THE #BNBLOGATHON IS ON!!!!
As we speak (type?), Brett is rummaging through the Chicago streets bringing you endless content on the Cubs and MLB trade deadline. Over the course of 40 hours, he will be doing nonstop work all because you amazing BN-ers raised over $15,000 for Make-A-Wish. Yeah, that’s wild, but the best part is you can STILL give if you want to keep the generosity going!
As of this morning, Brett was sitting outside Wrigley Field drinking “Victor Carrot-ini’s” and having a grand ole time.
Anyway, if you want to have some fun with all of us over at Bleacher Nation, come by the Nisei Lounge in Wrigleyville tomorrow night for the Cubs-Cards game. Don’t worry, we can talk Bulls, Bears and whatever else too!
Hope to see plenty of you folks there!
In today’s day and age of advanced stats, it’s sometimes difficult to get people to look past the stat sheet. And in basketball, maybe more so than any other sport, the intangibles matter. Thaddeus Young, for example, provides a team with leadership off the court and a presence on the court that simply *does* make teams better. After all, Team USA wouldn’t have handed the 31-year-old an invite if he didn’t carry such respected skills.
I would argue Young’s most impressive skill is his strength and post-play. Young’s size isn’t actually all that impressive compared to some other centers or power forwards he’s able to back down. Sure, he normally plays at the four, but there have been instances in the past where he could even play at three. He is only six-foot-eight but often plays with the power of a seven-footer. In the video, you can see him easily back down Lauri Markkanen and he finished around the basket with three guys hanging over him. Young can be productive no matter the matchup, and I’m truly excited to see what he can do in the paint after the struggles the team had last season (especially in the rebounding category).
If you ever want to hear Wendell Carter Jr. talk about glasses for about 5mins, Scoop B Radio got you covered. Other than picking Horace Grant as the more elite glasses wearer over Steve Urkle and Harry Caray, we did get some insight on Carter Jr.’s goals for next season: “Just being more aggressive on the offensive end,” Carter Jr. said. ” I feel like offensively I deferred a lot. So this summer I want to work on being a very capable shooter from all three levels and being able to create my own shot.”
Perfect response. Last season in the 44 games we saw from Carter Jr. any questions about his defensive abilities should have been eliminated. He is clearly a shot-blocker and, after adding more weight, the future looks bright for him as a rim protector. However, Carter Jr. was always sold as having the potential to be a nice two-way player. He shot 48 percent from the field last seaosn, which should go up with his more aggressive approach, but his three-ball was only falling at 18 percent. He has a capable jumper and can certainly hit from long range, so becoming more comfortable doing that in-game feels like the appropriate step forward this offseason.
Mark Karantzoulis with Bulls Blogger started up his Bulls HQ podcast again and had on The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry. The two talked a bunch of offseason topics as well as what the Bulls rotation might look like come the regular season.
MJ to the PBA!!!
Bleacher Reports Dan Favale gave his NBA offseason grades for each team, and the Bulls were toward to top of the report card. The Bulls were handed a B+, putting them in the same category as the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzles. Favale didn’t really provide any reasoning that differs strongly from the positives we’ve talked about numerous times here (i.e. adding versatility, leadership, point guard). After numerous F-worthy free agencies in the past, it’s nice to the Bulls organization do some studying and get their grade up.
If Otto Porter opts out of his player option next season, the Bulls could find upwards of $28 million sitting in their lap.
Want some Bulls optimism on this Tuesday morning? SBNation’s Michael Pina took us on a ride through the Bulls offseason and showed us the possible scenic route the team could be on. Give it a read!
NEWSLETTER
