Doug McDermott Lighting it Up

Doug McDermott has been killing it lately for the Bulls. He as averaged 20 points a game over his last three games. He set a career high with 30 points against the Toronto Raptors on February 19th. Doug has had a lot of ups and downs during his time with the Bull struggling with some injuries in his first two seasons. But I am very pleased with what I have been seeing from him lately. Coming into the NBA a lot of people labeled Doug as just a spot-up-shooter. He has shown that he could put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and score. He is also very good at moving without the ball and coming off screens. The only concern that I have with him is his defensive ability. His defense to date has been sub par at best. If he can improve defensively he could become a very good player in the NBA. I believe that McDermott will be a key piece moving forward for the Bulls. He is by far the best pure shooter the Bulls have on their roster. Keep making it rain out there Doug! 

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Bullsssssssssssssssssss

Ryan    

Benny the Bull

In my opinion Benny the Bull is one of the best mascots in all of sports. I love when I see Benny interacting with the fans during the games. Whether he's dancing on the court or spilling popcorn all over people in the stands, Benny is very entertaining to watch. Benny the Bull was front and center at the All Star game last weekend. He was court side with Guy Fieri from the Food Network at the game. Benny is always roaming around the United Center getting everyone jacked up during the game. Benny adds another dimension to the Bulls games. Whether the Bulls are winning or not you know Benny is always going to put on a great show.  Keep doing you Benny!


Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Bullsssssssssssssssssssssssss

Ryan


Check out Benny the Bull in action: Benny the Bull Mr. Steal yo Girl    Benny getting after it

Guy Fieri and Benny the Bull at the All Star game in Toronto

Thoughts heading in to the All Star Break

We have reached the All Star weekend in the NBA which means that the Bulls are half way through the season. My grade for the Bulls up to this point would be a C...... And I think that is a pretty fair grade considering the way the Bulls have been playing. The Bulls record is 27-25 which is sub par. They have lost their last four games and it is only going to get tougher with Jimmy Butler still having to miss about two weeks after the All Star game. This team shows signs of greatness with wins against some of the NBA's best teams. But then there are other nights when the Bulls lose to some of the league's worst teams. They are just too inconsistent and inconsistency will not get you far in the NBA. The Bulls need Jimmy Butler and Niko Mirotic to play well once they are back in the lineup after returning from injury. These two players are key cogs in the machine and without them the Bulls are just an average team.

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Bullssssssssssssssss

Ryan

Give Fred some time

A lot of Bulls fans are questioning the hire of new head coach Fred Hoiberg. The bottom line is you have to give Fred at least three years or so with this team before you can make any judgements on him. The Bulls were looking for a good offensive mind to replace Tom Thibodeau and Fred Hoiberg has just that. He was known at Iowa State for his fast paced and efficient offensive system. I think that over time the Bulls offense is going to get better. The problem is that the Bulls do not have the right personnel in order to run that system.

Fred Hoiberg (courtesy of the New York Times) 

The main objective for Fred Hoiberg's offense is to run the floor and keep the game fast paced. Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose fit that style perfectly. Besides them there are only a couple other guys on the Bulls that fit the system. Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson have been great contributors for this Bulls team over the years. However their style of games do not fit the type of offense that Fred Hoiberg wants to run. The Bulls need to acquire athletic big men that could run and spread the floor at will for the majority of the game. They drafted forward Bobby Portis over the summer and I believe he is going to thrive for this team over the next few years. He is an athletic big who could stretch and run the floor all day long. The Bulls need to keep drafting bigs like Bobby in the future.

All the hard core Bulls fans right now are probably thinking, "What about defense? The defense sucks now that Thibs is gone." I cannot argue with that. The defense has significantly dropped off since Tom Thibodeau has left. However right now the Bulls are leading the league in the defensive statistic opponent's field goal percentage which is very impressive. To me defense is very important but I believe that you do not need to be perfect the whole game on D. You just need to be able to lock down during the late stages of the game. At the end of the day the Bulls need to be able to outscore teams, which they have struggled to do in the past- especially in the playoffs. I believe that Fred Hoiberg will succeed with the Bulls. However you may have to wait a little bit before you see the results. Stay patient Bulls fans!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Bullsssssssssssssssss

Ryan