I hate Michael Posey. He could have seriously hurt Luol and has continued this garbage seemingly every time they play the Bulls. Something needs to be done about this guy. Glad he was booted right away and there wasn't a fight after that. Hope they can pull this one out as it's tied with 3:00 left in the 4th.

Didn't Posey go after Kirk last year?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Yeah. He's a thug. Riley tells him to be that way. Every Riley team post Lakers has one guy that Riley brain washes to be the thug on the court.

Ben Gordon is a monster.

40 for Gordon. Nice. He didn't even take that many shots. 16-19 from the free throw line however. He should get all star consideration this year.

Yeah that's a given that he'll get it. They might as well name the trophy after him. When he's done, if he keeps coming off the bench, he'll win 7 or 8.

Although it's a strange award. I mean he plays about 30-35 minutes a game so what's the big deal if he doesn't start. It's all about minutes played. But since they give em out he'll take em

Hinrich just looks disinterested. I say give Gordon a few more shots at starting as well, as he seems to have picked up his D at least a little bit.

Like I said what's the difference. Most starters get a 5 minute break maybe in the first half at some time. Gordon get's a 5 minute break to start the game. He get's his 30 minutes. It doesn't matter when. But he seems more comfortable coming off the bench anyway.

That's a cop out for Kirk. Wade and Lebron played for the U.S team this summer. They seem to be fine. They are high energy guys. Kirk just sucks lately. It's OK to say that guys. Everybody wants to defend him it seems.

I was one of the one's who didn't want to re-sign him. I was tired of all the "Next Steve Nash" bull. He's a nice player that strings some impressive performances together here and there, but not someone I wanted to invest in for the long-haul.

they need to stop the 2 guard pipe dreams with kirk

He definitely hasn't been playing that hard this season and, in my opinion, slacked for sizable chunks of last season, too. This season, though, it's a little more obvious that he's been lazy on defense. The unnecessary reach-in fouls and inexplicable blow-bys are inexcusable.

But even if he improves his effort level, will Hinrich really be all that good? To me, he lacks true point guard skills and savvy. He is not a great dribbler/penetrator, lacks a consistent outside shot, and frequently has no idea where to pass the ball. Most of the time he doesn't even know how to finish/facilitate the fast break. If you really watch Gordon play the point, you will see that he has emerged as a better option for the Bulls at that position. He is a better dribbler, a better passer, a better shooter, and makes better decisions in initiating the offense. Contrary to Hinrich's image as a "smart" player, it is Gordon who has actually emerged as the more savvy player this season (and part of last season, too). Quite frankly, I'll take Duhon over Hinrich at the point, too. And since Hinrich's defensive energy has lapsed, there's no reason for Skiles to keep giving him a lot of minutes.

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I don't know if it is fair to compare the type of wear and tear that schedule can take on a guy who goes 6-8 / 240 (James) or even Wade who I think is 220 or so versus Hinrich who weighs 190 at best.

But I do agree, for whatever reason, Hinrich has been a disappointment so far this year. I do think it is fatigue from his schedule and I hope that he'll get reenergized come the second half of the year. But, if he doesn't, I'd say give Duhon more minutes.

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You know me like that.

Chris Paul is 170 lbs and playing on the National Team hasn't worn him down. Further, Hinrich had 3-4 weeks after his international commitment to rest for the season. In my estimation, fatigue cannot explain his poor play, especially since he's making many of the same mistakes he made last season, anyway.

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Nas, thanks for making my point more clearly. Those guys have exceptional athletic ability. Hinrich works hard and makes up for what he lacks in athletic ability with effort. Lack of energy would impact Hinrich's game more severely than it would Paul or Wade in my opinion.

To be honest, I don't care what the problem is. He'd better fix it or he needs to sit more.

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You know me like that.

I like Duhon. I think that Kirk will become expendable with Thabo getting extra minutes. If they're going to make a move for a star (something I don't necessarily agree with), I would hope they center it around Hinrich and not Deng, Noce, or Gordon.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

I thought Paul's numbers were down recently because he twisted his ankle a few games ago. That has nothing to do with playing over the summer.

I agree with you, though, that Hinrich has limited ability and must compensate for this fact with superior effort. Sam Smith has been saying the same thing about the Bulls in general since Paxson became GM. Where I diverge from your view, however, is the reason for Hinrich's poor play. I simply don't think he has ever been that good. If you look at his career statistics compared to this season, you will see that he's having a pretty typical year offensively. While his defense is obviously worse this season than in past years, his defensive ability has always been overrated in my view.

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This is a good point. They are really trying to shoe-horn Nocioni into being a PF which is fine for short periods of time but he is a true 3 in my book. He's like Pietrus in Golden State - play him at the 4 when you plan to run, but don't keep playing him there all game.

As for Deng, I just dont see him as ever being a 2 guard. He's just not quick enough to do that.

Even though Gordon went for 40 last night, it also showed that he is not a good defender at all. I could remember 5 times in the last 3 minutes of the game where Jason Williams, Quinn or Kapono went right around him on the dribble drive.