They will get there. No higher than a 6th seed.

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Said I was gone but couldn't help myself.

One more time...

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Vegan and I agree on like...99% of NBA I'm pretty sure. So... that pig won't fly here.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Its hard to get less than what he is giving him right about now. Do you still think he is playing "great"?

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IMU brings the goods as well. Why play any card? Just admit this team is shit and Hoiberg played a large role? Guy after guy on the team is sounding off about how things suck compared to previous years. It would do you well to listen to them instead of stubbornly advancing your agenda.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Taj has been good, not great.

In February, he is playing 30 minutes a game, shooting 47.3%. 7.7 Rebounds and 1.5 Blocks. More assists than turnovers.

For the season, he has the third highest value over replacement player on the entire team, behind Butler and Gasol. He is also fourth in Box Plus/Minus.

So the eyes and the statistics both say he has been solid. Ideally, he wouldn't have to start...but as you've said, injuries have dictated it. And he has done just fine in the role.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I don't even blame Hoiberg. He was brought in as management's guy. He was given shitty assistants and a roster full of players that don't fit his system. He was asked to follow a really good to great coach and win a championship in Year 1 like Steve Kerr.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Thibs didn't find Dougie McBuckets coachable w/r/t defense, is my guess. Hoiberg's not going to have any more success at coaching up Doug on D.
Maybe some Western Conference team would take Dougie in a trade for a true #4. Sooner the Bulls get value for McDermott, the better.

I know you your advanced stuff but a guy giving you 8 and 7 as a starting PF is not good. This has been the biggest mistake that Hoiberg made. He never gave the Gasol/Noah tandem a chance. For a guy that was attempting to figure it out he sure had made his mind up on that pairing. First Mirotic then Gibson. Noah was beginning to play at a high level before the first injury to his shoulder yet Hoiberg still would not play him extended minutes or start him. Then the leaks about Noah not being a good fit for Hoiball surfaced and you never really heard about it again.

Even Gibson's FG% is nothing to write home about. With his game it should be above 50%. The occasional dunk or put back is the only way he scores. Whenever he trys to post up the shot is either blocked, turnover, or offensive foul. He also isnt a big time rebounder either. I knew they were cooked the minute he began starting and now its even worse with Etwaun Moore in the mix. How Hoiberg is expected to win with that hookup I will never know.

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Gibson's FG% is above 50% for the season. I just mentioned February.

You want to know how Gibson compares to other starting PF?

For all NBA PF with at least 30 starts, he ranks 23rd in PPG, 3rd in FG%, 12th in Rebounds and 7th in Blocks.

ON POINT is how the kids these days would describe his play. One could even say he is a better starting PF than half the league.

On a team that normally features Butler, Gasol, Rose, McDermott, Brooks, Dunleavy and others...should Taj really need to score more than 8 with everything else he brings to the table?

He certainly didn't need to when an offensive genius like Thibodeau was running the show.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

That is the other point that I take issue with. Since when did the guys that were crucified for "quitting" on Thibs have credibility? Guys didn't go on the record when Thibs was coaching but I'm sure sure if I searched I could find his share of detractors too.

The guys also said that the personnel is different. That was stated by Gibson the other day. You may choose to take a comment like that and immediately blame the coach but Hoiberg has no control over that.

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Gibson was pretty garbage last year too. He doesn't have to be a big time scorer, but he doesn't need to do more than be a help side defender. He couldn't start on most NBA teams. If you look at the top five teams from each league their may be only one that is worse than him starting. That is a problem

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Gibson is saying the Bulls had WORSE personnel under Thibodeau and won MORE.

Who is better? DJ Augustin or Pau Gasol?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

That wasn't the quote I saw. He said that they had defensive guys under Thibs and have offensive guys under Hoiberg.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... video.html

"We used to win games with less than this."

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w ... zQwek6l6WQ
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w ... RvViPOCSIw

Credibility gap evident. If Gibson had Boozer's Bulls numbers you'd put him in the Hall of Fame. His numbers are putrid. Absolutely putrid.

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Don't indict the guy!

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Taj Gibson plays defense, first and foremost. With the goal in mind of outscoring opponents, defense is important.

Taj shoots a higher percentage, blocks more shots, turns the ball over less (per assist and overall) and rebounds at marginally the same rate. Carlos Boozer couldn't shoot at range, so he wasn't even a better scorer. He just shot the ball more.

Tell me...where is Carlos Boozer playing these days?

Credibility restored!

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

He is older than Taj Gibson. I was wondering when you were going to come up with a "space". I thought you were actually going to say that Taj. was a better rebounder because he will travel further distances to grab the rebounder.

The higher percentage argument doesn't jibe much. Most his buckets are dunks or put backs. He is the better defender and that's about it. If Taj Gibson scored like Boozer you'd place him in the Hall of Fame.

I value defense but I don't think that it has a higher value than offense. The two guys that finished 1-2 in MVP voting last year are among the worst defenders in the league. They didn't finish 1-2 because of their defensive prowess. In Fact you would be hard pressed to ever find a defense only guy that has ever won an MVP award in the NBA.

I'm talking a guy that avg less than 10 a game but was a defensive monster. The last guy would probably be Bill Russell and even he scored more than 10 a game.

Defensive guys tend to be pieces to the puzzle and that's it. Rare if ever are they the best player on championship teams. That should be a further illustration of their overall importance. I don't value it over offense. You need it to win but I would take the offensive guy more often than not.

Taj and his seven points give you nothing. Boozer was also a superior rebounder. At his best he was the better player. He was also a better player while in a Bull uniform. Taj has gotten exposed as a starter. It happened in the playoffs last year and it has occurred again this year.

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I give you facts and you reply with opinions.

Just another day.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Your facts are always couched under an advanced stat Lens.

Fact Carlos Boozer avg more points and rebounds both during his career and while in a Bull uniform.

Fact Gibson currently avg. 8 points and 7 rebounds as a starter.

You have to cite your patented advanced stats as a way of even making this a debate. The guy absolutely blows. The Bulls couldn't give him away for one of the old Jane Byrne trees right about now. He is a default starter for a team that is in a tailspin. The only reason he hasn't been dissed more is because he is a hard worker. Chicago Sports Fans just love our hard workers. He is the poster child for the Activity with Accomplishment argument. His hard working amounts to very little production.



The Bulls have been trying to deal Gibson for awhile and no one around the NBA wants. Their losing streak coincided with him being named a starter as I believed it would. That also is a fact.

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FALSE

8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds



Proof?


And have the Bulls had a 34 game losing streak I'm not aware of?

The Bulls are 16-18 with Taj Gibson as a starter. Not exactly brutal.

The Bulls are 22-23 when Derrick Rose starts.

I'm fairly sure wins and losses aren't "advanced statistics."

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

When I produced the evidence you will discredit the source. That's getting old as is the propaganda campaign. Boozer's worst yr with the Bull is better than 8 and a rounded seven. The Bulls skid is tied to his being named starter. He is outmatched just about every night at the four spot. He is getting outplayed with regularity these days.

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As a starter, Taj Gibson has 8.0 rebounds per game played. Exactly 8.0. Not rounded. Eight point zero.

I've already told you his Box Plus Minus is positive. That means the Bulls do NOT get outplayed when he is on the court. In fact, he is one of only a few Bulls (Butler, Gasol and Noah) that can claim to have a positive Box Plus Minus.

Get your eyes checked, fool.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

There is nothing about Gibson's play that suggests good. Absolutely nothing. He stinks and now he is throwing the Coach under the bus. What has it come to? I will let it roll from there. And people on here wonder I'm reluctant to admit when I'm wrong. Who else does?

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Besides everything I've presented you with.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

According to you Noah, Noah is not a good player. How do he have a positive +/-? Also. Gibson's plus minus is more a product of playing with guys that carry their weight. He doesnt.

Also I see that you and others have neglected to mention that Gibson actually praised Hoiberg the other day. "It's good to have a coach like Fred that believes in us". I wonder how and why some one failed to mention that.

The Bulls are 4-10 since Noah went down for the season. Yeah you're right. He hasn't had much impact. I know go ask me to "prove" that you said it so that you don't have to address the point regarding Noah's impact or your contention that he doesn't have impact. 4-10 fact.

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Then why don't the other players have a positive BPM?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Because they have not been out there with the starting unit as he has. When was the last time Gibson outplayed anyone? That is the true test. He alsos seems to get outplayed by the opposite team's PF. The Bulls bench has been killing them lately. The injuries have placed guys in roles they are not accustomed to playing.

There is a reason some guys are meant to be bench guys and others starters. Gibson at best should have only ever been a bench player. I felt the Bulls were cooked once they placed him the lineup because it meant that Hoi berg was never going to give Noah a chance.

Also you said Noah wasn't playing well prior to the first injury. The guy was getting 10-15 boards a game and 4-5 assists while playing about 20 min per during that stretch.

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