was misrepresented in the media what I meant was... and then...nothing about Tyrus's game should be read into Noce replacing him we need Noce to help spread the floor....then...Tyrus has been lazy running the floor...and again...I was misrepresented in the media. If the media is not getting the right read on his comments what kind of read are the players getting? I didn't hear Skiles after the win against the pistons say that Tyrus played a great game, 14 points and 19 rebounds and that is what I expect from him on a consistant basis. Today he says what he expects from Thabo is defense and him driving the ball and kicking it out. When is Skiles going to wake up and see that in the 2 w's so far this season the Bulls out-scored their opponent in the paint? In the games they were blown out their opponents made more free throws than the Bulls attempted. How many times have we seen so far the ball go into the post to Wallace and suddenly that whole side is cleared out leaving Ben to go one on one? Face it no one is going to double Wallace in the post and leave a shooter open and it's been rare that the person feeding Ben in the post has cut to the basket for a return pass. Too often on the pick and roll the ball still gets kicked out to the arc with the screen setter open down the lane. Skiles you've got players that can go to the rim, Thomas, Deng, Noce, Smith, Thabo, Noah, Gray....why are 80% of the shots coming from 20+ feet away from the rim? Try studying films of Utah in the 90's Skiles and see how the pick and roll is supposed to be run and maybe Tyrus would be a 20/10 man consistantly. Start thinking inside the paint not outside the bun!!!!!!

Sure is a real team effort at sucking this year. It's probably too late to trade for Kobe now, because our guys are all exposed. Everyone had more value before they started playing.

Posted by: Julie B. | November 21, 2007 07:54 AM

After reading JB's post, I feel like I got punched in the Stomach!!

Uggh....im sick that we thought our team was untinkerable. Maybe if we hurry, we can still get Kwayme Brown and Luke Walton.....but I doubt it now!

Seedy, you Motard, its...BENNY THE BULL....NOT BENNIE!

WHAT ABOUT TOM BOARWINKLE?

i THINK ERNEST FRAZIER IS RIGHT....TOO MANY WHITE GUYS ON THE TEAM!

The bulls are in serious trouble! From management, players, salaries, to what some would perceive as racism....the Bulls are in serious trouble. Start with Michael Jordan. For this man to not be associated with the Bulls is a travesty of such gargantuan proportions it is likely that you will never recover. But let us focus on a few of the more recent regressions such as banning headbands, giving, or in the Bulls case, throwing away talented players (Smith and Thomas), forcing a star that is clearly not a star (Hinrich), lowballing your two best players (Gordon and Deng), and a host of other incidents and transgressions that time or space will not permit us to cover.
Do not be foolish enough to think that because the Bulls have started slowly in the past that they will be able to recover. This is another year, another team, and different circumstances. When all factors are considered, including present players, competitive balance in the NBA and team and individual psyche and morale, I would be surprised if the Bulls make the playoffs.
At this point, if you were to make a trade, you are going to receive considerably less value than if you had made the trade at the beginning of the year so that option is out unless the players and team make a quick and significant improvement immediately. So now you have to deal with the hand as dealt. The Bulls have so many negatives (low post scoring, small backcourt, overall height) that it will be very difficult to maximize the season but there are some things they can try. I'd definitely give more time to Sefolosha and Gordon in the backcourt. Though Wallace is obviosly past his prime, a motivated Ben can still help you with his rebounding, defense, leadership and respect from officials and players. I'd also start Smith and Deng with Noce and Thomas off the bench. Sefolosha is an intriguing player. He is talented and long and has shown some point guard skills. if the Bulls are not careful he is likely to be a very good player, for someone else. Though I like Hinrich's hustle it is obvious he is not the answer. Cut your losses, give Sefolosha more time and confidence, and see what happens.

Ha! You make me laugh, BC. But don't all of my posts make you nauseous just a little bit?

What I don't understand is, since MJ retired they haven't been able to get past the Pistons. You would think that would be the goal, build a Team that can beat them, but instead they go in the opposite direction by having a small backcout and frontline that gets dominated by Detroit.
If they can't beat Deroit, they can't advance out of their own Conference.

the most disappointing bull, im not sure, but the worst is most definitely BEN GORDON. He is absolutely terrible, he thinks he's Kobe but he plays like Jamal Crawford. The only difference is hes a SG, so he doesnt take as much criticism for lofting up shot after terrible shot. How many times have you seen him dribble down the court and launch a bricked 3 without even passing the ball once? Or trying to drive THROUGH a firmly planted power forward, turning the ball over and committing a foul in the process?? Oh and then theres his "defense" if you can even call it that, im pretty sure i could stick to some guys out there better than Gordon can, he just lets them frun free around screens and launch open Js all night, he cant pressure the ball or keep his man in front. He puts up points for us because we have no offense and everyone besides him is afraid to shoot, but that 20 ppg doesnt make him any good, if in the process he has to shoot 25 times for it, with a handful of turnovers, and even more bad shots that just take the momentum out of the team

in short, the team is playing terrible, we should have acquired KG before the season, the celtics gave up nothing to get him, and that is Paxson's fault. Trade for kobe will not happen because were playing so bad. Gordon needs to be traded, thomas will never develop into a great player because he has no basketball IQ,and he is sloppy and lazy at times, and noah was just a waste of a draft pick. Hinrich needs to pull his head out of his ass, and ben wallace needs to remember how to jump...hes 6'8 at least?? probably taller?? good lord, what a joke, how can you not dunk the ball...it must be the extra weight of carrying the ball up to the rim....

do you want any more or our leftover. you thought you got over will you got ben. we still on top. joke on you jack.lolololol detroit all the way

Just got finished watching the Knicks game and I have to say that the Bulls right now are playing worse than the 1999 Bulls.

NOBODY could make a shot. I posted on here a few days ago that playing the Knicks was exactly what the Bulls needed because I felt that the Knicks were the worst team in the NBA.

I NOW STAND CORRECTED.... AS OF THIS MOMENT, THE BULLS ARE THE WORST TEAM IN THE NBA.... HANDS DOWN! And that really hurts me to say, but it's true.

I say Paxson,because he should know how to put a team together.
He let the BAR get raised on him and did`nt respond to any of the players movement in the league.
Team that want to win respond some how.
This market is too large to have a team that by now would have been run out of Des Moines Iowa.

I think if the entire team doesn’t perform well, the coach is the problem. What’s so important about sprinting down to the court? This is not track competition. Skiles criticized Tyrus is lazy; It seems he said similar things about Chandler. Look how well Chandler is doing under another coach. Gordon is neither good at nor cares about playing defense and just wants to take the most shots. His teammates (particularly Kirk) have to work extra, extra hard to cover his defensive deficiencies, which basically makes one of the Bulls offensive weapons (Kirk) less (or much less) effective on the offensive end. There is a reason why the 76er failed miserably in Iverson period. AI-1 just wanted to shoot and hoped his teammates to play hard on defense and do all the little things; soon or later his teammates were tired of his selfishness and started to stand around to watch him shooting. When other Bulls have a bad shooting game, their defense is always there. When Gordon has a bad shooting game, he offers nothing to the team (many times even when he shot well, his counterpart shot even better if he was the one guarding them). It’s not how many total pts a play scores is important, it’s how many pts a player out-scores his counterpart helps the team win.
Skiles does NOT give favoritism to Kirk. Skiles always assigns Kirk the toughest defensive job (between Kirk and Gordon). Imagine if your boss always assigns you the toughest job (while your co-worker gets glamor thing to do), do you think your boss does you a favor?
I wonder whether too much weight training during the off-season suggested by Paxson affects Kirk’s shooting (since I hadn’t seen him shooting poorly for multiple consecutive games last season). I remember a good coach once said too much weight training affects shooting, and this type of advice normally is only given to Center (maybe PF). On the other hand, why did Kirk follow such a stupid suggestion? Isn’t he supposed to be smart enough to know that he should focus on studying Kidds’ or Nash’s games (to improve his decision making, reduce TO, improve shooting, etc.)?

Thats Skiles MO,critizize the players....thats what got him fired in Phoenix.
None his players care for him and they want play for him,Reinsdorf
don`t care because the man comes cheap.Paxson keep his job by reminding Reindorf by showing him those rings of the good old days.
Every body seem to want to get away from this team they can`t wait til a trade come a long.

I just read every single comment on this page. I would like to agree that JR Smith is not the answer for the Bulls but I like the NeNe for Ben Wallace idea. I did not know Paxson could have got rid of Donyell and moved up to pick Dwayne in the draft. That was bad then. Wow! I must say though that I think the worst Bull is THE FANS.

Fans, don't worry so much about the Chicago Bulls. Ultimately, it is all about a dynasty right? I am pretty sure that this is definately the year that everything goes wrong in Chicago. Hinrich being signed over Luol and Ben's extentions was a huge mistake. Joakim and Tyrus deserve more minutes than Ben and Joe. It is okay though. No, I do not believe this team will turn it around like the past slow-start teams. Yes, I do think this struggle will ultimately lead to our team being much improved. We have a lot of players that would fit into other systems.

Our job now is to sell. We have someone for every team in the NBA. I think it is important that we hold on to Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, Thomas, Sefalosha, and Joakim. They are young and their injuries won't compare to the other guys on our team. Hinrich can be sold. Wallace is wanted by some teams out there. Those are two of our biggest contracts. Those are two guys we need to get rid of. We have a chance if we keep our core players.

Yes, there are some Denver big men who we might be able to steal for Ben Wallace in return. We can even give them Aaron Gray who is very much a bust. Please Please Please to all of you who are fans of that guy. He makes Will Purdue look good! Also, Hinrich did get some honors last year and was on the olympic tryouts. We can get some substance for him. Maybe all we can get is a late first round pick from a Western Conference playoff team like one of the Texas teams. So, we go with Duhon and Jamesson Curry or Michael Barret until we can draft next year. It is okay.

Would you rather that Scott Skiles win 50 games and our little guards shoot 25 percent from the field in the playoff and watch Thomas struggle to carry the low-post game. If we keep our talented young draft picks and make some changes, we will be fine. The only problem with all of that thinking is salesmanship. Who wants Hinrich?... our one draft mistake... who wants Wallace... our free agent mistake... and when are we going to be able to get rid of Skiles. What coach is available... larry brown.. god I hate him but I'd take him over Skiles if I had to choose.

Bulls Fans, I do feel like a so called Expert. My expertise tells me that this Bulls team is actually still falling and things are about to get worse because I do see some effort with little and no change. Hinrich and Gordon are simply two guards that can not play together. They were exposed last year during that game 6 against Detroit. You know who else was exposed, Scott Skiles and his horrible 4th quarter line-up. Other teams knew it. Apparently the fans in Chicago did not know it. I really feel strongly that getting rid of just Kirk will fix a lot of problems... then we can work on that low post problem. If you want to pray for something, pray for Jason Kidd. If you want to pray for another trade, pray for Gardener and Luol to be traded for Shawn Marion. If you want to continue to pray, pray that Skiles steps down for "love of the game"... knowing that his coaching rotations exploit him horrifically.

I too read what we Are writing here.
Its frustration.....no fun any more in chicago sports.

How hard can it be to pick Talent that is obvious to all here.
These people GM`S,COACH`S and asst.coaches are PAID GOOD MONEY.

Chicago Sports used to stand for something,now every player have career days at our expense.
Defacto owners are partially to blame.

So I am slowly becoming cynical as they are.
I`ll find something to do maybe join a boweling league.
I feel all you guys.
But they DON`T.

AWESOME THREAD!!! TIM LITTLE was on FIRE!