The missing

First off, Roche has a quick recap of the top stories stemming from the OT loss to the Pistons. Like Nocioni getting suspended 1 game (didn't I tell him to stay on the floor??) and Skiles getting smacked in the head...

The suspension will hurt in a big game against fellow-contender-for-home-court Washington Wizards. That game got moved to ESPN by the way, more national TV for the new dirtiest team in the NBA :-).

But it's still difficult to talk about playoff prospects and matchups without knowing the future of Eddy Curry. As you may have noticed I haven't really posted anything regarding his health since the whole thing is still pretty much a mystery. At first looked like a couple days of tests, but now it's a couple weeks of tests, and nothing has been given as far as a timetable for his return. There's gonna be time needed to figure out what caused it: was it the weight loss? family history? And even if he does return soon there's the question of his potential weight gain and 'basketball shape' and 'basketball rhythm' that hoops types like to talk about.

A sign that the apocalypse is coming, Jay Mariotti actually is saying what I'm thinking:

You shudder to think a 22-year-old basketball player might not have the chance to fulfill his estimable potential. You wonder about the karma involved when he finally starts figuring out the NBA life, loses 40 pounds, understands the importance of work ethic, gives a damn on the defensive end, helps his team execute an astonishing and unanticipated U-turn -- and shows up for work one day feeling a tug in his chest and lightness in his head. If anyone deserved to be at the United Center, preparing for the postseason against the world champs, it was Curry. But rather than trying to score over Ben Wallace in the paint, he was assuming a different role.

"He's like a lab rat, going through all these tests,'' said Tyson Chandler, his close pal and fellow former Twin Toddler.

Privately I've said that this Curry thing is probably nothing, and the team is just using it's locked-up playoff spot as a way to be extra-cautious. If this were the playoffs, he'd be out there, right?

But it's the kid's heart, so who the hell knows.

 All I know is that this team may be winning without him, but it certainly isn't the same. And Mariotti's right, he deserved to enjoy this success the most. I'm sure in the coming days the full prognosis will be reported. Until then I'll hold out hope. But like I'm sure it'll be for his teammates to play without him, Bulls fans won't feel right watching the playoffs without Eddy Curry.

Bullet points are a blogger's best friend

Some Monday reading:

• Paul over at SuperSonicSoul.com hosted Carnival of the NBA #6. So if you're just reading here and a few other places, this is a good start-off point to find new NBA blogs.
   
• Father Knickerbocker has a recap of Friday's Bulls victory over the Knicks, with a nice quote from Skiles along with some Jamal Crawford bits at the end.
   
• Kelly Dwyer has a great article up at SI.com applauding the Bulls' season and the moves the organization made that lead up to it. This part had me thinking:

  This touches on another curious aspect of Chicago's resurgence: the sheer number of concessions referees seem to afford them. This is a persistent and physical basketball club; it contests every shot, sticks a forearm into the chest of every player that dares drive to the goal and refuses to give up on any game. Although Chicago doesn't play dirty, the Bulls get away with a shocking amount of extracurricular activity at both ends of the court.
  
  But the Bulls force officials to make decisions, play after play, without letting up. And as much as they want to control the action, referees still don't want to call 192 fouls per game. So faced with a Bulls team that consistently pushes the defensive envelope, the men in gray can't help but loosen up as a game moves along. It also helps that, unlike the manhandling machines of the Pat Riley-era Knicks and Heat, these Bulls aren't as obvious with their pressure, playing physically but also in an entertaining fashion.
  

  More contact is usually allowed in playoff basketball, so will this help the Bulls? or even out the playing field for their opponents?
   

• A new Bulls-centric blog, 'Running with the Bulls', takes an interesting look at the contrasting styles between a traditionally-styled backcourt of Gordon and Duhon in relation to the more freewheeling style of Hinrich and Nocioni.
   
• Remember my snarky NCAA v. NBA post from a couple weeks ago? Well I got caught up in a similar debate over at Yoco's College BBall blog.

And lastly, how nice is it to know that the playoffs are coming? I'll be stuck in the 300-level for the first home game (and the third), but having playoff tickets in my hand is a pretty sweet feeling.

Here's what I said Friday regarding home-court advantage:

A win at NY followed by a gimmee at home against the Raptors, and hopefully Eddy Curry will be back by then to lock up the #4 seed and home court advantage.

Well Eddy's not back yet, and I really don't feel like wasting time speculating on the man's health, and need not remind everyone of his importance. But otherwise, the wins came, so time to finish the job and make sure game 1 is at the United Center.

Home court advantage: Bulls?

In case you didn't know...

                      W   L PCT  GB    
1 x-Miami      56 19 .747  -        
2 Detroit        47 27 .635  8 ½    
3 Boston        41 34 .547  15      
4 Chicago      42 32 .568  13 ½  
5 Washington 41 33 .554  14 ½  
6 Indiana        40 34 .541  15 ½  
7 Cleveland    38 36 .514  17 ½  
8 Philadelphia 37 37 .500  18 ½  

   New Jersey  37 39 .487 19 ½
   Orlando       35 40 .467 21
 

If the season ended today, the Bulls would have a home court date against the Washington Wizards. It doesn't end today though (and probably a good thing given the injuries), so lets have a look at the remaining schedules. I'll include the Pacers, but exclude Boston since no matter how poorly the Atlantic Division winner finishes they will have the 3 seed. Dumb? perhaps. but that's the way it is.

Remaining schedules:

Bulls	Wizards	Pacers
--	1GB	2GB
@NY	@IND	WAS
TOR	PHI	NY
DET	MIL	@TOR
@WAS	CHI	NJ
ORL	CLE	PHI
@ATL	CHA	@MIA
NY	@NJ	@ORL
@IND	@NY	CHI

Very interesting, as all 3 play eachother in the final weeks. Also very even in terms of winnable games and tough games. Washington has perhaps the easiest schedule, void of a Detroit or a Miami like the Bulls and Pacers have to play. The Bulls have the most road games(4) of the three.

Tiebreakers:

(1) Head-to-head:
Bulls v. Wizards:      1-1
Bulls v. Pacers:        2-1
Wizards v. Pacers:   2-1

(2) Conference Record:
Bulls:      27-17
Wizards: 24-20
Pacers:   25-19

(3) Division Record:
Bulls:      8-6
Wizards: 9-6
Pacers:   8-7

The Bulls look pretty good here, but definitely would benefit from a win over both the Wiz and Pacers. Both are on the road.

So 3 teams, each fighting injuries down the stretch to see who gets a 4, 5, or a 6 seed. Some might say that a 6 seed would in fact be the best of all, since they face the Atlantic Division winner and also avoid the Heat in the second round. But another side of me says I really want to see game one of the playoffs at the United Center. A win at NY followed by a gimmee at home against the Raptors, and hopefully Eddy Curry will be back by then to lock up the #4 seed and home court advantage.

A scoop of reality

Despite my best advice, Nocioni got into some brief altercations in the Magic game. Nothing escalated though, even after a head-rattling foul by Kelvin Cato to send Nocioni into the basket support. Despite that brief moment of fire by the Magic, they didn't look much like a playoff team, and letting an undermanned Bulls team on the bad end of a back-to-back beat you on your home court didn't do much to prove doubters otherwise. And the Bulls proved that injuries do not mean they'll go away.

But back to that game the previous night against the Heat. I wanted to quickly point out the drastic difference in perspective between two writers, one a blogger and one from the mainstream.

First from the Bulls Report:

The loss in Miami was a concession. Deng is out. Eddy is coming back slowly. Harrington's wife is expecting a baby. Kirk is slowed down. Even with a 100% healthy Bulls teams, beating Miami in Miami was going to be tough. It wasn't going to happen last night. Don't shed any tears.

Not only does ESPN.com's Scoop Jackson shed tears, he prepares for more:

This was the game that was supposed to prove the Bulls' nine-game un-losing streak was real as government cheese. They asked me to watch this game, use it against a hypothesis, use it to come to a conclusion. Gauge. Make statements.

So 48 minutes and 39 career-high Dwyane Wade points later, I came to this conclusion: The Bulls eventually are going to break my heart like the Illini did.

(ok questioning Scoop Jackson may be a bad example of 'mainstream'.....but roll with me)

I don't think it's possible for the Bulls to break anyone's heart. How can this not be all seen as a positive. I know there was talk last week of seeding, and home court advantage, and how to avoid the Heat in the second round. The second round?!? Was there any idea early on that Bulls fans could even consider the second round?

Look, I'm not one to be happy with mediocrity. That mindset allowed me to defend Jerry Krause's transactions of mass destruction. The Bulls should only be about winning world championships, maintaining their standing as one of the jewel organizations in the NBA.

But I will not be heartbroken no matter how the playoffs go. Any experience that these kids get will be a good one, and while the injuries may catch up with them, they've proven they can win through adversity, and still have the elements for an exciting playoff run. Unlike Scoop, I'm guessing most Bulls fans feel the way us Bulls bloggers (and obviously fans too) do. Forget anticipating doom, I'm gonna enjoy this ride.

I come not to bury Luol Deng, but to praise him

In honor of the Bulls fallen rookie, here's my post from a month ago that goes into just how important Luol Deng is to this team. No need to re-hash what we already know.

But in regards to his replacement, Andres Nocioni, the prospects are worrying at best. While another solid rookie, Noc is obviously no Luol Deng.  Nocioni's poor offensive efficiency (10.08 PER) undoubtedly contributes to the fact that Deng leads the Bulls in +/-.

On the other end of the court, Nocioni is a rugged defender (and superior to Deng), to the point where one might even call him a dirty defender. Not that it stops the Bruce Bowens of the world from being important stoppers on playoff (and in Bowen's case, championship) teams, but Nocioni needs to be careful. As the only true '3' left on the roster (I'm guessing Skiles will try and mix in Griffin and Pike in that spot as well), Nocioni can't let his aggressive mindset get him in foul trouble. It will be a fine line for him, since his reckless abandon is what has made him productive, best shown at his veteran-like ability to coax referees into charging his opponents with offensive fouls. Just remember the way he hassled Lebron James last week. But sometimes his exuberance can get out of hand, as in tonight:

The game had an ugly ending. Haslem was ejected with 2:52 left after retaliating for a hard foul committed against Wade by Nocioni.

Wade drove into the left corner and was fouled hard by Nocioni, who then struck Wade a second time -- this time in the back, knocking him to the floor. Haslem charged toward Nocioni and shoved him, sending him sprawling over some cameramen seated near the baseline.

Nocioni was called for a flagrant foul and a technical. He was not ejected, but was escorted off the court by Bulls team personnel.

I didn't watch much of the game tonight against the Heat, expecting a beatdown for the Bulls (who were without Curry). I had early optimism after learning Shaq was out, but after a 20 point deficit at the half my attention was fully elsewhere. From what I heard on the post-game, Nocioni's hard foul on Wade was in retaliation to a previous foul. Whether Noc was justified or not (and I surely don't blame Haslem in the least for protecting his team's star), this is the type of situation he needs to avoid the rest of the way. While hurting the Bulls on the court when compared to Luol Deng, Noc is sorely needed on that court in Deng's absence. Else we'll be pining for the days of Linton Johnson.