I believe that was a picture of Jamal Crawford on my Ticket, not Rick Brunson

Three messages on my instant messenger when I got home from Monday night's Bulls win against the severly undermanned Suns:

-"Why would you want Brunson in the game?" -"Rick Brunson is the bane of my existence." -"ha did u throw a slushie at Skiles head?"

Does Scott Skiles see me in the stands and automatically call on #9? If any of you remember the last Bulls game I attended, I was extremely annoyed with the amount of minutes Rick Brunson got. Not only was Brunson in the game for 21 minutes, he played the entire 4th quarter. Both times Brunson got minutes due to a benching of Jamal Crawford. And in what has been the theme of the past week or so, it was because of Crawford not attacking the basket. In his 26 minutes of play, Crawford took 11 shots, and 8 of them were 3 pointers. He didn't go to the free throw line the entire game. The results were predictably poor, netting only 5 points before the benching. Needless to say that Skiles' reasoning behind the benching wasn't to put a better guard on the court, but to send a message to Jamal that this type of play is unacceptable. While this angers me as someone in attendance, as a Bulls fan I cannot complain with this move. In the long term, Skiles is thinking about Jamal Crawford's development above the performance of one game. While winning games this year is important (hell in the East they're not even out of it), if this benching makes Crawford a more complete scorer I'm all for it.

Hmmm....if you've been paying attention, you'll notice this is the opposite attitude than my opinion with Eddy Curry's minutes. And again tonight Eddy was taken out late for a more defensive lineup. So what is my real solution for this balance between development and winning? On the one hand, I want Eddy Curry in the game to provide scoring, yet on the other I don't mind when Jamal gets taken out when he's not playing up to his potential. Now while I do admit that benching Jamal in the 4th was a good idea, he should have been put back into the game when in the last 5 minutes. Maybe he can stay off the floor for punishment if he had a better backup, but it was obvious that Brunson was detrimental on both sides of the ball. By putting him back in to win the game I don't think Skiles would have cheapened the message of his benching, and maybe Jamal would've responded positively. That way the message can be sent, but also you don't need to put out a lineup that cannot score to save its life. Because in what is even more glaring in person, those lineups are terrible to watch.

But I will conclude with this: I trust Scott Skiles with this delicate process. And I can't say the same for when Cartwright was here.

Suns Make a Deal The Phoenix Suns will be severly undermanned tonight against the Bulls after trading Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the Knicks this morning. I will be attending the game tonight, so I have conflicting views. As an NBA fan, I'm honestly mad that I dont get to see 'Starbury', one of my favorite players. But as a Bulls fan this all of a sudden becomes a very winnable game. I had a mega-post yesterday, so if you haven't read that already, scroll on down.

Anatomy of (another) Collapse Man, another heartbreaker for the Bulls as they blow another lead at home, this time to the Celtics. After a fun win (well they're all fun) against the Knicks on friday when Eddy Curry had a great 4th quarter after Antonio Davis banged up his creaky knees. Davis was back for last night's game, and the team looked solid in the first half. Sure the basketball was typical eastern-conference poor, but the Bulls had a 14 point lead at halftime. The best part of the game was undoubtedly the 2nd quarter run by the Bulls (and a quarter where the Celtics scored 9 points total). I have to admit I wasn't watching the game closely enough to notice who was on the floor during this run, so I went to the play-by-play. I wont lie, I picked the starting and stopping points of analysis to make a point :).

(10:19) [CHI] Davis Substitution replaced by Curry (10:19) [CHI] Team Rebound (10:19) [CHI] Hinrich Substitution replaced by Crawford (10:19) Jump Ball Blount vs Davis (10:13) [CHI 23-24] Curry Dunk Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: Crawford (1 AST) (9:55) [CHI] Gill Foul: Shooting (2 PF) (9:55) [BOS] Mihm Free Throw 1 of 2 missed (9:55) [BOS] Team Rebound (9:55) [CHI] Gill Substitution replaced by Brunson (9:55) [BOS] Mihm Free Throw 2 of 2 missed (9:54) [CHI] Curry Rebound (Off:0 Def:2) (9:33) [CHI 25-24] Blount Layup Shot: Made (4 PTS) (9:29) [BOS] Mihm Turnover: Bad Pass (2 TO) Steal: Robinson (1 ST) (9:11) [CHI] Robinson Jump Shot: Missed (9:10) [BOS] McCarty Rebound (Off:1 Def:3) (9:04) [BOS] McCarty Turnover: Lost Ball Out of Bounds (1 TO) (8:48) [CHI 27-24] Blount Turnaround Jump: Made (6 PTS) Assist: Brunson (1 AST) (8:31) [BOS] McCarty Jump Shot: Missed (8:31) [CHI] Team Rebound (8:31) [TBD] Timeout: Regular (8:31) [BOS] McCarty Substitution replaced by Baker (8:31) [BOS] Mihm Substitution replaced by Blount (8:20) [CHI 29-24] Curry Layup Shot: Made (4 PTS) Assist: Crawford (2 AST) (8:04) [CHI] Blount Foul: Personal (1 PF) (8:04) [BOS] Banks Substitution replaced by James (7:49) [BOS] Davis Turnover: Bad Pass (1 TO) Steal: Crawford (1 ST) (7:32) [CHI] Brunson Turnover: Lost Ball (1 TO) Steal: Blount (1 ST) (7:24) [BOS] James Jump Shot: Missed (7:21) [CHI] Curry Rebound (Off:0 Def:3) (7:10) [CHI] Blount Jump Shot: Missed (7:08) [BOS] Davis Rebound (Off:0 Def:3) (6:59) [BOS 26-29] Davis Layup Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: James (2 AST) (6:43) [CHI] Curry Turnover: 3 Second Violation (1 TO) (6:30) [BOS] Welsch Jump Shot: Missed (6:28) [CHI] Curry Rebound (Off:0 Def:4) (6:18) [CHI 31-26] Crawford Jump Shot: Made (9 PTS) (6:04) [BOS] Baker Layup Shot: Missed Block: Blount (2 BLK) (6:04) Jump Ball Blount vs Baker (6:04) [BOS] Team Rebound (5:54) [BOS] James Layup Shot: Missed (5:51) [BOS] Blount Rebound (Off:3 Def:2) (5:43) [BOS] Davis Layup Shot: Missed (5:41) [BOS] Baker Tip Shot: Missed (5:41) [BOS] Baker Rebound (Off:1 Def:0) (5:40) [CHI] Curry Rebound (Off:0 Def:5) (5:35) [CHI] Team Timeout: Regular (5:35) [CHI] Blount Substitution replaced by Williams (5:35) [CHI] Brunson Substitution replaced by Hinrich (5:35) [BOS] Welsch Substitution replaced by Pierce (5:22) [CHI 33-26] Curry Layup Shot: Made (6 PTS) Assist: Robinson (1 AST) (5:02) [BOS] James Jump Shot: Missed (4:59) [CHI] Williams Rebound (Off:2 Def:3) (4:36) [CHI] Curry Jump Shot: Missed (4:33) [BOS] Pierce Rebound (Off:0 Def:1) (4:25) [BOS] Pierce Turnover: Bad Pass (1 TO) Steal: Williams (1 ST) (4:17) [CHI 35-26] Crawford Jump Shot: Made (11 PTS) (4:00) [BOS] Davis Turnover: Bad Pass (2 TO) Steal: Curry (1 ST) (3:54) [CHI 37-26] Robinson Layup Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: Williams (1 AST) (3:50) [CHI] Team Violation: Delay of Game (3:50) [BOS] Team Timeout: Regular (3:50) [BOS] Davis Substitution replaced by McCarty (3:50) [BOS] Baker Substitution replaced by Welsch (3:50) [CHI] Curry Substitution replaced by Davis

To summarize, Curry comes in for Davis and makes a basket to give the team a 23-24 lead. His totals for the next 6 and a half minutes (including that basket) are 6pts in 3-4 shooting with 4 rebs and 1 TO. And as a 'bottom line' stat, he left the game with the score at 37-26, or in hockey terms a +10 rating while in the game. His (admittedly) poor defense didn't seem to help the Celts much since they only scored 2 points in this span. Now Lets look at the 4th quarter, at another critical junction:

(6:51) [CHI 67-68] Gill Jump Shot: Made (6 PTS) Assist: Fizer (1 AST) (6:37) [CHI] Gill Foul: Personal (3 PF) (6:31) [CHI] Curry Foul: Shooting (5 PF) (6:31) [CHI] Curry Substitution replaced by Davis (6:31) [BOS] James Free Throw 1 of 2 missed (6:31) [BOS] Team Rebound (6:31) [BOS] Mihm Substitution replaced by Blount (6:31) [BOS] James Free Throw 2 of 2 missed (6:29) [CHI] Davis Rebound (Off:1 Def:6) (6:09) [CHI] Fizer Jump Shot: Missed (6:07) [CHI] Davis Rebound (Off:2 Def:6) (6:04) [BOS] Blount Foul: Personal (4 PF) (5:56) [CHI] Crawford Jump Shot: Missed (5:53) [BOS] Welsch Rebound (Off:3 Def:3) (5:38) [BOS 70-67] James Jump Shot: Made (11 PTS) (5:13) [CHI] Gill Jump Shot: Missed (5:13) [BOS] Team Rebound (5:13) [CHI] Team Timeout: Regular (5:13) [CHI] Fizer Substitution replaced by Williams (5:00) [BOS 73-67] James Jump Shot: Made (14 PTS) Assist: Pierce (2 AST) (4:35) [BOS] Pierce Foul: Personal (3 PF) (4:35) [CHI 69-73] Williams Free Throw 1 of 2 (7 PTS) (4:35) [CHI 69-73] Williams Free Throw 2 of 2 (7 PTS) (4:20) [BOS] Pierce Turnover: Bad Pass (2 TO) Steal: Crawford (2 ST) (4:16) [CHI] Crawford Turnover: Lost Ball (2 TO) Steal: James (2 ST) (4:13) [CHI] Davis Foul: Shooting (3 PF) (4:13) [BOS 74-69] James Free Throw 1 of 2 (15 PTS) (4:13) [BOS 75-69] James Free Throw 2 of 2 (16 PTS) (4:00) [CHI] Davis Turnover: Bad Pass (2 TO) Steal: James (3 ST) (3:54) [BOS] James Layup Shot: Missed (3:52) [CHI] Crawford Rebound (Off:0 Def:4) (3:48) [CHI] Davis Jump Shot: Missed (3:46) [BOS] McCarty Rebound (Off:1 Def:7) (3:37) [BOS] Pierce Layup Shot: Missed (3:35) [CHI] Williams Rebound (Off:5 Def:6) (3:31) [CHI] Gill Layup Shot: Missed (3:30) [BOS] Welsch Rebound (Off:3 Def:4) (3:29) Jump Ball Williams vs Welsch (3:29) [BOS] Welsch Turnover: Lost Ball (2 TO) Steal: Williams (3 ST) (3:05) [CHI] Williams Jump Shot: Missed (3:03) [CHI] Williams Rebound (Off:6 Def:6) (3:02) [CHI] Williams Jump Shot: Missed (3:00) [BOS] McCarty Rebound (Off:1 Def:8) (2:44) [CHI] Gill Foul: Shooting (4 PF) (2:44) [BOS] Team Timeout: Regular (2:44) [BOS 76-69] Pierce Free Throw 1 of 2 (25 PTS) (2:44) [CHI] Williams Substitution replaced by Robinson (2:44) [BOS 77-69] Pierce Free Throw 2 of 2 (26 PTS) (2:31) [CHI] Gill Jump Shot: Missed (2:28) [BOS] McCarty Rebound (Off:1 Def:9) (2:17) [BOS 79-69] Pierce Jump Shot: Made (28 PTS) Assist: James (3 AST) (2:04) [BOS] Welsch Foul: Personal (1 PF) (2:04) [CHI] Crawford Free Throw 1 of 2 missed (2:04) [CHI] Team Rebound (2:04) [CHI 70-79] Crawford Free Throw 2 of 2 (16 PTS) (1:52) [BOS 81-70] Pierce Driving Dunk: Made (30 PTS) (1:46) [CHI] Hinrich Turnover: Stepped out of Bounds (6 TO) (1:24) [BOS] McCarty Jump Shot: Missed (1:21) [CHI] Crawford Rebound (Off:0 Def:5) (1:19) [CHI] Team Timeout: Short (1:19) [CHI] Crawford Substitution replaced by Johnson (1:16) [BOS] Blount Foul: Shooting (5 PF) (1:16) [CHI] Gill Substitution replaced by Jefferies (1:16) [CHI 71-81] Hinrich Free Throw 1 of 2 (5 PTS) (1:16) [CHI] Davis Substitution replaced by Williams

In this 7 and half span, Davis comes in the game and does the following: 0pts on 0-1 shooting, 2 rebs, a TO and a shooting foul. And accumulated a -9 rating as the Celtics put the game out of reach. I know this is very crude analysis, and doesn't take much into account besides the end results, but I just remember in this 4th quarter hoping and praying that Curry would be put back into the game for Davis while the game slipped farther and farther away. All a fan needed to do is look back one night to see how Curry helps out in late game situations. I know that Skiles (and Cartwright before him) prefer a veteran and 'defensive' lineup to close out games, but you also need somebody in the frontcourt who can make the defense respect you. And nobody expects Antonio Davis to make a play late in the game. When he gets the ball in the post, its obvious that he's going to be looking to hand it off to Jamal Crawford or another jumpshooter. What Curry can do is command respect (and double teams) from the defense to make plays himself or free up the perimeter. And I value that more importantly than whatever Davis can bring with 'intangibles'. Look, I like the trade bringing Antonio Davis here. And he is undoubtedly a better defender and rebounder than Curry. But I had a different role envisioned for him than how he's being used now:

Antonio Davis becomes the primary backup frontcourt player for the team, and even a starter possibly if Tyson's back keeps acting up. While he is only 6'9", Davis has played the center position for several years in Toronto, and shouldn't be too much of a size disadvantage in the East. I think he's a nice insurance policy to have on the bench when Curry gets into early foul trouble. He also takes away all of Corie Blount's minutes, which is a plus. It think this role (buzzword of the day) is more within his means in this stage of his career than in Toronto as a starter playing nearly 36 minutes a game.

Like many problems with this team, this situation should be alleviated somewhat by the return of Tyson Chandler. Even without Chandler though, Antonio Davis' minutes should be reduced to make more time for Eddy Curry. Hopefully this changes as he gradually gets his stamina built up, but putting Curry in at the end of games not only would help the team win games right now, but further his development as the future of the franchise. (whew). Tommorow's game is at home against the Phoenix Suns. This will be my second game at the United Center this year, hopefully it turns out better than the last one.

Captain Kirk It's amazing how two games with similar outcomes could give me such a different reaction. But after monday's debacle against the Heat, last night's game in Minnesota was actually encouraging. Tuning in midway through the 2nd quarter and seeing them down by 20, I was resigned to just tuning in on the Illini for the rest of the night. But a nice rally in the 2nd brought the game within 4 at the Half, and the game stayed close till the predictable lack of excecution led to another defeat. But that kind of late-game execution is hard to come by against a good team like the Timberwolves on the road, so I wasn't too upset. The team actually looked good for most of the game, and that's all I can ask for on some nights. I said yesterday that I was looking for Eddy Curry to have a good game and Jamal Crawford to start attacking the basket. Eddy had another strong effort and looks like he's ready to defend his FG% title by going 6-9 for 16 pts. Jamal was still not attacking the basket as much as I'd have liked, but theres rumblings that his sore ankle may be still bothering him. Speaking of not going to the basket, Eddie Robinson is an even bigger culprit than Crawford. Its hard to notice while he's on the bench sulking, but in a game when he gets minutes like last night and actually scores 13 points you can see its all on jumpshots. This is fine from someone like Kendall Gill, but E-Rob can literally jump over people, and could be a major offensive weapon if he wasn't so scared of attacking the basket. But how much space have I devoted to E-Rob's potential already...its kind of getting old. Getting to the title of this entry, Kirk Hinrich is becoming the only player on this team who can be counted on every game. Last night he had 17 points along with 10 assists, and building a case for making the all-rookie team at the end of the year. Here are his monthly splits:

November: 24.3mpg 6.8ppg 3.8apg December: 36.7mpg 11.9ppg 6.8apg

I remember when he was first getting put in the rotation and he looked completely overwhelmed, but its amazing to see a rookie be the kind of floor leader that he is. Granted, its a team with only 9 wins, but you can tell how the team is effected when he's off the court. And more importantly than court vision and leadership and those other 'intangible' point guard qualities are 2 important parts of his game. He can Defend. And he can *shoot*. Those are 2 things that are rare on this team, and frankly 2 things that a healthy Jay Williams likely would have never mastered. I know its only a month of good basketball, but is it too early to think that Hinrich will be a better fit for this team than Jay Williams ever would have been? I'll leave you guys with that, enjoy the holiday!

I Call Them 'Gimmees' For a Reason Well I'm finally back after giving myself an extended break for the Holidays. I was hoping to talk about a nice 3 game win streak for the Bulls, but last night's game nixed that idea. After 2 wins against Eastern Conference lowlifes Washington and Cleveland, the Bulls entertained another such opponent in the Miami Heat. Up by 17 points in the second quarter, at home, the Bulls gave the game away. The loss hurt especially bad due to the circumstances surrounding it. In the previous 2 wins, Jamal Crawford had scored a combined 72 points and was playing his most impressive basketball all year. Eddy Curry was returning from a seven-game absence resulting from his knee injury. They were at home. Against the Heat. These are the games that should be gimmees. There were some bright spots on the floor last night. Eddy looked great on the offensive end netting 13 points on 6-7 shooting in only 14 minutes. It would have been great to have him on the floor in the 4th quarter when the Bulls were letting the game slip away, but undoubtedly his conditioning wasn't back yet. Jerome Williams' shots caused more "No!!......Yes!" reactions from me than I needed. Using an array of awkward post moves and layup prayers, Williams managed to get 14 points. Its nice to see him getting involved offensively, but most of those shots I could've done without. Kirk Hinrich was great again, hitting 4 of 5 three-pointers, and always seemed to have them when the Bulls really needed a basket. the scapegoat: As I said earlier, Jamal Crawford came into last night's game on a roll, perhaps the best 2-game stretch of his career. Last night, however, he seemed to have reverted back to his old ways, settling for long range jump shots and not attacking the basket. He finished with only 2 free-throw attempts, yet managed to jack up 8 3-point shots, making only 1. He was up against a marquee perimeter defender in Eddie Jones, but those numbers are still unacceptable for someone who needs to shoulder the scoring load every game. Was it possible that he was sharing the ball too much? With 12 assists, its the kind of performance that would have gotten Bill Cartwright teary-eyed, but last night it seemed like he was always trying to defer open shots with unnecessary passes. This especially was the case when he was going to the basket and gave the ball up instead of trying to get to the line. While its nice to get teammates involved, theres a time when 'nice ball movement' can be taken too far and stagnate the offense. I don't want to infer that Crawford needs to score 30 for the Bulls to have a chance, but with Curry and Chandler out that may be the case. At the end of games like last night, the lack of interior scoring forces Crawford, Hinrich, and Kendall Gill to make their jump shots in the half-court offense. And with the defense (rightly) giving no respect to Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams, this task becomes even tougher for the shooters. What winds up happening all too often is late-game possessions in the half-court ending in someone taking a difficult shot simply to beat the shot clock. So what happens from here? Its still hard to get over this loss because getting these 'gimmee' wins are so important when climbing uphill from a horrible start. But while I like to think of teams like the Heat, Cavs, and Wiz to be the soft part of the schedule, its also true that the Bulls are considered *their* winnable games as well. Tonight's game is at Minnesota, which isn't good news due to: 1) Its on the road, 2) the T-Wolves are good, 3)The game will be the 2nd in a back-to-back. That game is followed by one in New York against the hated(by me, at least) Knicks on Friday. It will be interesting to see if Jamal can revert to his previous efforts, and whether Eddy Curry is ready to take on more minutes. I'm especially looking forward to Eddy getting more time in the rotation because these Antonio Davis crunch-time adventures are really starting to wear on me.