TV Time-out

Two things:

• From the Trib last week:

Comcast SportsNet Chicago launches on the Dish Network March 30, giving the station nearly complete penetration in the Chicago area.

Finally!! Nothing like a Chicago baseball season to get Dish Network off it's collective ass. Where was this announcement in October???

• Similarly outstanding news: The Bulls-Cavs game this Thursday has been moved from 7:30 to 7, because it is the lead game on TNT's national broadcast. Now it'll be neat to hear EJ, Kenny, and Chuck acknowledge the Bulls' success (they better give props to Skiles), but the Bulls have been a suck-fest on national TV over the past few years. They lost earlier in the season to Philadelphia on ESPN, and remember the group of games against the M.Jeff-led Wizards where the Bulls clawed their way to 60 or so points each contest. ::shudder::

Kirk Who-rich?

(Ugh, I apologize, but that title was so lame I laughed when it popped into my head. So there you go.)

Well the Bulls tried their darndest to pull off an Arizona (can we call it that after Saturday?), but held off the Memphis Grizzlies for a 94-86 win, their 6th in a row. In a month that was looked upon hesitantly, and started out a bit iffy, this win streak has firmly placed the Bulls in the playoffs, now thinking about taking the division moreso than the lottery.

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this streak is that 4 of the wins were without Kirk Hinrich, still out with an injured hamstring. The fact that Hinrich's absence didn't hurt the Bulls in this stretch of games is a testament to those that gained minutes in his absence:

Duhon	Points	Reb	Ast	TO
Last 4	5	2.5	6	1.75
2004 Year to Date	5.5	2.7	5	1.6
Gordon	Points	Reb	Ast	TO
Last 4	15.5	2.5	2.25	1.5
2004 Year to Date	14.9	2.6	1.8	2.3
Piatkowski	Points	Reb	Ast	TO
Last 4	3	1	1.25	0.75
2004 Year to Date	4.4	1.1	0.7	0.5
Pargo	Points	Reb	Ast	TO
Last 4	6.75	2	4	1.75
2004 Year to Date	4.3	1.3	1.9	1

This improvement in play (and with more minutes mind you) is not very substantial, but the fact that the loss of Hinrich's outstanding defense hasn't hurt them in the win column is enough to give these guys credit.

But where are the points to make up for Hinrich's absence coming from?

Curry	Points	Reb	Ast	TO
Last 4	21	5	0.5	1.5
2004 Year to Date	15.9	5.4	0.6	2.6

Eddy Curry has really turned up his play, and while his rebounding still is poor, his scoring has helped offset the loss of Kirk. And not only that, just looking at him attack the basket the way he has is a very encouraging sign. We all know Curry's motivation could be contract-driven this season, but you have to think the scent of the playoffs getting stronger has encouraged him to be even more aggressive on the offensive end. If you looked at him playing against the Griz' Stromile Swift tonight, while both are looking for contracts (and playoffs) you could tell that Curry seemed to be playing for more. Knowing how 'Eddy Curry' and 'motivated' have gone together in his career makes his play something I'm looking forward to see continue down the stretch. In fact, if you look at how the Bulls performed without Hinrich and compare that to how they do without Curry (perhaps a study for another day), I'd say off-hand that the Bulls need Curry more to win.

On the flip side of that optimistic coin, Luol Deng suffered a wrist injury tonight (not sure on the prognosis), and while the team has stepped up to stay in (and even better themselves in) the playoff picture through the recent injuries, it'd be nice to get healthy for the end of the season.

Carnival of the NBA update

Carnival of the NBA #5 is up on Celticsblog.com. Jeff did a great job over there on it, so make sure you check it out.

And I guess my buddy Jeff (a different one) is right, this weekend's NCAA games totally nullify my post from last week. Then again the point I was trying to make in that rant is that the Basketball is better in the NBA, if not the drama sometimes. Obviously there's good points to both, it just bothers me when people foam at the mouth over a tourney game and say: 'see? this is why I don't watch the NBA"

As far as the Bulls are concerned, two wins over the weekend (without Hinrich), and a home game against Memphis tonight. I'll wait till that one's over before I give another status report looking at the schedule and standings. Until then, enjoy the carnival.

ILL!

INI!

The prep test

The Bulls have struggled at times, but have kept their heads above water with a 6-7 record.  With other teams around them slipping and firing coaches left and right, I suppose 6-7 isn't that bad. Here's the East standings:

GB   1.  Miami --   2.   Detroit 9.0   3.   Boston 13.5   4.  Washington 14.0   5.  Cleveland 15.0   6.  Chicago 15.5   7.  Indiana 17.0   8.  Philadelphia 18.0   9.  Orlando 19.0   10.  New Jersey 19.5   11.  New York 21.5   12.  Toronto 23.0   13.  Milwaukee 24.0   14.  Charlotte 37.5   15.  Atlanta 40.0

While looking inconsistent early in the month, including losses @Milwaukee, @Clippers, and at home against the Hornets, the next two games are huge: A road game against the Celtics followed the next night at home against the Pacers.

We've come to the point in the season where it's time to realistically talk about playoff seedings. Even the players (and Skiles!) have been doing it. The Bulls Report has beaten me to the punch, however:

It's conceivable not only that the Bull could pass the Cavs and take the 5 slot, but also that they could slip into the 4 slot, past the Wiz. There are even some people talking about getting the 3 slot by passing the Pistons and winning the division. That seems a little optimistic.

I'd like to land in the 4 or 5 slot, playing either Washington or Cleveland. I think in a 7-game series, the Bulls would do well against either team. We want to avoid the 6 slot as it looks like the Celtics will be the 3 seed, and they've been tough to beat all year.

It's true, the Bulls have had their problems against Boston, losing 2 of 3 this season. And that was before the team re-acquired Antoine Walker. Since getting Walker the Celtics have been absolutely on fire, and no doubt both teams know that if the playoffs started today they'd be facing eachother.

To be honest I think that Bulls fans shouldn't be scared of a 7 game series against the Celtics. While they have been on a roll, and sport a really impressive mix of veterans and rookies, I think that the Bulls' defense can tilt an entire series in their favor. As long as it's consistent, they should be in every game. Then hand the ball over to Gordon of offense and see how him and the rest of the kids respond to playoff pressure. Friday night's contest will show if they can do it for one game.

The following game is at home against the Pacers, who despite losing Jermaine O'Neal for the rest of the season are still clawing to a spot. Between them, Philly, Orlando and New Jersey, I don't see a single team that will overtake the Bulls in the standings. A statement can be made Saturday to show that the Bulls can hold on the #6 spot. If that follows a win the night before in Boston, it shows that maybe the top 5 should start looking out.