Eastern Conference Standings Watch

[MACK11]

Did people really think it was a downgrade when it happened, though? I feel like there was a lot of people down on Thibs because of rotations, playing time, style of offense, etc. and Hoiberg was a guy better suited to the new NBA.

The Hoiberg and Donovan contrast is interesting. Both college guys with no NBA head coaching experience put into high pressure no-win situations, yet, Donovan seems to have adapted and integrated while Hoiberg looks, at least from the outside, to be out of his depth. Now, Donovan has Durant and Westbrook but that could have gone bad, too.

It wasn't looked as a downgrade by people but it definitely was. Thibs was getting 50+ wins and even a 60 win season during his Bulls tenure. No rookie coach was gonna top that. Thibs running down players has also been proven a little false. Look at the amount of injuries Chicago has had this season.

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[Chr1s1anL]

Pretty sure Butler is playing the same amount of minutes as last year. Coaches play their best players big minutes. That's just how it is.

[S.R.]

Did people really think it was a downgrade when it happened, though? I feel like there was a lot of people down on Thibs because of rotations, playing time, style of offense, etc. and Hoiberg was a guy better suited to the new NBA.

The Hoiberg and Donovan contrast is interesting. Both college guys with no NBA head coaching experience put into high pressure no-win situations, yet, Donovan seems to have adapted and integrated while Hoiberg looks, at least from the outside, to be out of his depth. Now, Donovan has Durant and Westbrook but that could have gone bad, too.

The Hoiberg experiment may still turn out well, but the struggles they had this year definitely made me re-think my Casey opinions a bit. Hoiberg came in ready to "new NBA" the Bulls and it didn't work. Both the personnel wasn't the right fit and the players didn't fully buy in. Just a good reminder that it's not a straightforward thing to just turn a team into a Spurs/GSW clone like Bud managed to do in Atlanta.

The difference in Casey vs. "new NBA" was pretty clear against Cleveland. Cavs got some really nice open looks off swinging the ball one or two times around the court, 5-6 passes in total, and/or a nice Lebron cross-court skip pass thrown in for good measure. The Raps would have a guard drive the ball, kick it out on a collapsing defense, and find an open shooter. The Raps strategy is a lot simpler, only involves one pass after the p'n'r, but is capable of getting the same result.

[KeonClark]

Nobodies mentioning how decimated the bulls have been by injuries? Even Tommy t couldn't do much with what they've had to trot out lately

[Barolt]

Nobodies mentioning how decimated the bulls have been by injuries? Even Tommy t couldn't do much with what they've had to trot out lately

Somewhat unsurprising though, given their roster. Noah/Rose being hurt often shouldn't shock anyone.

[KeonClark]

Somewhat unsurprising though, given their roster. Noah/Rose being hurt often shouldn't shock anyone.

But the tailspin truly started when their mvp went down. Butler is almost as important to them as lowry is to us

[Primer]

Nobodies mentioning how decimated the bulls have been by injuries? Even Tommy t couldn't do much with what they've had to trot out lately

This right here. Look at the fucking roster Donovan has versus what Hoiberg has, and then ask yourself why one team is doing better than the other. I've actually been impressed that Hoiberg has been able to keep the Bulls competitive given how ravaged they've been by injuries.

[S.R.]

Injuries and the speed bumps Hoiberg had implementing his systems are two different things but both part of the Bulls' difficulties this season. Just saying it has not been as straightforward for Hoiberg to bring his principles to Chicago as it was for Kerr or Coach Bud.

Like it or not (not giving my opinion) but what we've seen with Hoiberg in Chicago is part of what Casey's been talking about - talking about not having passers on the team, playing a certain style with Lou and GV that wasn't necessarily his first choice, etc. Casey's been trying to play to the strengths of his players, and he doesn't seem to think a ball movement heavy system that everyone's in love with right now is a style that would fit the Raps.

Mainly my only beef with the Raps offense right now is that JV's still underused - the offense could be a bit more balanced instead of being so guard-dominant. Lou + GV + DD last season made us all dream about ball movement, but that issue's not as acute this year. The Raps pass less, get fewer assists, and in large part it's working. They're looking to create off dribble penetration out of the p'n'r instead of off constant motion, heavy ball movement, and the fast break. Toronto's offense is really bucking a lot of current treads, tho it's still guard heavy.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Chicago. If they need to change the roster, they can bring in Hoiberg players and maybe he gets to implement his systems anyway. Or maybe he continues to need to compromise between his ideals and the strengths of his players.

[Primer]

Injuries and the speed bumps Hoiberg had implementing his systems are two different things but both part of the Bulls' difficulties this season. Just saying it has not been as straightforward for Hoiberg to bring his principles to Chicago as it was for Kerr or Coach Bud.

Like it or not (not giving my opinion) but what we've seen with Hoiberg in Chicago is part of what Casey's been talking about - talking about not having passers on the team, playing a certain style with Lou and GV that wasn't necessarily his first choice, etc. Casey's been trying to play to the strengths of his players, and he doesn't seem to think a ball movement heavy system that everyone's in love with right now is a style that would fit the Raps.

Mainly my only beef with the Raps offense right now is that JV's still underused - the offense could be a bit more balanced instead of being so guard-dominant. Lou + GV + DD last season made us all dream about ball movement, but that issue's not as acute this year. The Raps pass less, get fewer assists, and in large part it's working. They're looking to create off dribble penetration out of the p'n'r instead of off constant motion, heavy ball movement, and the fast break. Toronto's offense is really bucking a lot of current treads, tho it's still guard heavy.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Chicago. If they need to change the roster, they can bring in Hoiberg players and maybe he gets to implement his systems anyway. Or maybe he continues to need to compromise between his ideals and the strengths of his players.

It still took Atlanta almost a full season before they had adjusted to the new system, they didn't really come on strong until the first round of the playoffs when they almost took out Indiana. Granted, Atlanta had just been coached by Larry Drew, who is pretty terrible, so the learning curve was higher than guys who had been playing under Thibs.

[Joey]

Damn, Chicago completely out of the playoffs at this point ... that's a fall from grace if I've ever seen it.

[SkywalkerAC]

Damn, Chicago completely out of the playoffs at this point ... that's a fall from grace if I've ever seen it.

They stink.

[GLF]

I think when jimmy and mirotic come back they will be fine. As long as they stay away from the 7th spot though I'm happy

[rightsideup]

Somewhat unsurprising though, given their roster. Noah/Rose being hurt often shouldn't shock anyone.

I guess when you add butler in to the mix these injuries are significant

[rightsideup]

Charlotte at 8-2 and Washington at 7-3 doing well the last 10 for lower seed bids.

[JWash]

Chicago's gotta be missing Thibs. Dude was extracting way more out of that roster than it was supposed to be producing.

Grass ain't always greener. Enjoy the golf course.