You talking to me?

The Bulls are going no where in the NBA this season.

That means you have to blame someone.

They did. They fired the coach, Scott Skiles.

Oh, it was going to happen sometime anyway. Scotty is too fiery to last too long with any pro team. He probably should be coaching in college where a coach can really rule over the team.

When you have Scott’s attitude and your team begins to lose, you will begin to lose your team. It is part of the package in NBA Basketball.

You hire Skiles as a coach and you get better, like with Brown. He’s smart and demanding. Those are good things. He sees the game more quickly and clearly than most coaches working today. He has a plan and a system of play that’s appealing to watch. He emphasizes the right things: defense, teamwork and accountability.

I’d recommend Skiles to just about any team in the NBA.

Like Brown, he tires of his players, in part because his standards are so high. source

It was not all Scott

Scott was not the sole problem in Chicago. Scott gave his all and wore out his message, but the Bulls have problems beyond Scott Skiles.

First there were the failed expectations of the Ben Wallace deal. Ben was on the downhill slope of his career and fit perfectly into the Pistons roster. Chicago thought it would work for them just as well. It didn’t.

Then there were some major gaffes by the GM John Paxson.

There were no major acquisitions in the off-season. Instead, the most notable moves were the ones the Bulls did not make — contract extensions for Ben Gordon and Deng and a blockbuster trade for Kobe Bryant.

And Deng finally acknowledged the negotiations and trade talk may have weighed down the team.

“I keep saying the whole idea that the contract thing isn’t a big deal with me, but it’s getting to a point where I don’t know,” he said. “It’s not like I came in and said I’m not going to play hard. It’s a life-changing decision. When I made the decision, I decided that I’m just going to play. It became part of it because that’s what people kept talking about. We struggled and they kept coming up.” source

They had better think about getting Kobe, because things just are not working as they are now.

Scott explodes through college

Scott played his college ball at Michigan State University and you never saw a guy fuller of spit and fire than Scott. He was linked to some drinking problems in his junior year and had other problems with cocaine and weed before that.

His college coach, Jud Heathcote, came to Scott and asked him if he would prefer to redshirt and not have to face all the hostile fans, while court dates and stuff were going one. Jud reasoned a lot of it would die down in a year.

Scott said no. Bring it on. And bring it on they did. Opposing fans were merciless and booed and chanted at him in every arena. All Scott did was play out of his gourd.

Scott ended his career as All American, Big Ten MVP, Big Ten Scoring Champion, and All time scoring leader for MSU.

Scott has always been me against the world.

NBA Basketball Fan Question What should the Bulls do now?

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Nazr Mohammed now a Bobcat

Piston GM Joe Dumars has done it again. Positioning his team for the future. Right now, Joe had Coach Saunders playing lots of young guys and some of them, like Jason Maxiell have really responded. This will make them a better team in the playoffs.

The veterans are getting old and will need to be replaced at some time. When Joe D makes a move his eyes are always to improving the present only if he can improve the long run. Joe D believes in setting his team up to win NBA Championships.

His current trade of Nazr will free up tons of bucks at the end of the year. The Pistons will be seeking to add a low post presence on O and D in the free agent market next year. Joe D has done it again.

The Charlotte Bobcats’ search for a big man ended Friday when they acquired center Nazr Mohammed from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for center Primoz Brezec and forward Walter Herrmann.

Mohammed, averaging 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 21 games for the Pistons, will provide the Bobcats depth they’ve been missing since Sean May underwent season-ending knee surgery during training camp.

The Bobcats have gotten very little from Brezec, who has been starting but averaging only 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds a game.

Herrmann had failed to crack the Charlotte rotation under new coach Sam Vincent. But both Brezec and Herrmann will provide the Pistons with outside shooting. source

The Bobcats needed some muscle and scoring underneath and Nazr can give them some of that. Joe D has no problem dealing talent away to improve his team.

But don’t kid yourself about what he picked up. He picked up two expendable contracts and nothing else.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do GM moves interest you?

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Ray says this uni will get dirty playing defense

Ok, who is picking the Celtics to go 82 – 0?

What no takers?

They are the only undefeated team in the National Basketball Association.

They have a 1 game lead in the Conference on the always there Pistons and the surprising Orlando Magic.

This time they were lead by Ray Allen as they beat the New Jersey Nets 112 – 101.

Ray had 27 points and 10 rebounds. Get this, Paul Pierce had 28 points and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 18 points 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

Just another easy win for the Celts.

“It was a tough win,” said Garnett. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They (the Nets) had a nice rest and they were probably sitting here waiting for us. They probably watched the game last night. We spoke about this last night, about getting a rest and coming out with some energy. We started out pretty slow but picked it up defensively.”

Here is a little secret that you can’t tell anyone about the Celtics, because if this gets out, oh my, it is not going to be pretty.

Are you sure you want to know?

Ok, you asked for it, the Celtics can play defense!

And, as coach Doc Rivers pointed out recently, he can actually teach and coach defense this year without his players looking at him as if he were talking about quantum physics. He now has veterans who have at least a passing knowledge of the concept.

“We’re all right,” Posey said after the Toronto game, when asked about the team’s defense. “We could be a lot better. But it’s the second game and we’re going to have many more practices just to tune it up a little bit. Once we get that done, we’re going to be really good.”

Posey arrived with the reputation as a defensive demon. Garnett has been a glass eater his entire career while also being a shot-blocking threat and an annual member of the All-Defensive Team, dating to 2000. He was a first-teamer for six straight years and has been second team the past two. source

Your intrepid author must caution you again that it is a long season and the euphoria will be replaced with the grind and then we will see, but the early returns are certainly shaping up well for the Boston Celtics.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Celtics play winning defense all year?

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Post from: NBA Obsessed