The Bulls

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

The Bulls lost their home opener by 25 on Wednesday to the Pacers. They are 
very thin at guard, with Eddie Robinson, Ron Artest and Jamal Crawford out. 
Veteran Greg Anthony and Kevin Ollie shared the point guard minutes against 
the Pacers.

Celts killer Fred Hoiberg has a gimpy knee but played over 30 minutes at 
guard for the Bulls. The other certified Celts Killer, Brad Miller, leads 
the Bulls in scoring after one game, with 24 points, 9 rebounds and a 
block. On the radio, Cedric Maxwell predicted Brad Miller would get 20 and 
10 versus the Celtics.

Antoine tends to try too hard (read: force things) against the Bulls, but 
the Celts did take 3 of 4 last season. Plus he's playing before a 
pessimistic home crowd. How he handles this is key. He's the main reason 
the Celtics play -- or fail to play -- like a team. Antoine has to adjust 
to the fact that the Bulls have some long-armed shot blockers, plus Oakley 
who's still a menace. Pierce versus Mercer also risks turning into a 
one-upsmanship at the expense of team play. The captains have to both show 
leadership/maturity tonight.

Thus far, the Celtics starters have held even or blown out their opponents 
in all but one quarter really. The Celtics have to come out with smart, 
efficient team play against the Bulls from the first quarter on. I don't 
care if it goes to triple overtime. This is a must win in advance of the 
road trip to Milwaukee tomorrow.

Below are some observations from the Sports Illustrated scouting report for 
the Bulls:

--------

(Toronto's) going to miss Charles Oakley . He was probably the best help 
defender in the league, he rebounded, he'd set a screen, dive on the floor, 
take a charge, and in the locker room he motivated the players and inspired 
a little fear.

Tyson Chandler, as tall as he is, is really a perimeter player right now. 
The tough thing for Chandler is that he can't guard threes, and until his 
body matures the fours are going to push him around. A lot is going to 
depend on their dedication.

If they get personal trainers and do all the extra work and the off-season 
programs, they should become contributors in the third year. But you just 
don't know with high school guys.

It surprised me when they traded Elton Brand. It's hard to deal a guy who 
gives you 20 points and 10 rebounds every night. I hope Tim Floyd was on 
board with that move. He's been handcuffed by the lack of talent Jerry 
Krause has given him. Then Krause forced him to keep running the triangle 
when it wasn't really the right offense for that team. It's a good sign for 
Floyd that they don't seem to be running nearly as much triangle this year.

Charles Oakley will give them 25 to 30 solid minutes. He'll provide 
rebounding, defense, toughness and leadership, and he won't let the young 
guys get pushed around.

I doubt that Marcus Fizer is ever going to live up to his billing as the 
No.4 pick in the 2000 draft. He's basically a 6'9" power forward with a 
limited outside shot.

Eddie Robinson is a dynamic player. He and Ron Mercer are going to be good 
for them on the wings.

When I look at Oakley, Ron Artest and Greg Anthony , I see that the Bulls 
should be tougher than they've been since Michael left."