Archive for November, 2011

NBA Roundhouse is one of many new series that will run on Pippen Ain’t Easy. In the NBA Roundhouse, we cover all things NBA not just the Bulls. It just another one of the ways Pippen Ain’t Easy makes taking in the NBA easier for you by keeping it all neat and tidy in one place NBA Roundhouse   So…About That Nuclear Winter In case you still don’t know, the NBA is back and will be back in full swing come Christmas Day and preparation for that day begin Wednesday when agents and teams can begin talking contracts. December 9th [...]

CHICAGO — The Bulls are already starting to prioritize their free agent wish list and it includes everything from shooting guards in Denver to a guy named Howard. No not that Howard, the Howard they gave the first name Josh to. The Bulls aren’t solely focused on adding a shooting guard to compliment Derrick Rose, they’re also looking for replacements for free agents Brian Scalabrine and Kurt Thomas. Thomas has expressed interest in returning to Chicago but there are two issues with this: money and age. The Bulls currently have roughly $64 million due in 2011 salaries and with the [...]

CHICAGO — Let me take another moment to gloat about the NBA finally being back. We all benefit form the world of basketball shifting from the legal courts back onto the actual courts of the NBA. But the honeymoon of having the season back is short lived for many teams that now have about three weeks to do what they usually have an entire summer to do. And that is fill the holes in the lineups an fine tune them for opening night. The Bulls have one glaring hole int the starting five and that’s at the shooting guard position. [...]

CHICAGO — Now that the lockout is over that can be the last time I spell lockout. Well that can be the last time I spell lockout. Well the as much as the word lockout will be used when referring to the NBA from now (and my goodness can you imagine it’s worth on opening night), the NBA is trying to avoid being not so tight in organization and are tightening up their schedule in preparation for the shortened 66-game season that awaits us beginning on Christmas. The newly revised schedule will make, if of course the new CBA is ratified, 48 of the 66 games [...]

With news that the NBA Lockout is finally over, and a 66-game season is on our plates, here is the menu of which we will be feasting off of. Subject to change. Date Opponent Time Nat’l TV Local TV 12/25 @LA Lakers 4:30 ABC 12/26 @Golden State Warriors 9:30 WGN-America 12/28 @Sacramento Kings 9:00 WGN-America 1/1 Vs. Memphis Grizzlies 8:00 CSN 1 /4 Vs. Indiana Pacers 7:00 NBA TV CSN 1/6 @Orlando Magic 7:00 ESPN WCIU 1/7 @Atlanta Hawks 6:00 WGN-America 1/9 Vs. Philadelphia Sixers 7:00 CSN 1/11 Vs. Washington Wizards 7:00 CSN 1/13 @Charlotte Bobcats 6:00 CSN 1/14 Vs. Golden State [...]

NEW YORK — If you filled up on turkey this Thanksgiving, ake room for another feast: a feast of NBA games coming to a court near you. Sources out of New York are reporting that a tentative deal has been reached between the NBA Owners and the NBA Union that would end the 148 day lockout that has wiped a month off the schedule and sent millions of fans into denial and depression. The NBA is planning on opening camps on December 9th with a 66-game season planned for 2011-12. More importantly, we will have basketball on Christmas which was initially feared to be off the table [...]

Moment #5: Gar Forman Wins Co-Executive of the Year The Bulls haven’t had the leadership or the direction they once had. After the 1997-98 season, the Bulls fell off the map in every way possible. They sank to the bottom of the division and were picking in the lottery every year it seemed. But in the recent years, the Bulls have began to start finding that much needed direction once again and it starts at the top, with the GM. Gar Forman stepped into the roll of Bulls General Manager in October of 2009. Chicago fell back into the .500 [...]

Moment #6: The NBA’s Best Record is in Chicago The Bulls were an average, .500 team in 2009. Vinny Del Negro was an average coach with an average gameplan and it resulted in an average record. But in 2010 the Bulls revamped. They added Carlos Boozer via free agency and gave a new head coach the keys to the kingdom. Tom Thibodeau stepped in and not only implemented a hardcore coaching style that consistantly made him hoarse in post game press conferences, but he made this average team what it was at it’s core: a championship caliber squad. The Bulls [...]

Moment #7: The Bench Mob Chicago was blessed with success in 2011 for many reasons. Obvious among them was the fact they had the league’s eventual MVP winner leading their squad, but he had connections. Oh yes, you see Derrick Rose got a lot of help from the Mob. The Bench Mob to be exact. Formed from the ashes of other teams trash, the Bulls built an elite secondary unit that proved to be second to none during the season. Big names like Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson led the way with guys like C.J Watson, Ronnie Brewer and Omer [...]

Moment #8: Derrick Rose’s Triple-Double The Bulls were starting to get on a roll when they barreled into January with high expectations of themselves. They also began to hear something they hadn’t heard in a while: MVP. Derrick Rose was just in his third year out of college and was just 22 and already beginning to leave his mark on Chicago. The best was yet to come. On January 17th, a mere game after Rose dropped 34 on the Miami Heat, he went off on the Grizzlies and gave a glimpse of what was yet to come for the 22 year old’s unforgettable 2011 [...]