Bulls @ Warriors. 9pm CT: Bulls Return to NorCal

[meekrab]

It's a shame that we are unlikely to escape being the 8th seed, should we win in the play-ins. I would like to see this team's chances in the playoffs against a team not named "Boston." We are playing well enough to put a scare in the rest of them.

Boston would destroy us.

MIL without Pat and hobbled Craig would destroy us.

Sixers with Embiid would destroy us.

Everyone else we could beat.

Yeah I'm concerned Philly could keep losing and then have Embiid end up magically healthy to start the play in, but I think it's likely they shut him down for the season soon, with Covington and Melton banged up and Maxey overworked they're going to be a quick out in the postseason once they hit Boston/NYK/MIL and probably Cleveland anyway.

[ChettheJet]

It was close for sure. To me the Bulls played just close enough to perfect to win, and not to be ignored with so many silly turnovers it took the rest being perfect to come away with the win. They got some serious help with Steph getting hurt and Draymont fouling out.

We've played GSW and DET, it is obvious why GSW traded Wiseman and kept Kuminga. It should serve as education for people proposing their next 57 trades, look a little deeper and be more honest in your evaluations. This from someone who wouldn't mind getting Wiseman but giving up very little and not for his pricetag.

Let's start a grass roots movement to force Stacey King to stop saying that the Bulls guards need to box out and help with the rebounding. He sounds like a fool who doesn't realize the Bulls virtually always have 4 guards on the floor. The problem is two of them are playing the SF and PF positions so even if they start a defensive set matched up how they want, the offense plays them to switch every darn time and they are "TOO SMALL" at every match up. On the To Do list for the off season is thin the guard ranks and get some size or Billy will just do the same thing next year and we'll have to gag Stacey.

[Stratmaster]

It was close for sure. To me the Bulls played just close enough to perfect to win, and not to be ignored with so many silly turnovers it took the rest being perfect to come away with the win. They got some serious help with Steph getting hurt and Draymont fouling out.

We've played GSW and DET, it is obvious why GSW traded Wiseman and kept Kuminga. It should serve as education for people proposing their next 57 trades, look a little deeper and be more honest in your evaluations. This from someone who wouldn't mind getting Wiseman but giving up very little and not for his pricetag.

Let's start a grass roots movement to force Stacey King to stop saying that the Bulls guards need to box out and help with the rebounding. He sounds like a fool who doesn't realize the Bulls virtually always have 4 guards on the floor. The problem is two of them are playing the SF and PF positions so even if they start a defensive set matched up how they want, the offense plays them to switch every darn time and they are "TOO SMALL" at every match up. On the To Do list for the off season is thin the guard ranks and get some size or Billy will just do the same thing next year and we'll have to gag Stacey.

Can we add a ban on him blaming everything on "hustle and effort". Listening to him, you would think all the Bulls have to do is try harder, and they would be vying for a ring. And you are right, it's often regarding rebounding.

As if some teams don't just have better talent than others. Or maybe more height lol

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[DuckIII]

Coby - MIP

He has closed the gap on the betting odds (as has Kuminga who is right behind him), but it’s hard to imagine it not going to Maxey.

In many years Coby would be the favorite though. A remarkable leap regardless.

If Sixers keep falling and ends up below us, then I think Coby have a strong case over Maxey.

I don’t. Maxey went from third option to a guy teams would trade for to be a franchise core piece to build around. I can’t imagine him not winning. The team’s decline with Embiid should be irrelevant.

[moorhosj]

Will Purdue's postgame analysis:
-Bulls are playing their best bball of the season.
-Patton (shooting coach) is the MVP of the team.
-Caruso was the unsung hero of the game.

The kind of insight only a casual fan could give you.

How many casual fans can name the Bulls shooting coach?

[drosestruts]

He has closed the gap on the betting odds (as has Kuminga who is right behind him), but it’s hard to imagine it not going to Maxey.

In many years Coby would be the favorite though. A remarkable leap regardless.

If Sixers keep falling and ends up below us, then I think Coby have a strong case over Maxey.

I don’t. Maxey went from third option to a guy teams would trade for to be a franchise core piece to build around. I can’t imagine him not winning. The team’s decline with Embiid should be irrelevant.

I think the betting odds are still riding earlier season predictions. I think as the end of season award discussions start kicking off more, we'll start seeing a big push for Coby.

It's already happened in smaller moment - I know they discussed his case for the award on The Lowe Post recently. His big game in Sacramento the other night led to more mentions of it.

Still 19 games to go to write the story on the season.

Maxeys effeciency without Embiid is around 55%. One player is trending up, the other is trending down.

[FriedRise]

I just don't know how these guys do it. They've won 5 of their last 7 games - and really it should've been 6 of 7 if they just got their **** together vs Detroit.

The quality of the teams they beat was pretty good too, with a lot of them coming on the road:
- Pelicans (37-25, 5th)
- Cavs (40-22, 3rd)
- Kings (36-26, 7th)
- Jazz (28-35, 11th) <- the only one "tanker"
- Warriors (33-29, 9th)

For the season, they have 13 wins against teams at .500 or better. There are teams above us in the standings who only have 13 such wins, like the bumslaying Knicks who are 23-3 vs below .500 teams but 13-23 vs teams at .500 or better.

It's also wild that 22 of our 31 wins (71%) have come in the clutch lol.

But damn AK, I know it takes two to tango and that it's hard to move big contracts when the players are out for the season, but there wasn't anything he could've done to help this roster? Being down 70M in street clothes constantly every game is such a crazy thing to overcome.

For this play-in/playoffs run, the only team I'd hate to match up against is the Celtics who I think we'll just have no chance against. Milwaukee has Giannis, but unless Dame wakes up, nobody else on that team scares me. The best scenario is to get to 7th/8th. There's still time to do it if they want it, but they gotta keep playing perfect. The 2 games we have coming up vs Indiana and the 3 in April vs Knicks are gonna be HUGE.

[madvillian]

Bitcoin impressed me with his hustling defense and ability to find his shot when needed. He's obviously not a great player or anything but he is rotation viable. Maybe more than Terry.

Vuc was getting swallowed alive defensively but made up for it with a super rare good shooting night from deep. If Vuc and Demar are hitting threes, well, we'll take it.

Not sure how much any of this recent good play means long term, but if nothing else we're finding some useful rotation players for next year.

[jordanwilliams6]

The issue with the team is that I feel they are right on the brink of collapsing. They are doing an absolutely tremendous job of playing through the injuries but if one of our our top 4 scorers go down (plus AC) then I think it will be too much to manage.

I think our starting 5 are playing to their maximum ability. Seem to be fitting like a glove but there’s nothing in reserve if someone goes down.

[Dan Z]

If Sixers keep falling and ends up below us, then I think Coby have a strong case over Maxey.

I don’t. Maxey went from third option to a guy teams would trade for to be a franchise core piece to build around. I can’t imagine him not winning. The team’s decline with Embiid should be irrelevant.

I think the betting odds are still riding earlier season predictions. I think as the end of season award discussions start kicking off more, we'll start seeing a big push for Coby.

It's already happened in smaller moment - I know they discussed his case for the award on The Lowe Post recently. His big game in Sacramento the other night led to more mentions of it.

Still 19 games to go to write the story on the season.

Maxeys effeciency without Embiid is around 55%. One player is trending up, the other is trending down.

I could see the voters picking Maxey, but I agree with you.

The other thing is...was anyone talking about Coby last year? Outside of Bulls fans..nope. Were people talking about Maxey? Yes. Coby basically went from zero to an MIP candidate.

[Dan Z]

I just don't know how these guys do it. They've won 5 of their last 7 games - and really it should've been 6 of 7 if they just got their **** together vs Detroit.

The quality of the teams they beat was pretty good too, with a lot of them coming on the road:
- Pelicans (37-25, 5th)
- Cavs (40-22, 3rd)
- Kings (36-26, 7th)
- Jazz (28-35, 11th) <- the only one "tanker"
- Warriors (33-29, 9th)

For the season, they have 13 wins against teams at .500 or better. There are teams above us in the standings who only have 13 such wins, like the bumslaying Knicks who are 23-3 vs below .500 teams but 13-23 vs teams at .500 or better.

It's also wild that 22 of our 31 wins (71%) have come in the clutch lol.

But damn AK, I know it takes two to tango and that it's hard to move big contracts when the players are out for the season, but there wasn't anything he could've done to help this roster? Being down 70M in street clothes constantly every game is such a crazy thing to overcome.

For this play-in/playoffs run, the only team I'd hate to match up against is the Celtics who I think we'll just have no chance against. Milwaukee has Giannis, but unless Dame wakes up, nobody else on that team scares me. The best scenario is to get to 7th/8th. There's still time to do it if they want it, but they gotta keep playing perfect. The 2 games we have coming up vs Indiana and the 3 in April vs Knicks are gonna be HUGE.

I wonder if there were any decent offers for Zach, but that AK waited for something better. Then it was too late.

[drosestruts]

I don’t. Maxey went from third option to a guy teams would trade for to be a franchise core piece to build around. I can’t imagine him not winning. The team’s decline with Embiid should be irrelevant.

I think the betting odds are still riding earlier season predictions. I think as the end of season award discussions start kicking off more, we'll start seeing a big push for Coby.

It's already happened in smaller moment - I know they discussed his case for the award on The Lowe Post recently. His big game in Sacramento the other night led to more mentions of it.

Still 19 games to go to write the story on the season.

Maxeys effeciency without Embiid is around 55%. One player is trending up, the other is trending down.

I could see the voters picking Maxey, but I agree with you.

The other thing is...was anyone talking about Coby last year? Outside of Bulls fans..nope. Were people talking about Maxey? Yes. Coby basically went from zero to an MIP candidate.

I just think Maxey's case as so many holes in it, granted I suppose I'm bias and might be having a hard time looking at it from not a Bulls fan perspective

Maxey increases his scoring by 6 points a game and increases his assists by 3 a game.

His effeciency his way worse. And without Embiid he has a bad record. It takes Maxey 5 FGA and 2 FTA more than Coby every game to score 6 more points than him. That's not good.

I know i'm preaching to the choir here on the Bulls board but it just seems like the only case for Maxey is "Philly was supposed to be good ans his role was supposed to be expanded with the trade of James Harden"

Which is yes the solid prologue to a MIP story - but his actual play this season has not lived up to it.

[Dan Z]

I think the betting odds are still riding earlier season predictions. I think as the end of season award discussions start kicking off more, we'll start seeing a big push for Coby.

It's already happened in smaller moment - I know they discussed his case for the award on The Lowe Post recently. His big game in Sacramento the other night led to more mentions of it.

Still 19 games to go to write the story on the season.

Maxeys effeciency without Embiid is around 55%. One player is trending up, the other is trending down.

I could see the voters picking Maxey, but I agree with you.

The other thing is...was anyone talking about Coby last year? Outside of Bulls fans..nope. Were people talking about Maxey? Yes. Coby basically went from zero to an MIP candidate.

I just think Maxey's case as so many holes in it, granted I suppose I'm bias and might be having a hard time looking at it from not a Bulls fan perspective

Maxey increases his scoring by 6 points a game and increases his assists by 3 a game.

His effeciency his way worse. And without Embiid he has a bad record. It takes Maxey 5 FGA and 2 FTA more than Coby every game to score 6 more points than him. That's not good.

I know i'm preaching to the choir here on the Bulls board but it just seems like the only case for Maxey is "Philly was supposed to be good ans his role was supposed to be expanded with the trade of James Harden"

Which is yes the solid prologue to a MIP story - but his actual play this season has not lived up to it.

In a different year I'd give it to Maxey. But like I said Coby basically went from zero to MIP candidate.

The point of the award is "most improved". Coby's FG and three point percentages have both improved while playing more minutes. His PPG have also gone from 9.7 to 19.7.

I have no idea if Maxey's defense has improved, but I know Coby's has.

[kodo]

For a while now it's almost always been an All-Star who gets it (MIP), like Ja Morant or Giannis. It's very unusual for someone below all-star level to get it, and Tyrese is an all-star. It was originally supposed to recognize players who weren't at that level but still playing well like Bobby Simmons, but now it just goes to big name stars as well as all other awards.

The last 7 out of 8 MIPs were all-stars. Coby has a chance and I think he should get it, but the trend has been to give it to an all-star.

[sco]

I'm not a big fan of "congeniality awards" like MIP, ROY and 6th Man because they make it seem like these guys are great in an absolute sense, but it's not true.

[PaKii94]

I'm not a big fan of "congeniality awards" like MIP, ROY and 6th Man because they make it seem like these guys are great in an absolute sense, but it's not true.

I agree with you on 6th man. If they were THAT great they wouldn't be 6th men (outside of rare exceptions like Manu).

MIP and ROY makes to me sense imo if they are given impartially. ROY usually just ends up going to the raw stats leader. MIP usually going to the more household name. Which is what makes it frustrating

[The Force.]

It seems the Bulls are stuck at 9 unless Indy completely tanks.

I think they could steal a game from Milwaukee but Boston will be a clean sweep.

#treadmill4life

[Infinity2152]

Maxey averaged 20 pts last season. That's a high level starter. He's averaging 6 more pts on 5 more attempts. Not sure if he's actually even really improved that much, or just more opportunity. Coby looks to have actually improved this year significantly. I'm biased of course, Coby would get my vote. Maxey's the superior player, but he was great last year.

[burlydee]

People should be giving Billy D more credit. This team is flawed, has injuries and he always has them playing hard and making the most of their talent.

[DuckIII]

I don’t. Maxey went from third option to a guy teams would trade for to be a franchise core piece to build around. I can’t imagine him not winning. The team’s decline with Embiid should be irrelevant.

I think the betting odds are still riding earlier season predictions. I think as the end of season award discussions start kicking off more, we'll start seeing a big push for Coby.

It's already happened in smaller moment - I know they discussed his case for the award on The Lowe Post recently. His big game in Sacramento the other night led to more mentions of it.

Still 19 games to go to write the story on the season.

Maxeys effeciency without Embiid is around 55%. One player is trending up, the other is trending down.

I could see the voters picking Maxey, but I agree with you.

The other thing is...was anyone talking about Coby last year? Outside of Bulls fans..nope. Were people talking about Maxey? Yes. Coby basically went from zero to an MIP candidate.

Nobody doubts any of this. Coby is currently #2 in the Vegas odds. He is getting the props.

I just don’t see him winning it.

Also it’s a little unfair to downgrade Maxey with Embiid out. He’s basically their entire offense from an opposition game planning perspective. Also, not sure where the splits come from being cited in here but in February and March Maxey is very much out producing Coby on much better efficiency.