Posts tagged ‘Vinny Del Negro’

Bulls suffer disheartening fourth quarter meltdown in an awfully winnable game.  Sure, I could breakdown the multitude of missteps: Tyrus’ “shot selection”, Derrick’s ineptitude on defense, and Vinny’s sheer existence.  But let’s just not.  Instead, let’s reminisce about how amazing MJ was . . .

This was posted earlier today by the fabulous Austin Burton on Dime.  Enjoy and try and push that filthy Devin Harris crossover out off your mind.

Michael Jordan vs. Today’s Rules

Among NBA fans who followed the game as far back as 1998, there’s a pretty commonly accepted theory, which was most recently brought to the table in yesterday’s “Getting to the Basket 101″ post:

If Michael Jordan played in his prime under today’s no-hand-check rules that are friendly to scoring guards and wings, he’d average at least 40 points.

For the most part, I agree. On talent alone, MJ would be a monster if he didn’t have to deal with the physical style of the 1990s (or the extra-physical style of the 1980s). But there’s another facet you have to consider, something about the old-school rules that made Jordan the player he was.

With today’s laid-back rules, the “Bad Boys” Pistons wouldn’t have been allowed to beat the crap out of MJ during his formative NBA years, when he was making that leap from flashy superstar to cold-blooded killer. Without those early experience, would Jordan have developed the same drive and motivational fire that made him JORDAN? Or would he have been closer to another Iceman Gervin, a jaw-dropping scorer who is known more for getting buckets and not as much for being a winner?

While I’d like to see as much as anyone how 28-year-old MJ would fare in today’s game, I’m also thankful he got to make his bones in a rougher era, where his championship-caliber intangibles were hewn.

How would MJ’s career had turned out without those Detroit playoff series losses?

Share your thoughts . . .

Andres Nocioni guarding Yao Ming?  I know, it was only for one possession, but still.  What were you thinking Vinny?

The Thunder? Really?

The always-insightful dude over at Blog-A-Bull (considered by many to be the blog of Bulls blogs) does a great job summing up Vinny’s many deficiencies . . .

Blazers 109, Bulls 95: Well, that’s one we can’t blame on Larry Hughes

When you have only two above-average offensive players who were more like average (or in Gordon’s case: bad), and a team defense that’s consistently abysmal (with the help of some deft substitution patterns)…the result is little surprise.

However it still led to some fun Vinny-ness. The Bulls are beyond bad and approaching fun-bad at this point, no?

The first quarter was actually competitive, but Vinny made two odd choices: one was to double-team Aldridge 15 feet away from the basket (and the man doubling, Thabo, was more like 20 feet away). This happened quite a bit. Aldridge is a ninny, he’s just going to shoot fadeaways. Can’t you let Thomas handle that alone?

And then while McMillan switched Batum on Gordon (with pretty bad results actually) to spare Roy, Vinny keeps Gordon on Roy (with Sefolosha…I guess designated to double team for no reason) so Gordon gets two fouls in the first 5+ minutes.

But Vinny did do one thing relatively right: he kept Larry Hughes’ minutes to a minimum and instead had Hinrich return as the backup point. So I’m glad Hinrich’s back for that reason alone. (though playing 20 minutes when he was supposed to get half that…can’t even keep that straight?)

But while the backcourt was somewhat situated, Vinny cannot resist pairing Gooden/Noc as the frontcourt. This is because he’s not a good coach. There was a long stretch in the 2nd half with Rose/Gordon/Deng/Noc/Gooden. Deng’s the only good defender in that group, and this was his first game back from an ankle sprain. So if Steve Blake and Brandon Roy abused Rose (happened quite a bit) and Gordon to get past the perimiter, rest assured there was at least nobody guarding the basket. And with Deng and Thabo available, why is Noc ever guarding Travis Outlaw?

I dunno, same old garbage I guess. Tyrus Thomas didn’t do much statistically but he wasn’t hurting, so just leave him out there. And Noah (who was booed pretty heavily tonight, way more than I’ve ever heard) made some mistakes (though that 3-second violation was partly on Hinrich for passing up a shot) but he is, um, tall.

Likely a losing result no matter how you pair this frontcourt, but when Noc and Gooden (and Gooden/Gray, though at least they can board) are out there you’re basically waving a white flag defensively. Why watch that? Lets face it: Tyrus and Noah only play regularly if there’s injuries. It’s not who’s playing well, or ‘matchups’, or disciplinary actions…it’s Vinny thinking Gooden and Noc (and Gray for that bizarre stretch of games started) are his best options, both now and developmentally.

It’s getting so bad I’m not even sure Brad Miller can save them. But lets try it (a trade, not necessarily Brad Miller…more like ridding the team of Noc and Hughes) anyway. End of this week, alright Pax? Might want to get started on the coaching search too, judging by the last one (and its result) you may need 6 months instead of 6 weeks of interviews.

Courtesy of listener Ken . . . creepy right?

Vinny

Luke Wilson in Blue Streak

During the first couple games this season I thought nothing had changed for the Bulls from last year to this year. Yes there’s Derrick Rose, and it’s easy to see that he’s the brightest spot on the team. But the overall play has been the same — the Bulls cannot play with a lead. They don’t know how to do it. Once they’re up by as little as 5 points, there is a conscious (or unconscious, who knows) effort to allow the other team to go on a 10-2 run.

The good news is, that has carried over to the 2008-2009 team. The bad news is, last year’s team actually TOOK the lead at key points in games. This year’s team is constantly playing 10 points down. It’s worrisome.

Luckily, Vinny Del Negro isn’t taking this lying down. Here’s his halftime speech from last night’s Cleveland game.

Put that coffee down, Aaron Gray.