16. We Have Liftoff! : The View from Chicago

I've recently bid adieu to my friends at the SBN Laker blog Silver Screen & Roll over matters well within the editorial purview. This is a fancy way of saying that after 60-some-odd columns and a few feature articles Josh and Chris got sick of my regularly scheduled 7-hour long dog & pony marathons and wanted me to start keeping things short and Lakersy. Either that, it was intimated, or I should start wheelbarrowing my unfiltered crap-heap to the sidebar. Fair enough, they're still searching for the magic formula that will blow up their blog bigger than Khloe Kardashian and I don't doubt that ditching my gunk is a correct move there... 

Unfortunately or fortunately, I don't want to keep things short and Lakersy. There's no fun in that and sports entertainment is all about the fun, is it not? If I have to make compromises about content to be allowed to serve free all-you-can-stomach cilantro pie on the sidebar, I'd rather ix-nay the earing-sway and change the color of my logo.

Hello.

I'll be running up a new installment of "opposition links" on the Bedge sidebar right around noon after every game, win or lose. There will also be plenty of pointless stories, grumbling, mocking of Those Franchises Less Fortunate (hello, Grizzlies!), and other assorted gibberish. There will be something for everybody to be bored with, trust me!

You'll either like my stuff or you won't. No offense taken if you don't. 

I'll just keep spewing until Dave drops me a line to tell me to get the heck off of his gol-darned sidebar. He knows where I live...

There are two things that you will be able to find in my "View" columns with regularity. One is a link to the Popcorn Machine Game Flow Chart, which is one of the miracles of the modern world. Much like a Rhorschach Test for Hoopaholics, those graphs and their non-pace-adjusted raw stats (eeeewwww!) pretty much tell you all you need to know about what you think you thought you saw.

They're gooooooooood.

Humor me. Give that link right above there just one little click... Seriously...

Observation 1. The Blazers came out lame, giving up a 10-2 Bulls run near the start of the 1st Quarter. But they didn't freak out like, ummmm, that cop did when I got caught, ummmm, with my pants ummmmm, nevermind... Instead, they answered with a 7-0 run of their own. It was Roy, LMA, and The Dentist doing all the damage for the good guys in the quarter.

Observation 2. Nate used a typically squirrelly substitution pattern in this game. He's got lots of pieces and they fit together in an assortment of different ways and he's always mixing things up a little. He wasn't so much black unit/white unit in this game so much as he was using Andre Miller and Ruuuuuuuuudy as a matching pair. Think of it as a hockey line change. Rudy got muscled aside so that The Rex could get a little burn in the 2nd Quarter, but down the stretch he was riding the Spanish pony until garbage time ensured with 2:40 on the clock.

Observation 3. Big night for Oden, who was productive on the offensive end in each of his 4 shifts.

Observation 4. Things got a little bit sketchy in the 3rd Quarter, with the 10 point Portland halftime lead evaporating to just 2 points. With 3:34 on the clock, Andre Miller came in for Steve Blake and Portland went on a quick 6-0 run, never looking back. Dre finished with a team-high Plus-30 on the +/-. People whine and complain about using such a basic stat to make inferences about anything — but when you are making inferences about what happened during a single game, the plus/minus often will point you in the direction of Truth in Art. And the truth is this: Andre was good against Chicago.

The other thing I promise to do every time I churn out one of these posty things that you will either skim or ignore is to flack shamelessly for you to watch the latest installment of THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD. Which you should join me in doing now!

And now, here's some moaning, whining, and wailing from Chicago's bloggers and journalistas...

(1)

Chicago Bulls lose 122-98 to Portland Trail Blazers: Kirk Hinrich knows he has to find a good rhythm

by K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune

PORTLAND, Ore. -- It seemed fitting the Bulls wore their alternate black uniforms for the first time this season Monday night given the funereal atmosphere their trips to the Rose Garden create.

Four days past the one-year anniversary of their worst defeat of the 2008-09 season, the Bulls dropped another stinker, meekly succumbing 122-98 to the Trail Blazers.

That's three straight blowout losses on this six-game trip. It's also three straight opponents cruising past the century mark, something the Bulls had allowed just once before this trip began.

And while this defeat didn't rival last season's 42-point loss here, Portland posting an opponents' season-high in points nevertheless continued to expose the gap between the Bulls and the league's elite teams.

"They overpowered us," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "They outrebounded us by a lot. That was the difference, their control of the glass.

"We've played three big, strong teams. They're all very big up front. These are tough games. Even when we get it close in the second half, we're giving up big fourth quarters and the rebounding edge has hurt." * * *

(2)

Three blowouts in Row: Road woes continue as Bulls go down meekly; huge night for Blazers' 'bigs'

by John Jackson, Chicago Sun-Times

The Bulls were manhandled for a third consecutive game as the Portland Trail Blazers rode the broad shoulders of LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden to a 122-98 victory in the Rose Garden.

The 122 points is the most the Bulls have given up this season. Portland had 50 points in the paint, a 19-11 edge in second-chance points and 47-27 rebounding advantage. * * *

Bulls center Joakim Noah was held to seven points and eight rebounds, and backup Brad Miller had two points and one rebound in 15 minutes.

[Wing Luol] Deng, though, defended his big men and said the entire team shared the blame for the loss.

"They're very good," Deng said. "To be fair, I thought our bigs played hard. It's tough for them. Our bigs are playing hard and they keep coming down and dumping it in and we're not doing the same thing at the other end."

Deng also said the Bulls didn't take advantage of their edge when Del Negro went small.

"We didn't do a good job moving the ball," Deng said. "We have to realize that and share the ball better. We have to realize the reason Coach is going small is to take advantage and penetrate and kick, and we have to do that." * * *

(3)

Bulls Rally in Third, But Blazers Roll to Easy Win

by Mike McGraw, Chicago Daily Herald

To the rest of the NBA, former No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden might be a bust. Against the Bulls late Monday night, he was a beast.

Oden matched his career-high with 24 points, added 12 rebounds and thoroughly outplayed his college nemesis Joakim Noah, the league's leading rebounder.

The Blazers dominated inside and handed the Bulls their third straight brutal loss, 122-98 at the Rose Garden.

As good as Oden was, teammate LaMarcus Aldridge was slightly better, with 24 points and 13 boards. Oden and Aldridge outscored Noah and Taj Gibson 48-13. When he played at Florida, Noah's team beat Oden's Ohio State squad twice, including the NCAA title game.

The Blazers (11-5) have been a tough matchup for the Bulls in recent years because they have so much size inside and out. * * *

(4)

Bulls Blown Out in 3rd Straight Game

by Your Friendly BullsBlogger, Blog-a-Bull (SBN)

In Denver, after the second of what is now three-straight blowout losses, Vinny Del Negro went off on the team's apparent lack of effort. I didn't watch much of that game, but it didn't appear this is ever a team that won't try hard, since they simply have to in order to be competitive. That's the way it's going to be all season.

And I suppose after a game (or three) where they're not even competitive you can still blame the effort, but I applaud VDN for not going to that well again after Monday night's game. He said it like it is, they were simply overpowered by the Blazers. * * *

It is a problem that they're not just losing, but getting blown out (point differential matters). However, Brad Miller can't fade into the sunset this quickly, and Kurt will step up his production to where I'm told "well if you take out November..." by the end of the season, and Salmons won't be his career year again (thus why they call it those) but he won't be his worst. And Tyrus Thomas will come back.

Sure, Vinny will be there to stick him back on the bench and see Hustlin' Taj get completely overmatched. But at least he's grown enough as a coach not to blast his, or the team's, effort too much. Effort's all they have (and all our coach can teach, apparently), they're just not very good.

(5)

Circus Trip Game 4: Blazers 122, Bulls 98

by Matt McHale, By the Horns (TrueHoop)

The Bulls moved the ball, just like Vinny Del Negro wanted. They committed only six turnovers, which is crazy low for them. Luol Deng (25 points, 9-for-14) and John Salmons (22 points, 8-for-15) had it going on offense. Jannero Pargo (15 points, 2-for-3 from downtown) provided instant offense off the bench. Why, the team even outshot an opponent from three-point range for the first time in recent memory (6-for-13 versus 6-for-15).

And yet...the Bulls were blown out for the third time in the last three games. They are now 1-4 on their circus road trip.

It isn't as if the players aren't trying. They are. But — at least in the case of the Lakers, Nuggets and Trail Blazers — Chicago has been facing better, more talented, more complete teams. And last night in Portland, the Bulls ran into a familiar and seemingly unsolvable problem.

Pain in the Paint:
Let's get something straight: Chicago does not match up well with Portland. Not even remotely. Especially not up front. * * *

(6)

Portland Sends Bulls to Third Straight Big Loss

by Sam Smith, Bulls.com

The frustration — of a third consecutive loss in which the Bulls trailed by at least 24 points, of playing against a big, physical front line, of just not being able to compete throughout — finally burst out of Joakim Noah with 5:34 remaining in what would be a 122-98 loss to the Portland Trailblazers.

Noah was doing his best all game, banging against Greg Oden and his 50-pound weight advantage, trying to scramble outside to blitz the pick and rolls and then hustle back only to find the opportunistic Trailblazers with the ball sent into Oden with little weak side help. So Rudy Fernandez launched a three and there was Oden grabbing the rebound again and Noah fouling him and it was all just too much as Noah fired the ball into the basket stanchion, his hands falling to his side and his head hanging.

Technical foul!

"He kept putting his body on me...(Joel) Przybilla coming in...... All their big guys played well," Noah sighed. "Yeah. I was frustrated. What do you want me to say? I've just got to find a way. I feel like I've been getting overpowered the last few games, guys putting their bodies on me. It's taken a toll. I've got to find a way to sustain."

Noah, wearing a coat and hat as his teammates dressed around him and left the locker room quietly, continued to sit silently and stare at the box score. He ended with seven points and eight rebounds and no thanks. He didn't speak to anyone and no one said anything to him. He just sat there and studied that box score over and over.

Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points each with Aldridge with 13 rebounds and Oden with 12. Portland shot 57.5 percent and outrebounded the Bulls 47-27. They had 50 points in the paint and 40 free throws. Portland scored more than 30 points in three of the four quarters.

Could this be? * * *

The Bottom Line:

1. 24 < 42. Woo hoo! 

2. Too big, too good. Again...

3. This getting blown out on the road stuff is getting tiresome.