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By Sam Smith | 3.27.2015 | 9:37 a.m. CT
I know everyone is considering the possibilities for the Bulls playoff positioning, and I keep going back and forth on whether I want the Bulls to be the 3 or 4 seed. Now I realize, like usually, the only thing that matters is Derrick Rose. I just don't think the Bulls have a great shot at the Finals if Rose is not healthy. So, really it would make sense for the Bulls to get the 3 seed, so Rose can ease his way back during the 1st round against a weaker Milwaukee squad, instead of chasing John Wall around everywhere and running into Nene or Gortat near the basket. I know they have looked worse lately, but maybe avoiding the Wizards is the best thing for Rose, which really is the biggest concern of all.
Jon Kueper
If all the players from the 2011 draft are thrown into a pool and redrafted today, how do you think the Top 5 would look? Consider we've got Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Mirotic, Jimmy Butler, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, and Vucevic.
Dan Michler
Sam: This is your classic media/fan second guess. I've heard how this goes when I ask some media members how come they didn't know, for example, Greg Oden wouldn't make it and Kobe Bryant would. The answer is always the same: The gm is paid to know these things; they are not. Another lesson in media infallibility. Or rarely taking responsibility. Anyway, I've never come across an executive from Jerry West to Red Auerbach who hasn't missed badly in the draft. Especially now trying to predict with 19-year-olds. It's more chance than science. The 2011 draft turned out to be great for the Bulls, essentially building their future, which no media person or fan on draft night predicted or imagined. It turned out to be an excellent draft that if you were putting it in order today you'd still have major disagreements but could go this way:
Klay Thompson
Kyrie Irving
Kawhi Leonard
Nikola Vucevic
Jimmy Butler
Nikola Mirotic
Enes Kanter
Kenneth Faried
Kemba Walker
Brandon Knight
I think its time for you to write the article that gets people talking about Mirotic winning 6th man of the year. I've heard pretty much zero conversation on the topic all season, and realistically, who else would he be up against? Worth a shot eh? Carry the torch!
Dave Cronin
I'm wondering what to make of Mirotic and his future role with the team. I watch the 25-point games and thunder dunks and fourth-quarter scoring, especially as a rookie, and those all seem like the hallmarks of a franchise player, like a Dirk Nowitzki, who in time you'd build a team around. But then I remember back in 2004-2005 the Bulls had a player in Ben Gordon who, if I remember correctly, led the league in fourth-quarter scoring his rookie year and was in the discussion as one of the most clutch players in the league, ultimately winning the Sixth Man of the Year award (but lost Rookie of the Year). But now he's just a solid journeyman player. And of course there was Linsanity, where he was amazing for a few months and since then has been solid, but unspectacular, as a backup. Most analysts I've heard laugh off the idea of Mirotic being compared to Nowitzki, or even Toni Kukoc, but I don't think people watching Noah or Butler as rookies saw the players they'd become, either. But clearly they see something that puts a ceiling on how great they think Mirotic will be. What's your take on him? Could he become a Nowitzki-level player? And since Wiggins pretty much has Rookie of the Year sewn up, could Mirotic be a dark horse for Sixth Man like Gordon was?
Chris Feldman
Tony Snell, like many, doesn't seem to have a good over all game without consistent minutes. 0-1, one shot, three personals in sixteen min Monday. That said, he had a block, no TO's, and didn't seem to hurt the team while he was on the court.
William Kochneff
As a fan of Jordan's past exploits, I follow the Hornets. Why are they so bad at drafting? Jordan and/or Rod Higgins came out of the 2011 draft with Kemba Walker when Klay Thompson was available and was viewed as a brilliant prospect; they then traded Tobias Harris for a project in Bismack Biyombo (huh?); 2012 (first year with Rich Cho at the helm) was Kidd-Gilchrist over Andre Drummond, Bradley Beal, and Damian Lillard; MKG's improved as of late, but he's still a project. Beal is closer to being a complete player, and Lillard's an all star. Cody Zeller was picked over Nerlins Noel, which looks like it may have been a mistake as well. They seem like they may have picked good players with this last draft, but time will tell. It seems like regardless of who's in charge that they don't seem to get it right.
Terrell Bryant
What are your thoughts on playoff scheduling being favorable to the bulls i.e. one day off between games? Due to injuries and other issues our year can best be described as uneven. We can only point to the favorable record when all five starters are on the floor. We have not faired well in back to backs and the Detroit game was another example of inability to close. Also, what are your thoughts regarding the involuntary rest of Jimmy and to a lesser extent Taj? Could this late season extended rest help them in the long run? Lastly, will the playoffs prove to be a microcosm of the season? Uneven play, inability to close, great some nights, other nights not so much?
Greg Mendel
With the way he's been playing, if OKC makes the playoffs, Westbrook must be considered front runner for MVP. That's coming from me as a Bulls fan, not a Warriors / Rockets fan. Curry has good shooters surrounding him (Thompson, Barnes, Green). Harden has better supporting cast than Westbrook. It seems every other game Westbrook will have a triple double. Even Rose during his MVP season couldn't pull this off.
Abram Bachtiar
Do you think the Bulls will keep Dunleavy around next season? I love his game. Sometimes he barely gets any shots off, yet he never complains and then when guys are down he has the ability to score 20-25 pts. Although the Bulls have Snell and McDermott and need to give them a chance to play, do they trust the young guys to carry the wing position next season?
Megan Wong
Just by the stats alone, I think Derrick Rose is so overrated. PGs like Chris Paul, Westbrook, Deron Williams and even Lawson have had countless games in which they scored 30+ pts and 15+ assists during their careers. Rose's done it only once yet he was/is considered an elite PG. Yes he's been inured a lot but he's generally not considered as a high assist guy. How is that acceptable? You can say that he's never quite had the big time scorers around him but heck, look at what Westbrook's doing without Durant night after night? And even Lawson with guys like Faried and Wilson Chandler. I would love to see Rose putting up 10+ assists per game on a consistent basis.
Bambi Choy
One thing I've been wondering about is if (and how) the Bulls can run the Noah-centric offense with Rose. I guess 1st option will still be for Rose to run out & beat everyone down court. But if he can't run out, I'd like to see them use Noah as distributer and Rose as a '2nd shooting guard'. Makes it a lot harder to shut down the offense by triple-teaming Rose... or putting LeBron on him. (Of course, Bulls still need to make shots!)
Art Alenik
Is it me but is Thibs just way too loyal to his veterans? I know Thibs trusts and loves Hinrich but shouldn't he know better when to use and not use him in certain match ups? Bulls tend to struggle against quick little guards so why doesn't Thibs use E'Twaun Moore to slow them down instead of just sticking with Hinrich who's obviously no longer the defensive player he was? I guess all that talk about winning is not always a top priority of Thibs as loyalty comes first even if they are playing poorly. Also why not use E'Twaun Moore more who's proven that he's one of the most reliable players on the team who doesn't make a lot of mistakes?
Tom Choi
Forget Kyle korver's season, DeAndre Jordan will be the first 70% FG, 40% FT, 25% 3FT
Mike Coughlin
Turning back the clock a bit, Adrian Dantley is one of the most prolific and unique scorers in the NBA history. He's definitely one of my favorite players of all time and I doubt we'll ever see another like him. What's amazing is that he was very generously listed at 6'5 and 200lbs yet most of his points came from posting guys that were half a foot taller and 40+ pounds heavier. Plus we're talking in the 80's when it was a lot more physical than now. It wasn't like he was extremely quick either despite being built more like a guard. I still vividly remember getting so frustrated watching 7ft Brad Sellers buying every one of Dantley's fakes and struggling to guard this puny guy. How did he manage to not just play well but really have it his way in the NBA despite his physical shortcoming?
Jay Choi
When you wrote about officials not calling palming on Earl Monroe because they'd never seen anyone do anything like what he was doing, it reminded me of the Will Ferrell movie Semi Pro. Have you seen it? It wasn't a classic but Ferrell plays the owner/player/coach of an ABA team. At the climax of the movie during the team's final game they invent the alley oop play. The crowd goes quiet because nobody has ever seen anything like it and the referee calls a foul because he has no idea what just happened. I figure alley oops started becoming a part of the game shortly after dunks did. I know some early coaches and basketball personalities were strongly against dunks being allowed. Do you remember alley oops ever being controversial?
Cameron Watkins
I called it! At the beginning of the year I sent u this email: “How high up do Lebron's powers really go? The last 2 players to beat him out for the MVP award have been stricken with injuries the following year. I know Durant's injury isn't as serious as Rose's... Yet. But don't be surprised if Durant misses extended time with more injuries this year. For Lebron truly is the chosen one and anyone who beats him out for an NBA award shall be cursed forever!” Now I think it's safe to say Durant's season is over and maybe more. Lesson here- do not mess with the chosen one!
Billy Habibi