Is there any1 that thinks he shouldnt be the 5th starter? He pretty much had me sold after 1 sequence in particular during the latest bucks game. He gets offensive board and then gets fouled. Makes both shots and runs back on defense. We tried our full court press (which i want to get at more often) and the bucks beat it and got up the court quickly. it looked like an easy 2 because they were on a fast break in a 2 on 1 situation and joe smith didnt try and block (where most of the time you'll end up fouling), he took a charge.

How this would have been different for our other young bigs, gray, thomas, and noah. All of them could grab the offensive board, maybe tyrus slams it home and gets fouled maybe gray uses his upper body strength to force the shot in. tyrus misses at least 1 of 2 FT's and gray and noah prob miss 1 also. next gray wont get back quick enough so he'll be out of position and will definetly just foul, maybe not even hard enough to make him miss. tyrus and noah maybe get into position but will attempt to block. The opposing player positions body in such a way that forces the ref to call foul. Basically the outcome would be a missed FT and a blocking foul at the other end of the floor.

I know its small sample size but i just thought this sequence shows a couple of the strengths of smith's game. Plus he can hit his jumper consistently and will get the veteran calls that our younger guys definetly have not been getting this preseason.

The only question is whether or not you want a quality veteran coming off the bench. I say we should just put him in the starting line-up. Duhon and nocioni know the game well enough to be called vets. our 6 and 7 guys off the bench are veterans enough for me.

edit:couple spelling errors.

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GO BULLS!

you've still got some. any1 else see them?

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you are a hater

edit:lets talk about basketball

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GO BULLS!

I too look forward to Joe Smith...I think he will be a pleasent surprise...4 days to go!!!

I don't really have any objection to him starting, but I'm really hoping that Tyrus Thomas grabs the position and runs with it.

homeslice, joe smith will make a difference on our team at a position that is currently our weakest. by no means does that devalue our team. he will not be a liability on offense or defense.

I prefer a younger guy takes the role but i think joe smith is the best guy for it right now. Sure tyrus is the PF of the future (as long as he doesnt get traded) and i believe his minutes will reflect that whether he starts or not. But theyve used the starting line up to symbolically reflect our best player for the position at the moment and tyrus isnt it at PF. its joe smith. I would love it if it were 1 of our younger guys but we wouldnt be better off short term. It's debatable what the long -term results would be. Maybe we'd be more all around prepared for the play-offs.

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GO BULLS!

Do I sense some haterade being passed out?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Boo Ya!

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

This debate strikes me as somewhat misguided since Smith himself has said that he likely cannot play more than 25 minutes per game due to his knee problems. Consequently, Thomas and/or Noah will likely see a lot of playing time during important game situations this season.

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UmPhreak, I really don't have an opinion on Joe Smith...I'm not a Bulls fan, and not very much an NBA fan in fact. I was merely channeling the spirit of one Danny Bernstein. Sorry for the confusion.