Bulls' 5-2 road trip was not a dream
Here’s one way to put the Bulls’ stunning 5-2 road trip in perspective.
To this point in the season, the rest of the Eastern Conference has gone 10-34 on the road against Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and New Orleans. The Bulls just went 5-0.
The Spurs are 10-1 against other East teams, losing only to Boston. The Thunder is 8-2.
Keep in mind, though, that this trip was a step down in competition from what the Bulls faced in November. During the circus trip, they played the No. 1 (Lakers), 2 (Denver), 4 (Utah) and 6 (Portland) teams in the West, based on current standings. And that was when the Blazers had both Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla on the floor. Those two big men were since lost for the year.
This trip, they beat the current No. 5 (Spurs) and 7 (Suns), while the Rockets, Thunder and Hornets are all tied for spots 9-11.
In other words, the Bulls winning streak is fantastic, but let’s not get carried away. Momentum can disappear quickly and they have to come back with four games in five nights next week.
Can the Bulls stretch the win streak against the Clippers and Philadelphia – two teams they should beat? How about a competitive game in Atlanta next Friday? The biggest matchup next week is probably the last one when Miami visits the UC for the first time this season on Saturday.
As of Friday night, the Bulls were tied with Charlotte for No. 7 in the East, just a half game behind the Heat and a game back of Toronto.
--A couple performances of note: Center Brad Miller averaged 13.4 points during the five-game win streak and hit 7 of 15 shots from 3-point range. Remember in December when Miller scored 4 points total in a five-game stretch?
--Joakim Noah grabbed 18 rebounds in both games against the Hornets this season and also averaged 15 points. With no true center in New Orleans, outside of Aaron Gray, smaller defenders give Noah a chance to demonstrate his developing post moves.
--The Bulls improved to 4-0 against the Hornets the past two seasons. Derrick Rose has never lost to Chris Paul.
Amare Stoudamire may be a really good offensive player for some teams, but not the Bulls. The man has never met a rebound he wasn't afraid of, secondly, his defensive talents as well as effort are a HUGE question marks. He is just another in a long line of athletes who only hustles when they "feel like it" and is only worried about a large payday. The Bulls need a scoring threat in the post, I understand that, but Amare is not the answer.
Amare may be an average defender but his offensive numbers dont lie. Stoudamire's career average of 21 points, 9 boards and a block a game are what the bulls need to become an attractive destination for the up-coming free agent pool. In 07-08 when stoudamire was healthy the suns went 55-27 making the playoffs. 08-09 they went 46-36 not making the playoffs with an often injured Stoudamire. He was the difference maker for the suns, and he will be a difference maker for the bulls. Stoudamire Can spread the court, draw double teams, beast down in the paint and allow rose to be the leader he needs to be. I hope were smart enough to not take a chance with Chris Bosh when we have the pieces now to get a super-star and sign another one in the summer.
Mike, the bulls have been swarmed with exposure linked to Amare Stoudamire. Why doesn't paxson call up his buddy kerr and make this happen? For years now, the suns have been interested in loul deng and tyrus thomas. The Bulls on the other hand have been waiting and praying for a big man with a presence down low. Obviously both teams would benefit from this trade, why has pax not made an attempt to pull this out. Paxson's willingness not to take a risk will kill the bulls for the next ten years if they dont make this trade. If free agnecy goes the way i think its planning out, no-one is moving around and the bulls will be kicking themselves when we wind up with joe jhonson and david lee lol
I've been writing since last year that the Bulls have reservations about Amare. There has long been talk that he's not a great teammate, doesn't play defense and rarely practices because of his bad knee.
Should they trade someone useful for Amare, knowing that they might have to overpay him this summer or watch him leave as a free agent? So far, the Bulls' answer has been no.
I think they'd prefer Bosh, Boozer, David Lee or Al Jefferson over Amare.