We score here, we put it away.
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We score here, we put it away.
Helluva game.
Win win
Wow! Great effort from our 2 unit. NAW was amazing! WOW!
We gonna be preseason world champs! Suck on that Anthony Davis
I mean, a 25 foot Felicio post up isn't the play I would have drawn up, but okay Bulls, we'll take the win.
Feels good to have depth. Especially having to start preseason on a road trip. Hard to be sharp.
NAW is the backup point guard. It's settled.
Zion had a fantastic game tonight on offense, super efficient, dominant, unstoppable in the paint. Was hit or miss on defense; played really well sometimes, had lapses other times.
The real MVP of this game is NAW. Absolutely guided that comeback from start to finish. Real sense of tempo to his game, legitimate control of pace, high level defense, strong playmaking, cold-blooded shot making at the end. That whole closing unit did really well, actually, with Hart/Frank/NAW/Okafor/Kenrich just grinding out the points. Made the Bulls fight for everything and played as a full on UNIT on offense.
We have to shoot better overall. But I have to say, hell of a job by the subbies. NAW, Jackson, Hart, Okafor and Hustle got it done. Speaks to our depth
NAW should hands down be the backup PG. I hope Gentry doesn’t foolishly bench him for Moore.
Here is what the depth chart should be...
PG: Ball/NAW/Jackson
SG: Holiday/Redick/Moore
SF: Ingram/Hart/Williams
PF: Williamson/Melli/Cheatham
C: Favors/Okafor/Hayes
Like I said I can understand the flat game. I dont know why this team travels so much every preseason. I almost have to go see them Friday even if I dont feel like it...lol.
Still disappointed in Jrue. He has to be the constant. Yet came out in the 2nd half and stunk it up worse.
Oh well. Minutes are going to be super hard for Gentry this year. Good problem to have but a shame somebody will not see the floor.
edit: deleted
It doesn't really matter if Zion is 6'7'' or 6'8'' if he gets his shoulders below people's rib cages and just moves them out of the way like an empty trash can.
— TS% Eliot (@Cosmis) October 10, 2019
He looks like a smoother, stronger and taller Barkley.
— Board Man w/ the Numbers (#Him™ with the #s ) (@AmericanNumbers) October 10, 2019
Which is utterly insane.
Just more comments and notes from basketball analytics/draft twitter.
Note: neither of these people are Pelicans fans :hihi: in fact, Cosmis is a Bulls fan.
Few good nuggets from @ESPNStatsInfo on Pels game:
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 10, 2019
- Zion's 29 points were most by a rookie in last 3 preseasons.
- Also most by a No. 1 pick in the preseason since Rose hit 30 on 10/21/08
- 13 different Pels had at least 1 assist opportunity
If I had to pick the odd man out so far, it would be Moore. Frank has more of an X factor, Hart has a more consistent shot, and I have to wager that Reddick will start tearing it up once he adjusts to the team. Hayes may also see limited minutes as he tries to put on weight. I’m not totally against that.
I said Hayes would be a DNP/G-league candidate this year. Havent seen anything to change my mind. Just unfair to stick him out there right now.
He's got time and he is the eventual front court mate to Zion. Incubate him like the 76ers did with Embiid.
If I had to pick between Moore and Frank, I'd definitely pick Frank because at least he's younger and under contract a little longer, whereas Moore is expiring and is on the wrong side of 30.
But once the rotation narrows into the regular season, I think it's more likely that we're picking one of Moore, Frank, and NAW, and in that case Frank has to get shut out too because there's no way NAW shouldn't be playing immediately.
Zach LaVine on Zion Williamson: "He's the truth."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 10, 2019
Sorry Paul Pierce.
I bet Utah comes here a bit serious Friday. They got spanked by 34 tonight. I bet Gobert and Ingles will play.
Also seems both fans and teams are getting up to play the Pelicans. Damn Bulls couldnt miss tonight.
For real. Moore does pretty much one thing at a high level, and that's shoot. He's not an absolute zero on defense, but he's not elite. His one high level skill is shooting.
And he just refuses to do it most of the time. I'd be more convinced about giving him minutes if he had a quick trigger, but instead giving him a wide open 3 point opportunity is a 50/50 chance on whether he'll take it, or whether he'll do some stupid dribble move into a turnover or a long 2 or a forced floater. Or just pass it into a worse shot. And it's not like he's 21, where he might develop, the dude is 30+. Completely over him.
It's not even that he has a bad floater, he's pretty good at hitting them. It's just that it's a bad shot.
You hit a floater when there's 5 seconds left on the shot clock and you've been matched onto a bigger defender and that's the best shot you can manage in the time.
You do not hit a floater when 3 seconds ago you were wide open from 3 and you decided to just dribble into one because that would be fun.
Pre-season Averages (through 2 games, obviously not representative of what regular season will be, just figured it's a good idea to keep up with them):
Starters:
Zion: 22.5 pts, 5.5rbds, 3.5asts, 2stls, 69% shooting
Lonzo: 5.5pts, 4.5rbds, 8asts, 2stls, 26% shooting
Jrue: 15.5pts, 2rbds, 3.5asts, 2sts, 57% shooting
Ingram: 14pts, 3.5rbds, 1.5asts, 1stl, 0.5blk, 42% shooting
Favors: 5.5pts, 5.5rbds, 0asts, 0.5stl, 1.5blks, 80% shooting (only played 8 minutes in game 1)
NAW: 12.5pts, 2rbds, 4asts, 1.5stls, 53% shooting
Okafor: 12pts, 4.5rbds, 2asts, 1stl, 81% shooting
As the end of this game showed, I really like the idea of us playing 4-out-1-in for stretches of the game with the second unit. You can change up how you do it, but generally you put Okafor or Melli in the pivot (one in) and run some combo of Frank/NAW/Redick/Williams/Moore/Hart as your four out and just run and play pure Westphal-ball.
It seems like the coaching staff recognizes that if we are going to play at this pace, you need to go 10 deep night in and night out. Giving the second unit a distinct identify and mission (to run the other team off the floor) could be effective strategy. Honestly, with our pace, I wouldn't play my starters much more than 30-32 minutes a night. Otherwise, you will run them ragged by March...
Just a note as well: while neither the Hawks nor the Bulls are ''good'' teams, both are teams which are considered fringe playoff teams this year in the East.
I know that sounds wild, but a lot of fairly solid NBA commentators/podcasters/etc think that both of them have a chance of squeezing in, in that 7th or 8th seed spot. Of course, that doesn't mean either of them are good, but it just means that this isn't us feasting on the absolute worst teams in the NBA.
Those would be the Suns, Knicks, Cavaliers, Hornets, Wizards, and possibly Mavs.
After two games, I am most impressed with Zion and NAW; their confidence, aggression, and under control play is beyond what anyone can expect out of any rookie. Frank Jackson's shooting impressed me tonight also.
Biggest concern for me thus far: lack of mobility and aggressive rim protection from Favors. I know he isn't Golbert, but I didn't see much effort there. Hopefully he is saving it for the regular season.
Favors had 2 blocks. While he's not as bouncy as Hayes, when the front end is gushing major leaks aint too much else he can do. Truth be told a lot of that was Zion whiffing on steals and being completely lost on rotations.
I'd like them to look for him on offense a bit more.
Agreed.
I think the problem is that a lot of people (not saying this is the case with SoCal, just speaking generally) don't really know what good big man defense looks like when it's not swatting shots. Take this possession, for example:
Not sure how hot of a take this is, but Derrick Favors is going to near All-Star impact this season, if not reach it. His rim protection/interior d/pnr d is elite elite playing center: pic.twitter.com/4YI9qY2TIG
— Ben Pfeifer (@Ben_Pfeifer_) October 10, 2019
It doesn't look that much, but it's a lot. Right as the ballhandler lowers his stance, Favors shifts his balance to his left, ready to provide help. Sees the ballhandler going right, recovers to fill the lane from the top of the key, immediately notices the guy coming in off the screen that Jrue's on, drops into the lane. Notices the pass on the short roll and immediately adjusts his hips to get square on to the roller, and goes up vertically to contest without fouling. Doesn't get a block, so it doesn't show up as anything in the stat sheet, but you cannot defend this play any better.
That's everything. At every single point of the play, he's on a threat, covering a lane, squaring up, etc etc. But there's a lot of people who will watch that play and not see anything until the end when he jumps.
COMEBACK COMPLETE pic.twitter.com/taAro1B5Ia
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 10, 2019
Zion hip pocket pass are amazing. 6
Zion's vision and passing ability is something I was so excited to see unlocked at the NBA level. At Duke, he showed flashes of it (my two favourite times were the long bounce pass to Tre Jones, and the pass he made against UCF where he made the skip pass through the defense to the corner three) but because he was pretty much never used as the lead ball handler, and had very few shooters to pass to on drives, it went underused and neglected.
He's 2 preseason games in and has already had 3 or 4 just world-class passes.
Gorgeous bounce by Zion on the short roll pic.twitter.com/vBiCtISLXt
— Ben Pfeifer (@Ben_Pfeifer_) October 10, 2019
The passing of Zion and Lonzo play off of each other so well: pic.twitter.com/fC3GEbCvi6
— Ben Pfeifer (@Ben_Pfeifer_) October 10, 2019
Zion can pass too! pic.twitter.com/VnBKUwk6IA
— Ben Pfeifer (@Ben_Pfeifer_) October 8, 2019
OK come on now pic.twitter.com/tl7mefDA1k
— TS% Eliot (@Cosmis) October 10, 2019
I know it's cliche to say, but this stuff is just Lebron-esque. These finds are so good, the accuracy on the passes is so good, and it just looks easy for him.
Also, it's not like the Bulls don't have anyone who's good at defense.
Otto Porter is a good defender. Thad Young is a good defender. Tomas Satoransky is a pretty good defender. Lauri Markkanen, even, isn't terrible on defense. And Zion just tore through them like they were nothing.
Also, Zion's handle is REDONKULOUS!
Moore is more tradable, eh? Expiring contract and all. I'm not the best with NBA cap and all but with Miller going down, I could see Moore being kept to stay flexible in the trade market.
Guys, we are witnessing Zanos. Can’t wait for AD to come back to NOLA. Zion and Lonzo will be a nightmare.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Seen a lot of people complaining on twitter (yeah, twitter, again) that all of Zion's shots came at the rim, so going 12 of 13 is somehow not something to be impressed by.
There's this weird thing out there where people don't realise that a layup or dunk is pretty much the most efficient shot you can get in basketball and that it's almost always the best option, especially if you're automatic at the rim like Zion is. If he was taking long twos or tons and tons of threes, it would be stupid and we would be complaining about it.
Zion shot 75% at the rim in college. That means if he takes 100 shots at the rim, he produces 150 points (assumes his shooting percentage holds) which translates to 1.50 points per shot.
By contrast, Steph Curry shot threes at 43% last year. So if he took 100 threes, at 43% he produces 129 points. That's 1.29 points per shot.
Assuming that it's not some end of game scenario where you desperately need 3 points and 2 will not suffice, it is literally better to have Zion shoot a layup than to have Curry shoot a 3.
People need to understand this. Giannis just won an MVP taking shots pretty much exclusively at the rim: if you can get there and nobody can stop you, there is no better shot in basketball than a shot at the rim by an elite finisher.
I get that making an easy layup doesn't look as flashy as making a turnaround fadeaway midranger with three people in your face, but it's better.
go crazy brotha ♥️ @Zionwilliamson #CarolinaBaby
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 10, 2019
Great job second unit! Some thoughts: Zion is unstoppable when he drives the lane he's just too quick and explosive.Lonzo's 3 point shot is still inconsistent but his passing is elite.Ingram still forces shots also has to look to pass more out of his ISO moves seeing a little to much tunnel vision there.This is a very small team rebounding is an issue they may have to trade one of the guards to get a rebounder the Bulls got way to many second shots.Okafor may be a better option as the starting center and they may have to play Okafor and Favours together at times.Zion is even better than I thought the ball handling and moves off the dribble surprised me as well as the passing The only weakness is defense he may have trouble guarding wings.
We've seen now that Zion can completely dominate in the pre season with an array of moves (offensively).
I don't need to watch him in any more meaningless games. Bring on the season
I think he's looking at our depth that (hopefully) won't be playing much in the crunch. So yes, in preseason using all of our bench, we look small but we have enough height when playing meaningful games.
I think we just need to rebound better as our height isn’t really a problem in the starting lineup. Zion is the only one that is undersized in the starting 5 and you’d expect him to do more on the boards than last night. That was probably my biggest qualm with him as he was otherwise excellent last night. Favors did fairly well on the boards
Unless Zion is guarding the ball, he is a deer in headlights on defense and is just out of position to rebound because he's not moving.
Rebounding won't be a problem long term though. The team has length and athleticism so they aren't small by any means. A small team is the Rockets.
Defense though, will be an issue at least until next year I think.
im down on the starters who didnt play with energy and didnt play the game right on offense and defense.......proud of the bench coming in hungry with something to prove and playing the game right on both ends...the offense had ball movement and pace...the defense had hustle and made the bulls work hard on offense.....
zion has to stop gambling on defense so much because people are blaming favors for zion mistakes with bad defense.....zion gambling alot is leaving the back end out to dry on defense and causing us easy points in these 2 games....even he said coach will get on him and show him the tape.....
i guess its me because i also think we are small on the front court when it comes to rebounding...zion,,favors and ingram are a small rebounding front court compared to what we had in the last few season with AD,,boogie,,niko,,randal and whoever we had at SF......all 4 of those past players were getting double digits in rebounds a game.....so im going to chalk the rebounding up to effort right now until the season start and see how we do 2 months into the season...
friday should be a good challenge for us because the jazz should play with some pride in this game and our starters should also after yesterday so im looking forward to that game...
i wasnt checking for summer league play but naw has impressed me in these 2 games against nba players.....i thought zion was going to be the only rookie on the active roster but with miller being out and it seem like moore will be the backup SF again...miller injury has open the door for naw to be on the 12 man active roster......question is will naw be the backup PG or will gentry go with frank as the backup.....so it look like frank and naw will be battling it out in the preseason for that backup spot and thats good we will have that battle.....