In the span of 5 minutes this morning, I heard Mike pine for Pau Gasol (after decreeing that big name signings usually end up disastrous for Chicago teams). Mike said he was watching Memphis play some dog team which he could not remember, to which Fred offered Atlanta as a suggestion. While I'm certainly not claiming the Hawks are a title contender, they have won 5 straight on the road including a big wins over the Suns at Phoenix this week and Golden State last night. Maybe if you were looking for a dog team, you might think of, hm, I don't know, a team that's lost 18 STRAIGHT GAMES??? Then in the next sentence we get Mike pining for the return of noted sharpshooter Jannero Pargo. Because as Mike puts it we don't have someone to just come in the game and score. Excuse me, isn't that one of the few things that Ben Gordon does? I'm not saying Pargo wouldn't be a nice 9th or 10th man to have, but the way Mike talks about it you'd think he was the second coming of LeBron. I don't think anyone's ever thought that backcout scoring is an issue with the Bulls, that's why there's all this talk about Gasol- they need an inside presence! Finally, not sure if he was joking or not but he called Tyrus Thomas Tyrese Thomas. Please if you're not going to actually ever watch any NBA games to have at least a little bit of knowledge about it, then don't talk about it. Of course it doesn't have to be said but Fred agrees 100% with everything

Fred has no knowledge of the NBA, but Mike at least will watch some NBA. I heard those comments as well, and I enjoyed the Hawks-Warriors game last night (insert joke here), obviously as you stated, they had no idea the Hawks are having a good road trip out West.

The Pargo comments are just stupid.

No need to insert joke (for me anyhow). I watched and enjoyed that game. Like I said, the Hawks are still coming of age, and sure if they had taken Chris Paul in the draft they might be a much better team, but as it stands they are pretty entertaining- those 2 dunks Josh Smith had in the 3rd were just nasty. And they've got a go-to guy in Joe Johnson. I still have hope they'll pull it together and make a playoff run. The Warriors on the other hand, just sad. That Stephen Jackson froze like a deer in headlights on the last play was awful. Pass the ball or take it to the hoop, you're only down 1.

I enjoyed the game as well, but that is because I had the Hawks +4-1/2.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

The atleticism on Atlanta is crazy - they are one point guard (Chris Paul would have made this team scary) away.

With this trip, they are actually right there in the playoff hunt. With all this Jason Kidd trade talk, I wonder if they might get involved ?? Highly unlikely, but this team is not far away as most think.

GS is full of wing players - fun to watch at home where they are pretty good. Stephen Jackson's decision making last night was just horrible. He just stood there, not knowing what to do with the ball until he had to force up that last second shot.

BTW, God Bless NBA League Pass!

Yeah, no kidding. Subscriber for the past 10 years and counting

Well, it might be better than hearing Murph talk about the NBA...

He didn't even know who the Suns coach was...

$179 for NBA games from Nov-April keeps me entertained. Love the 9:30 games!

Now, I'm just hoping that the NBA doesn't pull what baseball is doing, and move everything to DirecTV next season.

we already have pargo in barrett

So according to Mike, if you're not considered a "finisher" or a "go-to guy" you're worthless and should be traded. We didn't give Luol Deng the ball on the final play of the game, so trade him. I might agree with Mike in the context of a trade- say if the Bulls were getting a player that was a go-to guy, then sure, give up someone who isn't. But as usual, Mike just applies his wholesale logic to everything and just yells to get his point across. By definition, you can really only have one go-to guy. Gordon has missed a few last second shots lately, but overall I'm pleased with him as that option, from what we have. So according to Mike the 11 other players are worthless. Also Mike tells us one of the reasons the Raptors have improved over last years record is because Bosh was still young. Hey Mike, its his 4th year and Bosh averaged 22 and 9 last year. His numbers are slightly up this year, but its not like last year he was awful or anything.

Great points here for how Mike gets his arguments, and he's also the 'what have you done lately' commentator as well. He's constantly overreacting to what game as opposed to looking at the entire season, the big picture.

Right, that's his logic behind mocking the principle of global warming. Hey, it's 15 degrees out right now and 6 inches of snow, so screw global warming. Because Mike can't feel it's effects this very instant, it doesn't exist.

Mike's argument he uses to bash Ben Wallace is really getting tired. It's an argument you can pretty much use anytime to make your point in any circumstance. "He played against a team with no center" or similar such argument. How many good centers would you say there are in the East? Shaq, maybe? Haven't they beat Miami several times this year? Based on that Cleveland and Washington (two of the top teams in the East), suck, so that didn't prove anything. But Mike, 5 minutes prior to that you told us the game is won and lost in the backcourt and compared Hinrich and Gordon's numbers to Hamilton and Billups. Which is it? The guy is all over the place. It's painful to listen to him try and break down the NBA. Regardless of whether Cleveland and Washington have good centers (yes I know Z was out) they are in the top of the East and I'll take wins over them in any circumstance.

I was going to post about the first 15 minutes this morning....

All from this morning:

Q from Annie: Is anyone on the Bulls untouchable ?
Mike's Answer: No
Annie's Response: Even Nocioni ??

**

Fred: P.J. Brown had 19 points and 12 rebounds yesterday.
Mike: So, Brown basically replaced what Nocioni does.

**

Caller: Mike, Memphis actually wanted 2 players out of the 4 player core. Deng and Gordon specifically.
Mike: Where did you hear this ?
Caller: John Jackson's column on 02/23 (btw, this was writtern EVERYWHERE)
Mike: Well, is Duhon considered part of the core ? I say yes.

**

Mike: If the Bulls had Gasol, they win yesterday because they can take inside shots. I don't know if the Bulls can compete with Detroit with the curent team.

My response: The lost by 2 points to Detroit on the road - how is that not competing ?


BTW, I like Gasol, but when did he turn into this all-NBA player who takes over games ? He's never even won a playoff game!

Right!

I mean, sure it's disappointing to give up a lead like that, but they were right in that game, and beat them at home last time. Plus recent wins over Wizards and Cavs, who are in the top of the East. With the Wallace thing, when he does well he'll tell you it was because the other team didn't have a center or so and so was out, when he does poorly then he gets bashed. It's a no-win. I'm not as much of a football guy so maybe I don't notice it as much, but I have League Pass and watch a lot of NBA games and it's painfully obvious Mike doesn't know jack about the NBA

And BD, did you catch any of that Hawks-Suns game yesterday? Holy crap was that fun. The Hawks folded down the stretch, predicatbly, but there were about 10 highlight plays in that game. Stoudemire was unstoppable.

I did watch that Suns/Hawks game, and I was sweating until the end when Steve Nash hit 2 free throw's to put Phoenix up by 9 (I had the Suns -8.5) and then Atl missed their last shot of the night.

Steve Nash made a ridiculous layup, and Stoudmire/Josh Smith had great dunks, and then the end of the 3rd quarter shot by Marvin Williams.

Atlanta has some incredible athletes - they need to get a point guard. Anthony Johnson hit about eveything he threw up last night, but he's a backup.

BD, you seem like a fine fellow, but I'm not sure about betting on a Hawks-Suns game

It was my pick of the night! Hawks beat the Suns in Phoenix about two weeks prior, and the Suns were going to get some revenge!

You must have been real happy then that the Hawks essentially gave up with over 1:00 left and allowed Stoudemire to just walk in and dunk as he pleased (not that they were stopping him anyway, but still)

I'm still not sure how Phoenix covered that game....they kept going from a 8 point lead down to about 2 points most of the 4th, and they didn't get the 9 point lead until the last minuteo or so....

We'll see what's in store tonight!

Why, you have the Mavs covering against the Hawks?

Somehow I'm thinking the spread could be 40 and i'd still take the Mavs to cover. After a close game (until the end) they're ripe for a huge blowout

No Hawks tonight for me...I'll be watching Prison Break and 24, and then flipping over tonight's play, which is the Nuggets -3 at Memphis.

Listening to Mike criticize the Warriors and the NBA in general....first of all the Warriors have had a lot of injuries- Baron Davis, Richardson and now Stephen Jackson have all missed significant time. That's huge. Of course you're going to be forced to go deep into your bench, especially at the end of a long road trip. Mike can't pronounce and doesn't know who Andres Biedrins is, well Mike he's almost averaging a double-double, he's a pretty good young center. Maybe make a little effort and watch one of their games, I know they're on the west coast and that's tought for you, but if you don't know anything about something DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. I have no clue about anything about hockey, I don't go around pretending I do and attempting to dispense advice and insightful analysis.

Earlier this season, Don Nelson said this about Biedrins: "He might be the best center I have ever coached".

Yes, that could be a stretch, but he's a young player, and he is a pretty decent player. He's got upsdie as well, and we'll see improvement from him in GS.

When your best player, Baron Davis, isn't there, and he's needed to keep this offense moving up and down the court, it's going to have problems, and when you have injuries to key players like you mentioned, the depth is going to be tested. They have a really nice player in Monta Ellis, but they still to need to learn how to play on the road (constantly getting blown out).

Their big issue is going to be Davis though. He can't stay healthy, and some have felt he may be better suited at shooting guard in this type of offense so you wouldn't have to depend so much on him being healthy. I don't know if that's the best solution either, but I do know your best player can't miss 1/2 of every season.

I apologize for my GS rant, but back to my origianl intention, and yes, I heard Mike talking about them. He just doesn't know what he's talking about. I heard Fred say 'Monta Ellis' in a question form like he was mocking GS for playing a guy he had never heard of.

I wish we had more (or I'd settle for some) NBA talk in this town, but then, when the hosts don't know much of anything, I guess it's back to who's the White Sox's 5th starter all spring.

I can't understand Mike's love for Isaiah Thomas. The team is battling for 8th place in the EASTERN CONFERENCE, and Mike is so pleased his prediction that Thomas would get an extension came true. I'm sure Knick fans are thrilled that for the next several years they can look forward to battling it out for 8th place and the right to get swept in the 1st round of the playoffs. I'll give them minor credit for David Lee and Channing Frye, but other than those players improving, this is going to be the same team for the next several years. They had a chance to use Rose in a trade but instead cut him. What assets do they have other than Lee and Frye?

Not sure if you heard the replay from yesterday's show that Mike did this morning in the 1st half hour, but it was about 1 minute long, and we heard Fred in the background say, all in that minute:
"You're right"
"Yes"
"I agree"

Then we heard Annie questioning the timing of it, and shortly thereafter, wondering out loud, when discussing Lance Briggs, where Briggs had fired Drew Rosenhaus, to which North gently explained that it would be big news had that happened.

I heard in about a 5 minute span everything that is wrong with the show.

As far as Isiah Thomas, I think the guy can coach, and he has had some good drafts over the years. His big fault is cap management and he seems to think, maybe he's right, that he can just take on whatever contracts he wants, and he doesn't think about the long-term ramifications of taking on big contracts.

Yes, his team has overachieved from what nearly everyone thought, and do think he deserves some credit, but lets put things in perspective. They still have a high payroll, and they still stink. Yes, stinking could make the playoffs, but does that make them a good team ?

Hey BD, I'm not sure if you realize this, but the Hawks are in striking range of 8th place....

Yeah, they are, but no Joe Johnson the rest of the season (probably) will probably keep them out.

I'm rooting for anybody except the Knicks!

Really, Johnson is out for the year? I don't even know what the injury is. Just a pipe dream anyway. They actually had a chance to move up last night but lost to the Celtics pretty bad. That's a bad loss, and I guess you don't deserve to be in the playoffs if you can't win a game like that.

At least the Knicks lost though, they were up for quite a while.