Archive | May 2014
May 9, 2014  

Thibodeau next move

It has been rumored that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is a candidate for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angels Lakers, and before Phil Jackson’s hiring the New York Knicks. Thibs issues with the Bulls front office has been detailed greatly from contract negations to top assistant Ron Adam’s departure.  The playoff lost to the Wizards made things more complicated.

The Bulls roster even with a healthy Derick Rose is flawed, not enough players can create shots in the half court. The Bulls are banking on trading not amnestying Carlos Boozer who is coming off his worse year, and counts for over 15 million against the cap. The move makes sense from an owner who is notorious for not spending money.

This is the worst year for the Bull’s management to give their head coach options to leave. Every rumored landing spot for Thibs has less question marks than Chicago.

Golden State Warriors 

The Warriors fired successful coach Mark Jackson after three seasons. The Warriors had a 121-109 record in the three year under Jackson. The team enjoyed the first back to back playoff appearances since Don Nelson in 1992. The team has offensive fire power that the Bulls lack. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are three point shooters that can both score 30 in a game with ease. Both also can distribute to their teammates.

Harrison Barnes is an athletic small forward that can guard, and has been know for offensive explosions. Andre Iguodala is a veteran leader that can create shots off the dribble. He also can guard the best offense weapon on the opposite team similar to the Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler.

The Warriors went 51-31 in a tough Western Conference, and took the Los Angles Clippers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Thibs can impose his defense strategy on the Warriors. He turned Kyle Korver from a defensive liability to the best perimeter on the Atlanta Hawks. If Thibs can do that with Curry the Warriors will be able to take the next step towards being a contender in the Western Conference.

Los Angles Lakers 

The Lakers are a rebuild because of bad roster moves to fit Mike D’Antioni fast pace offense.  The often injured Steve Nash is no longer capable of starting at point guard and is challenging Raymond Felton for the worst starter in the league. The rest of the roster has been pieced together mostly due to Dwight Howard leaving.

The Lakers want to win now, and have shown to put rosters together that the coach wants . The big plan in LA is to get Carmelo Anthony this off season. Melo already questioned players about playing for Thibs, if the Lakers can add him then the chances that Melo signs with them increases.

And then their is the team leader Kobe, Kobe is returning to the team after missing most of the season with a knee injury. He is a intense competitor that only cares about winning his sixth NBA title. Kobe and Thibs share the win at all cost mentality Kobe role will be less with another superstar on the court. He will most like be the vocal point of scoring in the fourth quarter similar to what Paul Pierce does with the Nets.

Chicago Bulls

The incumbent team in the race for Thibs. The Bulls roster has holes, but the weaknesses are fixable this off-season. The Bull’s much maligned power forward Carlos Boozer will most likely not be on the team next year. This helps the team a lot since Thibs does not play him in the fourth quarter, and Boozer is a defense liability.

Rose is a question mark, last year showed that he can still make plays offensively. He still needs to adjust to playing against teams when games count. He was forced into 4.3 turnovers a game, and made several  bad choices with the ball. Coming off a second knee injury in two years the Bulls are waiting to see if they can build around him.

The Bulls need to add pieces to make the team a contender. The Bulls need two scorers in addition to Rose to challenge Miami in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are in the easier conference by far so their are always going to be in the playoffs no matter who gets injured. Does Thibs trust the Bulls front office enough to stay, only time will tell.

May 8, 2014  

White Sox vs Cubs

The Chicago White Sox look to win game 3 in the cross town matchup.  The Cubs have struggled producing run support for their starters.The Cubs starting pitching has been stellar giving up one run per appearance. In the early part of the season the Cubs are 11-20, that puts them in last place in the NL Central nine games behind the Brewers.

With the back to back wins against the Cubs, the White Sox are now at .500. They are five games behind the American League leading Tigers.Despite the victories,  the Sox have struggled offensively. They are hoping Jose Abreu can drive runs in on at the top of the order.

The Cubs will send out Jake Arrieta to match up against Scott Carroll.  Caroll has a 0.68 ERA and a record of 1-0. This is Arrieta first start on the season.

The crosstown matchup between the two teams has lost its luster since the inception of interleague play in baseball in 1997 . The height of the rivalry came in 2006 the  year after the White Sox ended their World Series drought. A brawl ensued between catchers A.J. Pierzynski  and Micheal Barrett. During the play at the plate, Pierzynski ran into Barrett knocking him down. Pierzynski pounded on home plate, and for his actions Barrett punched him. A bench clearing brawl took place and the MLB suspended players and coaches.

Since then both teams have been mediocre at best posting a combined three playoff appearances since the brawl. Neither team has seen sustained success suffering through major lineup and manger changes. The series that use to be a home and home weekend series, now is alternates sites and takes place in the middle of the week.

The city is not even excited about the matchup any more, none of the games at U.S. Cellular field have sold out. It looks like dark days ahead for these two Chicago teams.

May 3, 2014  

Houston vs Portland

In game 6 of a contested playoff series, the Blazers look to close out the Rockets at home.  I will be covering the live reaction from news networks, fans, and journalist.

 

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 3, 2014

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