I know I am beating a dead horse, but I really want to see what Acie Law and Joe Alexander can do with 15 to 20 minutes of play for 3 or 4 games. The Bulls have a lot of decisions to make in this off season. Who to retain is bunch of them. I have seen what Pargo, Warrick, Richard, Murray, and Brown can do. I am impressed with Murray and Warrick to fill role player positions in the future. Pargo, Richard and Brown should be gone. I am not sure that Jerome James will ever play another minute in the NBA, I am sure it will not be with the Bulls, bye bye Jerome. I would like to see Brad Miller back as the third center or as a coach for the “big men”. Before the end of the season the Bulls should find out what Law and Alexander can do with significant playing time.

I consider Rose, Hinrich, Deng, Noah, Gibson, Johnson, Miller, and Murray as the core of the Bulls going into the draft and free agency. Warrick is a possible. It would be nice to know what Law and Alexander can do on court before the Bulls let them go.

(side note: Taj MaBal really deserves some kind of award for playing hurt ALMOST THE ENTIRE YEAR and it really only showed when the team started to thin out and he did not have much help. Much respect to that kid.)

I agree completely…but there’s not much that can be done about it. The refs make the judgement call, and it’s usually wrong.

“Also, I get kind of worried when athletic point guards who can get to the hoop whenever they want start taking too many threes. I know Derrick’s a smart guy and will continue to attack the hoop, and I don’t think the three pointer should be anything except a facilitator in that respect.”

You know, I felt the same way earlier this season when Derrick started to fall in love with that little floater. I think the kid’s working hard and still trying to unlock all the facets of his game. He’s clearly been working on his three-point shooting and is now experimenting with them. I’ve gotten the opportunity to watch him practice his shooting up close, and Rose is like a machine. You can tell he’s developed his jumper, and it continues to improve. And I think he’s shown the ability to develop abiities (like the pull up) that allow him to either drive or get to the rim. What we’re watching (I hope) is the natural growth and maturation process of a superstar.

“You know who else did good last night? Vinny. I was with everyone at the start with the whole, fire Vinny thing (especially after one particular game, I can’t remember which, where the Bulls could not inbound the ball to Derrick). But the way Vinny defended his guys last night was great, you could see after that that the players were fired up. And if nothing else, Vinny got a collection of players that resemble an above average college team to play their hearts out and take a bunch of teams (Cavs, in particular) to the fourth quarter. I think Vinny deserves a lot of credit for the team not losing hope and still playing hard during the stretch, and he’s gotten just exponentially better since the beginning of the year. He’s not the best coach in the league, no, but he’s definitely not the worst by any stretch of the imagination.”

I have noticed that when Vinny makes a very obvious mistake, he attempts to rectify it the next time it comes up. Like last year in the playoffs when he ran the team out of timeouts. He’s much more careful with his TO management now. Vinny didn’t take control of a volatile situation a couple weeks ago and Kirk got ejected and suspended. This time, Del Negro stepped in.

As with Derrick, we’re watching Vinny’s gradual maturation as a coach. He’s still got problems, but I think he definitely has shown improvement. Enough improvement to save his job? I have no idea.

“Why is it that everyone complains no matter what. If he shoots to many jump shots he is not being aggressive and if he drives to much he is being reckless,why not just watch this special kid develop into a Elite Player.”

I think complaints — regarding the team or teams you root for — are usually a sign of concern or fear. Like, the fear that you team is never going to become a contender again, or that your star player may never be able to carry a team like the all-time greats do.

I know I worry about things like shot selection and on-court decision making. But whereas I felt that Tyrus was a lost cause (at least on this team), I really do believe Derrick’s a smart kid who’s maturing and developing his game. Even when he takes a lot of jumpers, he usually is taking wide open shots we all know he can make. He very rarely forces anything (ala Ben Gordon).

“However, great jump-shooters do not make great franchise players. There are, of course, exceptions but they are much better suited for being the 2nd or 3rd peice of a great team. This year we need Derrick Rose to be better than that. …And he is capable of being great. So forgive us if sometimes we worry.”

I agree, which is why we didn’t build around Gordon. Not to keep repeating myself, but I see this upsurge in threes the same way I regard the many floaters he started taking a while back. Right now, the court is Rose’s laboratory and he’s using it to experiment with his game while at the same time being completely devoted to winning. I don’t think we’ll see him become only a jump shooter.

“As for the Bulls making the playoffs, it’s actually looking more hopeful now, I wasn’t expecting Rose to come back with a vengeance. I was the one claiming it there was no chance, but I have to take that back. I have no respect for Toronto, and the Bulls have a lot of winnable games on their sched.”

It’s going to be a real battle, but Rose seems locked in. Even if the Bulls don’t make the playoffs, I like what I’m seeing out of him. It will help going forward.

“was it just me or did Hakeem Warrick get a defensive rebound last night??”

Yeah, one in about 15 minutes of PT. Not exactly what you want out of a PF.

“Of course the Bulls are on par with the Nets without Rose/Noah. They are a bunch of expiring contracts and rookies. I’m actually proud that they only lost by 10 points in each of those last few games in the road trip without DRose/Deng/Noah.”

I agree. I was expecting at least one truly ugly blowout in that stretch, but the Bulls competed. I think it helped that the teams they played against — Dallas and Cleveland at the very least — didn’t appear to go full tilt. But the balls out attitude was impressive. Credit Vinny and the players for sure.

As far as Rose taking those 3s, he is certainly developing. He couldn’t hit a jumper last year and now he is next to automatic. Those 3s are the next step in the maturation process. His Airness started in the league cutting/slashing like rose and slowly developed his perimeter game. It’s good that Rose gets comfortable with taking 3s this season where nothing really matters, so when we get a max free agent at his side, he will be so much better.

I’m not a fan of Vinny, but I got to say that the man took a team or expring contracts and young talent to the playoffs, then after losing their main scoring threat in the offseason, is still able to do it again. I’d’ve prefered D’Antoni, but hey, if he can sneak us into a number 7 seed an give us a great series against Howard & Co, I’d be happy.

1. You take away Wade from the Heat and they are the Miami Nets and would collapse.

2. Take away Kobe and the Lakers still have an allstar in Gasol and above average and potential allstars in Odom and Bynum. On top of that they have a legendary coach in Phil.

The Bulls collapsed because they lost all 3 of their best players, not just one. A little different.

Put Bosh beside him, we’re a championship contender. As for the Bulls making the playoffs, it’s actually looking more hopeful now, I wasn’t expecting Rose to come back with a vengeance. I was the one claiming it there was no chance, but I have to take that back. I have no respect for Toronto, and the Bulls have a lot of winnable games on their sched. On a side note, if Bosh stays in Toronto that’d be foolish if he wants to win a title. He may join Wade in Miami, but honestly I think Rose is a better match for him. Hopefully we don’t screw this up.

Don’t get me wrong, you are right that what Derrick is doing is fantastic. We should be impressed and grateful for his efforts. We should cut him some slack about his shot selection in a couple of games back after sustaining a wrist injury. Perhaps he is a little more hesitant to go to the hoop with reckless abandon since he knows his team cannot make the play-offs if he gets hurt again.

However, great jump-shooters do not make great franchise players. There are, of course, exceptions but they are much better suited for being the 2nd or 3rd peice of a great team. This year we need Derrick Rose to be better than that. …And he is capable of being great. So forgive us if sometimes we worry.