Wow! You mean the Chicago Bulls will not go winless in the preseason? Seriously folks, the Chicago Bulls collected their first win of the preseason beating the Milwaukee Bucks 91-85. The Bulls won this game, but some events behind the scenes are starting to come to light. Look, as long as Jason Kidd coaches a NBA team, the Chicago Bulls will win. My very first article at Pippen Ain’t Easy was about Jason Kidd and how he got outclassed by Tom Thibodeau on Christmas Day when he coached the Brooklyn Nets. I’m still at Pippen Ain’t Easy and Jason Kidd left Brooklyn to mess up another NBA franchise.
Anyway, the Chicago Bulls increased the minutes of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to nice results. Derrick Rose played 22 minutes, which included time in the second half for the first time this preseason. Rose scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists while playing outstanding defense. Rose might not have been able to score in the FIBA World Cup but he made sure he worked on his defense. It showed Saturday night. Joakim Noah played nearly 24 minutes scoring ten points. Milwaukee’s rookie Jabari Parker finished with 11 points.
Pippen Ain’t Easy did a piece featuring the winners and losers on the Chicago Bulls roster for the first two games of the preseason through week one. I knew something wasn’t quite right as the team looked a little off especially in the fourth quarter of each game. These issues were masked by Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks going into their respective zones to keep it close. It seems that Pippen Ain’t Easy is not alone in their observations. Tom Thibodeau was upset with the team’s play after the game. To take it further, he hasn’t been happy with the team’s play ALL WEEK!
Sep 29, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau during media day at the Advocate Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Check out Thibodeau’s comments after the game…
"“You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, you want to win a lot more than you lose. But I am very concerned about whether we’re making the necessary preparations to win. Whether you’re putting in the work in that’s necessary to win. I know what goes into winning and you have to do that every day. You can’t skip that. You’re not going to rest your way to success. You got to get sharp and you got to get sharp fast. It’s a long season and you’ve got to prepare to play a long season.”"
Amen to that my brother, and that is a perfect way to go to our first lesson…
Oct 6, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (20) dribbles the ball against Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. (14) during the second half at the United Center. The Washington Wizards defeat the Chicago Bulls 85-81. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
1) Tony Snell is now on the trading block! You heard it here first!
Let me take the Pippen Peoples family back a little bit. Everyone remembers the 70’s show Good Times right? Do you remember what the loan shark Sweet Daddy used to tell J.J. when he owed him money?
“Boy…you in trouble!”
Tony my man….you in trouble!
Doug “Ray Ray” McDermott got his first start of his professional career on Saturday night. Snell’s training camp has been exposed like a roach with the lights turned on in the middle of the night. Whatever ground Tony Snell gained in the NBA Summer Leagues is now GONE! Now there are comparisons of Snell’s success floating around to Marquis Teague.
Dec 19, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Marquis Teague (25) dribbles the ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson (15) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
I haven’t been covering the Chicago Bulls very long but even I know that is about as bad a comparison as you can get. Tony Snell might not make it through the season.
As we all know, the story around the campfires was that Tom Thibodeau does not play rookies. Boy it’s been a long time since those days. Through the Bulls first two exhibition games, McDermott is leading the team in minutes at 30 per contest. It has been reported that Doug’s father and former Creighton coach, Greg attended practice and bounced coaching ideas with Tom Thibodeau. This just in to Pippen Ain’t Easy, Doug McDermott will be in the future plans of the Chicago Bulls this year.
Tony Snell as of this writing will not.
Tony Snell played 14 minutes on Saturday night. He scored the same amount as anyone reading this did and that would be zero. Over the week, Tony Snell did not see the floor until the last frame in both games. Granted, Tony Snell has scored 10 points in 17 minutes of action which included hitting two free throws to send the Pistons game into overtime.
According to K.C. Johnson that’s not enough to satisfy Thibodeau.
"Thibs “doesn’t sound high on Snell” and this bodes poorly for his season outlook, as Thibodeau isn’t afraid to run his starters for heavy minutes at the expense of backups. With Jimmy Butler locked into the SG position and both Mike Dunleavy and Doug McDermott at SF, there isn’t currently much upside for Snell.Sep 30 -3:54 PM"
Based on what Tony Snell is saying these days, he could run for political office. Everything he is saying is politically correct when he is asked about his playing time…
"“It’s not difficult at all,” Snell said. “I can control what I can control and that’s work hard.”“When you work hard, you don’t feel pressure at all.,” Snell said. “I’m just trying to do what the coach tells me. I really want to be that one player who can defend the best player out there. I’m learning from Jimmy and working as hard as I can.”"
That’s decent Tony. It looks like Tom Thibodeau used that term “work hard” when talking about you to the media…
"“He has to continue to work and study,” Thibodeau said. “His biggest challenge is to be consistent. He had some good moments and he had some moments where obviously he can do a lot better. We want to make sure he moves in the right direction.”"
Tony…boy you in trouble.
Oct 11, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) reacts after dunking a basket in the second quarter during pre-season game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
2) Jimmy Butler is balling out of mind Pippen Peoples!
Pippen Ain’t Easy will say this over and over again. Jimmy Butler is going to get his money. It might be from the Chicago Bulls, it might not, but he is going to get his money. Jimmy Butler scored 18 points and combined with Pau Gasol to score 15 of the Bulls 17 fourth quarter points. But his game is more than scoring right now. His game has grown over the summer. Along with the points, Butler grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and three steals. look at that picture, that is confidence written all over his face.
After watching Jimmy Butler play with Derrick Rose for a stretch, the Chicago Bulls nay not have the best backcourt overall, but they might have the best defensive backcourt in the league. Derrick Rose is hounding the point guard while Butler has the shooting guard out of commission. If the Bulls want to really to make a playoff run for the next few years, sign this dude. We all know if the Chicago Bulls sign Butler, it will be at the last-minute.
Oct 7, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) grabs the rebound in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit won 111-109 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
3) Oh, Pau Gasol has post moves now?
On Pippen Ain’t Easy’s article pointing out the three losers of the week, I called out the Bulls’ offensive sets. I was critical on how Pau Gasol was used. The Bulls for the first two games had Pau Gasol at the high post. Why? Makes no sense. Well during the Bucks game, we see Gasol down low and VOILA! Pau Gasol leads the team in scoring with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Man, basketball is an easy game sometimes. The Bulls got Gasol involved early and he not only played well on the offensive side of the ball but on the DEFENSIVE side of the ball.
See what happens when analysis from Pippen Ain’t Easy is exercised? Beautiful thing isn’t it?
Well Pippen Peoples, the Chicago Bulls are back to work tonight against the Denver Nuggets at the United Center. Keep it locked to Pippen Ain’t Easy to get the information and analysis after the game. Pippen Ain’t Easy will be your best source for Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews. Leave your comments below and let your voices be heard.
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