I have to admit something … I had a Pumpkin beer last night.
I know, I know, it’s only August! But the weather started to foreshadow spooky season this weekend and I simply couldn’t help myself! Plus, the more it starts to feel like fall, the more it starts to feel like basketball season!
BRING ON THE APPLE PICKING AND HOOPS!
- DeMar DeRozan might enter Chicago Bulls training camp in midseason form. The All-Star suited up, yet again, for the Drew League on Saturday to help lead the MMV Cheaters to a first-round playoff victory. In typical DeRozan fashion, he dropped an easy 35 points with 7 rebounds.
- We talk about it all the time, but DeRozan is arguably the most methodical scorer in the game. And I think it’s easiest to see how special that skillset is when he suits up for these Pro-Am runs. Players are repeatedly tripped up by his craftsmanship, and no one comes even close to matching his mix of ball-handling and footwork. Whether he’s catching someone on a pump fake or spinning past them for an easy lay-in at the rim, he dominates without even breaking a sweat.
- Also, if you want to understand the drastic difference in NBA vs. Pro-Am-level competition, here is DeRozan looking like a DPOY:
- Speaking of that difference, Dalen Terry just dropped 56 points in The CrawsOver league like it was nothing:
- The creators of NBA 2K23 recently dropped a trailer for a new Michael Jordan game mode, and we have more details on that here. One thing we have yet to touch on, though, is a very important comment made by Lakers’ owner Jeanie Buss. Despite having LeBron James at the helm of her current team, Buss was more than willing to admit that Michael Jordan is the GOAT. See it for yourself:
- I find this hilarious. Even the woman who has LeBron James to thank for a recent championships doesn’t hesitate when it comes to discussing the best to ever play the game. I think it just goes to show that these Bron-MJ arguments remain rather silly.
- Bleacher Report recently wrote up a post titled “Trade Ideas to Improve Every NBA Starting Lineup,” and their suggestion for the Chicago Bulls may not come as a massive surprise. Zach Buckley wrote that the organization should move Nikola Vucevic and a top-five protected first-rounder for Pacers big man Myles Turner. Anyone who has followed BN Bulls over the course of this offseason knows that I’ve been open to a Turner trade. Not only would he help fix this team’s lack of rim protection, but he also provides the kind of floor-spacing this team needs at the center position. With that said, I’d be lying if I told you that the apparent lack of high-level interest in his services has made me question my stance.
- The big man has not played more than 47 games in each of the past two seasons, and I have to imagine these injury concerns have made some push the brakes on an aggressive pursuit. Not to mention, he’s also headed toward unrestricted free agency this upcoming offseason, so teams might feel comfortable waiting to see if the 26-year-old can return to form. I don’t know. I’m still open to the idea of Turner being the big man of the future in Chicago, but I also understand the wait-and-see approach from around the league.
- HoopsHype recently compared how players looked in their first NBA 2K appearance to their most recent. I recommend you go look at Jimmy Butler and DeMar DeRozan. Wow.
- Coach Derrick Rose reporting for duty!
- is Ayo about to throw some heat!
- Lu has some takeaways from the Bears’ first preseason game …
- You love to see it!