Last night I watched the Bulls go on the road to play the Nets on my big TV with the Cavs-Mavericks and then Nuggets-Sonics on my small TV. Unlike the previous night with the Rockets-Lakers game, these games certainly had a first night feel to them.
My Observations:
-The Bulls certainly did not come out in the first half ready to play last night against the Nets. Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson were running all over the Bulls and they were showing very little resistance. The most disappointing thing about it was all the dunks and layups the Nets were getting.
-It seems like each time the Bulls play the Nets, not only do they lose, but they let one of their players outside of their big three score a handful of points. In the past it had been mediocre big men like Mikki Moore and last night it was Antoine Wright scoring 21 points.
-I think I was wrong about Josh Boone. I thought he would come in and bring a lot defensively and on the glass to the Nets. Instead, he looks lost and even airballed a free throw in last nights game.
-If the Bulls are going to have success with the team as currently orchestrated, they are going to need to get more from the power forward position. Tyrus Thomas and Joe Smith's combined line:
45 minutes, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 fouls, 10 points
-Thomas and Smith at the power forward position need to bring at least double the amount of points and more blocked shots and rebounds for the Bulls to really have this power forward-by-committee thing really work effectively.
-The Sonics are going to be a bad team this year. Damien Wilkins is a nice scorer and could be a sixth or seventh man on a championship team, but if he is your leading scorer, then you will be ending the season with a ton of lottery balls.
-It's interesting to see how quickly Luke Ridnour has fallen in Seattle's organization. Not long ago, he was a member of the U.S. National team. Last night, he got a "DNP-Coaches Decision". The team clearly played a lot better when Delonte West was in the game than when Earl Watson was directing the offense. West is a bigger guard who can do more things on the court than Watson. I would say that it won't be too much longer before West is playing the majority of the minutes at point guard for Seattle.
-Hubie Brown made a point about Chris Wilcox last night that he could be a 20-and-10 guy this year. Though this is probably a stretch, he did average 13.5 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game last season. With a lack of talent and competition in Seattle, Wilcox should put up career highs this season.
-With Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson playing at their best, nobody can stop the Nuggets. Yakhouba Diawara also complements the duo well because of his size and defensive abilities. With two of the top scorers in the league in the backcourt there is no need for any scoring punch from the guy next to them. Therefore, Diawara is a great fit and could be a key compenent to Denver's success.
-With the Bulls game on, I wasn't able to focus much on the Cavaliers-Mavericks game, but from what I did see, the Cavaliers may really struggle at the start of the season. They looked completely lost on offense and LeBron James did not score in the first half. They played a little better in the third quarter, but by that point the game was already decided. Perhaps they miss the energy of Anderson Varejo, who is still in a contract dispute with the team. Sasha Pavlovic also did not play last night because he just signed his new contract. However, I doubt either of these teams will be the solution to Cleveland's offensive woes.
-I like the idea of playing Jason Terry as their sixth man, but I don't know long-term how realistic it is. At some point in the season, I would expect Jerry Stackhouse (32) and Eddie Jones (36) to show their age and begin to deteriorate. At that point, Terry would have to move back into the starting lineup.
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