Game #35: Toronto Raptors 113 - Chicago Bulls 115

[mcHAPPY]

I still don't believe that DD was being selfish. He probably thought that he got on the play.

I don't think it was selfish either. Just a very bad decision.

[Chr1s1anL]

Full breakdown of Butler's FGA in the second half:

1. Drives on Carroll for a layup, made.
2. Drive on Carroll off a Gasol screen, floater, made.
3. Drives on Carroll off a Gasol screen, jumper from free throw line, made.
4. Turnaround over Carroll in ISO, made.
5. Drive on Carroll off a Gasol screen, bank shot, made.
5/5 against Carroll at this point.
6. Fast break bank shot on DeRozan, miss.
0/1 against DeMar.
7. ISO against Lowry(seriously, Lowry was the man on him all the way down the floor), layup, made.
1/1 against Lowry.
8. Drive on Joseph off a Gasol screen, missed jumper.
9. ISO against Joseph, pull-up, made.
1/2 against Joseph
10. Drive against Ross, blocked floater.
11. Turnaround against Ross, made.
12. Drive against Ross, layup made.
13. Pull-up 3 against Ross, missed.
2/4 against Ross.
14. Drive against DeMar, layup, made.
1/2 against DeMar.
15. Pull-up over Lowry, made.
2/2 against Lowry.
16. Pull-up 3 over DeMar after switch off Carroll, made.
2/3 against DeMar.
17. Drive on Carroll, floater made.
18. Pull-up over Carroll, missed.
19. Pull-up 3 over Carroll, made.
7/8 against Carroll.

So the question is, why was Carroll the guy guarding him on the last possession, given that he'd been torching Carroll the entire half?

All data pulled from nba.com movement charts.

Cause we paid him 15 mil this summer for those exact situations. Just cause Ross got one block doesn't all of a sudden mean he was the better matchup.

[Barolt]

Cause we paid him 15 mil this summer for those exact situations. Just cause Ross got one block doesn't all of a sudden mean he was the better matchup.

Carroll was clearly getting torched. How much we're paying him doesn't matter. We pay the coach to put us in the right position to win. Which gamble do you like better? Butler shooting over the guy he's gone 2/4 against, or the guy he's gone 6/7 against to that point?

[Chr1s1anL]

Carroll was clearly getting torched. How much we're paying him doesn't matter. We pay the coach to put us in the right position to win. Which gamble do you like better? Butler shooting over the guy he's gone 2/4 against, or the guy he's gone 6/7 against to that point?

Doesn't matter his torching both of them. A Ross holding a guy to 50% is not enough for me to go away from Carroll. I would always go with Carroll in that situation.

[Barolt]

Doesn't matter his torching both of them. A Ross holding a guy to 50% is not enough for me to go away from Carroll. I would always go with Carroll in that situation.

That just shows you have an irrational dislike for Ross(which your posting history also shows). You're happier going with a guy Butler is shooting 87% against because 50% is somehow worse in your mind?

[Demographic Shift]

I can't even watch this. I feel it will be too painful.

This has to be Jimmy's NBA career game. He might .. might... have a better one down the road but it would be hard to imagine how he could top the show he put on last night. Not even Jordan put up 40+ in a half for the Bulls. Its not like he is Joe Lunchbag having the luckiest night of his life.

It happens. On to Cleveland with this one in the rear view mirror. Nice if we take it out on Lebron.

[Chr1s1anL]

That just shows you have an irrational dislike for Ross(which your posting history also shows). You're happier going with a guy Butler is shooting 87% against because 50% is somehow worse in your mind?

Shows you irrational love for Ross. I'm happier cause I know Carroll is the best wing defender we have.

[Barolt]

Shows you irrational love for Ross. I'm happier cause I know Carroll is the best wing defender we have.

Even when he's, as he said, not fully healthy? I think a fully healthy Carroll is really good, but he's not fully healthy, and in that case he isn't our best option. But hey, Ross had the best +/-, best Drtg, best net rating on either team last night, so obviously he was hurting us when he was out there.

[Chr1s1anL]

Even when he's, as he said, not fully healthy? I think a fully healthy Carroll is really good, but he's not fully healthy, and in that case he isn't our best option. But hey, Ross had the best +/-, best Drtg, best net rating on either team last night, so obviously he was hurting us when he was out there.

Spew all the stats you want but, when the game is on the line I don't want anyone else in that situation.

[Barolt]

Spew all the stats you want but, when the game is on the line I don't want anyone else in that situation.

This is the definition of irrational. It's a team game, you should want the best team solution.

[Wild-ling#1]

This is the definition of irrational. It's a team game, you should want the best team solution.

They're not (necessarily) mutually exclusive ... and therefore the remark is nothing like "the definition of irrational". The best team solution might be to give the ball to the top scorer. At least sometimes ...

But this bearing in mind that Jonas just got back (and so on and so on). ...

Rather than "selfishness", I'd be prepared to concede that DeMar might have (like the Currys and Hardens of the world), wanted to sink that bucket desperately (especially given how Butler had gone off) . And sure, you've got to learn the team game. But you do need guys who want to be the difference-maker in those situations - who don't "shy-away".

For what it's worth, I suspect that that was the point of the "cards" that Casey hands out - that certain guys need to try to learn to make elite contributions to the team - and lose any self-doubt about those (assigned) tasks. If Casey was taking the long-view, then we might only be seeing the full pay-off now - as DeMar begins to step back, accept more help, refine his game ... after having fully worked through the process of learning to be "the guy".

I kinda' assume this, because those who would like to have had JV brought along more quickly certainly had a point - might have worked, too. But then a long-term plan often confuses those not privy to the full arc of the program ...

And such a plan may always be disagreed with, in good faith, in any event - even if there is no information deficit ...

[KHD]

Shows you irrational love for Ross. I'm happier cause I know Carroll is the best wing defender we have.

he hasn't been our best wing defender this season due to injury.

But yeah, it's totally irrational love for the guy who was at least leaking a bit less on Defence against butler.

That being said, it wouldn't matter much on that last play. Carroll or Ross would have contested equally well. Butler just hit the shot.

It's the rest of the 2nd half defending against Butler that I'm annoyed with.

[Barolt]

What I saw was, the biggest difference between Carroll and Ross last night was on ball denial. Ross did a better job keeping the ball out of Butler's hands, which meant that when he did get the ball, he had less time to work with. Gave them less time to work the Butler/Gasol PnR that created a lot of Butler's points in the second half.

[Axel]

Perhaps I should add that I have no issue with the "micro-managing", per se. It's anyone being mean-spirited, or acting God-like, in putting forward alternative strategies that irks me ...

Do I even dare ask what this is referring to?

Cause it very much seems a post about your opinion on your fellow posters rather than on a basketball related topic.

[S.R.]

This has to be Jimmy's NBA career game. He might .. might... have a better one down the road but it would be hard to imagine how he could top the show he put on last night. Not even Jordan put up 40+ in a half for the Bulls. Its not like he is Joe Lunchbag having the luckiest night of his life.

It happens. On to Cleveland with this one in the rear view mirror. Nice if we take it out on Lebron.

Yup. I haven't watched the game yet, but it's the NBA. Sometimes a guy will just light you up for 40 points. Any number of players can do it and no NBA defense is immune. When the guy doing it is on a team as good as Chicago, that's a damn hard game to win. It's a gut-punch loss, but I'm impressed it was a 2 point game.

Also, Chicago definitely needs to move on from the D-Rose Era.