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Game On: Bulls @ Hornets

Matchup: Bulls(35-16) @ Hornets(33-22)

Off Efficiency: Bulls 103.3(18th), Hornets 103,4(17th)
Def Efficiency: Bulls 97.1(1st), Hornets 100.1(5th)

After a tight win on the road in Orlando last night, the Hornets get to return home and take on the up and coming 2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers.  Err . . wait, I meant Chicago Bulls. 

Okay, maybe the parellels aren’t the exact same.  Rose isn’t quite Allen Iverson in his ball domination, and Carlos Boozer, when he plays, provides a bit more scoring than anyone on that 76ers team – but it’s still a decent analogy.   Why?  Because that 76ers team got by on tough, hard-nosed defense supplemented by a primary, not particularly efficient scorer.  That scorer was lionized and treated like NBA royalty, despite being the equivalent of what I like to call a “Scoring Role-Player”.

This Bulls team is the same.  The star is their defense, which allows them to have a great efficiency margin of +6.2 points per 100 posessions despite a middling offense.  The scoring role-player is Derrick Rose, and the lionization of him has been swift and over the top.

The key point is this game is going to be a defensive bloodbath, and whichever team manages to struggle their way to just a little bit of offense is going to win tonight.

Injuries:

Bulls: Noah remains out.
Hornets: Okafor remains out.

Positional Analysis

PG: Derrick Rose v Chris Paul
Advantage:  Even
Before most of you flip out, we need to address a few things.  I call Derrick Rose a scoring role-player, but that in no way makes him bad.  He’s got a lot of scoring skills and a good enough court vision to make him extra dangerous(and exciting) going towards the hoop.  He excels at putting in points, and he’s explosive.  What’s more, for this contrast, it matters how a player has been playing recently, and Chris Paul has been slower than usual over the past five games and has had trouble staying in front of quick players like Monta Ellis – and Rose – all year.  Yes, I fully expect Paul to run the Hornets better than Rose runs the Bulls, but you have to think about the eventual end-point of that.  Paul will generate regular, wide open shots for Willie Green, Trevor Ariza, David West, and Aaron Gray.  Rose will generate a shot for himself – or run a pick and pop with Carlos Boozer.  Given those sets of finishers, is Paul or Rose more likely to generate more points?  It’s hard to say.

SG: Keith Bogans v Willie Green
Advantage: Hornets
Wow.  It’s not often that Willie Green is more productive than his counterpart, but in this situation he is.  Bogans plays for his tough defense, and I fully expect Willie to not look like he did last night as a result.  Still, Bogans is so abysmal offensively he can only get 17 minutes a game and both Willie Green and Trevor Ariza are more efficient scorers.  Ouch.

SF: Loul Deng v Trevor Ariza
Advantage: Bulls
I’m a big fan of Deng.  His length makes him a great defender, and he’s got enough offensive talent that he will contribute efficiently enough every night.  He’s paid like a star, and he’s not one, but he’s still a good player.  In essence, he’s kinda what I wanted Ariza to be.  Alas, the Hornets forward’s offense consists of bad threes and worse shots at the basket in traffic.

PF: Carlos Boozer v David West
Advantage: Hornets
Usually I give Boozer the advantage over West, but Carlos hasn’t yet figured out his spots in Chicago and his classic efficient scoring hasn’t arrived yet.  As a result, both he and West are about equal as scorers, West tops Boozer as a defender, and that only leaves rebounding.  Looking at the season numbers, Boozer has him, but that’s only if you ignore what West has been doing since Okafor has gone down.  West has picked up the load and been pulling down 13 rebounds over the last five.  Attaboy, Fluffy.

C: Kurt Thomas v Aaron Gray
Advantage: Even
Again.  Wow.  Kurt Thomas has been an undersized center his entire career, getting by on savvy and tricks to make his way in the league and still be a solid contributer.  Though he’s playing better than he did last year, he’s still not what he once was, and though his mid-range shot is still there, his rebounding has crashed and burned.  On the other end, Gray finishes his shots at a high rate, and rebounds like a monster despite his defensive problems.  If he could stop turning the ball over at a bottom-20 worst rate, he’d be a good backup center.  I’m not really holding my breath about that though.

Bench
Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Taj Gibson, CJ Watson, Omer Asik vs
DJ Mbenga, David Andersen, Jason Smith, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli
Advantage: Bulls
Here’s where the Bulls gain a major advantage over the Hornets.  Other than CJ Watson, this bench is about as solid as they come.  Asik and Gibson are great defenders with moderate scoring ability, as is Ronnie Brewer, who would start for the team if he could shoot from deep.  Kyle Korver is the designated shooter, and has re-found the shooting stroke he misplaced in Utah.  Jack is typically bad against tight defenses, but the Hornets do have some hope that Andersen and Belinelli, who have looked solid off the bench, could mitigate this disadvantage some.  Oh, and maybe Marcus will play and have one of those explosive games he puts together twice monthly.

Again, not holding my breath.  About the explosive game – or the thought he might play.

Enjoy the game!

Ryan Schwan

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141 responses to “Game On: Bulls @ Hornets”

  1. The things I would LOVE, I WOULD REALLY LOVE:
    NOLA WINS
    CP3 owns DROSE
    Gray gets 10 rebounds 10 points and Marcus plays a 15 and 5 game

    GEAUX HORNETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  2. CP knows how big a game this is, and you can be sure that he knows about the love the golden child has been recieving. I think he will have a performance similar to the D West buzzer beater OKC game.

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  4. Well, Marcus does play a lot better at home than he does on the road. I would love to see some MT5 tonight, but the last thing I want to see is him taking 12+ shots in 15 minutes.

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  5. “that 76ers team got by on tough, hard-nosed defense supplemented by a primary, not particularly efficient scorer. That scorer was lionized and treated like NBA royalty, despite being the equivalent of what I like to call a “Scoring Role-Player”.”

    —————————————————————

    You are such a hater, which is the only reason I’m not surprised you wrote this fallacy. Now for a moment, forget that fact that I’m from Chicago and love the Bulls just as much as I do the Hornets, and recognize that for this season, Rose’s leadership has surpassed CP3’s, and the Bulls record in the Western Conference is proof. I like Derrick Rose, but he is not one of or my overall favorite players – CP3 is. Both of them are top 5 PER guards, but it is clear that one has done better this season when it was time for the Captain to step up. I’m not writing this as a testament as who I want to win this game. It’s just that stats don’t lie. I’m not talking about being 7 feet tall and grabbing uncontested rebounds as being “monstrous.” I’m talking talking getting them when they count – no inflation necessary.

    Reply

    • There are a lot more factors that come into play when talking about Chicago’s record VS the West. Chicago has had one of the easiest schedules in the L so far. The 3rd easiest, to be precise. New Orleans have had the 4th toughest schedule, so far.

      Reply

    • Rose’s leadership has surpassed CP? Sorry bud. No way. I’m gonna copy and paste what I wrote previously regarding D Rose:

      I can’t stand D Rose. He shoots more than Kobe did in his hay days. The other night I saw him go 11-26 for 29 points, and 7 assists, and the announcers just RAVED about him.

      The guy shoots SOOO much, and doesn’t even do it efficiently. His PER is only 22.99. CP’s is 25.27. Yet Derrick Rose is getting SOOO much attention this season. Why? Because he plays in Chicago.

      This same thing happened with Rondo to start the season. Everyone started thinking he’s the best PG in the league. NO WAY. He was getting those assists because he was SUPPOSED to. He’s got 4 hall of famers on the freaking team, and a deep supporting cast. CP would average 20 assists if he played for Boston.

      But people don’t get this stuff. There are so many bandwagoners. For them it accumulates to “what have you done for me lately?”

      Reply

    • I really like and admire Rose this season, with all the injury problems on his team. he’s stepped up and deserves a place in the limelight.

      But, seriously, the hype on him is really the result of a big market media promotion that the national media have been all too happy to join in the hype.

      Mind you, I have no problem with Rose’s game, per se. It is what it is, and he wins with it. Other people, purists of the PER, can argue the “efficiency” question, and why that should be the end-all, be-all of basketball stats.

      What jumps out at me though is beyond the fact that Ryan thinks nearly every other position besides PG is a Bulls advantage, so he has a better cast around him, take a look at Rose’s division. The next best team is the sub-500 Pacers at 23-28. Well that win percentage happens to be LOWER than the WORST team in the Hornets division, an injury-plagued Houston at 25-29.

      How much better would Chris Paul look if he were playing against that kind of division, instead of SA, Dallas, and Memphis, two of the best teams in the league?

      Reply

      • So what? They play for who they play for, and the Bulls have racked up W’s in the WC despite their better players being on the DL.

      • “How much better would Chris Paul look if he were playing against that kind of division, instead of SA, Dallas, and Memphis, two of the best teams in the league”

        Rose would be tearing that division up just like he’s doing every other division in this league. Heck, he’s going to be MVP this season AND next.

      • I recently saw someone on ESPN.com say that people need to stop acting like Rose is doing it alone when Boozer and he named 2 other Bulls players, I just can’t remember which 2. I don’t know if it was Boozer/Deng and can’t remember who else but it was players that help the Bulls win games and he said these players have played 4000 minutes and people need to stop acting like Rose is doing it alone. Yeah, Noah has been out but Boozer hasn’t missed all THAT much time and Deng is still better than any SF the Hornets have. This is the same thing Jazz fans did. Didn’t give Boozer or AK47 credit because they wanted to give it all to Deron. But maybe Derrick is doing it all alone. Props to him then.

  6. I think Marcus didn’t play since Belinelli played well against the Nets.. I expect him to play tonight especially if we get down by 10 or so and it starts to look like the Memphis game.

    Reply

      • I think in part that is a problem with Marcus’ inconsistencies. No other person on this team sees the amount of playing time that this kid does when the s*** is hitting the fan. The odd part is that Monty seems to know that Marcus is a game changer, yet refuses to give him the minutes of one.

  7. Dude DRose Will never be the Leader that CP is..He’s Too Quiet..And as far as him outplaying CP this year..That’s a good Statement but People tend to forget..The dude is playing on 1 leg..And @Ryan: Did you just disrespect a NBA Great and call Allen Iverson a “Scoring Role Player”!??..Give Props where props are due Man..And at 5’10 That man was WAYY more than that

    On another Note..2 in a Row Tonight!!..CP will show everyone who’s The Fuckin Man

    Reply

  9. Yea, AI was amazing…I really liked AI…

    CP3 more efficient than Rose, CP3 better playmaker…
    Rose better scorer and flashier…

    NUFF SAID…

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  10. Ryan- i do not hold deng so highly. He has a solid mid range game but is very very streaky from range, refuses to really attack the hoop and creates for his teammates less than marcus does. I think other teams will agree with me that they dont hold deng so highly as chicago has tried using him as a trade chip but no one wants him (partly due to his big contract). he is still pretty young and if teams thought he had more potential im sure he would not be on the bulls at this point in time. my opinion is he is solid but to be honest i wouldnt give him much of an edge over ariza just slightly, ariza is a much much much better defender

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  11. Well, first I agree that the praise of Rose has been over the top.
    He has some slow moments.
    Howver, this time I would not make it even.
    At the game last night in Orlando, even the locals around me were discussing loudly enough for me to hear Paul’s sudden slowness.
    They remarked about his late inability to cut sideways and even his drives to the basket were far and few.
    We all agree….something is not right with Paul right now.

    Thedifference tonight, Andersen and Smith.
    Both of which made me proud during the game last night, but Andersen really had the locals in blue hair really crying.

    Reply

      • Ya, I know..sound dumb to many.
        But at the game last night, I saw a Smith I can get behind. The guy has no fear of Howard.
        Last night, because I was on the floor right under the basket, it was exciting to watch Smith, and yes Gray, push into Hward.
        Howard was pissed.
        He threw Smith to the floor.
        When he fouled Smith one time, you cold hear him talking to Smith out of the corner of his mouth and Smith kind of looks back and gives him the F You look.
        Ya, I gotta like that in a player.
        Never being one for SuperMan and his self love, I just have to root for guys that play big.

  14. If someone gave you a chance to trade Paul for Rose would you do it. Of course you would. No contest there. In fact only LeBron compares in value, but unlike Rose he is a jackass.

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  15. Rose isn’t the 2nd coming of MJ but you can’t just relegate him to a “scoring role-player”. What is that? Cmon man. He’s pretty goddamn dynamic. Their defense is no question great but he’s carried a HUGE load for that team since he was drafted. He’s easily a top 6 point guard right now.

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  16. I was debating on whether or not to let my friend go with me to the game tonight. He’s a Bulls fan, and the last time I took him to a Bulls-Hornets game, Chris Paul blew out his knee. I decided to take him again on the off chance that Derrick Rose blows out his knee. . . and then we’ll be even.

    Reply

  17. If anyone would like 3 free tickets to tonight’s game. Please respond to this by 5:30 PM CST. You will have to meet me at the Discount Zone at Clearview and West Metairie. Tickets are Balcony Row 2. Only Hornets fans need apply! Thanks.

    Reply

  18. Marco is off to the bench. Inconsistent, timid play on offense has eroded his efficiency the past several games. He still seems scared to shoot. Green showed courage and confidence in his offense against Orlando, after missing his first two attempts, he continued to shoot and didn’t shy away from his game. Good for him. Beli lacks that confidence, and with his minutes diminished, I suspect that will only get worse. He’s still the team’s best threat from the three point arc. He’s second in precentage to CP3 and has by far the most maid three-pointers. This season he’s received a solid opportunity to play, at times I thought he had turned the corner, but that doesn’t appear to be the case now. I’m hoping he can be the efficient scorer as a volume shooter next season… in the Italian league.

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  22. I would never say Rose isn’t good. He’s really good. He can jump out of the gym. He doesn’t yet have the BBIQ and leadership of a CP3 though. But yeah, he’s really good.

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  23. Exactly how bad of a player is Marcus Banks that Dell told him to not even show up? He has a $4mill contract. Someone at some point thought he was good. He was good at UNLV. Fast, decent defender. Horrible from 3 but a decent shooter inside the arc.

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  24. Probably out of line here.
    Many sports people think athletes can and should do what they can to get where they want to be..but I don’t.
    In fact, if I could, I would get into a whole big rant about athletes getting into college with scores not allowed for non athletes.

    However, Rose cheated in college testsing.
    I do not accept cheating, and I don’t care who the hell you are.
    I simply cannot see Paul doing such.
    In fact, I think Paul is the exact opposite type.
    I think he is smart and this shows in his BBIQ. I think smart is smart is smart.
    I spent the early Rose years as a Bulls fa and aI swear, I didn’t know what in hell he was talking about when he did interviews.

    Ya, so hit me for this…but I think being smart shows in all parts of your life.
    He’s a sweet guy, seems to me.
    But not so sure he’s the leader of an NBA team.
    Not sure he is THE leader on the Bulls.
    Noah is a force as well as Boozer. But Rose to me is not. Haven’t seen their games religiously like I used to, so perhaps I am wrong and he has grown into such a floor leader, but I would really be surprised.

    Reply

    • CP had a dumb mistake in college too. Hitting a guy in the junk. That was the only non smart think I can remember CP doing in college. He probably should’ve not tried to be sneaky with it though and just should’ve punch Hodges in the mouth. LOL!

      Reply

      • It ain’t like Korvers though. If you ask anyone in the world that knows both of these players which one is the bigger threat behind the 3pt line Rose or Korver do you think they’d say Rose? Come on now. And nobody hates Rose. Why would I hate him?

      • I didn’t say Rose was better than Korver, I said they are both threats. And as long as I’ve known you on this blog, you never seemed to care or respect players from opposing teams.

      • Well you haven’t known me for long then. 🙂

        Didn’t I say earlier that Rose was good? Didn’t I say that? Just because I’m not crowning him the way you are doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s not good. I always give credit to opposing players. I’ve said before when Boozer was in Utah that I’ve wondered how it would be if Paul had Boozer instead of West. I said that because I’ve always thought Boozer to be the better player. I’m not crowning Rose. Sorry.

  34. Nice to see Marcus playing well on both ends of the floor. I got worried after those first 2 misses. That boxout on Asik was champ.

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  40. A very well played half for the hornets. We need to keep this pace up. CP3 playing well, DWest hitting difficult shots, and MT5 doing what we all know he is capable of doing, play offense and defense!

    GEAUX BEES!!!

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  47. The easiest way to lose a lead is to get to the line and miss constantly…

    There is no reason that we should miss 11 free throws through 3 quarters.

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    • That hurts 95% of the time. Monty always does that. Monty seems to keep Hornets starters on the bench when the opposing teams have 1 or 2 of their starters in.

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  53. Belinelli, Smith, Andersen, & Banks = trade bait for Jamison!

    Inconsistent man look at their stat line. The only thing consistent about their stat line is that it looks similiar to the other’s!

    L_REAZY

    Reply

  60. willie with his usual stupid-and-destroing-momentum-bad-shot. Last game he wins the game with a shot like that, today it was usual Willie Green

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    • Are those 2 days going to make him 100%? Do players play half as hard in the ASG as in a regular game? Can he hurt himself in the next game just as he could in the ASG?

      Reply

  65. wow … a game that was winnable. CP3 sort of let me down tonight, and he really can’t get mad at:
    (1) Steve Nash
    (2) Deron Williams
    (3) Derrick Rose
    (4) Russell Westbrook
    (5) Rajon Rondo
    (6) Chris Paul …
    … Injured or not prove us wrong Chris if you disagree!!!

    L_REAZY

    Reply

    • you forget the defensive side, CP3 is best-defensive pg in the league imho.. Offensivly, i agree with that ranking right now

      Reply

      • No, CP3 isn’t the best anything in the league. Give that offensive title to Rose. Time to crown Rose now. I was going to say Rondo on defense but let’s give it to Rose.

    • But we’ve been came to the conclusion that CP is no longer as good as those guys so why does he have to prove anything? We’ve already come to the conclusion but for some reason you guys keep looking for 07-08 CP3. Your’e just setting yourself up for disappointment. CP is on the tier with Steph Curry, Darren Collison and Mike Bibby.

      Reply

      • I wasn’t saying “don’t be mad at the other PGs” … I was saying that he really “…can’t be mad at the ranking!”

        He gets offended when people tell him that he isn’t the best Point guard in the league anymore. He has to play like it in order to earn that title.

        L_REAZY

    • You should change the ranking to:

      1) Rose
      2) Williams
      3) Nash
      4) Westbrook
      5) Rondo
      6) Felton
      7) Parker
      8) Wall
      9) Evans
      10) Paul

      Now that sir is a list.

      Reply

  66. Hornets left way too many points at the ft line tonight. I haven’t checked but is Ariza a 50% ft shooter? Because he always misses 1 of 2.

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    • I think more like 70ish, but yeah free throw shooting was atrocious tonight. The Bulls, on the other hand, only missed 1.

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      • I mean I can probably put money on him missing at least 1 of 2. But other guys missed tonight too. You make your free throws you win this game. Even with CP3 not playing all that great. Make your free throws and you win this game.

  69. Chicago’s D was amazing. Give credit to them. Without Mek we couldn’t get any second chances so not surprising we scored a low amount of points. Move on to the next one.

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    • “Chicago’s D was amazing. Give credit to them.”

      Credit to Chicago. They have the best defensive pg in the league. Credit.

      Reply

  70. I’m gonna say it. Monty’s dumb*** decision to put in Marco in the 3rd quarter probably cost us this game.

    How Marcus has that first half and is still the 3rd SG in the 2nd, I really have no clue. SMH.

    Reply

    • that was a bad decision, not to put Marcus in, but didn’t cost us the game. We lost the game because right now they are a better team.. Their bigs are too good compared to our subs, they played great D and get some offense going thanks to that D. They didn’t miss their FT. So IMHO they showed they are a better team right now..
      But give us ‘Mek and a little more offensivly from CP3 and we will see. I know that they haven’t Noah, but Kurt Thomas+Asik+Gibson >>>>>>>>>>>> our sub bigs. Expecially when their guards and their SF are bigger then ours.

      Reply

  71. Marcus had it going tonight. But of course when I thought he should be in the game, he wasn’t. I’ve said before that Monty still doesn’t know how to ride his hot hand.

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  73. Anybody have any idea if Demps will make a move in the next 2 weeks?

    How much will it mess with chemistry? Is there even any chemistry to mess up? LOL!

    Reply

  74. ‘QueenBee’ …

    I wasn’t saying that Chris Paul shouldn’t “…be mad at the other PGs” … I was saying that he really “…can’t be mad at the ranking of (1) Steve Nash, (2) Deron Williams, (3) Derrick Rose, (4) Russell Westbrook, (5) Rajon Rondo, and then (6) Chris Paul …!”

    He gets offended when people tell him that he isn’t the best Point guard in the league anymore. He has to play like it in order to earn that title.

    L_REAZY

    Reply

  75. Hornets held to 35 pts in the second half by Bulls league top defense.
    Rose wins the PG battle just like he did last game v. D-Will.
    Good first half by Hornets.

    Reply

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