Who Had Dec. 12th in the Pippen Pool I don't care if My Man Sam(tm) made the joke already. I made it when he first broke down a few days into the season. And I'd link you too if my blasted permalinks worked....and if those meddling kids didn't get in my way. Anyway. Scottie's having surgery, and may actually retire. Now I know the retirement talk was all over the local papers today, but lets wait till it happens before we all go nutso. What is the case right now is a 5 million dollar player who's missing another month, and isn't going to make the total of 50 games that he and John Paxson hoped for. Which means it's time to second guess the move. At the time of the signing I liked the move predicated by the assumption that he'd stay healthy. Now that he obviously isn't healthy, the move's not looking so good. But looking at the other main summer option, Ira Newble, it could've been worse. Newble has been ineffective, injured and even put in the Paul Silas doghouse to give Ricky Davis some company. But there was another option out there at the time that got me thinking, James Posey. A good defender at the 2 or 3, Posey is younger, and right now better than Pippen or Newble. He's putting up about 9 and 4 for the Griz this year, in an average of 26.5 minutes per game. Those minutes might even be lower in the coming weeks due to the addition of Bonzi Wells giving them a surplus of swingmen. So obviously Jerry West and the Griz couldn't have been *that* happy with Posey. So maybe he wasn't going to be a savior here, but he would've been a better option than Pip or Newble right now. But you know what? Maybe another appeal of Pippen all along was that his 2 year deal would be less than what was required of Posey or Newble. What's wrong with giving them a big contract? Well the team already has a guy on the roster who already fits that bill, Eddie Robinson. He's back from the respritory infection that kept him out the past couple of games, forcing us to watch the Linton Johnson III experience. And with Pippen out now at least a month, its E-Rob's time to shine. He's actually been playing pretty well so far this year, but will get a major minutes boost from the 20 he's been averaging thus far. Consider it an opportunity to finally see what he can do. He'll probably never be the 6 million dollar man Krause projected him to be, but he could definately fill in as the starting small forward. As I always say, he's pretty much untradeable, so might as well hopes he turns his career around while in a Bulls uniform. Game tonight is at Milwaukee...and I decree it's winnable.

Injury Round-Up From the Trib:

"For now, figure Eddie Robinson, who has recovered from a virus, to replace Linton Johnson in the starting lineup. Kirk Hinrich, who was bothered by back spasms in Monday's loss to the Spurs, is expected to play Friday in Milwaukee. Corie Blount probably will be out at least a week with a knee sprain suffered Monday. Scottie Pippen's knee problems and Tyson Chandler's back problems mean the two players probably won't play again this month."

(sigh)

Admninistrivia: Sorry about not responding to comments(if you even wanted me to), it looks to me that my comment system (enetation) blows, and doesn't actually say the correct # of comments on a given post. Which stinks because I really like reading the imput. I'll be fixing up the site in about 2 weeks.....i think. -Matt

"No Excuses"? Ya know, It didn't really hit me until yesterday how poor the Bulls record really is. There's all the talk about how the new coach will help, the new players will help, they're injured, adjusting, etc. But at the heart of the matter, they still only have 5 wins. But I will make an excuse, these injuries are really killing their chances in these winnable games. Another one last night with the Spurs in town. The Spurs played as awful as the Bulls until the 4th quarter, when an 11-point run by Manu Ginobilli (yes, just him), sunk their hopes. Eddie Robinson returned last night, limiting the Linton Johnson minutes, which was good to see. But during the game Corie Blount had to leave after a knee injury and Kirk Hinrich played most of the game in pain while experiencing back spasms. The obvious bright spot continues to be Jamal Crawford, who is stepping up as the offensive leader of the team. He is taking over the Jalen Rose of taking those tough shots at the end of the shot clock, a situation that occurs with alarming regularity. But the difference is I feel confident as a fan watching him that he can create these shots. It shows the difference in coaching philosophy between Skiles and Cartwright when you see Jamal not getting pulled out of the game after a questionable shot or two. Some of the fourth quarter runners he made looked unguardable. I was screaming at the television form of Eddy Curry all night, who finally came up big with 16 points in the fourth quarter to finish with....16 points. While Crawford is playing very consistent, Eddy has been anything but. I have said this so many times already, but with Eddy dominating offensively inside like he can, the Bulls are a dangerous team. Otherwise, Crawford is the only bonifide scoring option, evidenced by the first 3 quarters of last night. Antonio Davis helped him out with 16 points of his own, but Eddy needs to be the focal point of the interior game. I still can't help but think what this team would be like if Tyson Chandler and Scottie Pippen played regularly. A stretch against Philly, New Orleans and San Antonio could have been 3-0 instead of 3 more losses.

Sorry I'll be back in full force tommorow. But for today, check out the developing Rick Brunson - Chris Jefferies Feud. I can't believe there even is a feud.