Preseason Takeaways Thread

Scoot26

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Mirotic may come into this league as a "3"... Dirk was too... but he needs to be a 4 to thrive in this league. I expect him to bulk up over the coming years so he can play that position.
 

The Hawk

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Noah and Jimmy both don't back down which I respect, but I'm talking about a big bodied guy off the bench who can take hard fouls and bring some more size and toughness to the team. Right now Noah, Kirk, and Jimmy are the toughest guys on the team so the Bulls need more beef than that.

Did the big Aussie play. I hear he has a mean streak in him.
 

Axl Rose

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i dont think bairstow is that type of guy.....neither is Nazr....yeah he pushed Bron but ive never seen him run up on anybody or dish out any hard fouls
 

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From what I saw in his tapes, I think that Mirotic is truly a 3/4. While McDermott is a 3/2. Mirotic has great ball skills.
 

Naptastic

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I feel like he OD in 2010-11 on them. Then people just grew to like them. Though he still uses hot sauce for any hot 3 point shooter now.
I think that every year, like he's forcing them. But by mid season I feel Luke they're coming up naturally and pretty authentic.
 

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As far as the enforcer for the bulls, its got to go to jimmy. For a smaller dude, he doesn't ever shy away from conflict. And I agree with the posters where a goon isn't needed. Bulls are too classy for it. Lol.
 

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Mirotic may come into this league as a "3"... Dirk was too... but he needs to be a 4 to thrive in this league. I expect him to bulk up over the coming years so he can play that position.

I don't want him to bulk up too much. Maybe ten pounds but no more. He looks stronger to me than the previous tapes shown.
 

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Interesting to see a team with a Center that is shorter and has a smaller wingspan than the starting PF. Also interesting to see the reserve C to be shorter than the reserve PF, although Taj has a 3" edge on wingspan over Niko.
 

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Mirotic really isn't a 3. He isn't athletic enough to be a star playing that position. Or fast enough to defend it. His value comes from being a 6'10'' guy who can extend the floor.

Was Larry Bird athletic? Nope. I really don't consider Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony monster athletes either. How about Toni Kukoc? Hell, how about Dunleavy?
 

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Mirotic really isn't a 3. He isn't athletic enough to be a star playing that position. Or fast enough to defend it. His value comes from being a 6'10'' guy who can extend the floor.
Mirotic looked decently quick out there yesterday actually. I had my doubts, but he's a lot more agile live than in those videos. I guess I'll see more tonight.
 

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The one concern after that game, was the amount of moving picks Niko set. He's lucky that he wasn't called for any, and I hold him to a higher standard from playing at the highest levels of Euroleague to not make those mistakes. He's learning a new playbook, and clearly nervous in a new situation, so we'll have to see how well he adjusts throughout the season. His rebounds will come as he adds more muscle and learns the game at this level, but setting better screens and making smart decisions off the ball are short term fixes.
 

RamiTheBullsFan

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Was Larry Bird athletic? Nope. I really don't consider Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony monster athletes either. How about Toni Kukoc? Hell, how about Dunleavy?

Everyone you just mentioned is far more athletic than Nikola.
 

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The one concern after that game, was the amount of moving picks Niko set. He's lucky that he wasn't called for any, and I hold him to a higher standard from playing at the highest levels of Euroleague to not make those mistakes. He's learning a new playbook, and clearly nervous in a new situation, so we'll have to see how well he adjusts throughout the season. His rebounds will come as he adds more muscle and learns the game at this level, but setting better screens and making smart decisions off the ball are short term fixes.
He's gotten a few dumb fouls tonight as well. I think he'll fix those issues, but I don't like seeing those things either
 

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Alrighty...game 2 thoughts

Rose - Scored all his points off of FTs today. 8 attempts...not too bad for 14 minutes. Unfortunately pulled a Hinrich from the field, but he looked pretty good again. He did get stripped trying to drive at the end of the half which was unfortunate to see, but I think he'll fix that by the season. Defense was also pretty good again. Solid B for Rose.

Butler - Great to see him get going from the field. He got all of his points at the rim, which is fine so long as he can get there consistently. He did try to force himself into the paint a few times which caused charges, but if he can add either a floater or a midrange pull up, that'll fix that problem easily. Or kick it out without barreling into someone. I also liked generally what I saw from him in the post. If he can create a shot from there, that'd be a nice addition to have to his offensive arsenal. Maybe Dougie McBuckets can teach him a move or two lol.

McDermott - Looked more aggressive today which I liked. Didn't make most of his shots...oh well. They kind of ignored him in the 4th and OT which annoyed me. When they did go to him he was able to get an and-1 off the dribble. That was a good sign imo. Sucks that he missed the free throw on that, but what can you do? Added 8 rebounds too which is pretty good. Solid performance imo...could've been better, but showed improvement.

Mirotic - He got straight shafted by the refs. Imo 4 of his 6 fouls were ticky tack fouls. He had 5 TOs, but I'm sure at least half of them were moving screen calls or something dumb like that. He also refused to shoot for whatever reason. He had a LOT of opportunities to shoot, but decided to pump fake instead. Just shoot the dang ball. Hopefully Thibs rips into him about that. He should do better next game.

Gasol - Another solid game. Only 2-6, but he never really looked to score except for his one and-1 on Monroe. 10 boards and 5 assists to go with 2 blocks though, so I'll take it. He's truly a great passer. He too is playing a little too unselfishly imo. I think that'll change when the season starts.

Gibson - Thanks for making all your shots. Also actually passed out of the post a few times for assists. I think he could stand to pass out more, but he was on his game today, abusing Josh Smith or whoever was on him. He has definitely shown confidence in his post game through the first two games. I like that.

Jones got shafted the same way as Mirotic. I think Thibs likes him a lot because he's getting regular minutes with the bench guys. I did say he had the best chance of the camp invitees of making the team and that's looking like it's holding true. Sort of a quickish lanky big man...maybe like Mahinmi, but shorter. Showed good hustle.

Snell...good job. You played well. Way to hit that last shot too. Looked more like summer league Snell than last year's crappy Snell. I'll take it.

Hinrich - way to score from the field today. Your flagrant foul wasn't flagrant. Whatever refs.

Bairstow - make your freaking free throws. Good charge taking instincts though.

Brooks - you're a microwave. Nate Robinson 2.0 if it wasn't obvious to anyone.

Imo the Bulls got pretty shafted on foul calls, but they did still shoot more FTs so go figure. Only reason they lost was because Detroit somehow put up 20 more shots...also Van Gundy played Monroe and Jennings for the 4th and OT and none of his bench (I counted 10 DNPs...2 of which are injury related). Solid game overall...great improvement shooting wise, mostly thanks to Taj and Jimmy not laying a foundation of bricks.
 

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Yeah ^^^^

I would say those are objective and fair assessments up until this point.
 

Axl Rose

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FIBA Derrick is back in full effect
 

The Hawk

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Was Larry Bird athletic? Nope. I really don't consider Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony monster athletes either. How about Toni Kukoc? Hell, how about Dunleavy?

Very well put. I don't know really what defines someone as being "athletic" to begin with.
 

RamiTheBullsFan

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Very well put. I don't know really what defines someone as being "athletic" to begin with.

How high you jump, how fast you run, how strong you are, how coordinated you are, etc. (the list goes on).

You also don't seem to know what defines an NBA player as a "good shooter" seeing as you believe someone who averages 1% over the average NBA 3-pt percentage is a "bad shooter".
 

The Hawk

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Everyone you just mentioned is far more athletic than Nikola.

Really? Paul Pierce? Really? Pierce is what???? 40? Dunleavy is athletic? Since when? Bet Mirotic could beat both of them in the 40, the discus, and the javelin throw. Not sure about the high jump or pole vault.
 

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