This year’s Bulls are the like 2005 Chicago White Sox, except the complete opposite.  In 2005 the White Sox won the world series.  Nobody expected it.  The players didn’t even expect it.  Every member of that White Sox team had career years.  Joe Crede, Jermaine Dye, Scott Podsednik, and the others are nothing more than average role players.  But in ‘05 they were great and won a title.  Fast forward to this season.  The Chicago Bulls have players that are great - Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng.  These guys are legitimate basketball players.  But this season they’ve been horrible.  Unlike the White Sox, the expectations of the Bulls are very high.  They have been miserable this year, especially Wallace, Gordon, and Deng.  Ben Wallace is having the worst season of his career and is looking like the most expensive mistake in sports since JD Drew of the Red Sox.  Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant is still being awesome in LA and is still unhappy.  Meanwhile, the Bulls need a change.  After losing to the miserable Knicks and then Toronto, it’s looking like the Bulls are the worst team in basketball (including the Timberwolves.)  Tonight they’ve got Atlanta.  They need a win like America needs Iran to relax.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com 

The Bulls play the Knicks today.  The Chicago - New York rivalry has been one of the best in the NBA for years.  MJ vs. Ewing.  What else is there?  Unfortunately for these two current teams, all the wonder and excitement of the rivalry is thrown out the window.  The Knicks have been the most embarrasing story of the year in professional sports and the Bulls have been the biggest disappointment. 

Today’s game features a very, very dysfunctional family playing a high school J.V. squad.  You really don’t want either team to win.  If the dysfunctional family (Knicks) win, then it’s just promoting their cause.  What’s their cause?  Harrassing women and making ridiculous offers to bad players.  If the High School J.V. team (Bulls) win, it’ll be nice because you always feel good for the underdog, but at the same time you still feel gipped because it’s still just a J.V. team.

So enjoy the game….if you can.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and WindyCityNation.com

OK Bulls, it’s time to start trying. The last game against the Nuggets was terrible.  Down by 20, down by 30, game over.  The Bulls looked horrible.  The Bulls are horrible.  Adrian Griffin is in the starting lineup?  Are you kidding me?  Today on SportsCenter, there was a story that Skiles and Tyrus Thomas now hate each other.  Skiles claims that Thomas hasn’t run this year.  OK, he hasn’t been running, but he’s been scoring.  Put him in the game.  Is it time to give up on the Bulls?  Not quite yet.  Kobe even said that the Bulls will be fine.  Is that because he’ll soon be joining them?  Let’s hope so.  Deng is hurt but the Bulls are hurting more.

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Remember, you contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

Dear Mr. Paxson,

Because you are the GM of the Chicago Bulls, my favorite team, I wish you were more aggressive.  After watching the Bulls lose to the Suns the other night, I wish there was a player on the Bulls who could score when it mattered.  The Bulls had tied the game with a few minutes to go and then fell apart.  This has been a recurring theme all season - when the 4th quarter comes around, the Bulls look lost.  Let me also say that last night I watched the Lakers play the Pistons.  Kobe Bryant, yes the same Kobe Bryant who should be on the Bulls right now if you had pulled the trigger, was having a horrible game until the last 5 or so minutes.  Then he took over.  His teammates were good enough to keep in close against the tough Pistons until the final stages of the game.  Kobe Bryant (SG, #24, LA Lakers…look him up) then had this thought, “Hey, I’m the best player in the universe and my team needs me.  It doesn’t matter that I am having a bad game, it’s awesome time.”  And it was awesome time indeed.  Needless to say the Lakers won the game.

Going back to the Bulls game.  If the Bulls had Kobe Bryant, he would have played defense on Shawn Marion.  Shawn Marion would not be open.  Also, Kobe Bryant would turn on the awesome time switch and win the game for the Bulls and the Bulls would not still only have 1 win under their belt.  So what I’m trying to tell you, Mr. Paxson, is that THINGS ARE NOT WORKING! It’s Kobe time.  It’s awesome time.  Make the move.  Pull the trigger.

Love,

Gabe

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and WindyCityNation.com

Did anyone watch the Bulls game last night and actually think that the Bulls were a contender this year? What was that?  I felt like I was watching a high school team try to beat the Bill Russell Celtics.  There hasn’t been a shalacking like that since Alexander the Great dominated the Eastern Hemisphere.  The Raptors are a good team, but come on!  It was only a 9 point game at halftime and the Bulls ending up losing by 30 points.  The end of the 3rd and the whole 4th quarter featured Chicago’s “b” team.  The starters were on the bench, head down, wondering what happened.  Hinrich was 0-6 from the field, Deng was 2-8, Thomas only played 12 minutes before Coach Skiles decided enough was enough.  The Chicago Bulls turned into the Horri Bulls. It was painful to watch. 

With every bad comes a good.  Nocioni looked good.  Rookie Aaron Gray got some minutes and Sefolosha showed what he can do on defense - 3 steals in 26 minutes.  Noah still looks lost, though.  With the circus in town (literally), the Bulls start their annual tour out West, with the Clips, Lakers, Suns, and Nuggets.  Then they go to the East coast with the Knicks and the Raptors again.  Hopefully they can turn it around.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

Bulls win! Bulls win! Finally! Whew! Thank the good lord! Ok, no more exclamation points.  Hinrich had 14 assists, Tyrus Thomas had 19 pts to go along with 14 rebounds.  They looked good.  They played nice defense, gave up points when they could, and finished off the Pistons.  Rasheed Wallace had 36 points, but that’s because Skiles just gave up on him.  By not double teaming Wallace in the post, Skiles made sure that perimeter guys Billups and Hamilton weren’t wide open from beyond the arc.  Hence, the Bulls win.  We have to deal with the fact that in the 4th quarter, Ben Wallace is on the bench because he can’t score.  This leaves Thomas to play defense against the NBA’s best big men,  a la Rasheed Wallace.  Go Bulls.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

There’s not a player in the NBA that I hate to love more the Lebron James.  Lebron is definitely a top 2 player in the league.  Like the other player, not-a-Bull Kobe Bryant, Lebron’s team is terrible.  (I know, I know they went to the Finals last year, but find me anyone that says it wasn’t a fluke and I’ll shake their hand and apologize.)  Example: Last night the Cavaliers played the Jazz, a formidable opponent. Lebron had arguably the best game of his career.  A staggering line of 32 pts, 15 boards, and 13 assists.  Unreal.  Cavs lose.  Unreal.  (Ilgauskas  had 18 and 14, too).  What does Lebron have to do?  Score 45 with 20 boards and 20 assists?  With a few seconds to go, the Cavs gave up an easy shot to give the Jazz the lead.  De-fense! De-fense! In order for the Cavs to live up to Lebron’s standards, King James will need to get 8 steals and 10 blocks, too.  At 6′8 and strong as bull, Lebron should be able to win every game he plays.  The 22-year-old can jump higher, run faster, bite his nails better than anyone else in the NBA.  I love him.  How could you not?  He’s plays ball like Justin Timberlake dances.  He’s funny like Terrell Owens is egomaniacal.  And yet he frustrates the hell out of me.  Sometimes he looks lost.  Sometimes he looks like he doesn’t respect himself.  I’m not one for encouraging ball hogging, but I wasn’t upset with MJ when he would take over a game in the 4th.  Lebron can be as good as MJ, if he keeps the ball.  He loves his teammates too much.  I’m sorry, Lebrizzle, but when the game is on the line, when your season is on the line, don’t rely on Boobie Gibson.  Don’t give the ball to Devin Brown.  Take it yourself.  Be a hero.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

Oh for the season.  How does that sound?  Something has to give.  Last night at the United Center, the Bulls lost to the Clippers.  The Bulls defense was pathetic.  Cuttino Mobley, aged about 68 years, scored 33 points.  The Clips had 9 three pointers, and had 3 guys with more than 15 points.  The Clippers are averaging 110 points a game.  The Bulls held them to under 100 and still got beat. 

What’s there to do?  Skiles should mix up his lineup, get different sets in the game.  Last season Gordon excelled off the bench.  Sit him down.  Start Nocioni and go big.  The starting 5 should be Hinrich, Nocioni, Deng, Smith, and Wallace.  Gordon and Tyrus Thomas off the bench should be great.  Next are the Pistons.  Not going to be easy.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

One of the big questions going into this season was the impact Joakim Noah will have this season. The rookie forward is big, with a giant wingspan.  He’ll be important around the boards and for tip-ins.  Unfortunately, Noah will have no impact on the offensive end, where we need him the most.  As we’ve seen in the first three games, points are coming at a premium.  Noah, from University of Florida, is a proven winner.  The Gators won 2 titles with Noah as a leader.  We can expect Noah to help immediately when he gets healthy, which should be any day now.  With Wallace and Smith not getting any younger, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah will need to step it up this year, especially late.  That’s all, I was just thinking about the future.  I know 0-3 is nothing to panic about, but the way the Bulls have played in those games, worry is all I can do.

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com and windycitynation.com

Bulls are 0-3.  First the Nets, then the Sixers, then the Bucks.  These teams are beatable, nay, bad.  According to the gospel (my Eastern Conference preview), the Sixers are the worst team in basketball.  I stand by that.  It is inexcusable that the Bulls are still winless three games into the season.  In honor of the 3 losses, I offer 3 possible reasons for the terrible start.

1) The trade rumors - Deng, Thomas, Wallace, and Gordon have all been named in trade rumors with the Lakers.  Has this affected their play?  Possibly.  But what’s the excuse for Hinrich?

2) Coaching - Skiles is known for his tough guy attitude.  The only thing tough surrounding the Bulls these days is an explanation.

3) Fourth Quarter - The Bulls have no one that can score in the final four minutes of the game.  It’s like Cinderella: when the clock strikes 4:00, everything goes haywire.  Turnovers, missed shots, lack of communication.

These reason are all possible for the poor start.  Whatever the case may be, they have to turn it around. It won’t be easy.  The next four games are against the Clippers, Pistons, Raptors, Suns.  Where’s Kobe when you need him?

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Remember, you can contact me at GCWritesSports@gmail.com