Two things Ben Gordon said Tuesday have stuck with me.
"They didn't blow us out," Gordon said after losing to the Atlanta Hawks. Now I know how easily it is to take someone out of context - even unintentionally, so maybe he wasn't really drawing consolation from not getting blown out by the Hawks.
I know the Hawks are off to a great start, but the Bulls shouldn't take consolation in not getting blown out by anybody.
Gordon also said: "We weren't ready to play tonight. We weren't focused."
Again, maybe there were other comments that mitigated the negative implications of the quotes, but on their face those are unsettling observations.
It is way, way too early to talk about being focused and ready to play. This isn't February.
And the first thing you think of when you hear these things is the coach. Rookie coach Vinny Del Negro can't have his veterans talking about not being prepared or focused. It's something he has to address immediately.
The Bulls acquired Lindsey Hunter today. They needed another point guard to help take some pressure off Derrick Rose. I don't know Hunter, but I think he's a pro who can help make sure the Bulls are focused and prepared.
He's played on two championship teams, and that never hurts.
On the surface, it seems Del Negro needs help in the locker room, and Hunter might be part of the solution.
Roman, though you are a better expert at this than I am, I think you are reading too much into it. Now what I mean by that is Gordon readily admits though the Chicago Bulls players did not play to the level it expects, they did not get blown out for NOT BEING FOCUSED!
Remember when MJ would tell reporters the team must come out each night with energy and clicking on all cylinders to win? I believe this is what Gordon meant!
No need to raise Red Flags and unless you are reading something else into it that I am not. Remember when the Bulls would lose these early games by fifteen points or more, and the other teams were not necessarily good teams.
Ben Gordon might simply be responding to that and letting teammates know they didn't play a FOCUSED 48 minutes to win the game. No more than the Bears only playing a focused 2nd or 1st half of a game instead of sixty mintutes, then come up short by one or two scores to lose the game.
The Bulls had the same amount of turnovers as the Hawks the other night but lost only by five points. Two less turnovers and two three pointers the Bulls win the game.
I think I know what you mean, but I don't read it that way at this point in time.
Bulls are fine, and Hunter will help. He can run, shoot, handle the ball and defend. He is a solid pickup and I say keep him. He will be able to give Rose a blow and maintain the score. And now we REALLY don't need Kirk or Hughes in my opinion. I like Thabo and Rose and Thabo and Hunter.
Who anointed Ben Gordon the team spokesperson?
He has never smiled once since I have seen him and is a life time 6th man.
By nature he is a salty, negative dude.
Who cares what he thinks.
Really, lets actually not ask him anymore.
B
You could spell Dallas backwards because the Bulls ate them up last night. Talk about O-lay Defense. Looked like they were running in quicksand last night. Those are the kinds of games they simply cannot afford to lose this season. Bulls have play Gray in games like that and reserve Gooden.
Bulls were going to loose that game until Vinny found his Doug Collins playbook. Gordon is an Assassin. Teams fear him. He just needs to learn to pass out of a double team and how to split the defense, but above all - HOW to trust Rose. Gordon has to the right attitude: ATTACK. But no one else on that team is more interested in doing just that than Rose, who is more talented and a better ball handler.
I won't lie, Larry Hughes actually impressed me last night. He can be Erob-ish.
HE WON'T PLAY MUCH, BUT HE IS A QUALITY PERSON AND HE WILL MAKE
THE LOCKER ROOM MORE PROFESSIONAL, ISN'T IT IRONIC THAT WILL BYNUM
FROM CRANE HIGH SCHOOL TOOK HIS ROSTER SPOT IN DETROIT, AND NOW HE
COMES TO CHICAGO AND ANOTHER CHICAGO PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYER DERRICK
ROSE IS THE STARTING GUARD FOR THE BULLS, HE WAS BROUGHT HERE TO
PUT A WORD IN THE EAR OF ROSE, AND GORDON AND HUGHES COULD LEARN
ABOUT HAVING A WINNING ATTITUDE AS WELL!
ROSE WILL LISTEN BUT WILL THE OTHER TWO, ROSE AND THE BULLS ARE
DEFINITELY PLAY-OFF BOUND, THE YOUNG MAN HAS THE MIDAS TOUCH, I
DON'T KNOW HOW FAR THEY WILL GO, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO THE PLAY-OFFS!
I always liked Hunter. Solid all around who always comes to play. Where he's at now in his career will have to be seen, but he limits his mistakes to the very least, and after watching Thomas make knucklehead decisions game after game, Hunter may be a joy to watch.
As for Gordon; not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I wouldn't put too much stock in anything he says.
Definitely a good pickup. Hunter will be like Darrell Armstrong, a veteran who is good for 10 minutes of really good D and mistake free basketball. Plus he will teach Derrick to play some D...cause that is young Rose's only weakness.
C Smoove - I think Rose plays "rookie defense". Bulls need him so badly that he cannot afford to be aggressive and pick up cheap fouls. As his stardom grows he will be able to gamble more. But for now - leave all that to Thabo and let him stay on the floor. The experience is invaluable to his growth.
Great comparison of Hunter. Armstrong has been a headache everytime we faced him. Time for us to give it to other teams.
I thought the Bulls fared well in their first game of the Circus Trip. I wonder how many they will win? Good blog question Roman.
The west is still tough, but I am confident the Bulls can compete. We need this kind of competition to test their mettle. I am enjoying the Bulls. They are competing like professionals. Thomas's behind the back steal was worth the price of admission last night. That game was a measuring stick. And I saw something with Gray last night also. If he was in better shape, he could be quite formidable on the block.
Pax just couldn't let go of Deng...... why?
Julie I agree wholeheartedly. He is the biggest disappointment. Should have given the money to Gordon and traded Deng or traded both. But thats looking behind. Bulls need a star or two. They have a good solid bench and a great point guard.