All this about that

Okay, so they're 4-4 and if you told fans that before the season began, I have a feeling a lot of them would have been entirely okay with that kind of start to the season, given the new guys and the tough schedule.

Yes, there have been huge blips and some bad play but, as a football coach once said, you are what your record says you are and .500 today's not bad.

Anyway ...

THREE THINGS I LEARNED

All in all, not bad

The second quarter was not good, that is for sure.

But other than that, I thought the way they defended was as good a job of playing and coaching as they’ve put on this season.

Giving up 29 points in the entire second half, holding Chicago to 40 per cent shooting for the game and 25 per cent from three and rallying on the boards to actually out-rebound the Bulls shows it’s there. It’s just a matter of bringing it every night.

And give Jay some credit.

In the first half, they went under just about every high screen set for Derrick Rose to mixed results, at best. Rose had eight points and five assists in that half and the Bulls shot 52 per cent.

In the second half, they switched more on the screens, taking away penetration, they rotated better and more quickly out of it to get to shooters and the Bulls were horrible.

A subtle change in strategy, to be sure, but one that worked wonderfully. And tells me that they’re not afraid to change in mid-stream and can be pro-active rather than sitting back and waiting for something good to happen.

Yes, one game, to be sure and we still need 15-20 games to see what they’re all about but a pretty good night nonetheless.

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Bad, bad decisions

By those not actually playing the game.

DeRozan has that crazy dunk on the baseline to make it 70-63 Bulls with just under six minutes left in the third quarter. Toronto’s on a run, the fans, who had been booing about three minutes earlier, are on their feet cheering, the Bulls have to call a timeout and you can sense a huge momentum shift in the game.

So, the timeout’s nuts, right? Music. June Taylor Dancers dancing, fans really getting into the game.

Um, no.

It’s canned TV highlights that drain all of the energy out of the building. Followed, of course, by a promo for some contest for some hotel chain.

Yeah, the “entertainment experience” sure is something, isn’t it?

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The Bulls are …

I’m not sure, exactly.

They can’t shoot, they don’t have great athletes, they aren’t big, they aren’t particularly deep and they don’t have a low-post scoring presence.

But I get a sense they’re just scrappy enough to stay in enough games to be right in the thick of the race for 7th or 8th in the East when April rolls around.

Not sure why, exactly. I do think Taj Gibson’s got some game, nice mid-range jumper, seems active on the boards and a pretty good rookie.

Still, they were entirely underwhelming in the second half and Joakim Noah, who was otherwise pretty good, might have committed the single silliest foul I’ve seen this season.

Bargnani’s on a break, about to lumber down the court and Noah grabs him for a clear path foul, which gives Bargnani two free throws and the Raptors the ball.

It’s Noah’s fifth foul with 5:15 left and he has to come out of the game, Bargnani makes both to put Toronto up 91-88, Jose hits a jumper on the ensuing possession and Chicago doesn’t score a field goal the rest of the game.

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In other news …

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Big Man Triple Double for Bosh, who had 28 points, 11 boards and 10-10 FTs.

I tell you, the kid is playing at such a level the danger is people might start taking it for granted.

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Spurs 92, Mavs 83

Tim Duncan, DNP (ankle)

Tony Parker, DNP (ankle)

Just sayin’

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KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune has this to say about that one.

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Told you Reggie Evans was going to have an impact, even when he isn’t playing.

Evans, still out with a sprained mid-foot (and in case anyone’s wondering, there’s no timetable for a return – not that anyone would ask, of course) has become a de facto assistant coach these days.

He’s up on the bench after every possible moment, exhorting and cheering and talking. During stoppages in play and time outs, he’s a few feet on the court talking and in the huddles pulling this guy or that guy aside to give advice.

As any coach worth his Armani suit will tell you, it’s vital that the players police themselves so there’s a different voice to be heard and Evans is that voice with the Raptors.

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The refs held their annual off-the-record pre-game session with the media last night before the game. They do it once every year to go over points of emphasis for the season and whatever rule changes there are.

As we’ve mentioned here before, a big point of emphasis this time around is making sure offensive players don’t impede defenders with moving screens on screen-roll action. Coaches were told that at their annual meeting with officials in the summer and the refs hammer that point when they meet with writers and broadcasters in each city.

Maybe all the offensive fouls we’re seeing this year – and anecdotally there seem to be more than the usual number – are just refs emphasizing points of emphasis.

Hopefully, the players get it.

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Speaking of long games with lots of fouls, they got that one in last night in 2:16 with just 34 personals. That’s more like it.

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Know what I wouldn’t miss if it disappeared tomorrow?

The incessant hand-slapping after every single free throw.

Make or miss, four guys leave their spots on the lane or the court, wander up to the guy shooting the foul shot and fist-bump him or slap his hand.

It’s become so routine even the players don’t seem to care.

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You ever notice this?

Every time there’s an off-the-ball foul called – for something like grabbing a players’ jersey or some other indiscretion – as soon as the whistle blows, the offending player always is the first one to look at the ref, knowing he got caught.

And then he complains.

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So we do these pre-game chats, right? And it’s pretty good so far, I think everyone’s having fun but at the end of each of them, I always get at least one, um, over-zealous reader complaining that his or her question didn’t get answered or picked or whatever.

Well, yesterday, we were on the air for about 42 minutes with more than 300 readers who sent in 204 questions and 44 got answered. You can do that math, there’s a good chance yours doesn’t make the cut.

Just sayin’.

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Ah, frost on the roof and the windshields.

20 C in Los Angeles, about 27 in Phoenix yesterday.

Yeah, the trip’s looking better every hour.

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Speaking of the trip, it's a long travel day so I'm not sure when I'll get to post the inevitable comments so if you don't see them right away, don't fret. We'll get to them when we can.

The Goods On The Game, Bulls at Raptors

Hello folks. A word of warning, there were some wireless issues here courtside when I tried to get started; if we're slow tonight, that's why.

Pre-game Q&A

Check back for a live discussion at 4 p.m. today.

GruntTV gets ready for the Bulls

Slow day but a busy morning

Long, yet quiet, day yesterday of flights for them and me, no time in a gym and that means there’s a plethora of things to do here this morning, none developing from any significant Raptors news or events.

To wit:

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Vote early, vote often.

Well, as often as the rules allow and, let me tell you, the whole process of coming up with the 120 names on the NBA’s all-star ballot that was unveiled yesterday, isn’t as easy as you’d think.

An august panel of ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, Mike Breen of ABC, Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News and little old me (it’s a benefit of being president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association) had to come up with the names keeping in mind some tricky criteria.

We had to find 24 forwards, 24 guards and 12 centres from each conference and the one thing that made it hardest was the fact each team had to have three guys on the ballot. We also decided as a group that, outside of No. 1 pick Blake Griffin, we wouldn’t have any rookies on the ballot; in my opinion the right decision because they have to prove something before being considered. Griffin? An honour for being No. 1.

Sounds simple? Well, find us a third Minnesota Timberwolves rep, outside of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Or a Buck after Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd. That’s how guys like Ramon Sessions and Hakim Warrick end up on the ballot.

Adding to the difficulty was that we had to make our choices in October, for logistical reasons, which is why Marcus Camby got the nod over Chris Kaman, and why Brad Miller’s on the ballot and not Joakim Noah. I don’t think any of us, or many of you, saw the starts coming that Kaman and Noah have had.

The one that I wish we might have taken back is the decision to put Allen Iverson on the ballot. Yes, he probably deserves it for his body of work, and finding 24 Western Conference guards made him something of a default choice, but with what’s transpired in the last week, I sure wish we’d gone a different way.

The thing I kept thinking about as the process unfolded over a series of conference calls was that the choice of five starters probably comes down to picking from a group of about 15 in each conference and we got those right.

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We need to do something important here.

Christmas is all about the kids, no? Yes, it is.

And that’s why we’ve established the Jim Proudfoot Corner of the Star Santa Claus fund and if you click here, you can help out. Please do; it’s a very important thing.

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Some news about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar yesterday, wasn’t it?

A very private man taking a very big issue public in a very big way is something you don’t see every day.

I don’t know Kareem that well, I think I’ve spoken to him at length maybe four times over the years, but from what I understand about his nature, the decision to let the world know about his fight with cancer was probably a difficult one to come by. He was, by all accounts, quite prickly as a player and he’s still not one of the more “open” legends around the game.

Took guts to do what he did.

Just like it’s going to take guts to fight this fight and thoughts should be with him.

Sports figures, like actors I guess, are in a unique situation. Simply by virtue of who they are and what they do, the hold great sway with the masses. It’s a fact some find hard to come to grips with, it’s to be applauded when they step away from what they really are for the greater good.

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Wild one in Chicago last night, where it took an extended look at instant replay before the refs ruled a last-second basket by Brad Miller came too late in what was a Denver win.

Saw the end of the game on TV and the fact that the Bulls announcers took the call quite personally and may have altered the opinions of people watching on NBA team by virtue of their, um, enthusiasm, I think the overhead shot showed the ball handed left his hands in time.

It was close, though.

And here’s what my man KC Johnson had to say about it.

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Speaking of the Bulls, they’re here tonight and that means Chuck’s back and, yes, they will “honour” him in much the same manner they “honoured” Oak and Alvin a week ago.

Not sure what I think about this whole process of singling out guys for the 15th anniversary of the franchise.

Seems a rather arbitrary decision, it’s not like 15 is some magic plateau or anything and I can’t for the life of me think it’s going to sell even one extra ticket.

And the “honour” itself? A bit weak, no? A few seconds of clips, an intro, some applause. Good, I guess, but far from, you know, emotional.

Maybe it gets better as the season goes on but I somehow doubt it.

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A leftover quote from the other night, courtesy of Chris Bosh, that’s a bit interesting and goes to the heart of the matter with this team:

“A wise man once told me a long time ago, I wanted to know the secret and art to rebounding. He’s like ‘You know what is? Just go get the ball.’ That was it, three’s not much you can say, there’s no science. We can sit here and break it down all day and whatever, whatever but it just comes down to who wants the ball the most.”

Trouble is, on lots of nights, no one on the team wants the ball the most, which leads them to affairs like Monday in San Antonio.

And, no, Bosh is not blameless in this matter.

Although he’s rebounding better – especially on the offensive glass – than he has in years, there are still too many instances where he’s a spectator rather than a participant.

He knows it, too. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard him say he has to be better, he has to be more aggressive, he has to be more consistent.

He knows it, and it’s time to do something about it but if you look at raw numbers – and they never tell the whole story – he’s getting better.

Averaging 11.6 per game, and 3.4 per game on the offensive end, isn’t too shabby.

But it’s not like he thinks he’s above the situation and the reason you always read his quotes on the matter is that, post-game, he’s the guy on the team who generally offers the best insight into what went on.

But

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Oh yeah, remember this?

We’re getting closer to contest deadline and with such nifty prizes, I think we ought to make sure everyone knows how to enter.

So, enter.

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Don’t forget, it’s game day so we’ll do a little chat this afternoon. We’ll get back to our regular time of 4 p.m. to make my day a little bit easier and more free-flowing. It remains, of course, all about me!

See ya then.

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