"There's no room to drive." - Derrick Rose

"Rose shot well en route to 14 points and six assists but still isn't attacking the rim with regularity.

"There's no room to drive," Rose said.

That leaves the Bulls with jumpers. And at least currently, that's not good." - KC Johnson
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-12-bull-raptors-chicago-nov12,0,641823.story

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My Thread called "The Prediction Thread: 41.5 Wins from Vegas", posted on 10.29.09:
"The Bad: We lost our leading scorer and best performer in the clutch. Ben extended the defense, he put players in foul trouble, he put us in the bonus. Most of all, he was usually our last resort when the shot clock started to run down to make something happen. That job will now always fall to Rose, and I expect a decrease in Derrick's shooting percentage because of it. In fact, I expect a decrease in the shooting percentages of Hinrich and Salmons, who will also share the increased load of contested jumpers with the shot clock approaching zero.

Ben also had a knack for scoring against the better defensive teams. He had huge games against Cleveland and the Celtics, 2 of the best defensive teams in the league last season.
realgm.com/src_feature/1494/20090424/the..._the_2008_09_season/
I expect to see a lot of stretches were we just can't score, especially if Derrick is in foul trouble."
http://www.bullspodcasters.com/forums?func=view&catid=5&id=29243#29243

Hate to say I told you so.

In light of the first 2 weeks, how incredibly stupid does this comment look from the Chairman:
“We have [John] Salmons and a hell of a three-guard rotation with Salmons, [ Kirk] Hinrich and Derrick [Rose]. Ben wasn’t going to get a whole lot of playing time. His time was going to be diminished. And now we’ve added [Jannero] Pargo for the limited time the fourth guard will get. Ben just no longer fit. He’s a terrific player. But he needs minutes. And he wouldn’t have been happy with the minutes he was going to get here.” – Jerry Reinsdorf - Interview with K.C. Johnson 7.21.09

Raise your hand if you have any faith in the guys running this organization.

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That was my favorite JR quote. I am quite curious how the leading scorer and guy who played almost 37mpg would struggle to find time. Is there anyone who thinks he wouldn't be starting over Salmons or Kirk now?

go ahead and say it all you want Fred. Say it to guys like Gorches and people like him who thought losing Gordon wouldn't make any difference.

4 inches baby. That extra 4 inches ain't helping the ball go into the basket it seems.

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So far this season, Ben Gordon has been the fourth best shooting guard in the NBA, and one of those guys, Kevin Martin, is injured, so in reality, Gordon will kind of be the de facto third best shooting guard in basketball.

It's just amazing that a guy who is playing better than any other shooting guard not named Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade (and Kevin Martin before the injury) would have difficulty getting playing time on a team with guards whose scoring efficiencies are 48.4%, 40.6 TS%, 40.1 TS%, 41.6%.

I will give Derrick Rose a break because of hte ankle injury...and the fact that his scoring efficiency has been trending up. But in reality, you don't want anyone on your team to have below a 50 TS%. That is just unacceptable.

John Salmons, Jannero Pargo, and Kirk Hinrich should not be allowed on a basketball court if they continue to do what they're doing. That's how bad they've been.

We only have one player on our team, Joakim Noah, who is above the league average scoring efficiency! That's ridiculous.

Someone in the media needs to call out Jerry Reinsdorf. The Detroit Pistons have a guard whose playing All NBA caliber basketball, while the Bulls have a crap backcourt, with an improving Derrick Rose.

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The worst part about that comment is it acted as if Salmons and Hinrich are/were the future and that Gordon never could have been. I think the organization really believes this team can get a max free agent next season and didn't want to spend any cash on Gordon as a result. If we don't get anything this off-season, 2000 will repeat...

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ramblingrose33 wrote:

The worst part about that comment is it acted as if Salmons and Hinrich are/were the future and that Gordon never could have been. I think the organization really believes this team can get a max free agent next season and didn't want to spend any cash on Gordon as a result. If we don't get anything this off-season, 2000 will repeat...

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If Salmons doesn't opt out, and based on his play so far, he'd be crazy to opt out, then the Bulls don't even get to play the 2010 max free agency game.

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I think this idea that a point guard needs shooters to drive the lane is a little overblown. Yes, having guys that space the floor is definitely a plus, but it's not mandatory. Rose's biggest problem is that he's a timid attack point guard. I've seen plenty of opportunities where the lane was clear and Rose just decided not to drive.

Getting to the hole is more about being slick and crafty than fast and powerful. Derrick Rose is a guy that favors his speed and strength, and don't take advantage of his quickness and understanding of the game. Hell, maybe it's because his basketball IQ is low, and he doesn't know how to create openings for himself. Guys like Marbury and Francis got to the hole pretty much at will. They didn't use some “I need shooters to open the lane” copout excuse.

Great attack point guards dictate how defenders defend, and timid point guards stare at defenses looking for a opening. Unfortunately, Rose is a timid attack point guard. NTM, he was a timid attack point guard when Ben Gordon was on the team as well. Rose have to turn up the aggression a few notches, if he’s going to be the player everyone believes he should become. No more playing the game like a vagina with feet, Derrick.

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JimmyBulls wrote:

Rose have to turn up the aggression a few notches, if he’s going to be the player everyone believes he should become. No more playing the game like a vagina with feet, Derrick.

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Wow. A vagina with feet? I can always turn to Bulls Podcasters for the line of the day. Nice one.

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??? ?????? wrote:

ramblingrose33 wrote:

The worst part about that comment is it acted as if Salmons and Hinrich are/were the future and that Gordon never could have been. I think the organization really believes this team can get a max free agent next season and didn't want to spend any cash on Gordon as a result. If we don't get anything this off-season, 2000 will repeat...

Click to expand...

If Salmons doesn't opt out, and based on his play so far, he'd be crazy to opt out, then the Bulls don't even get to play the 2010 max free agency game.

Click to expand...

Now this I disagree with. Does Salmons suck? Yes. Do I think he will get better, yes. Do I think he will hit his numbers from last year, probobly not. Regardles, Salmons is 30. Being 30, even with a mediocre to shitty year, this is his last shot at a multi-year extention. Say he doesnt improve that much...still, last season was LAST year, whereas at the end of next year, his best season was 2 years back (and he is 31). I still think regardless of what happens this season, Salmons will want the security of a multi-year deal and the only way for him to get it is by opting out. Now you may say, "no one will sign him". Whether or not anyone will sign him has no bearing on if he opts out or not. Salmons will have a decision to make, prior to knowing if any team will want him or not (and I am sure he will find a place on a team, somewhere). Unless Salmons gets much worse, or doesn't improve at all, I think its a no-brainer that he will opt out of the final year of his 6 million dollar deal.

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I really hope so. It makes sense in a way. Do you think he'd opt out and sign a deal with a contender to come off the bench?

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mlewinth wrote:

??? ?????? wrote:

ramblingrose33 wrote:

The worst part about that comment is it acted as if Salmons and Hinrich are/were the future and that Gordon never could have been. I think the organization really believes this team can get a max free agent next season and didn't want to spend any cash on Gordon as a result. If we don't get anything this off-season, 2000 will repeat...

Click to expand...

If Salmons doesn't opt out, and based on his play so far, he'd be crazy to opt out, then the Bulls don't even get to play the 2010 max free agency game.

Click to expand...

Now this I disagree with. Does Salmons suck? Yes. Do I think he will get better, yes. Do I think he will hit his numbers from last year, probobly not. Regardles, Salmons is 30. Being 30, even with a mediocre to shitty year, this is his last shot at a multi-year extention. Say he doesnt improve that much...still, last season was LAST year, whereas at the end of next year, his best season was 2 years back (and he is 31). I still think regardless of what happens this season, Salmons will want the security of a multi-year deal and the only way for him to get it is by opting out. Now you may say, "no one will sign him". Whether or not anyone will sign him has no bearing on if he opts out or not. Salmons will have a decision to make, prior to knowing if any team will want him or not (and I am sure he will find a place on a team, somewhere). Unless Salmons gets much worse, or doesn't improve at all, I think its a no-brainer that he will opt out of the final year of his 6 million dollar deal.

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I would agree with you a 100% but with the market being as bad as it is, there just aren't enough buyers to pay the LT for a Salmons. You need a contender that is short on the wings and guys like Salmon's this year are a dozen. You had Ariza and Artest, both better players and younger get the mle, Salmon's will end up with a 3 yr/10mill deal the way things are going. Why take that much less for security when you can stay, start and get almost twice as much per year.

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ramblingrose33 wrote:

The worst part about that comment is it acted as if Salmons and Hinrich are/were the future and that Gordon never could have been. I think the organization really believes this team can get a max free agent next season and didn't want to spend any cash on Gordon as a result. If we don't get anything this off-season, 2000 will repeat...

Click to expand...

BG doesn't make $50million a year. His contract at 6/54 wasn't the problem, he would have made a mill more than kirk will in 2010. The bulls also had plenty of opportunities to dump Kirk for an expiring to accommodate his deal. It really is kirk vs BG. It was a management call and they clearly chose their good ole boy over substance.

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The problem I have with Rose's quote is that superstars make room to drive. A second year LeBron didn't say "I'm stuck with McInnis and Newble, may as well give up now", he took the game on and forced the issue. Obviously LeBron is LeBron, and I don't expect Rose to be as successful as he was, but I do expect him to make things happen and not just be passive.

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Shakes wrote:

The problem I have with Rose's quote is that superstars make room to drive. A second year LeBron didn't say "I'm stuck with McInnis and Newble, may as well give up now", he took the game on and forced the issue. Obviously LeBron is LeBron, and I don't expect Rose to be as successful as he was, but I do expect him to make things happen and not just be passive.

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I feel similar. To me, Rose is like a mini bron, he needs to drive the lane strong and draw contact, not look for clear paths to the lane. Rose is to unselfish, he really needs to take the ball and shove it down the other teams throat.

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Shakes wrote:

The problem I have with Rose's quote is that superstars make room to drive. A second year LeBron didn't say "I'm stuck with McInnis and Newble, may as well give up now", he took the game on and forced the issue. Obviously LeBron is LeBron, and I don't expect Rose to be as successful as he was, but I do expect him to make things happen and not just be passive.

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Agreed. There were numerous opportunities in last night's game for Rose to attack the basket. He chose to shoot it from 20ft instead. Hell, Kirk was getting to the basket at will, this was the RAPTORS for cryin' out loud! This kid's timidness on the floor is really hurting us right now. Clearly he's not 100%, but even at 88.5% he's quicker & stronger than 99% of the guards in this league. If he's ever going to be a star in this league, he needs to develope a nasty streak, a side of him that says, "You can't guard me, no one can, & I'm going show you over & over again."

As for Salmons & Capt. Trainwreck, they have played very good D, but done nothing else. If it weren't for the utter uselessness of these two on offense so far, we would be 7-1 right now, not 4-4. It's completely frustrating when the team has the stellar D to compete in every single game, but your guards can't hit a wide open 15 footer. I'd rather them throw the ball to Taj all the time. And Pargo should be cut, period, end of story. Where's Derrick Byars right now?

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he's in germany.

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with von wafer and kleiza up for grabs last summer, we chose pargo and hunter. REALLLY? REALLY? !!!

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pinkizdead wrote:

with von wafer and kleiza up for grabs last summer, we chose pargo and hunter. REALLLY? REALLY? !!!

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Hunter I have no problem with, but Pargo is straight trash. And it was insulting to hear all the media chiming about how Pargo can help relieve the loss of BG. The only thing Pargo has done is be the hemmorhoid that won't go away no matter what you do.

Cut this useless POS immediately!!!

I find it hard to be upset with Pargo doing what he does. We knew he was crap when we signed him. Now people are surprised he's just a chucker who isn't even very good at that? hmy:

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Shakes wrote:

I find it hard to be upset with Pargo doing what he does. We knew he was crap when we signed him. Now people are surprised he's just a chucker who isn't even very good at that? hmy:

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Not surprised at all. But horrified every time he sets foot on the court. :woohoo: